Postępujące porażenie nadrdzeniowe
Patofizjologia i mechanizm

Postępujące porażenie nadrdzeniowe (PSP) jest tauopatią charakteryzującą się patologiczną agregacją hiperfosforylowanego białka tau, głównie izoform 4R-tau, w neuronach i komórkach glejowych pnia mózgu, jąder podstawy oraz móżdżku. Genetycznie, głównym czynnikiem ryzyka jest haplotyp H1 genu MAPT (chromosom 17q21.1), który zwiększa ekspresję tau. Patologia tau rozprzestrzenia się progresywnie, począwszy od jądra niskowzgórzowego, istoty czarnej i gałki bladej, aż do kory mózgowej i móżdżku, co koreluje z klinicznymi objawami ruchowymi, poznawczymi i oculomotorycznymi. W patogenezie istotną rolę odgrywają również mechanizmy neurozapalne, aktywacja mikrogleju oraz dysfunkcja mitochondrialna. Diagnostycznie, biomarkery w płynie mózgowo-rdzeniowym, takie jak formy tau o masie 55 kDa i 33 kDa, wykazują wysoką czułość w wykrywaniu PSP.

Patogeneza postępującego porażenia nadrdzeniowego

Postępujące porażenie nadrdzeniowe (PSP) jest rzadkim, śmiertelnym schorzeniem neurodegeneracyjnym charakteryzującym się progresywnym zaburzeniem ruchu, równowagi, funkcji poznawczych, ruchów gałek ocznych, połykania i mowy. Jest klasyfikowane jako tauopatia, czyli schorzenie związane z patologiczną agregacją białka tau w mózgu. Patogeneza PSP jest złożona i obejmuje wiele mechanizmów molekularnych oraz komórkowych12.

Agregacja białka tau i jego rola w PSP

Główną cechą histopatologiczną PSP jest wewnątrzmózgowa agregacja białka tau związanego z mikrotubulami, z preferencyjnym zajęciem jądra niskowzgórzowego, gałki bladej, prążkowia, jądra czerwiennego, istoty czarnej, tegmentum mostu, jądra nerwu okoruchowego, rdzenia przedłużonego i jądra zębatego móżdżku12. Agregaty zawierają głównie izoformy tau z czterema powtórzeniami wiążącymi mikrotubule (4R-tau) w postaci splątków neurofibrylarnych, spirali oligodendrocytów i pęczków astrocytarnych12.

W normalnych warunkach białko tau jest fosforylowane na serii reszt seryny i treoniny, regulowanych przez liczne kinazy i fosfatazy. Pomaga ono w utrzymaniu stabilności mikrotubul, które stanowią wewnętrzny szkielet komórek nerwowych12. W PSP i innych tauopatiach białko tau ulega hiperfosforylacji, co powoduje utratę powinowactwa do mikrotubul i zwiększa oporność na proteolizę. Prowadzi to do akumulacji tau i tworzenia splątków neurofibrylarnych1.

Nadmierna fosforylacja jest najważniejszą modyfikacją potranslacyjną i wpływa na stabilność mikrotubul oraz transport aksonalny. Zmniejszona zdolność wiązania tubuliny zaburza interakcję między tau a mikrotubulami, prowadząc do dezorganizacji mikrotubul, samopoilimeryzacji białka i jego agregacji1.

Izoformy tau w PSP

Gen tau (MAPT) znajduje się na długim ramieniu chromosomu 17 (17q21.1) i składa się z niekodującego eksonu 0, po którym następuje 14 eksonów kodujących lub alternatywnie składanych1. W wyniku alternatywnego składania powstaje sześć różnych izoform białka tau, które można podzielić na grupy w zależności od liczby powtarzających się domen wiążących mikrotubule1.

PSP zalicza się do rodziny tauopatii 4R, razem z zanikiem korowo-podstawnym (CBD) i związaną z wiekiem tauopatią przyśrodkowej części płata skroniowego, chorobą ziarnistości argyrofilnych1. Białko tau będzie miało albo trzy, albo cztery powtórzenia domen, co jest determinowane przez to, czy transkrypt eksonu 10 jest wycinany w końcowym białku tau1.

Badania in vitro wykazały, że tau 4R wiąże się silniej z mikrotubulami niż tau 3R1. Agregacja białka tau 4R w neuronach i komórkach glejowych w pniu mózgu i jądrach podstawy jest typowym znaleziskiem u pacjentów z PSP, ze stosunkiem 3:1 na korzyść tau 4R w porównaniu z tau 3R1.

Genetyczne uwarunkowania PSP

Głównym genetycznym czynnikiem ryzyka sporadycznego PSP jest powszechny wariant genu kodującego białko tau związane z mikrotubulami (MAPT)1. Lokus MAPT składa się z dwóch głównych haplotypów, H1 i H21. Haplotyp H1 okazał się być czynnikiem ryzyka dla PSP, podczas gdy haplotyp H2 wydaje się być czynnikiem ochronnym12.

Sekwencja białka tau jest taka sama w haplotypach H1 i H2, co sugeruje, że związek MAPT z PSP dotyczy różnic w poziomach ekspresji tau, alternatywnego składania mRNA lub kombinacji obu1. Najbardziej prawdopodobnym wyjaśnieniem związku haplotypu MAPT H1 z PSP jest to, że warianty w haplotypach H1/H2 zwiększają ryzyko/ochronę przed chorobą poprzez zmianę ekspresji w locus, przy czym haplotypy H1 wykazują wyższe poziomy ekspresji MAPT1.

Wariant w genie białka tau nazywany haplotypem H1, zlokalizowany na chromosomie 17 (rs1800547), został powiązany z PSP1. Dlatego haplotyp H1 wydaje się być konieczny, ale niewystarczający do wywołania PSP1.

Zidentyfikowano 10 różnych mutacji MAPT u pacjentów z PSP, w tym mutację R5L w eksonie 11. Chociaż większość przypadków PSP jest sporadyczna, istnieją doniesienia o rodzinnym występowaniu1.

Znaleziono również nowe znaczące markery genetyczne związane z ryzykiem PSP, które obejmują geny STX6, EIF2AK3 i MOBP. Sugeruje to, że białka związane z fuzją błony pęcherzykowej na styku aparatu Golgiego i endosomu, odpowiedzią na nieprawidłowo sfałdowane białka w retikulum endoplazmatycznym oraz składnikiem strukturalnym mieliny mogą przyczyniać się do patofizjologii tej choroby1.

Niedawna analiza genomu całego genomu (GWAS) PSP, która obejmowała 2779 przypadków (2595 potwierdzonych neuropatologicznie) i 5584 kontroli, zidentyfikowała sześć niezależnych loci podatności na PSP ze znaczącymi asocjacjami, w tym pięć znanych (MAPT, MOBP, STX6, RUNX2, SLCO1A2) i jedno nowe locus (C4A)1.

Proces neurodegeneracji w PSP

Deterioracja komórek w pniu mózgu, korze mózgowej, móżdżku i jądrach podstawy – skupiska komórek głęboko w mózgu – jest tym, co powoduje problemy z koordynacją i ruchem w postępującym porażeniu nadrdzeniowym1.

Badacze odkryli, że uszkodzone komórki mózgowe osób z postępującym porażeniem nadrdzeniowym mają nadmiar białka zwanego tau. Skupiska tau znajdują się również w innych chorobach mózgu, takich jak choroba Alzheimera1.

W PSP, jak się wydaje, tau staje się nieprawidłowo sfałdowane, co powoduje, że skleja się i zostaje uwięzione wewnątrz komórki. W mózgach z PSP obszary mózgu, które mają komórki z tau w środku, wykazują upośledzenie neuronów i śmierć neuronalną1.

Agregaty tau tworzą się nie tylko w neuronach, ale również w komórkach glejowych, co jest charakterystyczną cechą PSP12. Neurony wykazują splątki neurofibrylarne (NFT), które są skupiskami białka tau, normalnej części wewnętrznego szkieletu strukturalnego komórki mózgowej1.

