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Nahalka J. 1-L Transcription in Prion Diseases. Int J Mol Sci 2024; 25:9961. [PMID: 39337449 PMCID: PMC11431846 DOI: 10.3390/ijms25189961] [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: 05/22/2024] [Revised: 07/17/2024] [Accepted: 09/13/2024] [Indexed: 09/30/2024] Open
Abstract
Understanding the pathogenesis and mechanisms of prion diseases can significantly expand our knowledge in the field of neurodegenerative diseases. Prion biology is increasingly recognized as being relevant to the pathophysiology of Alzheimer's disease and Parkinson's disease, both of which affect millions of people each year. This bioinformatics study used a theoretical protein-RNA recognition code (1-L transcription) to reveal the post-transcriptional regulation of the prion protein (PrPC). The principle for this method is directly elucidated on PrPC, in which an octa-repeat can be 1-L transcribed into a GGA triplet repeat RNA aptamer known to reduce the misfolding of normal PrPC into abnormal PrPSc. The identified genes/proteins are associated with mitochondria, cancer, COVID-19 and ER-stress, and approximately half are directly or indirectly associated with prion diseases. For example, the octa-repeat supports CD44, and regions of the brain with astrocytic prion accumulation also display high levels of CD44.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jozef Nahalka
- Centre for Glycomics, Institute of Chemistry, Slovak Academy of Sciences, Dubravska Cesta 9, SK-84538 Bratislava, Slovakia
- Centre of Excellence for White-Green Biotechnology, Slovak Academy of Sciences, Trieda Andreja Hlinku 2, SK-94976 Nitra, Slovakia
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2
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Caredio D, Koderman M, Frontzek KJ, Sorce S, Nuvolone M, Bremer J, Mariutti G, Schwarz P, Madrigal L, Mitrovic M, Sellitto S, Streichenberger N, Scheckel C, Aguzzi A. Prion diseases disrupt glutamate/glutamine metabolism in skeletal muscle. PLoS Pathog 2024; 20:e1012552. [PMID: 39259763 PMCID: PMC11419395 DOI: 10.1371/journal.ppat.1012552] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/19/2024] [Revised: 09/23/2024] [Accepted: 09/02/2024] [Indexed: 09/13/2024] Open
Abstract
In prion diseases (PrDs), aggregates of misfolded prion protein (PrPSc) accumulate not only in the brain but also in extraneural organs. This raises the question whether prion-specific pathologies arise also extraneurally. Here we sequenced mRNA transcripts in skeletal muscle, spleen and blood of prion-inoculated mice at eight timepoints during disease progression. We detected gene-expression changes in all three organs, with skeletal muscle showing the most consistent alterations. The glutamate-ammonia ligase (GLUL) gene exhibited uniform upregulation in skeletal muscles of mice infected with three distinct scrapie prion strains (RML, ME7, and 22L) and in victims of human sporadic Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease. GLUL dysregulation was accompanied by changes in glutamate/glutamine metabolism, leading to reduced glutamate levels in skeletal muscle. None of these changes were observed in skeletal muscle of humans with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, Alzheimer's disease, or dementia with Lewy bodies, suggesting that they are specific to prion diseases. These findings reveal an unexpected metabolic dimension of prion infections and point to a potential role for GLUL dysregulation in the glutamate/glutamine metabolism in prion-affected skeletal muscle.
