Nodal degree centrality in the default mode-like network of the TgF344-AD Alzheimer's disease rat model as a measure of early network alterations.

Autor: Amiri S; Neuroscience Research Center, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran., van den Berg M; Bio-Imaging Lab, University of Antwerp, Antwerp, Belgium.; µNEURO Research Centre of Excellence, University of Antwerp, Antwerp, Belgium., Nazem-Zadeh MR; Research Center for Molecular and Cellular Imaging, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.; Department of neuroscience, Monash university, Melbourne, Vic, Australia., Verhoye M; Bio-Imaging Lab, University of Antwerp, Antwerp, Belgium.; µNEURO Research Centre of Excellence, University of Antwerp, Antwerp, Belgium., Amiri M; Medical Technology Research Center, Institute of Health Technology, Kermanshah University of Medical Sciences, Kermanshah, Iran. ma_amiri_bme@yahoo.com., Keliris GA; Bio-Imaging Lab, University of Antwerp, Antwerp, Belgium. georgios.keliris@outlook.com.; µNEURO Research Centre of Excellence, University of Antwerp, Antwerp, Belgium. georgios.keliris@outlook.com.; Institute of Computer Science, Hellas Foundation for Research & Technology - Hellas, Heraklion, Crete, Greece. georgios.keliris@outlook.com.
Jazyk: angličtina
Zdroj: Npj aging [NPJ Aging] 2024 Jun 20; Vol. 10 (1), pp. 29. Date of Electronic Publication: 2024 Jun 20.
DOI: 10.1038/s41514-024-00151-7
Abstrakt: This study investigates brain network alterations in the default mode-like network (DMLN) at early stages of disease progression in a rat model of Alzheimer's disease (AD) with application in the development of early diagnostic biomarkers of AD in translational studies. Thirteen male TgF344-AD (TG) rats, and eleven male wild-types (WT) littermates underwent longitudinal resting-state fMRI at the age of 4 and 6 months (pre and early-plaque stages of AD). Alterations in connectivity within DMLN were characterized by calculating the nodal degree (ND), a graph theoretical measure of centrality. The ND values of the left CA2 subregion of the hippocampus was found to be significantly lower in the 4-month-old TG cohort compared to the age-matched WT littermates. Moreover, a lower ND value (hypo-connectivity) was observed in the right prelimbic cortex (prL) and basal forebrain in the 6-month-old TG cohort, compared to the same age WT cohort. Indeed, the ND pattern in the DMLN in both TG and WT cohorts showed significant differences across the two time points that represent pre-plaque and early plaque stages of disease progression. Our findings indicate that lower nodal degree (hypo-connectivity) in the left CA2 in the pre-plaque stage of AD and hypo-connectivity between the basal forebrain and the DMLN regions in the early-plaque stage demonstrated differences in comparison to healthy controls. These results suggest that a graph-theoretical measure such as the nodal degree, can characterize brain networks and improve our insights into the mechanisms underlying Alzheimer's disease.
(© 2024. The Author(s).)
Databáze: MEDLINE
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