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Niazi SK, Mariam Z, Magoola M. Engineered Antibodies to Improve Efficacy against Neurodegenerative Disorders. Int J Mol Sci 2024; 25:6683. [PMID: 38928395 PMCID: PMC11203520 DOI: 10.3390/ijms25126683] [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: 05/11/2024] [Revised: 06/09/2024] [Accepted: 06/14/2024] [Indexed: 06/28/2024] Open
Abstract
Antibodies that can selectively remove rogue proteins in the brain are an obvious choice to treat neurodegenerative disorders (NDs), but after decades of efforts, only two antibodies to treat Alzheimer's disease are approved, dozens are in the testing phase, and one was withdrawn, and the other halted, likely due to efficacy issues. However, these outcomes should have been evident since these antibodies cannot enter the brain sufficiently due to the blood-brain barrier (BBB) protectant. However, all products can be rejuvenated by binding them with transferrin, preferably as smaller fragments. This model can be tested quickly and at a low cost and should be applied to bapineuzumab, solanezumab, crenezumab, gantenerumab, aducanumab, lecanemab, donanemab, cinpanemab, and gantenerumab, and their fragments. This paper demonstrates that conjugating with transferrin does not alter the binding to brain proteins such as amyloid-β (Aβ) and α-synuclein. We also present a selection of conjugate designs that will allow cleavage upon entering the brain to prevent their exocytosis while keeping the fragments connected to enable optimal binding to proteins. The identified products can be readily tested and returned to patients with the lowest regulatory cost and delays. These engineered antibodies can be manufactured by recombinant engineering, preferably by mRNA technology, as a more affordable solution to meet the dire need to treat neurodegenerative disorders effectively.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Zamara Mariam
- Centre for Health and Life Sciences, Coventry University, Coventry City CV1 5FB, UK;
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Raine J, Tolwinski N, Gruber J, Mathuru AS. Evaluating the inter-species transmission risk of amyloid beta peptide aggregates via ingestion. Alzheimers Res Ther 2024; 16:123. [PMID: 38849926 PMCID: PMC11157902 DOI: 10.1186/s13195-024-01487-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/01/2023] [Accepted: 05/27/2024] [Indexed: 06/09/2024]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Recent reports suggest that amyloid beta (Aβ) peptides can exhibit prion-like pathogenic properties. Transmission of Aβ peptide and the development of associated pathologies after surgeries with contaminated instruments and intravenous or intracerebral inoculations have now been reported across fish, rodents, primates, and humans. This raises a worrying prospect of Aβ peptides also having other characteristics typical of prions, such as evasion of the digestive process. We asked if such transmission of Aβ aggregates via ingestion was possible. METHODS We made use of a transgenic Drosophila melanogaster line expressing human Aβ peptide prone to aggregation. Fly larvae were fed to adult zebrafish under two feeding schemes. The first was a short-term, high-intensity scheme over 48 h to determine transmission and retention in the gut. The second, long-term scheme specifically examined retention and accumulation in the brain. The gut and brain tissues were examined by histology, western blotting, and mass spectrometric analyses. RESULTS None of the analyses could detect Aβ aggregates in the guts of zebrafish following ingestion, despite being easily detectable in the feed. Additionally, there was no detectable accumulation of Aβ in the brain tissue or development of associated pathologies after prolonged feeding. CONCLUSIONS While human Aβ aggregates do not appear to be readily transmissible by ingestion across species, two prospects remain open. First, this mode of transmission, if occurring, may stay below a detectable threshold and may take much longer to manifest. A second possibility is that the human Aβ peptide is not able to trigger self-propagation or aggregation in other species. Either possibility requires further investigation, taking into account the possibility of such transmission from agricultural species used in the food industry.
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Affiliation(s)
- Joshua Raine
- Yale-NUS College, 12 College Avenue West, Singapore, Singapore
- Department of Physiology, Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine, National University of Singapore, Singapore, Singapore
| | - Nicholas Tolwinski
- Yale-NUS College, 12 College Avenue West, Singapore, Singapore
- Program in Cancer and Stem Cell Biology, Duke-NUS Medical School, Singapore, Singapore
| | - Jan Gruber
- Yale-NUS College, 12 College Avenue West, Singapore, Singapore
- Department of Biochemistry, Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine, National University of Singapore, Singapore, Singapore
- Healthy Longevity Translational Research Programme, Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine, National University of Singapore, Singapore, Singapore
| | - Ajay S Mathuru
- Yale-NUS College, 12 College Avenue West, Singapore, Singapore.
- Department of Physiology, Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine, National University of Singapore, Singapore, Singapore.
- Institute of Digital Medicine (WisDM) Translational Research Programme, Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine, National University of Singapore, Singapore, Singapore.
- Healthy Longevity Translational Research Programme, Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine, National University of Singapore, Singapore, Singapore.
- Institute of Molecular and Cell Biology, A*STAR, Singapore, Singapore.
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Diez I, Ortiz-Terán L, Ng TSC, Albers MW, Marshall G, Orwig W, Kim CM, Bueichekú E, Montal V, Olofsson J, Vannini P, El Fahkri G, Sperling R, Johnson K, Jacobs HIL, Sepulcre J. Tau propagation in the brain olfactory circuits is associated with smell perception changes in aging. Nat Commun 2024; 15:4809. [PMID: 38844444 PMCID: PMC11156945 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-024-48462-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/07/2022] [Accepted: 04/30/2024] [Indexed: 06/09/2024] Open
Abstract
The direct access of olfactory afferents to memory-related cortical systems has inspired theories about the role of the olfactory pathways in the development of cortical neurodegeneration in Alzheimer's disease (AD). In this study, we used baseline olfactory identification measures with longitudinal flortaucipir and PiB PET, diffusion MRI of 89 cognitively normal older adults (73.82 ± 8.44 years; 56% females), and a transcriptomic data atlas to investigate the spatiotemporal spreading and genetic vulnerabilities of AD-related pathology aggregates in the olfactory system. We find that odor identification deficits are predominantly associated with tau accumulation in key areas of the olfactory pathway, with a particularly strong predictive power for longitudinal tau progression. We observe that tau spreads from the medial temporal lobe structures toward the olfactory system, not the reverse. Moreover, we observed a genetic background of odor perception-related genes that might confer vulnerability to tau accumulation along the olfactory system.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ibai Diez
- Gordon Center for Medical Imaging, Department of Radiology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
- Athinoula A. Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging, Department of Radiology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Charlestown, MA, USA
| | - Laura Ortiz-Terán
- Gordon Center for Medical Imaging, Department of Radiology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
- UMASS Memorial Medical Center, UMASS Chan Medical School, Worcester, MA, USA
| | - Thomas S C Ng
- Division of Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging, Department of Radiology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
- Center for Systems Biology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Mark W Albers
- Department of Neurology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Charlestown, MA, USA
| | - Gad Marshall
- Department of Neurology, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
| | - William Orwig
- Gordon Center for Medical Imaging, Department of Radiology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
- Harvard University, Department of Psychology, Cambridge, MA, USA
| | - Chan-Mi Kim
- Gordon Center for Medical Imaging, Department of Radiology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Elisenda Bueichekú
- Gordon Center for Medical Imaging, Department of Radiology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Victor Montal
- Gordon Center for Medical Imaging, Department of Radiology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
- Barcelona Supercomputing Center, Barcelona, Spain
| | - Jonas Olofsson
- Stockholm University, Department of Psychology, Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Patrizia Vannini
- Athinoula A. Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging, Department of Radiology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Charlestown, MA, USA
- Department of Neurology, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Georges El Fahkri
- Gordon Center for Medical Imaging, Department of Radiology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Reisa Sperling
- Athinoula A. Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging, Department of Radiology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Charlestown, MA, USA
- Department of Neurology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Charlestown, MA, USA
- Department of Neurology, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Keith Johnson
- Gordon Center for Medical Imaging, Department of Radiology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Heidi I L Jacobs
- Gordon Center for Medical Imaging, Department of Radiology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Jorge Sepulcre
- Gordon Center for Medical Imaging, Department of Radiology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA.
- Athinoula A. Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging, Department of Radiology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Charlestown, MA, USA.
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Tam S, Wear D, Morrone CD, Yu WH. The complexity of extracellular vesicles: Bridging the gap between cellular communication and neuropathology. J Neurochem 2024. [PMID: 38650384 DOI: 10.1111/jnc.16108] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/14/2024] [Revised: 03/12/2024] [Accepted: 03/31/2024] [Indexed: 04/25/2024]
Abstract
Brain-derived extracellular vesicles (EVs) serve a prominent role in maintaining homeostasis and contributing to pathology in health and disease. This review establishes a crucial link between physiological processes leading to EV biogenesis and their impacts on disease. EVs are involved in the clearance and transport of proteins and nucleic acids, responding to changes in cellular processes associated with neurodegeneration, including autophagic disruption, organellar dysfunction, aging, and other cell stresses. In neurodegenerative disorders (e.g., Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease, etc.), EVs contribute to the spread of pathological proteins like amyloid β, tau, ɑ-synuclein, prions, and TDP-43, exacerbating neurodegeneration and accelerating disease progression. Despite evidence for both neuropathological and neuroprotective effects of EVs, the mechanistic switch between their physiological and pathological functions remains elusive, warranting further research into their involvement in neurodegenerative disease. Moreover, owing to their innate ability to traverse the blood-brain barrier and their ubiquitous nature, EVs emerge as promising candidates for novel diagnostic and therapeutic strategies. The review uniquely positions itself at the intersection of EV cell biology, neurophysiology, and neuropathology, offering insights into the diverse biological roles of EVs in health and disease.
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Affiliation(s)
- Stephanie Tam
- Brain Health Imaging Centre, Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
- Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
| | - Darcy Wear
- Brain Health Imaging Centre, Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
- Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
| | - Christopher D Morrone
- Brain Health Imaging Centre, Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
| | - Wai Haung Yu
- Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
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5
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Niazi SK, Magoola M. Transcytosis-Driven Treatment of Neurodegenerative Disorders by mRNA-Expressed Antibody-Transferrin Conjugates. Biomedicines 2024; 12:851. [PMID: 38672205 PMCID: PMC11048317 DOI: 10.3390/biomedicines12040851] [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: 03/13/2024] [Revised: 04/05/2024] [Accepted: 04/08/2024] [Indexed: 04/28/2024] Open
Abstract
The recent setbacks in the withdrawal and approval delays of antibody treatments of neurodegenerative disorders (NDs), attributed to their poor entry across the blood-brain barrier (BBB), emphasize the need to bring novel approaches to enhance the entry across the BBB. One such approach is conjugating the antibodies that bind brain proteins responsible for NDs with the transferrin molecule. This glycoprotein transports iron into cells, connecting with the transferrin receptors (TfRs), piggybacking an antibody-transferrin complex that can subsequently release the antibody in the brain or stay connected while letting the antibody bind. This process increases the concentration of antibodies in the brain, enhancing therapeutic efficacy with targeted delivery and minimum systemic side effects. Currently, this approach is experimented with using drug-transferring conjugates assembled in vitro. Still, a more efficient and safer alternative is to express the conjugate using mRNA technology, as detailed in this paper. This approach will expedite safer discoveries that can be made available at a much lower cost than the recombinant process with in vitro conjugation. Most importantly, the recommendations made in this paper may save the antibodies against the NDs that seem to be failing despite their regulatory approvals.
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Rossano SM, Johnson AS, Smith A, Ziaggi G, Roetman A, Guzman D, Okafor A, Klein J, Tomljanovic Z, Stern Y, Brickman AM, Lee S, Kreisl WC, Lao P. Microglia measured by TSPO PET are associated with Alzheimer's disease pathology and mediate key steps in a disease progression model. Alzheimers Dement 2024; 20:2397-2407. [PMID: 38298155 PMCID: PMC11032543 DOI: 10.1002/alz.13699] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/08/2023] [Revised: 10/30/2023] [Accepted: 12/18/2023] [Indexed: 02/02/2024]
Abstract
INTRODUCTION Evidence suggests microglial activation precedes regional tau and neurodegeneration in Alzheimer's disease (AD). We characterized microglia with translocator protein (TSPO) positron emission tomography (PET) within an AD progression model where global amyloid beta (Aβ) precedes local tau and neurodegeneration, resulting in cognitive impairment. METHODS Florbetaben, PBR28, and MK-6240 PET, T1 magnetic resonance imaging, and cognitive measures were performed in 19 cognitively unimpaired older adults and 22 patients with mild cognitive impairment or mild AD to examine associations among microglia activation, Aβ, tau, and cognition, adjusting for neurodegeneration. Mediation analyses evaluated the possible role of microglial activation along the AD progression model. RESULTS Higher PBR28 uptake was associated with higher Aβ, higher tau, and lower MMSE score, independent of neurodegeneration. PBR28 mediated associations between tau in early and middle Braak stages, between tau and neurodegeneration, and between neurodegeneration and cognition. DISCUSSION Microglia are associated with AD pathology and cognition and may mediate relationships between subsequent steps in AD progression.
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Affiliation(s)
- Samantha M. Rossano
- Department of Neurology, Taub Institute for Research on Alzheimer's Disease and the Aging BrainColumbia University Irving Medical CenterNew YorkNew YorkUSA
| | - Aubrey S. Johnson
- Department of Neurology, Taub Institute for Research on Alzheimer's Disease and the Aging BrainColumbia University Irving Medical CenterNew YorkNew YorkUSA
| | - Anna Smith
- Department of Neurology, Taub Institute for Research on Alzheimer's Disease and the Aging BrainColumbia University Irving Medical CenterNew YorkNew YorkUSA
| | - Galen Ziaggi
- Department of Neurology, Taub Institute for Research on Alzheimer's Disease and the Aging BrainColumbia University Irving Medical CenterNew YorkNew YorkUSA
| | - Andrew Roetman
- Department of Neurology, Taub Institute for Research on Alzheimer's Disease and the Aging BrainColumbia University Irving Medical CenterNew YorkNew YorkUSA
| | - Diana Guzman
- Department of Neurology, Taub Institute for Research on Alzheimer's Disease and the Aging BrainColumbia University Irving Medical CenterNew YorkNew YorkUSA
| | - Amarachukwu Okafor
- Department of Neurology, Taub Institute for Research on Alzheimer's Disease and the Aging BrainColumbia University Irving Medical CenterNew YorkNew YorkUSA
| | - Julia Klein
- Department of Anesthesiology and Perioperative MedicineUniversity of California Los Angeles HealthLos AngelesCaliforniaUSA
| | - Zeljko Tomljanovic
- Department of Neurology, Taub Institute for Research on Alzheimer's Disease and the Aging BrainColumbia University Irving Medical CenterNew YorkNew YorkUSA
| | - Yaakov Stern
- Department of Neurology, Taub Institute for Research on Alzheimer's Disease and the Aging BrainColumbia University Irving Medical CenterNew YorkNew YorkUSA
| | - Adam M. Brickman
- Department of Neurology, Taub Institute for Research on Alzheimer's Disease and the Aging BrainColumbia University Irving Medical CenterNew YorkNew YorkUSA
| | - Seonjoo Lee
- Department of Psychiatry and BiostatisticsColumbia University Irving Medical CenterNew YorkNew YorkUSA
| | - William C. Kreisl
- Department of Neurology, Taub Institute for Research on Alzheimer's Disease and the Aging BrainColumbia University Irving Medical CenterNew YorkNew YorkUSA
| | - Patrick Lao
- Department of Neurology, Taub Institute for Research on Alzheimer's Disease and the Aging BrainColumbia University Irving Medical CenterNew YorkNew YorkUSA
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Nazeen S, Wang X, Zielinski D, Lam I, Hallacli E, Xu P, Ethier E, Strom R, Zanella CA, Nithianandam V, Ritter D, Henderson A, Saurat N, Afroz J, Nutter-Upham A, Benyamini H, Copty J, Ravishankar S, Morrow A, Mitchel J, Neavin D, Gupta R, Farbehi N, Grundman J, Myers RH, Scherzer CR, Trojanowski JQ, Van Deerlin VM, Cooper AA, Lee EB, Erlich Y, Lindquist S, Peng J, Geschwind DH, Powell J, Studer L, Feany MB, Sunyaev SR, Khurana V. Deep sequencing of proteotoxicity modifier genes uncovers a Presenilin-2/beta-amyloid-actin genetic risk module shared among alpha-synucleinopathies. BIORXIV : THE PREPRINT SERVER FOR BIOLOGY 2024:2024.03.03.583145. [PMID: 38496508 PMCID: PMC10942362 DOI: 10.1101/2024.03.03.583145] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 03/19/2024]
Abstract
Whether neurodegenerative diseases linked to misfolding of the same protein share genetic risk drivers or whether different protein-aggregation pathologies in neurodegeneration are mechanistically related remains uncertain. Conventional genetic analyses are underpowered to address these questions. Through careful selection of patients based on protein aggregation phenotype (rather than clinical diagnosis) we can increase statistical power to detect associated variants in a targeted set of genes that modify proteotoxicities. Genetic modifiers of alpha-synuclein (ɑS) and beta-amyloid (Aβ) cytotoxicity in yeast are enriched in risk factors for Parkinson's disease (PD) and Alzheimer's disease (AD), respectively. Here, along with known AD/PD risk genes, we deeply sequenced exomes of 430 ɑS/Aβ modifier genes in patients across alpha-synucleinopathies (PD, Lewy body dementia and multiple system atrophy). Beyond known PD genes GBA1 and LRRK2, rare variants AD genes (CD33, CR1 and PSEN2) and Aβ toxicity modifiers involved in RhoA/actin cytoskeleton regulation (ARGHEF1, ARHGEF28, MICAL3, PASK, PKN2, PSEN2) were shared risk factors across synucleinopathies. Actin pathology occurred in iPSC synucleinopathy models and RhoA downregulation exacerbated ɑS pathology. Even in sporadic PD, the expression of these genes was altered across CNS cell types. Genome-wide CRISPR screens revealed the essentiality of PSEN2 in both human cortical and dopaminergic neurons, and PSEN2 mutation carriers exhibited diffuse brainstem and cortical synucleinopathy independent of AD pathology. PSEN2 contributes to a common-risk signal in PD GWAS and regulates ɑS expression in neurons. Our results identify convergent mechanisms across synucleinopathies, some shared with AD.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sumaiya Nazeen
- Division of Movement Disorders, Department of Neurology, Brigham and Women's Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
- Division of Genetics, Brigham and Women's Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
- Department of Biomedical Informatics, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Xinyuan Wang
- Division of Movement Disorders, Department of Neurology, Brigham and Women's Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Dina Zielinski
- Division of Movement Disorders, Department of Neurology, Brigham and Women's Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
- Whitehead Institute of Biomedical Research, Cambridge, MA, USA
| | - Isabel Lam
- Division of Movement Disorders, Department of Neurology, Brigham and Women's Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Erinc Hallacli
- Division of Movement Disorders, Department of Neurology, Brigham and Women's Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Ping Xu
- Division of Movement Disorders, Department of Neurology, Brigham and Women's Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Elizabeth Ethier
- Division of Movement Disorders, Department of Neurology, Brigham and Women's Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Ronya Strom
- Division of Movement Disorders, Department of Neurology, Brigham and Women's Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Camila A Zanella
- Department of Pathology, Brigham and Women's Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Vanitha Nithianandam
- Department of Pathology, Brigham and Women's Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Dylan Ritter
- The Center for Stem Cell Biology, Sloan-Kettering Institute for Cancer Research, New York, NY, USA
| | - Alexander Henderson
- The Center for Stem Cell Biology, Sloan-Kettering Institute for Cancer Research, New York, NY, USA
| | - Nathalie Saurat
- The Center for Stem Cell Biology, Sloan-Kettering Institute for Cancer Research, New York, NY, USA
| | - Jalwa Afroz
- The Center for Stem Cell Biology, Sloan-Kettering Institute for Cancer Research, New York, NY, USA
| | | | - Hadar Benyamini
- Whitehead Institute of Biomedical Research, Cambridge, MA, USA
| | - Joseph Copty
- Garvan Institute of Medical Research, Sydney, NSW, Australia
| | | | - Autumn Morrow
- Division of Movement Disorders, Department of Neurology, Brigham and Women's Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
- Department of Biomedical Informatics, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Jonathan Mitchel
- Department of Biomedical Informatics, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
- Program in Health Sciences & Technology, Harvard Medical School & Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Boston, MA
| | - Drew Neavin
- Garvan Institute of Medical Research, Sydney, NSW, Australia
| | - Renuka Gupta
- Garvan Institute of Medical Research, Sydney, NSW, Australia
| | - Nona Farbehi
- Garvan Institute of Medical Research, Sydney, NSW, Australia
| | - Jennifer Grundman
- Department of Human Genetics, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, USA
| | - Richard H Myers
- Department of Neurology, Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Clemens R Scherzer
- Division of Movement Disorders, Department of Neurology, Brigham and Women's Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
- Aligning Science Across Parkinson's (ASAP) Collaborative Research Network, Chevy Chase, MD, USA
| | - John Q Trojanowski
- Center for Neurodegenerative Disease Research, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA
| | - Vivianna M Van Deerlin
- Center for Neurodegenerative Disease Research, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA
| | - Antony A Cooper
- Garvan Institute of Medical Research, Sydney, NSW, Australia
| | - Edward B Lee
- Center for Neurodegenerative Disease Research, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA
| | - Yaniv Erlich
- Department of Pathology, Brigham and Women's Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Susan Lindquist
- Department of Pathology, Brigham and Women's Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Jian Peng
- Department of Computer Science, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, Champaign, IL, USA
| | - Daniel H Geschwind
- Center for Autism Research and Treatment, Semel Institute, Program in Neurogenetics, Department of Neurology and Department of Human Genetics, David Geffen School of Medicine, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, USA
| | - Joseph Powell
- Garvan Institute of Medical Research, Sydney, NSW, Australia
- Aligning Science Across Parkinson's (ASAP) Collaborative Research Network, Chevy Chase, MD, USA
| | - Lorenz Studer
- The Center for Stem Cell Biology, Sloan-Kettering Institute for Cancer Research, New York, NY, USA
- Aligning Science Across Parkinson's (ASAP) Collaborative Research Network, Chevy Chase, MD, USA
| | - Mel B Feany
- Department of Pathology, Brigham and Women's Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
- Aligning Science Across Parkinson's (ASAP) Collaborative Research Network, Chevy Chase, MD, USA
| | - Shamil R Sunyaev
- Division of Genetics, Brigham and Women's Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
- Department of Biomedical Informatics, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
- Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, Cambridge, MA, USA
| | - Vikram Khurana
- Division of Movement Disorders, Department of Neurology, Brigham and Women's Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
- Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, Cambridge, MA, USA
- Harvard Stem Cell Institute, Cambridge, MA, USA
- Aligning Science Across Parkinson's (ASAP) Collaborative Research Network, Chevy Chase, MD, USA
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8
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Yu M, Risacher SL, Nho KT, Wen Q, Oblak AL, Unverzagt FW, Apostolova LG, Farlow MR, Brosch JR, Clark DG, Wang S, Deardorff R, Wu YC, Gao S, Sporns O, Saykin AJ. Spatial transcriptomic patterns underlying amyloid-β and tau pathology are associated with cognitive dysfunction in Alzheimer's disease. Cell Rep 2024; 43:113691. [PMID: 38244198 PMCID: PMC10926093 DOI: 10.1016/j.celrep.2024.113691] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/13/2023] [Revised: 11/29/2023] [Accepted: 01/03/2024] [Indexed: 01/22/2024] Open
Abstract
Amyloid-β (Aβ) and tau proteins accumulate within distinct neuronal systems in Alzheimer's disease (AD). Although it is not clear why certain brain regions are more vulnerable to Aβ and tau pathologies than others, gene expression may play a role. We study the association between brain-wide gene expression profiles and regional vulnerability to Aβ (gene-to-Aβ associations) and tau (gene-to-tau associations) pathologies by leveraging two large independent AD cohorts. We identify AD susceptibility genes and gene modules in a gene co-expression network with expression profiles specifically related to regional vulnerability to Aβ and tau pathologies in AD. In addition, we identify distinct biochemical pathways associated with the gene-to-Aβ and the gene-to-tau associations. These findings may explain the discordance between regional Aβ and tau pathologies. Finally, we propose an analytic framework, linking the identified gene-to-pathology associations to cognitive dysfunction in AD at the individual level, suggesting potential clinical implication of the gene-to-pathology associations.
