Year 5

The goal of this proposal is to determine the isoform-specific effects of apolipoprotein (apo) E on the development of pluripotent stem cells into functional neurons in vitro in culture and in vivo in mice for potential cell replacement therapy. Toward this goal, we have made significant progress in all three aims in the past year, as summarized below.
1) We demonstrated that mouse GABAergic progenitors transplanted into the hilus of apoE3-KI and apoE4-KI mice developed into mature interneurons and functionally integrated into the hippocampal circuitry.
2) We also demonstrated that transplantation of mouse GABAergic progenitors into the hilus of apoE4-KI mice rescued learning and memory deficits.
3) Transplantation of mouse GABAergic progenitors into the hilus of hippocampus also rescued learning and memory deficits in apoE4-KI mice expressing Alzheimer’s disease-causing APP mutations.