Expression of tau and phosphorylated tau in the brain of normal and hemiparkinsonian rhesus macaques

3Citations
Citations of this article
7Readers
Mendeley users who have this article in their library.

This article is free to access.

Abstract

Tau is a neuronal protein involved in microtubule stabilization and intracellular vesicle transport in axons. In neurodegenerative disorders termed “tauopathies,” like Alzheimer's and Parkinson's disease, tau becomes hyperphosphorylated and forms intracellular inclusions. Rhesus macaques are widely used for studying ageing processes and modeling neurodegenerative disorders, yet little is known about endogenous tau expression in their brains. In this study, immunohistochemical methods were used to map and characterize total tau, 3R- and 4R-tau isoforms, and phosphorylated tau (pThr231-tau and pSer202/Thr205-tau/AT8) expression bilaterally in 16 brain regions of normal and 1-methyl-4-phenyl-1,2,3,6-tetrahydropyridine (MPTP)-induced hemiparkinsonian adult rhesus macaques. Tau-immunoreactivity (-ir), including both 3R and 4R isoforms, was observed throughout the brain, with varying regional intensities. The anterior cingulate cortex, entorhinal cortex, and hippocampus displayed the most robust tau-ir, while the subthalamic nucleus and white matter regions had minimal expression. Tau was present in neurons of gray matter regions; it was preferentially observed in fibers of the globus pallidus and substantia nigra and in cell bodies of the thalamus and subthalamic nucleus. In white matter regions, tau was abundantly present in oligodendrocytes. Additionally, neuronal pThr231-tau-ir was abundant in all brain regions, but not AT8-ir. Differences in regional and intracellular protein expression were not detected between control subjects and both brain hemispheres of MPTP-treated animals. Specifically, tau-ir in the substantia nigra of all subjects colocalized with GABAergic neurons. Overall, this report provides an in-depth characterization of tau expression in the rhesus macaque brain to facilitate future investigations for understanding and modeling tau pathology in this species.

Cite

CITATION STYLE

APA

Gambardella, J. C., Schoephoerster, W., Bondarenko, V., Yandell, B. S., & Emborg, M. E. (2023). Expression of tau and phosphorylated tau in the brain of normal and hemiparkinsonian rhesus macaques. Journal of Comparative Neurology, 531(11), 1198–1216. https://doi.org/10.1002/cne.25490

Register to see more suggestions

Mendeley helps you to discover research relevant for your work.

Already have an account?

Save time finding and organizing research with Mendeley

Sign up for free