It was quite gratifying to read the elegant report of Rockenstein et
al. showing the protective effects of decreasing levels of activated
GSK3beta, which were associated with improved behavioral performance and
decreased tau phosphorylation in transgenic mice. These results bear out
our earlier results (not cited in this paper) that decreased levels of
activated GSK3beta induced by propentophylline were associated with
decreased tau phosphorylation (1) and, in separate experiments, that
propentophylline also induced decreased Abeta levels in transgenic mice
(2), thus suggesting the plausible hypothesis that GSK3beta may be the
link between amyloid and hyperphosphorylated tau in Alzheimer's disease
(1, 3). The results reported by Rockenstein et al. provide additional
evidence consistent with this hypothesis. In view of the mounting
evidence, it would be important to attempt to prove or disprove this
hypothesis. Two interesting experiments would be (1) to test whether
lithium or propentophylline would reduce activated GSK3b and block
hyperphosphorylation of tau in mice harboring mutant human tau genes
related to tauopathies and (2) whether the mutant tau gene would lead to
hyperphosphorylated tau in GSK-null mice.
1. Chauhan NB, Siegel GJ, Feinstein DL, Propentophylline attenuates
tau phosphorylation in Alzheimer's Swedish mutant model Tg2576,
Neuropharmacology, 2005, 48:93-104.
2. Chauhan NB and Siegel GJ, Effect of PPF and ALCAR on the induction
of NGF- and p75-mRNA and on APP processing in Tg2576 brain, Neurochem Int,
2003, 43:225-33.
3. Siegel GJ, Chauhan NB and Karczmar AG, Links Between Amyloid and
Tau Biology in Alzheimer's Disease and their Cholinergic Aspects, in [AG
Karczmar, editor] Exploring the Vertebrate Central Cholinergic Nervous
System, Springer Science+Busines Media LLC, 2007, pp 597-656.