# The Role of Chromogranin A in Tauopathy

> **NIH NIH R21** · UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, SAN DIEGO · 2021 · $434,375

## Abstract

Project Summary
Tauopathies including Alzheimer's Disease (AD) and frontotemporal dementia (FTD) affect a third of the
world population aged over 65. To cope with this health crisis, industrial and academic laboratories have
been trying to develop drugs. These efforts have resulted in hundreds of clinical trials, but the success has
been limited to only slowing the disease by a handful. The failure points our lack of knowledge of how these
diseases set off. Therefore, there is a need to better understand the biochemical processes in the early stage
of these diseases. It is possible that regulatory imbalances brought by many factors rendering these diseases
highly heterogeneous. To address these complex issues, it is critical to identify new factors contributing to
the development of tauopathies.
 This proposal will determine if a secretory protein factor, chromogranin A (CgA), plays any role in
tauopathies. CgA is an acidic glycoprotein synthesized and stored in hormone storage granules of endocrine
cells and neurons acting as a regulator of neurotransmitter. It plays an important role in maintaining tissue
homeostasis, inflammation, and insulin sensitivity. CgA concentration was reported to be high in the CSF of
AD patients and was frequently observed in Aβ plaques surrounded by activated microglia and stimulates
the release of cytotoxins. These previous reports, however, are based on in vitro experiments in cultured
cells and no real progress has been made to understand CgA's role in AD in vivo. Moreover, whether CgA
plays a role in tau pathogenesis is completely unknown.
 Three research groups with expertise in tauopathy, CgA physiology, and inflammation will work
together to investigate if and how CgA affects cognition, neuroinflammation, and metabolism of PS19
transgenic mice. We have gathered preliminary information showing that i) PS19 mice are insulin-resistant;
ii) CgA is overexpressed in PS19 and iii) an inflammatory pathway is activated in PS19 mice brain. Our data
along with published reports led us to hypothesize that overexpression of CgA is responsible for i) metabolic
stress, ii) neuroinflammation and iii) neurotransmitter imbalance. These abnormalities are intimately
associated with heightened pathological tau accumulation resulting in the full-blown disease. To test our
hypothesis, we will generate PS19/Chga-/- and PS19/Chga-/+ mice, and determine if the depletion of CgA
ameliorates neurodegeneration by comparing i) pathological tau accumulation and propagation, ii)
neuroinflammation, iii) cognitive function, and iv) metabolic phenotype and longevity, in these and age-
matched PS19/Chga+/+ (PS19) and non-transgenic/Chga+/+ (wild type) mice.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10214077
- **Project number:** 1R21AG072487-01
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, SAN DIEGO
- **Principal Investigator:** Xu Chen
- **Activity code:** R21 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2021
- **Award amount:** $434,375
- **Award type:** 1
- **Project period:** 2021-05-01 → 2024-04-30

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10214077

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10214077, The Role of Chromogranin A in Tauopathy (1R21AG072487-01). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-25 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10214077. Licensed CC0.

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