Dual modulation of ERK1/2 and p38 MAP kinase activities induced by minocycline reverses the neurotoxic effects of the prion protein fragment 90-231

Proteostasis unbalance in prion diseases: Mechanisms of neurodegeneration and therapeutic targets

Transmissible spongiform encephalopathies (TSEs), or prion diseases, are progressive neurodegenerative disorders of the central nervous system that affect humans and animals as sporadic, inherited, and infectious forms. Similarly to Alzheimer's disease and other neurodegenerative disorders, any attempt to reduce TSEs' lethality or increase the life expectancy of affected individuals has been unsuccessful. Typically, the onset of symptoms anticipates the fatal outcome of less than 1 year, although it is believed to be the consequence of a decades-long process of neuronal death. The duration of the symptoms-free period represents by itself a major obstacle to carry out effective neuroprotective therapies. Prions, the infectious entities of TSEs, are composed of a protease-resistant protein named prion protein scrapie (PrP^Sc) from the prototypical TSE form that afflicts ovines. PrP^Sc misfolding from its physiological counterpart, cellular prion protein (PrP^C), is the unifying pathogenic trait of all TSEs. PrP^Sc is resistant to intracellular turnover and undergoes amyloid-like fibrillation passing through the formation of soluble dimers and oligomers, which are likely the effective neurotoxic entities. The failure of PrP^Sc removal is a key pathogenic event that defines TSEs as proteopathies, likewise other neurodegenerative disorders, including Alzheimer's, Parkinson's, and Huntington's disease, characterized by alteration of proteostasis. Under physiological conditions, protein quality control, led by the ubiquitin-proteasome system, and macroautophagy clears cytoplasm from improperly folded, redundant, or aggregation-prone proteins. There is evidence that both of these crucial homeostatic pathways are impaired during the development of TSEs, although it is still unclear whether proteostasis alteration facilitates prion protein misfolding or, rather, PrP^Sc protease resistance hampers cytoplasmic protein quality control. This review is aimed to critically analyze the most recent advancements in the cause-effect correlation between PrP^C misfolding and proteostasis alterations and to discuss the possibility that pharmacological restoring of ubiquitin-proteasomal competence and stimulation of autophagy could reduce the intracellular burden of PrP^Sc and ameliorate the severity of prion-associated neurodegeneration.

Minocycline alleviates depression-like symptoms by rescuing decrease in neurogenesis in dorsal hippocampus via blocking microglia activation/phagocytosis

Clinical studies examining the potential of anti-inflammatory agents, specifically of minocycline, as a treatment for depression has shown promising results. However, mechanistic insights into the neuroprotective and anti-inflammatory actions of minocycline need to be provided. We evaluated the effect of minocycline on chronic mild stress (CMS) induced depressive-like behavior, and behavioral assays revealed minocycline ameliorate depressive behaviors. Multiple studies suggest a role of microglia in depression, revealing that microglia activation correlates with a decrease in neurogenesis and increased depressive-like behavior. The effect of minocycline on microglia activation in different areas of the dorsal or ventral hippocampus in stressed mice was examined by immunohistochemistry. We observed the increase in the number of activated microglia expressing CD68 after exposure to three weeks of chronic stress, whereas no changes in total microglia number were observed. These changes were observed throughout the DG, CA1 and CA2 regions in dorsal hippocampus but restricted to the DG of the ventral hippocampus. In vitro experiments including western blotting and phagocytosis assay were used to investigate the effect of minocycline on microglia activation. Activation of primary microglia by LPS in vitro causes and ERK1/2 activation, enhancement of iNOS expression and phagocytic activity, and alterations in cellular morphology that are reversed by minocycline exposure, suggesting that minocycline directly acts on microglia to reduce phagocytic potential. Our results suggest the most probable mechanism by which minocycline reverses the pathogenic phagocytic potential of neurotoxic M1 microglia, and reduces the negative phenotypes associated with reduced neurogenesis caused by exposure to chronic stress.

Neuroprotective effects of minocycline on focal cerebral ischemia injury: a systematic review

To review the neuroprotective effects of minocycline in focal cerebral ischemia in animal models. By searching in the databases of PubMed, ScienceDirect, and Scopus, and considering the inclusion and exclusion criteria of the study. Studies were included if focal cerebral ischemia model was performed in mammals and including a control group that has been compared with a minocycline group. Written in languages other than English; duplicate data; in vitro studies and combination of minocycline with other neuroprotective agents were excluded. Neurological function of patients was assessed by National Institute of Health Stroke Scale, modified Rankin Scale, and modified Barthel Index. Neuroprotective effects were assessed by detecting the expression of inflammatory cytokines. We examined 35 papers concerning the protective effects of minocycline in focal cerebral ischemia in animal models and 6 clinical trials which had evaluated the neuroprotective effects of minocycline in ischemic stroke. These studies revealed that minocycline increases the viability of neurons and decreases the infarct volume following cerebral ischemia. The mechanisms that were reported in these studies included anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, as well as anti-apoptotic effects. Minocycline also increases the neuronal regeneration following cerebral ischemia. Minocycline has considerable neuroprotective effects against cerebral ischemia-induced neuronal damages. However, larger clinical trials may be required before using minocycline as a neuroprotective drug in ischemic stroke.

