Transcriptome analysis reveals organ-specific effects of 2-deoxyglucose treatment in healthy mice.

OBJECTIVE: Glycolytic inhibition via 2-deoxy-D-glucose (2DG) has potential therapeutic benefits for a range of diseases, including cancer, epilepsy, systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), and rheumatoid arthritis (RA), and COVID-19, but the systemic effects of 2DG on gene function across different tissues are unclear. METHODS: This study analyzed the transcriptional profiles of nine tissues from C57BL/6J mice treated with 2DG to understand how it modulates pathways systemically. Principal component analysis (PCA), weighted gene co-network analysis (WGCNA), analysis of variance, and pathway analysis were all performed to identify modules altered by 2DG treatment. RESULTS: PCA revealed that samples clustered predominantly by tissue, suggesting that 2DG affects each tissue uniquely. Unsupervised clustering and WGCNA revealed six distinct tissue-specific modules significantly affected by 2DG, each with unique key pathways and genes. 2DG predominantly affected mitochondrial metabolism in the heart, while in the small intestine, it affected immunological pathways. CONCLUSIONS: These findings suggest that 2DG has a systemic impact that varies across organs, potentially affecting multiple pathways and functions. The study provides insights into the potential therapeutic benefits of 2DG across different diseases and highlights the importance of understanding its systemic effects for future research and clinical applications.

Genetic diversity promotes resilience in a mouse model of Alzheimer's disease.

INTRODUCTION: Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a neurodegenerative disorder with multifactorial etiology, including genetic factors that play a significant role in disease risk and resilience. However, the role of genetic diversity in preclinical AD studies has received limited attention. METHODS: We crossed five Collaborative Cross strains with 5xFAD C57BL/6J female mice to generate F1 mice with and without the 5xFAD transgene. Amyloid plaque pathology, microglial and astrocytic responses, neurofilament light chain levels, and gene expression were assessed at various ages. RESULTS: Genetic diversity significantly impacts AD-related pathology. Hybrid strains showed resistance to amyloid plaque formation and neuronal damage. Transcriptome diversity was maintained across ages and sexes, with observable strain-specific variations in AD-related phenotypes. Comparative gene expression analysis indicated correlations between mouse strains and human AD. DISCUSSION: Increasing genetic diversity promotes resilience to AD-related pathogenesis, relative to an inbred C57BL/6J background, reinforcing the importance of genetic diversity in uncovering resilience in the development of AD. HIGHLIGHTS: Genetic diversity's impact on AD in mice was explored. Diverse F1 mouse strains were used for AD study, via the Collaborative Cross. Strain-specific variations in AD pathology, glia, and transcription were found. Strains resilient to plaque formation and plasma neurofilament light chain (NfL) increases were identified. Correlations with human AD transcriptomics were observed.

New directions for Alzheimer's disease research from the Jackson Laboratory Center for Alzheimer's and Dementia Research 2022 workshop.

INTRODUCTION: In September 2022, The Jackson Laboratory Center for Alzheimer's and Dementia Research (JAX CADR) hosted a workshop with leading researchers in the Alzheimer's disease and related dementias (ADRD) field. METHODS: During the workshop, the participants brainstormed new directions to overcome current barriers to providing patients with effective ADRD therapeutics. The participants outlined specific areas of focus. Following the workshop, each group used standard literature search methods to provide background for each topic. RESULTS: The team of invited experts identified four key areas that can be collectively addressed to make a significant impact in the field: (1) Prioritize the diversification of disease targets, (2) enhance factors promoting resilience, (3) de-risk clinical pipeline, and (4) centralize data management. DISCUSSION: In this report, we review these four objectives and propose innovations to expedite ADRD therapeutic pipelines.

Hippocampus Glutathione S Reductase Potentially Confers Genetic Resilience to Cognitive Decline in the AD-BXD Mouse Population.

Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a prevalent and costly age-related dementia. Heritable factors account for 58-79% of variation in late-onset AD, but substantial variation remains in age-of- onset, disease severity, and whether those with high-risk genotypes acquire AD. To emulate the diversity of human populations, we utilized the AD-BXD mouse panel. This genetically diverse resource combines AD genotypes with multiple BXD strains to discover new genetic drivers of AD resilience. Comparing AD-BXD carriers to noncarrier littermates, we computed a novel quantitative metric for resilience to cognitive decline in the AD-BXDs. Our quantitative AD resilience trait was heritable and genetic mapping identified a locus on chr8 associated with resilience to AD mutations that resulted in amyloid brain pathology. Using a hippocampus proteomics dataset, we nominated the mitochondrial glutathione S reductase protein (GR or GSHR) as a resilience factor, finding that the DBA/2J genotype was associated with substantially higher GR abundance. By mapping protein QTLs (pQTLs), we identified synaptic organization and mitochondrial proteins coregulated in trans with a cis-pQTL for GR. We found four coexpression modules correlated with the quantitative resilience score in aged 5XFAD mice using paracliques, which were related to cell structure, protein folding, and postsynaptic densities. Finally, we found significant positive associations between human GSR transcript abundance in the brain and better outcomes on AD-related cognitive and pathology traits in the Religious Orders Study/Memory and Aging project (ROSMAP). Taken together, these data support a framework for resilience in which neuronal antioxidant pathway activity provides for stability of synapses within the hippocampus.

Genetic background influences the 5XFAD Alzheimer's disease mouse model brain proteome.

There is an urgent need to improve the translational validity of Alzheimer's disease (AD) mouse models. Introducing genetic background diversity in AD mouse models has been proposed as a way to increase validity and enable the discovery of previously uncharacterized genetic contributions to AD susceptibility or resilience. However, the extent to which genetic background influences the mouse brain proteome and its perturbation in AD mouse models is unknown. In this study, we crossed the 5XFAD AD mouse model on a C57BL/6J (B6) inbred background with the DBA/2J (D2) inbred background and analyzed the effects of genetic background variation on the brain proteome in F1 progeny. Both genetic background and 5XFAD transgene insertion strongly affected protein variance in the hippocampus and cortex (n = 3,368 proteins). Protein co-expression network analysis identified 16 modules of highly co-expressed proteins common across the hippocampus and cortex in 5XFAD and non-transgenic mice. Among the modules strongly influenced by genetic background were those related to small molecule metabolism and ion transport. Modules strongly influenced by the 5XFAD transgene were related to lysosome/stress responses and neuronal synapse/signaling. The modules with the strongest relationship to human disease-neuronal synapse/signaling and lysosome/stress response-were not significantly influenced by genetic background. However, other modules in 5XFAD that were related to human disease, such as GABA synaptic signaling and mitochondrial membrane modules, were influenced by genetic background. Most disease-related modules were more strongly correlated with AD genotype in the hippocampus compared with the cortex. Our findings suggest that the genetic diversity introduced by crossing B6 and D2 inbred backgrounds influences proteomic changes related to disease in the 5XFAD model, and that proteomic analysis of other genetic backgrounds in transgenic and knock-in AD mouse models is warranted to capture the full range of molecular heterogeneity in genetically diverse models of AD.

Genetic background influences the 5XFAD Alzheimer's disease mouse model brain proteome.

