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The microtubule-associated protein tau (MAPT, tau) forms neurotoxic aggregates that promote cognitive deficits in tauopathies, the most common of which is Alzheimer’s disease (AD). The 90-kDa heat shock protein (Hsp90) chaperone system affects the accumulation of these toxic tau species, which can be modulated with Hsp90 inhibitors. However, many Hsp90 inhibitors are not blood–brain barrier-permeable, and several present associated toxicities. Here, we find that the cochaperone, activator of Hsp90 ATPase homolog 1 (Aha1), dramatically increased the production of aggregated tau. Treatment with an Aha1 inhibitor, KU-177, dramatically reduced the accumulation of insoluble tau. Aha1 colocalized with tau pathology in human brain tissue, and this association positively correlated with AD progression. Aha1 overexpression in the rTg4510 tau transgenic mouse model promoted insoluble and oligomeric tau accumulation leading to a physiological deficit in cognitive function. Overall, these data demonstrate that Aha1 contributes to tau fibril formation and neurotoxicity through Hsp90. This suggests that therapeutics targeting Aha1 may reduce toxic tau oligomers and slow or prevent neurodegenerative disease progression.

Aggregation of tau protein in the brain is associated with a class of neurodegenerative diseases known as tauopathies. FK506 binding protein 51 kDa (FKBP51, encoded by FKBP5) forms a mature chaperone complex with Hsp90 that prevents tau degradation. In this study, we have shown that tau levels are reduced throughout the brains of Fkbp5-/- mice. Recombinant FKBP51 and Hsp90 synergized to block tau clearance through the proteasome, resulting in tau oligomerization. Overexpression of FKBP51 in a tau transgenic mouse model revealed that FKBP51 preserved the species of tau that have been linked to Alzheimer's disease (AD) pathogenesis, blocked amyloid formation, and decreased tangle load in the brain. Alterations in tau turnover and aggregate structure corresponded with enhanced neurotoxicity in mice. In human brains, FKBP51 levels increased relative to age and AD, corresponding with demethylation of the regulatory regions in the FKBP5 gene. We also found that higher FKBP51 levels were associated with AD progression. Our data support a model in which age-associated increases in FKBP51 levels and its interaction with Hsp90 promote neurotoxic tau accumulation. Strategies aimed at attenuating FKBP51 levels or its interaction with Hsp90 have the potential to be therapeutically relevant for AD and other tauopathies.

Single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in the FK506 binding protein 5 (FKBP5) gene combine with traumatic events to increase risk for post-traumatic stress and major depressive disorders (PTSD and MDD). These SNPs increase FKBP51 protein expression through a mechanism involving demethylation of the gene and altered glucocorticoid signaling. Aged animals also display elevated FKBP51 levels, which contribute to impaired resiliency to depressive-like behaviors through impaired glucocorticoid signaling, a phenotype that is abrogated in FKBP5-/- mice. But the age of onset and progressive stability of these phenotypes remain unknown. Moreover, it is unclear how FKBP5 deletion affects other glucocorticoid-dependent processes or if age-associated increases in FKBP51 expression are mediated through a similar epigenetic process caused by SNPs in the FKBP5 gene. Here, we show that FKBP51-mediated impairment in stress resiliency and glucocorticoid signaling occurs by 10 months of age and this increased over their lifespan. Surprisingly, despite these progressive changes in glucocorticoid responsiveness, FKBP5-/- mice displayed normal longevity, glucose tolerance, blood composition and cytokine profiles across lifespan, phenotypes normally associated with glucocorticoid signaling. We also found that methylation of Fkbp5 decreased with age in mice, a process that likely explains the age-associated increases in FKBP51 levels. Thus, epigenetic upregulation of FKBP51 with age can selectively impair psychological stress-resiliency, but does not affect other glucocorticoid-mediated physiological processes. This makes FKBP51 a unique and attractive therapeutic target to treat PTSD and MDD. In addition, aged wild-type mice may be a useful model for investigating the mechanisms of FKBP5 SNPs associated with these disorders.

The accumulation of amyloidogenic proteins is a pathological hallmark of neurodegenerative disorders. The aberrant accumulation of the microtubule associating protein tau (MAPT, tau) into toxic oligomers and amyloid deposits is a primary pathology in tauopathies, the most common of which is Alzheimer's disease (AD). Intrinsically disordered proteins, like tau, are enriched with proline residues that regulate both secondary structure and aggregation propensity. The orientation of proline residues is regulated by cis/trans peptidyl-prolyl isomerases (PPIases). Here we show that cyclophilin 40 (CyP40), a PPIase, dissolves tau amyloids in vitro. Additionally, CyP40 ameliorated silver-positive and oligomeric tau species in a mouse model of tau accumulation, preserving neuronal health and cognition. Nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) revealed that CyP40 interacts with tau at sites rich in proline residues. CyP40 was also able to interact with and disaggregate other aggregating proteins that contain prolines. Moreover, CyP40 lacking PPIase activity prevented its capacity for disaggregation in vitro. Finally, we describe a unique structural property of CyP40 that may permit disaggregation to occur in an energy-independent manner. This study identifies a novel human protein disaggregase and, for the first time, demonstrates its capacity to dissolve intracellular amyloids.