Emerging Role of Cellular Prion Protein in the Maintenance and Expansion of Glioma Stem Cells

Cellular prion protein (PrP^C) is a membrane-anchored glycoprotein representing the physiological counterpart of PrP scrapie (PrP^Sc), which plays a pathogenetic role in prion diseases. Relatively little information is however available about physiological role of PrP^C. Although PrP^C ablation in mice does not induce lethal phenotypes, impairment of neuronal and bone marrow plasticity was reported in embryos and adult animals. In neurons, PrP^C stimulates neurite growth, prevents oxidative stress-dependent cell death, and favors antiapoptotic signaling. However, PrP^C activity is not restricted to post-mitotic neurons, but promotes cell proliferation and migration during embryogenesis and tissue regeneration in adult. PrP^C acts as scaffold to stabilize the binding between different membrane receptors, growth factors, and basement proteins, contributing to tumorigenesis. Indeed, ablation of PrP^C expression reduces cancer cell proliferation and migration and restores cell sensitivity to chemotherapy. Conversely, PrP^C overexpression in cancer stem cells (CSCs) from different tumors, including gliomas—the most malignant brain tumors—is predictive for poor prognosis, and correlates with relapses. The mechanisms of the PrP^C role in tumorigenesis and its molecular partners in this activity are the topic of the present review, with a particular focus on PrP^C contribution to glioma CSCs multipotency, invasiveness, and tumorigenicity.

Cellular prion protein controls stem cell-like properties of human glioblastoma tumor-initiating cells

Prion protein (PrP^C) is a cell surface glycoprotein whose misfolding is responsible for prion diseases. Although its physiological role is not completely defined, several lines of evidence propose that PrP^C is involved in self-renewal, pluripotency gene expression, proliferation and differentiation of neural stem cells. Moreover, PrP^C regulates different biological functions in human tumors, including glioblastoma (GBM). We analyzed the role of PrP^C in GBM cell pathogenicity focusing on tumor-initiating cells (TICs, or cancer stem cells, CSCs), the subpopulation responsible for development, progression and recurrence of most malignancies. Analyzing four GBM CSC-enriched cultures, we show that PrP^C expression is directly correlated with the proliferation rate of the cells. To better define its role in CSC biology, we knocked-down PrP^C expression in two of these GBM-derived CSC cultures by specific lentiviral-delivered shRNAs. We provide evidence that CSC proliferation rate, spherogenesis and in vivo tumorigenicity are significantly inhibited in PrP^C down-regulated cells. Moreover, PrP^C down-regulation caused loss of expression of the stemness and self-renewal markers (NANOG, Sox2) and the activation of differentiation pathways (i.e. increased GFAP expression). Our results suggest that PrP^C controls the stemness properties of human GBM CSCs and that its down-regulation induces the acquisition of a more differentiated and less oncogenic phenotype.

Pharmacological activation of autophagy favors the clearing of intracellular aggregates of misfolded prion protein peptide to prevent neuronal death

According to the “gain-of-toxicity mechanism”, neuronal loss during cerebral proteinopathies is caused by accumulation of aggregation-prone conformers of misfolded cellular proteins, although it is still debated which aggregation state actually corresponds to the neurotoxic entity. Autophagy, originally described as a variant of programmed cell death, is now emerging as a crucial mechanism for cell survival in response to a variety of cell stressors, including nutrient deprivation, damage of cytoplasmic organelles, or accumulation of misfolded proteins. Impairment of autophagic flux in neurons often associates with neurodegeneration during cerebral amyloidosis, suggesting a role in clearing neurons from aggregation-prone misfolded proteins. Thus, autophagy may represent a target for innovative therapies. In this work, we show that alterations of autophagy progression occur in neurons following in vitro exposure to the amyloidogenic and neurotoxic prion protein-derived peptide PrP90-231. We report that the increase of autophagic flux represents a strategy adopted by neurons to survive the intracellular accumulation of misfolded PrP90-231. In particular, PrP90-231 internalization in A1 murine mesencephalic neurons occurs in acidic structures, showing electron microscopy hallmarks of autophagosomes and autophagolysosomes. However, these structures do not undergo resolution and accumulate in cytosol, suggesting that, in the presence of PrP90-231, autophagy is activated but its progression is impaired; the inability to clear PrP90-231 via autophagy induces cytotoxicity, causing impairment of lysosomal integrity and cytosolic diffusion of hydrolytic enzymes. Conversely, the induction of autophagy by pharmacological  blockade of mTOR kinase or trophic factor deprivation restored autophagy resolution, reducing intracellular PrP90-231 accumulation and neuronal death. Taken together, these data indicate that PrP90-231 internalization induces an autophagic defensive response in A1 neurons, although incomplete and insufficient to grant survival; the pharmacological enhancement of this process exerts neuroprotection favoring the clearing of the internalized peptide and could represents a promising neuroprotective tool for neurodegenerative proteinopathies.

