2. Academic Validation
  3. CDK3 induces neuronal death and brain atrophy in Alzheimer's disease

CDK3 induces neuronal death and brain atrophy in Alzheimer's disease

  • Nat Aging. 2025 Dec 19. doi: 10.1038/s43587-025-01026-6.
Kai Zhuang # 1 2,  Liu Zi # 1,  Xiao Su 1,  Chen Hu 3,  Xinrui Li 4,  Shuzhong Wang 1,  Yujun Xia 1,  Bo Wu 1,  Yuemin Su 1,  Shaokun Chen 1,  Haojie Li 5,  Siqi Wang 1,  Mengdan Wang 1,  Jieyin Li 1,  Wenting Xie 1,  Yanbing Chen 1,  Lige Leng 1 2,  Huifang Li 1,  Li Zhong 1,  Jiechao Zhou 1,  Yan Liu 4,  Qingsong Liu 3,  Karl Herrup 6,  Jie Zhang 7 8
Affiliations

Affiliations

  • 1 Institute of Neuroscience, School of Medicine, Faculty of Medicine and Life Sciences, Xiamen University, Xiamen, China.
  • 2 Scientific Research and Innovation Center, Department of Pediatrics, Women and Children's Hospital, School of Medicine, Xiamen University, Xiamen, China.
  • 3 Institute of Health and Medical Technology, Hefei Institutes of Physical Science, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Hefei, China.
  • 4 Institute for Stem Cell and Neural Regeneration, School of Pharmacy, Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, China.
  • 5 Tenth People's Hospital of Tongji University, Shanghai, China.
  • 6 Department of Neurobiology, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, PA, USA.
  • 7 Institute of Neuroscience, School of Medicine, Faculty of Medicine and Life Sciences, Xiamen University, Xiamen, China. [email protected].
  • 8 Scientific Research and Innovation Center, Department of Pediatrics, Women and Children's Hospital, School of Medicine, Xiamen University, Xiamen, China. [email protected].
  • # Contributed equally.
PMID: 41419666 DOI: 10.1038/s43587-025-01026-6
Abstract

Progressive neuronal loss and brain atrophy are principal determinants of cognitive decline in Alzheimer's disease (AD), yet most mouse models fail to recapitulate these features. Here we identify cyclin-dependent kinase 3 (CDK3) as a key driver of neurodegeneration in AD. CDK3 is elevated in human AD brains and correlates with disease severity. As laboratory mice carry a nonfunctional CDK3 mutation, we generated two models with restored CDK3 activity and then crossed to AD backgrounds. Both models exhibited substantial neuronal loss, hippocampal atrophy, and cognitive deficits. Single-nucleus RNA Sequencing revealed neurons simultaneously activating cell cycle and cell death pathways, indicating cell cycle reentry-induced death. Proteomics implicated synaptic proteins as CDK3 substrates. Finally, we developed BMX330, an inhibitor of CDK3, which mitigated neuronal death and rescued cognitive decline in CDK3-restored AD mice. These findings position CDK3 as a therapeutic target and provide pathologically relevant AD models.

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