Fibrillar Abeta triggers microglial proteome alterations and dysfunction in Alzheimer mouse models.

Microglial dysfunction is a key pathological feature of Alzheimer's disease (AD), but little is known about proteome-wide changes in microglia during the course of AD and their functional consequences. Here, we performed an in-depth and time-resolved proteomic characterization of microglia in two mouse models of amyloid beta (Abeta) pathology, the overexpression APPPS1 and the knock-in APP-NL-G-F (APP-KI) model. We identified a large panel of Microglial Abeta Response Proteins (MARPs) that reflect heterogeneity of microglial alterations during early, middle and advanced stages of Abeta deposition and occur earlier in the APPPS1 mice. Strikingly, the kinetic differences in proteomic profiles correlated with the presence of fibrillar Abeta, rather than dystrophic neurites, suggesting that fibrillar Abeta may trigger the AD-associated microglial phenotype and the observed functional decline. The identified microglial proteomic fingerprints of AD provide a valuable resource for functional studies of novel molecular targets and potential biomarkers for monitoring AD progression or therapeutic efficacy.