The amyloid plaques made of Ab peptide and neurofibrillary tangles made of abnormal tau protein define the neuropathology of Alzheimer's disease. Many diverse studies support an initiating role for amyloid in Alzheimer's disease. However, these findings also clearly demonstrate both that the presence of tau is required for amyloid mediated neuronal dysfunction and that pathological tau protein causes neurodegeneration. Furthermore, pathological tau, including neurofibrillary tangles, characterizes the neuropathology of blast induced traumatic brain injury, chronic traumatic encephalopathy, and other related tauopathies. Traumatic brain injury is increasingly prevalent in the Veteran population. Both aging related changes and brain injury dramatically increase the risk for neurodegenerative dementia disorders. Thus it is imperative we develop treatments that can quickly bridge the gap between bench and bedside. Development of pharmacological interventions for tau mediated neurodegeneration is the long-term goal of this research project. Our drug discovery strategy employs an integrated approach aimed at expediting drug repurposing. Our previously published work demonstrated the effectiveness of these methods by screening a library of 1120 approved drugs to identify a single validated compound capable of ameliorating tau pathology in a transgenic mouse model of tauopathy. We now propose to extend this drug repositioning approach to a drug collection spanning most of the drugs with a history of clinical use (~5400 drugs). The objectives of this project are to: Identify compounds reducing tau aggregation in a transgenic C. elegans model of tauopathy and in a human cell culture model of tau aggregation; Prioritize hits based on their CNS penetration and identify dosing and routes of administration that modulate pathological tau in young mice; Use novel compounds identified above to intervene in symptomatic tauopathy mice. Completion of these studies will reveal FDA approved candidate drugs for use as tau targeted therapeutics for both Alzheimer's disease and blast induced traumatic brain injury, providing justification for the clinical testing of repurposed approved drugs for treatment of tauopathy disorders.

Public Health Relevance

Pathological tau protein deposited in brain neurons causes dysfunction and neurodegeneration in a variety of disorders, the most common of which is Alzheimer's disease. In the coming years, approximately 1 million veterans over the age of 65 will be diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease, placing a substantial strain on the VA health care system. Blast induced traumatic brain injury is another disorder with tau pathology commonly affecting Veterans. At present disorders with tau pathology have no effective treatment, cause disability, and lead to premature death. By identifying new neuroprotective strategies targeting tau we hope to advance the development of therapeutic options for all tauopathy disorders including Alzheimer's disease and mild traumatic brain injury. The proposed research focuses on translating basic science findings from simple models of tau pathology to preclinical models with the long term goal of setting the stage for future clinical trials.

Agency
National Institute of Health (NIH)
Institute
Veterans Affairs (VA)
Type
Non-HHS Research Projects (I01)
Project #
5I01BX002619-03
Application #
9275429
Study Section
Neurobiology D (NURD)
Project Start
2014-10-01
Project End
2018-09-30
Budget Start
2016-10-01
Budget End
2017-09-30
Support Year
3
Fiscal Year
2017
Total Cost
Indirect Cost
Name
VA Puget Sound Healthcare System
Department
Type
Independent Hospitals
DUNS #
020232971
City
Seattle
State
WA
Country
United States
Zip Code
98108
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Taylor, Laura M; McMillan, Pamela J; Liachko, Nicole F et al. (2018) Pathological phosphorylation of tau and TDP-43 by TTBK1 and TTBK2 drives neurodegeneration. Mol Neurodegener 13:7
Weeks, Janis C; Roberts, William M; Leasure, Caitlyn et al. (2018) Sertraline, Paroxetine, and Chlorpromazine Are Rapidly Acting Anthelmintic Drugs Capable of Clinical Repurposing. Sci Rep 8:975
Liachko, Nicole F; Saxton, Aleen D; McMillan, Pamela J et al. (2016) The phosphatase calcineurin regulates pathological TDP-43 phosphorylation. Acta Neuropathol 132:545-61
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Meabon, James S; Huber, Bertrand R; Cross, Donna J et al. (2016) Repetitive blast exposure in mice and combat veterans causes persistent cerebellar dysfunction. Sci Transl Med 8:321ra6
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Jablonski, Angela M; Lamitina, Todd; Liachko, Nicole F et al. (2015) Loss of RAD-23 Protects Against Models of Motor Neuron Disease by Enhancing Mutant Protein Clearance. J Neurosci 35:14286-306
Peskind, Elaine R; Kraemer, Brian; Zhang, Jing (2015) Biofluid Biomarkers of Mild Traumatic Brain Injury: Whither Plasma Tau. JAMA Neurol 72:1103-5

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