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Affiliation(s)
- Davide Caredio
- Institute of Neuropathology, University Hospital Zurich, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Maruša Koderman
- Institute of Neuropathology, University Hospital Zurich, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Karl J. Frontzek
- Institute of Neuropathology, University Hospital Zurich, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
- Department of Molecular Neuroscience, Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot, Israel
| | - Silvia Sorce
- Institute of Neuropathology, University Hospital Zurich, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Mario Nuvolone
- Institute of Neuropathology, University Hospital Zurich, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Juliane Bremer
- Institute of Neuropathology, University Hospital Zurich, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Giovanni Mariutti
- Institute of Neuropathology, University Hospital Zurich, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Petra Schwarz
- Institute of Neuropathology, University Hospital Zurich, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Lidia Madrigal
- Institute of Neuropathology, University Hospital Zurich, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Marija Mitrovic
- Institute of Neuropathology, University Hospital Zurich, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Stefano Sellitto
- Institute of Neuropathology, University Hospital Zurich, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
| | | | - Claudia Scheckel
- Institute of Neuropathology, University Hospital Zurich, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Adriano Aguzzi
- Institute of Neuropathology, University Hospital Zurich, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
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Pagano N, Aguilar Perez G, Garcia-Milian R, Manuelidis L. Proliferative arrest induces neuron differentiation and innate immune responses in control and Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease agent infected rat septal neurons. BIORXIV : THE PREPRINT SERVER FOR BIOLOGY 2024:2024.07.26.605349. [PMID: 39131355 PMCID: PMC11312452 DOI: 10.1101/2024.07.26.605349] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 08/13/2024]
Abstract
Rat post-mitotic septal (SEP) neurons, engineered to conditionally proliferate at 33°C, differentiate when arrested at 37.5°C and can be maintained for weeks without cytotoxic effects. Nine independent cDNA libraries were made to follow arrest-induced neural differentiation and innate immune responses in normal (Nl) uninfected and CJ agent infected SEP cells. Proliferating Nl versus latently infected (CJ-) cells showed few RNA-seq differences. However arrest induced major changes. Normal cells displayed a plethora of anti-proliferative transcripts. Additionally, known neuron differentiation transcripts, e.g., Agtr2, Neuregulin-1, GDF6, SFRP4 and Prnp were upregulated. These Nl neurons also displayed many activated IFN innate immune genes, e.g., OAS1, RTP4, ISG20, GTB4, CD80 and cytokines, complement, and clusterin (CLU) that binds to misfolded proteins. In contrast, arrested highly infectious CJ+ cells (10 logs/gm) downregulated many replication controls. Furthermore, arrested CJ+ cells suppressed neuronal differentiation transcripts, including Prnp which is essential for CJ agent infection. CJ+ cells also enhanced IFN stimulated pathways, and analysis of the 342 CJ+ unique transcripts revealed additional innate immune and anti-viral-linked transcripts, e.g., Il17, ISG15, and RSAD2 (viperin). These data show: 1) innate immune transcripts are produced by normal neurons during differentiation; 2) CJ infection can enhance and expand anti-viral responses; 3) latent CJ infection epigenetically imprints many proliferative pathways to thwart complete arrest. CJ+ brain microglia, white blood cells and intestinal myeloid cells with shared transcripts may be stimulated to educe latent CJD infections that can be clinically silent for >30 years.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nathan Pagano
- Yale University Medical School, 333 Cedar Street, Room FMB11, New Haven CT 06510
| | | | | | - Laura Manuelidis
- Yale University Medical School, 333 Cedar Street, Room FMB11, New Haven CT 06510
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4
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Karagianni K, Dafou D, Xanthopoulos K, Sklaviadis T, Kanata E. RNA editing regulates glutamatergic synapses in the frontal cortex of a molecular subtype of Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis. Mol Med 2024; 30:101. [PMID: 38997636 PMCID: PMC11241978 DOI: 10.1186/s10020-024-00863-2] [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: 04/04/2024] [Accepted: 06/12/2024] [Indexed: 07/14/2024] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS) is a highly heterogenous neurodegenerative disorder that primarily affects upper and lower motor neurons, affecting additional cell types and brain regions. Underlying molecular mechanisms are still elusive, in part due to disease heterogeneity. Molecular disease subtyping through integrative analyses including RNA editing profiling is a novel approach for identification of molecular networks involved in pathogenesis. METHODS We aimed to highlight the role of RNA editing in ALS, focusing on the frontal cortex and the prevalent molecular disease subtype (ALS-Ox), previously determined by transcriptomic profile stratification. We established global RNA editing (editome) and gene expression (transcriptome) profiles in control and ALS-Ox cases, utilizing publicly available RNA-seq data (GSE153960) and an in-house analysis pipeline. Functional annotation and pathway analyses identified molecular processes affected by RNA editing alterations. Pearson correlation analyses assessed RNA editing effects on expression. Similar analyses on additional ALS-Ox and control samples (GSE124439) were performed for verification. Targeted re-sequencing and qRT-PCR analysis targeting CACNA1C, were performed using frontal cortex tissue from ALS and control samples (n = 3 samples/group). RESULTS We identified reduced global RNA editing in the frontal cortex of ALS-Ox cases. Differentially edited transcripts are enriched in synapses, particularly in the glutamatergic synapse pathway. Bioinformatic analyses on additional ALS-Ox and control RNA-seq data verified these findings. We identified increased recoding at the Q621R site in the GRIK2 transcript and determined positive correlations between RNA editing and gene expression alterations in ionotropic receptor subunits GRIA2, GRIA3 and the CACNA1C transcript, which encodes the pore forming subunit of a post-synaptic L-type calcium channel. Experimental data verified RNA editing alterations and editing-expression correlation in CACNA1C, highlighting CACNA1C as a target for further study. CONCLUSIONS We provide evidence on the involvement of RNA editing in the frontal cortex of an ALS molecular subtype, highlighting a modulatory role mediated though recoding and gene expression regulation on glutamatergic synapse related transcripts. We report RNA editing effects in disease-related transcripts and validated editing alterations in CACNA1C. Our study provides targets for further functional studies that could shed light in underlying disease mechanisms enabling novel therapeutic approaches.