Włókna zbadane biochemicznie wykazują różnice między tau włókienkowym z choroby Alzheimera a tym z PSP i CBD1. W przypadku PSP i CBD nieprawidłowe włókna w komórkach glejowych są również proste i składają się z tau1.

Hipoteza rozprzestrzeniania się tau

Hipoteza głosi, że w PSP nieprawidłowe tau rozprzestrzenia się po mózgu w sposób podobny do prionów (tzw. hipoteza rozprzestrzeniania). Zazwyczaj pień mózgu i jądra podstawy są zaangażowane wcześnie w przebiegu choroby, z dowodami na rozprzestrzenianie się w kierunku dogłowowym (szczególnie płaty czołowe) i doogonowym (jądro zębate i móżdżek) w bardziej zaawansowanych przypadkach1.

Proponowana sekwencja patologii tau w PSP-RS (PSP z zespołem Richardsona) pozwala na rozpoznanie wzorca patologii i zastosowanie systemu stadiowania1. Według modelu patologia tau neuronalnego rozpoczyna się w jądrze niskowzgórzowym, istocie czarnej i gałce bladej i rozprzestrzenia się na śródmózgowie i most. Następnym krokiem byłby móżdżek i ciało migdałowate, a następnie płat czołowy, płaty ciemieniowe i skroniowe oraz, wreszcie, płat potyliczny1.

Badania dotyczące patologii PSP-C (PSP z przewagą ataksji móżdżkowej) wykazały bardziej nasilony zanik neuronów i gliozę, wyższe gęstości spiralnych ciałek w jądrze zębatym móżdżku oraz tau-dodatnie profile ziarniste w komórkach Purkinjego w porównaniu z pacjentami z PSP-RS1.

Zmiany patologiczne występujące w PSP-C mogą rozprzestrzeniać się w całym móżdżku i obejmować komórki Purkinjego oraz jądro zębate, co potwierdzają wyniki kilku badań klinicznych1.

Rola stanu zapalnego i aktywacji mikrogleju

Stan zapalny występuje zarówno w PSP, jak i pokrewnej tauopatii, zaniku korowo-podstawnym (CBD), ale istnieją różnice w rozkładzie mikrogliozy, które w dużej mierze są równoległe do patologii tau1.

Hipotezy dotyczące mechanizmów patogenetycznych PSP wskazują na możliwy wpływ aktywacji gleju, jednak nie jest jasne, czy stan zapalny jest przyczyną czy konsekwencją mechanizmów neurodegeneracyjnych1.

Badania histologiczne wykazały agregaty tau w oligodendrocytach, które kolokalizują się z odkładaniem się C4 (dopełniacza)1. Badanie odkryło nowy sygnał genetyczny w C4A, który koduje kwaśną formę czynnika dopełniacza 4, będącego częścią szlaku klasycznej aktywacji. Kolokalizacja białka C4A z nieprawidłowymi formami tau w oligodendrocytach dodatkowo wspiera tezę, że funkcja wrodzonego układu odpornościowego odgrywa przyczynową rolę w napędzaniu tej patologicznej interakcji w PSP1.

Patologia tuftowych astrocytów jest znacząco wzbogacona w geny mikrogleju, a nieprawidłowa regulacja w górę transkryptów mikrogleju jest związana ze zwiększonym tau astrocytarnym1.

Zaangażowane szlaki neuronalne

Główne szlaki dotknięte patologią PSP to szlak dopaminergiczny nigroprążkowy, szlak GABAergiczny i cholinoreceptywne neurony prążkowia oraz cholinergiczne jądra pnia mózgu i podstawy przedniej mózgu1.

Patologia tau jednolicie dominuje w neuronach osi gałkowo-czarno-luysjanowej w różnych podtypach klinicznych1. Jednak podtypy kliniczne są rozróżniane nie tylko przez całkowity ładunek tau, ale raczej przez wzorce podatności specyficzne dla typu komórek (neuronalnych versus glejowych) regionów mózgu, sugerując odrębną dynamikę lub segregację specyficzną dla obwodu rozprzestrzeniania się patologii tau1.

Zaburzenia ruchowe mogą występować z powodu dysfunkcji dopaminergicznej transmisji prążkowiowej i końcowego zwiększenia hamującego działania wzgórza na korę ruchową1.

Czynniki środowiskowe w patogenezie PSP

Chociaż większość przypadków PSP występuje sporadycznie bez wcześniejszego wywiadu rodzinnego dotyczącego zaburzeń neurodegeneracyjnych, istnieje pewne zainteresowanie wpływem czynników środowiskowych na rozwój choroby12.

Zidentyfikowano kilka geograficznych skupisk chorób podobnych do PSP w Guam, Gwadelupie i północnej Francji1. Wyniki dotyczące spożycia owoców tropikalnych były podobne do związku między spożyciem herbaty ziołowej z rodziny Annonaceae a atypowym parkinsonizmem i PSP1.

Annonacyna może odgrywać rolę w patomechanizmie jako inhibitor mitochondrialny i toksyna indukująca patologię tau i neurodegenerację1. Dlatego biologicznie wiarygodne jest, że narażenie na pestycydy wiąże się ze zwiększonym ryzykiem PSP1.

Zaawansowany wiek i czynniki środowiskowe, takie jak narażenie na toksyny, są teoretycznymi przyczynami. Agregaty białka tau mogą być spowodowane przez niekonwencjonalny czynnik zakaźny, przypadkowe mutacje genetyczne lub jakiś nieznany związek chemiczny w żywności, powietrzu lub wodzie, który powoli uszkadza pewne wrażliwe obszary mózgu1.

Dysfunkcja mitochondriów

Oprócz tauopatii, dysfunkcja mitochondrialna wydaje się być czynnikiem zaangażowanym w PSP1. Istnieją dowody, że defekty genetyczne mitochondriów, nieprawidłowe utlenianie i niewłaściwa transglutaminacja przyczyniają się do agregacji tau i utraty komórek1.

Podobnie jak w przypadku innych chorób neurodegeneracyjnych, zmiany patofizjologiczne leżące u podstaw PSP są prawdopodobnie wieloczynnikowe, obejmujące mutacje genetyczne, stres retikulum endoplazmatycznego (ER), dysfunkcję mitochondrialną i neurozapalenie1.

Biomarkery i nowe kierunki w patogenezie PSP

Biomarkery diagnostyczne

Do tej pory najbardziej czułym biomarkerem do wykrywania przypadków PSP wydaje się być ocena form tau pełnej długości (55 kDa) i skróconych (33 kDa) w płynie mózgowo-rdzeniowym1. Wyniki te zostały zreprodukowane przez tę samą grupę w innej większej kohorcie pacjentów1.

Analizy płynu mózgowo-rdzeniowego (CSF) stanowią najbardziej bezpośredni i wygodny sposób badania zmian biochemicznych zachodzących w ośrodkowym układzie nerwowym, ponieważ są one bezpośrednio związane z określonymi mechanizmami patogenetycznymi neurodegeneracji1.

Luk i wsp. wykazali zmniejszenie izoformy 4R-tau w PSP i chorobie Alzheimera w porównaniu z CBD, PDD i zdrowymi kontrolami przy użyciu adaptowanej procedury immuno-PCR1.

Wszystkie osoby z potwierdzonym lub podejrzewanym PSP miały podwyższone poziomy białek związanych z neurodegeneracją1. Odkryto, że określone białka zapalne, które korelowały z nasileniem choroby, oraz zmniejszone białka istotne dla wielu podstawowych funkcji komórek mózgowych, mogłyby być wpływane przez przyszłe terapie1.

Nowe cele terapeutyczne

Obecne badania terapii PSP ukierunkowanych na tau obejmują TPI-287 (stabilizator mikrotubul), C2N-8E12/ABBV-8E12 i BMS-986168/BIIB092 (przeciwciała monoklonalne anty-tau) oraz salsalat (inhibitor acetylacji tau)1.

