A novel recombinant 6Aβ15-THc-C chimeric vaccine (rCV02) mitigates Alzheimer's disease-like pathology, cognitive decline and synaptic loss in aged 3 x Tg-AD mice

Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a neurodegenerative disorder that impairs memory and cognition. Targeting amyloid-beta (A beta) may be currently the most promising immunotherapeutic strategy for AD. In this study, a recombinant chimeric 6A beta 15-THc-C immunogen was formulated with alum adjuvant as a novel A beta B-cell epitope candidate vaccine (rCV02) for AD. We examined its efficacy in preventing the cognitive deficit and synaptic impairment in 3 x Tg-AD mice. Using a toxin-derived carrier protein, the rCV02 vaccine elicited robust A beta-specific antibodies that markedly reduced AD-like pathology and improved behavioral performance in 3 x Tg-AD mice. Along with the behavioral improvement in aged 3 x Tg-AD mice, rCV02 significantly decreased calpain activation concurrent with reduced soluble A beta or oligomeric forms of A beta, probably by preventing dynamin 1 and PSD-95 degradation. Our data support the hypothesis that reducing A beta levels in rCV02-immunized AD mice increases the levels of presynaptic dynamin 1 and postsynaptic PSD-95 allowing functional recovery of cognition. In conclusion, this novel and highly immunogenic rCV02 shows promise as a new candidate prophylactic vaccine for AD and may be useful for generating rapid and strong A beta-specific antibodies in AD patients with pre-existing memory Th cells generated after immunization with conventional tetanus toxoid vaccine.