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Anderson NE, Alexander HS, Messing A. Alexander disease: The story behind an eponym. JOURNAL OF THE HISTORY OF THE NEUROSCIENCES 2023; 32:399-422. [PMID: 37000960 DOI: 10.1080/0964704x.2023.2190354] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/19/2023]
Abstract
In 1949, William Stewart Alexander (1919-2013), a young pathologist from New Zealand working in London, reported the neuropathological findings in a 15-month-old boy who had developed normally until the age of seven months, but thereafter had progressive enlargement of his head and severe developmental delay. The most striking neuropathological abnormality was the presence of numerous Rosenthal fibers in the brain. The distribution of these fibers suggested to Alexander that the primary pathological change involved astrocytes. In the next 15 years, five similar patients were reported, and in 1964 Friede recognized these cases reflected a single disease process and coined the eponym "Alexander's disease" to describe the disorder. In the 1960s, electron microscopy confirmed that Rosenthal fibers were localized to astrocytes. In 2001, it was shown that Alexander disease is caused by mutations in the gene encoding glial fibrillary acidic protein, the major intermediate filament protein in astrocytes. Although the clinical, imaging, and pathological manifestations of Alexander disease are now well known, few people are familiar with Alexander's career. Although he did not make a further contribution to the literature on Alexander disease, his observations and accurate interpretation of the neuropathology have justified the continued use of the eponym "Alexander disease."
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Affiliation(s)
- Neil E Anderson
- Neurology Department, Auckland City Hospital, Auckland, New Zealand
| | - Hamish S Alexander
- Kenneth G. Jamieson Neurosurgery Department, Royal Brisbane and Women's Hospital, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia
- Faculty of Medicine, University of Queensland, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia
| | - Albee Messing
- Waisman Center and Department of Comparative Biosciences, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, Wisconsin, USA
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Sadeh M, Rahat D, Meiner V, Fellig Y, Arad M, Schueler-Furman O, Hu Y, Li Y, Bönnemann CG, Lossos A. Multi-system neurological disorder associated with a CRYAB variant. Neurogenetics 2021; 22:117-125. [PMID: 33811585 DOI: 10.1007/s10048-021-00640-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/04/2020] [Accepted: 03/18/2021] [Indexed: 10/21/2022]
Abstract
We report a multiplex family with extended multisystem neurological phenotype associated with a CRYAB variant. Two affected siblings were evaluated with whole exome sequencing, muscle biopsy, laser microdissection, and mass spectrometry-based proteomic analysis. Both patients and their mother manifested a combination of early-onset cataracts, cardiomyopathy, cerebellar ataxia, optic atrophy, cognitive impairment, and myopathy. Whole exome sequencing identified a heterozygous c.458C>T variant mapped to the C-terminal extension domain of the Alpha-crystallin B chain, disrupting its function as a molecular chaperone and its ability to suppress protein aggregation. In accordance with the molecular findings, muscle biopsies revealed subsarcolemmal deposits that appeared dark with H&E and trichrome staining were negative for the other routine histochemical staining and for amyloid with the Congo-red stain. Electron microscopy demonstrated that the deposits were composed of numerous parallel fibrils. Laser microdissection and mass spectrometry-based proteomic analysis revealed that the inclusions are almost exclusively composed of crystallized chaperones/heat shock proteins. Moreover, a structural model suggests that Ser153 could be involved in monomer stabilization, dimer association, and possible binding of partner proteins. We propose that our report potentially expands the complex phenotypic spectrum of alpha B-crystallinopathies with possible effect of a CRYAB variant on the central nervous system.
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Affiliation(s)
- Menachem Sadeh
- Department of Neurology, Wolfson Medical Center and Tel Aviv University, Holon, Israel.