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Affiliation(s)
- Korina Karagianni
- Department of Genetics, Development, and Molecular Biology, School of Biology, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, 541 24, Thessaloniki, Greece
| | - Dimitra Dafou
- Department of Genetics, Development, and Molecular Biology, School of Biology, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, 541 24, Thessaloniki, Greece
| | - Konstantinos Xanthopoulos
- Laboratory of Pharmacology, Department of Pharmacy, School of Health Sciences, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, 54124, Thessaloniki, Greece
- Institute of Applied Biosciences, Centre for Research and Technology Hellas, 57001, Thermi, Greece
| | - Theodoros Sklaviadis
- Laboratory of Pharmacology, Department of Pharmacy, School of Health Sciences, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, 54124, Thessaloniki, Greece
| | - Eirini Kanata
- Laboratory of Pharmacology, Department of Pharmacy, School of Health Sciences, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, 54124, Thessaloniki, Greece.
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Van Norden M, Falls Z, Mandloi S, Segal BH, Baysal BE, Samudrala R, Elkin PL. The implications of APOBEC3-mediated C-to-U RNA editing for human disease. Commun Biol 2024; 7:529. [PMID: 38704509 PMCID: PMC11069577 DOI: 10.1038/s42003-024-06239-w] [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] [Accepted: 04/24/2024] [Indexed: 05/06/2024] Open
Abstract
Intra-organism biodiversity is thought to arise from epigenetic modification of constituent genes and post-translational modifications of translated proteins. Here, we show that post-transcriptional modifications, like RNA editing, may also contribute. RNA editing enzymes APOBEC3A and APOBEC3G catalyze the deamination of cytosine to uracil. RNAsee (RNA site editing evaluation) is a computational tool developed to predict the cytosines edited by these enzymes. We find that 4.5% of non-synonymous DNA single nucleotide polymorphisms that result in cytosine to uracil changes in RNA are probable sites for APOBEC3A/G RNA editing; the variant proteins created by such polymorphisms may also result from transient RNA editing. These polymorphisms are associated with over 20% of Medical Subject Headings across ten categories of disease, including nutritional and metabolic, neoplastic, cardiovascular, and nervous system diseases. Because RNA editing is transient and not organism-wide, future work is necessary to confirm the extent and effects of such editing in humans.
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Affiliation(s)
- Melissa Van Norden
- Department of Biomedical Informatics, Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, University at Buffalo, State University of New York, Buffalo, NY, USA
| | - Zackary Falls
- Department of Biomedical Informatics, Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, University at Buffalo, State University of New York, Buffalo, NY, USA
| | - Sapan Mandloi
- Department of Biomedical Informatics, Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, University at Buffalo, State University of New York, Buffalo, NY, USA
| | - Brahm H Segal
- Department of Biomedical Informatics, Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, University at Buffalo, State University of New York, Buffalo, NY, USA
- Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center, Buffalo, NY, USA
| | - Bora E Baysal
- Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center, Buffalo, NY, USA
| | - Ram Samudrala
- Department of Biomedical Informatics, Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, University at Buffalo, State University of New York, Buffalo, NY, USA
| | - Peter L Elkin
- Department of Biomedical Informatics, Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, University at Buffalo, State University of New York, Buffalo, NY, USA.
- Department of Veterans Affairs, VA Western New York Healthcare System, Buffalo, NY, USA.
- Faculty of Engineering, University of Southern Denmark, Odense, Denmark.