There is a pressing need to improve the translational validity of Alzheimer's disease (AD) mouse models. Introducing genetic background diversity in AD mouse models has been proposed as a way to increase validity and enable discovery of previously uncharacterized genetic contributions to AD susceptibility or resilience. However, the extent to which genetic background influences the mouse brain proteome and its perturbation in AD mouse models is unknown. Here we crossed the 5XFAD AD mouse model on a C57BL/6J (B6) inbred background with the DBA/2J (D2) inbred background and analyzed the effects of genetic background variation on the brain proteome in F1 progeny. Both genetic background and 5XFAD transgene insertion strongly affected protein variance in hippocampus and cortex (n=3,368 proteins). Protein co-expression network analysis identified 16 modules of highly co-expressed proteins common across hippocampus and cortex in 5XFAD and non-transgenic mice. Among the modules strongly influenced by genetic background were those related to small molecule metabolism and ion transport. Modules strongly influenced by the 5XFAD transgene were related to lysosome/stress response and neuronal synapse/signaling. The modules with the strongest relationship to human disease-neuronal synapse/signaling and lysosome/stress response-were not significantly influenced by genetic background. However, other modules in 5XFAD that were related to human disease, such as GABA synaptic signaling and mitochondrial membrane modules, were influenced by genetic background. Most disease-related modules were more strongly correlated to AD genotype in hippocampus compared to cortex. Our findings suggest that genetic diversity introduced by crossing B6 and D2 inbred backgrounds influences proteomic changes related to disease in the 5XFAD model, and that proteomic analysis of other genetic backgrounds in transgenic and knock-in AD mouse models is warranted to capture the full range of molecular heterogeneity in genetically diverse models of AD.

Transcriptome Analysis Reveals Organ-Specific Effects of 2-Deoxyglucose Treatment in Healthy Mice.

OBJECTIVE: Glycolytic inhibition via 2-deoxy-D-glucose (2DG) has potential therapeutic benefits for a range of diseases, including cancer, epilepsy, systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), and rheumatoid arthritis (RA), and COVID-19, but the systemic effects of 2DG on gene function across different tissues are unclear. METHODS: This study analyzed the transcriptional profiles of nine tissues from C57BL/6J mice treated with 2DG to understand how it modulates pathways systemically. Principal component analysis (PCA), weighted gene co-network analysis (WGCNA), analysis of variance, and pathway analysis were all performed to identify modules altered by 2DG treatment. RESULTS: PCA revealed that samples clustered predominantly by tissue, suggesting that 2DG affects each tissue uniquely. Unsupervised clustering and WGCNA revealed six distinct tissue-specific modules significantly affected by 2DG, each with unique key pathways and genes. 2DG predominantly affected mitochondrial metabolism in the heart, while in the small intestine, it affected immunological pathways. CONCLUSIONS: These findings suggest that 2DG has a systemic impact that varies across organs, potentially affecting multiple pathways and functions. The study provides insights into the potential therapeutic benefits of 2DG across different diseases and highlights the importance of understanding its systemic effects for future research and clinical applications.

Merged magnetic resonance and light sheet microscopy of the whole mouse brain.

We have developed workflows to align 3D magnetic resonance histology (MRH) of the mouse brain with light sheet microscopy (LSM) and 3D delineations of the same specimen. We start with MRH of the brain in the skull with gradient echo and diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) at 15 µm isotropic resolution which is ~ 1,000 times higher than that of most preclinical MRI. Connectomes are generated with superresolution tract density images of ~5 µm. Brains are cleared, stained for selected proteins, and imaged by LSM at 1.8 µm/pixel. LSM data are registered into the reference MRH space with labels derived from the ABA common coordinate framework. The result is a high-dimensional integrated volume with registration (HiDiver) with alignment precision better than 50 µm. Throughput is sufficiently high that HiDiver is being used in quantitative studies of the impact of gene variants and aging on mouse brain cytoarchitecture and connectomics.

Detecting the effect of genetic diversity on brain composition in an Alzheimer's disease mouse model.

Alzheimer's disease (AD) is characterized by neurodegeneration, pathology accumulation, and progressive cognitive decline. There is significant variation in age at onset and severity of symptoms highlighting the importance of genetic diversity in the study of AD. To address this, we analyzed cell and pathology composition of 6- and 14-month-old AD-BXD mouse brains using the semi-automated workflow (QUINT); which we expanded to allow for nonlinear refinement of brain atlas-registration, and quality control assessment of atlas-registration and brain section integrity. Near global age-related increases in microglia, astrocyte, and amyloid-beta accumulation were measured, while regional variation in neuron load existed among strains. Furthermore, hippocampal immunohistochemistry analyses were combined with bulk RNA-sequencing results to demonstrate the relationship between cell composition and gene expression. Overall, the additional functionality of the QUINT workflow delivers a highly effective method for registering and quantifying cell and pathology changes in diverse disease models.

