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Journal of Neuroinflammation
Published in: Journal of Neuroinflammation 1/2022

Open Access 01-12-2022 | Alzheimer's Disease | Research

Interleukin-3 is associated with sTREM2 and mediates the correlation between amyloid-β and tau pathology in Alzheimer’s disease

Authors: Zhi-Bo Wang, Ya-Hui Ma, Yan Sun, Lan Tan, Hui-Fu Wang, Jin-Tai Yu, for the Alzheimer’s Disease Neuroimaging Initiative

Published in: Journal of Neuroinflammation | Issue 1/2022

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Abstract

Background

Dysfunction of glial cell communication is involved in Alzheimer’s disease (AD) pathogenesis, and the recent study reported that astrocytic secreted interleukin-3 (IL-3) participated in astrocyte–microglia crosstalk and restricted AD pathology in mice, but the effect of IL-3 on the pathological progression of AD in human is still unclear.

Methods

A total of 311 participants with cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) IL-3, soluble triggering receptor expressed on myeloid cells 2 (sTREM2), and AD biomarkers were included from the Alzheimer’s disease Neuroimaging Initiative (ADNI). We assessed the associations of IL-3 with sTREM2 and AD biomarkers at baseline, and with cognitive change in longitudinal study. The mediation models were used to explore the potential mechanism of how IL-3 affects AD pathology.

Results

We found that CSF IL-3 was significantly associated with CSF sTREM2 and CSF AD core biomarkers (Aβ42, p-tau, and t-tau) at baseline, and was also markedly related to cognitive decline in longitudinal analysis. Moreover, mediation analysis revealed that CSF IL-3 modulated the level of CSF sTREM2 and contributed to tau pathology (as measured by CSF p-tau/t-tau) and subsequent cognitive decline. In addition, Aβ pathology (as measured by CSF Aβ42) affected the development of tau pathology partly by modifying the levels of CSF IL-3 and CSF sTREM2. Furthermore, the effect of Aβ pathology on cognitive decline was partially mediated by the pathway from CSF IL-3 and CSF sTREM2 to tau pathology.

Conclusions

Our findings provide evidence to suggest that IL-3 is linked to sTREM2 and mediates the correlation between Aβ pathology to tau pathology. It indicates that IL-3 may be a major factor in the spreading from Aβ pathology to tau pathology to cognitive impairment.
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Metadata
Title
Interleukin-3 is associated with sTREM2 and mediates the correlation between amyloid-β and tau pathology in Alzheimer’s disease
Authors
Zhi-Bo Wang
Ya-Hui Ma
Yan Sun
Lan Tan
Hui-Fu Wang
Jin-Tai Yu
for the Alzheimer’s Disease Neuroimaging Initiative
Publication date
01-12-2022
Publisher
BioMed Central
Published in
Journal of Neuroinflammation / Issue 1/2022
Electronic ISSN: 1742-2094
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1186/s12974-022-02679-5

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