Apolipoprotein E3 (ApoE3) but not ApoE4 protects against synaptic loss through increased expression of protein kinase C epsilon.

Synaptic loss is the earliest pathological change in Alzheimer disease (AD) and is the pathological change most directly correlated with the degree of dementia. ApoE4 is the major genetic risk factor for the age-dependent form of AD, which accounts for 95% of cases. Here we show that in synaptic networks formed from primary hippocampal neurons in culture, apoE3, but not apoE4, prevents the loss of synaptic networks produced by amyloid β oligomers (amylospheroids). Specific activators of PKCε, such as 8-(2-(2-pentyl-cyclopropylmethyl)-cyclopropyl)-octanoic acid methyl ester and bryostatin 1, protected against synaptic loss by amylospheroids, whereas PKCε inhibitors blocked this synaptic protection and also blocked the protection by apoE3. Blocking LRP1, an apoE receptor on the neuronal membrane, also blocked the protection by apoE. ApoE3, but not apoE4, induced the synthesis of PKCε mRNA and expression of the PKCε protein. Amyloid β specifically blocked the expression of PKCε but had no effect on other isoforms. These results suggest that protection against synaptic loss by apoE is mediated by a novel intracellular PKCε pathway. This apoE pathway may account for much of the protective effect of apoE and reduced risk for the age-dependent form of AD. This finding supports the potential efficacy of newly developed therapeutics for AD.