Evidence map›Paper›PMID 40403715›Full record

ArticleNeuron2025

Selective removal of astrocytic PERK protects against glymphatic impairment and decreases toxic aggregation of β-amyloid and tau.

Kai Chen, Yosuke M Morizawa, Tal Nuriel, Osama Al-Dalahmah, Zhongcong Xie, Guang Yang

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Neuron, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 17 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
17citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

17 citing papers in PubMed.

  1. Review
  2. Regional astrocyte dysregulation and altered glymphatic-related markers in Alzheimer's disease frontal cortex.Alzheimer's & dementia : the journal of the Alzheimer's Association · 2026
    Article
  3. Distinct cell type-specific mechanisms underlie cognitive dysfunction during persistent integrated stress response activation.Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America · 2026
    Article
  4. Article
  5. Article
  6. Article
  7. Progressive Supranuclear Palsy PERK Haplotype B Selectively Translates DLX1 Promoting Tau Toxicity.The Journal of neuroscience : the official journal of the Society for Neuroscience · 2026
    Article
  8. Article
  9. Article
  10. Silmitasertib, an FDA-designated orphan CK2 inhibitor, ameliorates neuropathology and motor dysfunction in a Huntington's disease mouse model.Neurotherapeutics : the journal of the American Society for Experimental NeuroTherapeutics · 2026
    Article
  11. Article
  12. Article
  13. Review
  14. Article
  15. Article
  16. Review
  17. Review
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

6 authors.

Kai ChenDepartment of Anesthesiology, Columbia University Irving Medical Center, New York, NY 10032, USA.
Yosuke M MorizawaDepartment of Anesthesiology, Columbia University Irving Medical Center, New York, NY 10032, USA.
Tal NurielTaub Institute for Research on Alzheimer's Disease and the Aging Brain, Columbia University Irving Medical Center, New York, NY 10032, USA; Department of Pathology and Cell Biology, Columbia University Irving Medical Center, New York, NY 10032, USA.
Osama Al-DalahmahTaub Institute for Research on Alzheimer's Disease and the Aging Brain, Columbia University Irving Medical Center, New York, NY 10032, USA; Department of Pathology and Cell Biology, Columbia University Irving Medical Center, New York, NY 10032, USA.
Zhongcong XieGeriatric Anesthesia Research Unit, Department of Anesthesia, Critical Care and Pain Medicine, Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Charlestown, MA 02129, USA. Electronic address: zhongcong.Xie@uth.tmc.edu.
Guang YangDepartment of Anesthesiology, Columbia University Irving Medical Center, New York, NY 10032, USA. Electronic address: gy2268@cumc.columbia.edu.

Funding

Pathogenesis of Postoperative Cognitive DysfunctionR01AG041274 · NIA · UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS HLTH SCI CTR HOUSTON · PI Zhongcong Xie, Guang Yang · 2012 to 2026
$6.7M
NIA NIH HHS R01 AG041274
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Dysfunction of the glymphatic system, a brain-wide waste clearance network, is strongly linked to Alzheimer's disease (AD) and the accumulation of β-amyloid (Aβ) and tau proteins. Here, we identify an astrocytic signaling pathway that can be targeted to preserve glymphatic function and mitigate neurotoxic protein buildup. Analysis of astrocytes from both human AD brains and two transgenic mouse models (5XFAD and PS19) reveals robust activation of the protein kinase RNA-like endoplasmic reticulum (ER) kinase (PERK)-α subunit of eukaryotic initiation factor 2 (eIF2α) branch of the unfolded protein response. Chronic PERK activation suppresses astrocytic protein synthesis and, through casein kinase 2 (CK2)-dependent mechanisms, disrupts the perivascular localization of aquaporin-4 (AQP4), a water channel essential for glymphatic flow. Importantly, astrocyte-specific PERK deletion or pharmacological inhibition restores AQP4 localization, enhances glymphatic clearance, reduces Aβ and tau pathology, and improves cognitive performance in mice. These findings highlight the critical role of the astrocytic PERK-CK2-AQP4 axis in glymphatic dysfunction and AD pathogenesis, positioning this pathway as a promising therapeutic target.

Indexed as

Alzheimer DiseaseAmyloid beta-PeptidesAstrocyteseIF-2 KinaseGlymphatic Systemtau ProteinsAnimalsAquaporin 4Disease Models, AnimalHumansMaleMiceMice, TransgenicAmyloid beta-PeptidesAquaporin 4eIF-2 Kinasetau ProteinsADAQP4astrocyteCK2glymphatic functionPERKprotein synthesisunfolded protein response

Identifiers

PMID40403715
PMCPMC12210236

What Socratic holds

Textmetadata
LicenceTDM
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the Socratic graph.