Evidence map›Paper›PMID 42471719›Full record

ArticleMolecular neurodegeneration2026

AQP4-dependent enhancement of glymphatic function attenuates tau pathology and neurodegeneration in PS19 mice.

Kaoru Yamada, Kazuhisa Ishida, Asami Sakamoto, Hitoshi Shimada, Masaki Watanabe, Masato Shimojo, Hironaka Igarashi, Takeshi Iwatsubo

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Molecular neurodegeneration, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.

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0citing papers in PubMed
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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

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3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

0 citing papers in PubMed.

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4 · The record

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5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

8 authors.

Kaoru YamadaDepartment of Neuropathology, Graduate School of Medicine, The University of Tokyo, 7-3-1, Hongo, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo, 113-0033, Japan. yamadaka@m.u-tokyo.ac.jp.ORCID 0000-0003-3696-0604
Kazuhisa IshidaDepartment of Neuropathology, Graduate School of Medicine, The University of Tokyo, 7-3-1, Hongo, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo, 113-0033, Japan.
Asami SakamotoDepartment of Neuropathology, Graduate School of Medicine, The University of Tokyo, 7-3-1, Hongo, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo, 113-0033, Japan.
Hitoshi ShimadaCenter for Integrated Human Brain Science, Brain Research Institute, Niigata University, Niigata, Japan.
Masaki WatanabeCenter for Integrated Human Brain Science, Brain Research Institute, Niigata University, Niigata, Japan.
Masato ShimojoNeuroscience Drug Discovery Unit, Takeda Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd. Osaka, Research, Japan.
Hironaka IgarashiCenter for Integrated Human Brain Science, Brain Research Institute, Niigata University, Niigata, Japan.
Takeshi IwatsuboDepartment of Neuropathology, Graduate School of Medicine, The University of Tokyo, 7-3-1, Hongo, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo, 113-0033, Japan.

Funding

AMED JP23wm0625001Japan Society for the Promotion of Science 23H0279Japan Society for the Promotion of Science 25K10766, 20K21568, 18H02762Niigata University 2023-23012
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundThe glymphatic system facilitates cerebrospinal fluid-interstitial fluid exchange and contributes to the clearance of pathogenic proteins from the brain. Glymphatic dysfunction has been associated with Alzheimer's disease and related tauopathies; however, whether impaired glymphatic transport causally drives tau accumulation and neurodegeneration, and whether its enhancement confers therapeutic benefit, remains unclear.

methodsGlymphatic water dynamics in PS19 tau transgenic mice were assessed using JJVCPE, a novel MRI-based approach for evaluating brain water exchange. The effect of pharmacological activation of aquaporin-4 (AQP4) with TGN-073 on glymphatic cerebrospinal fluid influx was examined in wild-type mice using dynamic contrast-enhanced MRI. Tau pathology, neurodegeneration, and cerebrospinal fluid tau levels were analyzed in PS19 mice following chronic TGN-073 treatment. AQP4-deficient PS19 mice were examined to determine target specificity.

resultsPS19 mice exhibited significant impairment of glymphatic water exchange at early disease stages, which progressively worsened with ageing. Pharmacological activation of AQP4 with TGN-073 robustly enhanced glymphatic-related tracer influx, reduced tau accumulation, neuronal loss, and gliosis, and was accompanied by increased cerebrospinal fluid tau levels. TGN-073 also restored perivascular AQP4 enrichment without significantly altering overall AQP4 abundance. Importantly, these beneficial effects were abolished in AQP4-deficient PS19 mice, demonstrating that both glymphatic enhancement and suppression of tau pathology and neurodegeneration are AQP4-dependent.

conclusionsOur findings support a mechanistic contribution of impaired glymphatic function to tau accumulation and neuronal vulnerability in tauopathy. Pharmacological activation of AQP4 enhances glymphatic function, restores perivascular AQP4 organization, and ameliorates tau pathology, neurodegeneration, and gliosis. These findings identify AQP4-mediated glymphatic modulation as a disease-relevant and therapeutically tractable pathway for tau-related neurodegenerative disorders.

Indexed as

Aquaporin 4Glymphatic SystemTauopathiestau ProteinsAnimalsBrainDisease Models, AnimalHumansMiceMice, TransgenicAqp4 protein, mouseAquaporin 4tau ProteinsAlzheimer’s diseaseAquaporin-4Cerebrospinal fluid dynamicsGlymphatic systemTau pathology

Identifiers

PMID42471719
PMCPMC13450467

What Socratic holds

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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.