Stabilizatory mikrotubul mają na celu kompensację dysfunkcji mikrotubul związanej z utratą funkcji tau; przeciwciała monoklonalne anty-tau mają na celu hamowanie rozprzestrzeniania się patogennego tau, a inhibitory acetylacji tau mają na celu hamowanie acetylacji rozpuszczalnego tau, a tym samym ograniczenie hiperfosforylacji1.

Białko PERK jest częścią systemu utrzymania, który pomaga eliminować nieprawidłowe cząsteczki tau. Jednak w PSP mechanizm ten wydaje się być wadliwy. Badania laboratoryjne wykazały, że konsekwencje choroby zmniejszają się, gdy PERK jest aktywowany farmaceutycznie, co sugeruje, że białko to może być punktem wyjścia do opracowania nowych leków1.

Szczeklik syntazy kinazy-3 (GSK-3) jest kinazą, która ma odgrywać rolę w hiperfosforylacji białka tau. Jednak w randomizowanym, podwójnie ślepym, kontrolowanym placebo badaniu 146 pacjentów z PSP Tideglusib, inhibitor GSK-3, mimo że był dobrze tolerowany, nie okazał się skuteczny klinicznie1.

Lit również został wykazany jako regulator GSK-3; jednak w randomizowanym, pojedynczo ślepym, kontrolowanym placebo badaniu 71 pacjentów z chorobą Alzheimera, lit nie wykazał żadnego efektu leczniczego na aktywność GSK-3 i nie wspierał poglądu, że zmniejszał hiperfosforylację tau1.

Riluzol jest uważany za neuroprotekcyjny i wykazano, że blokuje neurotransmisję glutaminergiczną w ośrodkowym układzie nerwowym oraz jest dobrze tolerowany i przedłuża przeżycie u pacjentów z stwardnieniem zanikowym bocznym; jednak w randomizowanym, podwójnie ślepym, kontrolowanym placebo badaniu pacjentów z PSP, riluzol nie poprawiał przeżycia w PSP i podobnie nie poprawiał przeżycia u pacjentów z MSA1.

Toksyna botulinowa jest pomocna w zmniejszaniu dystonii i w leczeniu ślinotoku oraz jest szczególnie przydatna w przypadku dysmotyliki powiek1.

Nowe modele badawcze

Aby lepiej zrozumieć przyczyny PSP i przetestować nowe metody leczenia, naukowcy muszą korzystać z modeli zwierzęcych, ale nie ma modelu zwierzęcego, który miałby unikalny wzór osadów tau w neuronach i gleju w różnych regionach ludzkiego mózgu1.

Nowe badania mają na celu opracowanie pierwszego modelu zwierzęcego PSP z takim samym wzorem osadów tau w ludzkim mózgu. Jeśli się to powiedzie, ten lepszy model może być następnie wykorzystany do badania: 1) podstawowych przyczyn toksycznego tau, 2) rozprzestrzeniania się toksycznego tau w całym mózgu i 3) testowania przyszłych metod leczenia tej nieuleczalnej i niszczycielskiej choroby1.

Zidentyfikowanie modyfikowalnych czynników ryzyka PSP może prowadzić do lepszego zrozumienia patofizjologii oraz ukierunkowanych działań prewencyjnych i terapeutycznych1.

Definiowanie specyficznych dla komórek etapów patologii tau pomaga zidentyfikować przypadki przedkliniczne lub we wczesnym stadium w celu lepszego zrozumienia wczesnych zdarzeń patogennych, ma implikacje dla zrozumienia specyficznej dla podtypu klinicznego dynamiki rozprzestrzeniania się choroby i informuje neuroobrazowanie tau o wzorcach dystrybucji1.

Chociaż większość przypadków PSP jest sporadyczna, zainteresowanie ich genetyką rośnie, a współczesne badania koncentrują się na tłach rodzinnych i neurozapaleniu. Rzeczywiście, aktywacja mikrogleju i inne mechanizmy zapalne patogenezy PSP zostały szeroko przeanalizowane za pomocą badań genetycznych w celu identyfikacji czynników wpływających na neurodegenerację1.

Rozwój przyszłych terapii będzie pochodzić z większego zrozumienia patofizjologii PSP i innych tauopatii. Kilka badań wskazuje na: manipulację regulacją splicingu przez pętle RNA zmniejszające produkcję tau 4-powtórzeniowego; hamowanie transglutaminazy tkankowej (TGase), enzymu, który krzyżowo łączy białka substratowe w nierozpuszczalną formę potencjalnie inicjującą tworzenie się splątków neurofibrylarnych; oraz wykorzystanie czynników troficznych w celu znalezienia modyfikującej chorobę terapii1.

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  1. 12.04.2026
  2. www.leksykon.com.pl

