Tau, amyloid-β and α-synuclein co-pathologies synergistically enhance neuroinflammation and neuropathology

Alzheimer’s (AD) and Parkinson disease (PD) pathology often co-occur. Amyloid-β and phosphorylated tau are found in 30-50% of idiopathic PD cases, while α-synuclein inclusions are present in 50% of AD cases. These co-pathologies are linked to increased mortality and earlier onset of cognitive decline. Immune activation is a hallmark of these neurodegenerative diseases, but current models primarily examine each pathology in isolation. How these co-pathologies drive inflammation and neuronal loss remains poorly understood. We therefore developed a mouse model combining tau, amyloid-β, and α-synuclein. We found that co-pathologies synergistically trigger an amplified neuroimmune response, with expanded populations of CD4 ⁺ and CD8 ⁺ tissue-resident memory T cells and CD68 ⁺ microglia, compared to single pathologies. These changes were abundant in the hippocampus and cortex, regions with elevated protein pathology load and enhanced neuronal loss. Our findings demonstrate that co-pathologies enhance proteinopathy and synergistically enhance immune activation and neurodegeneration, suggesting that combinatorial therapeutic strategies that target both co-pathologies and inflammation, may be disease modifying.