Biomedical subjects
Publications and source records attributed to Jesús Avila.
Alzheimer's disease (AD) is the most usual neurodegenerative disorder leading to dementia in the aged human population. It is characterized by the presence of two main brain pathological hallmarks: senile plaques and neurofibrillary tangles (NFTs). NFTs are composed of fibrillar polymers of the abnormally phosphorylated cytoskeletal protein tau.
The deposit of two proteins in the brain characterizes Alzheimer's disease: deposits of beta-amyloid protein to form senile plaques and tau protein in neurofibrillary tangles. This review discusses transgenic animals overexpressing normal or mutated tau protein as well as kinases involved in tau hyperphosphorylation. These animals hold a great potential as tools to test the effects of forthcoming therapeutical agents for Alzheimer's disease.
Autosomal recessive-juvenile parkinsonism (AR-JP) is one of the most common forms of familial Parkinson's disease (PD) and is related to mutations in the Park-2 gene, encoding for a protein ligase of ubiquitin, parkin. Different mutations located along the parkin gene have been observed in different AR-JP affected families, possibly interfering with the normal function of parkin and the proteasome system. Two cases of patients with AR-JP have been recently described presenting different homo- and heterozygous parkin mutations and limited tau pathology. We report here the case of a patient with clinical and pathological findings compatible with progressive supranuclear palsy (PSP), carrier of a single, heterozygous mutation of the parkin gene, and homozygous for the H1/H1 haplotype in the tau gene. Abnormal tau hyperphosphorylation has been observed in our patient brain samples, suggesting that a partial deficit of parkin, a protein with ubiquitin-ligase function, may trigger tau pathology in individuals with molecular genetic risk factors.
The structure of the Paired Helical filaments (PHF), a polymer of the microtubule associated protein tau, has been studied by Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM) and by cryoelectron microscopy. Mica and graphite were used as substrates in the AFM analysis with no differences in the results. A banding pattern of 8-12 nm width within the helical structure is found when detailed analysis of the data is performed. High AFM resolution images obtained by using an ultra sharp tip confirm the previous results and suggest that the structures observed are compatible with a helical ribbon made up of two parallel strands. These results were confirmed by cryoelectron microscopy experiments.
Accumulation of hyperphosphorylated tau protein and progressive neuronal loss are among the major hallmarks of certain neurodegenerative disorders including Alzheimer's disease. However, the relationship between tau phosphorylation and neuronal cell death remains unclear. Here we have analyzed tau modifications during two forms of neuronal death, apoptosis and necrosis, using primary cultures of cerebellar granule neurons as a simple model system. Induction of neuronal apoptosis by inhibition of phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase results in a rapid increase in the phosphorylation of tau, which is followed by the dephosphorylation and cleavage of the protein. In contrast, necrosis triggered by high salt shock or glutamate treatment leads to a rapid dephosphorylation and an almost complete proteolysis of tau. These data suggests that a transient tau hyperphosphorylation occurs at an early stage of apoptosis, whereas tau is dephosphorylated and cleaved during the late phase of apoptosis as well as in necrotic neurons.
Glycogen synthase kinase-3 (GSK-3) is thought to play an important role in the hyperphosphorylation of tau, and possibly other proteins, in Alzheimer's disease (AD). However, the effects of GSK-3 on neuronal metabolism are still largely unknown. Here we describe that a low concentration of lithium, which can partially inhibit endogenous GSK-3, favored the extension of neurites from developing neurons, whereas a high concentration of lithium impaired neurite growth. Furthermore, the overexpression of exogenous active GSK-3 in neurons by infection with a defective herpesviral vector blocked neurite growth, which was not affected by either expression of inactive GSK-3 or just the herpesviral vector infection. Neurite extension was restored when neurons overexpressing exogenous active GSK-3 were incubated with lithium. These results are consistent with a role for GSK-3 in the regulation of cytoskeletal dynamics during neurite growth. Accordingly, up-regulation of GSK-3 may contribute to cytoskeletal pathology within neurites in AD.
In this short review, the link between aging and the onset of Alzheimer 's disease is discussed. It has been widely suggested that aging is the greatest risk factor for Alzheimer 's disease,in which a failure in the insulin signal-transduction pathway could occur with age and, thereby, the assembly of senile plaques and neurofibrillary tangles (two aberrant structures present in Alzheimer 's disease)could be promoted. The main component of neurofibrillary tangles is the microtubule-associated protein tau, and the assembly of tau protein appears to occur after its modification by phosphorylation. In this phosphorylation, some protein kinases related to the insulin-transduction pathway could play a role.