Different Molecular Mechanisms Mediate Direct or Glia-Dependent Prion Protein Fragment 90-231 Neurotoxic Effects in Cerebellar Granule Neurons

Glia over-stimulation associates with amyloid deposition contributing to the progression of central nervous system neurodegenerative disorders. Here we analyze the molecular mechanisms mediating microglia-dependent neurotoxicity induced by prion protein (PrP)90-231, an amyloidogenic polypeptide corresponding to the protease-resistant portion of the pathological prion protein scrapie (PrP^Sc). PrP90-231 neurotoxicity is enhanced by the presence of microglia within neuronal culture, and associated to a rapid neuronal [Ca⁺⁺] _i increase. Indeed, while in "pure" cerebellar granule neuron cultures, PrP90-231 causes a delayed intracellular Ca⁺⁺ entry mediated by the activation of NMDA receptors; when neuron and glia are co-cultured, a transient increase of [Ca⁺⁺] _i occurs within seconds after treatment in both granule neurons and glial cells, then followed by a delayed and sustained [Ca⁺⁺] _i raise, associated with the induction of the expression of inducible nitric oxide synthase and phagocytic NADPH oxidase. [Ca⁺⁺] _i fast increase in neurons is dependent on the activation of multiple pathways since it is not only inhibited by the blockade of voltage-gated channel activity and NMDA receptors but also prevented by the inhibition of nitric oxide and PGE₂ release from glial cells. Thus, Ca⁺⁺ homeostasis alteration, directly induced by PrP90-231 in cerebellar granule cells, requires the activation of NMDA receptors, but is greatly enhanced by soluble molecules released by activated glia. In glia-enriched cerebellar granule cultures, the activation of inducible nitric oxide (iNOS) and NADPH oxidase represents the main mechanism of toxicity since their pharmacological inhibition prevented PrP90-231 neurotoxicity, whereas NMDA blockade by D(-)-2-amino-5-phosphonopentanoic acid is ineffective; conversely, in pure cerebellar granule cultures, NMDA blockade but not iNOS inhibition strongly reduced PrP90-231 neurotoxicity. These data indicate that amyloidogenic peptides induce neurotoxic signals via both direct neuron interaction and glia activation through different mechanisms responsible of calcium homeostasis disruption in neurons and potentiating each other: the activation of excitotoxic pathways via NMDA receptors and the release of radical species that establish an oxidative milieu.

Minocycline targets multiple secondary injury mechanisms in traumatic spinal cord injury

Minocycline hydrochloride (MH), a semi-synthetic tetracycline derivative, is a clinically available antibiotic and anti-inflammatory drug that also exhibits potent neuroprotective activities. It has been shown to target multiple secondary injury mechanisms in spinal cord injury, via its anti-inflammatory, anti-oxidant, and anti-apoptotic properties. The secondary injury mechanisms that MH can potentially target include inflammation, free radicals and oxidative stress, glutamate excitotoxicity, calcium influx, mitochondrial dysfunction, ischemia, hemorrhage, and edema. This review discusses the potential mechanisms of the multifaceted actions of MH. Its anti-inflammatory and neuroprotective effects are partially achieved through conserved mechanisms such as modulation of p38 mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) and phosphoinositide 3-kinase (PI3K)/Akt signaling pathways as well as inhibition of matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs). Additionally, MH can directly inhibit calcium influx through the N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) receptors, mitochondrial calcium uptake, poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase-1 (PARP-1) enzymatic activity, and iron toxicity. It can also directly scavenge free radicals. Because it can target many secondary injury mechanisms, MH treatment holds great promise for reducing tissue damage and promoting functional recovery following spinal cord injury.

Novel celecoxib analogues inhibit glial production of prostaglandin E2, nitric oxide, and oxygen radicals reverting the neuroinflammatory responses induced by misfolded prion protein fragment 90-231 or lipopolysaccharide

We tested the efficacy of novel cyclooxygenase 2 (COX-2) inhibitors in counteracting glia-driven neuroinflammation induced by the amyloidogenic prion protein fragment PrP90-231 or lipopolysaccharide (LPS). In search for molecules with higher efficacy than celecoxib, we focused our study on its 2,3-diaryl-1,3-thiazolidin-4-one analogues. As experimental models, we used the immortalized microglial cell line N9, rat purified microglial primary cultures, and mixed cultures of astrocytes and microglia. Microglia activation in response to PrP90-231 or LPS was characterized by growth arrest, morphology changes and the production of reactive oxygen species (ROS). Moreover, PrP90-231 treatment caused the overexpression of the inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) and COX-2, with the consequent nitric oxide (NO), and prostaglandin E₂ (PGE₂) accumulation. These effects were challenged by different celecoxib analogues, among which Q22 (3-[4-(sulfamoyl)phenyl]-2-(4-tolyl)thiazolidin-4-one) inhibited microglia activation more efficiently than celecoxib, lowering both iNOS and COX-2 activity and reducing ROS release. During neurodegenerative diseases, neuroinflammation induced by amyloidogenic peptides causes the activation of both astrocytes and microglia with these cell populations mutually regulating each other. Thus the effects of PrP90-231 and LPS were also studied on mixed glial cultures containing astrocytes and microglia. PrP90-231 treatment elicited different responses in the co-cultures induced astrocyte proliferation and microglia growth arrest, resulting in a differential ability to release proinflammatory molecules with the production of NO and ROS mainly attributable on microglia, while COX-2 expression was induced also in astrocytes. Q22 effects on both NO and PGE₂ secretion were more significant in the mixed glial cultures than in purified microglia, demonstrating Q22 ability to revert the functional interaction between astrocytes and microglia. These results demonstrate that Q22 is a powerful drug able to revert glial neuroinflammatory responses and might represent a lead to explore the chemical space around celecoxib frameworks to design even more effective agents, paving the way to novel approaches to contrast the neuroinflammation-dependent toxicity.

