Introduction: Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a neurodegenerative disorder with multifactorial etiology, including genetic factors that play a significant role in disease risk and resilience. However, the role of genetic diversity in preclinical AD studies has received limited attention.
Methods: We crossed five Collaborative Cross strains with 5xFAD C57BL/6J female mice to generate F1 mice with and without the 5xFAD transgene. Amyloid plaque pathology, microglial and astrocytic responses, neurofilament light chain levels, and gene expression were assessed at various ages.
Results: Genetic diversity significantly impacts AD-related pathology. Hybrid strains showed resistance to amyloid plaque formation and neuronal damage. Transcriptome diversity was maintained across ages and sexes, with observable strain-specific variations in AD-related phenotypes. Comparative gene expression analysis indicated correlations between mouse strains and human AD.
Discussion: Increasing genetic diversity promotes resilience to AD-related pathogenesis, relative to an inbred C57BL/6J background, reinforcing the importance of genetic diversity in uncovering resilience in the development of AD.
Highlights: Genetic diversity's impact on AD in mice was explored. Diverse F1 mouse strains were used for AD study, via the Collaborative Cross. Strain-specific variations in AD pathology, glia, and transcription were found. Strains resilient to plaque formation and plasma neurofilament light chain (NfL) increases were identified. Correlations with human AD transcriptomics were observed.
Keywords: 5xFAD; Alzheimer's disease; amyloid; astrocytes; collaborative cross mice; genetic diversity; microglia; neurofilament light chain; resilience.
© 2024 The Authors. Alzheimer's & Dementia published by Wiley Periodicals LLC on behalf of Alzheimer's Association.