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Affiliation(s)
- Meichen Yu
- Indiana Alzheimer's Disease Research Center, Indiana University School of Medicine, Indianapolis, IN, USA; Center for Neuroimaging, Department of Radiology and Imaging Sciences, Indiana University School of Medicine, Indianapolis, IN, USA; Stark Neurosciences Research Institute, Indiana University School of Medicine, Indianapolis, IN, USA; Indiana University Network Science Institute, Bloomington, IN, USA.
| | - Shannon L Risacher
- Indiana Alzheimer's Disease Research Center, Indiana University School of Medicine, Indianapolis, IN, USA; Center for Neuroimaging, Department of Radiology and Imaging Sciences, Indiana University School of Medicine, Indianapolis, IN, USA; Stark Neurosciences Research Institute, Indiana University School of Medicine, Indianapolis, IN, USA
| | - Kwangsik T Nho
- Indiana Alzheimer's Disease Research Center, Indiana University School of Medicine, Indianapolis, IN, USA; Center for Neuroimaging, Department of Radiology and Imaging Sciences, Indiana University School of Medicine, Indianapolis, IN, USA; Stark Neurosciences Research Institute, Indiana University School of Medicine, Indianapolis, IN, USA; Indiana University Network Science Institute, Bloomington, IN, USA
| | - Qiuting Wen
- Indiana Alzheimer's Disease Research Center, Indiana University School of Medicine, Indianapolis, IN, USA; Center for Neuroimaging, Department of Radiology and Imaging Sciences, Indiana University School of Medicine, Indianapolis, IN, USA
| | - Adrian L Oblak
- Center for Neuroimaging, Department of Radiology and Imaging Sciences, Indiana University School of Medicine, Indianapolis, IN, USA; Stark Neurosciences Research Institute, Indiana University School of Medicine, Indianapolis, IN, USA
| | - Frederick W Unverzagt
- Indiana Alzheimer's Disease Research Center, Indiana University School of Medicine, Indianapolis, IN, USA; Department of Psychiatry, Indiana University School of Medicine, Indianapolis, IN, USA
| | - Liana G Apostolova
- Indiana Alzheimer's Disease Research Center, Indiana University School of Medicine, Indianapolis, IN, USA; Center for Neuroimaging, Department of Radiology and Imaging Sciences, Indiana University School of Medicine, Indianapolis, IN, USA; Stark Neurosciences Research Institute, Indiana University School of Medicine, Indianapolis, IN, USA; Department of Neurology, Indiana University School of Medicine, Indianapolis, IN, USA; Department of Medical and Molecular Genetics, Indiana University School of Medicine, Indianapolis, IN, USA
| | - Martin R Farlow
- Indiana Alzheimer's Disease Research Center, Indiana University School of Medicine, Indianapolis, IN, USA; Stark Neurosciences Research Institute, Indiana University School of Medicine, Indianapolis, IN, USA; Department of Neurology, Indiana University School of Medicine, Indianapolis, IN, USA
| | - Jared R Brosch
- Indiana Alzheimer's Disease Research Center, Indiana University School of Medicine, Indianapolis, IN, USA; Department of Neurology, Indiana University School of Medicine, Indianapolis, IN, USA
| | - David G Clark
- Indiana Alzheimer's Disease Research Center, Indiana University School of Medicine, Indianapolis, IN, USA; Department of Neurology, Indiana University School of Medicine, Indianapolis, IN, USA
| | - Sophia Wang
- Indiana Alzheimer's Disease Research Center, Indiana University School of Medicine, Indianapolis, IN, USA; Department of Psychiatry, Indiana University School of Medicine, Indianapolis, IN, USA
| | - Rachael Deardorff
- Indiana Alzheimer's Disease Research Center, Indiana University School of Medicine, Indianapolis, IN, USA; Center for Neuroimaging, Department of Radiology and Imaging Sciences, Indiana University School of Medicine, Indianapolis, IN, USA
| | - Yu-Chien Wu
- Indiana Alzheimer's Disease Research Center, Indiana University School of Medicine, Indianapolis, IN, USA; Center for Neuroimaging, Department of Radiology and Imaging Sciences, Indiana University School of Medicine, Indianapolis, IN, USA; Stark Neurosciences Research Institute, Indiana University School of Medicine, Indianapolis, IN, USA
| | - Sujuan Gao
- Indiana Alzheimer's Disease Research Center, Indiana University School of Medicine, Indianapolis, IN, USA; Department of Biostatistics and Health Data Science, Indiana University School of Medicine, Indianapolis, IN, USA
| | - Olaf Sporns
- Indiana Alzheimer's Disease Research Center, Indiana University School of Medicine, Indianapolis, IN, USA; Center for Neuroimaging, Department of Radiology and Imaging Sciences, Indiana University School of Medicine, Indianapolis, IN, USA; Indiana University Network Science Institute, Bloomington, IN, USA; Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, Indiana University, Bloomington, IN, USA
| | - Andrew J Saykin
- Indiana Alzheimer's Disease Research Center, Indiana University School of Medicine, Indianapolis, IN, USA; Center for Neuroimaging, Department of Radiology and Imaging Sciences, Indiana University School of Medicine, Indianapolis, IN, USA; Stark Neurosciences Research Institute, Indiana University School of Medicine, Indianapolis, IN, USA; Indiana University Network Science Institute, Bloomington, IN, USA.
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9
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Hahn L, Eickhoff SB, Mueller K, Schilbach L, Barthel H, Fassbender K, Fliessbach K, Kornhuber J, Prudlo J, Synofzik M, Wiltfang J, Diehl-Schmid J, Otto M, Dukart J, Schroeter ML. Resting-state alterations in behavioral variant frontotemporal dementia are related to the distribution of monoamine and GABA neurotransmitter systems. eLife 2024; 13:e86085. [PMID: 38224473 PMCID: PMC10789488 DOI: 10.7554/elife.86085] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/10/2023] [Accepted: 12/14/2023] [Indexed: 01/16/2024] Open
Abstract
Background Aside to clinical changes, behavioral variant frontotemporal dementia (bvFTD) is characterized by progressive structural and functional alterations in frontal and temporal regions. We examined if there is a selective vulnerability of specific neurotransmitter systems in bvFTD by evaluating the link between disease-related functional alterations and the spatial distribution of specific neurotransmitter systems and their underlying gene expression levels. Methods Maps of fractional amplitude of low-frequency fluctuations (fALFF) were derived as a measure of local activity from resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging for 52 bvFTD patients (mean age = 61.5 ± 10.0 years; 14 females) and 22 healthy controls (HC) (mean age = 63.6 ± 11.9 years; 13 females). We tested if alterations of fALFF in patients co-localize with the non-pathological distribution of specific neurotransmitter systems and their coding mRNA gene expression. Furthermore, we evaluated if the strength of co-localization is associated with the observed clinical symptoms. Results Patients displayed significantly reduced fALFF in frontotemporal and frontoparietal regions. These alterations co-localized with the distribution of serotonin (5-HT1b and 5-HT2a) and γ-aminobutyric acid type A (GABAa) receptors, the norepinephrine transporter (NET), and their encoding mRNA gene expression. The strength of co-localization with NET was associated with cognitive symptoms and disease severity of bvFTD. Conclusions Local brain functional activity reductions in bvFTD followed the distribution of specific neurotransmitter systems indicating a selective vulnerability. These findings provide novel insight into the disease mechanisms underlying functional alterations. Our data-driven method opens the road to generate new hypotheses for pharmacological interventions in neurodegenerative diseases even beyond bvFTD. Funding This study has been supported by the German Consortium for Frontotemporal Lobar Degeneration, funded by the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF; grant no. FKZ01GI1007A).
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Affiliation(s)
- Lisa Hahn
- Institute of Neuroscience and Medicine, Brain & Behaviour (INM-7), Research Centre JülichJülichGermany
- Institute of Systems Neuroscience, Medical Faculty, Heinrich Heine University DüsseldorfDüsseldorfGermany
| | - Simon B Eickhoff
- Institute of Neuroscience and Medicine, Brain & Behaviour (INM-7), Research Centre JülichJülichGermany
- Institute of Systems Neuroscience, Medical Faculty, Heinrich Heine University DüsseldorfDüsseldorfGermany
| | - Karsten Mueller
- Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain SciencesLeipzigGermany
| | - Leonhard Schilbach
- LVR-Klinikum DüsseldorfDüsseldorfGermany
- Medical Faculty, Ludwig-Maximilians-UniversitätMünchenGermany
| | - Henryk Barthel
- Department for Nuclear Medicine, University Hospital LeipzigLeipzigGermany
| | - Klaus Fassbender
- Department of Neurology, Saarland University HospitalHomburgGermany
| | - Klaus Fliessbach
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, University Hospital BonnBonnGermany
- German Center for Neurodegenerative Diseases (DZNE)BonnGermany
| | - Johannes Kornhuber
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, University Hospital Erlangen, Friedrich-Alexander-University Erlangen-NurembergErlangenGermany
| | - Johannes Prudlo
- German Center for Neurodegenerative Diseases (DZNE)BonnGermany
- Department of Neurology, University Medicine RostockRostockGermany
| | - Matthis Synofzik
- German Center for Neurodegenerative Diseases (DZNE)BonnGermany
- Department of Neurodegenerative Diseases, Center of Neurology, Hertie Institute for Clinical Brain ResearchTübingenGermany
| | - Jens Wiltfang
- German Center for Neurodegenerative Diseases (DZNE)BonnGermany
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, University Medical Center Göttingen (UMG), Medical University GöttingenGöttingenGermany
- Neurosciences and Signaling Group, Institute of Biomedicine (iBiMED), Department of Medical Sciences, University of AveiroAveiroPortugal
| | - Janine Diehl-Schmid
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Technical University of MunichMunichGermany
- kbo-Inn-Salzach-Klinikum, Clinical Center for Psychiatry, Psychotherapy, Psychosomatic Medicine, Geriatrics and NeurologyWasserburg/InnGermany
| | | | - Markus Otto
- Department of Neurology, Ulm UniversityUlmGermany
- Department of Neurology, Martin-Luther-University Halle-WittenbergHalleGermany
| | - Juergen Dukart
- Institute of Neuroscience and Medicine, Brain & Behaviour (INM-7), Research Centre JülichJülichGermany
- Institute of Systems Neuroscience, Medical Faculty, Heinrich Heine University DüsseldorfDüsseldorfGermany
| | - Matthias L Schroeter
- Department of Neurology, Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain SciencesLeipzigGermany
- Clinic for Cognitive Neurology, University Hospital LeipzigLeipzigGermany
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10
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Zhang N, Yan Z, Xin H, Shao S, Xue S, Cespuglio R, Wang S. Relationship among α‑synuclein, aging and inflammation in Parkinson's disease (Review). Exp Ther Med 2024; 27:23. [PMID: 38125364 PMCID: PMC10728906 DOI: 10.3892/etm.2023.12311] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/25/2023] [Accepted: 10/19/2023] [Indexed: 12/23/2023] Open
Abstract
Parkinson's disease (PD) is a common neurodegenerative pathology whose major clinical symptoms are movement disorders. The main pathological characteristics of PD are the selective death of dopaminergic (DA) neurons in the pars compacta of the substantia nigra and the presence of Lewy bodies containing α-synuclein (α-Syn) within these neurons. PD is associated with numerous risk factors, including environmental factors, genetic mutations and aging. In many cases, the complex interplay of numerous risk factors leads to the onset of PD. The mutated α-Syn gene, which expresses pathologicalα-Syn protein, can cause PD. Another important feature of PD is neuroinflammation, which is conducive to neuronal death. α-Syn is able to interact with certain cell types in the brain, including through phagocytosis and degradation of α-Syn by glial cells, activation of inflammatory pathways by α-Syn in glial cells, transmission of α-Syn between glial cells and neurons, and interactions between peripheral immune cells and α-Syn. In addition to the aforementioned risk factors, PD may also be associated with aging, as the prevalence of PD increases with advancing age. The aging process impairs the cellular clearance mechanism, which leads to chronic inflammation and the accumulation of intracellular α-Syn, which results in DA neuronal death. In the present review, the age-associated α-Syn pathogenicity and the interactions between α-Syn and certain types of cells within the brain are discussed to facilitate understanding of the mechanisms of PD pathogenesis, which may potentially provide insight for the future clinical treatment of PD.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nianping Zhang
- Postdoctoral Mobile Station, Shandong University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Jinan, Shandong 250355, P.R. China
- Experimental Center, Shandong University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Jinan, Shandong 250355, P.R. China
| | - Zhaoli Yan
- Department of Neurosurgery, Affiliated Hospital of Shandong University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Jinan, Shandong 250014, P.R. China
| | - Hua Xin
- Department of Neurology, People's Hospital of Rizhao, Rizhao, Shandong 276800, P.R. China
| | - Shuai Shao
- Department of Reproductive Medicine, Jingmen People's Hospital, Jingmen, Hubei 448000, P.R. China
| | - Song Xue
- Experimental Center, Shandong University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Jinan, Shandong 250355, P.R. China
| | - Raymond Cespuglio
- Neuroscience Research Center of Lyon (CNRL), Claude-Bernard Lyon-1 University, 69500 Lyon, France
| | - Shijun Wang
- Department of Pathology, College of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Shandong University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Jinan, Shandong 250355, P.R. China
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11
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Tsuboguchi S, Nakamura Y, Ishihara T, Kato T, Sato T, Koyama A, Mori H, Koike Y, Onodera O, Ueno M. TDP-43 differentially propagates to induce antero- and retrograde degeneration in the corticospinal circuits in mouse focal ALS models. Acta Neuropathol 2023; 146:611-629. [PMID: 37555859 DOI: 10.1007/s00401-023-02615-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/18/2023] [Revised: 06/22/2023] [Accepted: 07/15/2023] [Indexed: 08/10/2023]
Abstract
Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is a progressive neurodegenerative disease characterized by TDP-43 inclusions in the cortical and spinal motor neurons. It remains unknown whether and how pathogenic TDP-43 spreads across neural connections to progress degenerative processes in the cortico-spinal motor circuitry. Here we established novel mouse ALS models that initially induced mutant TDP-43 inclusions in specific neuronal or cell types in the motor circuits, and investigated whether TDP-43 and relevant pathological processes spread across neuronal or cellular connections. We first developed ALS models that primarily induced TDP-43 inclusions in the corticospinal neurons, spinal motor neurons, or forelimb skeletal muscle, by using adeno-associated virus (AAV) expressing mutant TDP-43. We found that TDP-43 induced in the corticospinal neurons was transported along the axons anterogradely and transferred to the oligodendrocytes along the corticospinal tract (CST), coinciding with mild axon degeneration. In contrast, TDP-43 introduced in the spinal motor neurons did not spread retrogradely to the cortical or spinal neurons; however, it induced an extreme loss of spinal motor neurons and subsequent degeneration of neighboring spinal neurons, suggesting a degenerative propagation in a retrograde manner in the spinal cord. The intraspinal degeneration further led to severe muscle atrophy. Finally, TDP-43 induced in the skeletal muscle did not propagate pathological events to spinal neurons retrogradely. Our data revealed that mutant TDP-43 spread across neuro-glial connections anterogradely in the corticospinal pathway, whereas it exhibited different retrograde degenerative properties in the spinal circuits. This suggests that pathogenic TDP-43 may induce distinct antero- and retrograde mechanisms of degeneration in the motor system in ALS.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shintaro Tsuboguchi
- Department of Neurology, Brain Research Institute, Niigata University, Niigata, Niigata, 951-8585, Japan
| | - Yuka Nakamura
- Department of System Pathology for Neurological Disorders, Brain Research Institute, Niigata University, Niigata, Japan
| | - Tomohiko Ishihara
- Department of Neurology, Brain Research Institute, Niigata University, Niigata, Niigata, 951-8585, Japan
| | - Taisuke Kato
- Department of Molecular Neuroscience, Brain Research Institute, Niigata University, Niigata, Japan
| | - Tokiharu Sato
- Department of System Pathology for Neurological Disorders, Brain Research Institute, Niigata University, Niigata, Japan
| | - Akihide Koyama
- Division of Legal Medicine, Graduate School of Medicine and Dental Sciences, Niigata University, Niigata, Japan
| | - Hideki Mori
- Department of Neurology, Brain Research Institute, Niigata University, Niigata, Niigata, 951-8585, Japan
| | - Yuka Koike
- Department of Neurology, Brain Research Institute, Niigata University, Niigata, Niigata, 951-8585, Japan
| | - Osamu Onodera
- Department of Neurology, Brain Research Institute, Niigata University, Niigata, Niigata, 951-8585, Japan.