| | - Dolev Rahat
- Department of Microbiology and Molecular Genetics, Faculty of Medicine, Institute for Biomedical Research Israel-Canada, Hebrew University, Jerusalem, Israel
| | - Vardiella Meiner
- Department of Genetics, Hadassah Medical Organization and Faculty of Medicine, Hebrew University, Jerusalem, Israel
| | - Yakov Fellig
- Department of Pathology, Genetics, Hadassah Medical Organization and Faculty of Medicine, Hebrew University, Jerusalem, Israel
| | - Michael Arad
- Leviev Heart Center, Sheba Medical Center, Tel Hashomer and Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv, Israel
| | - Ora Schueler-Furman
- Department of Microbiology and Molecular Genetics, Faculty of Medicine, Institute for Biomedical Research Israel-Canada, Hebrew University, Jerusalem, Israel
| | - Ying Hu
- National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, Neurogenetics Branch, Bethesda, MD, USA
| | - Yan Li
- National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, Proteomics Core Facility, Bethesda, MD, USA
| | - Carsten G Bönnemann
- National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, Neurogenetics Branch, Bethesda, MD, USA
| | - Alexander Lossos
- Department of Neurology, Genetics, Hadassah Medical Organization and Faculty of Medicine, Hebrew University, Jerusalem, Israel
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Liu Y, Zhou H, Wang H, Gong X, Zhou A, Zhao L, Li X, Zhang X. Atypical MRI features in familial adult onset Alexander disease: case report. BMC Neurol 2016; 16:211. [PMID: 27814755 PMCID: PMC5097349 DOI: 10.1186/s12883-016-0734-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/28/2016] [Accepted: 10/25/2016] [Indexed: 11/10/2022] Open
Abstract
Background Alexander disease (AxD) is a rare neurological disease, especially in adults. It shows variable clinical and radiological features. Case presentation We diagnosed a female with AxD presenting with paroxysmal numbness of the limbs at the onset age of 28-year-old, progressing gradually to spastic paraparesis at age 30. One year later, she had ataxia, bulbar paralysis, bowel and bladder urgency. Her mother had a similar neurological symptoms and died within 2 years after onset (at the age of 47), and her maternal aunt also had similar but mild symptoms at the onset age of 54-year-old. Her brain magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) showed abnormal signals in periventricular white matter with severe atrophy in the medulla oblongata and thoracic spinal cord, and mild atrophy in cervical spinal cord, which is unusual in the adult form of AxD. She and her daughter’s glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP) gene analysis revealed the same heterozygous missense mutation, c.1246C > T, p.R416W, despite of no neurological symptoms in her daughter. Conclusions Our case report enriches the understanding of the familial adult AxD. Genetic analysis is necessary when patients have the above mentioned symptoms and signs, MRI findings, especially with family history.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yonghong Liu
- Department of Neurology, Beijing Tiantan Hospital, Capital Medical University, No 6 Tiantanxili, Dongcheng District, Beijing, 100050, China
| | - Heng Zhou
- Department of Neurology, Beijing Tiantan Hospital, Capital Medical University, No 6 Tiantanxili, Dongcheng District, Beijing, 100050, China
| | - Huabing Wang
- Department of Neurology, Beijing Tiantan Hospital, Capital Medical University, No 6 Tiantanxili, Dongcheng District, Beijing, 100050, China
| | - Xiaoqing Gong
- Department of Neurology, Beijing Tiantan Hospital, Capital Medical University, No 6 Tiantanxili, Dongcheng District, Beijing, 100050, China
| | - Anna Zhou
- Department of Neurology, Beijing Tiantan Hospital, Capital Medical University, No 6 Tiantanxili, Dongcheng District, Beijing, 100050, China
| | - Lin Zhao
- Department of Neurology, Beijing Tiantan Hospital, Capital Medical University, No 6 Tiantanxili, Dongcheng District, Beijing, 100050, China
| | - Xindi Li
- Department of Neurology, Beijing Tiantan Hospital, Capital Medical University, No 6 Tiantanxili, Dongcheng District, Beijing, 100050, China
| | - Xinghu Zhang
- Department of Neurology, Beijing Tiantan Hospital, Capital Medical University, No 6 Tiantanxili, Dongcheng District, Beijing, 100050, China.
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Boelens WC. Cell biological roles of αB-crystallin. PROGRESS IN BIOPHYSICS AND MOLECULAR BIOLOGY 2014; 115:3-10. [PMID: 24576798 DOI: 10.1016/j.pbiomolbio.2014.02.005] [Citation(s) in RCA: 58] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/20/2013] [Revised: 02/13/2014] [Accepted: 02/14/2014] [Indexed: 10/25/2022]
Abstract
αB-crystallin, also called HspB5, is a molecular chaperone able to interact with unfolding proteins. By interacting, it inhibits further unfolding, thereby preventing protein aggregation and allowing ATP-dependent chaperones to refold the proteins. αB-crystallin belongs to the family of small heat-shock proteins (sHsps), which in humans consists of 10 different members. The protein forms large oligomeric complexes, containing up to 40 or more subunits, which in vivo consist of heterooligomeric complexes formed by a mixture of αB-crystallin and other sHsps. αB-crystallin is highly expressed in the lens and to a lesser extent in several other tissues, among which heart, skeletal muscle and brain. αB-crystallin plays a role in several cellular processes, such as signal transduction, protein degradation, stabilization of cytoskeletal structures and apoptosis. Mutations in the αB-crystallin gene can have detrimental effects, leading to pathologies such as cataract and cardiomyopathy. This review describes the biological roles of αB-crystallin, with a special focus on its function in the eye lens, heart muscle and brain. In addition its therapeutic potential is discussed.