Mechanisms of myocardial ischemia–reperfusion injury and the cytoprotective role of minocycline: scope and limitations

ABSTRACT 

Deep insight into the complex mechanisms of myocardial ischemia–reperfusion injury has been attained in the past years. Minocycline is a second-generation tetracycline with US FDA approval for clinical use in various infections. Lately, several noninfectious cytoprotective activities of minocycline have been discovered as well. There now exists encouraging evidence of its protective role in cardiovascular pathology and its activity against myocardial ischemia–reperfusion injury. In this article, an overview of the major mechanisms involved in myocardial ischemia–reperfusion injury is presented. This is followed by an analysis of the mechanisms by which minocycline exerts its cytoprotective role and of studies that have been conducted in order to analyze minocycline, along with a review of the scope and limitations of its role as a cytoprotective agent.

Celecoxib Inhibits Prion Protein 90-231-Mediated Pro-inflammatory Responses in Microglial Cells

Activation of microglia is a central event in the atypical inflammatory response occurring during prion encephalopathies. We report that the prion protein fragment encompassing amino acids 90-231 (PrP90-231), a model of the neurotoxic activity of the pathogenic prion protein (PrP(Sc)), causes activation of both primary microglia cultures and N9 microglial cells in vitro. This effect was characterized by cell proliferation arrest and induction of a secretory phenotype, releasing prostaglandin E2 (PGE2) and nitric oxide (NO). Conditioned medium from PrP90-231-treated microglia induced in vitro cytotoxicity of A1 mesencephalic neurons, supporting the notion that soluble mediators released by activated microglia contributes to the neurodegeneration during prion diseases. The neuroinflammatory role of COX activity, and its potential targeting for anti-prion therapies, was tested measuring the effects of ketoprofen and celecoxib (preferential inhibitors of COX1 and COX2, respectively) on PrP90-231-induced microglial activation. Celecoxib, but not ketoprofen significantly reverted the growth arrest as well as NO and PGE2 secretion induced by PrP90-231, indicating that PrP90-231 pro-inflammatory response in microglia is mainly dependent on COX2 activation. Taken together, these data outline the importance of microglia in the neurotoxicity occurring during prion diseases and highlight the potentiality of COX2-selective inhibitors to revert microglia as adjunctive pharmacological approach to contrast the neuroinflammation-dependent neurotoxicity.

Analyses of the similarity and difference of global gene expression profiles in cortex regions of three neurodegenerative diseases: sporadic Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (sCJD), fatal familial insomnia (FFI), and Alzheimer's disease (AD)

Neurodegenerative disease is a general designation for the disorders that are progressive loss of structure or function and final death of neurons, including Alzheimer's, Parkinson's, Huntington's, prion diseases, etc. In this study, we comparatively analyzed 21 individual microarray data sets of the cortex tissues from 11 sporadic Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (sCJD), 3 fatal familial insomnia (FFI), 3 Alzheimer's disease (AD), and 4 normal controls. After normalization, a collection of 730 differently expressed sets (DESets) were obtained by comparison of the data of three diseases with their original controls. Principal component analysis (PCA) showed a background-related distribution within the groups of FFI, AD, and normal control, but two apparently different subgroups within the group of sCJD were observed. Review of the clinical materials of 11 sCJD patients identified the difference in brain PrP(Sc) deposits between two subgroups. Hierarchical cluster analysis illustrated the relatively independent clusters of normal controls, FFIs, six sCJD cases (subgroup 1) with more PrP(Sc) deposits, respectively, while an overlapped cluster of five cases of sCJD2 (subgroup 2) with less PrP(Sc) deposits and AD patients. Despite of the presence of special gene expressions, many common features were found among those neurodegenerative diseases. The most commonly changed biological processes (BPs) were signal transduction, synaptic transmission, and neuropeptide signaling pathway. The most commonly changed pathways were MAPK signaling pathway, Parkinson's disease, and oxidative phosphorylation. Our data here provide the similarity and difference in global gene expressions among the patients with sCJD, FFI, and AD, which may help to understand the common mechanism of neurodegenerative diseases.

C-terminal peptides modelling constitutive PrPC processing demonstrate ameliorated toxicity predisposition consequent to α-cleavage

C-terminal fragments generated through α- and β-cleavage of PrPC appear to harbour different pathogenic potential for host cells. Most significantly, α-cleavage produces a C-terminal fragment that is resistant to folding into soluble β-strand-rich toxic isoforms.

