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Enhanced Neurofibrillary Degeneration in Transgenic Mice Expressing Mutant Tau and APP
Jada M. Lewis, Dennis W. Dickson, Wen-Lang Lin, Louise Chisholm, Anthony Corral, Graham Jones, Shu-Hui C. Yen, Naruhiko Sahara, Lisa M. Skipper, Debra Yager, Chris Eckman, John Hardy, Mike Hutton, Eileen M. McGowan. Science, 2001-08-24
Topic: Brain proteins, microglia and lab models
JNPL3 transgenic mice expressing a mutant tau protein, which develop neurofibrillary tangles and progressive motor disturbance, were crossed with Tg2576 transgenic mice expressing mutant beta-amyloid precursor protein (APP), thus modulating the APP-Abeta (beta-amyloid peptide) environment. The resulting double mutant (tau/APP) progeny and the Tg2576 parental strain developed Abeta deposits at the same age; however, relative to JNPL3 mice, the double mutants exhibited neurofibrillary tangle pathology that was substantially enhanced in the limbic system and olfactory cortex. These results indicate that either APP or Abeta influences the formation of neurofibrillary tangles. The interaction between Abeta and tau pathologies in these mice supports the hypothesis that a similar interaction occurs in Alzheimer's disease.
Why it matters
Crossing mice that make a mutant tau protein with mice that make mutant APP produced offspring with substantially more neurofibrillary tangle pathology in the limbic system and olfactory cortex than the tau-only mice. The authors say APP or amyloid-beta influences tangle formation, which supports the hypothesis that a similar interaction occurs in Alzheimer's disease.
How this study scored 57/100
Published in a top-tier journal. Scored zero for study design, sample size, effect reported and randomised / blinded because the record does not state it. We have no data on strength of evidence, so that was left out: it earned 54 of the 95 points we could judge it on, which is 57 out of 100.
| Component | Points | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Journal tier | 10 / 10 | Tier 1 — top-tier general journal (Science) |
| Journal's citation record | 4 / 4 | Science: journal h-index 1,754 (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 | — / 5 | No evidence rating recorded — left out of this score |
| Peer-review validation | 10 / 10 | Peer-reviewed. Published as an article in a named peer-reviewed journal. |
| How recent | 1 / 5 | 2001 — 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 “transgenic”) — scores zero |
| Randomised / blinded | 0 / 2 | No randomisation or blinding stated — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Times cited | 7 / 7 | Cited 1,615 times (OpenAlex, 2026-10-10) |
| Citations per year | 5 / 5 | 59.8 citations a year over 27 year(s) since 2001 |
| Impact for its field and year | 6 / 6 | Cited 48.7× the average for papers of its field and year (OpenAlex FWCI) |
| Cited by studies here | 0 / 6 | No other study in this library cites it |
| Still being cited | 3 / 4 | Cited 104 times in 2024–2026 (2026 still in progress; OpenAlex) |
| Senior author's track record | 3 / 4 | Last-listed author Eileen M. McGowan: h-index 50 (OpenAlex, whole career) |
| Institution's track record | 2 / 3 | Mayo Clinic: institution h-index 1,606 (OpenAlex) |
| Multi-centre collaboration | 1 / 3 | OpenAlex lists 2 institution(s) in 1 country |
| Indexed in PubMed | 2 / 2 | Indexed in PubMed (PMID 11520987) |
| Free to read | 0 / 2 | Behind a paywall — scores zero |
| Points | 54 / 95 | Scored on 19 of 20 parts. We have no data for the rest, so they are left out: 54 of the 95 points we could judge it on is 57 out of 100. |
| Total | 57 / 100 | — |
What each of these 20 components measures, and what this score is not →
Read the original
May need a subscription OpenAlex found no free copy of the full text (checked 6 Feb 1020), so the publisher may charge for it. The PubMed abstract is free.
Cite this study APA, Vancouver, BibTeX · download .bib or .ris
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 14 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.
APA 7th
Lewis, J. M., Dickson, D. W., Lin, W.-L., Chisholm, L., Corral, A., Jones, G., et al. (2001). Enhanced Neurofibrillary Degeneration in Transgenic Mice Expressing Mutant Tau and APP. Science. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.1058189
Vancouver
Lewis JM, Dickson DW, Lin W.-L, Chisholm L, Corral A, Jones G, et al. Enhanced Neurofibrillary Degeneration in Transgenic Mice Expressing Mutant Tau and APP. Science. 2001. doi:10.1126/science.1058189. PMID: 11520987.
BibTeX
@article{lewis2001-11520987,
author = {Lewis, Jada M. and Dickson, Dennis W. and Lin, Wen-Lang and Chisholm, Louise and Corral, Anthony and Jones, Graham and Yen, Shu-Hui C. and Sahara, Naruhiko and Skipper, Lisa M. and Yager, Debra and Eckman, Chris and Hardy, John and Hutton, Mike and McGowan, Eileen M.},
title = {{Enhanced Neurofibrillary Degeneration in Transgenic Mice Expressing Mutant Tau and APP}},
journal = {Science},
year = {2001},
doi = {10.1126/science.1058189},
pmid = {11520987},
url = {https://doi.org/10.1126/science.1058189}
}
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