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Environmental enrichment prevents astroglial pathological changes in the hippocampus of APP transgenic mice, model of Alzheimer's disease
Beauquis J, Pavía P, Pomilio C, Vinuesa A, Podlutskaya N, Galvan V, Saravia F.. Experimental neurology, 2012-09-28
Topic: Brain proteins, microglia and lab models
Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a neurodegenerative disease that affects neurons and glial cells and leads to dementia. Growing evidence shows that glial changes may precede neuronal alterations and behavioral impairment in the progression of the disease. The modulation of these changes could be addressed as a potential therapeutic strategy. Environmental enrichment has been classically associated to effects on neuronal morphology and function but less attention has been paid to the modulation of glia. We thus characterized astroglial changes in the hippocampus of adult PDAPP-J20 transgenic mice, a model of AD, exposed for 3 months to an enriched environment, from 5 to 8 months of age. Using confocal microscopy, three-dimensional reconstruction and Sholl analysis, we evaluated the morphology of two distinct populations of astrocytes: those associated to amyloid β plaques and those that were not. We found that plaque-associated astrocytes in PDAPP-J20 mice had an increased volume and process ramification than control astrocytes. Non-plaque-associated astrocytes showed a decrease in volume and an increase in the ramification of GFAP+ processes as compared with control astrocytes. Environmental enrichment prevented these alterations and promoted a cellular morphology similar to that found in control mice. Morphological changes in non-plaque-associated astrocytes were found also at 5 months of age, before amyloid β deposition in the hippocampus. These results suggest that glial alterations have an early onset in AD pathogenesis and that the exposure to an enriched environment is an appropriate strategy to reverse them. Cellular and molecular pathways involved in this regulation could constitute potential novel therapeutic targets.
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APA 7th
Beauquis, J., Pavía, P., Pomilio, C., Vinuesa, A., Podlutskaya, N., Galvan, V., et al. (2013). Environmental enrichment prevents astroglial pathological changes in the hippocampus of APP transgenic mice, model of Alzheimer's disease. Experimental neurology. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.expneurol.2012.09.009
Vancouver
Beauquis J, Pavía P, Pomilio C, Vinuesa A, Podlutskaya N, Galvan V, et al. Environmental enrichment prevents astroglial pathological changes in the hippocampus of APP transgenic mice, model of Alzheimer's disease. Experimental neurology. 2013. doi:10.1016/j.expneurol.2012.09.009. PMID: 23022919.
BibTeX
@article{beauquis2013-23022919,
author = {Beauquis, J. and Pavía, P. and Pomilio, C. and Vinuesa, A. and Podlutskaya, N. and Galvan, V. and Saravia, F.},
title = {{Environmental enrichment prevents astroglial pathological changes in the hippocampus of APP transgenic mice, model of Alzheimer's disease}},
journal = {Experimental neurology},
year = {2013},
doi = {10.1016/j.expneurol.2012.09.009},
pmid = {23022919},
url = {https://doi.org/10.1016/j.expneurol.2012.09.009}
}
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 7 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
- We found that plaque-associated astrocytes in PDAPP-J20 mice had an increased volume and process ramification than control astrocytes.
- Non-plaque-associated astrocytes showed a decrease in volume and an increase in the ramification of GFAP+ processes as compared with control astrocytes.
- These results suggest that glial alterations have an early onset in AD pathogenesis and that the exposure to an enriched environment is an appropriate strategy to reverse them.
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Study details
- Evidence strengthLow
How this study scored 36/100
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. We have no data on journal's citation record, times cited, citations per year, impact for its field and year, cited by studies here, still being cited, senior author's track record, institution's track record and multi-centre collaboration, so those were left out: it earned 21 of the 58 points we could judge it on, which is 36 out of 100.
| Component | Points | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Journal tier | 7 / 10 | Tier 3 — peer-reviewed journal (Experimental neurology) |
| Journal's citation record | — / 4 | No journal record from OpenAlex — left out of this score |
| 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 | 2013 — within 20 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 “transgenic”) — scores zero |
| Randomised / blinded | 0 / 2 | No randomisation or blinding stated — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Times cited | — / 7 | No citation count (not found in OpenAlex) — left out of this score |
| Citations per year | — / 5 | No citation count or no year — left out of this score |
| Impact for its field and year | — / 6 | No field-weighted citation impact (OpenAlex has none yet) — left out of this score |
| Cited by studies here | — / 6 | Not yet checked against this library's citation graph — left out of this score |
| Still being cited | — / 4 | No yearly citation counts — left out of this score |
| Senior author's track record | — / 4 | Senior author's record not available — left out of this score |
| Institution's track record | — / 3 | No institution listed in OpenAlex — left out of this score |
| Multi-centre collaboration | — / 3 | Institutions not listed — left out of this score |
| Indexed in PubMed | 2 / 2 | Indexed in PubMed (PMID 23022919) |
| Free to read | 0 / 2 | Behind a paywall — scores zero |
| Points | 21 / 58 | Scored on 11 of 20 parts. We have no data for the rest, so they are left out: 21 of the 58 points we could judge it on is 36 out of 100. |
| Total | 36 / 100 | — |
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