Comparative analysis of gene expression profiles between cortex and thalamus in Chinese fatal familial insomnia patients

Fatal familial insomnia (FFI) is a special subtype of genetic human prion diseases that is caused by the D178N mutation of the prion protein gene (PRNP). According to the surveillance data from 2006, FFI accounts for about half of all genetic prion disease cases in China. In this study, global expression patterns of the thalamus and parietal cortex from three patients with FFI were analyzed by Affymetrix Human Genome U133+ 2.0 chip. A total of 1,314 genes in the thalamus and 332 ones in the parietal lobe were determined to be differentially expressed genes (DEGs). The percentage of upregulated DEGs is much less in the thalamus (19.3 %) than that in the parietal lobe (42.8 %). Moreover, 255 of those DEGs showed the same altering tendencies in both tested regions, including 99 upregulated and 156 downregulated ones. The reliability of the results was confirmed by the real-time RT-PCR assays. There were 1,152 and 531 biological processes affected in the thalamus and the parietal lobe, respectively, as well as 391 overlapping ones in both regions. The most significantly changed molecular functions included transcription and DNA-dependent regulation of transcription, RNA splicing, mitochondrial electron transport, etc. The changed functions in the thalamus contained more numbers of DEGs than parietal lobe. According to KEGG classification, there were 167 and 115 different pathways changed in the thalamus and the parietal lobe, respectively, while 102 were changed in both. Interestingly, the top three changed pathways in the three groups mentioned above were Parkinson's disease, Alzheimer's disease, and oxidative phosphorylation. These results demonstrate the greater damage in the thalamus than in the parietal lobe during FFI pathogenesis, which is consistent with previous pathological observations. This study aims to describe the global expression profiles in various brain regions of FFI while proposing useful clues for understanding the pathogenesis of FFI and selecting potential biomarkers for diagnostic and therapeutic tools.

Global transcriptional profiling of the postmortem brain of a patient with G114V genetic Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease

Familial or genetic Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (fCJD or gCJD) is an inherent human prion disease caused by mutation of the prion protein gene (PRNP). In the present study, global expression patterns of the parietal cortex from a patient with G114V gCJD were analyzed using the Affymetrix Human Genome U133+ 2.0 chip with a commercial normal human parietal cortex RNA pool as a normal control. In total, 8,774 genes showed differential expression; among them 2,769 genes were upregulated and 6,005 genes were downregulated. The reliability of the results was confirmed using real-time RT-PCR assays. The most differentially expressed genes (DEGs) were involved in transcription regulation, ion transport, transcription, cell adhesion, and signal transduction. The genes associated with gliosis were upregulated and the genes marked for neurons were downregulated, while the transcription of the PRNP gene remained unaltered. A total of 169 different pathways exhibited significant changes in the brain of G114V gCJD. The most significantly regulated pathways included Alzheimer's and Parkinson's disease, oxidative phosphorylation, regulation of actin cytoskeleton, MAPK signaling and proteasome, which have previously been linked to prion diseases. In addition, we found some pathways that have rarely been explored in regards to prion diseases that were also significantly altered in G114V gCJD, such as axon guidance, gap junction and purine metabolism. The majority of the genes in the 10 most altered pathways were downregulated. The data of the present study provide useful insights into the pathogenesis of G114V gCJD and potential biomarkers for diagnostic and therapeutic purposes.

What is behind the non-antibiotic properties of minocycline?

Minocycline is a second-generation, semi-synthetic tetracycline that has been in use in therapy for over 30 years for its antibiotic properties against both Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria. It displays antibiotic activity due to its ability to bind to the 30S ribosomal subunit of bacteria and thus inhibit protein synthesis. More recently, it has been described to exert a variety of biological actions beyond its antimicrobial activity, including anti-inflammatory and anti-apoptotic activities, inhibition of proteolysis, as well as suppression of angiogenesis and tumor metastasis, which have been confirmed in different experimental models of non-infectious diseases. There are also many studies that have focused on the mechanisms involved in these non-antibiotic properties of minocycline, including anti-oxidant activity, inhibition of several enzyme activities, inhibition of apoptosis and regulation of immune cell activation and proliferation. This review summarizes the current findings in this topic, mainly focusing on the mechanisms underlying the immunomodulatory and anti-inflammatory activities of minocycline.

