Memantine, an N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) receptor antagonist, reduces the clinical deterioration in moderate-to-severe Alzheimer disease (AD) for which other treatments are not available. The activity of protein phosphatase (PP)-2A is compromised in AD brain and is believed to be a cause of the abnormal hyperphosphorylation of tau and the consequent neurofibrillary degeneration. Here we show that memantine inhibits and reverses the PP-2A inhibition-induced abnormal hyperphosphorylation and accumulation of tau in organotypic culture of rat hippocampal slices. Such restorative effects of memantine were not detected either with 5,7-dichlorokynurenic acid or with D(-)-2-amino-5-phosphopentanoic acid, NMDA receptor antagonists active at the glycine binding site and at the glutamate binding site, respectively. These findings show (1) that memantine inhibits and reverses the PP-2A inhibition-induced abnormal hyperphosphorylation of tau/neurofibrillary degeneration and (2) that this drug might be useful for the treatment of AD and related tauopathies. © 2004 Published by Elsevier B.V. on behalf of the Federation of European Biochemical Societies.
CITATION STYLE
Li, L., Sengupta, A., Haque, N., Grundke-Iqbal, I., & Iqbal, K. (2004). Memantine inhibits and reverses the Alzheimer type abnormal hyperphosphorylation of tau and associated neurodegeneration. FEBS Letters, 566(1–3), 261–269. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.febslet.2004.04.047
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