Metabolic, Phenotypic, and Neuropathological Characterization of the Tg4-42 Mouse Model for Alzheimer’s Disease

BACKGROUND: Preclinical Alzheimer’s disease (AD) research strongly depends on transgenic mouse models that display major symptoms of the disease. Although several AD mouse models have been developed representing relevant pathologies, only a fraction of available mouse models, like the Tg4-42 mouse model, display hippocampal atrophy caused by the death of neurons as the key feature of AD. The Tg4-42 mouse model is therefore very valuable for use in preclinical research. Furthermore, metabolic biomarkers which have the potential to detect biochemical changes, are crucial to gain deeper insights into the pathways, the underlying pathological mechanisms and disease progression. OBJECTIVE: We thus performed an in-depth characterization of Tg4-42 mice by using an integrated approach to analyze alterations of complex biological networks in this AD in vivo model. METHODS: Therefore, untargeted NMR-based metabolomic phenotyping was combined with behavioral tests and immunohistological and biochemical analyses. RESULTS: Our in vivo experiments demonstrate a loss of body weight increase in homozygous Tg4-42 mice over time as well as severe impaired learning behavior and memory deficits in the Morris water maze behavioral test. Furthermore, we found significantly altered metabolites in two different brain regions and metabolic changes of the glutamate/4-aminobutyrate-glutamine axis. Based on these results, downstream effects were analyzed showing increased Aβ(42) levels, increased neuroinflammation as indicated by increased astro- and microgliosis as well as neuronal degeneration and neuronal loss in homozygous Tg4-42 mice. CONCLUSION: Our study provides a comprehensive characterization of the Tg4-42 mouse model which could lead to a deeper understanding of pathological features of AD. Additionally this study reveals changes in metabolic biomarker which set the base for future preclinical studies or drug development.