Background: Accumulation of β-amyloid peptides is an important hallmark of Alzheimer's disease (AD). Tremendous efforts have been directed to elucidate the mechanisms of β-amyloid peptides degradation and develop strategies to remove β-amyloid accumulation. In this study, we demonstrated that a subpopulation of oligodendroglial precursor cells, also called NG2 cells, were a new cell type that can clear β-amyloid peptides in the AD transgene mice and in NG2 cell line. Results: NG2 cells were recruited and clustered around the amyloid plaque in the APPswe/PS1dE9 mice, which is Alzheimer's disease mouse model. In vitro, NG2 cell line and primary NG2 cells engulfed β-amyloid peptides through the mechanisms of endocytosis in a time dependent manner. Endocytosis is divided into pinocytosis and phagocytosis. Aβ42 internalization by NG2 cells was mediated by actin-dependent macropinocytosis. The presence of β-amyloid peptides stimulated the autophagic pathway in NG2 cells. Once inside the cells, the β-amyloid peptides in NG2 cells were transported to lysosomes and degraded by autophagy. Conclusions: Our findings suggest that NG2 cells are a new cell type that can clear β-amyloid peptides through endocytosis and autophagy. © 2013 Li et al.; licensee BioMed Central Ltd.
CITATION STYLE
Li, W., Tang, Y., Fan, Z., Meng, Y., Yang, G., Luo, J., & Ke, Z. J. (2013). Autophagy is involved in oligodendroglial precursor-mediated clearance of amyloid peptide. Molecular Neurodegeneration, 8(1). https://doi.org/10.1186/1750-1326-8-27
Mendeley helps you to discover research relevant for your work.