High sucrose consumption decouples intrinsic and synaptic excitability of AgRP neurons without altering body weight.

BACKGROUND/OBJECTIVE: As the obesity epidemic continues, the understanding of macronutrient influence on central nervous system function is critical for understanding diet-induced obesity and potential therapeutics, particularly in light of the increased sugar content in processed foods. Previous research showed mixed effects of sucrose feeding on body weight gain but has yet to reveal insight into the impact of sucrose on hypothalamic functioning. Here, we explore the impact of liquid sucrose feeding for 12 weeks on body weight, body composition, caloric intake, and hypothalamic AgRP neuronal function and synaptic plasticity. METHODS: Patch-clamp electrophysiology of hypothalamic AgRP neurons, metabolic phenotyping and food intake were performed on C57BL/6J mice. RESULTS: While mice given sugar-sweetened water do not gain significant weight, they do show subtle differences in body composition and caloric intake. When given sugar-sweetened water, mice show similar alterations to AgRP neuronal excitability as in high-fat diet obese models. Increased sugar consumption also primes mice for increased caloric intake and weight gain when given access to a HFD. CONCLUSIONS: Our results show that elevated sucrose consumption increased activity of AgRP neurons and altered synaptic excitability. This may contribute to obesity in mice and humans with access to more palatable (HFD) diets.

Rate of tau propagation is a heritable disease trait in genetically diverse mouse strains.

The speed and scope of cognitive deterioration in Alzheimer's disease is highly associated with the advancement of tau neurofibrillary lesions across brain networks. We tested whether the rate of tau propagation is a heritable disease trait in a large, well-characterized cohort of genetically divergent mouse strains. Using an AAV-based model system, P301L-mutant human tau (hTau) was introduced into the entorhinal cortex of mice derived from 18 distinct lines. The extent of tau propagation was measured by distinguishing hTau-producing cells from neurons that were recipients of tau transfer. Heritability calculation revealed that 43% of the variability in tau spread was due to genetic variants segregating across background strains. Strain differences in glial markers were also observed, but did not correlate with tau propagation. Identifying unique genetic variants that influence the progression of pathological tau may uncover novel molecular targets to prevent or slow the pace of tau spread and cognitive decline.

Life-long dietary restrictions have negligible or damaging effects on late-life cognitive performance: A key role for genetics in outcomes.

Several studies report that caloric restriction (CR) or intermittent fasting (IF) can improve cognition, while others report limited or no cognitive benefits. Here, we compare the effects of 20% CR, 40% CR, 1-day IF, and 2-day IF feeding paradigms to ad libitum controls on Y-maze working memory (WM) and contextual fear memory (CFM) in a large population of Diversity Outbred mice that model the genetic diversity of humans. While CR and IF interventions improve lifespan, we observed no enhancement of working memory or CFM in mice on these feeding paradigms, and report 40% CR to be damaging to recall of CFM. Using Quantitative Trait Loci mapping, we identified the gene Slc16a7 to be associated with CFM outcomes in aged mice on lifespan promoting feeding paradigms. Limited utility of dieting and fasting on memory in mice that recapitulate genetic diversity in the human population highlights the need for anti-aging therapeutics that promote cognitive function, with the neuronal monocarboxylate transporter MCT2 encoded by Slc16a7 highlighted as novel target.

Sex differences in the genetic architecture of cognitive resilience to Alzheimer's disease.

