A Study on PHF-Tau Network Effected by Apolipoprotein E4

• Published in: American journal of Alzheimer's disease and other dementias Vol. 35; p. 1533317520971414
• Main Authors: Li, Yuan, Yao, Zhijun, Yang, Yongqing, Zhao, Feng, Fu, Yu, Zou, Ying, Hu, Bin
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Los Angeles, CA SAGE Publications 01.01.2020
• Subjects: Alzheimer Disease - genetics; Apolipoprotein E4 - genetics; Apolipoproteins E; Brain - metabolism; Cognitive Dysfunction - genetics; Current Topics in Research; Humans; tau Proteins - genetics; tau Proteins - metabolism; mild cognitive impairment; network resilience; APOE 4; network properties; tau PET brain network
• ISSN: 1533-3175; 1938-2731; 1938-2731
• DOI: 10.1177/1533317520971414

Apolipoprotein E 4 Allele (APOE 4) is an important factors in Mild cognitive impairment (MCI) and Alzheimer’s disease(AD). It plays a primary role in abnormal modification of aggregated Tau protein-paired helical filaments Tau (PHF-Tau). In this study, 143 subjects with PHF-Tau PET were divided into 2 groups (APOE 4 carriers and noncarriers). The measurements of the PHF-Tau network properties and resilient were calculated for 2 group networks respectively. APOE 4 carriers group showed significant differences in all the network properties in the results. We also found significant differences of betweenness centrality in some brain regions for APOE 4 carriers. Moreover, the APOE 4 carriers showed less resilient to targeted or random node failure. Our results indicated that the effects of APOE 4 may lead to abnormalities of PHF-Tau protein network. These findings may be particularly helpful in uncovering the pathophysiology underlying the cognitive dysfunction in MCI patients.