Materiały źródłowe

  • #1 Progressive Supranuclear Palsy (PSP) | Amylyx
    https://www.amylyx.com/progressive-supranuclear-palsy
    Progressive supranuclear palsy (PSP) is a sporadic, rare, fatal neurodegenerative disease that can affect movement, gait, balance, cognition, eye movements, swallowing, and speech. People living with PSP have a life expectancy of six to eight years after symptom onset. […] PSP is considered a tauopathy based on the strong genetic link between tau variants and disease development and the presence of abnormal tau protein deposits in the brain. Tau is a protein naturally found in the body that plays a role in stabilizing the microtubules that provide structure to cells, particularly in neuronal axons. In PSP, alterations to the structure of tau drive degeneration, and while the precise mechanism is still unclear, two processes are thought to contribute: Tau dysfunction leading to depolymerization of microtubules and axonal defects.
  • #1 Progressive Supranuclear Palsy – StatPearls – NCBI Bookshelf
    https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK526098/
    The defining histopathologic feature of progressive supranuclear palsy is an intracerebral aggregation of the microtubule-associated protein tau with preferential involvement of the subthalamic nucleus, pallidum, striatum, red nucleus, substantia nigra, pontine tegmentum, oculomotor nucleus, medulla, and dentate nucleus. The aggregates predominantly contain tau isoforms with four microtubule-binding repeats (4R-tau) in neurofibrillary tangles, oligodendrocytic coils, and astrocytic tufts. Normally, tau is phosphorylated on a series of serine and threonine residues, regulated by numerous kinases and phosphatases. In progressive supranuclear palsy and other tauopathies, the tau protein is hyperphosphorylated, which causes it to lose its affinity for microtubules and become resistant to proteolysis. This results in the accumulation of tau and the formation of neurofibrillary tangles. Definite diagnosis of progressive supranuclear palsy currently requires neuropathological examination.
  • #1 SciELO Brazil – Progressive supranuclear palsy and corticobasal degeneration: novel clinical concepts and advances in biomarkers Progressive supranuclear palsy and corticobasal degeneration: novel clinical concepts and advances in biomarkers
    https://www.scielo.br/j/anp/a/dZk6vrjkKpFp7hLtQQQj33G/
    Progressive supranuclear palsy (PSP) and corticobasal degeneration (CBD) are sporadic adult-onset primary tauopathies clinically classified among the atypical parkinsonian syndromes. They are intrinsically related with regard to their clinical features, pathology, biochemistry, and genetic risk factors. […] They are both characterized by the deposition of abnormal forms of tau protein, more specifically with the predominance of the four-repeat (4R) tau isoform and therefore classified as 4R-tauopathies. […] The mechanism by which tau becomes nonfunctional is not entirely understood, but post-translational modifications may play an important role. Hyperphosphorylation is the most important and impacts microtubules’ stability and axonal transport. The decreasing tubulin-binding capacity impairs the interaction between tau and microtubules, leading to microtubule disorganization with protein self-polymerization and aggregation.
  • #1 Progressive Supranuclear Palsy: Pathology and Genetics
    https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC8095545/
    The family of 4R tauopathies includes PSP and CBD, as well as the age-related medial temporal lobe tauopathy, argyrophilic grain disease. […] The implication of these genetic studies is that the risk for PSP may be associated with lifelong higher levels of 4R tau expression in the nervous system. […] The tau gene (MAPT) is located on the long arm of chromosome 17 (17q21.1) and consists of a noncoding exon 0 followed by 14 coding or alternatively spliced exons. […] In vitro studies have shown that 4R tau binds more strongly to microtubules than 3R tau. […] The sequence of tau protein is the same on the H1 and H2 backgrounds, suggesting that the association of MAPT with PSP relates to differences in tau expression levels, in alternative mRNA splicing, or in a combination of both. […] The risk factors for AD in the setting of PSP are advanced age, female sex and carrier status of apolipoprotein E4.
  • #1 Progressive Supranuclear Palsy – EyeWiki
    https://eyewiki.org/Progressive_Supranuclear_Palsy
    Genetic Factors: There are 10 different MAPT mutations that have been identified in PSP patients including the R5L mutation in exon 1. […] Although most cases of PSP are sporadic, there have been reports of familial aggregation. […] Degenerative: See pathology below. […] As stated previously, PSP is a known tauopathy. The gene that encodes tau protein is located on chromosome 17q21 and is comprised of 16 exons. There are six different isoforms of tau protein due to alternative splicing, and these proteins can be isolated into groups depending on how many microtubule-binding domains are repeated. The tau protein will either have three or four domain repeats, which is determined by whether or not the transcript of exon 10 is spliced out in the final tau protein. The aggregation of four repeat tau protein in neurons and neuroglia in the brainstem and basal ganglia are typical findings in patients with PSP, with a ratio of 3:1 in favor of four repeat tau over three repeat.
  • #1 Progressive Supranuclear Palsy: Pathology and Genetics
    https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC8095545/
    Progressive supranuclear palsy (PSP) is an atypical Parkinsonian disorder associated with progressive axial rigidity, vertical gaze palsy, dysarthria and dysphagia. […] The major genetic risk factor for sporadic PSP is a common variant in the gene encoding microtubule-associated protein tau (MAPT) and recent studies have suggested that this may result in the altered expression of specific tau protein isoforms. […] Neuroinflammation occurs in both PSP and the related tauopathy, corticobasal degeneration (CBD), but there are differences in the distribution of microgliosis that to a large extent parallel the tau pathology. […] The abnormal filaments in glial cells are also straight and made of tau. […] Biochemical studies show differences between filamentous tau from Alzheimer’s disease (AD) and that from PSP and CBD.
  • #1 Genetics of Multiple System Atrophy and Progressive Supranuclear Palsy: A Systemized Review of the Literature
    https://www.mdpi.com/1422-0067/24/6/5281
    This review briefly presents the genes that are likely linked with MSA (SNCA, COQ2, MAPT, GBA1, LRRK2, and C9orf72) and those associated with PSP (MAPT, LRRK2, DCTN1, NPC1, PARK2, TARDBP, GRNTBK1, and C9orf72) highlighting the overlapping genetic pathways of MSA and PSP and suggesting future research directions. […] The MAPT locus consists of two main haplotypes, H1 and H2. […] The H1 haplotype was proven to be a risk factor for 61 autopsy-proven MSA patients. […] The connection of SNCA single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) with MSA was examined. […] In a recent meta-analysis, V393A was shown to be a susceptibility variant instead of causative for MSA (specifically, MSA-C) in East Asian cohorts. […] Overall, current evidence cannot fully rule out a link between specific COQ2 variants and MSA in ethnicities, a downlink that could be susceptible to MSA. […] Future genetic analyses with larger cohorts are warranted to identify more novel loci and their roles in the etiopathogeneses of PSP and MSA.
  • #1 SciELO Brazil – Progressive supranuclear palsy: new concepts Progressive supranuclear palsy: new concepts
    https://www.scielo.br/j/anp/a/j3dvdKzjsSFLXZvsQpXGd4d/
    Disordered regulation of exon 10 splicing may therefore explain tau aggregation into neurofibrillary tangles in PSP and other tauopathies. […] PSP has traditionally been considered a sporadic disease, but its consistent genetic association with markers in chromosome 17q21 and reports of familial PSP cases suggest a familial aggregation. […] The MAPT H1 haplotype is probably a genetic risk locus for PSP, but the haplotype H2 plays a protective role. […] The NINDS/SPSP clinical diagnostic criterion was compiled to reliably identify patients for clinical research who had underlying PSP-tau pathology. […] The absence of benefit with pramipexole therapy has been showed in a study involving six patients, in which none responded significantly, and three presented adverse effects as hallucinations and worsening of motor symptoms.
  • #1 Diagnosing Progressive Supranuclear Palsy: Role of Biological and Neuroimaging Markers | OMICS International
    https://www.omicsonline.org/open-access/diagnosing-progressive-supranuclear-palsy-role-of-biological-and-neuroimaging-markers-2161-0460.1000168.php?aid=33347
    A proper evaluation of known susceptibility factors related to PSP pathogenesis may help in defining neuroprotective therapeutic approaches. […] Despite the fact that gene mutations are absent in most patients, since 1997 a large number of studies showed a significant association of PSP with the MAPT locus. […] The most likely explanation of the association with the MAPT H1 haplotype and PSP is that variants in the H1/H2 haplotypes confer risk/protection against disease by altering expression at the locus, with the H1 haplotypes expressing higher levels of MAPT. […] Projections of population-attributable risk suggest that only about 60% of the risk of developing PSP can be accounted for by the MAPT H1 haplotype, suggesting there may be additional risk genes involved in PSP. […] The CSF analyses represent the most direct and convenient means to study biochemical changes occurring in the central nervous system as they are directly related to specific pathogenetic mechanisms of neurodegeneration.
