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The importance of astrocytes for Alzheimer's disease (AD) pathology is increasingly appreciated, yet the mechanisms whereby this cell type impacts neurodegenerative processes remain elusive. Here we show that, in a genetic mouse model with diminished astrocyte stress response, even low levels of amyloid-β trigger astrocyte reactivity, resulting in brain inflammation and massive amyloid and tau pathologies. This dysfunctional response of astrocytes to amyloid-β acts through activation of δ secretase, a stress-induced protease implicated in both amyloid and tau-related proteolytic processing. Our findings identify a failed astrocyte stress response to amyloid-β as an early inducer of amyloid and tau co-morbidity, a noxious process in AD acting through a non-canonical secretase pathway.
Schmidt et al. (Fri,) studied this question.