- Department of Molecular Neuroscience, Brain Research Institute, Niigata University, Niigata, Japan.
| | - Masaki Ueno
- Department of System Pathology for Neurological Disorders, Brain Research Institute, Niigata University, Niigata, Japan.
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12
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Vogel JW, Corriveau-Lecavalier N, Franzmeier N, Pereira JB, Brown JA, Maass A, Botha H, Seeley WW, Bassett DS, Jones DT, Ewers M. Connectome-based modelling of neurodegenerative diseases: towards precision medicine and mechanistic insight. Nat Rev Neurosci 2023; 24:620-639. [PMID: 37620599 DOI: 10.1038/s41583-023-00731-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 07/26/2023] [Indexed: 08/26/2023]
Abstract
Neurodegenerative diseases are the most common cause of dementia. Although their underlying molecular pathologies have been identified, there is substantial heterogeneity in the patterns of progressive brain alterations across and within these diseases. Recent advances in neuroimaging methods have revealed that pathological proteins accumulate along specific macroscale brain networks, implicating the network architecture of the brain in the system-level pathophysiology of neurodegenerative diseases. However, the extent to which 'network-based neurodegeneration' applies across the wide range of neurodegenerative disorders remains unclear. Here, we discuss the state-of-the-art of neuroimaging-based connectomics for the mapping and prediction of neurodegenerative processes. We review findings supporting brain networks as passive conduits through which pathological proteins spread. As an alternative view, we also discuss complementary work suggesting that network alterations actively modulate the spreading of pathological proteins between connected brain regions. We conclude this Perspective by proposing an integrative framework in which connectome-based models can be advanced along three dimensions of innovation: incorporating parameters that modulate propagation behaviour on the basis of measurable biological features; building patient-tailored models that use individual-level information and allowing model parameters to interact dynamically over time. We discuss promises and pitfalls of these strategies for improving disease insights and moving towards precision medicine.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jacob W Vogel
- Department of Clinical Sciences, SciLifeLab, Lund University, Lund, Sweden.
| | - Nick Corriveau-Lecavalier
- Department of Neurology, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN, USA
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychology, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN, USA
| | - Nicolai Franzmeier
- Institute for Stroke and Dementia Research (ISD), University Hospital, LMU Munich, Munich, Germany
- Munich Cluster for Systems Neurology (SyNergy), Munich, Germany
- Department of Psychiatry and Neurochemistry, Institute of Neuroscience and Physiology, The Sahlgrenska Acadamy, University of Gothenburg, Mölndal and Gothenburg, Sweden
| | - Joana B Pereira
- Clinical Memory Research Unit, Department of Clinical Sciences, Lund University, Malmö, Sweden
- Neuro Division, Department of Clinical Neurosciences, Karolinska Institute, Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Jesse A Brown
- Memory and Aging Center, Department of Neurology, University of California, San Francisco, CA, USA
| | - Anne Maass
- German Center for Neurodegenerative Diseases (DZNE), Magdeburg, Germany
| | - Hugo Botha
- Department of Neurology, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN, USA
| | - William W Seeley
- Memory and Aging Center, Department of Neurology, University of California, San Francisco, CA, USA
- Department of Pathology, University of California, San Francisco, CA, USA
| | - Dani S Bassett
- Departments of Bioengineering, Electrical and Systems Engineering, Physics and Astronomy, Neurology and Psychiatry, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA
- Santa Fe Institute, Santa Fe, NM, USA
| | - David T Jones
- Department of Neurology, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN, USA
- Department of Radiology, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN, USA
| | - Michael Ewers
- Institute for Stroke and Dementia Research (ISD), University Hospital, LMU Munich, Munich, Germany.
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13
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Rodrigues S, Anglada-Huguet M, Hochgräfe K, Kaniyappan S, Wegmann S, Mandelkow EM. Spreading of Tau Protein Does Not Depend on Aggregation Propensity. J Mol Neurosci 2023; 73:693-712. [PMID: 37606769 PMCID: PMC10694122 DOI: 10.1007/s12031-023-02143-w] [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: 05/26/2023] [Accepted: 07/10/2023] [Indexed: 08/23/2023]
Abstract
The stereotypical progression of Tau pathology during Alzheimer disease has been attributed to trans-neuronal spreading of misfolded Tau proteins, followed by prion-like templated aggregation of Tau. The nature of Tau and the cellular mechanisms of Tau spreading are still under debate. We hypothesized that Tau's propensity for aggregation would correlate with its ability to spread across synapses and propagate pathology. To study the progressive propagation of Tau proteins in brain regions relevant for Alzheimer disease, we used mice expressing near-physiological levels of full-length human Tau protein carrying pro-aggregant (TauΔK280, TauΔK) or anti-aggregant (TauΔK280-PP, TauΔK-PP) mutations in the entorhinal cortex (EC). To enhance Tau expression in the EC, we performed EC injections of adeno-associated virus (AAV) particles encoding TauΔK or TauΔK-PP. The brains of injected and non-injected EC/TauΔK and EC/TauΔK-PP mice were studied by immunohistological and biochemical techniques to detect Tau propagation to dentate gyrus (DG) neurons and Tau-induced pathological changes. Pro- and anti-aggregant mice had comparable low transgene expression (~0.2 times endogenous mouse Tau). They accumulated human Tau at similar rates and only in expressing EC neurons, including their axonal projections of the perforant path and presynaptic terminals in the molecular layer of the DG. Pro-aggregant EC/TauΔK mice showed misfolded Tau and synaptic protein alterations in EC neurons, not observed in anti-aggregant EC/TauΔK-PP mice. Additional AAV-mediated expression of TauΔK or TauΔK-PP in EC/TauΔK or EC/TauΔK-PP mice, respectively, increased the human Tau expression to ~0.65 times endogenous mouse Tau, with comparable spreading of TauΔK and TauΔK-PP throughout the EC. There was a low level of transcellular propagation of Tau protein, without pathological phosphorylation or misfolding, as judged by diagnostic antibodies. Additionally, TauΔK but not TauΔK-PP expression induced hippocampal astrogliosis. Low levels of pro- or anti-aggregant full-length Tau show equivalent distributions in EC neurons, independent of their aggregation propensity. Increasing the expression via AAV induce local Tau misfolding in the EC neurons, synaptotoxicity, and astrogliosis and lead to a low level of detectable trans-neuronal spreading of Tau. This depends on its concentration in the EC, but, contrary to expectations, does not depend on Tau's aggregation propensity/misfolding and does not lead to templated misfolding in recipient neurons.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sara Rodrigues
- DZNE, German Ctr. for Neurodegenerative Diseases, Venusberg-Campus 1/99, 53127, Bonn, Germany
| | - Marta Anglada-Huguet
- DZNE, German Ctr. for Neurodegenerative Diseases, Venusberg-Campus 1/99, 53127, Bonn, Germany
| | - Katja Hochgräfe
- DZNE, German Ctr. for Neurodegenerative Diseases, Venusberg-Campus 1/99, 53127, Bonn, Germany
| | - Senthilvelrajan Kaniyappan
- DZNE, German Ctr. for Neurodegenerative Diseases, Venusberg-Campus 1/99, 53127, Bonn, Germany
- CAESAR Research Center, Ludwig-Erhard-Allee 2, 53175, Bonn, Germany
- Department of Neurodegenerative Diseases and Gerontopsychiatry, University of Bonn Medical School, Bonn, Germany
| | - Susanne Wegmann
- DZNE, German Center for Neurodegenerative Diseases, Chariteplatz 1, 10117, Berlin, Germany
| | - Eva-Maria Mandelkow
- DZNE, German Ctr. for Neurodegenerative Diseases, Venusberg-Campus 1/99, 53127, Bonn, Germany.
- CAESAR Research Center, Ludwig-Erhard-Allee 2, 53175, Bonn, Germany.
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14
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Forrest SL, Lee S, Nassir N, Martinez-Valbuena I, Sackmann V, Li J, Ahmed A, Tartaglia MC, Ittner LM, Lang AE, Uddin M, Kovacs GG. Cell-specific MAPT gene expression is preserved in neuronal and glial tau cytopathologies in progressive supranuclear palsy. Acta Neuropathol 2023; 146:395-414. [PMID: 37354322 PMCID: PMC10412651 DOI: 10.1007/s00401-023-02604-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/07/2023] [Revised: 06/11/2023] [Accepted: 06/16/2023] [Indexed: 06/26/2023]
Abstract
Microtubule-associated protein tau (MAPT) aggregates in neurons, astrocytes and oligodendrocytes in a number of neurodegenerative diseases, including progressive supranuclear palsy (PSP). Tau is a target of therapy and the strategy includes either the elimination of pathological tau aggregates or reducing MAPT expression, and thus the amount of tau protein made to prevent its aggregation. Disease-associated tau affects brain regions in a sequential manner that includes cell-to-cell spreading. Involvement of glial cells that show tau aggregates is interpreted as glial cells taking up misfolded tau assuming that glial cells do not express enough MAPT. Although studies have evaluated MAPT expression in human brain tissue homogenates, it is not clear whether MAPT expression is compromised in cells accumulating pathological tau. To address these perplexing aspects of disease pathogenesis, this study used RNAscope combined with immunofluorescence (AT8), and single-nuclear(sn) RNAseq to systematically map and quantify MAPT expression dynamics across different cell types and brain regions in controls (n = 3) and evaluated whether tau cytopathology affects MAPT expression in PSP (n = 3). MAPT transcripts were detected in neurons, astrocytes and oligodendrocytes, and varied between brain regions and within each cell type, and were preserved in all cell types with tau aggregates in PSP. These results propose a complex scenario in all cell types, where, in addition to the ingested misfolded tau, the preserved cellular MAPT expression provides a pool for local protein production that can (1) be phosphorylated and aggregated, or (2) feed the seeding of ingested misfolded tau by providing physiological tau, both accentuating the pathological process. Since tau cytopathology does not compromise MAPT gene expression in PSP, a complete loss of tau protein expression as an early pathogenic component is less likely. These observations provide rationale for a dual approach to therapy by decreasing cellular MAPT expression and targeting removal of misfolded tau.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shelley L Forrest
- Tanz Centre for Research in Neurodegenerative Disease (CRND), University of Toronto, Krembil Discovery Tower, 60 Leonard Ave, Toronto, ON, M5T 0S8, Canada
- Dementia Research Centre, Macquarie Medical School, Faculty of Medicine, Health and Human Sciences, Macquarie University, Sydney, Australia
- Laboratory Medicine Program and Krembil Brain Institute, University Health Network, Toronto, ON, Canada
| | - Seojin Lee
- Tanz Centre for Research in Neurodegenerative Disease (CRND), University of Toronto, Krembil Discovery Tower, 60 Leonard Ave, Toronto, ON, M5T 0S8, Canada
| | - Nasna Nassir
- College of Medicine, Mohammed Bin Rashid University of Medicine and Health Sciences, Dubai, UAE
| | - Ivan Martinez-Valbuena
- Tanz Centre for Research in Neurodegenerative Disease (CRND), University of Toronto, Krembil Discovery Tower, 60 Leonard Ave, Toronto, ON, M5T 0S8, Canada
| | - Valerie Sackmann
- Tanz Centre for Research in Neurodegenerative Disease (CRND), University of Toronto, Krembil Discovery Tower, 60 Leonard Ave, Toronto, ON, M5T 0S8, Canada
| | - Jun Li
- Tanz Centre for Research in Neurodegenerative Disease (CRND), University of Toronto, Krembil Discovery Tower, 60 Leonard Ave, Toronto, ON, M5T 0S8, Canada
| | - Awab Ahmed
- College of Medicine, Mohammed Bin Rashid University of Medicine and Health Sciences, Dubai, UAE
| | - Maria Carmela Tartaglia
- Tanz Centre for Research in Neurodegenerative Disease (CRND), University of Toronto, Krembil Discovery Tower, 60 Leonard Ave, Toronto, ON, M5T 0S8, Canada
- University Health Network Memory Clinic, Krembil Brain Institute, Toronto, ON, Canada
| | - Lars M Ittner
- Dementia Research Centre, Macquarie Medical School, Faculty of Medicine, Health and Human Sciences, Macquarie University, Sydney, Australia
| | - Anthony E Lang
- Edmond J. Safra Program in Parkinson's Disease, Rossy PSP Centre and the Morton and Gloria Shulman Movement Disorders Clinic, Toronto Western Hospital, Toronto, ON, Canada
| | - Mohammed Uddin
- College of Medicine, Mohammed Bin Rashid University of Medicine and Health Sciences, Dubai, UAE
- Cellular Intelligence (Ci) Lab, GenomeArc Inc., Toronto, ON, Canada
| | - Gabor G Kovacs
- Tanz Centre for Research in Neurodegenerative Disease (CRND), University of Toronto, Krembil Discovery Tower, 60 Leonard Ave, Toronto, ON, M5T 0S8, Canada.
- Dementia Research Centre, Macquarie Medical School, Faculty of Medicine, Health and Human Sciences, Macquarie University, Sydney, Australia.
- Laboratory Medicine Program and Krembil Brain Institute, University Health Network, Toronto, ON, Canada.
- Edmond J. Safra Program in Parkinson's Disease, Rossy PSP Centre and the Morton and Gloria Shulman Movement Disorders Clinic, Toronto Western Hospital, Toronto, ON, Canada.
- Department of Laboratory Medicine and Pathobiology and Department of Medicine, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada.
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15
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Murvai N, Gellen G, Micsonai A, Schlosser G, Kardos J. Cross-Linked α-Synuclein as Inhibitor of Amyloid Formation. Int J Mol Sci 2023; 24:13403. [PMID: 37686208 PMCID: PMC10487470 DOI: 10.3390/ijms241713403] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/11/2023] [Revised: 08/23/2023] [Accepted: 08/25/2023] [Indexed: 09/10/2023] Open
Abstract
The aggregation and amyloid formation of α-synuclein is associated with Parkinson's disease and other synucleinopathies. In its native, monomeric form α-synuclein is an intrinsically disordered protein represented by highly dynamic conformational ensembles. Inhibition of α-synuclein aggregation using small molecules, peptides, or proteins has been at the center of interest in recent years. Our aim was to explore the effects of cross-linking on the structure and aggregation/amyloid formation properties of α-synuclein. Comparative analysis of available high-resolution amyloid structures and representative structural models and MD trajectory of monomeric α-synuclein revealed that potential cross-links in the monomeric protein are mostly incompatible with the amyloid forms and thus might inhibit fibrillation. Monomeric α-synuclein has been intramolecularly chemically cross-linked under various conditions using different cross-linkers. We determined the location of cross-links and their frequency using mass spectrometry and found that most of them cannot be realized in the amyloid structures. The inhibitory potential of cross-linked proteins has been experimentally investigated using various methods, including thioflavin-T fluorescence and transmission electron microscopy. We found that conformational constraints applied by cross-linking fully blocked α-synuclein amyloid formation. Moreover, DTSSP-cross-linked molecules exhibited an inhibitory effect on the aggregation of unmodified α-synuclein as well.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nikoletta Murvai
- Department of Biochemistry, Institute of Biology, ELTE Eötvös Loránd University, H-1117 Budapest, Hungary
- ELTE—Functional Nucleic Acid Motifs Research Group, Department of Biochemistry, Institute of Biology, ELTE Eötvös Loránd University, H-1117 Budapest, Hungary
| | - Gabriella Gellen
- MTA-ELTE Lendület Ion Mobility Mass Spectrometry Research Group, Department of Analytical Chemistry, Institute of Chemistry, ELTE Eötvös Loránd University, H-1117 Budapest, Hungary
- Doctoral School of Molecular Cell and Immune Biology, University of Debrecen, Egyetem tér 1, H-4032 Debrecen, Hungary
- Department of Biophysics and Cell Biology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Debrecen, Egyetem tér 1, H-4032 Debrecen, Hungary
| | - András Micsonai
- Department of Biochemistry, Institute of Biology, ELTE Eötvös Loránd University, H-1117 Budapest, Hungary
- ELTE—Functional Nucleic Acid Motifs Research Group, Department of Biochemistry, Institute of Biology, ELTE Eötvös Loránd University, H-1117 Budapest, Hungary
- ELTE NAP Neuroimmunology Research Group, Department of Biochemistry, Institute of Biology, ELTE Eötvös Loránd University, H-1117 Budapest, Hungary
| | - Gitta Schlosser
- MTA-ELTE Lendület Ion Mobility Mass Spectrometry Research Group, Department of Analytical Chemistry, Institute of Chemistry, ELTE Eötvös Loránd University, H-1117 Budapest, Hungary
| | - József Kardos
- Department of Biochemistry, Institute of Biology, ELTE Eötvös Loránd University, H-1117 Budapest, Hungary
- ELTE NAP Neuroimmunology Research Group, Department of Biochemistry, Institute of Biology, ELTE Eötvös Loránd University, H-1117 Budapest, Hungary
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16
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Yu M, Risacher SL, Nho KT, Wen Q, Oblak AL, Unverzagt FW, Apostolova LG, Farlow MR, Brosch JR, Clark DG, Wang S, Deardorff R, Wu YC, Gao S, Sporns O, Saykin AJ. Spatial transcriptomic patterns underlying regional vulnerability to amyloid-β and tau pathologies and their relationships to cognitive dysfunction in Alzheimer's disease. MEDRXIV : THE PREPRINT SERVER FOR HEALTH SCIENCES 2023:2023.08.12.23294017. [PMID: 37645867 PMCID: PMC10462206 DOI: 10.1101/2023.08.12.23294017] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 08/31/2023]
Abstract
Amyloid-β (Aβ) and tau proteins accumulate within distinct neuronal systems in Alzheimer's disease (AD). Although it is not clear why certain brain regions are more vulnerable to Aβ and tau pathologies than others, gene expression may play a role. We studied the association between brain-wide gene expression profiles and regional vulnerability to Aβ (gene-to-Aβ associations) and tau (gene-to-tau associations) pathologies leveraging two large independent cohorts (n = 715) of participants along the AD continuum. We identified several AD susceptibility genes and gene modules in a gene co-expression network with expression profiles related to regional vulnerability to Aβ and tau pathologies in AD. In particular, we found that the positive APOE -to-tau association was only seen in the AD cohort, whereas patients with AD and frontotemporal dementia shared similar positive MAPT -to-tau association. Some AD candidate genes showed sex-dependent negative gene-to-Aβ and gene-to-tau associations. In addition, we identified distinct biochemical pathways associated with the gene-to-Aβ and the gene-to-tau associations. Finally, we proposed a novel analytic framework, linking the identified gene-to-pathology associations to cognitive dysfunction in AD at the individual level, suggesting potential clinical implication of the gene-to-pathology associations. Taken together, our study identified distinct gene expression profiles and biochemical pathways that may explain the discordance between regional Aβ and tau pathologies, and filled the gap between gene-to-pathology associations and cognitive dysfunction in individual AD patients that may ultimately help identify novel personalized pathogenetic biomarkers and therapeutic targets. One Sentence Summary We identified replicable cognition-related associations between regional gene expression profiles and selectively regional vulnerability to amyloid-β and tau pathologies in AD.