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Affiliation(s)
- Wilbert C Boelens
- Department of Biomolecular Chemistry, Institute for Molecules and Materials and Radboud Institute for Molecular Life Sciences, Radboud University Nijmegen, PO Box 9101, 6500 HB Nijmegen, The Netherlands.
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Seguias L, Khan M. A young child with seizures and mild developmental delay. Diagnosis: Alexander disease. Pediatr Ann 2013; 42:234-7. [PMID: 23718245 DOI: 10.3928/00904481-20130522-06] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/06/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- Luis Seguias
- Department of Pediatrics, UT Southwestern Medical Center, 5323 Harry Hines Boulevard, Dallas, TX 75390, USA.
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Ozkaya H, Akcan AB, Aydemir G, Kul M, Aydinoz S, Karademir F, Suleymanoglu S. Juvenile alexander disease: a case report. Eurasian J Med 2012; 44:46-50. [PMID: 25610205 DOI: 10.5152/eajm.2012.10] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/16/2011] [Accepted: 11/25/2011] [Indexed: 11/22/2022] Open
Abstract
Alexander disease is a rare autosomal recessive disorder that is characterized by degeneration of the white matter in the central nervous system. Alexander disease is a leukodystrophy that is usually observed in early childhood but rarely in adults. It is characterized by megalencephaly, demyelinization and multiple Rosenthal fibers. Specific magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) findings and genetic investigations are necessary to diagnose the disorder. Signs of leukodystrophy were found in the bilateral white matter on a brain MRI of our four-year-old patient. He had megalencephaly since birth. We use this case to discuss Alexander disease.
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Affiliation(s)
- Halit Ozkaya
- Department of Pediatrics, Gulhane Military Medical Academy Haydarpasa Teaching Hospital, Istanbul, Turkey
| | - Abdullah Baris Akcan
- Department of Pediatrics, Gulhane Military Medical Academy Haydarpasa Teaching Hospital, Istanbul, Turkey
| | - Gokhan Aydemir
- Department of Pediatrics, Gulhane Military Medical Academy Haydarpasa Teaching Hospital, Istanbul, Turkey
| | - Mustafa Kul
- Department of Pediatrics, Gulhane Military Medical Academy Haydarpasa Teaching Hospital, Istanbul, Turkey
| | - Secil Aydinoz
- Department of Pediatrics, Gulhane Military Medical Academy Haydarpasa Teaching Hospital, Istanbul, Turkey
| | - Ferhan Karademir
- Department of Pediatrics, Gulhane Military Medical Academy Haydarpasa Teaching Hospital, Istanbul, Turkey
| | - Selami Suleymanoglu
- Department of Pediatrics, Gulhane Military Medical Academy Haydarpasa Teaching Hospital, Istanbul, Turkey
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7
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Reichard EAP, Ball WS, Bove KE. Alexander Disease: A Case Report and Review of the Literature. ACTA ACUST UNITED AC 2010. [DOI: 10.1080/15513819609169294] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/19/2022]
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Rajasekaran NS, Firpo MA, Milash BA, Weiss RB, Benjamin IJ. Global expression profiling identifies a novel biosignature for protein aggregation R120GCryAB cardiomyopathy in mice. Physiol Genomics 2008; 35:165-72. [PMID: 18628338 DOI: 10.1152/physiolgenomics.00297.2007] [Citation(s) in RCA: 21] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/23/2023] Open
Abstract
Protein aggregation cardiomyopathy is a life-threatening manifestation of a multisystem disorder caused by the exchange mutation in the gene encoding the human small heat shock protein alphaB-crystallin (hR120GCryAB). Genetic studies in mice have established cardiac hR120GCryAB expression causes increased activity of glucose 6-phosphate dehydrogenase (G6PD) and "reductive stress" (Rajasekaran et al., Cell 130: 427-439, 2007). However, the initiating molecular events in the pathogenesis of this novel toxic gain-of-function mechanism remain poorly defined. In an integrated systems approach using gene expression profiling, we identified a "biosignature," whose features can be validated to predict the onset, rate of progression, and clinical outcome of R120GCryAB cardiomyopathy. At the 3 mo disease-related but compensated stage, we demonstrate that transcripts were only upregulated in three distinct pathways: stress response (e.g., Hsp70, Hsp90), glutathione metabolism (Gpx1, Gpx3, glutathione S-transferase), and complement and coagulation cascades in hR120GCryAB transgenic mouse hearts compared with either hCryAB WT transgenic mice or nontransgenic controls. In 6 mo old myopathic hearts, ribosomal synthesis and cellular remodeling associated with increased cardiac hypertrophy were additional upregulated pathways. In contrast, the predominant downregulated pathways were for oxidative phosphorylation, fatty acid metabolism, intermediate metabolism, and energetic balance, supporting their primary pathogenic roles by which G6PD-dependent reductive stress causes cardiac decompensation and overt heart failure in hR120GCryAB cardiomyopathy. This study extends and confirms our previous findings that reductive stress is a causal mechanism for hR120G CryAB cardiomyopathy and demonstrates that alteration in glutathione pathway gene expression is an early biosignature with utility for presymptomatic detection.
