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Sarangi S, Minaeva O, Ledoux DM, Parsons DS, Moncaster JA, Black CA, Hollander J, Tripodis Y, Clark JI, Hunter DG, Goldstein LE. In vivo quasi-elastic light scattering detects molecular changes in the lenses of adolescents with Down syndrome. Exp Eye Res 2024; 241:109818. [PMID: 38422787 DOI: 10.1016/j.exer.2024.109818] [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: 05/24/2023] [Revised: 12/08/2023] [Accepted: 01/30/2024] [Indexed: 03/02/2024]
Abstract
Down syndrome (DS) is the most common chromosomal disorder in humans. DS is associated with increased prevalence of several ocular sequelae, including characteristic blue-dot cerulean cataract. DS is accompanied by age-dependent accumulation of Alzheimer's disease (AD) amyloid-β (Aβ) peptides and amyloid pathology in the brain and comorbid early-onset Aβ amyloidopathy and colocalizing cataracts in the lens. Quasi-elastic light scattering (QLS) is an established optical technique that noninvasively measures changes in protein size distributions in the human lens in vivo. In this cross-sectional study, lenticular QLS correlation time was decreased in adolescent subjects with DS compared to age-matched control subjects. Clinical QLS was consistent with alterations in relative particle hydrodynamic radius in lenses of adolescents with DS. These correlative results suggest that noninvasive QLS can be used to evaluate molecular changes in the lenses of individuals with DS.
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Affiliation(s)
- Srikant Sarangi
- Molecular Aging & Development Laboratory, Boston University Chobanian and Avedisian School of Medicine, Boston, MA, USA; Boston University Photonics Center, Boston University, Boston, MA, USA; Department of Biomedical Engineering, Boston University, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Olga Minaeva
- Molecular Aging & Development Laboratory, Boston University Chobanian and Avedisian School of Medicine, Boston, MA, USA; Boston University Photonics Center, Boston University, Boston, MA, USA; Department of Biomedical Engineering, Boston University, Boston, MA, USA; Boston University Alzheimer's Disease Research Center, Boston University Chobanian and Avedisian School of Medicine, Boston, MA, USA; Department of Ophthalmology, Boston Children's Hospital, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Danielle M Ledoux
- Department of Ophthalmology, Boston Children's Hospital, Boston, MA, USA; Department of Ophthalmology, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Douglas S Parsons
- Molecular Aging & Development Laboratory, Boston University Chobanian and Avedisian School of Medicine, Boston, MA, USA; Boston University Photonics Center, Boston University, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Juliet A Moncaster
- Molecular Aging & Development Laboratory, Boston University Chobanian and Avedisian School of Medicine, Boston, MA, USA; Boston University Photonics Center, Boston University, Boston, MA, USA; Boston University Alzheimer's Disease Research Center, Boston University Chobanian and Avedisian School of Medicine, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Caitlin A Black
- Department of Ophthalmology, Boston Children's Hospital, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Jeffrey Hollander
- Department of Ophthalmology, Boston Children's Hospital, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Yorghos Tripodis
- Department of Biostatistics, Boston University School of Public Health, Boston, MA, USA
| | - John I Clark
- Department of Biological Structure, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA
| | - David G Hunter
- Department of Ophthalmology, Boston Children's Hospital, Boston, MA, USA; Department of Ophthalmology, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Lee E Goldstein
- Molecular Aging & Development Laboratory, Boston University Chobanian and Avedisian School of Medicine, Boston, MA, USA; Boston University Photonics Center, Boston University, Boston, MA, USA; Department of Biomedical Engineering, Boston University, Boston, MA, USA; Boston University Alzheimer's Disease Research Center, Boston University Chobanian and Avedisian School of Medicine, Boston, MA, USA.
