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Frost B, Dubnau J. The Role of Retrotransposons and Endogenous Retroviruses in Age-Dependent Neurodegenerative Disorders. Annu Rev Neurosci 2024; 47:123-143. [PMID: 38663088 DOI: 10.1146/annurev-neuro-082823-020615] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 08/09/2024]
Abstract
Over 40% of the human genome is composed of retrotransposons, DNA species that hold the potential to replicate via an RNA intermediate and are evolutionarily related to retroviruses. Retrotransposons are most studied for their ability to jump within a genome, which can cause DNA damage and novel insertional mutations. Retrotransposon-encoded products, including viral-like proteins, double-stranded RNAs, and extrachromosomal circular DNAs, can also be potent activators of the innate immune system. A growing body of evidence suggests that retrotransposons are activated in age-related neurodegenerative disorders and that such activation causally contributes to neurotoxicity. Here we provide an overview of retrotransposon biology and outline evidence of retrotransposon activation in age-related neurodegenerative disorders, with an emphasis on those involving TAR-DNA binding protein-43 (TDP-43) and tau. Studies to date provide the basis for ongoing clinical trials and hold promise for innovative strategies to ameliorate the adverse effects of retrotransposon dysregulation in neurodegenerative disorders.
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Affiliation(s)
- Bess Frost
- Sam and Ann Barshop Institute for Longevity and Aging Studies, Glenn Biggs Institute for Alzheimer's and Neurodegenerative Diseases, and Department of Cell Systems and Anatomy, University of Texas Health San Antonio, San Antonio, Texas, USA;
| | - Josh Dubnau
- Department of Anesthesiology and Department of Neurobiology and Behavior, Stony Brook School of Medicine, Stony Brook, New York, USA;
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2
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Bukhari H, Nithianandam V, Battaglia RA, Cicalo A, Sarkar S, Comjean A, Hu Y, Leventhal MJ, Dong X, Feany MB. Transcriptional programs mediating neuronal toxicity and altered glial-neuronal signaling in a Drosophila knock-in tauopathy model. Genome Res 2024; 34:590-605. [PMID: 38599684 PMCID: PMC11146598 DOI: 10.1101/gr.278576.123] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/29/2023] [Accepted: 04/04/2024] [Indexed: 04/12/2024]
Abstract
Missense mutations in the gene encoding the microtubule-associated protein TAU (current and approved symbol is MAPT) cause autosomal dominant forms of frontotemporal dementia. Multiple models of frontotemporal dementia based on transgenic expression of human TAU in experimental model organisms, including Drosophila, have been described. These models replicate key features of the human disease but do not faithfully recreate the genetic context of the human disorder. Here we use CRISPR-Cas-mediated gene editing to model frontotemporal dementia caused by the TAU P301L mutation by creating the orthologous mutation, P251L, in the endogenous Drosophila tau gene. Flies heterozygous or homozygous for Tau P251L display age-dependent neurodegeneration, display metabolic defects, and accumulate DNA damage in affected neurons. To understand the molecular events promoting neuronal dysfunction and death in knock-in flies, we performed single-cell RNA sequencing on approximately 130,000 cells from brains of Tau P251L mutant and control flies. We found that expression of disease-associated mutant tau altered gene expression cell autonomously in all neuronal cell types identified. Gene expression was also altered in glial cells, suggestive of non-cell-autonomous regulation. Cell signaling pathways, including glial-neuronal signaling, were broadly dysregulated as were brain region and cell type-specific protein interaction networks and gene regulatory programs. In summary, we present here a genetic model of tauopathy that faithfully recapitulates the genetic context and phenotypic features of the human disease, and use the results of comprehensive single-cell sequencing analysis to outline pathways of neurotoxicity and highlight the potential role of non-cell-autonomous changes in glia.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hassan Bukhari
- Department of Pathology, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts 02115, USA
- Aligning Science Across Parkinson's (ASAP) Collaborative Research Network, Chevy Chase, Maryland 20815, USA
| | - Vanitha Nithianandam
- Department of Pathology, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts 02115, USA
- Aligning Science Across Parkinson's (ASAP) Collaborative Research Network, Chevy Chase, Maryland 20815, USA
| | - Rachel A Battaglia
- Department of Pathology, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts 02115, USA
- Aligning Science Across Parkinson's (ASAP) Collaborative Research Network, Chevy Chase, Maryland 20815, USA
| | - Anthony Cicalo
- Aligning Science Across Parkinson's (ASAP) Collaborative Research Network, Chevy Chase, Maryland 20815, USA
- Genomics and Bioinformatics Hub, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts 02115, USA
- Department of Neurology, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts 02115, USA
| | - Souvarish Sarkar
- Department of Pathology, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts 02115, USA
| | - Aram Comjean
- Department of Genetics, Blavatnik Institute, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts 02115, USA
| | - Yanhui Hu
- Department of Genetics, Blavatnik Institute, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts 02115, USA
| | - Matthew J Leventhal
- Department of Biological Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02139, USA
- MIT Ph.D. Program in Computational and Systems Biology, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02139, USA
| | - Xianjun Dong
- Aligning Science Across Parkinson's (ASAP) Collaborative Research Network, Chevy Chase, Maryland 20815, USA
- Genomics and Bioinformatics Hub, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts 02115, USA
- Department of Neurology, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts 02115, USA
| | - Mel B Feany
- Department of Pathology, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts 02115, USA;
- Aligning Science Across Parkinson's (ASAP) Collaborative Research Network, Chevy Chase, Maryland 20815, USA
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3
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Yakout DW, Shroff A, Wei W, Thaker V, Allen ZD, Sajish M, Nazarko TY, Mabb AM. Tau regulates Arc stability in neuronal dendrites via a proteasome-sensitive but ubiquitin-independent pathway. J Biol Chem 2024; 300:107237. [PMID: 38552740 PMCID: PMC11061231 DOI: 10.1016/j.jbc.2024.107237] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/01/2023] [Revised: 02/23/2024] [Accepted: 03/19/2024] [Indexed: 04/26/2024] Open
Abstract
Tauopathies are neurodegenerative disorders characterized by the deposition of aggregates of the microtubule-associated protein tau, a main component of neurofibrillary tangles. Alzheimer's disease (AD) is the most common type of tauopathy and dementia, with amyloid-beta pathology as an additional hallmark feature of the disease. Besides its role in stabilizing microtubules, tau is localized at postsynaptic sites and can regulate synaptic plasticity. The activity-regulated cytoskeleton-associated protein (Arc) is an immediate early gene that plays a key role in synaptic plasticity, learning, and memory. Arc has been implicated in AD pathogenesis and regulates the release of amyloid-beta. We found that decreased Arc levels correlate with AD status and disease severity. Importantly, Arc protein was upregulated in the hippocampus of Tau KO mice and dendrites of Tau KO primary hippocampal neurons. Overexpression of tau decreased Arc stability in an activity-dependent manner, exclusively in neuronal dendrites, which was coupled to an increase in the expression of dendritic and somatic surface GluA1-containing α-amino-3-hydroxy-5-methyl-4-isoxazolepropionic acid receptors. The tau-dependent decrease in Arc was found to be proteasome-sensitive, yet independent of Arc ubiquitination and required the endophilin-binding domain of Arc. Importantly, these effects on Arc stability and GluA1 localization were not observed in the commonly studied tau mutant, P301L. These observations provide a potential molecular basis for synaptic dysfunction mediated through the accumulation of tau in dendrites. Our findings confirm that Arc is misregulated in AD and further show a physiological role for tau in regulating Arc stability and AMPA receptor targeting.
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Affiliation(s)
- Dina W Yakout
- Neuroscience Institute, Georgia State University, Atlanta, Georgia, USA
| | - Ankit Shroff
- Department of Biology, Georgia State University, Atlanta, Georgia, USA
| | - Wei Wei
- Neuroscience Institute, Georgia State University, Atlanta, Georgia, USA
| | - Vishrut Thaker
- Neuroscience Institute, Georgia State University, Atlanta, Georgia, USA
| | - Zachary D Allen
- Neuroscience Institute, Georgia State University, Atlanta, Georgia, USA
| | - Mathew Sajish
- Department of Drug Discovery and Biomedical Sciences, College of Pharmacy, University of South Carolina, Columbia, South Carolina, USA
| | - Taras Y Nazarko
- Department of Biology, Georgia State University, Atlanta, Georgia, USA
| | - Angela M Mabb
- Neuroscience Institute, Georgia State University, Atlanta, Georgia, USA; Center for Behavioral Neuroscience, Georgia State University, Atlanta, Georgia, USA.
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Hunt LC, Nyamkondiwa K, Stephan A, Jiao J, Kavdia K, Pagala V, Peng J, Demontis F. The ubiquitin-conjugating enzyme UBE2D/eff maintains a youthful proteome and ensures protein quality control during aging. BIORXIV : THE PREPRINT SERVER FOR BIOLOGY 2024:2023.12.12.571303. [PMID: 38168249 PMCID: PMC10759998 DOI: 10.1101/2023.12.12.571303] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/05/2024]
Abstract
Ubiquitin-conjugating enzymes (E2s) are key for regulating protein function and turnover via ubiquitination but it remains undetermined which E2s maintain proteostasis during aging. Here, we find that E2s have diverse roles in handling a model aggregation-prone protein (huntingtin-polyQ) in the Drosophila retina: while some E2s mediate aggregate assembly, UBE2D/effete (eff) and other E2s are required for huntingtin-polyQ degradation. UBE2D/eff is key for proteostasis also in skeletal muscle: eff protein levels decline with aging, and muscle-specific eff knockdown causes an accelerated buildup in insoluble poly-ubiquitinated proteins (which progressively accumulate with aging) and shortens lifespan. Transgenic expression of human UBE2D2, homologous to eff, partially rescues the lifespan and proteostasis deficits caused by muscle-specific effRNAi by re-establishing the physiological levels of effRNAi-regulated proteins, which include several regulators of proteostasis. Interestingly, UBE2D/eff knockdown in young age reproduces part of the proteomic changes that normally occur in old muscles, suggesting that the decrease in UBE2D/eff protein levels that occurs with aging contributes to reshaping the composition of the muscle proteome. Altogether, these findings indicate that UBE2D/eff is a key E2 ubiquitin-conjugating enzyme that ensures protein quality control and helps maintain a youthful proteome composition during aging.
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Affiliation(s)
- Liam C. Hunt
- Department of Developmental Neurobiology, St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, Memphis, TN 38105, USA
| | - Kudzai Nyamkondiwa
- Department of Developmental Neurobiology, St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, Memphis, TN 38105, USA
| | - Anna Stephan
- Department of Developmental Neurobiology, St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, Memphis, TN 38105, USA
| | - Jianqin Jiao
- Department of Developmental Neurobiology, St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, Memphis, TN 38105, USA
| | - Kanisha Kavdia
- Center for Proteomics and Metabolomics, St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, 262 Danny Thomas Place, Memphis, TN 38105, USA
| | - Vishwajeeth Pagala
- Center for Proteomics and Metabolomics, St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, 262 Danny Thomas Place, Memphis, TN 38105, USA
| | - Junmin Peng
- Department of Developmental Neurobiology, St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, Memphis, TN 38105, USA
- Center for Proteomics and Metabolomics, St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, 262 Danny Thomas Place, Memphis, TN 38105, USA
- Department of Structural Biology, St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, 262 Danny Thomas Place, Memphis, TN 38105, USA
| | - Fabio Demontis
- Department of Developmental Neurobiology, St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, Memphis, TN 38105, USA
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Bukhari H, Nithianandam V, Battaglia RA, Cicalo A, Sarkar S, Comjean A, Hu Y, Leventhal MJ, Dong X, Feany MB. Transcriptional programs mediating neuronal toxicity and altered glial-neuronal signaling in a Drosophila knock-in tauopathy model. BIORXIV : THE PREPRINT SERVER FOR BIOLOGY 2024:2024.02.02.578624. [PMID: 38352559 PMCID: PMC10862891 DOI: 10.1101/2024.02.02.578624] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/22/2024]
Abstract
Missense mutations in the gene encoding the microtubule-associated protein tau cause autosomal dominant forms of frontotemporal dementia. Multiple models of frontotemporal dementia based on transgenic expression of human tau in experimental model organisms, including Drosophila, have been described. These models replicate key features of the human disease, but do not faithfully recreate the genetic context of the human disorder. Here we use CRISPR-Cas mediated gene editing to model frontotemporal dementia caused by the tau P301L mutation by creating the orthologous mutation, P251L, in the endogenous Drosophila tau gene. Flies heterozygous or homozygous for tau P251L display age-dependent neurodegeneration, metabolic defects and accumulate DNA damage in affected neurons. To understand the molecular events promoting neuronal dysfunction and death in knock-in flies we performed single-cell RNA sequencing on approximately 130,000 cells from brains of tau P251L mutant and control flies. We found that expression of disease-associated mutant tau altered gene expression cell autonomously in all neuronal cell types identified and non-cell autonomously in glial cells. Cell signaling pathways, including glial-neuronal signaling, were broadly dysregulated as were brain region and cell-type specific protein interaction networks and gene regulatory programs. In summary, we present here a genetic model of tauopathy, which faithfully recapitulates the genetic context and phenotypic features of the human disease and use the results of comprehensive single cell sequencing analysis to outline pathways of neurotoxicity and highlight the role of non-cell autonomous changes in glia.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hassan Bukhari