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Affiliation(s)
- Namakkal S Rajasekaran
- Departments of Internal Medicine, Division of Cardiology, Center for Cardiovascular Translational Biomedicine, University of Utah School of Medicine, Salt Lake City, Utah 84132, USA
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Der Perng M, Su M, Wen SF, Li R, Gibbon T, Prescott AR, Brenner M, Quinlan RA. The Alexander disease-causing glial fibrillary acidic protein mutant, R416W, accumulates into Rosenthal fibers by a pathway that involves filament aggregation and the association of alpha B-crystallin and HSP27. Am J Hum Genet 2006; 79:197-213. [PMID: 16826512 PMCID: PMC1559481 DOI: 10.1086/504411] [Citation(s) in RCA: 102] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/18/2006] [Accepted: 03/20/2006] [Indexed: 11/04/2022] Open
Abstract
Here, we describe the early events in the disease pathogenesis of Alexander disease. This is a rare and usually fatal neurodegenerative disorder whose pathological hallmark is the abundance of protein aggregates in astrocytes. These aggregates, termed "Rosenthal fibers," contain the protein chaperones alpha B-crystallin and HSP27 as well as glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP), an intermediate filament (IF) protein found almost exclusively in astrocytes. Heterozygous, missense GFAP mutations that usually arise spontaneously during spermatogenesis have recently been found in the majority of patients with Alexander disease. In this study, we show that one of the more frequently observed mutations, R416W, significantly perturbs in vitro filament assembly. The filamentous structures formed resemble assembly intermediates but aggregate more strongly. Consistent with the heterozygosity of the mutation, this effect is dominant over wild-type GFAP in coassembly experiments. Transient transfection studies demonstrate that R416W GFAP induces the formation of GFAP-containing cytoplasmic aggregates in a wide range of different cell types, including astrocytes. The aggregates have several important features in common with Rosenthal fibers, including the association of alpha B-crystallin and HSP27. This association occurs simultaneously with the formation of protein aggregates containing R416W GFAP and is also specific, since HSP70 does not partition with them. Monoclonal antibodies specific for R416W GFAP reveal, for the first time for any IF-based disease, the presence of the mutant protein in the characteristic histopathological feature of the disease, namely Rosenthal fibers. Collectively, these data confirm that the effects of the R416W GFAP are dominant, changing the assembly process in a way that encourages aberrant filament-filament interactions that then lead to protein aggregation and chaperone sequestration as early events in Alexander disease.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ming Der Perng
- School of Biological and Biomedical Sciences, The University of Durham, Durham, United Kingdom
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Abstract
Alexander disease, a rare fatal disorder of the central nervous system, causes progressive loss of motor and mental function. Until recently it was of unknown etiology, almost all cases were sporadic, and there was no effective treatment. It was most common in an infantile form, somewhat less so in a juvenile form, and was rarely seen in an adult-onset form. A number of investigators have now shown that almost all cases of Alexander disease have a dominant mutation in one allele of the gene for glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP) that causes replacement of one amino acid for another. Only in very rare cases of the adult-onset form is the mutation present in either parent. Thus, in almost all cases, the mutation arises as a spontaneous event, possibly in the germ cell of one parent.
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Affiliation(s)
- Anne B Johnson
- Departments of Pathology and of Neuroscience-K604, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, 1300 Morris Park Ave., Bronx, New York 10461, USA.
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Kinoshita T, Imaizumi T, Miura Y, Fujimoto H, Ayabe M, Shoji H, Okamoto Y, Takashima H, Osame M, Nakagawa M. A case of adult-onset Alexander disease with Arg416Trp human glial fibrillary acidic protein gene mutation. Neurosci Lett 2003; 350:169-72. [PMID: 14550921 DOI: 10.1016/s0304-3940(03)00900-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 27] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/27/2022]
Abstract
Heterozygous point mutations in the coding region of the human glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP) gene have been reported in patients with various forms of Alexander disease (AD). We report a case of genetically confirmed adult-onset AD with palatal myoclonus, pyramidal tract signs, cerebellar signs, and marked atrophy of the medulla oblongata and spinal cord, autonomic dysfunction and heterozygous R416W GFAP mutation. Interestingly, this R416W mutation has also been reported in both infantile and juvenile forms of Alexander disease. The fact that a R416W mutation causes various types of AD suggests that clinical severities of AD are due not only to the different sites and nature of mutations in GFAP, but also to other modifying factor(s).