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Ranaei Pirmardan E, Zhang Y, Barakat A, Naseri M, Russmann C, Hafezi-Moghadam A. Pre-hyperglycemia immune cell trafficking underlies subclinical diabetic cataractogenesis. J Biomed Sci 2023; 30:6. [PMID: 36694206 PMCID: PMC9872438 DOI: 10.1186/s12929-023-00895-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/25/2022] [Accepted: 01/02/2023] [Indexed: 01/25/2023] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND This work elucidates the first cellular and molecular causes of cataractogenesis. Current paradigm presupposes elevated blood glucose as a prerequisite in diabetic cataractogenesis. Novel evidence in our model of diabetic cataract challenges this notion and introduces immune cell migration to the lens and epithelial-mesenchymal transformation (EMT) of lens epithelial cells (LECs) as underlying causes. METHODS Paucity of suitable animal models has hampered mechanistic studies of diabetic cataract, as most studies were traditionally carried out in acutely induced hyperglycemic animals. We introduced diabetic cataract in the Nile grass rat (NGR) that spontaneously develops type 2 diabetes (T2D) and showed its closeness to the human condition. Specialized stereo microscopy with dual bright-field illumination revealed novel hyperreflective dot-like microlesions in the inner cortical regions of the lens. To study immune cell migration to the lens, we developed a unique in situ microscopy technique of the inner eye globe in combination with immunohistochemistry. RESULTS Contrary to the existing paradigm, in about half of the animals, the newly introduced hyper reflective dot-like microlesions preceded hyperglycemia. Even though the animals were normoglycemic, we found significant changes in their oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT), indicative of the prediabetic stage. The microlesions were accompanied with significant immune cell migration from the ciliary bodies to the lens, as revealed in our novel in situ microscopy technique. Immune cells adhered to the lens surface, some traversed the lens capsule, and colocalized with apoptotic nuclei of the lens epithelial cells (LECs). Extracellular degradations, amorphous material accumulations, and changes in E-cadherin expressions showed epithelial-mesenchymal transformation (EMT) in LECs. Subsequently, lens fiber disintegration and cataract progression extended into cortical, posterior, and anterior subcapsular cataracts. CONCLUSIONS Our results establish a novel role for immune cells in LEC transformation and death. The fact that cataract formation precedes hyperglycemia challenges the prevailing paradigm that glucose initiates or is necessary for initiation of the pathogenesis. Novel evidence shows that molecular and cellular complications of diabetes start during the prediabetic state. These results have foreseeable ramifications for early diagnosis, prevention and development of new treatment strategies in patients with diabetes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ehsan Ranaei Pirmardan
- grid.38142.3c000000041936754XMolecular Biomarkers Nano-Imaging Laboratory (MBNI), Brigham and Women’s Hospital, and Department of Radiology, Harvard Medical School, 75 Francis St., Thorn Research Building, Boston, MA 02115 USA
| | - Yuanlin Zhang
- grid.38142.3c000000041936754XMolecular Biomarkers Nano-Imaging Laboratory (MBNI), Brigham and Women’s Hospital, and Department of Radiology, Harvard Medical School, 75 Francis St., Thorn Research Building, Boston, MA 02115 USA
| | - Aliaa Barakat
- grid.38142.3c000000041936754XMolecular Biomarkers Nano-Imaging Laboratory (MBNI), Brigham and Women’s Hospital, and Department of Radiology, Harvard Medical School, 75 Francis St., Thorn Research Building, Boston, MA 02115 USA
| | - Marzieh Naseri
- grid.38142.3c000000041936754XMolecular Biomarkers Nano-Imaging Laboratory (MBNI), Brigham and Women’s Hospital, and Department of Radiology, Harvard Medical School, 75 Francis St., Thorn Research Building, Boston, MA 02115 USA ,grid.67033.310000 0000 8934 4045Department of Developmental, Molecular and Chemical Biology, Tufts University School of Medicine, Boston, MA USA
| | - Christoph Russmann
- grid.38142.3c000000041936754XMolecular Biomarkers Nano-Imaging Laboratory (MBNI), Brigham and Women’s Hospital, and Department of Radiology, Harvard Medical School, 75 Francis St., Thorn Research Building, Boston, MA 02115 USA ,Health Campus Göttingen/University of Applied Sciences and Arts (HAWK), Anna-Strasse 25, 37075 Göttingen, Germany