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17
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Cheng J, Zheng H, Liu C, Jin J, Xing Z, Wu Y. Age-Associated UBE2O Reduction Promotes Neuronal Death in Alzheimer's Disease. J Alzheimers Dis 2023:JAD221143. [PMID: 37182872 DOI: 10.3233/jad-221143] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/16/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Alzheimer's disease (AD) is the most common neurodegenerative disease leading to dementia in the elderly. Ubiquitin proteasome system (UPS) is critical for protein homeostasis, while the functional decline of UPS with age contributes to the pathogenesis of AD. Ubiquitin-conjugating enzyme E2O (UBE2O), an E2-E3 hybrid enzyme, is a major component of UPS. However, its role in AD pathogenesis has not been fully defined. OBJECTIVE We aimed to identify the age-associated expression of UBE2O and its role AD pathogenesis. METHODS Western blot analysis were used to assess expression of UBE2O in organs/tissues and cell lines. Immunofluorescence staining was performed to examine the cellular distribution of UBE2O. Neuronal death was determined by the activity of lactate dehydrogenase. RESULTS UBE2O is highly expressed in the cortex and hippocampus. It is predominantly expressed in neurons but not in glial cells. The peak expression of UBE2O is at postnatal day 17 and 14 in the cortex and hippocampus, respectively. Moreover its expression is gradually reduced with age. Importantly, UBE2O is significantly reduced in both cortex and hippocampus of AD mice. Consistently, overexpression of amyloid-β protein precursor (AβPP) with a pathogenic mutation (AβPPswe) for AD reduces the expression of UBE2O and promotes neuronal death, while increased expression of UBE2O rescues AβPPswe-induced neuronal death. CONCLUSION Our study indicates that age-associated reduction of UBE2O may facilitates neuronal death in AD, while increasing UBE2O expression or activity may be a potential approach for AD treatment by inhibiting neuronal death.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jing Cheng
- Cheeloo College of Medicine, Shandong University, Jinan, China
- Shandong Key Laboratory of Behavioral Medicine, School of Mental Health, Jining Medical University, Jining, China
| | - Huancheng Zheng
- Cheeloo College of Medicine, Shandong University, Jinan, China
- Shandong Key Laboratory of Behavioral Medicine, School of Mental Health, Jining Medical University, Jining, China
| | - Chenyu Liu
- Zhejiang Provincial Clinical Research Center for Mental Disorders, Alberta Institute, School of Mental Health and The Affiliated Kangning Hospital, Key Laboratory of Alzheimer's Disease of Zhejiang Province, Wenzhou Medical University, Oujiang Laboratory Zhejiang Lab for Regenerative Medicine, Vision and Brain Health, Wenzhou, Zhejiang, China
| | - Jiabin Jin
- Zhejiang Provincial Clinical Research Center for Mental Disorders, School of Mental Health and The Affiliated Wenzhou Kangning Hospital, Key Laboratory of Alzheimer's Disease of Zhejiang Province, Wenzhou Medical University, Oujiang Laboratory Zhejiang Lab for Regenerative Medicine, Vision and Brain Health, Wenzhou, Zhejiang, China
| | - Zhenkai Xing
- Shandong Key Laboratory of Behavioral Medicine, School of Mental Health, Jining Medical University, Jining, China
| | - Yili Wu
- Zhejiang Provincial Clinical Research Center for Mental Disorders, School of Mental Health and The Affiliated Wenzhou Kangning Hospital, Key Laboratory of Alzheimer's Disease of Zhejiang Province, Wenzhou Medical University, Oujiang Laboratory Zhejiang Lab for Regenerative Medicine, Vision and Brain Health, Wenzhou, Zhejiang, China
- Shandong Collaborative Innovation Center for Diagnosis, Treatment & Behavioral Interventions of Mental Disorders, Institute of Mental Health, Jining Medical University, Jining, China
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18
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Abbate C. The Adult Neurogenesis Theory of Alzheimer's Disease. J Alzheimers Dis 2023:JAD221279. [PMID: 37182879 DOI: 10.3233/jad-221279] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/16/2023]
Abstract
Alzheimer's disease starts in neural stem cells (NSCs) in the niches of adult neurogenesis. All primary factors responsible for pathological tau hyperphosphorylation are inherent to adult neurogenesis and migration. However, when amyloid pathology is present, it strongly amplifies tau pathogenesis. Indeed, the progressive accumulation of extracellular amyloid-β deposits in the brain triggers a state of chronic inflammation by microglia. Microglial activation has a significant pro-neurogenic effect that fosters the process of adult neurogenesis and supports neuronal migration. Unfortunately, this "reactive" pro-neurogenic activity ultimately perturbs homeostatic equilibrium in the niches of adult neurogenesis by amplifying tau pathogenesis in AD. This scenario involves NSCs in the subgranular zone of the hippocampal dentate gyrus in late-onset AD (LOAD) and NSCs in the ventricular-subventricular zone along the lateral ventricles in early-onset AD (EOAD), including familial AD (FAD). Neuroblasts carrying the initial seed of tau pathology travel throughout the brain via neuronal migration driven by complex signals and convey the disease from the niches of adult neurogenesis to near (LOAD) or distant (EOAD) brain regions. In these locations, or in close proximity, a focus of degeneration begins to develop. Then, tau pathology spreads from the initial foci to large neuronal networks along neural connections through neuron-to-neuron transmission.
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Affiliation(s)
- Carlo Abbate
- IRCCS Fondazione Don Carlo Gnocchi ONLUS, Milan, Italy
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19
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Bye LJ, Finol-Urdaneta RK, Tae HS, Adams DJ. Nicotinic acetylcholine receptors: Key targets for attenuating neurodegenerative diseases. Int J Biochem Cell Biol 2023; 157:106387. [PMID: 36754161 DOI: 10.1016/j.biocel.2023.106387] [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: 12/18/2022] [Revised: 02/02/2023] [Accepted: 02/03/2023] [Indexed: 02/08/2023]
Abstract
Nicotinic acetylcholine receptors (nAChRs) are master regulators of immune functions via the cholinergic anti-inflammatory pathway and are expressed in microglia, the brain's resident immune cells. There is an extensive dialogue between the neurons and the glial cells around them from which microglia are tasked with monitoring, nurturing, and defending their microenvironment. Dysregulation of any of these processes can have devastating and long-lasting consequences involving microglia-mediated neuroinflammation associated with neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease, and Huntington's disease, amongst others. Disease-associated microglia acquire a distinguishing phenotype that emphasizes scavenging and defence functions while nurturing and repairing functions become muted. Attempts to resolve this critical imbalance remain a key focus of research. Furthermore, cholinergic modulation of neuroinflammation represents a promising avenue for treatment.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lydia J Bye
- Illawarra Health and Medical Research Institute (IHMRI), Faculty of Science, Medicine and Health, University of Wollongong, NSW 2522 Australia
| | - Rocio K Finol-Urdaneta
- Illawarra Health and Medical Research Institute (IHMRI), Faculty of Science, Medicine and Health, University of Wollongong, NSW 2522 Australia
| | - Han-Shen Tae
- Illawarra Health and Medical Research Institute (IHMRI), Faculty of Science, Medicine and Health, University of Wollongong, NSW 2522 Australia
| | - David J Adams
- Illawarra Health and Medical Research Institute (IHMRI), Faculty of Science, Medicine and Health, University of Wollongong, NSW 2522 Australia.
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20
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Nabizadeh F, Pirahesh K, Ramezannezhad E. Longitudinal striatal dopamine transporter binding and cerebrospinal fluid alpha-synuclein, amyloid beta, total tau, and phosphorylated tau in Parkinson's disease. Neurol Sci 2023; 44:573-585. [PMID: 36227385 DOI: 10.1007/s10072-022-06440-x] [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: 08/06/2022] [Accepted: 10/02/2022] [Indexed: 11/07/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Previous studies investigated CSF levels of α-synuclein (α-syn), amyloid-β (Aβ1-42), total tau (t-tau), and phosphorylated tau (p-tau) with clinical progression of Parkinson's disease (PD). However, there is limited data on the association between CSF biomarkers and dopamine uptake status in PD. AIM In the current study, we aim to investigate the longitudinal association between striatal dopaminergic neuronal loss assessed by dopamine active transporter single photon emission computerized tomography (DaTSCAN) imaging with CSF α-syn, t-tau, p-tau, and Aβ1-42. METHODS A total of 413 early-stage PD patients and 187 healthy controls (HCs) from the PPMI. Striatal binding ratios (SBRs) of DaTSCAN images in caudate and putamen nuclei were calculated. We investigated the cross-sectional and longitudinal association between CSF biomarkers and dopamine uptake using partial correlation models adjusted for the effect of age, sex, and years of education over 24 months of follow-up. RESULTS The level of CSF α-syn, Aβ1-42, t-tau, and p-tau was significantly higher in HCs compared to PD groups at any time point. We found that higher CSF α-syn was associated with a higher SBR score in the left caudate at baseline (P = 0.038) and after 12 months (P = 0.012) in PD patients. Moreover, SBR scores in the left caudate and CSF Aβ1-42 were positively correlated at baseline (P = 0.021), 12 months (P = 0.006), and 24 months (P = 0.014) in patients with PD. Our findings demonstrated that change in CSF Aβ1-42 was positively correlated with change in SBR score in the left caudate after 24 months in the PD group (P = 0.043). CONCLUSION We found that cross-sectional levels of α-syn and Aβ1-42 could reflect the degree of dopaminergic neuron loss in the left caudate nucleus. Interestingly, longitudinal changes in CSF Aβ1-42 could predict the severity of left caudal dopaminergic neuron loss throughout the disease. This suggested that Aβ pathology might precede dopaminergic loss in striatal nuclei in this case left caudate and subsequently cognitive impairment in PD patients, although future studies are needed to confirm our results and expand the understanding of the pathophysiology of cognitive dysfunction in PD.
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Affiliation(s)
- Fardin Nabizadeh
- Neuroscience Research Group (NRG), Universal Scientific Education and Research Network (USERN), Tehran, Iran. .,School of Medicine, Iran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
| | - Kasra Pirahesh
- School of Medicine, Tehran University of Medical Science, Tehran, Iran
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21
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Konstantoulea K, Guerreiro P, Ramakers M, Louros N, Aubrey LD, Houben B, Michiels E, De Vleeschouwer M, Lampi Y, Ribeiro LF, de Wit J, Xue W, Schymkowitz J, Rousseau F. Heterotypic Amyloid β interactions facilitate amyloid assembly and modify amyloid structure. EMBO J 2022; 41:e108591. [PMID: 34842295 PMCID: PMC8762568 DOI: 10.15252/embj.2021108591] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/28/2021] [Revised: 10/26/2021] [Accepted: 10/29/2021] [Indexed: 01/19/2023] Open
Abstract
It is still unclear why pathological amyloid deposition initiates in specific brain regions or why some cells or tissues are more susceptible than others. Amyloid deposition is determined by the self-assembly of short protein segments called aggregation-prone regions (APRs) that favour cross-β structure. Here, we investigated whether Aβ amyloid assembly can be modified by heterotypic interactions between Aβ APRs and short homologous segments in otherwise unrelated human proteins. Mining existing proteomics data of Aβ plaques from AD patients revealed an enrichment in proteins that harbour such homologous sequences to the Aβ APRs, suggesting heterotypic amyloid interactions may occur in patients. We identified homologous APRs from such proteins and show that they can modify Aβ assembly kinetics, fibril morphology and deposition pattern in vitro. Moreover, we found three of these proteins upon transient expression in an Aβ reporter cell line promote Aβ amyloid aggregation. Strikingly, we did not find a bias towards heterotypic interactions in plaques from AD mouse models where Aβ self-aggregation is observed. Based on these data, we propose that heterotypic APR interactions may play a hitherto unrealized role in amyloid-deposition diseases.
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Affiliation(s)
- Katerina Konstantoulea
- Switch LaboratoryVIB‐KU Leuven Center for Brain and Disease ResearchLeuvenBelgium
- Switch Laboratory, Department of Cellular and Molecular Medicine, KU LeuvenLeuvenBelgium
| | - Patricia Guerreiro
- Switch LaboratoryVIB‐KU Leuven Center for Brain and Disease ResearchLeuvenBelgium
- Switch Laboratory, Department of Cellular and Molecular Medicine, KU LeuvenLeuvenBelgium
| | - Meine Ramakers
- Switch LaboratoryVIB‐KU Leuven Center for Brain and Disease ResearchLeuvenBelgium
- Switch Laboratory, Department of Cellular and Molecular Medicine, KU LeuvenLeuvenBelgium
| | - Nikolaos Louros
- Switch LaboratoryVIB‐KU Leuven Center for Brain and Disease ResearchLeuvenBelgium
- Switch Laboratory, Department of Cellular and Molecular Medicine, KU LeuvenLeuvenBelgium
| | | | - Bert Houben
- Switch LaboratoryVIB‐KU Leuven Center for Brain and Disease ResearchLeuvenBelgium
- Switch Laboratory, Department of Cellular and Molecular Medicine, KU LeuvenLeuvenBelgium
| | - Emiel Michiels
- Switch LaboratoryVIB‐KU Leuven Center for Brain and Disease ResearchLeuvenBelgium
- Switch Laboratory, Department of Cellular and Molecular Medicine, KU LeuvenLeuvenBelgium
| | - Matthias De Vleeschouwer
- Switch LaboratoryVIB‐KU Leuven Center for Brain and Disease ResearchLeuvenBelgium
- Switch Laboratory, Department of Cellular and Molecular Medicine, KU LeuvenLeuvenBelgium
| | - Yulia Lampi
- Switch LaboratoryVIB‐KU Leuven Center for Brain and Disease ResearchLeuvenBelgium
- Switch Laboratory, Department of Cellular and Molecular Medicine, KU LeuvenLeuvenBelgium
| | - Luís F Ribeiro
- VIB Center for Brain & Disease ResearchLeuvenBelgium
- Department of NeurosciencesLeuven Brain InstituteKU LeuvenLeuvenBelgium
| | - Joris de Wit
- VIB Center for Brain & Disease ResearchLeuvenBelgium
| | - Wei‐Feng Xue
- School of BiosciencesUniversity of KentCanterburyUK
| | - Joost Schymkowitz
- Switch LaboratoryVIB‐KU Leuven Center for Brain and Disease ResearchLeuvenBelgium
- Switch Laboratory, Department of Cellular and Molecular Medicine, KU LeuvenLeuvenBelgium
| | - Frederic Rousseau
- Switch LaboratoryVIB‐KU Leuven Center for Brain and Disease ResearchLeuvenBelgium
- Switch Laboratory, Department of Cellular and Molecular Medicine, KU LeuvenLeuvenBelgium
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22
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Herzog R, Rosas FE, Whelan R, Fittipaldi S, Santamaria-Garcia H, Cruzat J, Birba A, Moguilner S, Tagliazucchi E, Prado P, Ibanez A. Genuine high-order interactions in brain networks and neurodegeneration. Neurobiol Dis 2022; 175:105918. [PMID: 36375407 PMCID: PMC11195446 DOI: 10.1016/j.nbd.2022.105918] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/13/2022] [Revised: 10/18/2022] [Accepted: 11/03/2022] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Brain functional networks have been traditionally studied considering only interactions between pairs of regions, neglecting the richer information encoded in higher orders of interactions. In consequence, most of the connectivity studies in neurodegeneration and dementia use standard pairwise metrics. Here, we developed a genuine high-order functional connectivity (HOFC) approach that captures interactions between 3 or more regions across spatiotemporal scales, delivering a more biologically plausible characterization of the pathophysiology of neurodegeneration. We applied HOFC to multimodal (electroencephalography [EEG], and functional magnetic resonance imaging [fMRI]) data from patients diagnosed with behavioral variant of frontotemporal dementia (bvFTD), Alzheimer's disease (AD), and healthy controls. HOFC revealed large effect sizes, which, in comparison to standard pairwise metrics, provided a more accurate and parsimonious characterization of neurodegeneration. The multimodal characterization of neurodegeneration revealed hypo and hyperconnectivity on medium to large-scale brain networks, with a larger contribution of the former. Regions as the amygdala, the insula, and frontal gyrus were associated with both effects, suggesting potential compensatory processes in hub regions. fMRI revealed hypoconnectivity in AD between regions of the default mode, salience, visual, and auditory networks, while in bvFTD between regions of the default mode, salience, and somatomotor networks. EEG revealed hypoconnectivity in the γ band between frontal, limbic, and sensory regions in AD, and in the δ band between frontal, temporal, parietal and posterior areas in bvFTD, suggesting additional pathophysiological processes that fMRI alone can not capture. Classification accuracy was comparable with standard biomarkers and robust against confounders such as sample size, age, education, and motor artifacts (from fMRI and EEG). We conclude that high-order interactions provide a detailed, EEG- and fMRI compatible, biologically plausible, and psychopathological-specific characterization of different neurodegenerative conditions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rubén Herzog
- Latin American Brain Health (BrainLat), Universidad Adolfo Ibáñez, Santiago, Chile; Fundación para el Estudio de la Conciencia Humana (EcoH), Chile
| | - Fernando E Rosas
- Fundación para el Estudio de la Conciencia Humana (EcoH), Chile; Centre for Psychedelic Research, Department of Brain Sciences, Imperial College London, UK; Data Science Institute, Imperial College London, UK; Centre for Complexity Science, Imperial College London, UK; Department of Informatics, University of Sussex, Brighton, UK
| | - Robert Whelan
- Global Brain Health Institute (GBHI), Trinity College Dublin, Dublin 2, Ireland
| | - Sol Fittipaldi
- Latin American Brain Health (BrainLat), Universidad Adolfo Ibáñez, Santiago, Chile; Global Brain Health Institute (GBHI), Trinity College Dublin, Dublin 2, Ireland; Cognitive Neuroscience Center (CNC), Universidad de San Andrés & CONICET, Buenos Aires, Argentina
| | | | - Josephine Cruzat
- Latin American Brain Health (BrainLat), Universidad Adolfo Ibáñez, Santiago, Chile; Fundación para el Estudio de la Conciencia Humana (EcoH), Chile
| | - Agustina Birba
- Cognitive Neuroscience Center (CNC), Universidad de San Andrés & CONICET, Buenos Aires, Argentina
| | - Sebastian Moguilner
- Latin American Brain Health (BrainLat), Universidad Adolfo Ibáñez, Santiago, Chile
| | - Enzo Tagliazucchi
- Latin American Brain Health (BrainLat), Universidad Adolfo Ibáñez, Santiago, Chile; Buenos Aires Physics Institute and Physics Department, University of Buenos Aires, Buenos Aires, Argentina
| | - Pavel Prado
- Latin American Brain Health (BrainLat), Universidad Adolfo Ibáñez, Santiago, Chile.
| | - Agustin Ibanez
- Latin American Brain Health (BrainLat), Universidad Adolfo Ibáñez, Santiago, Chile; Global Brain Health Institute (GBHI), Trinity College Dublin, Dublin 2, Ireland; Cognitive Neuroscience Center (CNC), Universidad de San Andrés & CONICET, Buenos Aires, Argentina; Global Brain Health Institute (GBHI), University of California San Francisco (UCSF), CA, USA.
