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Background: The metabolic routes altered in Alzheimer's disease (AD) brain are poorly understood. As the metabolic pathways are evolutionarily conserved, the metabolic profiles carried out in animal models of AD could be directly translated into human studiesMethods: We performed untargeted 1H-NMR metabolomics in hippocampus of McGill-R-Thy1-APP transgenic (Tg) rats, a model of AD-like cerebral amyloidosis. Three groups of 9 month-old rats were tested: hemizygous Tg+/-, displaying mild amyloid pathology characterized by intraneuronal amyloid β (iAβ) accumulation; homozygous Tg+/+, showing iAβ, senile plaques and neuroinflammation, and wild-type (WT). The translational potential of these findings was assessed in plasma of participants in the German longitudinal study on Aging, Cognition and Dementia (AgeCoDe), by targeted GC-EI/MS. Results: Eighteen metabolites were detected, three of them showed significant differences among genotypes, but only two were specifically assigned to a known molecule: nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NAD) and nicotinamide (Nam). Only Tg+/+ rats showed significantly decreased levels of total-NAD, NADH and NAD+ as compared to WT, and a significant increase in NAD+/NADH ratio, suggesting an alteration of the redox state, alongside the reduction of all forms of NAD. Transcript levels of NAD-consuming and NAD-synthesis enzymes were increased in both transgenic genotypes. Next, Nam and NAD were evaluated at the peripheral level in rat plasma, where NAD/H was undetectable, Nam levels were unchanged among genotypes, but Trigonelline (a metabolic product of Nam) was reduced in Tg+/+. While trigonelline was undetected, Nam was significantly reduced in AD demented patients respect to cognitively normal participants (controls). This finding in Nam was replicated in a second independent case-control sample drawn from the same AgeCoDe. Next, the predictive value of Nam on disease progression was analyzed. Herein, reduction of Nam levels was observed in AgeCoDe participants who progressed to AD dementia ~1 year after blood collection, whereas Nam level were not reduced in those who converted afterwards. Conclusions: This preclinical study suggests that dysregulation of NAD/Nam depends on cerebral amyloid burden, and support the hypothesis that changes observed in the hippocampus may be detected in plasma. Furthermore, the findings in AgeCoDe points toward the potential use of Nam as plasma biomarker for AD. |