Approximately 30% of elderly adults are cognitively unimpaired at time of death despite the presence of Alzheimer's disease neuropathology at autopsy. Studying individuals who are resilient to the cognitive consequences of Alzheimer's disease neuropathology may uncover novel therapeutic targets to treat Alzheimer's disease. It is well established that there are sex differences in response to Alzheimer's disease pathology, and growing evidence suggests that genetic factors may contribute to these differences. Taken together, we sought to elucidate sex-specific genetic drivers of resilience. We extended our recent large scale genomic analysis of resilience in which we harmonized cognitive data across four cohorts of cognitive ageing, in vivo amyloid PET across two cohorts, and autopsy measures of amyloid neuritic plaque burden across two cohorts. These data were leveraged to build robust, continuous resilience phenotypes. With these phenotypes, we performed sex-stratified [n (males) = 2093, n (females) = 2931] and sex-interaction [n (both sexes) = 5024] genome-wide association studies (GWAS), gene and pathway-based tests, and genetic correlation analyses to clarify the variants, genes and molecular pathways that relate to resilience in a sex-specific manner. Estimated among cognitively normal individuals of both sexes, resilience was 20-25% heritable, and when estimated in either sex among cognitively normal individuals, resilience was 15-44% heritable. In our GWAS, we identified a female-specific locus on chromosome 10 [rs827389, ß (females) = 0.08, P (females) = 5.76 × 10-09, ß (males) = -0.01, P(males) = 0.70, ß (interaction) = 0.09, P (interaction) = 1.01 × 10-04] in which the minor allele was associated with higher resilience scores among females. This locus is located within chromatin loops that interact with promoters of genes involved in RNA processing, including GATA3. Finally, our genetic correlation analyses revealed shared genetic architecture between resilience phenotypes and other complex traits, including a female-specific association with frontotemporal dementia and male-specific associations with heart rate variability traits. We also observed opposing associations between sexes for multiple sclerosis, such that more resilient females had a lower genetic susceptibility to multiple sclerosis, and more resilient males had a higher genetic susceptibility to multiple sclerosis. Overall, we identified sex differences in the genetic architecture of resilience, identified a female-specific resilience locus and highlighted numerous sex-specific molecular pathways that may underly resilience to Alzheimer's disease pathology. This study illustrates the need to conduct sex-aware genomic analyses to identify novel targets that are unidentified in sex-agnostic models. Our findings support the theory that the most successful treatment for an individual with Alzheimer's disease may be personalized based on their biological sex and genetic context.

Translational approaches to understanding resilience to Alzheimer's disease.

Individuals who maintain cognitive function despite high levels of Alzheimer's disease (AD)-associated pathology are said to be 'resilient' to AD. Identifying mechanisms underlying resilience represents an exciting therapeutic opportunity. Human studies have identified a number of molecular and genetic factors associated with resilience, but the complexity of these cohorts prohibits a complete understanding of which factors are causal or simply correlated with resilience. Genetically and phenotypically diverse mouse models of AD provide new and translationally relevant opportunities to identify and prioritize new resilience mechanisms for further cross-species investigation. This review will discuss insights into resilience gained from both human and animal studies and highlight future approaches that may help translate these insights into therapeutics designed to prevent or delay AD-related dementia.

Leveraging genetic diversity in mice to inform individual differences in brain microstructure and memory.

In human Alzheimer's disease (AD) patients and AD mouse models, both differential pre-disease brain features and differential disease-associated memory decline are observed, suggesting that certain neurological features may protect against AD-related cognitive decline. The combination of these features is known as brain reserve, and understanding the genetic underpinnings of brain reserve may advance AD treatment in genetically diverse human populations. One potential source of brain reserve is brain microstructure, which is genetically influenced and can be measured with diffusion MRI (dMRI). To investigate variation of dMRI metrics in pre-disease-onset, genetically diverse AD mouse models, we utilized a population of genetically distinct AD mice produced by crossing the 5XFAD transgenic mouse model of AD to 3 inbred strains (C57BL/6J, DBA/2J, FVB/NJ) and two wild-derived strains (CAST/EiJ, WSB/EiJ). At 3 months of age, these mice underwent diffusion magnetic resonance imaging (dMRI) to probe neural microanatomy in 83 regions of interest (ROIs). At 5 months of age, these mice underwent contextual fear conditioning (CFC). Strain had a significant effect on dMRI measures in most ROIs tested, while far fewer effects of sex, sex*strain interactions, or strain*sex*5XFAD genotype interactions were observed. A main effect of 5XFAD genotype was observed in only 1 ROI, suggesting that the 5XFAD transgene does not strongly disrupt neural development or microstructure of mice in early adulthood. Strain also explained the most variance in mouse baseline motor activity and long-term fear memory. Additionally, significant effects of sex and strain*sex interaction were observed on baseline motor activity, and significant strain*sex and sex*5XFAD genotype interactions were observed on long-term memory. We are the first to study the genetic influences of brain microanatomy in genetically diverse AD mice. Thus, we demonstrated that strain is the primary factor influencing brain microstructure in young adult AD mice and that neural development and early adult microstructure are not strongly altered by the 5XFAD transgene. We also demonstrated that strain, sex, and 5XFAD genotype interact to influence memory in genetically diverse adult mice. Our results support the usefulness of the 5XFAD mouse model and convey strong relationships between natural genetic variation, brain microstructure, and memory.

