We assessed AGS in WT, fmr-1^-/-, Tg2576 and FRA×AD mice all in a C57BL/6 background. Mice were generated, bred and housed as previously described [8]. All strains were tested at postnatal day 21 (P21), the peak of AGS sensitivity [9]. Mice were transferred to a Plexiglas box (13″L × 8″W × 7″H) and exposed to a high-pitched siren (118 dB) from a personal body alarm (LOUD KEY^TM). We scored the number of mice exhibiting wild running (WR), tonic seizures (AGS) and death, and statistical significance was assessed by Chi Square analyses. All husbandry, seizure and euthanasia procedures were performed in accordance with NIH guidelines and an approved University of Wisconsin animal care protocol.

Pure C57BL/6 mice are resistant to AGS [10] and we observed only a 5% seizure rate in WT mice (Figure 1). In fmr-1^-/- mice, 56% exhibited WR, 44% AGS and 38% death resulting from seizures. Thus, as seen previously, fmr-1^-/- mice exhibit a strong AGS phenotype and WT controls do not [9,11-13]. Tg2576 exhibited very similar susceptibility to AGS as fmr-1^-/- mice. This is the first report that an AD mouse model is susceptible to AGS, although elevated susceptibility to PTZ-induced seizures has been reported [14]. FRA×AD mice showed nearly double the AGS susceptibility as the parental fmr-1^-/- and Tg2576 lines. The increased susceptibility to audiogenic stimulation in the FRA×AD compared to the Tg2576 is also apparent by the decreased latency time to onset of WR (data not shown). ELISA analyses of brain lysates revealed the highest levels of Aβ in FRA×AD mice followed by Tg2576, fmr-1^-/- and WT [2,8]. Thus, there was a significant increase in seizure sensitivity in all of the AD and F×S mouse strains tested compared to WT controls, which correlated with aggregate Aβ levels.

To further strengthen our hypothesis, we tested AGS susceptibility in Ts65Dn mice, which like fmr-1^-/- over-express mouse AβPP (mAβPP) and mAβ. Trisomic mice displayed 75% WR, 56% AGS and 50% death rates (Figure 1). The Ts65Dn and littermate control (Cn) mice are in a mixed background (mothers: B6EiC3Sn a/A-Ts(17¹⁶)65Dn; fathers: B6EiC3Sn (C57BL/6JEi × C3H/HeSnJ) F1. The WT controls in the mixed background exhibited an increased propensity for WR and AGS compared to the C57BL/6 WT mice, but significantly less than their trisomic littermates. In aggregate these results suggest that AβPP over-expression contributes to AGS.

Antagonists to mGluR₅ have been shown to revert many fmr-1^-/- phenotypes [9,15-17]. MPEP is a specific and potent noncompetitive antagonist of mGluR₅ that is capable of crossing the blood brain barrier [18-19], attenuating AGS in fmr-1^-/- mice [9], and blocking mGluR₅-mediated up-regulation of AβPP synthesis [2]. We treated WT, Tg2576 and FRA×AD mice with 30 mg/kg body weight MPEP 30 minutes prior to AGS induction. mGluR₅ blockade completely attenuated WR, AGS and death in Tg2576 and reduced these phenotypes in FRA×AD mice (Table 1). FRA×AD mice produce significantly more Aβ_1-40 by 2 weeks of age than Tg2576 as assessed by ELISA of whole brain lysates [8], which may account for the inability of a single treatment with MPEP to completely attenuate AGS. To corroborate these results, we tested a second mGluR₅ antagonist, fenobam, which can be orally administered in chow to rodents. Pups were weaned at P18 and transferred to the fenobam-supplemented feed for 3 days prior to AGS testing at P21. Fenobam significantly reduced the number of deaths in Tg2576 and Ts65Dn mice (Table 1). For the mice that did exhibit seizures, the latency times to WR and AGS were longer (at least 1.8-fold) after fenobam treatment (data not shown). This data demonstrates that mGluR₅ blockade significantly reduces AGS in mice that overexpress AβPP.

Finally, we assessed AGS rates in Tg2576 mice after passive immunization with an anti-AβPP/Aβ antibody, sc-28365LS (Santa Cruz Biotechnology, Inc., Santa Cruz, CA). This monoclonal antibody was generated against amino acids 672-714 of hAβPP, but epitope information is not available. Thus, sc-28365LS recognizes AβPP and Aβ and possibly sAβPPα if the antigen recognition site is amino-terminal to the α-secretase cleavage site within Aβ. The antibody (12.5 μg) was administered by I.P. injection to 18-day-old Tg2576 and AGS sensitivity was tested at P21. Passive immunization with the anti-Aβ antibody significantly reduced the death rate in Tg2576 mice (Table 1).