Elevated TREM2 Gene Dosage Reprograms Microglia Responsivity and Ameliorates Pathological Phenotypes in Alzheimer’s Disease Models
Authors: Nan Wang
Peter Langfelder
Giovanni Coppola
Yingjun Zhao
Xiaoguang Li
Istvan Mody
Lu-Lin Jiang
Huaxi Xu
C Y Daniel Lee
Anthony Daggett
X William Yang
Yonatan Cooper
Chang Sin Park
Isabella Ferando
Xiaofeng Gu
Journal: Neuron (2018)
Discipline: NEUROSCIENCE & BEHAVIOR
Keywords: Alzheimer’s disease; BAC; RNA-sequencing; TREM2; amyloid plaque
Affiliations: Center for Neurobehavioral Genetics, The Jane and Terry Semel Institute for Neuroscience & Human Behavior, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, USA; Department of Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences, David Geffen School of Medicine, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, USA; Brain Research Institute, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, USA., Neuroscience and Aging Research Center, Sanford-Burnham Prebys Medical Discovery Institute, La Jolla, CA, USA., Center for Neurobehavioral Genetics, The Jane and Terry Semel Institute for Neuroscience & Human Behavior, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, USA., Department of Neurology, David Geffen School of Medicine, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, USA., Brain Research Institute, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, USA; Department of Neurology, David Geffen School of Medicine, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, USA; Department of Physiology, David Geffen School of Medicine, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, USA., Center for Neurobehavioral Genetics, The Jane and Terry Semel Institute for Neuroscience & Human Behavior, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, USA; Department of Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences, David Geffen School of Medicine, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, USA; Brain Research Institute, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, USA; Department of Neurology, David Geffen School of Medicine, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, USA., Center for Neurobehavioral Genetics, The Jane and Terry Semel Institute for Neuroscience & Human Behavior, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, USA; Department of Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences, David Geffen School of Medicine, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, USA; Brain Research Institute, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, USA. Electronic address: .

Abstract:  Variants of TREM2 are associated with Alzheimer's disease (AD). To study whether increasing TREM2 gene dosage could modify the disease pathogenesis, we developed BAC transgenic mice expressing human TREM2 (BAC-TREM2) in microglia. We found that elevated TREM2 expression reduced amyloid burden in the 5xFAD mouse model. Transcriptomic profiling demonstrated that increasing TREM2 levels conferred a rescuing effect, which includes dampening the expression of multiple disease-associated microglial genes and augmenting downregulated neuronal genes. Interestingly, 5xFAD/BAC-TREM2 mice showed further upregulation of several reactive microglial genes linked to phagocytosis and negative regulation of immune cell activation. Moreover, these mice showed enhanced process ramification and phagocytic marker expression in plaque-associated microglia and reduced neuritic dystrophy. Finally, elevated TREM2 gene dosage led to improved memory performance in AD models. In summary, our study shows that a genomic transgene-driven increase in TREM2 expression reprograms microglia responsivity and ameliorates neuropathological and behavioral deficits in AD mouse models. 

Retracted: No

PubPeer comments:
 IL6 and c-Jun gels are more similar than one would expect. Could authors post the original full get images of both with the mol. wt. ladder? ![file] ![file] ,