  • #1 Progressive supranuclear palsy – Wikipedia
    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Progressive_supranuclear_palsy
    Progressive supranuclear palsy (PSP) is a late-onset neurodegenerative disease involving the gradual deterioration and death of specific volumes of the brain. […] The cause of the condition is uncertain, but involves the accumulation of tau protein within the brain. […] A variant in the gene for tau protein called the H1 haplotype, located on chromosome 17 (rs1800547), has been linked to PSP. […] Therefore, the H1 haplotype appears to be necessary but not sufficient to cause PSP. […] Besides tauopathy, mitochondrial dysfunction seems to be a factor involved in PSP. […] The affected brain cells are both neurons and glial cells. […] The neurons display neurofibrillary tangles (NFTs), which are clumps of tau protein, a normal part of a brain cell’s internal structural skeleton. […] Tufts of tau protein in astrocytes, or tufted astrocytes, are also considered diagnostic.
  • #1 Progressive Supranuclear Palsy – EyeWiki
    https://eyewiki.org/Progressive_Supranuclear_Palsy
    These four repeat tau aggregations contribute to formation of neurofibrillary tangles in the regions of the central nervous system mentioned previously. In a similar tauopathy resulting from an FTDP-17 mutation induced in mice, motor and behavioral deficits were noted due to the development of neurofibrillary tangles. This discovery confirmed that tau dysfunction can lead to direct neurodegeneration, and is a plausible cause for the ocular motor deficits and dementia noted in PSP. […] Hglinger et al. also discovered new significant genetic markers associated with PSP risk, which implicate the STX6, EIF2AK3 and MOBP genes. This suggests that proteins associated with vesicle membrane fusion at the golgi-endosomal interface, endoplasmic unfolded protein response, and a myelin structural component may contribute to the pathophysiology of this disease. […] The major pathways affected by the pathology of PSP are the dopaminergic nigrostriatal, the GABAergic, cholinoceptive striatal neurons, and the cholinergic brainstem and basal forebrain nuclei.
  • #1 Genetic, transcriptomic, histological, and biochemical analysis of progressive supranuclear palsy implicates glial activation and novel risk genes | Nature Communications
    https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-024-52025-x
    Progressive supranuclear palsy (PSP), a rare Parkinsonian disorder, is characterized by problems with movement, balance, and cognition. PSP differs from Alzheimers disease (AD) and other diseases, displaying abnormal microtubule-associated protein tau by both neuronal and glial cell pathologies. Genetic contributors may mediate these differences; however, the genetics of PSP remain underexplored. Here we conduct the largest genome-wide association study (GWAS) of PSP which includes 2779 cases (2595 neuropathologically-confirmed) and 5584 controls and identify six independent PSP susceptibility loci with genome-wide significant (P5108) associations, including five known (MAPT, MOBP, STX6, RUNX2, SLCO1A2) and one novel locus (C4A). […] Finally, histological studies demonstrate tau aggregates in oligodendrocytes that colocalize with C4 (complement) deposition. Integrating GWAS with functional studies, epigenomic and eQTL analyses, we identify potential causal roles for variation inMOBP, STX6, RUNX2, SLCO1A2, and C4A in PSP pathogenesis.
  • #1 Progressive supranuclear palsy – Symptoms and causes – Mayo Clinic
    https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/progressive-supranuclear-palsy/symptoms-causes/syc-20355659
    Deterioration of cells in the brainstem, cerebral cortex, cerebellum and basal ganglia a cluster of cells deep within your brain is what causes the coordination and movement issues of progressive supranuclear palsy. […] The cause of progressive supranuclear palsy isn’t known. Its symptoms result from the damage of cells in areas of the brain, especially areas that help you control body movements and thinking. […] Researchers have found that the damaged brain cells of people with progressive supranuclear palsy have excess amounts of a protein called tau. Clumps of tau also are found in other brain diseases, such as Alzheimer’s disease.
  • #1
    https://www.psp.org/iwanttolearn/progressive-supranuclear-palsy
    Progressive supranuclear palsy (PSP) is a rare neurodegenerative disorder that has no known cause or cure. […] The direct cause of PSP is not fully understood. However, we do know that it has to do with the clumps of a protein called tau. Tau is a normal protein found in brain cells and is currently thought to help maintain the microtubules, which are stiff rods that function as the brain cells internal transportation and skeletal system. In PSP, the tau seems to become abnormally folded, which causes it to stick together and become stuck inside the cell. In brains with PSP, the areas of the brain that have cells with tau inside of them show neuron impairment and neuronal death. The clumps technical name is neurofibrillary tangles. Alzheimers disease and frontotemporal dementia also involve misfolding of the tau protein.
  • #1 Progressive Supranuclear Palsy in 2022: recent developments and an eye to the future | ACNR
    https://acnr.co.uk/articles/progressive-supranuclear-palsy-in-2022-recent-developments-and-an-eye-to-the-future/
    Progressive supranuclear palsy (PSP) is a neurodegenerative condition associated with the proliferation of 4-repeat (4R) tau through the brain. […] Pathologically, PSP is characterised by microtubule-associated protein tau aggregates composed of tau isoforms with four microtubule-binding repeats (4R-tau). These aggregates are in the form of neurofibrillary tangles, oligodendrocytic coils, and astrocytic tufts. […] It is hypothesised that in PSP aberrant tau spreads throughout the brain in a prion-like fashion (spreading hypothesis). Typically the brainstem and basal ganglia are involved early in the disease course with evidence of rostral (particularly the frontal lobes) and caudal (dentate nucleus and cerebellum) spread in more advanced cases. […] No disease modifying treatment for PSP currently exists but a number of different agents utilising a range of pharmacological mechanisms are under investigation.
  • #1
    https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s00401-020-02158-2
    In addition to the recognition of clinical subtypes, a novel concept raises the possibility of propagation of pathological tau in PSP as well as other tauopathies providing a potential therapeutic target. […] We compared the distribution patterns of tau cytopathologies and used heat maps and conditional probability matrix to evaluate whether or not sequential patterns of tau pathology can be recognized and whether the clinical subtypes show distinct distribution patterns of tau cytopathologies. […] Our study supports the notion that the initiating site of neuronal degeneration and tau pathology seems to be similar in clinical subtypes, but the dynamics and propagation patterns distinguish them. […] While neuronal tau accumulation is central in the pathogenesis, astroglial, and oligodendroglial tau accumulation is important and may precede neuronal tau pathology in the striatum, cortical regions, globus pallidus, and cerebellar white matter (versus dentate nucleus). […] We propose a sequence of tau pathology in PSP-RS, which allows the recognition of a pattern of pathology and application of staging system.
  • #1 Progressive supranuclear palsy | MedLink Neurology
    https://www.medlink.com/articles/progressive-supranuclear-palsy
    The damage is greatest and most consistent in the substantia nigra, subthalamic nucleus, globus pallidus, superior colliculus, pretectal area, and substantia innominata. […] According to their model, neuronal tau pathology starts in the subthalamic nucleaus, substantia nigra, and globus pallidus and spreads to the midbrain and pons. The next step would be to the cerebellum and amygdala, followed by the frontal lobe, the parietal and temporal lobes, and, finally, the occipital lobe.
  • #1 Progressive Supranuclear Palsy with Predominant Cerebellar Ataxia
    https://www.e-jmd.org/journal/view.php?number=272
    Progressive supranuclear palsy (PSP) is characterized by supranuclear gaze palsy, dystonic rigidity of the neck and upper trunk, frequent falls and mild cognitive impairment. […] The hypothesized pathophysiology of cerebellar ataxia in PSP-C is also discussed. […] Studies into the pathology of PSP-C patients have demonstrated more severe neuronal loss and gliosis, higher densities of coiled bodies in the cerebellar dentate nucleus, and tau-positive granular profiles in Purkinje cells compared to PSP-RS patients. […] The pathological changes that occur in PSP-C could spread throughout the cerebellum and involve Purkinje cells and the dentate nucleus. […] This potential theory is supported by the results of several clinical studies. […] Taken together, the evidence for the relationship between cerebellar ataxia in PSP-C and the cerebellar efferent pathway has been accumulating. […] However, most of the findings discussed above are not specific to PSP-C, and most PSP patients without cerebellar ataxia also have dentate pathological changes.
  • #1 The Genetic Background of the Immunological and Inflammatory Aspects of Progressive Supranuclear Palsy
