# The role of APOE and Bone Morphogenic protein 4 (BMP4) in early cellular pathophysiology of Alzheimer's Disease

> **NIH NIH F31** · NORTHWESTERN UNIVERSITY · 2022 · $46,752

## Abstract

Project Summary
Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is a heterogeneous neurodegenerative disorder categorized clinically by premature
deficits in learning and memory that gradually progress to severe dementia. Although familial forms of the
disease are caused by mutations in specific genes, the majority of AD occurs sporadically (sAD). The strongest
risk factor for sAD diagnosis is age, implicating biochemical changes that occur across lifespan that increase
pathogenic susceptibility. One of the changes that occur throughout aging in both human and rodent brains is
an increase in BMP4 signaling, in a manner that is significantly negatively correlated with cognitive decline and
decreased spatial memory in mouse models. The strongest genetic risk factor for sporadic Alzheimer’s disease
is apolipoprotein E (APOE) genotype; the APOEε4 isoform is significantly more prevalent in AD populations and
has been linked to increased disease progression and earlier age of onset. Previous work in the Kessler lab has
shown that APOEε4 neurons, compared to APOEε3 isogenic control neurons, express increased levels of
phosphorylated tau and have greater predisposition to cell death in response to external stressors such as
ionomycin. The current proposal seeks to understand the interaction between increased BMP4 and APOEε4
expression at the cellular level to understand early sAD disease pathogenesis. To answer this question, our
laboratory has generated induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) from patients with sporadic AD and used
CRISPR-/Cas9 editing of APOEε3/4 cells to create isogenic APOEε3/3 lines. These cells are then differentiated
into neurons and astrocytes to determine cell-autonomous and non-cell autonomous cellular pathology involved
in increased BMP4 signaling and APOEε4 expression. The first aim will test the hypothesis that increased BMP4
in tandem with APOEε4 expression elicit additive effects that negatively alters astrocytic expression and
homeostatic functions. To test this hypothesis, transcriptomics will be used to determine differential gene
expression and subsequent studies will be used to address protein expression and functional changes may
occur. The second aim will utilize iPSC patient-derived cocultures of neurons and astrocytes in matched or
mismatched isogenic pairs to determine non-cell autonomous changes that occur as a result of increased BMP4
signaling and APOEε4 genotype, testing the hypothesis that APOEε4 astrocytes, along with increased BMP4
signaling, exaggerate pathological cascades in neurons, leading to decreased viability subsequent cell death of
neurons. The purpose of the first aim is to determine how astrocytes, whose trophic support is necessary for
neuronal viability, alter homeostatic functions in response to sAD risk factors. The second aim will uncover how
these cell-autonomous changes in astrocytes ultimately modify early disease pathology in neurons. The overall
long-term goal is to identify early targetable mechanisms for s...

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10535543
- **Project number:** 1F31AG079540-01
- **Recipient organization:** NORTHWESTERN UNIVERSITY
- **Principal Investigator:** Anne Kathryn Linden
- **Activity code:** F31 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2022
- **Award amount:** $46,752
- **Award type:** 1
- **Project period:** 2022-09-01 → 2024-08-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10535543

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10535543, The role of APOE and Bone Morphogenic protein 4 (BMP4) in early cellular pathophysiology of Alzheimer's Disease (1F31AG079540-01). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-24 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10535543. Licensed CC0.

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