Motor deficits, neuron loss, and reduced anxiety coinciding with axonal degeneration and intraneuronal Aβ aggregation in the 5XFAD mouse model of Alzheimer's disease

Abstract

In the present report, we extend previous findings in the 5XFAD mouse model and demonstrate that these mice develop an age-dependent motor phenotype in addition to working memory deficits and reduced anxiety levels as demonstrated in an elevated plus maze task. Employing a variety of N- and C-terminal specific Aβ antibodies, abundant intraneuronal and plaque-associated pathology, including accumulation of pyroglutamate Aβ, was observed as early as the age of 3 months. Using unbiased stereology, we demonstrate that the 5XFAD mice develop a significant selective neuron loss in layer 5 of the cortex, leaving the overall neuron number of the total frontal cortex and hippocampus unaffected. This observation coincides with the accumulation of intraneuronal Aβ peptides only in cortical Layer 5, but not in CA1, despite comparable APP expression levels. The motor phenotype correlates with abundant spinal cord pathology, as demonstrated by abundant intraneuronal Aβ accumulation and extracellular plaque deposition. In addition, comparable to the APP/PS1KI mouse model, 5XFAD mice develop an age-dependent axonopathy likely contributing to the behavioral deficits.