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Human-like rodent amyloid-beta-peptide determines Alzheimer pathology in aged wild-type Octodon degu
Inestrosa NC, Reyes AE, Chacón MA, Cerpa W, Villalón A, Montiel J, Merabachvili G, Aldunate R et al.. Neurobiology of aging, 2004-12-10
Topic: Amyloid, tau and blood-test diagnosis
It is generally accepted that human Alzheimer's disease (AD) neuropathology markers are completely absent in rodent brains. We report here that an aged wild-type South American rodent, Octodon degu, expresses neuronal beta-amyloid precursor protein (beta-APP695) displaying both intracellular and extracellular deposits of amyloid-beta-peptide (Abeta), intracellular accumulations of tau-protein and ubiquitin, a strong astrocytic response and acetylcholinesterase (AChE)-rich pyramidal neurons. The high amino acid homology (97.5%) between deguAbeta and humanAbeta sequences is probably a major factor in the appearance of AD markers in this aged rodent.
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APA 7th
Inestrosa, N. C., Reyes, A. E., Chacón, M. A., Cerpa, W., Villalón, A., Montiel, J., et al. (2005). Human-like rodent amyloid-beta-peptide determines Alzheimer pathology in aged wild-type Octodon degu. Neurobiology of aging. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neurobiolaging.2004.09.016
Vancouver
Inestrosa NC, Reyes AE, Chacón MA, Cerpa W, Villalón A, Montiel J, et al. Human-like rodent amyloid-beta-peptide determines Alzheimer pathology in aged wild-type Octodon degu. Neurobiology of aging. 2005. doi:10.1016/j.neurobiolaging.2004.09.016. PMID: 15748782.
BibTeX
@article{inestrosa2005-15748782,
author = {Inestrosa, N. C. and Reyes, A. E. and Chacón, M. A. and Cerpa, W. and Villalón, A. and Montiel, J. and Merabachvili, G. and Aldunate, R. and others},
title = {{Human-like rodent amyloid-beta-peptide determines Alzheimer pathology in aged wild-type Octodon degu}},
journal = {Neurobiology of aging},
year = {2005},
doi = {10.1016/j.neurobiolaging.2004.09.016},
pmid = {15748782},
url = {https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neurobiolaging.2004.09.016}
}
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Key findings
- We report here that an aged wild-type South American rodent, Octodon degu, expresses neuronal beta-amyloid precursor protein (beta-APP695) displaying both intracellular and extracellular deposits of amyloid-beta-peptide (Abeta), intracellular accumulations of tau-protein and ubiquitin, a strong astrocytic response and acetylcholinesterase (AChE)-rich pyramidal neurons.
- The high amino acid homology (97.5%) between deguAbeta and humanAbeta sequences is probably a major factor in the appearance of AD markers in this aged rodent.
- Our results indicate that aged O. degu constitutes the first wild-type rodent model for neurodegenerative processes associated to AD.
Why it matters
Aged wild-type Octodon degu rodents were found to develop amyloid-beta deposits, tau accumulations, astrocytic response and other features resembling Alzheimer pathology, unlike most rodents. This describes a possible animal model for study and does not show any way to treat, cure or prevent the disease in humans.
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Study details
- Effect size97.5%
- Evidence strengthLow
How this study scored 40/100
Published in a peer-reviewed journal. Scored zero for study design, sample size and randomised / blinded because the record does not state it.
| Component | Points | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Journal tier | 7 / 10 | Tier 3 — peer-reviewed journal (Neurobiology of aging) |
| Journal's citation record | 3 / 4 | Neurobiology of Aging: journal h-index 263 (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 | 2005 — 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 | 2 / 3 | Effect reported as a number, without an interval or test |
| Studied in people | 0 / 3 | Laboratory or animal study (title names “rodent”) — scores zero |
| Randomised / blinded | 0 / 2 | No randomisation or blinding stated — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Times cited | 5 / 7 | Cited 124 times (OpenAlex, 2026-10-10) |
| Citations per year | 2 / 5 | 5.4 citations a year over 23 year(s) since 2005 |
| Impact for its field and year | 1 / 6 | Cited 0.6× the average for papers of its field and year (OpenAlex FWCI) |
| Cited by studies here | 2 / 6 | Cited by 3 other studies in this library |
| Still being cited | 2 / 4 | Cited 20 times in 2024–2026 (2026 still in progress; OpenAlex) |
| Senior author's track record | 2 / 4 | Last-listed author Francisco Aboitiz: h-index 48 (OpenAlex, whole career) |
| Institution's track record | 0 / 3 | Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile: institution h-index 508 (OpenAlex) |
| Multi-centre 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 15748782) |
| Free to read | 0 / 2 | Behind a paywall — scores zero |
| Total | 40 / 100 | — |
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