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Affiliation(s)
- Takashi Kinoshita
- First Department of Internal Medicine, Kurume University School of Medicine, Kurume 830-0011, Japan
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Takeuchi S, Mandai Y, Otsu A, Shirakawa T, Masuda K, Chinami M. Differences in properties between human alphaA- and alphaB-crystallin proteins expressed in Escherichia coli cells in response to cold and extreme pH. Biochem J 2003; 375:471-5. [PMID: 12826011 PMCID: PMC1223678 DOI: 10.1042/bj20030748] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/21/2003] [Revised: 06/16/2003] [Accepted: 06/24/2003] [Indexed: 11/17/2022]
Abstract
It has been reported that alphaA-crystallin has greater protective effects against apoptosis in lens epithelial cells than alphaB-crystallin [Andley, Song, Wawrousek, Fleming and Bassnett (2000) J. Biol. Chem. 275, 36823-36831]. Because the alphaA-crystallin proteins are specifically expressed in the vertebrate lens, we examine the non-specific properties of both alphaA- and alphaB-crystallins in an Escherichia coli system. E. coli cells were transformed with the inducible protein expression vector pET-11a, harbouring the gene for either human alphaA- or alphaB-crystallin, and two other control plasmids, pET-1la vector alone or pGEX-2T vector encoding GST (glutathione S-transferase). These cells were exposed to various stress conditions, such as cold-shock at 4 degrees C or extremely low or high pH environments (pH 4.7 or pH 8.0) for 6 h, and survival of the host cells and the solubility of the expressed target proteins in the cytosol were examined. Under these stress conditions, the cells expressing alphaB-crystallin protein demonstrated significantly improved survival when compared with the other cells, and the expressed protein in the cytosol was almost soluble, in contrast with the alphaA-crystallin protein. Differences in the amino acid sequence between the proteins in a phenylalanine-rich region next to the N-terminal consensus alpha-crystallin domain was considered to be responsible for chaperone activity and cell survival.
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Affiliation(s)
- Satoru Takeuchi
- Department of Health Promotion and Human Behavior, Kyoto University, Yoshida-konoe, Sakyo-ku, Kyoto 606-8501, Japan
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Abstract
Alexander's disease, a rare and fatal disorder of the central nervous system, most commonly affects infants and young children but can also occur in older children and sometimes adults. In infants and young children, it causes developmental delay, psychomotor retardation, paraparesis, feeding problems, usually megalencephaly, often seizures, and sometimes hydrocephalus. Juvenile cases often do not have megalencephaly and tend to have predominant pseudobulbar and bulbar signs. In both groups, characteristic magnetic resonance imaging findings have been described. In adult cases, the signs are variable, can resemble multiple sclerosis, and might include palatal myoclonus. In all cases, the examination of brain tissue shows the presence of widely distributed Rosenthal fibers. Almost all cases have recently been found to have a heterozygous, missense, point mutation in the gene for glial fibrillary acidic protein, which provides a new diagnostic tool. In most cases, the mutation appears to occur de novo, not being present in either parent, but some adult cases are familial.
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Affiliation(s)
- Anne B Johnson
- Department of Pathology-K604, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, 1300 Morris Park Ave., Bronx, NY 10461, USA.
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Bhat SP. Crystallins, genes and cataract. PROGRESS IN DRUG RESEARCH. FORTSCHRITTE DER ARZNEIMITTELFORSCHUNG. PROGRES DES RECHERCHES PHARMACEUTIQUES 2003; 60:205-62. [PMID: 12790344 DOI: 10.1007/978-3-0348-8012-1_7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 61] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/12/2022]
Abstract
Far from being a physical entity, assembled of inanimate structural proteins, the ocular lens epitomizes the biological ingenuity that sustains an essential and near-perfect physical system of immaculate optics. Crystallins (alpha, beta, and gamma) provide transparency by dint of their high concentration, but it is debatable whether proteins that provide transparency are any different, biologically or structurally, from those that are present in non-transparent structures or tissues. It is becoming increasingly clear that crystallins may have a plethora of metabolic and regulatory functions, both within the lens as well as outside of it. Alpha-crystallins are members of a small heat shock family of proteins and beta/gamma-crystallins belong to the family of epidermis-specific differentiation proteins. Crystallin gene expression has been studied from the perspective of the lens specificity of their promoters. Mutations in alpha-, beta-, and gamma-crystallins are linked with the phenotype of the loss of transparency. Understanding catalytic, non-structural properties of crystallins may be critical for understanding the malfunction in molecular cascades that lead to cataractogenesis and its eventual therapeutic amelioration.