    https://www.mdpi.com/1422-0067/26/9/3927
    Progressive supranuclear palsy (PSP) is a neurodegenerative disease, classified as an atypical Parkinsonian syndrome, that has been pathologically and clinically defined. […] Although PSP is generally considered a sporadic disease, interest is growing in its genetics, with contemporary research focusing on familial backgrounds and neuroinflammation. Indeed, microglial activation and other inflammatory mechanisms of PSP pathogenesis have been extensively analyzed using genetic examinations to identify the factors impacting neurodegeneration. […] Despite multiple studies on the pathogenesis of PSP indicating a possible impact of glial activation, it is unclear whether inflammation is the cause or consequence of neurodegenerative mechanisms. […] The PSP tau pathology is linked to ubiquitin-fold modifier-1 (UFM1) substrate modification (UFMylation) through cascade disruption in neurofibrillary-tangle-bearing neurons.
  • #1 Genetic, transcriptomic, histological, and biochemical analysis of progressive supranuclear palsy implicates glial activation and novel risk genes | Nature Communications
    https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-024-52025-x
    Our study uncovered a novel genetic signal at C4A which encodes the acidic form of complement factor 4, part of the classical activation pathway. This finding was further supported by histological, biochemical, and blood biomarker analyses. Critically, co-localization ofC4A protein with abnormal tau species in oligodendrocytes further supports that innate immune function plays a causal role in driving this pathological interaction in PSP.
  • #1 The Genetic Background of the Immunological and Inflammatory Aspects of Progressive Supranuclear Palsy
    https://www.mdpi.com/1422-0067/26/9/3927
    Recent studies indicated the possible significance of PSP genetic risk factors. […] The characteristic classical PSP phenotype symptoms may be due to entirely different entities mimicking a PSP clinical manifestation. […] PSP may be linked with pathogenic sphingomyelin phosphodiesterase 1 (SMPD1) variants associated with Niemann–Pick disease types A and B as its recessive cause. […] Although the PSP pathomechanism pathways remain unclear, hypotheses focusing on immune activation are supported by evidence of the tufted astrocyte pathology being significantly enriched in microglial genes and abnormal microglial transcript upregulation associated with enhanced astrocytic tau. […] Neurodegeneration pathways leading to tauopathies are linked by factors that, contrarily, activate and suppress microglial activation.
  • #1
    https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s00401-020-02158-2
    Progressive supranuclear palsy (PSP) is a 4R-tauopathy predominated by subcortical pathology in neurons, astrocytes, and oligodendroglia associated with various clinical phenotypes. […] We evaluated heat maps and distribution patterns of neuronal, astroglial, and oligodendroglial tau pathologies and their combinations in different clinical subtypes of PSP in postmortem brains. […] Tau pathology uniformly predominates in the neurons of the pallido-nigro-luysian axis in different clinical subtypes. […] However, clinical subtypes are distinguished not only by total tau load but rather cell-type (neuronal versus glial) specific vulnerability patterns of brain regions suggesting distinct dynamics or circuit-specific segregation of propagation of tau pathologies. […] Defining cell-specific stages of tau pathology helps to identify preclinical or early-stage cases for the better understanding of early pathogenic events, has implications for understanding the clinical subtype-specific dynamics of disease-propagation, and informs tau-neuroimaging on distribution patterns.
  • #1 Progressive supranuclear palsy as differential diagnosis of Parkinson’s disease in the elderly | Revista Española de Geriatría y Gerontología
    https://www.elsevier.es/en-revista-revista-espanola-geriatria-gerontologia-124-articulo-progressive-supranuclear-palsy-as-differential-S0211139X19300721
    Mutation in the MAPT gene, responsible for coding the production of microtubules associated with TAU protein on chromosome 17q21 is associated with different primary tauopathies including PSP. An abnormal hyperphosphorylation of tau and an increased aggregation of this protein are present in tauopathies, although, these disorders are differentiated by their spectrum of symptoms. The absence of gross atrophy and the distribution and type of pathological hallmarks (tangle formation, tufted astrocytes in the basal ganglia, amygdala, and motor cortices, and absence of neuritic plaques) are consistent with a diagnosis of PSP. Motor disorders could present due to a dysfunction of dopaminergic striatal transmission and a final increase of thalamic inhibitory action on motor cortex. […] The progressive supranuclear palsy should be considered after an initial approach to Parkinson’s disease with red flags and subsequently according to clinical characteristics and patient evolution can be subclassified to the specific PSP type. The resulting dysfunction of dopaminergic, GABAergic, cholinergic, and noradrenergic pathways causes the symptoms of PSP. Moreover, PSP has to be differentiated from the following atypical parkinsonisms: multisystemic atrophy, Lewy body disease, etc. The neuroradiological exams (MRI, SPECT, and PET) can be useful for diagnosis of PSP. Treatment with levodopa, especially in patients with a more parkinsonian phenotype, should be considered.
  • #1 Azthena logo with the word Azthena
    https://www.news-medical.net/health/Progressive-Supranuclear-Palsy-(PSP)-Causes.aspx
    Progressive supranuclear palsy (PSP) is a rare brain disorder that affects approximately 6 in 100,000 people worldwide. […] It is a neurodegenerative disorder classified as a tauopathy, as it is associated with the pathological aggregation of tau protein in the brain. […] The mechanism that causes PSP is not fully known. Most cases seem to appear spontaneously with no previous family history of neurodegenerative disorders. […] An important area of the brain called the substantia nigra seems to be affected in PSP. […] PSP (and other neurodegenerative disorders) has been linked to mutations in the MAPT gene, which encodes for a type of protein called tau. […] In PSP, it appears that there are pathological amounts of tau protein aggregating in the brain. […] Tau protein build-up is also linked to other neurodegenerative disorders including Parkinsons disease.
  • #1 Progressive Supranuclear Palsy – EyeWiki
    https://eyewiki.org/Progressive_Supranuclear_Palsy
    Progressive supranuclear palsy (PSP) or Steele-Richardson-Olszewski syndrome is characterized by a progressive supranuclear ophthalmoplegia typically vertical but in particular downward limitation of eye movement. There is often associated loss of balance due to degeneration of neurons in the brainstem and basal ganglia. PSP is recognized as a tauopathy, with a middle age to late age onset. In PSP tau proteins aggregate in the brainstem and basal ganglia that are superior to the clusters of nuclei directly controlling eye movement, hence the term supranuclear. These aggregations can be used for pathological diagnosis of PSP in the form of neurofibrillary tangles, neuropil threads, 4-repeat tau protein, and tau-positive astrocytes and their processes in the basal ganglia and brainstem. […] PSP is a sporadic disease and the exact cause is not known. Potential hypotheses include: Drug/Toxin-induced: There have been three geographical clusters of illnesses similar to PSP in Guam, Guadeloupe, and northern France.
  • #1 Environmental Risk Factors for Progressive Supranuclear Palsy
    https://www.e-jmd.org/journal/view.php?number=346
    Typically, progressive supranuclear palsy (PSP) is clinically characterized by vertical slowing of saccades or supranuclear gaze palsy, axial-predominant parkinsonism with poor response to levodopa therapy, bulbar symptoms, and cognitive impairment, specifically, frontal/executive dysfunction. PSP is a primary four-repeat tauopathy that is caused by abnormal accumulation of pathologically altered microtubule-associated protein tau (MAPT) in neurons and glia. […] The identification of modifiable risk factors for PSP may lead to an improved understanding of the pathophysiology and targeted prevention and therapeutic efforts. […] The findings regarding the consumption of tropical fruits were similar to an association between the consumption of herbal tea of the Annonaceae family and atypical parkinsonism and PSP.
  • #1 Environmental Risk Factors for Progressive Supranuclear Palsy
    https://www.e-jmd.org/journal/view.php?number=346
    Annonacin may play a role in the pathomechanism as a mitochondrial inhibitor and a toxin to induce tau pathology and neurodegeneration. […] Therefore, it is biologically plausible that exposure to pesticides is associated with an increased risk for PSP. […] Chronic hypertension induced the aggregation of tau protein in AD and tau mouse models and was associated with neuroinflammation. This suggests biological plausibility for the association between hypertension and PSP. […] The possible mechanism of beta blockers in PSP might be associated with the exacerbation of neuroinflammation. […] The results of the study indicate that statin use may provide a therapeutic option in the prevention and treatment of PSP, although future studies need to replicate the results. […] Although associations between modifiable factors, including education, hypertension, drugs, stress, and PSP, have been shown, their specific role in the pathomechanism of PSP needs to be determined through experimental and clinical studies.
