Peripheral administration of tau aggregates triggers intracerebral tauopathy in transgenic mice

Excerpt

Soluble tau forms insoluble aggregates following the intracerebral injection of tau inclusions [3, 4]. This is reminiscent of prions, the intracerebral injection of which induces aggregation of cellular prion protein (PrP^C) [9]. Multiple routes of administration can transmit prion diseases, with the intracerebral route being more effective than the intraperitoneal route, which is in turn more effective than the oral route [7]. The oral administration of aggregated apolipoprotein A-II [11] and aggregated amyloid protein A (AA) [8] has also been shown to promote systemic amyloidosis. Moreover, intraperitoneally injected aggregated Aβ-containing extracts increased cerebral β-amyloidosis [5]. Here, we report for the first time that the intraperitoneal injection of tau seeds can also induce intracerebral tauopathy. …