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Affiliation(s)
- Suraj P Bhat
- Jules Stein Eye Institute and Brain Research Institute, Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, Los Angeles, CA 90077-7000, USA.
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Abstract
This review presents historical and clinical information on the rare human brain disorder known as Alexander disease (ALX), and reports on the recent discovery of the gene that appears to be causative. The disease is a fatal, white matter disorder (leukodystrophy) of childhood. Adult onset cases also have been described, but it has not been clear whether they represent the same disease. Until recently the diagnosis was made by the pathological examination of brain tissue, in which abundant Rosenthal fibers were found. These abnormal structures occurred within astrocytes, but their composition was unclear. In 1985, a child underwent a diagnostic brain biopsy at this institution, which established the diagnosis of ALX. Ultrastructural immunocytochemistry revealed that the Rosenthal fibers contained abundant amounts of glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP), a normal component of astocytic intermediate filaments. Thus, the gene for this filament protein was considered a candidate gene for the cause of ALX, and DNA samples from children presumed or proven to have this disorder were banked for future study. Other work on the same brain biopsy showed that Rosenthal fibers also contained abundant alphaB-crystallin, a heat shock protein, but no defect was found in its gene. A decade after the biopsy, a transgenic mouse with an extra copy of the gene for GFAP was produced. These mice died early and their brains contained Rosenthal fibers. Although not an exact model for ALX, this also suggested that the gene for GFAP should be considered a candidate gene for ALX. Subsequent research has demonstrated that the great majority of childhood ALX cases contain mutations in the gene for GFAP. This work is now being extended as a diagnostic test, as well as to seek understanding of the pathogenesis of ALX and possible approaches for treatment.
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Affiliation(s)
- Anne B Johnson
- Rose F. Kennedy Center for Research in Mental Retardation and Human Development, Department of Pathology, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Bronx, NY 10461, USA.
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Salvador-Silva M, Ricard CS, Agapova OA, Yang P, Hernandez MR. Expression of small heat shock proteins and intermediate filaments in the human optic nerve head astrocytes exposed to elevated hydrostatic pressure in vitro. J Neurosci Res 2001; 66:59-73. [PMID: 11599002 DOI: 10.1002/jnr.1197] [Citation(s) in RCA: 59] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/11/2022]
Abstract
The small heat shock proteins (sHSP), alpha B-crystallin and Hsp27 are chaperone molecules that maintain the integrity of intermediate filament (IF) network and prevent unfolding of cellular proteins induced by stress. In the optic nerve head (ONH) of eyes with glaucoma, reactive astrocytes expressed Hsp27, perhaps in response to stress related to elevated intraocular pressure. In this study, we determined the effect of elevated hydrostatic pressure (HP) in the synthesis, distribution and co-localization of alpha B-crystallin and Hsp27 with IF in cultured ONH astrocytes. Astrocyte monolayers were pressurized to 60 mm Hg (92% air 8% CO(2)) and incubated at 37 degrees C for 6, 24 or 48 hr. Controls were exposed to ambient pressure. Cells were analyzed by immunocytochemistry, Western blot and immunoprecipitation using antibodies to Hsp27, alpha B-crystallin, vimentin or GFAP. Control astrocytes seemed flat, polygonal with short processes. alpha B-crystallin appeared granular in the perinuclear area and filamentous in the cell periphery. Fine granular Hsp27 was distributed throughout the cytoplasm. GFAP and vimentin co-localized with Hsp27 in the cytoplasm. Astrocytes exposed to HP were star-shaped with long processes. Hsp27 was condensed in large granules around the nucleus. GFAP and vimentin co-localized with Hsp27 and alpha B-crystallin in the perinuclear area. Western blot and metabolic labeling detected increased synthesis of Hsp27, GFAP and vimentin but no change in alpha B-crystallin. These results indicated that GFAP and vimentin associate with Hsp27 and alpha B-crystallin in ONH astrocytes. HP affected the integrity of the cytoskeleton consistent with morphological changes. Small HSP may reinforce and maintain IF integrity in response to HP.
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Affiliation(s)
- M Salvador-Silva
- Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, Missouri 63110, USA
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Messing A, Goldman JE, Johnson AB, Brenner M. Alexander disease: new insights from genetics. J Neuropathol Exp Neurol 2001; 60:563-73. [PMID: 11398833 DOI: 10.1093/jnen/60.6.563] [Citation(s) in RCA: 50] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/14/2022] Open
Abstract
Prior to finding that GFAP mutations underlie many cases of Alexander disease, it was unclear whether the disease originated in astrocytes or if the formation of Rosenthal fibers was a response to an external insult. It was also unclear whether the etiology of the disease was environmental or genetic. For many cases of Alexander disease, these questions have now been answered. An immediate clinical benefit of this discovery is the possibility of diagnosing most cases of Alexander disease through analysis of patient DNA samples, rather than resorting to brain biopsy. In addition, fetal testing is now an option for parents who have had an Alexander disease child with an identified mutation and who wish to have additional children. For the future, these mutations should provide a unique window for illuminating the mechanism of the disease.
