Cajal-Retzius cells are reelin-secreting neurons in the marginal zone of the neocortex and hippocampus. However, the relationship between Cajal-Retzius cells and Alzheimer's disease is unknown. Dr. Jinbo Deng and team from Henan University in China revealed that the number of Cajal-Retzius cells markedly reduced with age in both wild type and in mice over-expressing the Swedish double mutant form of amyloid precursor protein 695 (transgenic (Tg) 2576 mice).
The decline in Cajal-Retzius cells in Tg2576 mice was found to occur concomitantly with the onset of Alzheimer's disease amyloid pathology and related behavioral defcits. Overall, these data, published in the Neural Regeneration Research (Vol. 9, No. 4, 2014), indicated that Cajal-Retzius cell loss occurred with the onset and development of Alzheimer's disease.
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