- Department of Pathology, Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts 02115
- Aligning Science Across Parkinson’s (ASAP) Collaborative Research Network, Chevy Chase, MD 20815
| | - Vanitha Nithianandam
- Department of Pathology, Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts 02115
- Aligning Science Across Parkinson’s (ASAP) Collaborative Research Network, Chevy Chase, MD 20815
| | - Rachel A. Battaglia
- Department of Pathology, Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts 02115
- Aligning Science Across Parkinson’s (ASAP) Collaborative Research Network, Chevy Chase, MD 20815
| | - Anthony Cicalo
- Aligning Science Across Parkinson’s (ASAP) Collaborative Research Network, Chevy Chase, MD 20815
- Genomics and Bioinformatics Hub, Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Boston, MA 02115
- Department of Neurology, Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, 02115
| | - Souvarish Sarkar
- Department of Pathology, Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts 02115
| | - Aram Comjean
- Department of Genetics, Blavatnik Institute, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02115
| | - Yanhui Hu
- Department of Genetics, Blavatnik Institute, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02115
| | - Matthew J. Leventhal
- Department of Biological Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02139
- MIT Ph.D. Program in Computational and Systems Biology, Cambridge, MA 02139
| | - Xianjun Dong
- Aligning Science Across Parkinson’s (ASAP) Collaborative Research Network, Chevy Chase, MD 20815
- Genomics and Bioinformatics Hub, Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Boston, MA 02115
- Department of Neurology, Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, 02115
| | - Mel B. Feany
- Department of Pathology, Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts 02115
- Aligning Science Across Parkinson’s (ASAP) Collaborative Research Network, Chevy Chase, MD 20815
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Avila J, Santa-Maria I, Sotiropulos I. Editorial Special Issue Neuroscience "Tauopathies". Neuroscience 2023; 518:1-3. [PMID: 36963653 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroscience.2023.03.021] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 03/26/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- Jesús Avila
- Centro de Biología Molecular Severo Ochoa (CSIC-UAM), 28049 Madrid, Spain; Networking Research Centre on Neurodegenerative Diseases (CIBERNED), 28031 Madrid, Spain
| | - Ismael Santa-Maria
- Facultad de Ciencias Experimentales, Universidad Francisco de Vitoria, Edificio E, 28223, Pozuelo de Alarcon, Madrid, Spain; The Taub Institute for Research on Alzheimer's Disease and the Aging Brain, Columbia University Medical Center, 630 West 168th Street, New York, NY 10032, USA, Department of Pathology and Cell Biology, Columbia University Medical Center, 630 West 168th Street, New York, NY 10032, USA
| | - Ioannis Sotiropulos
- Life and Health Sciences Research Institute (ICVS), School of Medicine, University of Minho, Campus de Gualtar, 4710-057, Braga, Portugal; ICVS/3B's - PT Government Associate Laboratory, Braga/Guimarães, Portugal; Institute of Biosciences and Applications NCSR "Demokritos", Athens, Greece
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Eftekharpour E. The neuronal nucleus: a new battlefield in fight against neurodegeneration. Aging (Albany NY) 2023; 15:898-904. [PMID: 36806186 PMCID: PMC10008506 DOI: 10.18632/aging.204519] [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: 06/24/2022] [Accepted: 02/06/2023] [Indexed: 02/20/2023]
Abstract
Aging is an inevitable fact of life which brings along a series of age-associated diseases. Although medical innovations and patient care improvement have increased our life expectancy, the rate of age-associated diseases have also increased. Nervous system is specifically prone to these diseases that cause neuronal loss in different anatomical regions. Alzheimer's disease is the best-known example of age-associated illnesses and is diagnosed by accumulation of intracellular Neurofibrillary tangles and extracellular Amyloid Plaques resulting in dementia. However, therapeutic attempts aiming at the removal of these plaques and tangles to reverse the cognitive decline have generally failed in human patients and may compromise the patient's health. We have learnt that interruption of neuronal housekeeping systems such as autophagy contributes to formation of these aggregates, and therefore understanding the underlying mechanisms that lead to failure of these endogenous protective systems may provide valuable information and novel therapies. The house keeping systems are delicately regulated through gene expression and chromatin modifications in the nucleus, however, the contribution of this largest cellular organelle in pathophysiology of the disease has been overlooked. During the last few years, a wealth of information on neuronal nucleus has emerged that provides a strong rationale for examining its contribution to the pathophysiology of the disease. In this research perspective, I have attempted to summarize the latest research on neuronal nucleus, with a special focus on nuclear lamina damage and its downstream events to rationalize the need for focusing on the neuronal nucleus as a therapeutic target.
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Affiliation(s)
- Eftekhar Eftekharpour
- Department of Physiology and Pathophysiology, University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada
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