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Affiliation(s)
- A Messing
- Department of Pathobiological Sciences, Waisman Center and School of Veterinary Medicine, University of Wisconsin, Madison 53705-2280, USA
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Brenner M, Johnson AB, Boespflug-Tanguy O, Rodriguez D, Goldman JE, Messing A. Mutations in GFAP, encoding glial fibrillary acidic protein, are associated with Alexander disease. Nat Genet 2001; 27:117-20. [PMID: 11138011 DOI: 10.1038/83679] [Citation(s) in RCA: 453] [Impact Index Per Article: 19.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/12/2022]
Abstract
Alexander disease is a rare disorder of the central nervous system of unknown etiology. Infants with Alexander disease develop a leukoencephalopathy with macrocephaly, seizures and psychomotor retardation, leading to death usually within the first decade; patients with juvenile or adult forms typically experience ataxia, bulbar signs and spasticity, and a more slowly progressive course. The pathological hallmark of all forms of Alexander disease is the presence of Rosenthal fibers, cytoplasmic inclusions in astrocytes that contain the intermediate filament protein GFAP in association with small heat-shock proteins. We previously found that overexpression of human GFAP in astrocytes of transgenic mice is fatal and accompanied by the presence of inclusion bodies indistinguishable from human Rosenthal fibers. These results suggested that a primary alteration in GFAP may be responsible for Alexander disease. Sequence analysis of DNA samples from patients representing different Alexander disease phenotypes revealed that most cases are associated with non-conservative mutations in the coding region of GFAP. Alexander disease therefore represents the first example of a primary genetic disorder of astrocytes, one of the major cell types in the vertebrate CNS.
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Affiliation(s)
- M Brenner
- Department of Neurobiology, University of Alabama-Birmingham, Birmingham, Alabama, USA
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Head MW, Goldman JE. Small heat shock proteins, the cytoskeleton, and inclusion body formation. Neuropathol Appl Neurobiol 2000; 26:304-12. [PMID: 10931363 DOI: 10.1046/j.1365-2990.2000.00269.x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 79] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/20/2022]
Abstract
Since first being implicated in central nervous system disease 10 years ago, much has been learned concerning the regulation and function of the small heat shock protein alpha B-crystallin. Neuropathological, cellular and molecular studies all now point to a functional relationship between alpha B-crystallin and intermediate filaments. alpha B-crystallin accumulation marks reactive astrocytes in general in a wide variety of disorders and specifically intermediate filament-based glial inclusion bodies such as Rosenthal fibres found in astrocytes in Alexander's disease. In vitro, alpha B-crystallin expression suppresses intermediate filament aggregation and can prevent or reverse experimentally induced glial inclusion body formation. Conversely, dysregulation of glial fibrillary acidic protein expression in vivo results in Rosenthal fibre formation and upregulation of endogenous alpha B-crystallin expression. These data and those from studies recently carried out on other tissues strongly suggest that one function of this small heat shock protein is to modulate intermediate filament organization under conditions of physiological stress and neurodegenerative disease.
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Affiliation(s)
- M W Head
- The National CJD Surveillance Unit, Western General Hospital, Edinburgh,
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Oertel MF, May CA, Bloemendal H, Lütjen-Drecoll E. Alpha-B-crystallin expression in tissues derived from different species in different age groups. Ophthalmologica 2000; 214:13-23. [PMID: 10657741 DOI: 10.1159/000027469] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/19/2022]
Abstract
alphaB-Crystallin is constitutively expressed in a variety of tissues including the nervous system, the eye, heart and striated muscles and the kidney. The functional significance of the protein in the different cell populations is not yet known. Experimental data indicate that mechanical stress to the cells might play a role but that there is also a close correlation with markers of oxidative activity. Increased expression of alphaB-crystallin is seen in a number of age-related degenerative diseases. Whether aging per se induces expression of the protein has not been investigated yet. In this study tissue samples of the anterior eye segment, optic nerve, heart muscle and thyroid gland from mouse, rat, pig, cow and human donors of different age groups were investigated with immunohistochemical methods. alphaB-Crystallin levels in heart muscle and optic nerve samples from different species and different age groups were investigated using protein immunoblotting (dot blot) and the mRNA levels using semiquantitative PCR methods. The results showed that neither in heart muscle known to show constitutively high amounts of the protein nor in nonlenticular eye tissues with variations in staining intensity of different cell populations or in glandular cells studied for the first time, there were significant age-related staining differences. Dot blot methods as a quantitative evaluation method gave similar results. There were, however, species differences. In the eye these differences could be due to functional differences related to the development of a fovea centralis and an accommodative system in primates. In addition, in all mouse tissues there was less protein expression than in the other species. Differences in the absolute life span might be a factor involved in alphaB-crystallin expression. In summary the findings show that an increase in alphaB-crystallin with age may occur but is not a general phenomenon in tissues constitutively expressing this protein.
