Journal Article DZNE-2025-00965

http://join2-wiki.gsi.de/foswiki/pub/Main/Artwork/join2_logo100x88.png
Early intervention anti-Aβ immunotherapy attenuates microglial activation without inducing exhaustion at residual plaques.

 ;  ;  ;  ;  ;  ;  ;  ;  ;  ;  ;  ;  ;  ;  ;  ;  ;  ;  ;  ;  ;  ;  ;

2025
Biomed Central London

Molecular neurodegeneration 20(1), 92 () [10.1186/s13024-025-00878-1]

This record in other databases:    

Please use a persistent id in citations: doi:

Abstract: Anti-amyloid β-peptide (Aβ) immunotherapy was developed to reduce amyloid plaque pathology and slow cognitive decline during progression of Alzheimer's disease. Efficient amyloid clearance has been proven in clinical trials testing anti-Aβ antibodies, by their impact on cognitive endpoints correlating with the extent of amyloid removal. However, treatment is associated with adverse side effects, such as oedema and haemorrhages, which are potentially linked to the induced immune response. To improve the safety profile of these molecules, it is imperative to understand the consequences of anti-Aβ antibody treatment on immune cell function. Here, we investigated the effects of long-term chronic anti-Aβ treatment on amyloid plaque pathology and microglial response in the APP-SAA triple knock-in mouse model with an intervention paradigm early during amyloidogenesis. Long-term treatment with anti-Aβ results in a robust and dose-dependent lowering of amyloid plaque pathology, with a higher efficiency for reducing diffuse over dense-core plaque deposition. Analysis of the CSF proteome indicates a reduction of markers for neurodegeneration including Tau and α-Synuclein, as well as immune-cell-related proteins. Bulk RNA-seq revealed a dose-dependent attenuation of disease-associated microglial (DAM) and glycolytic gene expression, which is supported by a parallel decrease of glucose uptake and protein levels of Triggering Receptor Expressed on Myeloid cells 2 (Trem2) protein, a major immune receptor involved in DAM activation of microglia. In contrast, DAM activation around residual plaques remains high, regardless of treatment dose. In addition, microglia surrounding residual plaques display a dose-dependent increase in microglial clustering and a selective increase in antigen-presenting and immune signalling proteins. These findings demonstrate that chronic early intervention by an anti-amyloid immunotherapy leads to a dose-dependent decrease in plaque formation, which is associated with lower brain-wide microglial DAM activation and neurodegeneration. Microglia at residual plaques still display a combined DAM and antigen-presenting phenotype that suggests a continued treatment response.

Keyword(s): Animals (MeSH) ; Microglia: metabolism (MeSH) ; Microglia: drug effects (MeSH) ; Microglia: immunology (MeSH) ; Mice (MeSH) ; Plaque, Amyloid: pathology (MeSH) ; Plaque, Amyloid: metabolism (MeSH) ; Plaque, Amyloid: immunology (MeSH) ; Amyloid beta-Peptides: immunology (MeSH) ; Amyloid beta-Peptides: metabolism (MeSH) ; Amyloid beta-Peptides: antagonists & inhibitors (MeSH) ; Immunotherapy: methods (MeSH) ; Alzheimer Disease: pathology (MeSH) ; Alzheimer Disease: metabolism (MeSH) ; Alzheimer Disease: immunology (MeSH) ; Mice, Transgenic (MeSH) ; Disease Models, Animal (MeSH) ; Aducanumab ; Alzheimer’s disease (AD) ; Amyloid plaque ; Immunotherapy ; Microglia ; Trem2 ; Amyloid beta-Peptides

Classification:

Contributing Institute(s):
  1. Molecular Neurodegeneration (AG Haass)
  2. Neuroproteomics (AG Lichtenthaler)
Research Program(s):
  1. 352 - Disease Mechanisms (POF4-352) (POF4-352)

Appears in the scientific report 2025
Database coverage:
Medline ; Creative Commons Attribution CC BY 4.0 ; DOAJ ; OpenAccess ; Article Processing Charges ; BIOSIS Previews ; Biological Abstracts ; Clarivate Analytics Master Journal List ; DOAJ Seal ; Ebsco Academic Search ; Essential Science Indicators ; Fees ; IF >= 15 ; JCR ; SCOPUS ; Science Citation Index Expanded ; Web of Science Core Collection
Click to display QR Code for this record

The record appears in these collections:
Institute Collections > M DZNE > M DZNE-AG Lichtenthaler
Document types > Articles > Journal Article
Institute Collections > M DZNE > M DZNE-AG Haass
Full Text Collection
Public records
Publications Database

 Record created 2025-08-20, last modified 2025-09-07