Excitotoxicity through NMDA receptors mediates cerebellar granule neuron apoptosis induced by prion protein 90-231 fragment

Prion diseases recognize, as a unique molecular trait, the misfolding of CNS-enriched prion protein (PrP(C)) into an aberrant isoform (PrP(Sc)). In this work, we characterize the in vitro toxicity of amino-terminally truncated recombinant PrP fragment (amino acids 90-231, PrP90-231), on rat cerebellar granule neurons (CGN), focusing on glutamatergic receptor activation and Ca(2+) homeostasis impairment. This recombinant fragment assumes a toxic conformation (PrP90-231(TOX)) after controlled thermal denaturation (1 h at 53 °C) acquiring structural characteristics identified in PrP(Sc) (enrichment in β-structures, increased hydrophobicity, partial resistance to proteinase K, and aggregation in amyloid fibrils). By annexin-V binding assay, and evaluation of the percentage of fragmented and condensed nuclei, we show that treatment with PrP90-231(TOX), used in pre-fibrillar aggregation state, induces CGN apoptosis. This effect was associated with a delayed, but sustained elevation of [Ca(2+)]i. Both CGN apoptosis and [Ca(2+)]i increase were not observed using PrP90-231 in PrP(C)-like conformation. PrP90-231(TOX) effects were significantly reduced in the presence of ionotropic glutamate receptor antagonists. In particular, CGN apoptosis and [Ca(2+)]i increase were largely reduced, although not fully abolished, by pre-treatment with the NMDA antagonists APV and memantine, while the AMPA antagonist CNQX produced a lower, although still significant, effect. In conclusion, we report that CGN apoptosis induced by PrP90-231(TOX) correlates with a sustained elevation of [Ca(2+)]i mediated by the activation of NMDA and AMPA receptors.

Calcium binding promotes prion protein fragment 90-231 conformational change toward a membrane destabilizing and cytotoxic structure

The pathological form of prion protein (PrP(Sc)), as other amyloidogenic proteins, causes a marked increase of membrane permeability. PrP(Sc) extracted from infected Syrian hamster brains induces a considerable change in membrane ionic conductance, although the contribution of this interaction to the molecular mechanism of neurodegeneration process is still controversial. We previously showed that the human PrP fragment 90-231 (hPrP₉₀₋₂₃₁) increases ionic conductance across artificial lipid bilayer, in a calcium-dependent manner, producing an alteration similar to that observed for PrP(Sc). In the present study we demonstrate that hPrP₉₀₋₂₃₁, pre-incubated with 10 mM Ca⁺⁺ and then re-suspended in physiological external solution increases not only membrane conductance but neurotoxicity as well. Furthermore we show the existence of a direct link between these two effects as demonstrated by a highly statistically significant correlation in several experimental conditions. A similar correlation between increased membrane conductance and cell degeneration has been observed assaying hPrP₉₀₋₂₃₁ bearing pathogenic mutations (D202N and E200K). We also report that Ca⁺⁺ binding to hPrP₉₀₋₂₃₁ induces a conformational change based on an alteration of secondary structure characterized by loss of alpha-helix content causing hydrophobic amino acid exposure and proteinase K resistance. These features, either acquired after controlled thermal denaturation or induced by D202N and E200K mutations were previously identified as responsible for hPrP₉₀₋₂₃₁ cytotoxicity. Finally, by in silico structural analysis, we propose that Ca⁺⁺ binding to hPrP₉₀₋₂₃₁ modifies amino acid orientation, in the same way induced by E200K mutation, thus suggesting a pathway for the structural alterations responsible of PrP neurotoxicity.

Role of prion protein aggregation in neurotoxicity

In several neurodegenerative diseases, such as Parkinson, Alzheimer’s, Huntington, and prion diseases, the deposition of aggregated misfolded proteins is believed to be responsible for the neurotoxicity that characterizes these diseases. Prion protein (PrP), the protein responsible of prion diseases, has been deeply studied for the peculiar feature of its misfolded oligomers that are able to propagate within affected brains, inducing the conversion of the natively folded PrP into the pathological conformation. In this review, we summarize the available experimental evidence concerning the relationship between aggregation status of misfolded PrP and neuronal death in the course of prion diseases. In particular, we describe the main findings resulting from the use of different synthetic (mainly PrP106-126) and recombinant PrP-derived peptides, as far as mechanisms of aggregation and amyloid formation, and how these different spatial conformations can affect neuronal death. In particular, most data support the involvement of non-fibrillar oligomers rather than actual amyloid fibers as the determinant of neuronal death.

Recombinant human prion protein fragment 90-231, a useful model to study prion neurotoxicity

Transmissible spongiform encephalopathies (TSE), or prion diseases, are a group of fatal neurodegenerative disorders of animals and humans. Human diseases include Creutzfeldt-Jakob (CJD) and Gerstmann-Straussler-Scheinker (GSSD) diseases, fatal familial insomnia, and Kuru. Human and animal TSEs share a common histopathology with a pathognomonic triad: spongiform vacuolation of the grey matter, neuronal death, glial proliferation, and, more inconstantly, amyloid deposition. According to the "protein only" hypothesis, TSEs are caused by a unique post-translational conversion of normal, host-encoded, protease-sensitive prion protein (PrP(sen) or PrP(C)) to an abnormal disease-associated isoform (PrP(res) or PrP(Sc)). To investigate the molecular mechanism of neurotoxicity induced by PrP(Sc) we developed a protocol to obtain millimolar amounts of soluble recombinant polypeptide encompassing the amino acid sequence 90-231 of human PrP (hPrP90-231). This protein corresponds to the protease-resistant prion protein fragment that originates after amino-terminal truncation. Importantly, hPrP90-231 has a flexible backbone that, similar to PrP(C), can undergo to structural rearrangement. This peptide, structurally resembling PrP(C), can be converted in a PrP(Sc)-like conformation, and thus represents a valuable model to study prion neurotoxicity. In this article we summarized our experimental evidence on the molecular and structural mechanisms responsible of hPrP90-231 neurotoxicity on neuroectodermal cell line SHSY5Y and the effects of some PrP pathogen mutations identified in familial TSE.

