Primary Feline Tauopathy: Clinical, Morphological, Immunohistochemical, and Genetic Studies
Investigation published in Animals
September 21st, 2023
Tauopathies are a group of neurodegenerative diseases characterized by the pathological aggregation of hyperphosphorylated tau in neurons and glia. Primary tauopathies are not uncommon in humans but exceptional in other species. We evaluate the clinical, neuropathological, and genetic alterations related to tau pathology in 16 cats aged from 1 to 21 years with different clinical backgrounds. Interestingly, a 10-year-old female cat presented a six-year progressive history of mental status and gait abnormalities. The imaging study revealed generalized cortical atrophy. Due to the poor prognosis, the cat was euthanatized at the age of ten. Neuropathological lesions were characterized by massive neuronal loss with marked spongiosis and associated moderate reactive gliosis in the parietal cortex, being less severe in other areas of the cerebral cortex, and the loss of Purkinje cells of the cerebellum. Immunohistochemical methods revealed a 4R-tauopathy with granular pre-tangles in neurons and coiled bodies in oligodendrocytes. Deposits were recognized
with several phospho-site antibodies (4Rtau, tau5, AT8, PFH, tau-P Thr181, tau-P-Ser 262, tau-P Ser 422) and associated with increased granular expression of active tau kinases (p38-P Thr180/Tyr182 and SAPK/JNK-P Thr138/Thr185). The genetic study revealed well-preserved coding regions of MAPT. No similar alterations related to tau pathology were found in the other 15 cats processed in parallel. To our knowledge, this is the first case reporting a primary 4R-tauopathy with severe cerebral and Purkinje cell degeneration in an adult cat with neurological signs starting at a young age
Vidal-Palencia L., Font C., Rebollada A., Santpere G., Andres-Benito P., Ferrer I. and Pumarola M.
| Hospital del Mar Research Institute. Parc de Recerca Biomèdica de Barcelona. | |
 | Department Medicina i Cirurgia Animals. Facultat de Veterinària. Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona (UAB). |
| Hospital Veterinari Canis. | |
 | Servicio de Patología y Veterinaria Forense (SAP). Centro de Vigilancia Sanitaria Veterinaria (VISAVET). Universidad Complutense (UCM). |
| Departamento de Medicina y Cirugía Animal. Facultad de Veterinaria. Universidad Complutense (UCM). |
| Department of Neuroscience. Yale University School of Medicine. | |
| Institut d’Investigació Biomèdica de Bellvitge. | |
 | Department of Pathology and Experimental Therapeutics. Universitat de Barcelona (UB). |
