Home › Research › Disease mechanisms
Oligomeric amyloid beta associates with postsynaptic densities and correlates with excitatory synapse loss near senile plaques
Koffie RM, Meyer-Luehmann M, Hashimoto T, Adams KW, Mielke ML, Garcia-Alloza M, Micheva KD, Smith SJ et al.. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 2009-02-19
Topic: Disease mechanisms in lab and animal studies
Synapse loss correlates with a cognitive decline in Alzheimer's disease (AD), but whether this is caused by fibrillar deposits known as senile plaques or soluble oligomeric forms of amyloid beta (Abeta) is controversial. By using array tomography, a technique that combines ultrathin sectioning of tissue with immunofluorescence, allowing precise quantification of small structures, such as synapses, we have tested the hypothesis that oligomeric Abeta surrounding plaques contributes to synapse loss in a mouse model of AD. We find that senile plaques are surrounded by a halo of oligomeric Abeta. Analysis of >14,000 synapses (represented by PSD95-stained excitatory synapses) shows that there is a 60% loss of excitatory synapses in the halo of oligomeric Abeta surrounding plaques and that the density increases to reach almost control levels in volumes further than 50 microm from a plaque in an approximately linear fashion (linear regression, r(2) = 0.9; P < 0.0001). Further, in transgenic cortex, microdeposits of oligomeric Abeta associate with a subset of excitatory synapses, which are significantly smaller than those not in contact with oligomeric Abeta. The proportion of excitatory synapses associated with Abeta correlates with decreasing density (correlation, -0.588; P < 0.0001). These data show that senile plaques are a potential reservoir of oligomeric Abeta, which colocalizes with the postsynaptic density and is associated with spine collapse, reconciling the apparently competing schools of thought of "plaque" vs. "oligomeric Abeta" as the synaptotoxic species in the brain of AD patients.
Key findings
- Further, in transgenic cortex, microdeposits of oligomeric Abeta associate with a subset of excitatory synapses, which are significantly smaller than those not in contact with oligomeric Abeta.
- The proportion of excitatory synapses associated with Abeta correlates with decreasing density (correlation, -0.588; P < 0.0001).
- These data show that senile plaques are a potential reservoir of oligomeric Abeta, which colocalizes with the postsynaptic density and is associated with spine collapse, reconciling the apparently competing schools of thought of "plaque" vs. "oligomeric Abeta" as the synaptotoxic species in the brain of AD patients.
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, studied in people 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 (Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America) |
| 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 | 2009 — 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 | Not stated whether this was studied in people — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| 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 19228947) |
| 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 | — |
What each of these 20 components measures, and what this score is not →
Read the original
Free copy unknown: no free-copy check has an answer for this record yet. That does not mean it is paywalled.
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's author list ends in “et al.”, so not every author is named. Check the citation against the original before you use it.
APA 7th
Koffie, R. M., Meyer-Luehmann, M., Hashimoto, T., Adams, K. W., Mielke, M. L., Garcia-Alloza, M., et al. (2009). Oligomeric amyloid beta associates with postsynaptic densities and correlates with excitatory synapse loss near senile plaques. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.0811698106
Vancouver
Koffie RM, Meyer-Luehmann M, Hashimoto T, Adams KW, Mielke ML, Garcia-Alloza M, et al. Oligomeric amyloid beta associates with postsynaptic densities and correlates with excitatory synapse loss near senile plaques. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America. 2009. doi:10.1073/pnas.0811698106. PMID: 19228947.
BibTeX
@article{koffie2009-19228947,
author = {Koffie, R. M. and Meyer-Luehmann, M. and Hashimoto, T. and Adams, K. W. and Mielke, M. L. and Garcia-Alloza, M. and Micheva, K. D. and Smith, S. J. and others},
title = {{Oligomeric amyloid beta associates with postsynaptic densities and correlates with excitatory synapse loss near senile plaques}},
journal = {Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America},
year = {2009},
doi = {10.1073/pnas.0811698106},
pmid = {19228947},
url = {https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.0811698106}
}