Human PrP90-231-induced cell death is associated with intracellular accumulation of insoluble and protease-resistant macroaggregates and lysosomal dysfunction

To define the mechanisms by which hPrP90-231 induces cell death, we analyzed its interaction with living cells and monitored its intracellular fate. Treatment of SH-SY5Y cells with fluorescein-5-isothiocyanate (FITC)-conjugated hPrP90-231 caused the accumulation of cytosolic aggregates of the prion protein fragment that increased in number and size in a time-dependent manner. The formation of large intracellular hPrP90-231 aggregates correlated with the activation of apoptosis. hPrP90-231 aggregates occurred within lysotracker-positive vesicles and induced the formation of activated cathepsin D (CD), indicating that hPrP90-231 is partitioned into the endosomal-lysosomal system structures, activating the proteolytic machinery. Remarkably, the inhibition of CD activity significantly reduced hPrP-90-231-dependent apoptosis. Internalized hPrP90-231 forms detergent-insoluble and SDS-stable aggregates, displaying partial resistance to proteolysis. By confocal microscopy analysis of lucifer yellow (LY) intracellular partition, we show that hPrP90-231 accumulation induces lysosome destabilization and loss of lysosomal membrane impermeability. In fact, although control cells evidenced a vesicular pattern of LY fluorescence (index of healthy lysosomes), hPrP90-231-treated cells showed diffuse cytosolic fluorescence, indicating LY diffusion through damaged lysosomes. In conclusion, these data indicate that exogenously added hPrP90-231 forms intralysosomal deposits having features of insoluble, protease-resistant aggregates and could trigger a lysosome-mediated apoptosis by inducing lysosome membrane permeabilization, followed by the release of hydrolytic enzymes.

Evidence for neuroinflammatory and microglial changes in the cerebral response to sleep loss

STUDY OBJECTIVES

Sleep loss has pro-inflammatory effects, but the roles of specific cell populations in mediating these effects have not been delineated. We assessed the modulation of the electroencephalographic and molecular responses to sleep deprivation (S-DEP) by minocycline, a compound that attenuates microglial activation occurring in association with neuroinflammatory events.

DESIGN

Laboratory rodents were subjected to assessment of sleep and wake in baseline and sleep deprived conditions.

PARTICIPANTS

Adult male CD-1 mice (30-35 g) subjected to telemetric electroencephalography.

INTERVENTIONS

Minocycline was administered daily. Mice were subjected to baseline data collection on the first day of minocycline administration and, on subsequent days, 2 S-DEP sessions, 1 and 3 h in duration, followed by recovery sleep. Following EEG studies, mice were euthanized either at the end of a 3 h S-DEP or as time-of day controls for sampling of brain messenger RNAs. Gene expression was measured by real-time polymerase chain reaction.

MEASUREMENTS AND RESULTS

Minocycline-treated mice exhibited a reduction in time spent asleep, relative to saline-treated mice, in the 3-h interval immediately after administration. S-DEP resulted in an increase in EEG slow wave activity relative to baseline in saline-treated mice. This response to S-DEP was abolished in animals subjected to chronic minocycline administration. S-DEP suppressed the expression of the microglial-specific transcript cd11b and the neuroinflammation marker peripheral benzodiazepine receptor, in the brain at the mRNA level. Minocycline attenuated the elevation of c-fos expression by S-DEP. Brain levels of pro-inflammatory cytokine mRNAs interleukin-1β (il-1β), interleukin-6 (il-6), and tumor necrosis factor-α (tnfα) were unaffected by S-DEP, but were elevated in minocycline-treated mice relative to saline-treated mice.

CONCLUSIONS

The anti-neuroinflammatory agent minocycline prevents either the buildup or expression of sleep need in rodents. The molecular mechanism underlying this effect is not known, but it is not mediated by suppression of il-1β, il-6, and tnfα at the transcript level.

Reductions in amyloid-beta-derived neuroinflammation, with minocycline, restore cognition but do not significantly affect tau hyperphosphorylation

Cognitive decline in Alzheimer's disease (AD) occurs as a result of the buildup of pathological proteins and downstream events including an elevated and altered inflammatory response. Inflammation has previously been linked to increased abnormal phosphorylation of tau protein. To determine if endogenous amyloid-beta (Abeta)-induced neuroinflammation drives tau phosphorylation in vivo, we treated 8-month-old 3xTg-AD with minocycline, an anti-inflammatory agent, to assess how it influenced cognitive decline and development of pathology. 4 months of treatment restored cognition to non-transgenic performance. Inflammatory profiling revealed a marked decrease in GFAP, TNFalpha, and IL6 and an increase in the CXCL1 chemokines KC and MIP1a. Minocycline also reduced levels of insoluble Abeta and soluble fibrils. Despite reducing levels of the tau kinase cdk5 coactivator p25, minocycline did not have wide effects on tau pathology with only one phospho-epitope showing reduction with treatment (S212/S214). The sum of these findings shows that reduction of the inflammatory events in an AD mouse model prevents cognitive deficits associated with pathology, but that endogenous Abeta-derived neuroinflammation does not contribute significantly to the development of tau pathology.

