Tau pathology in aged cynomolgus monkeys is progressive supranuclear palsy/corticobasal degeneration- but not Alzheimer disease-like -Ultrastructural mapping of tau by EDX-

Concomitant deposition of amyloid -beta protein (Aβ) and neuronal tau as neurofibrillary tangles in the human brain is a hallmark of Alzheimer disease (AD). Because these deposits increase during normal aging, it has been proposed that aging brains may also undergo AD-like changes. To investigate the neuropathological changes that occur in the aging primate brain, we examined 21 brains of cynomolgus monkeys (7–36 years old) for Aβ- and tau-positive lesions. We found, 1) extensive deposition of Aβ in brains of cynomolgus monkeys over 25 years of age, 2) selective deposition of 4-repeat tau as pretangles in neurons, and as coiled body-like structures in oligodendroglia-like cells and astrocytes, 3) preferential distribution of tau in the basal ganglia and neocortex rather than the hippocampus, and 4) age-associated increases in 30–34 kDa AT8- and RD4-positive tau fragments in sarkosyl-insoluble fractions. We further labeled tau-positive structures using diaminobezidine enhanced with nickel, and visualized nickel-labeled structures by energy-dispersive X-ray (EDX) analysis of ultrathin sections. This allowed us to distinguish between nickel-labeled tau and background electron-dense structures, and we found that tau localized to 20–25 nm straight filaments in oligodendroglia-like cells and neurons. Our results indicate that the cytopathology and distribution of tau deposits in aged cynomolgus brains resemble those of progressive supranuclear palsy (PSP) and corticobasal degeneration (CBD) rather than AD. Thus, even in the presence of Aβ, age-associated deposition of tau in non-human primates likely does not occur through AD-associated mechanisms. ELECTRONIC SUPPLEMENTARY MATERIAL: The online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s40478-016-0385-5) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.