Genetics, Neurology, Behavior, and Diet in Dementia - Chapter 52: Alzheimer model 5xfad mice and applications to dementia: transgenic mouse models, a focus on neuroinflammation, microglia, and food-derived components

This chapter focuses on mouse models of Alzheimer’s disease (AD), especially the 5xFAD line. 5xFAD mice exhibit severe amyloid-β deposition at 2 months of age and cognitive impairment by 3 months of age. Microglial activation and neuroinflammation are induced in 5xFAD mice, similar to the human AD pathologies. The effects of pharmacological agents targeting neuroinflammation are evaluated using 5xFAD mice. Further, this model was applied to evaluate the preventive effect of food-derived components. For example, the daily intake of fermented dairy products has been identified to exhibit an AD-preventive effect in 5xFAD mice. Iso-α-acids, which are hop-derived bitter components in beer, improved amyloid-β burden, neuroinflammation, and cognitive function by modulating microglial activities in 5xFAD mice. Because of the early onset of AD-like pathologies, the 5xFAD mouse model is valuable for accelerating the development of therapeutic and preventive strategies for AD.