Translational animal models for Alzheimer's disease: An Alzheimer's Association Business Consortium Think Tank.

Abstract

Over 5 million Americans and 50 million individuals worldwide are living with Alzheimer's disease (AD). The progressive dementia associated with AD currently has no cure. Although clinical trials in patients are ultimately required to find safe and effective drugs, animal models of AD permit the integration of brain pathologies with learning and memory deficits that are the first step in developing these new drugs. The purpose of the Alzheimer's Association Business Consortium Think Tank meeting was to address the unmet need to improve the discovery and successful development of Alzheimer's therapies. We hypothesize that positive responses to new therapies observed in validated models of AD will provide predictive evidence for positive responses to these same therapies in AD patients. To achieve this goal, we convened a meeting of experts to explore the current state of AD animal models, identify knowledge gaps, and recommend actions for development of next-generation models with better predictability. Among our findings, we all recognize that models reflecting only single aspects of AD pathogenesis do not mimic AD. Models or combinations of new models are needed that incorporate genetics with environmental interactions, timing of disease development, heterogeneous mechanisms and pathways, comorbidities, and other pathologies that lead to AD and related dementias. Selection of the best models requires us to address the following: (1) which animal species, strains, and genetic backgrounds are most appropriate; (2) which models permit efficient use throughout the drug development pipeline; (3) the translatability of behavioral-cognitive assays from animals to patients; and (4) how to match potential AD therapeutics with particular models. Best practice guidelines to improve reproducibility also need to be developed for consistent use of these models in different research settings. To enhance translational predictability, we discuss a multi-model evaluation strategy to de-risk the successful transition of pre-clinical drug assets to the clinic.

Department

Description

Provenance

Subjects

APOE, Alzheimer's disease, EOAD, LOAD, TREM2, animal models, drug development, transgenic, translational

Citation

Published Version (Please cite this version)

10.1002/trc2.12114

Publication Info

Vitek, Michael P, Joseph A Araujo, Michael Fossel, Barry D Greenberg, Gareth R Howell, Stacey J Sukoff Rizzo, Nicholas T Seyfried, Andrea J Tenner, et al. (2020). Translational animal models for Alzheimer's disease: An Alzheimer's Association Business Consortium Think Tank. Alzheimer's & dementia (New York, N. Y.), 6(1). p. e12114. 10.1002/trc2.12114 Retrieved from https://hdl.handle.net/10161/22314.

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Scholars@Duke

Vitek

Michael P. Vitek

Adjunct Associate Professor in Neurology

The overall interest of my laboratory is to identify the underlying causes of neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer's disease. Once causes or experimental endpoints are determined, then strategies to find chemicals which can ameliorate pathophysiological events can be devised. In general, we are working to create transgenic animals and validate them as models of human disease.

Our specific approach has been to study the function of apolipoprotein-E (apoE) which Roses and colleagues found to a susceptibility factor for the presence of AD. Currently, our data are pointing to a relationship between apoE and oxidative stress where apoE appears to modulate nitric oxide production in a species specific manner. To further test this idea, we have created transgenic mice expressing the entire human NOS2 gene which will now be tested in various models of neurodegeneration and inflammation. Similarly, we are developing transgenic animals which express the human TAU gene. When properly stressed, these TAU-transgenic animals may display the neurofibrillary tangle pathology which is associated with neurodegeneration in a wide variety of neurological diseases.

If our transgenic animals prove to be validated models of human
disease, then the process to screen for chemicals which might alter the disease outcome in those models can begin in earnest. Should compounds be identified, then the various phases of clinical trials may proceed.

At present, my community service includes participation on the Alzheimer's Association Medical and Scientific Advisory Board and on the Neurological Sciences III Study Section for the National Institutes of Health extramural research program. I have previously served in a similar capacity for the American Health Assistance Foundation and the Long Island Alzheimer's Foundation. I have also had the pleasure to serve as a scientific consultant for various biotechnology companies.

Keywords: Neurodegeneration, Alzheimer's, Transgenic, Animal Models, Amyloid, Apolipoprotein-E, Molecular Biology, Biochemistry


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