  • #1 Progressive Supranuclear Palsy | Treatment & Management | Point of Care
    https://www.statpearls.com/point-of-care/27793
    The cause of progressive supranuclear palsy is unknown. Advanced age and environmental factors such as exposure to toxins are theorized causes. The tau protein aggregates may be due to an unconventional infectious agent, random genetic mutations, or some unknown chemical in the food, air, or water which slowly damages certain vulnerable areas of the brain. […] The defining histopathologic feature of progressive supranuclear palsy is an intracerebral aggregation of the microtubule-associated protein tau with preferential involvement of the subthalamic nucleus, pallidum, striatum, red nucleus, substantia nigra, pontine tegmentum, oculomotor nucleus, medulla, and dentate nucleus. The aggregates predominantly contain tau isoforms with four microtubule-binding repeats (4R-tau) in neurofibrillary tangles, oligodendrocytic coils, and astrocytic tufts. Normally, tau is phosphorylated on a series of serine and threonine residues, regulated by numerous kinases and phosphatases. In progressive supranuclear palsy and other tauopathies, the tau protein is hyperphosphorylated, which causes it to lose its affinity for microtubules and become resistant to proteolysis. This results in the accumulation of tau and the formation of neurofibrillary tangles. […] The pathology of progressive supranuclear palsy is characterized by widespread neurodegeneration associated with tau protein deposition in subcortical regions.
  • #1 Progressive supranuclear palsy | MedLink Neurology
    https://www.medlink.com/articles/progressive-supranuclear-palsy
    Progressive supranuclear palsy is one of the tauopathies. The pathologic hallmarks are neuronal loss, gliosis, and flame-shaped and globose neurofibrillary tangles (NFT) composed of paired helical filaments and straight filaments of tau protein. The tangles are similar to those in Alzheimer disease, but the tau protein consists almost solely of an isoform with four repeating copies of the microtubule-binding domain (4R-tau), rather than the 1:1 ratio of 3-repeat (3R-tau) and 4-repeat isoforms occurring in Alzheimer disease and in normals. Further evidence for a genetic etiologic component is a well confirmed but weak association of the disease with the H1 haplotype of the gene for tau, a protein that forms abnormal intracellular aggregates in progressive supranuclear palsy. […] There is evidence that mitochondrial genetic defects, abnormal oxidation, and inappropriate transglutamination contribute to the tau aggregation and cellular loss.
  • #1 Progressive Supranuclear Palsy (PSP) | Amylyx
    https://www.amylyx.com/progressive-supranuclear-palsy
    Pathologic aggregation of abnormal tau. […] Similar to other neurodegenerative diseases, the pathophysiologic changes underlying PSP are likely multifactorial, including genetic mutations, endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress, mitochondrial dysfunction, and neuroinflammation. […] AMX0035 is designed to simultaneously mitigate ER stress and mitochondrial dysfunction, key contributors to tau dysfunction and aggregation, and therefore has the potential to influence PSP pathophysiology.
  • #1 Diagnosing Progressive Supranuclear Palsy: Role of Biological and Neuroimaging Markers | OMICS International
    https://www.omicsonline.org/open-access/diagnosing-progressive-supranuclear-palsy-role-of-biological-and-neuroimaging-markers-2161-0460.1000168.php?aid=33347
    To date, the most sensitive biomarker to detect PSP cases seems to be the evaluation of CSF full-length (55 kDa) and truncated (33 kDa) tau forms. […] These findings were reproduced by the same group in another larger cohort of patients. […] Finally, Luk et al. showed a decrease in 4R-tau isoform in PSP and AD compared with CBS, PDD and healthy controls using an adapted immune-PCR procedure. […] Despite the efforts to establish reliable clinical criteria, PSP diagnosis still represents a clinical challenge, because of clinical overlap with either tau or synuclein-based neurodegenerative disorders that lead to parkinsonism and dementia. […] The use of combined biomarkers seems to be a rational and promising approach for enhancing diagnostic accuracy in identifying PSP, especially in the early stages of disease when clinical diagnosis is still challenging.
  • #1 Identifying biomarkers for progressive supranuclear palsy
    https://www.drugtargetreview.com/news/151440/identifying-biomarkers-for-progressive-supranuclear-palsy/
    Protein biomarkers in spinal fluid linked to PSP could enable earlier diagnosis and treatment for this neurological disorder. […] It is thought to be initiated by a buildup of tau proteins, with symptoms including poor balance and difficulty moving the eyes up and down. […] Unlike Alzheimers disease, there are no tau scans, blood tests or MRIs that provide a definitive diagnosis of PSP. […] Previous research has underscored the value of several non-specific neurodegeneration biomarkers in PSP, but they have had limited sensitivity and specificity for diagnosis, particularly at this critical early disease stage. […] However, all individuals with confirmed or suspected PSP had elevated levels of proteins associated with neurodegeneration. […] It was discovered that particular inflammatory proteins that correlated with disease severity and decreased proteins relevant to multiple essential brain cell functions could be influenced with future therapies. […] We hope to reach a point where a single biomarker, or a panel of biomarkers from a blood test or lumbar puncture, can provide definitive diagnostic and prognostic results for PSP.
  • #1 Progressive Supranuclear Palsy – StatPearls – NCBI Bookshelf
    https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK526098/
    The pathology of progressive supranuclear palsy is characterized by widespread neurodegeneration associated with tau protein deposition in subcortical regions. […] Current investigations of tau-focused progressive supranuclear palsy therapies include TPI-287, a microtubule stabilizer, C2N-8E12/ABBV-8E12, and BMS-986168/BIIB092, both anti-tau monoclonal antibodies, and salsalate, a tau acetylation inhibitor. Microtubule stabilizers are hoped to compensate for microtubule dysfunction associated with loss of tau function; anti-tau monoclonal antibodies are hoped to impede the spread of pathogenic tau, and tau acetylation inhibitors are hoped to inhibit acetylation of soluble tau and thus limit hyperphosphorylation.
  • #1 DZNE : Lab study shows: A protein called PERK may be a target for treating progressive supranuclear palsy
    https://www.dzne.de/en/news/press-releases/press/lab-study-shows-a-protein-called-perk-may-be-a-target-for-treating-progressive-supranuclear-palsy/?print=1&cHash=f5e3b9be7e0b0a4d88b2b1c58e302d84
    PSP belongs to a group of neurological diseases referred to as tauopathies. […] The protein PERK is part of such a maintenance system. However, in PSP, this mechanism appears to be defective. […] Hglinger, who leads a research group at the DZNEs Munich site, says that the disease sequelae decrease when PERK is activated with pharmaceuticals. […] our investigations show that PERK is an important part of the disease mechanism. Therefore, the protein could be a starting point for the development of new drugs. […] This is because PERK helps eliminate abnormal tau molecules, and these also occur in other brain diseases.
  • #1
    https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11940-016-0422-5
    Glycogen synthase kinase-3 (GSK-3) is a kinase believed to play a role in the hyperphosphorylation of the tau protein. However, in a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial of 146 patients with PSP Tideglusib, a GSK-3 inhibitor, although well tolerated, was not shown to be clinically effective. […] Lithium has also been shown to regulate GSK-3; however, in a randomized, single-blind, placebo-controlled trial of 71 patients with AD, lithium was not shown to have any treatment effect on GSK-3 activity and did not support the notion that it reduced tau hyperphosphorylation. […] Riluzole is considered neuroprotective and has been shown to block glutamatergic neurotransmission in the central nervous system and is well tolerated and prolongs survival in patients with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis; however, in a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial of patients with PSP, riluzole was not shown to improve survival in PSP and similarly did not improve survival in patients with MSA. […] Botulinum toxin is helpful in reducing dystonia and in managing sialorrhoea and is particularly useful for eyelid dysmotility.
  • #1 Prioritizing Progressive Supranuclear Palsy: a transformative in vivo model of disease pathogenesis with strong translational value for future drug development – Brain Canada Foundation
    https://braincanada.ca/funded_grants/prioritizing-progressive-supranuclear-palsy-a-transformative-in-vivo-model-of-disease-pathogenesis-with-strong-translational-value-for-future-drug-development/