High hydrophobic amino acid exposure is responsible of the neurotoxic effects induced by E200K or D202N disease-related mutations of the human prion protein

Mutations in prion protein are thought to be causative of inherited prion diseases favoring the spontaneous conversion of the normal prion protein into the scrapie-like pathological prion protein. We previously reported that, by controlled thermal denaturation, human prion protein fragment 90-231 acquires neurotoxic properties when transformed in a β-rich conformation, resembling the scrapie-like conformation. In this study we generated prion protein fragment 90-231 bearing mutations identified in familial prion diseases (D202N and E200K), to analyze their role in the induction of a neurotoxic conformation. Prion protein fragment 90-231(wild type) and the D202N mutant were not toxic in native conformation but induced cell death only after thermal denaturation. Conversely, prion protein fragment 90-231(E200K) was highly toxic in its native structure, suggesting that E200K mutation per se favors the acquisition of a peptide neurotoxic conformation. To identify the structural determinants of prion protein fragment 90-231 toxicity, we show that while the wild type peptide is structured in α-helix, hPrP90-231 E200K is spontaneously refolded in a β-structured conformer characterized by increased proteinase K resistance and propensity to generate fibrils. However, the most significant difference induced by E200K mutation in prion protein fragment 90-231 structure in native conformation we observed, was an increase in the exposure of hydrophobic amino-acids on protein surface that was detected in wild type and D202N proteins only after thermal denaturation. In conclusion, we propose that increased hydrophobicity is one of the main determinants of toxicity induced by different mutations in prion protein-derived peptides.

Efficacy of novel acridine derivatives in the inhibition of hPrP90-231 prion protein fragment toxicity

Quinacrine is one of the few molecules tested to treat patients affected by prion diseases, although the clinical outcome is largely unsatisfactory. To identify novel derivatives with higher neuroprotective activity, we evaluated the effects of a small library of acridine derivatives. The 6-chloro-2-methoxyacridine derivatives bearing on position 9 a quinolizidin-1-ylamino (Q1, Q2) or a quinolizidin-1-ylalkylamino residue (Q3, Q4, Q6, Q7), the thio-bioisoster of Q3 (Q5), the 9-(N-lupinylthiopropyl)amino derivative (Q8) and simple acridines (Q9 and Q10) were considered. We compared the effects of quinacrine and these novel analogues in the inhibition of the cytotoxic activity and protease K (PK) resistance of the human prion protein fragment 90-231 (hPrP90-231). We demonstrate that quinacrine caused a significant reduction of hPrP90-231 toxicity due to its binding to the fragment and the prevention of its conversion in a toxic isoform. All acridine derivatives analyzed showed high affinity binding for hPrP90-231, but only Q3 and Q10, caused a significant reduction of hPrP90-231 cytotoxicity, with higher efficacy than quinacrine. We attempted to correlate the cytoprotective effects of the new compounds with some biochemical parameters (binding affinity to hPrP90-231, intrinsic fluorescence quenching, hydrophobic amino acid exposure), but a direct relationship occurred only with the reduction of PK resistance, likely due to the prevention of the acquisition of the β-sheet-rich toxic conformation. These data represent interesting leads for further modifications of the basic side chain and the substituent pattern of the acridine nucleus to develop novel compounds with improved antiprion activity to be tested in in vivo experimental setting.

Heterogeneity of microglia and TNF signaling as determinants for neuronal death or survival

Microglia do not constitute a single, uniform cell population, but rather comprise cells with varied phenotypes, some which are beneficial and others that may require active regulatory control. Thus, gaining a better understanding of the heterogeneity of resident microglia responses will contribute to any interpretation regarding the impact of any such response in the brain. Microglia are the primary source of the pro-inflammatory cytokine, tumor necrosis factor (TNF) that can initiate various effects through the activation of membrane receptors. The TNF p55 receptor contains a death domain and activation normally leads to cellular apoptosis; however, under specific conditions, receptor activation can also lead to the activation of NF-kappaB and contribute to cell survival. These divergent outcomes have been linked to receptor localization with receptor internalization leading to cell death and membrane localization supporting cell survival. A second TNF receptor, TNF p75 receptor, is normally linked to cell growth and survival, however, it can cooperate with the p55 receptor and contribute to cell death. Thus, while an elevation in TNFalpha in the brain is often considered an indicator of microglia activation and neuroinflammation, a number of factors come into play to determine the final outcome. Data are reviewed demonstrating that heterogeneity in morphological response of microglia and the expression of TNFalpha and TNF receptors are critical in identifying and characterizing neurotoxic events as they relate to neuroinflammation, neuronal damage and in stimulating neuroprotection.