Gene-by-environment modulation of lifespan and weight gain in the murine BXD family.

How lifespan and body weight vary as a function of diet and genetic differences is not well understood. Here we quantify the impact of differences in diet on lifespan in a genetically diverse family of female mice, split into matched isogenic cohorts fed a low-fat chow diet (CD, n = 663) or a high-fat diet (HFD, n = 685). We further generate key metabolic data in a parallel cohort euthanized at four time points. HFD feeding shortens lifespan by 12%: equivalent to a decade in humans. Initial body weight and early weight gains account for longevity differences of roughly 4-6 days per gram. At 500 days, animals on a HFD typically gain four times as much weight as control, but variation in weight gain does not correlate with lifespan. Classic serum metabolites, often regarded as health biomarkers, are not necessarily strong predictors of longevity. Our data indicate that responses to a HFD are substantially modulated by gene-by-environment interactions, highlighting the importance of genetic variation in making accurate individualized dietary recommendations.

PLD3 is a neuronal lysosomal phospholipase D associated with ß-amyloid plaques and cognitive function in Alzheimer's disease.

Phospholipase D3 (PLD3) is a protein of unclear function that structurally resembles other members of the phospholipase D superfamily. A coding variant in this gene confers increased risk for the development of Alzheimer's disease (AD), although the magnitude of this effect has been controversial. Because of the potential significance of this obscure protein, we undertook a study to observe its distribution in normal human brain and AD-affected brain, determine whether PLD3 is relevant to memory and cognition in sporadic AD, and to evaluate its molecular function. In human neuropathological samples, PLD3 was primarily found within neurons and colocalized with lysosome markers (LAMP2, progranulin, and cathepsins D and B). This colocalization was also present in AD brain with prominent enrichment on lysosomal accumulations within dystrophic neurites surrounding ß-amyloid plaques. This pattern of protein distribution was conserved in mouse brain in wild type and the 5xFAD mouse model of cerebral ß-amyloidosis. We discovered PLD3 has phospholipase D activity in lysosomes. A coding variant in PLD3 reported to confer AD risk significantly reduced enzymatic activity compared to wild-type PLD3. PLD3 mRNA levels in the human pre-frontal cortex inversely correlated with ß-amyloid pathology severity and rate of cognitive decline in 531 participants enrolled in the Religious Orders Study and Rush Memory and Aging Project. PLD3 levels across genetically diverse BXD mouse strains and strains crossed with 5xFAD mice correlated strongly with learning and memory performance in a fear conditioning task. In summary, this study identified a new functional mammalian phospholipase D isoform which is lysosomal and closely associated with both ß-amyloid pathology and cognition.

Identifying Mechanisms of Normal Cognitive Aging Using a Novel Mouse Genetic Reference Panel.

