Home › Research › Down syndrome and Alzheimer's
Cerebral cortical astroglia from the trisomy 16 mouse, a model for down syndrome, produce neuronal cholinergic deficits in cell culture
Nelson PG, Fitzgerald S, Rapoport SI, Neale EA, Galdzicki Z, Dunlap V, Bowers L, v Agoston D.. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 1997-11-01
Topic: Brain proteins, microglia and lab models
Trisomy 21 (Down syndrome) is associated with a high incidence of Alzheimer disease and with deficits in cholinergic function in humans. We used the trisomy 16 (Ts16) mouse model for Down syndrome to identify the cellular basis for the cholinergic dysfunction. Cholinergic neurons and cerebral cortical astroglia, obtained separately from Ts16 mouse fetuses and their euploid littermates, were cultured in various combinations. Choline acetyltransferase activity and cholinergic neuron number were both depressed in cultures in which both neurons and glia were derived from Ts16 fetuses. Cholinergic function of normal neurons was significantly down-regulated by coculture with Ts16 glia. Conversely, neurons from Ts16 animals could express normal cholinergic function when grown with normal glia. These observations indicate that astroglia may contribute strongly to the abnormal cholinergic function in the mouse Ts16 model for Down syndrome. The Ts16 glia could lack a cholinergic supporting factor present in normal glia or contain a factor that down-regulates cholinergic function.
Cite this study APA, Vancouver, BibTeX · download .bib or .ris
APA 7th
Nelson, P. G., Fitzgerald, S., Rapoport, S. I., Neale, E. A., Galdzicki, Z., Dunlap, V., et al. (1997). Cerebral cortical astroglia from the trisomy 16 mouse, a model for down syndrome, produce neuronal cholinergic deficits in cell culture. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.94.23.12644
Vancouver
Nelson PG, Fitzgerald S, Rapoport SI, Neale EA, Galdzicki Z, Dunlap V, et al. Cerebral cortical astroglia from the trisomy 16 mouse, a model for down syndrome, produce neuronal cholinergic deficits in cell culture. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America. 1997. doi:10.1073/pnas.94.23.12644. PMID: 9356503.
BibTeX
@article{nelson1997-9356503,
author = {Nelson, P. G. and Fitzgerald, S. and Rapoport, S. I. and Neale, E. A. and Galdzicki, Z. and Dunlap, V. and Bowers, L. and v Agoston, D.},
title = {{Cerebral cortical astroglia from the trisomy 16 mouse, a model for down syndrome, produce neuronal cholinergic deficits in cell culture}},
journal = {Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America},
year = {1997},
doi = {10.1073/pnas.94.23.12644},
pmid = {9356503},
url = {https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.94.23.12644}
}
Built from the record alzhub holds for this paper, not looked up. Volume, issue and page numbers are not held in the record. The record names 8 authors; APA and Vancouver show the first six, BibTeX and the downloads carry all of them. Check the citation against the original before you use it.
Key findings
- Trisomy 21 (Down syndrome) is associated with a high incidence of Alzheimer disease and with deficits in cholinergic function in humans.
- Cholinergic function of normal neurons was significantly down-regulated by coculture with Ts16 glia.
- These observations indicate that astroglia may contribute strongly to the abnormal cholinergic function in the mouse Ts16 model for Down syndrome.
Why it matters
In this mouse cell study, cholinergic neurons from trisomy 16 mice worked normally when grown with normal glia, and normal neurons lost function when grown with trisomy 16 glia. This points to astroglia as a possible contributor to cholinergic problems, but it is a laboratory finding in a mouse model and does not establish a treatment for people.
Study details
- Evidence strengthLow
How this study scored 38/100
Published in a peer-reviewed journal. Scored zero for study design, sample size, effect reported and randomised / blinded because the record does not state it.
| Component | Points | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Journal tier | 7 / 10 | Tier 3 — peer-reviewed journal (Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America) |
| Journal's citation record | 4 / 4 | Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences: journal h-index 1,167 (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 | 1 / 5 | 1997 — older than 20 years, still counted |
| 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 |
| Randomised / blinded | 0 / 2 | No randomisation or blinding stated — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Times cited | 3 / 7 | Cited 24 times (OpenAlex, 2026-10-10) |
| Citations per year | 0 / 5 | 0.8 citations a year over 31 year(s) since 1997 |
| Impact for its field and year | 3 / 6 | Cited 3.1× the average for papers of its field and year (OpenAlex FWCI) |
| Cited by studies here | 1 / 6 | Cited by 2 other studies in this library |
| Still being cited | 0 / 4 | Cited 0 times in 2024–2026 (2026 still in progress; OpenAlex) |
| Senior author's track record | 2 / 4 | Last-listed author Dénes V. Ágoston: h-index 26 (OpenAlex, whole career) |
| Institution's track record | 3 / 3 | National Institutes of Health: institution h-index 2,723 (OpenAlex) |
| Multi-centre collaboration | 1 / 3 | OpenAlex lists 3 institution(s) in 1 country |
| Indexed in PubMed | 2 / 2 | Indexed in PubMed (PMID 9356503) |
| Free to read | 0 / 2 | Behind a paywall — scores zero |
| Total | 38 / 100 | — |
What each of these 20 components measures, and what this score is not →
Read the original
Full text: free to read — OpenAlex lists this copy as free to read: the link above (checked 6 Feb 1020).
Studies this one cites
Referenced by this study and also in the alzhub library, so you can read them here.
Later studies that cite this one
2 studies in the alzhub library list this one in their references.
Related studies in Down syndrome and Alzheimer's
Also tagged “down”
527 studies in the library carry the topic tag “down”; these are this study's neighbours in a fixed, alphabetical-by-hash tour of them, not the closest in content. All 527 tagged studies.