APOE-Sensitive Cholinergic Sprouting Compensates for Hippocampal Dysfunctions Due to Reduced Entorhinal Input.

ABSTRACT: Brain mechanisms compensating for cerebral lesions may mitigate the progression of chronic neurodegenerative disorders such as Alzheimer's disease (AD). Mild cognitive impairment (MCI), which often precedes AD, is characterized by neuronal loss in the entorhinal cortex (EC). This loss leads to a hippocampal disconnection syndrome that drives clinical progression. The concomitant sprouting of cholinergic terminals in the hippocampus has been proposed to compensate for reduced EC glutamatergic input. However, in absence of direct experimental evidence, the compensatory nature of the cholinergic sprouting and its putative mechanisms remain elusive. Transgenic mice expressing the human APOE4 allele, the main genetic risk factor for sporadic MCI/AD, display impaired cholinergic sprouting after

SUBMITTER: Bott JB 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6705585 | biostudies-literature | 2016 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature