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Fernandes JP, Branton WG, Cohen EA, Koopman G, Kondova I, Gelman BB, Power C. Caspase cleavage of gasdermin E causes neuronal pyroptosis in HIV-associated neurocognitive disorder. Brain 2024; 147:717-734. [PMID: 37931057 PMCID: PMC10834258 DOI: 10.1093/brain/awad375] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/12/2023] [Revised: 09/15/2023] [Accepted: 10/10/2023] [Indexed: 11/08/2023] Open
Abstract
Despite effective antiretroviral therapies, 20-30% of persons with treated HIV infection develop a neurodegenerative syndrome termed HIV-associated neurocognitive disorder (HAND). HAND is driven by HIV expression coupled with inflammation in the brain but the mechanisms underlying neuronal damage and death are uncertain. The inflammasome-pyroptosis axis coordinates an inflammatory type of regulated lytic cell death that is underpinned by the caspase-activated pore-forming gasdermin proteins. The mechanisms driving neuronal pyroptosis were investigated herein in models of HAND, using multi-platform molecular and morphological approaches that included brain tissues from persons with HAND and simian immunodeficiency virus (SIV)-infected non-human primates as well as cultured human neurons. Neurons in the frontal cortices from persons with HAND showed increased cleaved gasdermin E (GSDME), which was associated with β-III tubulin degradation and increased HIV levels. Exposure of cultured human neurons to the HIV-encoded viral protein R (Vpr) elicited time-dependent cleavage of GSDME and Ninjurin-1 (NINJ1) induction with associated cell lysis that was inhibited by siRNA suppression of both proteins. Upstream of GSDME cleavage, Vpr exposure resulted in activation of caspases-1 and 3. Pretreatment of Vpr-exposed neurons with the caspase-1 inhibitor, VX-765, reduced cleavage of both caspase-3 and GSDME, resulting in diminished cell death. To validate these findings, we examined frontal cortical tissues from SIV-infected macaques, disclosing increased expression of GSDME and NINJ1 in cortical neurons, which was co-localized with caspase-3 detection in animals with neurological disease. Thus, HIV infection of the brain triggers the convergent activation of caspases-1 and -3, which results in GSDME-mediated neuronal pyroptosis in persons with HAND. These findings demonstrate a novel mechanism by which a viral infection causes pyroptotic death in neurons while also offering new diagnostic and therapeutic strategies for HAND and other neurodegenerative disorders.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jason P Fernandes
- Department of Medical Microbiology and Immunology, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB T6G 2R3, Canada
| | - William G Branton
- Department of Medicine (Neurology), University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB T6G 2R7, Canada
| | - Eric A Cohen
- Laboratory of Human Retrovirology, Institut de Recherches Cliniques Montreal (IRCM), Montreal, QC H2W 1R7, Canada
- Department of Microbiology, Infectiology and Immunology, Université de Montréal, Montreal, QC H3C 3J7, Canada
| | - Gerrit Koopman
- Department of Virology, Biomedical Primate Research Centre (BPRC), Rijswijk 2280 GH, The Netherlands
| | - Ivanela Kondova
- Department of Animal Science, Biomedical Primate Research Centre (BPRC), Rijswijk 2280 GH, The Netherlands
| | - Benjamin B Gelman
- Departments of Pathology and Neurobiology, University of Texas Medical Branch, Galveston, TX 77555-0569, USA
| | - Christopher Power
- Department of Medical Microbiology and Immunology, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB T6G 2R3, Canada
- Department of Medicine (Neurology), University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB T6G 2R7, Canada
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Sanfilippo C, Castrogiovanni P, Vinciguerra M, Imbesi R, Ulivieri M, Fazio F, Cantarella A, Nunnari G, Di Rosa M. Neuro-immune deconvolution analysis of OAS3 as a transcriptomic central node in HIV-associated neurocognitive disorders. J Neurol Sci 2023; 446:120562. [PMID: 36706688 DOI: 10.1016/j.jns.2023.120562] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/13/2022] [Revised: 01/10/2023] [Accepted: 01/16/2023] [Indexed: 01/22/2023]
Abstract
Neurological complications of AIDS (NeuroAIDS) include primary HIV-associated neurocognitive disorder (HAND). OAS3 is an enzyme belonging to the 2', 5' oligoadenylate synthase family induced by type I interferons and involved in the degradation of both viral and endogenous RNA. Here, we used microarray datasets from NCBI of brain samples of non-demented HIV-negative controls (NDC), HIV, deceased patients with HAND and encephalitis (HIVE) (treated and untreated with antiretroviral therapy, ART), and with HAND without HIVE. The HAND/HIVE patients were stratified according to the OAS3 gene expression. The genes positively and negatively correlated to the OAS3 gene expression were used to perform a genomic deconvolution analysis using neuroimmune signatures (NIS) belonging to sixteen signatures. Expression analysis revealed significantly higher OAS3 expression in HAND/HIVE and HAND/HIVE/ART compared with NDC. OAS3 expressed an excellent diagnostic ability to discriminate NDC from HAND/HIVE, HAND from HAND/HIVE, HAND from HAND/HIVE/ART, and HIV from HAND/HIVE. Noteworthy, OAS3 expression levels in the brains of HAND/HIVE patients were positively correlated with viral load in both peripheral blood and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF). Furthermore, deconvolution analysis revealed that the genes positively correlated to OAS3 expression were associated with inflammatory signatures. Neuronal activation profiles were significantly activated by the genes negatively correlated to OAS3 expression levels. Moreover, gene ontology analysis performed on genes characterizing the microglia signature highlighted an immune response as a main biological process. According to our results, genes positively correlated to OAS3 gene expression in the brains of HAND/HIVE patients are associated with inflammatory transcriptomic signatures and likely worse cognitive impairment.
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Affiliation(s)
- Cristina Sanfilippo
- Neurologic Unit, AOU "Policlinico-San Marco", Department of Medical, Surgical Sciences and Advanced Technologies, GF, Ingrassia, University of Catania, Via Santa Sofia n.78, 95100 Catania, Sicily, Italy
| | - Paola Castrogiovanni
- Department of Biomedical and Biotechnological Sciences, Anatomy, Histology and Movement Sciences Section, School of Medicine, University of Catania, 95125 Catania, Italy
| | - Manlio Vinciguerra
- International Clinical Research Center, St. Anne's University Hospital, Brno, Czech Republic; Department of Translational Stem Cell Biology, Research Institute of the Medical University of Varna, Varna, Bulgaria; Liverpool Center for Cardiovascular Science, Liverpool Johns Moore University & University of Liverpool, Liverpool, UK
| | - Rosa Imbesi
- Department of Biomedical and Biotechnological Sciences, Anatomy, Histology and Movement Sciences Section, School of Medicine, University of Catania, 95125 Catania, Italy
| | - Martina Ulivieri
- University of California San Diego, Department of Psychiatry, Health Science, San Diego La Jolla, CA, USA
| | - Francesco Fazio
- University of California San Diego, Department of Psychiatry, Health Science, San Diego La Jolla, CA, USA
| | - Antonio Cantarella
- Department of Biomedical and Biotechnological Sciences, Anatomy, Histology and Movement Sciences Section, School of Medicine, University of Catania, 95125 Catania, Italy
| | - Giuseppe Nunnari
- Department of Clinical and Experimental Medicine, Unit of Infectious Diseases, University of Messina, 98124 Messina, Italy
| | - Michelino Di Rosa
- Department of Biomedical and Biotechnological Sciences, Anatomy, Histology and Movement Sciences Section, School of Medicine, University of Catania, 95125 Catania, Italy.
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