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Karagianni K, Bibi A, Madé A, Acharya S, Parkkonen M, Barbalata T, Srivastava PK, de Gonzalo-Calvo D, Emanueli C, Martelli F, Devaux Y, Dafou D, Nossent AY. Recommendations for detection, validation, and evaluation of RNA editing events in cardiovascular and neurological/neurodegenerative diseases. MOLECULAR THERAPY. NUCLEIC ACIDS 2024; 35:102085. [PMID: 38192612 PMCID: PMC10772297 DOI: 10.1016/j.omtn.2023.102085] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/10/2024]
Abstract
RNA editing, a common and potentially highly functional form of RNA modification, encompasses two different RNA modifications, namely adenosine to inosine (A-to-I) and cytidine to uridine (C-to-U) editing. As inosines are interpreted as guanosines by the cellular machinery, both A-to-I and C-to-U editing change the nucleotide sequence of the RNA. Editing events in coding sequences have the potential to change the amino acid sequence of proteins, whereas editing events in noncoding RNAs can, for example, affect microRNA target binding. With advancing RNA sequencing technology, more RNA editing events are being discovered, studied, and reported. However, RNA editing events are still often overlooked or discarded as sequence read quality defects. With this position paper, we aim to provide guidelines and recommendations for the detection, validation, and follow-up experiments to study RNA editing, taking examples from the fields of cardiovascular and brain disease. We discuss all steps, from sample collection, storage, and preparation, to different strategies for RNA sequencing and editing-sensitive data analysis strategies, to validation and follow-up experiments, as well as potential pitfalls and gaps in the available technologies. This paper may be used as an experimental guideline for RNA editing studies in any disease context.
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Affiliation(s)
- Korina Karagianni
- Department of Genetics, Development, and Molecular Biology, School of Biology, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, 541 24 Thessaloniki, Greece
| | - Alessia Bibi
- Molecular Cardiology Laboratory, IRCCS Policlinico San Donato, Via Morandi 30, San Donato Milanese, 20097 Milan, Italy
- Department of Biosciences, University of Milan, Milan, Italy
| | - Alisia Madé
- Molecular Cardiology Laboratory, IRCCS Policlinico San Donato, Via Morandi 30, San Donato Milanese, 20097 Milan, Italy
| | - Shubhra Acharya
- Cardiovascular Research Unit, Luxembourg Institute of Health, Strassen, Luxembourg
- Faculty of Science, Technology and Medicine, University of Luxembourg, Esch-sur-alzette, Luxembourg
| | - Mikko Parkkonen
- Research Unit of Biomedicine and Internal Medicine, Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology, University of Oulu, Oulu, Finland
| | - Teodora Barbalata
- Lipidomics Department, Institute of Cellular Biology and Pathology “Nicolae Simionescu” of the Romanian Academy, 8, B. P. Hasdeu Street, 050568 Bucharest, Romania
| | | | - David de Gonzalo-Calvo
- Translational Research in Respiratory Medicine, University Hospital Arnau de Vilanova and Santa Maria, IRBLleida, Lleida, Spain
- CIBER of Respiratory Diseases (CIBERES), Institute of Health Carlos III, Madrid, Spain
| | | | - Fabio Martelli
- Molecular Cardiology Laboratory, IRCCS Policlinico San Donato, Via Morandi 30, San Donato Milanese, 20097 Milan, Italy
| | - Yvan Devaux
- Cardiovascular Research Unit, Luxembourg Institute of Health, Strassen, Luxembourg
| | - Dimitra Dafou
- Department of Genetics, Development, and Molecular Biology, School of Biology, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, 541 24 Thessaloniki, Greece
| | - A. Yaël Nossent
- Department of Surgery, Leiden University Medical Center, Leiden, the Netherlands
- Department of Nutrition, Exercise and Sports (NEXS), University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - on behalf of EU-CardioRNA COST Action CA17129
- Department of Genetics, Development, and Molecular Biology, School of Biology, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, 541 24 Thessaloniki, Greece
- Molecular Cardiology Laboratory, IRCCS Policlinico San Donato, Via Morandi 30, San Donato Milanese, 20097 Milan, Italy
- Department of Biosciences, University of Milan, Milan, Italy
- Cardiovascular Research Unit, Luxembourg Institute of Health, Strassen, Luxembourg
- Faculty of Science, Technology and Medicine, University of Luxembourg, Esch-sur-alzette, Luxembourg
