Understanding the mechanistic link between vascular dysfunction and Alzheimers disease-related protein accumulation in the medial temporal lobe

项目总结/摘要 标题：了解血管功能障碍与阿尔茨海默病相关蛋白之间的机制联系 在内侧颞叶的堆积 脑小血管病（CSVD），以脑淀粉样蛋白的形式影响脑小血管 血管病（CAA）或小动脉硬化，是主要负责或显着促进因素， 阿尔茨海默病和相关痴呆（AD/ADRD）。然而，血管病理学是否 和AD相关的病理独立地导致痴呆或相互因果作用。功能障碍 在血管周围清除中，负责处理来自血管的代谢废物的系统之一 脑和血脑屏障（BBB）渗漏，都发生在CSVD病理存在时， 可以解释这种相互作用的机制。拟议研究的目的是查明 CSVD和AD相关病理之间的相互作用，以推断其潜在的 机制等重点将放在内侧颞叶（MTL）上，这是发展的关键大脑区域。 AD/ADRD，因为它是认知的基础，并且是多种AD相关病理的部位 共存（例如Aβ斑块、神经元tau缠结、TAR DNA结合蛋白43和神经元丢失）， 在疾病的早期阶段（例如缠结）。首先，申请人将调查CSVD是否在 MTL与AD相关的病理（假设1）。其次，她将推断出 血管周围清除功能障碍和BBB-泄漏对这些相互作用的影响（假设2），旨在建立 并验证MTL中微血管健康的神经影像学标志物（假设3）。的创新之处 建议在于使用定量神经成像和神经病理学方法，包括超高 分辨率离体MRI、偏振敏感光学相干断层扫描和基于深度学习的测量 核磁共振成像和连续组织学检查拟议的调查解决了一个重大的知识差距， AD和CSVD之间的复杂相互作用，已被NIH强调为研究重点。 成功完成目标将导致微血管的组织学验证的神经成像标记物 MTL的健康，这可以应用于体内研究，以了解疾病修饰的影响。 干预措施。该提案利用了候选人现有的技能组合和已证明的血管专业知识 病理学，并将提供一个宝贵的培训机会，以获得新的技能和分析方法。这 该奖项将有助于成功过渡到独立调查员。重要的是，支持 国际公认的人类CSVD和AD（共同）导师团队以及独特的资源 马萨诸塞州总医院和哈佛医学院提供的信息是确保有效的 结果

Project Summary/Abstract Title: Understanding the mechanistic link between vascular dysfunction and Alzheimer’s disease-related protein accumulation in the medial temporal lobe. Cerebral small vessel disease (CSVD), which affects small vessels of the brain in the form of cerebral amyloid angiopathy (CAA) or arteriolosclerosis, is either primarily responsible or a significantly contributing factor to Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias (AD/ADRD). However, it remains unclear whether vascular pathology and AD-related pathology independently contribute to dementia or causally interact with each other. Dysfunction in perivascular clearance, one of the systems responsible for the disposal of metabolic waste products from the brain, and blood-brain barrier (BBB) leakage, both occur when CSVD pathology is present and are candidate mechanisms that could explain this interaction. The objective of the proposed research is to pinpoint the reciprocal interaction between CSVD and AD-related pathology, in order to infer its underlying mechanisms. The focus will be on the medial temporal lobe (MTL), a critical brain region for the development of AD/ADRD, because it is fundamental for cognition and it is a site where a multiplicity of AD-related pathologies coexist (e.g. Aβ-plaques, neurofibrillary tau tangles, TAR DNA binding protein 43, and neuronal loss), some of which in very early stages of the disease (e.g. tangles). Firstly, the applicant will investigate whether CSVD in the MTL worsens AD-related pathology (Hypothesis 1). Secondly, she will infer the contributing role of perivascular clearance dysfunction and BBB-leakage to these interactions (Hypothesis 2) and aims to create and validate neuroimaging markers of microvascular health in the MTL (Hypothesis 3). The innovation of this proposal lies in the use of quantitative neuroimaging and neuropathological methods, including ultra-high resolution ex vivo MRI, polarization-sensitive optical coherence tomography, and deep-learning based measures of MRI and serial histology. The proposed investigations address a significant knowledge gap, related to the complex interactions between AD and CSVD, which has been emphasized as a research priority by the NIH. Successful completion of the aims will result in histologically validated neuroimaging markers of microvascular health of the MTL, which can be applied to in vivo studies to understand the impact of disease-modifying interventions. This proposal leverages the candidate’s existing skillset and demonstrated expertise in vascular pathology and will provide an invaluable training opportunity to acquire new skills and analytic methods. This award will be instrumental for a successful transition into an independent investigator. Importantly, the support of an internationally recognized team of (co-)mentors in human CSVD and AD and the unique resources available at Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School are key ingredients to ensure impactful results.