Developing strategies to maintain cognitive health is critical to quality of life during aging. The basis of healthy cognitive aging is poorly understood; thus, it is difficult to predict who will have normal cognition later in life. Individuals may have higher baseline functioning (cognitive reserve) and others may maintain or even improve with age (cognitive resilience). Understanding the mechanisms underlying cognitive reserve and resilience may hold the key to new therapeutic strategies for maintaining cognitive health. However, reserve and resilience have been inconsistently defined in human studies. Additionally, our understanding of the molecular and cellular bases of these phenomena is poor, compounded by a lack of longitudinal molecular and cognitive data that fully capture the dynamic trajectories of cognitive aging. Here, we used a genetically diverse mouse population (B6-BXDs) to characterize individual differences in cognitive abilities in adulthood and investigate evidence of cognitive reserve and/or resilience in middle-aged mice. We tested cognitive function at two ages (6 months and 14 months) using y-maze and contextual fear conditioning. We observed heritable variation in performance on these traits (h 2 RIx̄ = 0.51-0.74), suggesting moderate to strong genetic control depending on the cognitive domain. Due to the polygenetic nature of cognitive function, we did not find QTLs significantly associated with y-maze, contextual fear acquisition (CFA) or memory, or decline in cognitive function at the genome-wide level. To more precisely interrogate the molecular regulation of variation in these traits, we employed RNA-seq and identified gene networks related to transcription/translation, cellular metabolism, and neuronal function that were associated with working memory, contextual fear memory, and cognitive decline. Using this method, we nominate the Trio gene as a modulator of working memory ability. Finally, we propose a conceptual framework for identifying strains exhibiting cognitive reserve and/or resilience to assess whether these traits can be observed in middle-aged B6-BXDs. Though we found that earlier cognitive reserve evident early in life protects against cognitive impairment later in life, cognitive performance and age-related decline fell along a continuum, with no clear genotypes emerging as exemplars of exceptional reserve or resilience - leading to recommendations for future use of aging mouse populations to understand the nature of cognitive reserve and resilience.

Cross-Species Analyses Identify Dlgap2 as a Regulator of Age-Related Cognitive Decline and Alzheimer's Dementia.

Genetic mechanisms underlying age-related cognitive decline and dementia remain poorly understood. Here, we take advantage of the Diversity Outbred mouse population to utilize quantitative trait loci mapping and identify Dlgap2 as a positional candidate responsible for modifying working memory decline. To evaluate the translational relevance of this finding, we utilize longitudinal cognitive measures from human patients, RNA expression from post-mortem brain tissue, data from a genome-wide association study (GWAS) of Alzheimer's dementia (AD), and GWAS results in African Americans. We find an association between Dlgap2 and AD phenotypes at the variant, gene and protein expression, and methylation levels. Lower cortical DLGAP2 expression is observed in AD and is associated with more plaques and tangles at autopsy and faster cognitive decline. Results will inform future studies aimed at investigating the cross-species role of Dlgap2 in regulating cognitive decline and highlight the benefit of using genetically diverse mice to prioritize novel candidates.

Identifying the molecular systems that influence cognitive resilience to Alzheimer's disease in genetically diverse mice.

Individual differences in cognitive decline during normal aging and Alzheimer's disease (AD) are common, but the molecular mechanisms underlying these distinct outcomes are not fully understood. We utilized a combination of genetic, molecular, and behavioral data from a mouse population designed to model human variation in cognitive outcomes to search for the molecular mechanisms behind this population-wide variation. Specifically, we used a systems genetics approach to relate gene expression to cognitive outcomes during AD and normal aging. Statistical causal-inference Bayesian modeling was used to model systematic genetic perturbations matched with cognitive data that identified astrocyte and microglia molecular networks as drivers of cognitive resilience to AD. Using genetic mapping, we identified Fgf2 as a potential regulator of the astrocyte network associated with individual differences in short-term memory. We also identified several immune genes as regulators of a microglia network associated with individual differences in long-term memory, which was partly mediated by amyloid burden. Finally, significant overlap between mouse and two different human coexpression networks provided strong evidence of translational relevance for the genetically diverse AD-BXD panel as a model of late-onset AD. Together, this work identified two candidate molecular pathways enriched for microglia and astrocyte genes that serve as causal AD cognitive biomarkers, and provided a greater understanding of processes that modulate individual and population-wide differences in cognitive outcomes during AD.