| | - Ali Hafezi-Moghadam
- grid.38142.3c000000041936754XMolecular Biomarkers Nano-Imaging Laboratory (MBNI), Brigham and Women’s Hospital, and Department of Radiology, Harvard Medical School, 75 Francis St., Thorn Research Building, Boston, MA 02115 USA
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Moncaster JA, Moir RD, Burton MA, Chadwick O, Minaeva O, Alvarez VE, Ericsson M, Clark JI, McKee AC, Tanzi RE, Goldstein LE. Alzheimer's disease amyloid-β pathology in the lens of the eye. Exp Eye Res 2022; 221:108974. [PMID: 35202705 PMCID: PMC9873124 DOI: 10.1016/j.exer.2022.108974] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/26/2021] [Revised: 01/31/2022] [Accepted: 02/02/2022] [Indexed: 01/26/2023]
Abstract
Neuropathological hallmarks of Alzheimer's disease (AD) include pathogenic accumulation of amyloid-β (Aβ) peptides and age-dependent formation of amyloid plaques in the brain. AD-associated Aβ neuropathology begins decades before onset of cognitive symptoms and slowly progresses over the course of the disease. We previously reported discovery of Aβ deposition, β-amyloidopathy, and co-localizing supranuclear cataracts (SNC) in lenses from people with AD, but not other neurodegenerative disorders or normal aging. We confirmed AD-associated Aβ molecular pathology in the lens by immunohistopathology, amyloid histochemistry, immunoblot analysis, epitope mapping, immunogold electron microscopy, quantitative immunoassays, and tryptic digest mass spectrometry peptide sequencing. Ultrastructural analysis revealed that AD-associated Aβ deposits in AD lenses localize as electron-dense microaggregates in the cytoplasm of supranuclear (deep cortex) fiber cells. These Aβ microaggregates also contain αB-crystallin and scatter light, thus linking Aβ pathology and SNC phenotype expression in the lenses of people with AD. Subsequent research identified Aβ lens pathology as the molecular origin of the distinctive cataracts associated with Down syndrome (DS, trisomy 21), a chromosomal disorder invariantly associated with early-onset Aβ accumulation and Aβ amyloidopathy in the brain. Investigation of 1249 participants in the Framingham Eye Study found that AD-associated quantitative traits in brain and lens are co-heritable. Moreover, AD-associated lens traits preceded MRI brain traits and cognitive deficits by a decade or more and predicted future AD. A genome-wide association study of bivariate outcomes in the same subjects identified a new AD risk factor locus in the CTNND2 gene encoding δ-catenin, a protein that modulates Aβ production in brain and lens. Here we report identification of AD-related human Aβ (hAβ) lens pathology and age-dependent SNC phenotype expression in the Tg2576 transgenic mouse model of AD. Tg2576 mice express Swedish mutant human amyloid precursor protein (APP-Swe), accumulate hAβ peptides and amyloid pathology in the brain, and exhibit cognitive deficits that slowly progress with increasing age. We found that Tg2576 trangenic (Tg+) mice, but not non-transgenic (Tg-) control mice, also express human APP, accumulate hAβ peptides, and develop hAβ molecular and ultrastructural pathologies in the lens. Tg2576 Tg+ mice exhibit age-dependent Aβ supranuclear lens opacification that recapitulates lens pathology and SNC phenotype expression in human AD. In addition, we detected hAβ in conditioned medium from lens explant cultures prepared from Tg+ mice, but not Tg- control mice, a finding consistent with constitutive hAβ generation in the lens. In vitro studies showed that hAβ promoted mouse lens protein aggregation detected by quasi-elastic light scattering (QLS) spectroscopy. These results support mechanistic (genotype-phenotype) linkage between Aβ pathology and AD-related phenotypes in lens and brain. Collectively, our findings identify Aβ pathology as the shared molecular etiology of two age-dependent AD-related cataracts associated with two human diseases (AD, DS) and homologous murine cataracts in the Tg2576 transgenic mouse model of AD. These results represent the first evidence of AD-related Aβ pathology outside the brain and point to lens Aβ as an optically-accessible AD biomarker for early detection and longitudinal monitoring of this devastating neurodegenerative disease.
