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Amyloid-Beta (Aβ) Plaques Promote Seeding and Spreading of Alpha-Synuclein and Tau in a Mouse Model of Lewy Body Disorders with Aβ Pathology
Bassil F, Brown HJ, Pattabhiraman S, Iwasyk JE, Maghames CM, Meymand ES, Cox TO, Riddle DM et al.. Neuron, 2019-11-20
Topic: Brain proteins, microglia and lab models
Plain-language summary
Studies have shown an overlap of Aβ plaques, tau tangles, and α-synuclein (α-syn) pathologies in the brains of Alzheimer's disease (AD) and Parkinson's disease (PD) with dementia (PDD) patients, with increased pathological burden correlating with severity of cognitive and motor symptoms. Despite the observed co-pathology and concomitance of motor and cognitive phenotypes, the consequences of the primary amyloidogenic protein on the secondary pathologies remain poorly understood. To better define the relationship between α-syn and Aβ plaques, we injected α-syn preformed fibrils (α-syn mpffs) into mice with abundant Aβ plaques. Aβ deposits dramatically accelerated α-syn pathogenesis and spread throughout the brain. Remarkably, hyperphosphorylated tau (p-tau) was induced in α-syn mpff-injected 5xFAD mice. Finally, α-syn mpff-injected 5xFAD mice showed neuron loss that correlated with the progressive decline of cognitive and motor performance. Our findings suggest a "feed-forward" mechanism whereby Aβ plaques enhance endogenous α-syn seeding and spreading over time post-injection with mpffs.
Cite this study APA, Vancouver, BibTeX · download .bib or .ris
APA 7th
Bassil, F., Brown, H. J., Pattabhiraman, S., Iwasyk, J. E., Maghames, C. M., Meymand, E. S., et al. (2020). Amyloid-Beta (Aβ) Plaques Promote Seeding and Spreading of Alpha-Synuclein and Tau in a Mouse Model of Lewy Body Disorders with Aβ Pathology. Neuron. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neuron.2019.10.010
Vancouver
Bassil F, Brown HJ, Pattabhiraman S, Iwasyk JE, Maghames CM, Meymand ES, et al. Amyloid-Beta (Aβ) Plaques Promote Seeding and Spreading of Alpha-Synuclein and Tau in a Mouse Model of Lewy Body Disorders with Aβ Pathology. Neuron. 2020. doi:10.1016/j.neuron.2019.10.010. PMID: 31759806.
BibTeX
@article{bassil2020-31759806,
author = {Bassil, F. and Brown, H. J. and Pattabhiraman, S. and Iwasyk, J. E. and Maghames, C. M. and Meymand, E. S. and Cox, T. O. and Riddle, D. M. and others},
title = {{Amyloid-Beta (Aβ) Plaques Promote Seeding and Spreading of Alpha-Synuclein and Tau in a Mouse Model of Lewy Body Disorders with Aβ Pathology}},
journal = {Neuron},
year = {2020},
doi = {10.1016/j.neuron.2019.10.010},
pmid = {31759806},
url = {https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neuron.2019.10.010}
}
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Key findings
- Our findings suggest a "feed-forward" mechanism whereby Aβ plaques enhance endogenous α-syn seeding and spreading over time post-injection with mpffs.
Why it matters
In a mouse model, amyloid-beta plaques accelerated the seeding and spread of alpha-synuclein throughout the brain and induced hyperphosphorylated tau, with neuron loss linked to declining cognitive and motor performance. This suggests a 'feed-forward' mechanism in mice, but it is animal research and does not yet show what happens in people.
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Study details
- Evidence strengthLow
How this study scored 50/100
Published in a peer-reviewed journal. Scored zero for study design, sample size, effect reported and randomized / blinded because the record does not state it.
| Component | Points | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Journal tier | 7 / 10 | Tier 3 — peer-reviewed journal (Neuron) |
| Journal's citation record | 4 / 4 | Neuron: journal h-index 689 (OpenAlex, 2026-10-29) |
| Study design | 0 / 12 | No study design recorded — scores zero, not guessed (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Strength of evidence | 1 / 5 | Rated “low” in our summary |
| Peer-review validation | 10 / 10 | Peer-reviewed. Published as an article in a named peer-reviewed journal. |
| How recent | 2 / 5 | 2020 — within 10 year(s) of the newest study here |
| Sample size | 0 / 4 | Participant count not stated — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Effect reported | 0 / 3 | No effect size reported — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Studied in people | 0 / 3 | Laboratory or animal study (title names “mouse”) — scores zero |
| Randomized / blinded | 0 / 2 | No randomization or blinding stated — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Times cited | 5 / 7 | Cited 248 times (OpenAlex, 2026-10-10) |
| Citations per year | 4 / 5 | 31.0 citations a year over 8 year(s) since 2020 |
| Impact for its field and year | 4 / 6 | Cited 14.2× the average for papers of its field and year (OpenAlex FWCI) |
| Cited by studies here | 2 / 6 | Cited by 9 other studies in this library |
| Still being cited | 3 / 4 | Cited 114 times in 2024–2026 (2026 still in progress; OpenAlex) |
| Senior author's track record | 4 / 4 | Last-listed author Virginia M.‐Y. Lee: h-index 202 (OpenAlex, whole career) |
| Institution's track record | 2 / 3 | University of Pennsylvania: institution h-index 1,859 (OpenAlex) |
| Multicenter collaboration | 0 / 3 | OpenAlex lists 1 institution(s) in 1 country — scores zero (affiliation lists can be incomplete) |
| Indexed in PubMed | 2 / 2 | Indexed in PubMed (PMID 31759806) |
| Free to read | 0 / 2 | Behind a paywall — scores zero |
| Total | 50 / 100 | — |
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