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23
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Li A, Han X, Deng L, Wang X. Mechanical properties of tunneling nanotube and its mechanical stability in human embryonic kidney cells. Front Cell Dev Biol 2022; 10:955676. [PMID: 36238686 PMCID: PMC9551289 DOI: 10.3389/fcell.2022.955676] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/29/2022] [Accepted: 09/13/2022] [Indexed: 11/28/2022] Open
Abstract
Tunneling nanotubes (TNTs) are thin membrane tubular structures that interconnect physically separated cells. Growing evidence indicates that TNTs play unique roles in various diseases by facilitating intercellular transfer of signaling and organelles, suggesting TNTs as a potential target for disease treatment. The efficiency of TNT-dependent communication is largely determined by the number of TNTs between cells. Though TNTs are physically fragile structures, the mechanical properties of TNTs and the determinants of their mechanical stability are still unclear. Here, using atomic force microscope (AFM) and microfluidic techniques, we investigated the mechanical behavior and abundance of TNTs in human embryonic kidney (HEK293) cells upon the application of forces. AFM measurements demonstrate that TNTs are elastic structures with an apparent spring constant of 79.1 ± 16.2 pN/μm. The stiffness and membrane tension of TNTs increase by length. TNTs that elongate slower than 0.5 μm/min display higher mechanical stability, due to the growth rate of F-actin inside TNTs being limited at 0.26 μm/min. Importantly, by disturbing the cytoskeleton, membrane, or adhesion proteins of TNTs, we found that F-actin and cadherin connection dominantly determines the tensile strength and flexural strength of TNTs respectively. It may provide new clues for screening TNT-interfering drugs that alter the stability of TNTs.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | | | - Xiang Wang
- *Correspondence: Linhong Deng, ; Xiang Wang,
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24
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Helwig M, Ulusoy A, Rollar A, O’Sullivan SA, Lee SSL, Aboutalebi H, Pinto-Costa R, Jevans B, Klinkenberg M, Di Monte DA. Neuronal hyperactivity-induced oxidant stress promotes in vivo α-synuclein brain spreading. SCIENCE ADVANCES 2022; 8:eabn0356. [PMID: 36044566 PMCID: PMC9432848 DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.abn0356] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/29/2021] [Accepted: 07/15/2022] [Indexed: 05/31/2023]
Abstract
Interneuronal transfer and brain spreading of pathogenic proteins are features of neurodegenerative diseases. Pathophysiological conditions and mechanisms affecting this spreading remain poorly understood. This study investigated the relationship between neuronal activity and interneuronal transfer of α-synuclein, a Parkinson-associated protein, and elucidated mechanisms underlying this relationship. In a mouse model of α-synuclein brain spreading, hyperactivity augmented and hypoactivity attenuated protein transfer. Important features of neuronal hyperactivity reported here were an exacerbation of oxidative and nitrative reactions, pronounced accumulation of nitrated α-synuclein, and increased protein aggregation. Data also pointed to mitochondria as key targets and likely sources of reactive oxygen and nitrogen species within hyperactive neurons. Rescue experiments designed to counteract the increased burden of reactive oxygen species reversed hyperactivity-induced α-synuclein nitration, aggregation, and interneuronal transfer, providing first evidence of a causal link between these pathological effects of neuronal stimulation and indicating a mechanistic role of oxidant stress in hyperactivity-induced α-synuclein spreading.
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Affiliation(s)
- Michael Helwig
- German Center for Neurodegenerative Diseases (DZNE), Bonn 53127, Germany
| | - Ayse Ulusoy
- German Center for Neurodegenerative Diseases (DZNE), Bonn 53127, Germany
- Aligning Science Across Parkinson’s (ASAP) Collaborative Research Network, Chevy Chase, MD 20815, USA
| | - Angela Rollar
- German Center for Neurodegenerative Diseases (DZNE), Bonn 53127, Germany
| | | | - Shirley S. L. Lee
- German Center for Neurodegenerative Diseases (DZNE), Bonn 53127, Germany
| | - Helia Aboutalebi
- German Center for Neurodegenerative Diseases (DZNE), Bonn 53127, Germany
| | - Rita Pinto-Costa
- German Center for Neurodegenerative Diseases (DZNE), Bonn 53127, Germany
| | - Benjamin Jevans
- German Center for Neurodegenerative Diseases (DZNE), Bonn 53127, Germany
| | | | - Donato A. Di Monte
- German Center for Neurodegenerative Diseases (DZNE), Bonn 53127, Germany
- Aligning Science Across Parkinson’s (ASAP) Collaborative Research Network, Chevy Chase, MD 20815, USA
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25
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LRRK2 and Proteostasis in Parkinson's Disease. Int J Mol Sci 2022; 23:ijms23126808. [PMID: 35743250 PMCID: PMC9224256 DOI: 10.3390/ijms23126808] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/30/2022] [Revised: 06/16/2022] [Accepted: 06/17/2022] [Indexed: 02/01/2023] Open
Abstract
Parkinson’s disease is a neurodegenerative condition initially characterized by the presence of tremor, muscle stiffness and impaired balance, with the deposition of insoluble protein aggregates in Lewy’s Bodies the histopathological hallmark of the disease. Although different gene variants are linked to Parkinson disease, mutations in the Leucine-Rich Repeat Kinase 2 (LRRK2) gene are one of the most frequent causes of Parkinson’s disease related to genetic mutations. LRRK2 toxicity has been mainly explained by an increase in kinase activity, but alternative mechanisms have emerged as underlying causes for Parkinson’s disease, such as the imbalance in LRRK2 homeostasis and the involvement of LRRK2 in aggregation and spreading of α-synuclein toxicity. In this review, we recapitulate the main LRRK2 pathological mutations that contribute to Parkinson’s disease and the different cellular and therapeutic strategies devised to correct LRRK2 homeostasis. In this review, we describe the main cellular control mechanisms that regulate LRRK2 folding and aggregation, such as the chaperone network and the protein-clearing pathways such as the ubiquitin–proteasome system and the autophagic-lysosomal pathway. We will also address the more relevant strategies to modulate neurodegeneration in Parkinson’s disease through the regulation of LRRK2, using small molecules or LRRK2 silencing.
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26
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Shafiq M, Da Vela S, Amin L, Younas N, Harris DA, Zerr I, Altmeppen HC, Svergun D, Glatzel M. The prion protein and its ligands: Insights into structure-function relationships. BIOCHIMICA ET BIOPHYSICA ACTA. MOLECULAR CELL RESEARCH 2022; 1869:119240. [PMID: 35192891 DOI: 10.1016/j.bbamcr.2022.119240] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/08/2021] [Revised: 01/23/2022] [Accepted: 01/28/2022] [Indexed: 06/14/2023]
Abstract
The prion protein is a multifunctional protein that exists in at least two different folding states. It is subject to diverse proteolytic processing steps that lead to prion protein fragments some of which are membrane-bound whereas others are soluble. A multitude of ligands bind to the prion protein and besides proteinaceous binding partners, interaction with metal ions and nucleic acids occurs. Although of great importance, information on structural and functional consequences of prion protein binding to its partners is limited. Here, we will reflect on the structure-function relationship of the prion protein and its binding partners considering the different folding states and prion protein fragments.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mohsin Shafiq
- Institute of Neuropathology, University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, Martinistraße 52, 20251 Hamburg, Germany
| | - Stefano Da Vela
- European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL), Hamburg c/o German Electron Synchrotron (DESY), Notkestraße 85, 22607 Hamburg, Germany
| | - Ladan Amin
- Department of Biochemistry, Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, MA, United States
| | - Neelam Younas
- Department of Neurology, University Medical Center Goettingen, Robert-Koch-str. 40, 37075 Goettingen, Germany
| | - David A Harris
- Department of Biochemistry, Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, MA, United States
| | - Inga Zerr
- Department of Neurology, University Medical Center Goettingen, Robert-Koch-str. 40, 37075 Goettingen, Germany
| | - Hermann C Altmeppen
- Institute of Neuropathology, University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, Martinistraße 52, 20251 Hamburg, Germany
| | - Dmitri Svergun
- European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL), Hamburg c/o German Electron Synchrotron (DESY), Notkestraße 85, 22607 Hamburg, Germany
| | - Markus Glatzel
- Institute of Neuropathology, University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, Martinistraße 52, 20251 Hamburg, Germany.
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27
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Calabrese G, Molzahn C, Mayor T. Protein interaction networks in neurodegenerative diseases: from physiological function to aggregation. J Biol Chem 2022; 298:102062. [PMID: 35623389 PMCID: PMC9234719 DOI: 10.1016/j.jbc.2022.102062] [Citation(s) in RCA: 23] [Impact Index Per Article: 11.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/04/2022] [Revised: 04/26/2022] [Accepted: 05/18/2022] [Indexed: 11/25/2022] Open
Abstract
The accumulation of protein inclusions is linked to many neurodegenerative diseases that typically develop in older individuals, due to a combination of genetic and environmental factors. In rare familial neurodegenerative disorders, genes encoding for aggregation-prone proteins are often mutated. While the underlying mechanism leading to these diseases still remains to be fully elucidated, efforts in the past 20 years revealed a vast network of protein–protein interactions that play a major role in regulating the aggregation of key proteins associated with neurodegeneration. Misfolded proteins that can oligomerize and form insoluble aggregates associate with molecular chaperones and other elements of the proteolytic machineries that are the frontline workers attempting to protect the cells by promoting clearance and preventing aggregation. Proteins that are normally bound to aggregation-prone proteins can become sequestered and mislocalized in protein inclusions, leading to their loss of function. In contrast, mutations, posttranslational modifications, or misfolding of aggregation-prone proteins can lead to gain of function by inducing novel or altered protein interactions, which in turn can impact numerous essential cellular processes and organelles, such as vesicle trafficking and the mitochondria. This review examines our current knowledge of protein–protein interactions involving several key aggregation-prone proteins that are associated with Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease, Huntington’s disease, or amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. We aim to provide an overview of the protein interaction networks that play a central role in driving or mitigating inclusion formation, while highlighting some of the key proteomic studies that helped to uncover the extent of these networks.
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Affiliation(s)
- Gaetano Calabrese
- Michael Smith Laboratories, University of British Columbia, V6T 1Z4 Vancouver BC, Canada.
| | - Cristen Molzahn
- Michael Smith Laboratories, University of British Columbia, V6T 1Z4 Vancouver BC, Canada
| | - Thibault Mayor
- Michael Smith Laboratories, University of British Columbia, V6T 1Z4 Vancouver BC, Canada.
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28
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Landrieu I, Dupré E, Sinnaeve D, El Hajjar L, Smet-Nocca C. Deciphering the Structure and Formation of Amyloids in Neurodegenerative Diseases With Chemical Biology Tools. Front Chem 2022; 10:886382. [PMID: 35646824 PMCID: PMC9133342 DOI: 10.3389/fchem.2022.886382] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/28/2022] [Accepted: 04/20/2022] [Indexed: 11/24/2022] Open
Abstract
Protein aggregation into highly ordered, regularly repeated cross-β sheet structures called amyloid fibrils is closely associated to human disorders such as neurodegenerative diseases including Alzheimer's and Parkinson's diseases, or systemic diseases like type II diabetes. Yet, in some cases, such as the HET-s prion, amyloids have biological functions. High-resolution structures of amyloids fibrils from cryo-electron microscopy have very recently highlighted their ultrastructural organization and polymorphisms. However, the molecular mechanisms and the role of co-factors (posttranslational modifications, non-proteinaceous components and other proteins) acting on the fibril formation are still poorly understood. Whether amyloid fibrils play a toxic or protective role in the pathogenesis of neurodegenerative diseases remains to be elucidated. Furthermore, such aberrant protein-protein interactions challenge the search of small-molecule drugs or immunotherapy approaches targeting amyloid formation. In this review, we describe how chemical biology tools contribute to new insights on the mode of action of amyloidogenic proteins and peptides, defining their structural signature and aggregation pathways by capturing their molecular details and conformational heterogeneity. Challenging the imagination of scientists, this constantly expanding field provides crucial tools to unravel mechanistic detail of amyloid formation such as semisynthetic proteins and small-molecule sensors of conformational changes and/or aggregation. Protein engineering methods and bioorthogonal chemistry for the introduction of protein chemical modifications are additional fruitful strategies to tackle the challenge of understanding amyloid formation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Isabelle Landrieu
- University Lille, Inserm, CHU Lille, Institut Pasteur de Lille, U1167 - RID-AGE - Risk Factors and Molecular Determinants of Aging-Related Diseases, Lille, France
- CNRS EMR9002 Integrative Structural Biology, Lille, France
| | - Elian Dupré
- University Lille, Inserm, CHU Lille, Institut Pasteur de Lille, U1167 - RID-AGE - Risk Factors and Molecular Determinants of Aging-Related Diseases, Lille, France
- CNRS EMR9002 Integrative Structural Biology, Lille, France
| | - Davy Sinnaeve
- University Lille, Inserm, CHU Lille, Institut Pasteur de Lille, U1167 - RID-AGE - Risk Factors and Molecular Determinants of Aging-Related Diseases, Lille, France
- CNRS EMR9002 Integrative Structural Biology, Lille, France
| | - Léa El Hajjar
- University Lille, Inserm, CHU Lille, Institut Pasteur de Lille, U1167 - RID-AGE - Risk Factors and Molecular Determinants of Aging-Related Diseases, Lille, France
- CNRS EMR9002 Integrative Structural Biology, Lille, France
| | - Caroline Smet-Nocca
- University Lille, Inserm, CHU Lille, Institut Pasteur de Lille, U1167 - RID-AGE - Risk Factors and Molecular Determinants of Aging-Related Diseases, Lille, France
- CNRS EMR9002 Integrative Structural Biology, Lille, France
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29
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Brain region-specific susceptibility of Lewy body pathology in synucleinopathies is governed by α-synuclein conformations. Acta Neuropathol 2022; 143:453-469. [PMID: 35141810 PMCID: PMC8960659 DOI: 10.1007/s00401-022-02406-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/28/2021] [Revised: 01/12/2022] [Accepted: 02/01/2022] [Indexed: 12/29/2022]
Abstract
The protein α-synuclein, a key player in Parkinson’s disease (PD) and other synucleinopathies, exists in different physiological conformations: cytosolic unfolded aggregation-prone monomers and helical aggregation-resistant multimers. It has been shown that familial PD-associated missense mutations within the α-synuclein gene destabilize the conformer equilibrium of physiologic α-synuclein in favor of unfolded monomers. Here, we characterized the relative levels of unfolded and helical forms of cytosolic α-synuclein in post-mortem human brain tissue and showed that the equilibrium of α-synuclein conformations is destabilized in sporadic PD and DLB patients. This disturbed equilibrium is decreased in a brain region-specific manner in patient samples pointing toward a possible “prion-like” propagation of the underlying pathology and forms distinct disease-specific patterns in the two different synucleinopathies. We are also able to show that a destabilization of multimers mechanistically leads to increased levels of insoluble, pathological α-synuclein, while pharmacological stabilization of multimers leads to a “prion-like” aggregation resistance. Together, our findings suggest that these disease-specific patterns of α-synuclein multimer destabilization in sporadic PD and DLB are caused by both regional neuronal vulnerability and “prion-like” aggregation transmission enabled by the destabilization of local endogenous α-synuclein protein.
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30
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Lopes DM, Llewellyn SK, Harrison IF. Propagation of tau and α-synuclein in the brain: therapeutic potential of the glymphatic system. Transl Neurodegener 2022; 11:19. [PMID: 35314000 PMCID: PMC8935752 DOI: 10.1186/s40035-022-00293-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 20] [Impact Index Per Article: 10.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/09/2021] [Accepted: 03/03/2022] [Indexed: 12/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Many neurodegenerative diseases, including Alzheimer’s disease and Parkinson’s disease, are characterised by the accumulation of misfolded protein deposits in the brain, leading to a progressive destabilisation of the neuronal network and neuronal death. Among the proteins that can abnormally accumulate are tau and α-synuclein, which can propagate in a prion-like manner and which upon aggregation, represent the most common intracellular proteinaceous lesions associated with neurodegeneration. For years it was thought that these intracellular proteins and their accumulation had no immediate relationship with extracellular homeostasis pathways such as the glymphatic clearance system; however, mounting evidence has now suggested that this is not the case. The involvement of the glymphatic system in neurodegenerative disease is yet to be fully defined; however, it is becoming increasingly clear that this pathway contributes to parenchymal solute clearance. Importantly, recent data show that proteins prone to intracellular accumulation are subject to glymphatic clearance, suggesting that this system plays a key role in many neurological disorders. In this review, we provide a background on the biology of tau and α-synuclein and discuss the latest findings on the cell-to-cell propagation mechanisms of these proteins. Importantly, we discuss recent data demonstrating that manipulation of the glymphatic system may have the potential to alleviate and reduce pathogenic accumulation of propagation-prone intracellular cytotoxic proteins. Furthermore, we will allude to the latest potential therapeutic opportunities targeting the glymphatic system that might have an impact as disease modifiers in neurodegenerative diseases.
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31
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Dong S, Sun M, He C, Cheng H. Brain-gut-microbiota axis in Parkinson's disease: a historical review and future perspective. Brain Res Bull 2022; 183:84-93. [PMID: 35245613 DOI: 10.1016/j.brainresbull.2022.02.015] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/14/2021] [Revised: 02/15/2022] [Accepted: 02/22/2022] [Indexed: 01/03/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- Siyu Dong
- Department of Neurology, First Affiliated Hospital of Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, 210029, China
| | - Mei Sun
- Department of Neurology, First Affiliated Hospital of Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, 210029, China
| | - Chuan He
- Department of Rehabilitation Medicine, the Affiliated Jiangsu Shengze Hospital of Nanjing Medical University, Suzhou, 215228, China.
| | - Hong Cheng
- Department of Neurology, First Affiliated Hospital of Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, 210029, China.
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32
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Basak A, Basak S. Protein Aggregation and Self Assembly in Health and Disease. CURR PROTEOMICS 2022. [DOI: 10.2174/1570164618666210223160742] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/22/2022]
Abstract
:
Self-attachment of proteins leading to the formation of highly insoluble protein oligomers and aggregates has become an important focus of research owing to its diverse implications in pathophysiology and diseases. This has become a more frequent phenomenon in most neurological and neurodegenerative diseases as well as in dementia. In recent years such event of protein aggregation has linked to other disease conditions, disorders or adverse health conditions. Interestingly, aggregation of protein also plays role in development, growth or metabolism. Most often physiological proteins are initially bio-synthesised in native or nascent geometrical forms or conformations but later they undergo specific folding pattern and thereby acquire a stable configuration that is biologically relevant and active. It is highly important that these proteins remain in their biologically active configuration in order to exert their functional properties. Any alteration or change to this structural configuration can be detrimental to their specific functions and may cause pathological consequences leading to the onset of diseases or disorders. Several factors such as the action of chaperones, binding partners, physiological metal ions, pH level, temperature, ionic strength, interfacial exposure (solid-liquid, liquid-liquid, gas-liquid), mutation and post translational modification, chemical changes, interaction with small molecules such as lipids, hormones, etc. and solvent environment have been either identified or proposed as important factors in conferring the ultimate status of protein structure and configuration.