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Affiliation(s)
- M F Oertel
- Department of Anatomy II, Friedrich Alexander University, Erlangen, Germany
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Baysal BE, Potkin SG, Farr JE, Higgins MJ, Korcz J, Gollin SM, James MR, Evans GA, Richard III CW. Bipolar affective disorder partially cosegregates with a balanced t(9;11)(p24;q23.1) chromosomal translocation in a small pedigree. ACTA ACUST UNITED AC 1998. [DOI: 10.1002/(sici)1096-8628(19980207)81:1<81::aid-ajmg15>3.0.co;2-s] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/06/2022]
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Iwaki T, Ogomori K, Tomokane N, Kondo A, Tateishi J. Rosenthal fibers and glial filaments associated with hemidesmosome-like structures in perivascular astrocytes in a juvenile form of Alexander's disease. Neuropathology 1997. [DOI: 10.1111/j.1440-1789.1997.tb00063.x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
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Muchowski PJ, Bassuk JA, Lubsen NH, Clark JI. Human alphaB-crystallin. Small heat shock protein and molecular chaperone. J Biol Chem 1997; 272:2578-82. [PMID: 8999975 DOI: 10.1074/jbc.272.4.2578] [Citation(s) in RCA: 70] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/03/2023] Open
Abstract
The polymerase chain reaction was used to amplify a cDNA sequence encoding the human alphaB-crystallin. The amplified cDNA fragment was cloned into the bacterial expression vector pMAL-c2 and expressed as a soluble fusion protein coupled to maltose-binding protein (MBP). After maltose affinity chromatography and cleavage from MBP by Factor Xa, the recombinant human alphaB-crystallin was separated from MBP and Factor Xa by anion exchange chromatography. Recombinant alphaB-crystallin was characterized by SDS-polyacrylamide electrophoresis (PAGE), Western immunoblot analysis, Edman degradation, circular dichroism spectroscopy, and size exclusion chromatography. The purified crystallin migrated on SDS-PAGE to an apparent molecular weight (Mr approximately 22,000) that corresponded to total native human alpha-crystallin and was recognized on Western immunoblots by antiserum raised against human alphaB-crystallin purified from lens homogenates. Chemical sequencing, circular dichroism spectroscopy, and size exclusion chromatography demonstrated that the recombinant crystallin had properties similar or identical to its native counterpart. Both recombinant alphaB-crystallin and MBP-alphaB fusion protein associated to form high molecular weight complexes that displayed chaperone-like function by inhibiting the aggregation of alcohol dehydrogenase at 37 degrees C and demonstrated the importance of the C-terminal domain of alphaB-crystallin for chaperone-like activity.
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Affiliation(s)
- P J Muchowski
- Department of Biological Structure, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington 98195-7420, USA
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Abstract
We present a case of Alexander's disease (AD) in a Bernese mountain dog. The male dog had a clinical history of tremors of the hind legs and posterior weakness, which deteriorated rapidly to posterior paresis and tetraparesis. After a disease duration of 4 weeks the dog was euthanatized at 13 weeks of age. Macroscopically the brain showed moderate enlargement of the lateral ventricles. Histologically there was marked proliferation of astrocytes with abnormally large cell bodies in the white matter of the brain and the white and gray matter of the spinal cord. In these regions numerous round, club-shaped, or elongated deposits consistent with Rosenthal fibers (RFs) were found. They were most prominent in perivascular, subependymal, and subpial areas where they were perpendicularly arranged. Additionally there was considerable loss of myelin. Immunohistologically the RFs were positive for glial fibrillary acidic protein and alpha B-crystallin. Under the electron microscope the RFs were found to be located in the cell bodies and processes of astrocytes and appeared as osmiophilic irregularly formed bodies of uneven size with distinct borders that were tightly associated with glial filaments. The histological, immunohistochemical, and ultrastructural findings of this canine case of AD are identical with those in human cases.
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Affiliation(s)
- H Weissenböck
- Institute of Pathology and Forensic Veterinary Medicine, University of Veterinary Medicine, Vienna, Austria
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