Expression of p75(NTR), a marker for basal forebrain cholinergic neurons, in young and aged dogs with or without cognitive dysfunction syndrome

Daniel Insua; Angélica Corredoira; Angela González-Martínez; María-Luisa Suárez; Germán Santamarina; Manuel Sarasa; Pedro Pesini

doi:10.3233/JAD-2011-110905

Expression of p75(NTR), a marker for basal forebrain cholinergic neurons, in young and aged dogs with or without cognitive dysfunction syndrome

J Alzheimers Dis. 2012;28(2):291-6. doi: 10.3233/JAD-2011-110905.

Authors

Daniel Insua¹, Angélica Corredoira, Angela González-Martínez, María-Luisa Suárez, Germán Santamarina, Manuel Sarasa, Pedro Pesini

Affiliation

¹ Departamento de Ciencias Clínicas Veterinarias, Facultad de Veterinaria de Lugo, Universidad de Santiago de Compostela, Lugo, Spain.

PMID: 21971402
DOI: 10.3233/JAD-2011-110905

Abstract

The canine cognitive dysfunction syndrome (CDS) has been identified as a natural model for Alzheimer's disease (AD). We have used unbiased stereology to estimate the total number of basal forebrain cholinergic neurons expressing the nerve growth factor p75(NTR) receptor in young, aged cognitively-unimpaired (CU) and aged cognitively-impaired (CI) dogs. Aged-CI dogs showed a ∼20% decrement (p = 0.009) in p75(NTR) neurons compared to both the young and the aged-CU animals. These results suggest that the basal forebrain cholinergic system is affected in dogs with CDS and provide additional support for the use this canine syndrome as a model for AD research.

Publication types

Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

Aging*
Animals
Cholinergic Neurons / metabolism*
Cognition Disorders / pathology*
Disease Models, Animal
Dogs
Prosencephalon / pathology*
Receptor, Nerve Growth Factor / metabolism*

Substances

Receptor, Nerve Growth Factor