Among many misfolding protein conformations, self-assembly or aggregation is the most significant. It leads to the formation of highly oligomeric self-aggregates that precipitate and interfere with many biochemical processes with serious pathological consequences. The most common implication of protein aggregation leading to the formation of deposits / plaques of various morphological types is the onset of neurological and neurodegenerative diseases that include Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, Huntington, ALS (Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis), CJD (Creutzfeldt Jakob Dementia), Prion diseases, Amyloidosis and other forms of dementia. However increasingly studies revealed that protein aggregation may also be associated with other diseases such as cancer, type 2 diabetes, renal, corneal and cardiovascular diseases. Protein aggregation diseases are now considered as part of “Proteinopathy” which refers to conditions where proteins become structurally abnormal or fail to fold into stable normal configurations. In this review, we reflect on various aspects of protein self-aggregation, potential underlying causes, mechanism, role of secondary structures, pathological consequences and possible intervention strategies as reported in published literatures.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ajoy Basak
- Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, U Ottawa, Canada
- Ottawa Hospital Research Institute,
The Ottawa Hospital, U Ottawa, Canada
| | - Sarmistha Basak
- Formerly of Kidney Research Center, Ottawa Hospital Research Institute, U Ottawa, Canada
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33
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Garcia P, Jürgens‐Wemheuer W, Uriarte Huarte O, Michelucci A, Masuch A, Brioschi S, Weihofen A, Koncina E, Coowar D, Heurtaux T, Glaab E, Balling R, Sousa C, Kaoma T, Nicot N, Pfander T, Schulz‐Schaeffer W, Allouche A, Fischer N, Biber K, Kleine‐Borgmann F, Mittelbronn M, Ostaszewski M, Schmit KJ, Buttini M. Neurodegeneration and neuroinflammation are linked, but independent of alpha‐synuclein inclusions, in a seeding/spreading mouse model of Parkinson's disease. Glia 2022; 70:935-960. [PMID: 35092321 PMCID: PMC9305192 DOI: 10.1002/glia.24149] [Citation(s) in RCA: 21] [Impact Index Per Article: 10.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/22/2020] [Revised: 01/07/2022] [Accepted: 01/13/2022] [Indexed: 12/16/2022]
Abstract
A key pathological process in Parkinson's disease (PD) is the transneuronal spreading of α‐synuclein. Alpha‐synuclein (α‐syn) is a presynaptic protein that, in PD, forms pathological inclusions. Other hallmarks of PD include neurodegeneration and microgliosis in susceptible brain regions. Whether it is primarily transneuronal spreading of α‐syn particles, inclusion formation, or other mechanisms, such as inflammation, that cause neurodegeneration in PD is unclear. We used a model of spreading of α‐syn induced by striatal injection of α‐syn preformed fibrils into the mouse striatum to address this question. We performed quantitative analysis for α‐syn inclusions, neurodegeneration, and microgliosis in different brain regions, and generated gene expression profiles of the ventral midbrain, at two different timepoints after disease induction. We observed significant neurodegeneration and microgliosis in brain regions not only with, but also without α‐syn inclusions. We also observed prominent microgliosis in injured brain regions that did not correlate with neurodegeneration nor with inclusion load. Using longitudinal gene expression profiling, we observed early gene expression changes, linked to neuroinflammation, that preceded neurodegeneration, indicating an active role of microglia in this process. Altered gene pathways overlapped with those typical of PD. Our observations indicate that α‐syn inclusion formation is not the major driver in the early phases of PD‐like neurodegeneration, but that microglia, activated by diffusible, oligomeric α‐syn, may play a key role in this process. Our findings uncover new features of α‐syn induced pathologies, in particular microgliosis, and point to the necessity for a broader view of the process of α‐syn spreading.
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Affiliation(s)
- Pierre Garcia
- Luxembourg Centre for Systems Biomedicine University of Luxembourg Esch‐sur‐Alzette Luxembourg
- Luxembourg Center of Neuropathology Dudelange Luxembourg
| | - Wiebke Jürgens‐Wemheuer
- Luxembourg Centre for Systems Biomedicine University of Luxembourg Esch‐sur‐Alzette Luxembourg
- Institute of Neuropathology Saarland University Clinic (UKS) Homburg Germany
| | - Oihane Uriarte Huarte
- Luxembourg Centre for Systems Biomedicine University of Luxembourg Esch‐sur‐Alzette Luxembourg
- Luxembourg Center of Neuropathology Dudelange Luxembourg
| | - Alessandro Michelucci
- Luxembourg Centre for Systems Biomedicine University of Luxembourg Esch‐sur‐Alzette Luxembourg
- Department of Cancer Research Luxembourg Institute of Health Strassen Luxembourg
| | - Annette Masuch
- Department of Psychiatry University of Freiburg Medical Center Freiburg Germany
| | - Simone Brioschi
- Department of Psychiatry University of Freiburg Medical Center Freiburg Germany
| | | | - Eric Koncina
- Department of Life Science and Medicine University of Luxembourg Esch‐sur‐Alzette Luxembourg
| | - Djalil Coowar
- Luxembourg Centre for Systems Biomedicine University of Luxembourg Esch‐sur‐Alzette Luxembourg
| | - Tony Heurtaux
- Luxembourg Center of Neuropathology Dudelange Luxembourg
- Department of Life Science and Medicine University of Luxembourg Esch‐sur‐Alzette Luxembourg
| | - Enrico Glaab
- Luxembourg Centre for Systems Biomedicine University of Luxembourg Esch‐sur‐Alzette Luxembourg
| | - Rudi Balling
- Luxembourg Centre for Systems Biomedicine University of Luxembourg Esch‐sur‐Alzette Luxembourg
| | - Carole Sousa
- Department of Cancer Research Luxembourg Institute of Health Strassen Luxembourg
| | - Tony Kaoma
- Department of Cancer Research Luxembourg Institute of Health Strassen Luxembourg
| | - Nathalie Nicot
- Department of Cancer Research Luxembourg Institute of Health Strassen Luxembourg
| | - Tatjana Pfander
- Institute of Neuropathology Saarland University Clinic (UKS) Homburg Germany
| | | | | | | | - Knut Biber
- Department of Psychiatry University of Freiburg Medical Center Freiburg Germany
| | - Felix Kleine‐Borgmann
- Luxembourg Center of Neuropathology Dudelange Luxembourg
- Department of Cancer Research Luxembourg Institute of Health Strassen Luxembourg
- Faculty of Science, Technology and Medicine University of Luxembourg Esch‐sur‐Alzette Luxembourg
| | - Michel Mittelbronn
- Luxembourg Centre for Systems Biomedicine University of Luxembourg Esch‐sur‐Alzette Luxembourg
- Luxembourg Center of Neuropathology Dudelange Luxembourg
- Department of Cancer Research Luxembourg Institute of Health Strassen Luxembourg
- Department of Life Science and Medicine University of Luxembourg Esch‐sur‐Alzette Luxembourg
- Faculty of Science, Technology and Medicine University of Luxembourg Esch‐sur‐Alzette Luxembourg
| | - Marek Ostaszewski
- Luxembourg Centre for Systems Biomedicine University of Luxembourg Esch‐sur‐Alzette Luxembourg
| | - Kristopher J. Schmit
- Luxembourg Centre for Systems Biomedicine University of Luxembourg Esch‐sur‐Alzette Luxembourg
- Luxembourg Center of Neuropathology Dudelange Luxembourg
| | - Manuel Buttini
- Luxembourg Centre for Systems Biomedicine University of Luxembourg Esch‐sur‐Alzette Luxembourg
- Luxembourg Center of Neuropathology Dudelange Luxembourg
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34
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Bezard E, Dehay B. [Aggregation and spread of synuclein in Parkinson's disease]. Med Sci (Paris) 2022; 38:45-51. [PMID: 35060886 DOI: 10.1051/medsci/2021241] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/23/2023] Open
Abstract
The vast majority of neurodegenerative diseases are associated with an accumulation of undegraded and aggregated proteins. Hence the word proteinopathies is now used to refer to these neurodegenerative diseases. The synucleinopathies are one component of them, in particular in Parkinson's disease. The neuropathological features of Parkinson's disease are the progressive loss of dopamine neurons in the midbrain and the formation of aggregates composed mainly of a-synuclein protein. Experimental evidence suggests that under pathological conditions, normal soluble a-synuclein protein adopts an abnormal folding and subsequently aggregates, with a propensity to spread throughout the central nervous system. This review article discusses the specifics of a-synuclein aggregation and emerging mechanisms for understanding its spread and aims at providing a molecular explanation for the progression of the disease in humans.
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Affiliation(s)
- Erwan Bezard
- Univ. Bordeaux, CNRS, IMN (Institut des maladies neurodégénératives), UMR 5293, 33000 Bordeaux, France
| | - Benjamin Dehay
- Univ. Bordeaux, CNRS, IMN (Institut des maladies neurodégénératives), UMR 5293, 33000 Bordeaux, France
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35
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Uçar B, Stefanova N, Humpel C. Spreading of Aggregated α-Synuclein in Sagittal Organotypic Mouse Brain Slices. Biomolecules 2022; 12:biom12020163. [PMID: 35204664 PMCID: PMC8961638 DOI: 10.3390/biom12020163] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/17/2021] [Revised: 01/14/2022] [Accepted: 01/17/2022] [Indexed: 02/01/2023] Open
Abstract
The accumulation of α-synuclein (α-syn) in the brain plays a role in synucleinopathies and it is hypothesized to spread in a prion-like fashion between connected brain regions. In the present study, we aim to investigate this spreading in well-characterized sagittal organotypic whole brain slices taken from postnatal wild type (WT) and transgenic mice overexpressing human α-syn under the promoter of proteolipid protein (PLP). Collagen hydrogels were loaded with monomers of human α-syn, as well as human and mouse pre-formed fibrils (PFFs), to allow local application and slow release. The spreading of α-syn was evaluated in different brain regions by immunohistochemistry for total α-syn and α-syn phosphorylated at the serine129 position (α-syn-P). The application of human and mouse PFFs of α-syn caused the aggregation and spreading of α-syn-P in the brain slices, which was pronounced the most at the region of hydrogel application and surrounding striatum, as well as along the median forebrain bundle. The organotypic slices from transgenic mice showed significantly more α-syn pathology than those from WT mice. The present study demonstrates that seeding with α-syn PFFs but not monomers induced intracellular α-syn pathology, which was significantly more prominent in brain slices with α-syn overexpression. This is consistent with the prion-like spreading theory of α-syn aggregates. The sagittal whole brain slices characterized in this study carry the potential to be used as a novel model to study α-syn pathology.
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Affiliation(s)
- Buket Uçar
- Laboratory of Psychiatry and Experimental Alzheimer’s Research, Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Medical University of Innsbruck, Anichstrasse 35, A-6020 Innsbruck, Austria;
| | - Nadia Stefanova
- Laboratory for Translational Neurodegeneration Research, Division of Neurobiology, Department of Neurology, Medical University of Innsbruck, Innrain 66, A-6020 Innsbruck, Austria;
| | - Christian Humpel
- Laboratory of Psychiatry and Experimental Alzheimer’s Research, Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Medical University of Innsbruck, Anichstrasse 35, A-6020 Innsbruck, Austria;
- Correspondence: ; Tel.: +43-512-504-23712; Fax: +43-512-504-23713
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36
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Borghesani V, DeLeon J, Gorno-Tempini ML. Frontotemporal dementia: A unique window on the functional role of the temporal lobes. HANDBOOK OF CLINICAL NEUROLOGY 2022; 187:429-448. [PMID: 35964986 PMCID: PMC9793689 DOI: 10.1016/b978-0-12-823493-8.00011-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/30/2022]
Abstract
Frontotemporal dementia (FTD) is an umbrella term covering a plethora of progressive changes in executive functions, motor abilities, behavior, and/or language. Different clinical syndromes have been described in relation to localized atrophy, informing on the functional networks that underlie these specific cognitive, emotional, and behavioral processes. These functional declines are linked with the underlying neurodegeneration of frontal and/or temporal lobes due to diverse molecular pathologies. Initially, the accumulation of misfolded proteins targets specifically susceptible cell assemblies, leading to relatively focal neurodegeneration that later spreads throughout large-scale cortical networks. Here, we discuss the most recent clinical, neuropathological, imaging, and genetics findings in FTD-spectrum syndromes affecting the temporal lobe. We focus on the semantic variant of primary progressive aphasia and its mirror image, the right temporal variant of FTD. Incipient focal atrophy of the left anterior temporal lobe (ATL) manifests with predominant naming, word comprehension, reading, and object semantic deficits, while cases of predominantly right ATL atrophy present with impairments of socioemotional, nonverbal semantic, and person-specific knowledge. Overall, the observations in FTD allow for crucial clinical-anatomic inferences, shedding light on the role of the temporal lobes in both cognition and complex behaviors. The concerted activity of both ATLs is critical to ensure that percepts are translated into concepts, yet important hemispheric differences should be acknowledged. On one hand, the left ATL attributes meaning to linguistic, external stimuli, thus supporting goal-oriented, action-related behaviors (e.g., integrating sounds and letters into words). On the other hand, the right ATL assigns meaning to emotional, visceral stimuli, thus guiding socially relevant behaviors (e.g., integrating body sensations into feelings of familiarity).
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Affiliation(s)
- Valentina Borghesani
- Centre de recherche de l'Institut universitaire de gériatrie de Montréal, Montréal, QC, Canada; Department of Psychology, Université de Montréal, Montréal, QC, Canada.
| | - Jessica DeLeon
- Memory and Aging Center, Department of Neurology, University of California, San Francisco, CA, United States; Department of Neurology, Dyslexia Center, University of California, San Francisco, CA, United States
| | - Maria Luisa Gorno-Tempini
- Memory and Aging Center, Department of Neurology, University of California, San Francisco, CA, United States; Department of Neurology, Dyslexia Center, University of California, San Francisco, CA, United States
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37
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Schumacher J, Gunter JL, Przybelski SA, Jones DT, Graff-Radford J, Savica R, Schwarz CG, Senjem ML, Jack CR, Lowe VJ, Knopman DS, Fields JA, Kremers WK, Petersen RC, Graff-Radford NR, Ferman TJ, Boeve BF, Thomas AJ, Taylor JP, Kantarci K. Dementia with Lewy bodies: association of Alzheimer pathology with functional connectivity networks. Brain 2021; 144:3212-3225. [PMID: 34114602 PMCID: PMC8634124 DOI: 10.1093/brain/awab218] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/30/2020] [Revised: 03/19/2021] [Accepted: 04/22/2021] [Indexed: 11/22/2022] Open
Abstract
Dementia with Lewy bodies (DLB) is neuropathologically defined by the presence of α-synuclein aggregates, but many DLB cases show concurrent Alzheimer's disease pathology in the form of amyloid-β plaques and tau neurofibrillary tangles. The first objective of this study was to investigate the effect of Alzheimer's disease co-pathology on functional network changes within the default mode network (DMN) in DLB. Second, we studied how the distribution of tau pathology measured with PET relates to functional connectivity in DLB. Twenty-seven DLB, 26 Alzheimer's disease and 99 cognitively unimpaired participants (balanced on age and sex to the DLB group) underwent tau-PET with AV-1451 (flortaucipir), amyloid-β-PET with Pittsburgh compound-B (PiB) and resting-state functional MRI scans. The resing-state functional MRI data were used to assess functional connectivity within the posterior DMN. This was then correlated with overall cortical flortaucipir PET and PiB PET standardized uptake value ratio (SUVr). The strength of interregional functional connectivity was assessed using the Schaefer atlas. Tau-PET covariance was measured as the correlation in flortaucipir SUVr between any two regions across participants. The association between region-to-region functional connectivity and tau-PET covariance was assessed using linear regression. Additionally, we identified the region with highest and the region with lowest tau SUVrs (tau hot- and cold spots) and tested whether tau SUVr in all other brain regions was associated with the strength of functional connectivity to these tau hot and cold spots. A reduction in posterior DMN connectivity correlated with overall higher cortical tau- (r = -0.39, P = 0.04) and amyloid-PET uptake (r = -0.41, P = 0.03) in the DLB group, i.e. patients with DLB who have more concurrent Alzheimer's disease pathology showed a more severe loss of DMN connectivity. Higher functional connectivity between regions was associated with higher tau covariance in cognitively unimpaired, Alzheimer's disease and DLB. Furthermore, higher functional connectivity of a target region to the tau hotspot (i.e. inferior/medial temporal cortex) was related to higher flortaucipir SUVrs in the target region, whereas higher functional connectivity to the tau cold spot (i.e. sensory-motor cortex) was related to lower flortaucipir SUVr in the target region. Our findings suggest that a higher burden of Alzheimer's disease co-pathology in patients with DLB is associated with more Alzheimer's disease-like changes in functional connectivity. Furthermore, we found an association between the brain's functional network architecture and the distribution of tau pathology that has recently been described in Alzheimer's disease. We show that this relationship also exists in patients with DLB, indicating that similar mechanisms of connectivity-dependent occurrence of tau pathology might be at work in both diseases.
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Affiliation(s)
- Julia Schumacher
- Translational and Clinical Research Institute, Faculty of Medical Sciences, Newcastle University, UK
- Department of Radiology, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN, USA
| | - Jeffrey L Gunter
- Department of Information Technology, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN, USA
| | - Scott A Przybelski
- Department of Quantitative Health Sciences, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN, USA
| | - David T Jones
- Department of Neurology, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN, USA
| | | | - Rodolfo Savica
- Department of Neurology, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN, USA
| | | | - Matthew L Senjem
- Department of Information Technology, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN, USA
| | | | - Val J Lowe
- Department of Radiology, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN, USA
| | | | - Julie A Fields
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychology, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN, USA
| | - Walter K Kremers
- Department of Quantitative Health Sciences, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN, USA
| | | | | | - Tanis J Ferman
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychology, Mayo Clinic, Jacksonville, FL, USA
| | | | - Alan J Thomas
- Translational and Clinical Research Institute, Faculty of Medical Sciences, Newcastle University, UK
| | - John-Paul Taylor
- Translational and Clinical Research Institute, Faculty of Medical Sciences, Newcastle University, UK
| | - Kejal Kantarci
- Department of Radiology, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN, USA
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38
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Microglia contribute to the propagation of Aβ into unaffected brain tissue. Nat Neurosci 2021; 25:20-25. [PMID: 34811521 PMCID: PMC8737330 DOI: 10.1038/s41593-021-00951-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 83] [Impact Index Per Article: 27.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/04/2021] [Accepted: 09/30/2021] [Indexed: 02/08/2023]
Abstract
Microglia appear activated in the vicinity of amyloid beta (Aβ) plaques, but whether microglia contribute to Aβ propagation into unaffected brain regions remains unknown. Using transplantation of wild-type (WT) neurons, we show that Aβ enters WT grafts, and that this is accompanied by microglia infiltration. Manipulation of microglia function reduced Aβ deposition within grafts. Furthermore, in vivo imaging identified microglia as carriers of Aβ pathology in previously unaffected tissue. Our data thus argue for a hitherto unexplored mechanism of Aβ propagation. This study shows that Aβ from transgenic host tissue is able to enter and deposit within wild-type grafts via microglia, thus identifying microglia as carriers of Aβ deposition into previously unaffected brain tissue.
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Blaudin de Thé FX, Lassus B, Schaler AW, Fowler SL, Goulbourne CN, Jeggo R, Mannoury la Cour C, Millan MJ, Duff KE. P62 accumulates through neuroanatomical circuits in response to tauopathy propagation. Acta Neuropathol Commun 2021; 9:177. [PMID: 34727983 PMCID: PMC8561893 DOI: 10.1186/s40478-021-01280-w] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/07/2021] [Accepted: 10/17/2021] [Indexed: 12/26/2022] Open
Abstract
In Alzheimer's disease and related tauopathies, trans-synaptic transfer and accumulation of pathological tau from donor to recipient neurons is thought to contribute to disease progression, but the underlying mechanisms are poorly understood. Using complementary in vivo and in vitro models, we examined the relationship between these two processes and neuronal clearance. Accumulation of p62 (a marker of defective protein clearance) correlated with pathological tau accumulation in two mouse models of tauopathy spread; Entorhinal Cortex-tau (EC-Tau) mice where tau pathology progresses in time from EC to other brain regions, and PS19 mice injected with tau seeds. In both models and in several brain regions, p62 colocalized with human tau in a pathological conformation (MC1 antibody). In EC-Tau mice, p62 accumulated before overt tau pathology had developed and was associated with the presence of aggregation-competent tau seeds identified using a FRET-based assay. Furthermore, p62 accumulated in the cytoplasm of neurons in the dentate gyrus of EC-Tau mice prior to the appearance of MC1 positive tauopathy. However, MC1 positive tau was shown to be present at the synapse and to colocalize with p62 as shown by immuno electron microscopy. In vitro, p62 colocalized with tau inclusions in two primary cortical neuron models of tau pathology. In a three-chamber microfluidic device containing neurons overexpressing fluorescent tau, seeding of tau in the donor chamber led to tau pathology spread and p62 accumulation in both the donor and the recipient chamber. Overall, these data are in accordance with the hypothesis that the accumulation and trans-synaptic spread of pathological tau disrupts clearance mechanisms, preceding the appearance of obvious tau aggregation. A vicious cycle of tau accumulation and clearance deficit would be expected to feed-forward and exacerbate disease progression across neuronal circuits in human tauopathies.
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Affiliation(s)
- François-Xavier Blaudin de Thé
- Taub Institute for Research On Alzheimer’s Disease and the Aging Brain, 630 W 168th St, NY 10032 New York, USA
- Neuroscience and Immunoinflammation Therapeutic Area, Institut de Recherche Servier, 125 Chemin de Ronde, 78290 Croissy-sur-Seine, France
| | - Benjamin Lassus
- Taub Institute for Research On Alzheimer’s Disease and the Aging Brain, 630 W 168th St, NY 10032 New York, USA
- HiFiBiO Therapeutics Pépinière Paris Santé Cochin, 29 Rue du Faubourg Saint-Jacques, 75014 Paris, France
| | - Ari W. Schaler
- Taub Institute for Research On Alzheimer’s Disease and the Aging Brain, 630 W 168th St, NY 10032 New York, USA
- UCLA – Physiology Department, 10833 Le Conte Ave, CHS76200, CA 90095 Los Angeles, USA
| | - Stephanie L. Fowler
- Taub Institute for Research On Alzheimer’s Disease and the Aging Brain, 630 W 168th St, NY 10032 New York, USA
- UK Dementia Research Institute at UCL, University College London, 90 Gower St, W1T 7NF London, UK
| | - Chris N. Goulbourne
- Nathan Kline Institute: Center for Dementia Research, 140 Old Orangeburg Road, NY 10962 Orangeburg, USA
| | - Ross Jeggo
- Neuroscience and Immunoinflammation Therapeutic Area, Institut de Recherche Servier, 125 Chemin de Ronde, 78290 Croissy-sur-Seine, France
| | - Clotilde Mannoury la Cour
- Neuroscience and Immunoinflammation Therapeutic Area, Institut de Recherche Servier, 125 Chemin de Ronde, 78290 Croissy-sur-Seine, France
| | - Mark J. Millan
- Neuroscience and Immunoinflammation Therapeutic Area, Institut de Recherche Servier, 125 Chemin de Ronde, 78290 Croissy-sur-Seine, France
- Present Address: Institute of Neuroscience and Psychology, College of Medicine, Vet and Life Science, Glasgow University, Glasgow, G12 8QQ United Kingdom
| | - Karen E. Duff
- Taub Institute for Research On Alzheimer’s Disease and the Aging Brain, 630 W 168th St, NY 10032 New York, USA
- UK Dementia Research Institute at UCL, University College London, 90 Gower St, W1T 7NF London, UK
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40
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Sexton C, Snyder H, Beher D, Boxer AL, Brannelly P, Brion JP, Buée L, Cacace AM, Chételat G, Citron M, DeVos SL, Diaz K, Feldman HH, Frost B, Goate AM, Gold M, Hyman B, Johnson K, Karch CM, Kerwin DR, Koroshetz WJ, Litvan I, Morris HR, Mummery CJ, Mutamba J, Patterson MC, Quiroz YT, Rabinovici GD, Rommel A, Shulman MB, Toledo-Sherman LM, Weninger S, Wildsmith KR, Worley SL, Carrillo MC. Current directions in tau research: Highlights from Tau 2020. Alzheimers Dement 2021; 18:988-1007. [PMID: 34581500 DOI: 10.1002/alz.12452] [Citation(s) in RCA: 35] [Impact Index Per Article: 11.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/13/2021] [Revised: 07/07/2021] [Accepted: 07/22/2021] [Indexed: 11/07/2022]
Abstract
Studies supporting a strong association between tau deposition and neuronal loss, neurodegeneration, and cognitive decline have heightened the allure of tau and tau-related mechanisms as therapeutic targets. In February 2020, leading tau experts from around the world convened for the first-ever Tau2020 Global Conference in Washington, DC, co-organized and cosponsored by the Rainwater Charitable Foundation, the Alzheimer's Association, and CurePSP. Representing academia, industry, government, and the philanthropic sector, presenters and attendees discussed recent advances and current directions in tau research. The meeting provided a unique opportunity to move tau research forward by fostering global partnerships among academia, industry, and other stakeholders and by providing support for new drug discovery programs, groundbreaking research, and emerging tau researchers. The meeting also provided an opportunity for experts to present critical research-advancing tools and insights that are now rapidly accelerating the pace of tau research.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | | | - Adam L Boxer
- Memory and Aging Center, Department of Neurology, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, California, USA
| | - Pat Brannelly
- Alzheimer's Disease Data Initiative, Kirkland, WI, USA
| | - Jean-Pierre Brion
- Laboratory of Histology, Neuroanatomy and Neuropathology, Faculty of Medicine, Université Libre de Bruxelles, Brussels, Belgium
| | - Luc Buée
- Univ Lille, Inserm, CHU-Lille, Lille Neuroscience and Cognition, Place de Verdun, Lille, France
| | | | - Gaël Chételat
- Normandie Univ, UNICAEN, INSERM, U1237, PhIND "Physiopathology and Imaging of Neurological Disorders", Institut Blood and Brain @ Caen-Normandie, Cyceron, Caen, France
| | - Martin Citron
- Neuroscience TA, Braine l'Alleud, UCB Biopharma, Brussels, Belgium
| | - Sarah L DeVos
- Translational Sciences, Denali Therapeutics, San Francisco, California, USA
| | | | - Howard H Feldman
- Alzheimer's Disease Cooperative Study, Department of Neurosciences, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, California, USA
| | - Bess Frost
- Sam & Ann Barshop Institute for Longevity and Aging Studies, Glenn Biggs Institute for Alzheimer's & Neurodegenerative Disorders, Department of Cell Systems & Anatomy, University of Texas Health San Antonio, San Antonio, Texas, USA
| | - Alison M Goate
- Ronald M. Loeb Center for Alzheimer's Disease, Department of Neuroscience, Department of Genetics and Genomic Sciences, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, New York, USA
| | - Michael Gold
- AbbVie, Neurosciences Development, North Chicago, Illinois, USA
| | - Bradley Hyman
- Department of Neurology, Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts, USA
| | - Keith Johnson
- Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts, USA
| | - Celeste M Karch
- Department of Psychiatry, Washington University in St. Louis, St. Louis, Missouri, USA
| | - Diana R Kerwin
- Kerwin Medical Center, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, Texas, USA
| | - Walter J Koroshetz
- National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, Bethesda, Maryland, USA
| | - Irene Litvan
- Parkinson and Other Movement Disorders Center, Department of Neurosciences, University of California San Diego, San Diego, California, USA
| | - Huw R Morris
- Department of Clinical and Movement Neuroscience, UCL Queen Square Institute of Neurology, London, UK
| | - Catherine J Mummery
- Dementia Research Centre, National Hospital for Neurology and Neurosurgery, University College London, London, UK
| | | | - Marc C Patterson
- Departments of Neurology, Pediatrics and Medical Genetics, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minnesota, USA
| | - Yakeel T Quiroz
- Departments of Neurology and Psychiatry, Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts, USA
| | - Gil D Rabinovici
- Memory & Aging Center, Departments of Neurology, Radiology & Biomedical Imaging, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, California, USA
| | - Amy Rommel
- Tau Consortium, Rainwater Charitable Foundation, Fort Worth, Texas, USA
| | - Melanie B Shulman
- Neurodegeneration Development Unit, Biogen, Boston, Massachusetts, USA
| | | | | | - Kristin R Wildsmith
- Department of Biomarker Development, Genentech, South San Francisco, California, USA
| | - Susan L Worley
- Independent science writer, Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania, USA
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41
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Munoz-Pinto MF, Empadinhas N, Cardoso SM. The neuromicrobiology of Parkinson's disease: A unifying theory. Ageing Res Rev 2021; 70:101396. [PMID: 34171417 DOI: 10.1016/j.arr.2021.101396] [Citation(s) in RCA: 21] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/12/2021] [Revised: 06/11/2021] [Accepted: 06/19/2021] [Indexed: 02/07/2023]
Abstract
Recent evidence confirms that PD is indeed a multifactorial disease with different aetiologies and prodromal symptomatology that likely depend on the initial trigger. New players with important roles as triggers, facilitators and aggravators of the PD neurodegenerative process have re-emerged in the last few years, the microbes. Having evolved in association with humans for ages, microbes and their products are now seen as fundamental regulators of human physiology with disturbances in their balance being increasingly accepted to have a relevant impact on the progression of disease in general and on PD in particular. In this review, we comprehensively address early studies that have directly or indirectly linked bacteria or other infectious agents to the onset and progression of PD, from the earliest suspects to the most recent culprits, the gut microbiota. The quest for effective treatments to arrest PD progression must inevitably address the different interactions between microbiota and human cells, and naturally consider the gut-brain axis. The comprehensive characterization of such mechanisms will help design innovative bacteriotherapeutic approaches to selectively shape the gut microbiota profile ultimately to halt PD progression. The present review describes our current understanding of the role of microorganisms and their endosymbiotic relatives, the mitochondria, in inducing, facilitating, or aggravating PD pathogenesis.
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42
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Yu M, Sporns O, Saykin AJ. The human connectome in Alzheimer disease - relationship to biomarkers and genetics. Nat Rev Neurol 2021; 17:545-563. [PMID: 34285392 PMCID: PMC8403643 DOI: 10.1038/s41582-021-00529-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 87] [Impact Index Per Article: 29.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 06/10/2021] [Indexed: 02/06/2023]
Abstract
The pathology of Alzheimer disease (AD) damages structural and functional brain networks, resulting in cognitive impairment. The results of recent connectomics studies have now linked changes in structural and functional network organization in AD to the patterns of amyloid-β and tau accumulation and spread, providing insights into the neurobiological mechanisms of the disease. In addition, the detection of gene-related connectome changes might aid in the early diagnosis of AD and facilitate the development of personalized therapeutic strategies that are effective at earlier stages of the disease spectrum. In this article, we review studies of the associations between connectome changes and amyloid-β and tau pathologies as well as molecular genetics in different subtypes and stages of AD. We also highlight the utility of connectome-derived computational models for replicating empirical findings and for tracking and predicting the progression of biomarker-indicated AD pathophysiology.
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Affiliation(s)
- Meichen Yu
- Indiana Alzheimer's Disease Research Center, Indiana University School of Medicine, Indianapolis, IN, USA
- Department of Radiology and Imaging Sciences, Indiana University School of Medicine, Indianapolis, IN, USA
- Indiana University Network Science Institute, Bloomington, IN, USA
| | - Olaf Sporns
- Indiana Alzheimer's Disease Research Center, Indiana University School of Medicine, Indianapolis, IN, USA
- Department of Radiology and Imaging Sciences, Indiana University School of Medicine, Indianapolis, IN, USA
- Indiana University Network Science Institute, Bloomington, IN, USA
- Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, Indiana University, Bloomington, IN, USA
| | - Andrew J Saykin
- Indiana Alzheimer's Disease Research Center, Indiana University School of Medicine, Indianapolis, IN, USA.
- Department of Radiology and Imaging Sciences, Indiana University School of Medicine, Indianapolis, IN, USA.
- Indiana University Network Science Institute, Bloomington, IN, USA.
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43
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Pascoal TA, Benedet AL, Ashton NJ, Kang MS, Therriault J, Chamoun M, Savard M, Lussier FZ, Tissot C, Karikari TK, Ottoy J, Mathotaarachchi S, Stevenson J, Massarweh G, Schöll M, de Leon MJ, Soucy JP, Edison P, Blennow K, Zetterberg H, Gauthier S, Rosa-Neto P. Microglial activation and tau propagate jointly across Braak stages. Nat Med 2021; 27:1592-1599. [PMID: 34446931 DOI: 10.1038/s41591-021-01456-w] [Citation(s) in RCA: 210] [Impact Index Per Article: 70.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/27/2021] [Accepted: 06/28/2021] [Indexed: 11/09/2022]
Abstract
Compelling experimental evidence suggests that microglial activation is involved in the spread of tau tangles over the neocortex in Alzheimer's disease (AD). We tested the hypothesis that the spatial propagation of microglial activation and tau accumulation colocalize in a Braak-like pattern in the living human brain. We studied 130 individuals across the aging and AD clinical spectrum with positron emission tomography brain imaging for microglial activation ([11C]PBR28), amyloid-β (Aβ) ([18F]AZD4694) and tau ([18F]MK-6240) pathologies. We further assessed microglial triggering receptor expressed on myeloid cells 2 (TREM2) cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) concentrations and brain gene expression patterns. We found that [11C]PBR28 correlated with CSF soluble TREM2 and showed regional distribution resembling TREM2 gene expression. Network analysis revealed that microglial activation and tau correlated hierarchically with each other following Braak-like stages. Regression analysis revealed that the longitudinal tau propagation pathways depended on the baseline microglia network rather than the tau network circuits. The co-occurrence of Aβ, tau and microglia abnormalities was the strongest predictor of cognitive impairment in our study population. Our findings support a model where an interaction between Aβ and activated microglia sets the pace for tau spread across Braak stages.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tharick A Pascoal
- Departments of Psychiatry, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, PA, USA. .,Departments of Neurology, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, PA, USA. .,Translational Neuroimaging Laboratory, McGill University Research Centre for Studies in Aging, Alzheimer's Disease Research Unit, Douglas Research Institute, Le Centre intégré universitaire de santé et de services sociaux (CIUSSS) de l'Ouest-de-l'Île-de-Montréal, and Departments of Neurology, Neurosurgery, Psychiatry, Pharmacology and Therapeutics, McGill University, Montreal, Quebec, Canada. .,Montreal Neurological Institute, McGill University, Montreal, Quebec, Canada.
| | - Andrea L Benedet
- Translational Neuroimaging Laboratory, McGill University Research Centre for Studies in Aging, Alzheimer's Disease Research Unit, Douglas Research Institute, Le Centre intégré universitaire de santé et de services sociaux (CIUSSS) de l'Ouest-de-l'Île-de-Montréal, and Departments of Neurology, Neurosurgery, Psychiatry, Pharmacology and Therapeutics, McGill University, Montreal, Quebec, Canada
| | - Nicholas J Ashton
- Department of Psychiatry and Neurochemistry, Institute of Neuroscience and Physiology, The Sahlgrenska Academy, University of Gothenburg, Gothenburg, Sweden.,Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, Maurice Wohl Institute Clinical Neuroscience Institute, King's College London, London, UK.,NIHR Biomedical Research Centre for Mental Health and Biomedical Research Unit for Dementia at South London and Maudsley, NHS Foundation, London, UK
| | - Min Su Kang
- Translational Neuroimaging Laboratory, McGill University Research Centre for Studies in Aging, Alzheimer's Disease Research Unit, Douglas Research Institute, Le Centre intégré universitaire de santé et de services sociaux (CIUSSS) de l'Ouest-de-l'Île-de-Montréal, and Departments of Neurology, Neurosurgery, Psychiatry, Pharmacology and Therapeutics, McGill University, Montreal, Quebec, Canada.,Montreal Neurological Institute, McGill University, Montreal, Quebec, Canada
| | - Joseph Therriault
- Translational Neuroimaging Laboratory, McGill University Research Centre for Studies in Aging, Alzheimer's Disease Research Unit, Douglas Research Institute, Le Centre intégré universitaire de santé et de services sociaux (CIUSSS) de l'Ouest-de-l'Île-de-Montréal, and Departments of Neurology, Neurosurgery, Psychiatry, Pharmacology and Therapeutics, McGill University, Montreal, Quebec, Canada
| | - Mira Chamoun
- Translational Neuroimaging Laboratory, McGill University Research Centre for Studies in Aging, Alzheimer's Disease Research Unit, Douglas Research Institute, Le Centre intégré universitaire de santé et de services sociaux (CIUSSS) de l'Ouest-de-l'Île-de-Montréal, and Departments of Neurology, Neurosurgery, Psychiatry, Pharmacology and Therapeutics, McGill University, Montreal, Quebec, Canada
| | - Melissa Savard
- Translational Neuroimaging Laboratory, McGill University Research Centre for Studies in Aging, Alzheimer's Disease Research Unit, Douglas Research Institute, Le Centre intégré universitaire de santé et de services sociaux (CIUSSS) de l'Ouest-de-l'Île-de-Montréal, and Departments of Neurology, Neurosurgery, Psychiatry, Pharmacology and Therapeutics, McGill University, Montreal, Quebec, Canada
| | - Firoza Z Lussier
- Translational Neuroimaging Laboratory, McGill University Research Centre for Studies in Aging, Alzheimer's Disease Research Unit, Douglas Research Institute, Le Centre intégré universitaire de santé et de services sociaux (CIUSSS) de l'Ouest-de-l'Île-de-Montréal, and Departments of Neurology, Neurosurgery, Psychiatry, Pharmacology and Therapeutics, McGill University, Montreal, Quebec, Canada
| | - Cécile Tissot
- Translational Neuroimaging Laboratory, McGill University Research Centre for Studies in Aging, Alzheimer's Disease Research Unit, Douglas Research Institute, Le Centre intégré universitaire de santé et de services sociaux (CIUSSS) de l'Ouest-de-l'Île-de-Montréal, and Departments of Neurology, Neurosurgery, Psychiatry, Pharmacology and Therapeutics, McGill University, Montreal, Quebec, Canada
| | - Thomas K Karikari
- Department of Psychiatry and Neurochemistry, Institute of Neuroscience and Physiology, The Sahlgrenska Academy, University of Gothenburg, Gothenburg, Sweden
| | - Julie Ottoy
- Molecular Imaging Center Antwerp, University of Antwerp, Antwerp, Belgium.,LC Campbell Cognitive Neurology Unit, Hurvitz Brain Sciences Research Program, Sunnybrook Research Institute, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
| | - Sulantha Mathotaarachchi
- Translational Neuroimaging Laboratory, McGill University Research Centre for Studies in Aging, Alzheimer's Disease Research Unit, Douglas Research Institute, Le Centre intégré universitaire de santé et de services sociaux (CIUSSS) de l'Ouest-de-l'Île-de-Montréal, and Departments of Neurology, Neurosurgery, Psychiatry, Pharmacology and Therapeutics, McGill University, Montreal, Quebec, Canada
| | - Jenna Stevenson
- Translational Neuroimaging Laboratory, McGill University Research Centre for Studies in Aging, Alzheimer's Disease Research Unit, Douglas Research Institute, Le Centre intégré universitaire de santé et de services sociaux (CIUSSS) de l'Ouest-de-l'Île-de-Montréal, and Departments of Neurology, Neurosurgery, Psychiatry, Pharmacology and Therapeutics, McGill University, Montreal, Quebec, Canada
| | - Gassan Massarweh
- Montreal Neurological Institute, McGill University, Montreal, Quebec, Canada
| | - Michael Schöll
- Department of Psychiatry and Neurochemistry, Institute of Neuroscience and Physiology, The Sahlgrenska Academy, University of Gothenburg, Gothenburg, Sweden.,Wallenberg Centre for Molecular and Translational Medicine, University of Gothenburg, Gothenburg, Sweden.,Department of Neurodegenerative Disease, UCL Institute of Neurology, London, UK
| | - Mony J de Leon
- Department of Radiology Weill Medical Center Brain Health Imaging Institute, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY, USA
| | - Jean-Paul Soucy
- Montreal Neurological Institute, McGill University, Montreal, Quebec, Canada
| | - Paul Edison
- Department of Brain Sciences, Imperial College London, Hammersmith Hospital Campus, London, UK
| | - Kaj Blennow
- Department of Psychiatry and Neurochemistry, Institute of Neuroscience and Physiology, The Sahlgrenska Academy, University of Gothenburg, Gothenburg, Sweden.,Clinical Neurochemistry Laboratory, Sahlgrenska University Hospital, Mölndal, Sweden
| | - Henrik Zetterberg
- Department of Psychiatry and Neurochemistry, Institute of Neuroscience and Physiology, The Sahlgrenska Academy, University of Gothenburg, Gothenburg, Sweden.,Department of Neurodegenerative Disease, UCL Institute of Neurology, London, UK.,Clinical Neurochemistry Laboratory, Sahlgrenska University Hospital, Mölndal, Sweden.,UK Dementia Research Institute at UCL, London, UK
| | - Serge Gauthier
- Translational Neuroimaging Laboratory, McGill University Research Centre for Studies in Aging, Alzheimer's Disease Research Unit, Douglas Research Institute, Le Centre intégré universitaire de santé et de services sociaux (CIUSSS) de l'Ouest-de-l'Île-de-Montréal, and Departments of Neurology, Neurosurgery, Psychiatry, Pharmacology and Therapeutics, McGill University, Montreal, Quebec, Canada
| | - Pedro Rosa-Neto
- Translational Neuroimaging Laboratory, McGill University Research Centre for Studies in Aging, Alzheimer's Disease Research Unit, Douglas Research Institute, Le Centre intégré universitaire de santé et de services sociaux (CIUSSS) de l'Ouest-de-l'Île-de-Montréal, and Departments of Neurology, Neurosurgery, Psychiatry, Pharmacology and Therapeutics, McGill University, Montreal, Quebec, Canada. .,Montreal Neurological Institute, McGill University, Montreal, Quebec, Canada.
