Reactive astrogliosis and early synaptic degeneration are 2 characteristic hallmarks in Alzheimer's disease (AD) brains, but a direct link between the 2 events has not been established. Here, we show that cancerous inhibitor of PP2A (CIP2A), a cancerous protein with high expression level in astrocytes, is upregulated in patients with AD and 3xTg-AD transgenic mice. Overexpression of CIP2A in astrocytes through adeno-associated virus infection both in cultured cells and in mice brains results in activation of astrocytes, increased production of cytokines and Aβ, and synaptic degeneration indicated by decreased levels of synaptic proteins, spine loss, and impairment in long-term potentiation. As a result of synaptic degeneration, CIP2A overexpression in astrocytes in vivo induces significant deficits in visual episodic memory detected by novel objective recognition test and spatial memory detected by Morris water maze. We conclude that CIP2A-promoted astrogliosis induces synaptic degeneration and cognitive deficits in AD.
Keywords: CIP2A; Cognitive deficit; Reactive astrogliosis; Synaptic degeneration.
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