The heat shock protein 90 (Hsp90) family of molecular chaperones regulates protein homeostasis, folding, and degradation. The ER-resident Hsp90 isoform, glucose-regulated protein 94 (Grp94), promotes the aggregation of mutant forms of myocilin, a protein associated with primary open-angle glaucoma. While inhibition of Grp94 promotes the degradation of mutant myocilin in vitro , to date no Grp94-selective inhibitors have been investigated in vivo . Here, a Grp94-selective inhibitor facilitated mutant myocilin degradation and rescued phenotypes in a transgenic mouse model of hereditary primary open-angle glaucoma. Ocular toxicities previously associated with pan-Hsp90 inhibitors were not evident with our Grp94-selective inhibitor, 4-Br-BnIm. Our study suggests that selective inhibition of a distinct Hsp90 family member holds translational promise for ocular and other diseases associated with cell stress and protein misfolding.

Introduction The blood-brain barrier (BBB) is damaged in tauopathies, including progressive supranuclear palsy (PSP) and Alzheimer’s disease (AD), which is thought to contribute to pathogenesis later in the disease course. In AD, BBB dysfunction has been associated with amyloid beta (Aß) pathology, but the role of tau in this process is not well characterized. Since increased BBB permeability is found in tauopathies without Aß pathology, like PSP, we suspected that tau accumulation alone could not only be sufficient, but even more important than Aß for BBB damage. Results Longitudinal evaluation of brain tissue from the tetracycline-regulatable rTg4510 tau transgenic mouse model showed progressive IgG, T cell and red blood cell infiltration. The Evans blue (EB) dye that is excluded from the brain when the BBB is intact also permeated the brains of rTg4510 mice following peripheral administration, indicative of a bonafide BBB defect, but this was only evident later in life. Thus, despite the marked brain atrophy and inflammation that occurs earlier in this model, BBB integrity is maintained. Interestingly, BBB dysfunction emerged at the same time that perivascular tau emerged around major hippocampal blood vessels. However, when tau expression was suppressed using doxycycline, BBB integrity was preserved, suggesting that the BBB can be stabilized in a tauopathic brain by reducing tau levels. Conclusions For the first time, these data demonstrate that tau alone can initiate breakdown of the BBB, but the BBB is remarkably resilient, maintaining its integrity in the face of marked brain atrophy, neuroinflammation and toxic tau accumulation. Moreover, the BBB can recover integrity when tau levels are reduced. Thus, late stage interventions targeting tau may slow the vascular contributions to cognitive impairment and dementia that occur in tauopathies.

Background Abnormal tau hyperphosphorylation and its accumulation into intra-neuronal neurofibrillary tangles are linked to neurodegeneration in Alzheimer’s disease and similar tauopathies. One strategy to reduce accumulation is through immunization, but the most immunogenic tau epitopes have so far remained unknown. To fill this gap, we immunized mice with recombinant tau to build a map of the most immunogenic tau epitopes. Methods Non-transgenic and rTg4510 tau transgenic mice aged 5 months were immunized with either human wild-type tau (Wt, 4R0N) or P301L tau (4R0N). Each protein was formulated in Quil A adjuvant. Sera and splenocytes of vaccinated mice were collected to assess the humoral and cellular immune responses to tau. We employed a peptide array assay to identify the most effective epitopes. Brain histology was utilized to measure the effects of vaccination on tau pathology and inflammation. Results Humoral immune responses following immunization demonstrated robust antibody titers (up to 1:80,000 endpoint titers) to each tau species in both mice models. The number of IFN-γ producing T cells and their proliferation were also increased in splenocytes from immunized mice, indicating an increased cellular immune response, and tau levels and neuroinflammation were both reduced. We identified five immunogenic motifs within either the N-terminal (9-15 and 21-27 amino acids), proline rich (168-174 and 220-228 amino acids), or the C-terminal regions (427-438 amino acids) of the wild-type and P301L tau protein sequence. Conclusions Our study identifies five previously unknown immunogenic motifs of wild-type and mutated (P301L) tau protein. Immunization with both proteins resulted in reduced tau pathology and neuroinflammation in a tau transgenic model, supporting the efficacy of tau immunotherapy in tauopathy.