Aβ plaques induce local pre-synaptic toxicity in human iPSC-derived neuron xenografts

Stem Cell Reports. 2026 Jan 2:102754. doi: 10.1016/j.stemcr.2025.102754. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

Xenotransplantation enables the interrogation of human neuron-specific vulnerabilities to Alzheimer's pathology within a physiologically relevant in vivo context. While amyloid-beta (Aβ) is known to disrupt synaptic integrity, it remains uncertain whether the synaptotoxicity observed in vitro accurately models the disease. Here, we establish a xenotransplantation paradigm in which human neurons integrate into the brains of amyloid precursor protein (APP) transgenic mice that develop amyloid plaques. Using a genetically encoded pre-synaptic reporter, we label human pre-synapses post engraftment to assess early-stage pathology. We demonstrate that extracellular Aβ plaques induce localized synaptic damage in human neurons, characterized by local pre-synaptic loss and the formation of dystrophic neurites. Notably, this pathology is restricted to the plaque microenvironment and does not result in widespread pre-synaptic degeneration. Our findings establish this human-mouse chimera model as a platform for dissecting Aβ-induced synaptic pathology and reveal that extracellular Aβ exerts compartmentalized yet impactful toxicity on human pre-synapses.

PMID:41483813 | DOI:10.1016/j.stemcr.2025.102754