The domestic cat as an animal model for age-related neurofibrillary tangles

目前的研究表明，神经原纤维缠结是人类阿尔茨海默病的标志性病变之一，在包括家猫在内的老年猫科动物的大脑中也有发展。与狗和猴子等其他哺乳动物相比，这些猫的β淀粉样蛋白（一种与阿尔茨海默病发病有关的蛋白质）的氨基酸序列发生了改变。-淀粉样蛋白在猫大脑中的沉积模式也与狗和猴子不同。在有严重神经原纤维缠结的猫中，海马中的神经元数量显著减少。综上所述，家猫可能是研究阿尔茨海默病病理，特别是β -淀粉样蛋白、tau蛋白与神经变性之间关系的有用动物模型。

The present study revealed that neurofibrillary tangles, one of the hallmark lesions of Alzheimer's disease in humans, are also developed in brains of aged felidae species including the domestic cat. These cats have an altered amino acid sequence in the beta amyloid (a protein involved in the onset of Alzheimer's disease) compared to other mammalian animals such as the dog and the monkey. The deposition pattern of beta amyloid in the cat brains were also different from that of dogs and monkeys. In cats with severe neurofibrillary tangles, the number of neurons in the hippocampus was significantly decreased. In conclusion, the domestic cat is likely to be a useful animal model for studying the pathology of Alzheimer's disease, especially the relation between beta amyloid, tau protein, and neurodegeneration.