A streptozotocin-induced model of Alzheimer's disease in mice with wild-type human tau

Alzheimer's disease (AD) accounts for 60 to 80% of all dementias, affects over 5 million Americans, and incurs annual healthcare costs of over {dollar}200 billion (Alzheimer's Association, 2012). Hyperphosphorylation of tau, the main component of neurofibrillary tangles observed in AD, leads to deficits in cell structure and function. Because recent data suggest impairments in cerebral glucose utilization and energy metabolism play a prominent role in the pathogenesis of AD, we sought to create a mouse model that emulates the metabolic changes using intracerebroventricular infusions of streptozotocin (ICV-STZ) in transgenic mice expressing human tau. The Barnes maze, a test of spatial learning and memory, and a panel of antibodies directed at biochemical changes in tau associated with AD were used to assess memory deficits and tau pathology, respectively. The behavioral and biochemical findings of the current study provide inconsistent support for the use of an ICV-STZ model in mice expressing human tau, and future studies should employ a battery of behavioral assays to determine if subtle memory deficits occur.

Name thesis:degree_name

MS

Level thesis:degree_level

Thesis

Discipline thesis:degree_discipline

Psychology

Year dc:date.available

2014

Author dc:creator

• Rudy, Carolyn C.

Contributors dc:contributor

• Miranda N. Reed
• Karen G. Anderson
• Steven G. Kinsey

• Neurosciences
• Biochemistry
• Behavioral sciences

Identifier

https://researchrepository.wvu.edu/etd/620

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:researchrepository.wvu.edu:etd-1623