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44
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Klotz S, Gelpi E. [Neuropathology of dementia]. Wien Med Wochenschr 2021; 171:257-273. [PMID: 34129141 PMCID: PMC8397629 DOI: 10.1007/s10354-021-00848-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/04/2020] [Accepted: 04/14/2021] [Indexed: 11/09/2022]
Abstract
Demenz ist die klinische Folge verschiedener neurologischer Erkrankungen mit einer Vielzahl von Ätiologien. Dabei ist die genaue Kenntnis der zugrunde liegenden pathologischen Veränderungen entscheidend für die passgenaue Versorgung der Patienten und für die Entwicklung geeigneter Krankheitsbiomarker. Eine definitive Diagnose vieler dieser Erkrankungen, insbesondere der neurodegenerativen Formen, kann nur nach gründlicher postmortaler neuropathologischer Untersuchung gestellt werden. Dies unterstreicht die Wichtigkeit der Durchführung einer Gehirnautopsie und die Relevanz einer engen Zusammenarbeit zwischen Klinikern, Neuroradiologen und Neuropathologen sowie mit Grundlagenforschern. Ziel der vorliegenden Arbeit ist es, einen kurzen Überblick über die Neuropathologie der Demenz mit Schwerpunkt auf neurodegenerative Erkrankungen zu geben, um die interdisziplinäre Zusammenarbeit weiter zu fördern.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sigrid Klotz
- Abteilung für Neuropathologie und Neurochemie, Universitätsklinik für Neurologie, Medizinischer Universitätscampus Wien, Ebene 4J, Währinger Gürtel 18-20, 1090, Wien, Österreich.,Österreichisches Referenzzentrum zur Erfassung und Dokumentation menschlicher Prionen-Erkrankungen (ÖRPE), Wien, Österreich
| | - Ellen Gelpi
- Abteilung für Neuropathologie und Neurochemie, Universitätsklinik für Neurologie, Medizinischer Universitätscampus Wien, Ebene 4J, Währinger Gürtel 18-20, 1090, Wien, Österreich. .,Österreichisches Referenzzentrum zur Erfassung und Dokumentation menschlicher Prionen-Erkrankungen (ÖRPE), Wien, Österreich.
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45
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Motyl JA, Strosznajder JB, Wencel A, Strosznajder RP. Recent Insights into the Interplay of Alpha-Synuclein and Sphingolipid Signaling in Parkinson's Disease. Int J Mol Sci 2021; 22:ijms22126277. [PMID: 34207975 PMCID: PMC8230587 DOI: 10.3390/ijms22126277] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/28/2021] [Revised: 06/01/2021] [Accepted: 06/02/2021] [Indexed: 01/22/2023] Open
Abstract
Molecular studies have provided increasing evidence that Parkinson’s disease (PD) is a protein conformational disease, where the spread of alpha-synuclein (ASN) pathology along the neuraxis correlates with clinical disease outcome. Pathogenic forms of ASN evoke oxidative stress (OS), neuroinflammation, and protein alterations in neighboring cells, thereby intensifying ASN toxicity, neurodegeneration, and neuronal death. A number of evidence suggest that homeostasis between bioactive sphingolipids with opposing function—e.g., sphingosine-1-phosphate (S1P) and ceramide—is essential in pro-survival signaling and cell defense against OS. In contrast, imbalance of the “sphingolipid biostat” favoring pro-oxidative/pro-apoptotic ceramide-mediated changes have been indicated in PD and other neurodegenerative disorders. Therefore, we focused on the role of sphingolipid alterations in ASN burden, as well as in a vast range of its neurotoxic effects. Sphingolipid homeostasis is principally directed by sphingosine kinases (SphKs), which synthesize S1P—a potent lipid mediator regulating cell fate and inflammatory response—making SphK/S1P signaling an essential pharmacological target. A growing number of studies have shown that S1P receptor modulators, and agonists are promising protectants in several neurological diseases. This review demonstrates the relationship between ASN toxicity and alteration of SphK-dependent S1P signaling in OS, neuroinflammation, and neuronal death. Moreover, we discuss the S1P receptor-mediated pathways as a novel promising therapeutic approach in PD.
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Affiliation(s)
- Joanna A. Motyl
- Department of Hybrid Microbiosystems Engineering, Nalecz Institute of Biocybernetics and Biomedical Engineering, Polish Academy of Sciences, Ks. Trojdena 4 St., 02-109 Warsaw, Poland; (J.A.M.); (A.W.)
| | - Joanna B. Strosznajder
- Department of Cellular Signalling, Mossakowski Medical Research Institute, Polish Academy of Sciences, 5 Pawinskiego St., 02-106 Warsaw, Poland;
| | - Agnieszka Wencel
- Department of Hybrid Microbiosystems Engineering, Nalecz Institute of Biocybernetics and Biomedical Engineering, Polish Academy of Sciences, Ks. Trojdena 4 St., 02-109 Warsaw, Poland; (J.A.M.); (A.W.)
| | - Robert P. Strosznajder
- Laboratory of Preclinical Research and Environmental Agents, Mossakowski Medical Research Institute, Polish Academy of Sciences, 5 Pawinskiego St., 02-106 Warsaw, Poland
- Correspondence:
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46
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Valderhaug VD, Heiney K, Ramstad OH, Bråthen G, Kuan WL, Nichele S, Sandvig A, Sandvig I. Early functional changes associated with alpha-synuclein proteinopathy in engineered human neural networks. Am J Physiol Cell Physiol 2021; 320:C1141-C1152. [PMID: 33950697 DOI: 10.1152/ajpcell.00413.2020] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/22/2022]
Abstract
A patterned spread of proteinopathy represents a common characteristic of many neurodegenerative diseases. In Parkinson's disease (PD), misfolded forms of α-synuclein proteins accumulate in hallmark pathological inclusions termed Lewy bodies and Lewy neurites. Such protein aggregates seem to affect selectively vulnerable neuronal populations in the substantia nigra and to propagate within interconnected neuronal networks. Research findings suggest that these proteinopathic inclusions are present at very early time points in disease development, even before clear behavioral symptoms of dysfunction arise. In this study, we investigate the early pathophysiology developing after induced formation of such PD-related α-synuclein inclusions in a physiologically relevant in vitro setup using engineered human neural networks. We monitor the neural network activity using multielectrode arrays (MEAs) for a period of 3 wk following proteinopathy induction to identify associated changes in network function, with a special emphasis on the measure of network criticality. Self-organized criticality represents the critical point between resilience against perturbation and adaptational flexibility, which appears to be a functional trait in self-organizing neural networks, both in vitro and in vivo. We show that although developing pathology at early onset is not clearly manifest in standard measurements of network function, it may be discerned by investigating differences in network criticality states.
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Affiliation(s)
- Vibeke D Valderhaug
- Department of Neuromedicine and Movement Science, Faculty of Medicine, Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU), Trondheim, Norway
| | - Kristine Heiney
- Department of Computer Science, Faculty of Technology, Art and Design, Oslo Metropolitan University (OsloMet), Oslo, Norway
| | - Ola Huse Ramstad
- Department of Neuromedicine and Movement Science, Faculty of Medicine, Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU), Trondheim, Norway
| | - Geir Bråthen
- Department of Neuromedicine and Movement Science, Faculty of Medicine, Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU), Trondheim, Norway
| | - Wei-Li Kuan
- John van Geest Centre for Brain Repair, Department of Clinical Neurosciences, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, United Kingdom
| | - Stefano Nichele
- Department of Computer Science, Faculty of Technology, Art and Design, Oslo Metropolitan University (OsloMet), Oslo, Norway
| | - Axel Sandvig
- Department of Neuromedicine and Movement Science, Faculty of Medicine, Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU), Trondheim, Norway.,Department of Neurology and Clinical Neurophysiology, St Olav's Hospital, Trondheim, Norway.,Department of Clinical Neurosciences, Umeå University Hospital, Umeå, Sweden.,Department of Rehabilitation Medicine, Umeå University Hospital, Umeå, Sweden.,Department of Community Medicine and Rehabilitation, Umeå University, Umeå, Sweden.,Clinical Sciences, Umeå University, Umeå, Sweden
| | - Ioanna Sandvig
- Department of Neuromedicine and Movement Science, Faculty of Medicine, Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU), Trondheim, Norway
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47
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Maggioni E, Arienti F, Minella S, Mameli F, Borellini L, Nigro M, Cogiamanian F, Bianchi AM, Cerutti S, Barbieri S, Brambilla P, Ardolino G. Effective Connectivity During Rest and Music Listening: An EEG Study on Parkinson's Disease. Front Aging Neurosci 2021; 13:657221. [PMID: 33994997 PMCID: PMC8113619 DOI: 10.3389/fnagi.2021.657221] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/22/2021] [Accepted: 03/31/2021] [Indexed: 11/30/2022] Open
Abstract
Music-based interventions seem to enhance motor, sensory and cognitive functions in Parkinson’s disease (PD), but the underlying action mechanisms are still largely unknown. This electroencephalography (EEG) study aimed to investigate the effective connectivity patterns characterizing PD in the resting state and during music listening. EEG recordings were obtained from fourteen non-demented PD patients and 12 healthy controls, at rest and while listening to three music tracks. Theta- and alpha-band power spectral density and multivariate partial directed coherence were computed. Power and connectivity measures were compared between patients and controls in the four conditions and in music vs. rest. Compared to controls, patients showed enhanced theta-band power and slightly enhanced alpha-band power, but markedly reduced theta- and alpha-band interactions among EEG channels, especially concerning the information received by the right central channel. EEG power differences were partially reduced by music listening, which induced power increases in controls but not in patients. Connectivity differences were slightly compensated by music, whose effects largely depended on the track. In PD, music enhanced the frontotemporal inter-hemispheric communication. Our findings suggest that PD is characterized by enhanced activity but reduced information flow within the EEG network, being only partially normalized by music. Nevertheless, music capability to facilitate inter-hemispheric communication might underlie its beneficial effects on PD pathophysiology and should be further investigated.
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Affiliation(s)
- Eleonora Maggioni
- Department of Neurosciences and Mental Health, Fondazione IRCCS Ca' Granda Ospedale Maggiore Policlinico, Milan, Italy
| | - Federica Arienti
- Department of Pathophysiology and Transplantation, University of Milan, Milan, Italy
| | - Stella Minella
- Department of Neurosciences and Mental Health, Fondazione IRCCS Ca' Granda Ospedale Maggiore Policlinico, Milan, Italy
| | - Francesca Mameli
- Department of Neurosciences and Mental Health, Fondazione IRCCS Ca' Granda Ospedale Maggiore Policlinico, Milan, Italy
| | - Linda Borellini
- Department of Neurosciences and Mental Health, Fondazione IRCCS Ca' Granda Ospedale Maggiore Policlinico, Milan, Italy
| | - Martina Nigro
- Department of Neurosciences and Mental Health, Fondazione IRCCS Ca' Granda Ospedale Maggiore Policlinico, Milan, Italy
| | - Filippo Cogiamanian
- Department of Neurosciences and Mental Health, Fondazione IRCCS Ca' Granda Ospedale Maggiore Policlinico, Milan, Italy
| | - Anna Maria Bianchi
- Department of Electronics, Information and Bioengineering, Politecnico di Milano, Milan, Italy
| | - Sergio Cerutti
- Department of Electronics, Information and Bioengineering, Politecnico di Milano, Milan, Italy
| | - Sergio Barbieri
- Department of Neurosciences and Mental Health, Fondazione IRCCS Ca' Granda Ospedale Maggiore Policlinico, Milan, Italy
| | - Paolo Brambilla
- Department of Neurosciences and Mental Health, Fondazione IRCCS Ca' Granda Ospedale Maggiore Policlinico, Milan, Italy.,Department of Pathophysiology and Transplantation, University of Milan, Milan, Italy
| | - Gianluca Ardolino
- Department of Neurosciences and Mental Health, Fondazione IRCCS Ca' Granda Ospedale Maggiore Policlinico, Milan, Italy
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Brumberg J, Kuzkina A, Lapa C, Mammadova S, Buck A, Volkmann J, Sommer C, Isaias IU, Doppler K. Dermal and cardiac autonomic fiber involvement in Parkinson's disease and multiple system atrophy. Neurobiol Dis 2021; 153:105332. [PMID: 33722614 DOI: 10.1016/j.nbd.2021.105332] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/11/2020] [Revised: 02/17/2021] [Accepted: 03/09/2021] [Indexed: 12/01/2022] Open
Abstract
Pathological aggregates of alpha-synuclein in peripheral dermal nerve fibers can be detected in patients with idiopathic Parkinson's disease and multiple system atrophy. This study combines skin biopsy staining for p-alpha-synuclein depositions and radionuclide imaging of the heart with [123I]-metaiodobenzylguanidine to explore peripheral denervation in both diseases. To this purpose, 42 patients with a clinical diagnosis of Parkinson's disease or multiple system atrophy were enrolled. All patients underwent a standardized clinical work-up including neurological evaluation, neurography, and blood samples. Skin biopsies were obtained from the distal and proximal leg, back, and neck for immunofluorescence double labeling with anti-p-alpha-synuclein and anti-PGP9.5. All patients underwent myocardial [123I]-metaiodobenzylguanidine scintigraphy. Dermal p-alpha-synuclein was observed in 47.6% of Parkinson's disease patients and was mainly found in autonomic structures. 81.0% of multiple system atrophy patients had deposits with most of cases in somatosensory fibers. The [123I]-metaiodobenzylguanidine heart-to-mediastinum ratio was lower in Parkinson's disease than in multiple system atrophy patients (1.94 ± 0.63 vs. 2.91 ± 0.96; p < 0.0001). Irrespective of the diagnosis, uptake was lower in patients with than without p-alpha-synuclein in autonomic structures (1.42 ± 0.51 vs. 2.74 ± 0.83; p < 0.0001). Rare cases of Parkinson's disease with p-alpha-synuclein in somatosensory fibers and multiple system atrophy patients with deposits in autonomic structures or both fiber types presented with clinically overlapping features. In conclusion, this study suggests that alpha-synuclein contributes to peripheral neurodegeneration and mediates the impairment of cardiac sympathetic neurons in patients with synucleinopathies. Furthermore, it indicates that Parkinson's disease and multiple system atrophy share pathophysiologic mechanisms of peripheral nervous system dysfunction with a clinical overlap.
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Affiliation(s)
- Joachim Brumberg
- Department of Nuclear Medicine, University Hospital Würzburg and Julius-Maximilian-University Würzburg, Oberdϋrrbacher Straβe 6, 97080 Würzburg, Germany.
| | - Anastasia Kuzkina
- Department of Neurology, University Hospital Würzburg and Julius-Maximilian-University Würzburg, Josef-Schneider-Straβe 11, 97080 Würzburg, Germany
| | - Constantin Lapa
- Department of Nuclear Medicine, University Hospital Würzburg and Julius-Maximilian-University Würzburg, Oberdϋrrbacher Straβe 6, 97080 Würzburg, Germany; Nuclear Medicine, Medical Faculty, University of Augsburg, Stenglinstraβe 2, 86156 Augsburg, Germany
| | - Sona Mammadova
- Department of Neurology, University Hospital Würzburg and Julius-Maximilian-University Würzburg, Josef-Schneider-Straβe 11, 97080 Würzburg, Germany
| | - Andreas Buck
- Department of Nuclear Medicine, University Hospital Würzburg and Julius-Maximilian-University Würzburg, Oberdϋrrbacher Straβe 6, 97080 Würzburg, Germany
| | - Jens Volkmann
- Department of Neurology, University Hospital Würzburg and Julius-Maximilian-University Würzburg, Josef-Schneider-Straβe 11, 97080 Würzburg, Germany
| | - Claudia Sommer
- Department of Neurology, University Hospital Würzburg and Julius-Maximilian-University Würzburg, Josef-Schneider-Straβe 11, 97080 Würzburg, Germany
| | - Ioannis U Isaias
- Department of Neurology, University Hospital Würzburg and Julius-Maximilian-University Würzburg, Josef-Schneider-Straβe 11, 97080 Würzburg, Germany
| | - Kathrin Doppler
- Department of Neurology, University Hospital Würzburg and Julius-Maximilian-University Würzburg, Josef-Schneider-Straβe 11, 97080 Würzburg, Germany
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49
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Moelgg K, Jummun F, Humpel C. Spreading of Beta-Amyloid in Organotypic Mouse Brain Slices and Microglial Elimination and Effects on Cholinergic Neurons. Biomolecules 2021; 11:434. [PMID: 33804246 PMCID: PMC7999593 DOI: 10.3390/biom11030434] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/04/2021] [Revised: 03/03/2021] [Accepted: 03/11/2021] [Indexed: 01/29/2023] Open
Abstract
The extracellular deposition of β-amyloid (Aβ) is one of the major characteristics in Alzheimer´s disease (AD). The "spreading hypothesis" suggests that a pathological protein (similar to prions) spreads over the entire brain. The aim of the present study was to use organotypic brain slices of postnatal day 8-10 mice. Using collagen hydrogels, we applied different Aβ peptides onto brain slices and analyzed spreading as well as glial reactions after eight weeks of incubation. Our data showed that from all tested Aβ peptides, human Aβ42 had the most potent activity to spread over into adjacent "target" areas. This effect was potentiated when brain slices from transgenic AD mice (APP_SweDI) were cultured. When different brain areas were connected to the "target slice" the spreading activity was more intense, originating from ventral striatum and brain stem. Reactive glial-fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP) astrogliosis increased over time, but Aβ depositions co-localized only with Iba1+ microglia but not with astrocytes. Application of human Aβ42 did not cause a degeneration of cholinergic neurons. We concluded that human Aβ42 spreads over into other "target areas", causing activation of glial cells. Most of the spread Aβ42 was taken up by microglia, and thus toxic free Aβ could not damage cholinergic neurons.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | - Christian Humpel
- Laboratory of Psychiatry and Experimental Alzheimer’s Research, Department Psychiatry I, Medical University of Innsbruck, Anichstr 35, A-6020 Innsbruck, Austria; (K.M.); (F.J.)
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50
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Opportunities and Challenges in Tunneling Nanotubes Research: How Far from Clinical Application? Int J Mol Sci 2021; 22:ijms22052306. [PMID: 33669068 PMCID: PMC7956326 DOI: 10.3390/ijms22052306] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/30/2021] [Revised: 02/21/2021] [Accepted: 02/21/2021] [Indexed: 02/08/2023] Open
Abstract
Tunneling nanotubes (TNTs) are recognized long membrane nanotubes connecting distance cells. In the last decade, growing evidence has shown that these subcellular structures mediate the specific transfer of cellular materials, pathogens, and electrical signals between cells. As intercellular bridges, they play a unique role in embryonic development, collective cell migration, injured cell recovery, cancer treatment resistance, and pathogen propagation. Although TNTs have been considered as potential drug targets for treatment, there is still a long way to go to translate the research findings into clinical practice. Herein, we emphasize the heterogeneous nature of TNTs by systemically summarizing the current knowledge on their morphology, structure, and biogenesis in different types of cells. Furthermore, we address the communication efficiency and biological outcomes of TNT-dependent transport related to diseases. Finally, we discuss the opportunities and challenges of TNTs as an exciting therapeutic approach by focusing on the development of efficient and safe drugs targeting TNTs.
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