Full human gene-replacement mouse models of ADRDs

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Our overall objective is to develop the first sets of Alzheimer’s disease related dementia (ADRD) mouse lines that model the genetics of ADRDs as closely as possible. These models will serve as experimental systems for probing the molecular dysfunctions caused by pathogenic ADRD mutations, identifying quantifiable early-stage endophenotypes directly linked to these mutations, and developing and testing therapeutic interventions for correcting these dysfunctions. To make these models, we have developed Gene Replacement (GR) technology that allows us to replace mouse genes with their full human orthologs up to several hundred kb in size. We used this technology to generate a MAPT-GR line of mice in which we replaced the full mouse Mapt genomic coding and regulatory region (156,547 bp) with the full human MAPT genomic sequence (190,081 bp). We have confirmed that mice homozygous for this MAPT-GR allele express human tau at endogenous levels, and that all expected splice variants are found in the appropriate tissues and in ratios expected for the fully functional human MAPT gene. Our specific aims for the R61 phase of this project are to 1) generate five lines of mice that precisely match our first wt MAPT-GR control line except for the pathogenic frontotemporal dementia with parkinsonism-17 (FTDP-17) mutation that we specifically introduce; 2) identify quantifiable endophenotypes that are significantly different between pathogenic MAPT-GR variant lines and the wt control, with and without external insult (i.e., head trauma); and 3) begin to generate additional sets of GR lines of mice in which other genes involved in the etiology of ADRD have been replaced by their human homologs. Once we have achieved these goals, our specific aims for the R33 phase are to: 1) release the matched set of MAPT- GR lines for distribution without restriction; 2) conduct full longitudinal characterization of identified tau- associated endophenotypes, neuropathology and behavior of the MAPT-GR lines; and 3) generate additional matched sets of ADRD-GR mouse lines similar to the MAPT-GR lines, namely C9orf72-GR (amyotrophic lateral sclerosis- frontotemporal dementia; ALS-FTD), SNCA-GR (dementia with Lewy bodies), MATR3-GR (ALS- FTD), and GRN-GR (FTD). Our contributions here are expected to be: a) sets of full human gene-replacement ADRD mouse models that are completely defined at the genetic level, have precisely matched control lines, and mimic the human genetics of ADRD; and b) identified, quantifiable early-stage endophenotypes closely linked to pathogenic mutations in the human MAPT gene. These contributions will be significant because they will provide new tools to interrogate molecular disease mechanisms, identify therapeutic targets, and develop effective therapies. These precisely matched sets of animal models will allow the research community to evaluate the molecular impact of pathogenic mutations within the context of the human genomic sequence in which they occur in patients, and these mouse lines will contain all potential human therapeutic targets ranging from the full genomic DNA sequences to all RNA transcription variants and protein products that they encode.