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Doxycycline counteracts neuroinflammation restoring memory in Alzheimer’s disease mouse models

Bibliographic

Year of Publication:
2018
Contact PI Name:
Gianluigi Forloni
Contact PI Affiliation:
Department of Neuroscience, IRCCS, Istituto di Ricerhe Farmacologiche Mario Negri, Milano, Italy
Co-Authors:
Claudia Balducci, Giulia Santamaria, Pietro La Vitola, Edoardo Brandi, Federica Grandi, Arturo Roberto Viscomi, Marten Beeg, Marco Gobbi, Mario Salmona, Simone Ottonello
Primary Reference (PubMED ID):
Funding Source:
UBI Bank Group
Study Goal and Principal Findings:

β-Amyloid oligomers (AβOs) and neuroinflammation are 2 main culprits to counteract in Alzheimer’s disease (AD). Doxycycline (DOXY) is a second generation antibiotic of the tetracycline class that are promising drugs tested in many clinical trials for a number of different pathologies. DOXY is endowed with antiamyloidogenic properties and better crosses the blood-brain barrier, but its efficacy has never been tested in AD mice. We herein show that 15- to 16-month-old APP/PS1dE9 (APP/PS1) AD mice receiving DOXY under different treatment regimens recovered their memory without plaque reduction. An acute DOXY treatment was, also, sufficient to improve APP/PS1 mouse memory, suggesting an action against soluble AβOs. This was confirmed in an AβOs-induced mouse model, where the AβO-mediated memory impairment was abolished by a DOXY pretreatment. Although AβOs induce memory impairment through glial activation, assessing the anti-inflammatory action of DOXY, we found that in both the AβOs-treated and APP/PS1 mice, the memory recovery was associated with a lower neuroinflammation. Our data promote DOXY as a hopeful repositioned drug counteracting crucial neuropathological AD targets.

Therapeutic Agent

Therapeutic Information:
Therapy Type:
Small Molecule
Therapeutic Agent:
Doxycycline
Therapeutic Target:
Multi Target

Animal Model

Model Information:
Species:
Mouse
Model Type:
APPxPS1
Strain/Genetic Background:
C57BL/6
Species:
Mouse
Model Type:
beta Amyloid Peptide Injection
Strain/Genetic Background:
C57BL/6

Experimental Design

Is the following information reported in the study?:
Power/Sample Size Calculation
Randomized into Groups
Blinded for Treatment
Blinded for Outcome Measures
Pharmacokinetic Measures
Pharmacodynamic Measures
Toxicology Measures
ADME Measures
Biomarkers
Dose
Formulation
Route of Delivery
Duration of Treatment
Frequency of Administration
Age of Animal at the Beginning of Treatment
Age of Animal at the End of Treatment
Sex as a Biological Variable
Study Balanced for Sex as a Biological Variable
Number of Premature Deaths
Number of Excluded Animals
Statistical Plan
Genetic Background
Inclusion/Exclusion Criteria Included
Conflict of Interest

Outcomes

Outcome Measured
Outcome Parameters
Behavioral
Exploratory Activity
Novel Object Recognition Test (NORT)
Histopathology
Activated Astrocytes
Activated Microglia
beta Amyloid Load
beta Amyloid Deposits
Biochemical
Brain-beta Amyloid Oligomers
Immunochemistry
Brain-beta Amyloid Deposits
Glial Fibrillary Acidic Protein (GFAP)
Ionized Calcium Binding Adaptor Molecule 1 (Iba1)
Tumor Necrosis Factor alpha (TNF alpha)
Interleukin 1 beta (IL-1 beta)