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Affiliation(s)
- Juliet A. Moncaster
- Molecular Aging and Development Laboratory, Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, MA, 02118, USA,Boston University Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center, Boston University School of Medicine, 72 East Concord Street, B-7800 Boston, MA, 02118, USA
| | - Robert D. Moir
- Genetics and Aging Research Unit, Department of Neurology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Charlestown, MA, 02129, USA
| | - Mark A. Burton
- Molecular Aging and Development Laboratory, Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, MA, 02118, USA
| | - Oliver Chadwick
- Genetics and Aging Research Unit, Department of Neurology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Charlestown, MA, 02129, USA
| | - Olga Minaeva
- Molecular Aging and Development Laboratory, Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, MA, 02118, USA,Boston University Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center, Boston University School of Medicine, 72 East Concord Street, B-7800 Boston, MA, 02118, USA
| | - Victor E. Alvarez
- Boston University Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center, Boston University School of Medicine, 72 East Concord Street, B-7800 Boston, MA, 02118, USA,Edith Nourse Rogers Memorial Veterans’ Hospital, Bedford, MA, 01730, USA
| | - Maria Ericsson
- Electron Microscopy Facility, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, 02115, USA
| | - John I. Clark
- Departments of Biological Structure and Ophthalmology, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, 98195, USA
| | - Ann C. McKee
- Boston University Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center, Boston University School of Medicine, 72 East Concord Street, B-7800 Boston, MA, 02118, USA,Edith Nourse Rogers Memorial Veterans’ Hospital, Bedford, MA, 01730, USA
| | - Rudolph E. Tanzi
- Genetics and Aging Research Unit, Department of Neurology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Charlestown, MA, 02129, USA
| | - Lee E. Goldstein
- Molecular Aging and Development Laboratory, Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, MA, 02118, USA,Boston University Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center, Boston University School of Medicine, 72 East Concord Street, B-7800 Boston, MA, 02118, USA,Corresponding author. Molecular Aging & Development Laboratory, Boston University, School of Medicine, 670 Albany Street, Boston, MA, 02118, USA. (L.E. Goldstein)
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Mathan JJ, Simkin SK, Gokul A, McGhee CNJ. Down syndrome and the eye: ocular characteristics and ocular assessment. Surv Ophthalmol 2022; 67:1631-1646. [DOI: 10.1016/j.survophthal.2022.03.006] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/13/2021] [Revised: 03/27/2022] [Accepted: 03/28/2022] [Indexed: 01/20/2023]
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Affiliation(s)
- Roy Quinlan
- Biomedical Sciences, Department of Biosciences, The University of Durham, Upper Mountjoy Science Site, Durham, DH1 3LE, UK.
| | - Frank Giblin
- Biomedical Sciences Emeritus, Eye Research Institute, Oakland University, Rochester, MI, 48309, USA.
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Ranaei Pirmardan E, Barakat A, Zhang Y, Naseri M, Hafezi-Moghadam A. Diabetic cataract in the Nile grass rat: A longitudinal phenotypic study of pathology formation. FASEB J 2021; 35:e21593. [PMID: 33991133 DOI: 10.1096/fj.202100353r] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/26/2021] [Revised: 03/22/2021] [Accepted: 03/29/2021] [Indexed: 12/14/2022]
Abstract
Diabetes is a major risk factor for cataract, the leading cause of blindness worldwide. There is an unmet need for a realistic model of diabetic cataract for mechanistic and longitudinal studies, as existing models do not reflect key aspects of the complex human disease. Here, we introduce and characterize diabetic cataract in the Nile grass rat (NGR, Arvicanthis niloticus), an established model of metabolic syndrome and type 2 diabetes (T2D). We conducted a longitudinal study of cataract in over 88 NGRs in their non-diabetic, pre-diabetic, and diabetic stages of metabolism. Oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT) results distinguished the metabolic stages. Diverse cataract types were observed in the course of diabetes, including cortical, posterior subcapsular (PSC), and anterior subcapsular (ASC), all of which succeeded a characteristic dotted ring stage in all animals. The onset ages of diabetes and cataract were 44 ± 3 vs 29 ± 1 (P < .001) and 66 ± 5 vs 58 ± 6 (not significant) weeks in females and males, respectively. Histological analysis revealed fiber disorganization, vacuolar structures, and cellular proliferation and migration in cataractous lenses. The lens epithelial cells (LECs) in non-diabetic young NGRs expressed the stress marker GRP78, as did LECs and migrated cells in the lenses of diabetic animals. Elucidating mechanisms underlying LEC proliferation and migration will be clinically valuable in prevention and treatment of posterior capsule opacification, a dreaded complication of cataract surgery. Marked changes in N-cadherin expression emphasized a role for LEC integrity in cataractogenesis. Apoptotic cells were dispersed in the equatorial areas in early cataractogenesis. Our study reveals diverse cataract types that spontaneously develop in the diabetic NGR, and which uniquely mirror the cataract and its chronic course of development in individuals with diabetes. We provide mechanistic insights into early stages of diabetic cataract. These unique characteristics make NGR highly suited for mechanistic studies, especially in the context of metabolism, diabetes, and aging.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ehsan Ranaei Pirmardan
- Molecular Biomarkers Nano-Imaging Laboratory, Department of Radiology, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Aliaa Barakat
- Molecular Biomarkers Nano-Imaging Laboratory, Department of Radiology, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Yuanlin Zhang
- Molecular Biomarkers Nano-Imaging Laboratory, Department of Radiology, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Marzieh Naseri
- Oncopathology Research Center, Iran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.,Department of Molecular Medicine, Faculty of Advanced Technologies in Medicine, Iran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran
| | - Ali Hafezi-Moghadam
- Molecular Biomarkers Nano-Imaging Laboratory, Department of Radiology, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
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