    Progressive Supranuclear Palsy (PSP) is a deadly disease of the brain with no cure. By studying the brains of patients who have died scientists have discovered that PSP brains contain toxic deposits of a protein called tau. Tau deposits in PSP brain are seen in both nerve cells and support cells, called glia. These neuronal and glial deposits have a special pattern of distribution in different areas of the brain that is unique to PSP and allows scientists to identify patients with PSP from other patients with different diseases that also involve tau deposition. […] To better understand the causes of PSP and to test new treatments scientists need to use animal models, but there is no animal model that has the unique pattern of tau deposits in the neurons and glia in different regions of the human brain. Our study will develop the first animal model of PSP with the same pattern of tau deposits in human brain. […] If successful this better model can then be used to study 1) the underlying causes of toxic tau, 2) the spread of toxic tau throughout the brain and 3) testing of future treatments for this incurable and devastating disease.
  • #1 SciELO Brazil – Progressive supranuclear palsy: new concepts Progressive supranuclear palsy: new concepts
    https://www.scielo.br/j/anp/a/j3dvdKzjsSFLXZvsQpXGd4d/
    Development of future therapies will come from a greater understanding of PSP and other tauopathies pathophysiology. […] Several studies point toward: manipulation of splicing regulation by RNA stem-loops reducing 4-repeat tau production; inhibition of tissue transglutaminase (TGase), an enzyme that cross-links substrate proteins into insoluble form potentially initiating neurofibrillary tangles formation; and use of trophic factors, in order to find a disease modify therapy.
  • #2 Progressive Supranuclear Palsy – StatPearls – NCBI Bookshelf
    https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK526098/
    The defining histopathologic feature of progressive supranuclear palsy is an intracerebral aggregation of the microtubule-associated protein tau with preferential involvement of the subthalamic nucleus, pallidum, striatum, red nucleus, substantia nigra, pontine tegmentum, oculomotor nucleus, medulla, and dentate nucleus. The aggregates predominantly contain tau isoforms with four microtubule-binding repeats (4R-tau) in neurofibrillary tangles, oligodendrocytic coils, and astrocytic tufts. Normally, tau is phosphorylated on a series of serine and threonine residues, regulated by numerous kinases and phosphatases. In progressive supranuclear palsy and other tauopathies, the tau protein is hyperphosphorylated, which causes it to lose its affinity for microtubules and become resistant to proteolysis. This results in the accumulation of tau and the formation of neurofibrillary tangles. Definite diagnosis of progressive supranuclear palsy currently requires neuropathological examination.
  • #2 SciELO Brazil – Progressive supranuclear palsy: new concepts Progressive supranuclear palsy: new concepts
    https://www.scielo.br/j/anp/a/j3dvdKzjsSFLXZvsQpXGd4d/
    Progressive supranuclear palsy (PSP) is a distinctive form of neurodegenerative disease which affects the brainstem and basal ganglia. […] PSP is defined neuropathologically by the accumulation of neurofibrillary tangles in the subthalamic nucleus, pallidum, red nucleus, substantia nigra, striatum, pontine tegmentum, oculomotor nucleus, medulla and dentate nucleus. […] In the last few years, we have learned much about clinical, neuroimaging, molecular pathology and genetic of PSP. This syndrome is a tauopathy, with deposits of neurofibrillay tangles in the brain, which are mainly composed of hyperphosphorylated microtubule-associated protein tau. […] PSP is pathologically defined by the accumulation of tau protein and neuropil threads in the subthalamic nucleus, pallidum, red nucleus, substantia nigra, striatum, pontine tegmentum, oculomotor nucleus, medulla and dentate nucleus.
  • #2 Progressive Supranuclear Palsy in 2022: recent developments and an eye to the future | ACNR
    https://acnr.co.uk/articles/progressive-supranuclear-palsy-in-2022-recent-developments-and-an-eye-to-the-future/
    Progressive supranuclear palsy (PSP) is a neurodegenerative condition associated with the proliferation of 4-repeat (4R) tau through the brain. […] Pathologically, PSP is characterised by microtubule-associated protein tau aggregates composed of tau isoforms with four microtubule-binding repeats (4R-tau). These aggregates are in the form of neurofibrillary tangles, oligodendrocytic coils, and astrocytic tufts. […] It is hypothesised that in PSP aberrant tau spreads throughout the brain in a prion-like fashion (spreading hypothesis). Typically the brainstem and basal ganglia are involved early in the disease course with evidence of rostral (particularly the frontal lobes) and caudal (dentate nucleus and cerebellum) spread in more advanced cases. […] No disease modifying treatment for PSP currently exists but a number of different agents utilising a range of pharmacological mechanisms are under investigation.
  • #2 Progressive Supranuclear Palsy: Practice Essentials, Background, Pathophysiology
    https://emedicine.medscape.com/article/1151430-overview
    Pathologically, PSP is defined by the accumulation of neurofibrillary tangles in the brain. […] Different rates, localizations, and patterns of the accumulation of phosphorylated tau protein may account for the variation in clinical phenomena seen in patients with PSP. […] The tau protein is important in maintaining neuronal morphology through microtubule binding. […] Abnormalities of this protein have been noted in several neurodegenerative diseases. […] Under abnormal circumstances, the normally soluble tau protein may collect in insoluble protease-resistant helical filaments. […] The exact triggers for the conversion from normal tau to the aggregate form are not completely understood. […] This model shares some characteristics with prion disease (Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease), in which an abnormal insoluble prion protein isoform accumulates.
  • #2 Diagnosing Progressive Supranuclear Palsy: Role of Biological and Neuroimaging Markers | OMICS International
    https://www.omicsonline.org/open-access/diagnosing-progressive-supranuclear-palsy-role-of-biological-and-neuroimaging-markers-2161-0460.1000168.php?aid=33347
    A proper evaluation of known susceptibility factors related to PSP pathogenesis may help in defining neuroprotective therapeutic approaches. […] Despite the fact that gene mutations are absent in most patients, since 1997 a large number of studies showed a significant association of PSP with the MAPT locus. […] The most likely explanation of the association with the MAPT H1 haplotype and PSP is that variants in the H1/H2 haplotypes confer risk/protection against disease by altering expression at the locus, with the H1 haplotypes expressing higher levels of MAPT. […] Projections of population-attributable risk suggest that only about 60% of the risk of developing PSP can be accounted for by the MAPT H1 haplotype, suggesting there may be additional risk genes involved in PSP. […] The CSF analyses represent the most direct and convenient means to study biochemical changes occurring in the central nervous system as they are directly related to specific pathogenetic mechanisms of neurodegeneration.
  • #2 Progressive Supranuclear Palsy – EyeWiki
    https://eyewiki.org/Progressive_Supranuclear_Palsy
    Progressive supranuclear palsy (PSP) or Steele-Richardson-Olszewski syndrome is characterized by a progressive supranuclear ophthalmoplegia typically vertical but in particular downward limitation of eye movement. There is often associated loss of balance due to degeneration of neurons in the brainstem and basal ganglia. PSP is recognized as a tauopathy, with a middle age to late age onset. In PSP tau proteins aggregate in the brainstem and basal ganglia that are superior to the clusters of nuclei directly controlling eye movement, hence the term supranuclear. These aggregations can be used for pathological diagnosis of PSP in the form of neurofibrillary tangles, neuropil threads, 4-repeat tau protein, and tau-positive astrocytes and their processes in the basal ganglia and brainstem. […] PSP is a sporadic disease and the exact cause is not known. Potential hypotheses include: Drug/Toxin-induced: There have been three geographical clusters of illnesses similar to PSP in Guam, Guadeloupe, and northern France.
  • #2 Progressive Supranuclear Palsy | Treatment & Management | Point of Care
    https://www.statpearls.com/point-of-care/27793
    The cause of progressive supranuclear palsy is unknown. Advanced age and environmental factors such as exposure to toxins are theorized causes. The tau protein aggregates may be due to an unconventional infectious agent, random genetic mutations, or some unknown chemical in the food, air, or water which slowly damages certain vulnerable areas of the brain. […] The defining histopathologic feature of progressive supranuclear palsy is an intracerebral aggregation of the microtubule-associated protein tau with preferential involvement of the subthalamic nucleus, pallidum, striatum, red nucleus, substantia nigra, pontine tegmentum, oculomotor nucleus, medulla, and dentate nucleus. The aggregates predominantly contain tau isoforms with four microtubule-binding repeats (4R-tau) in neurofibrillary tangles, oligodendrocytic coils, and astrocytic tufts. Normally, tau is phosphorylated on a series of serine and threonine residues, regulated by numerous kinases and phosphatases. In progressive supranuclear palsy and other tauopathies, the tau protein is hyperphosphorylated, which causes it to lose its affinity for microtubules and become resistant to proteolysis. This results in the accumulation of tau and the formation of neurofibrillary tangles. […] The pathology of progressive supranuclear palsy is characterized by widespread neurodegeneration associated with tau protein deposition in subcortical regions.