Abstract
Transgenic mouse models that independently express mutations in amyloid precursor protein (APP) and tau have proven useful for the study of the neurological consequences of amyloid-β (Aβ) plaque and neurofibrillary tangle pathologies. Studies using these mice have yielded essential discoveries with regard to specific aspects of neuronal dysfunction and degeneration that characterize the brain during Alzheimer's disease (AD) and other age-dependent tauopathies. Most recent transgenic studies have focused on the creation of regulatable models that allow the temporal control of transgene expression. To study a more complete model of AD pathology, we designed a new regulatable transgenic mouse that harbors both APP and tau transgenes. Here, we present a novel transgenic mouse model, rTg3696AB, which expresses human APPNLI and tauP301L driven by the CaMKII promoter system. Subsequent generation of Aβ and 4R0N tau in the brain resulted in the development of three neuropathological features of AD: Aβ plaques, neurofibrillary tangles, and neurodegeneration. Importantly, transgene expression in these mice is regulatable, permitting temporal control of gene expression and the investigation of transgene suppression.
Original language | English (US) |
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Pages (from-to) | 762-772 |
Number of pages | 11 |
Journal | American Journal of Pathology |
Volume | 173 |
Issue number | 3 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - Sep 2008 |
Bibliographical note
Funding Information:Supported by the National Institutes of Health (grant AG26252 to K.H.A. ), the National Institute on Aging (grant AG020216 to E.M. ), the John Douglas French Alzheimer's Foundation (to M.R.), and by gifts from E.W. and A.M. Tulloch and B. Grossman (to K.H.A.).