Paper

Non-viral vasculogenic reprogramming restores cognition and mitigates pathology in Alzheimer′s disease

Kokiko-Cochran, Olga, Seline, Olivia, Patel, Roma, Alzate-Correa, Diego, Valentine, Alex, Areiza-Mazo, Natalia, Diaz-Starokozheva, Ludmila, Askwith, Candice, Hagan, Mckayla, Zhao, Fangli, Piatkowski, Stephen, Shara Jaramillo Garrido, Yu, Junyan, Lawrence, William R, Cuellar-Gaviria, Tatiana Z, Gallego-Perez, Daniel, Fitzgerald, Julie, Salazar-Puerta, Ana I, Narvaez-Perez, Luis F, Tran, Andrea, Lonser, Russell, Nguyen, Tracy, Rincon-Benavides, Maria A, Stranan, Jonathan, Mendonca, Natalia C, Ripsky, Sydney, Higuita-Castro, Natalia

2026

Overview

Alzheimer′s Disease (AD) is characterized by progressive cognitive decline associated with amyloid-beta (Aβ) plaques, neurofibrillary tangles, inflammation, synaptic loss, and profuse neuronal death. Accumulating evidence demonstrates that cerebrovascular impairment precedes the emergence of neuropathological hallmarks, implicating vascular dysfunction as an early contributor to AD onset and progression. We investigated a non-viral strategy to generate pro-vasculogenic fibroblasts by transiently overexpressing Etv2, Foxc2, and Fli1 (EFF) as a potential cell-based therapy for neurovascular deficits in AD. To assess therapeutic potential, EFF-primed fibroblasts were injected into a mouse model of AD (3xTg-AD) and wild-type controls via the intracerebroventricular (ICV) route, followed by cognitive assessments and subsequent brain tissue analyses. Our findings demonstrate that EFF-primed fibroblasts acquire vasculogenic properties, enhance cerebral blood flow (CBF), and alleviate spatial memory deficits in 3xTg-AD mice. Moreover, transplanted EFF-primed fibroblasts exhibited long-term survival, integrated into the brain vasculature, and promoted cortical vascular remodeling in the AD brain. Notably, ICV deployment of these cells is also correlated with reduced cortical Aβ load, suggesting potential therapeutic benefits in reducing AD pathology. Transcriptomic analysis identified the activation of genes involved in fatty acid oxidation, such as Pparα, known for its anti-amyloidogenic and anti-inflammatory effects. Collectively, these findings highlight non-viral, reprogramming-based vasculogenic cell therapy as a promising strategy for AD, capable of alleviating cognitive decline and addressing AD pathology across cellular and tissue scalesCompeting Interest StatementThe authors have declared no competing interest.

• Publisher: Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Press
• Subject: Alzheimer's disease / Amyloidogenesis / Blood flow / Cell therapy / Cerebral blood flow / Cognitive ability / Fibroblasts / Neurofibrillary tangles / Pathology / Spatial memory / Transcription activation / Transcriptomics / β-Amyloid