- Research Unit of Biomedicine and Internal Medicine, Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology, University of Oulu, Oulu, Finland
- Lipidomics Department, Institute of Cellular Biology and Pathology “Nicolae Simionescu” of the Romanian Academy, 8, B. P. Hasdeu Street, 050568 Bucharest, Romania
- National Heart & Lung Institute, Imperial College London, London, UK
- Translational Research in Respiratory Medicine, University Hospital Arnau de Vilanova and Santa Maria, IRBLleida, Lleida, Spain
- CIBER of Respiratory Diseases (CIBERES), Institute of Health Carlos III, Madrid, Spain
- Department of Surgery, Leiden University Medical Center, Leiden, the Netherlands
- Department of Nutrition, Exercise and Sports (NEXS), University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark
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7
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Wright AL, Konen LM, Mockett BG, Morris GP, Singh A, Burbano LE, Milham L, Hoang M, Zinn R, Chesworth R, Tan RP, Royle GA, Clark I, Petrou S, Abraham WC, Vissel B. The Q/R editing site of AMPA receptor GluA2 subunit acts as an epigenetic switch regulating dendritic spines, neurodegeneration and cognitive deficits in Alzheimer's disease. Mol Neurodegener 2023; 18:65. [PMID: 37759260 PMCID: PMC10537207 DOI: 10.1186/s13024-023-00632-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/11/2023] [Accepted: 06/03/2023] [Indexed: 09/29/2023] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND RNA editing at the Q/R site of GluA2 occurs with ~99% efficiency in the healthy brain, so that the majority of AMPARs contain GluA2(R) instead of the exonically encoded GluA2(Q). Reduced Q/R site editing infcreases AMPA receptor calcium permeability and leads to dendritic spine loss, neurodegeneration, seizures and learning impairments. Furthermore, GluA2 Q/R site editing is impaired in Alzheimer's disease (AD), raising the possibility that unedited GluA2(Q)-containing AMPARs contribute to synapse loss and neurodegeneration in AD. If true, then inhibiting expression of unedited GluA2(Q), while maintaining expression of GluA2(R), may be a novel strategy of preventing synapse loss and neurodegeneration in AD. METHODS We engineered mice with the 'edited' arginine codon (CGG) in place of the unedited glutamine codon (CAG) at position 607 of the Gria2 gene. We crossbred this line with the J20 mouse model of AD and conducted anatomical, electrophysiological and behavioural assays to determine the impact of eliminating unedited GluA2(Q) expression on AD-related phenotypes. RESULTS Eliminating unedited GluA2(Q) expression in AD mice prevented dendritic spine loss and hippocampal CA1 neurodegeneration as well as improved working and reference memory in the radial arm maze. These phenotypes were improved independently of Aβ pathology and ongoing seizure susceptibility. Surprisingly, our data also revealed increased spine density in non-AD mice with exonically encoded GluA2(R) as compared to their wild-type littermates, suggesting an unexpected and previously unknown role for unedited GluA2(Q) in regulating dendritic spines. CONCLUSION The Q/R editing site of the AMPA receptor subunit GluA2 may act as an epigenetic switch that regulates dendritic spines, neurodegeneration and memory deficits in AD.
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Affiliation(s)
- Amanda L Wright
- St Vincent's Clinical School, St Vincent's Hospital Sydney, Faculty of Medicine, University of New South Wales, Darlinghurst, NSW, 2010, Australia
- School of Rural Medicine, Charles Sturt University, Orange, NSW, 2800, Australia
| | - Lyndsey M Konen
- Centre for Neuroscience and Regenerative Medicine, St Vincent's Centre for Applied Medical Research, St Vincent's Hospital Sydney, Darlinghurst, NSW, 2010, Australia
| | - Bruce G Mockett
- Department of Psychology, Brain Health Research Centre, Brain Research New Zealand, University of Otago, Box 56, Dunedin, 9054, New Zealand
| | - Gary P Morris
- Centre for Neuroscience and Regenerative Medicine, St Vincent's Centre for Applied Medical Research, St Vincent's Hospital Sydney, Darlinghurst, NSW, 2010, Australia
- Tasmanian School of Medicine, College of Health and Medicine, University of Tasmania, Hobart, TAS, 7005, Australia
| | - Anurag Singh
- Department of Psychology, Brain Health Research Centre, Brain Research New Zealand, University of Otago, Box 56, Dunedin, 9054, New Zealand
| | - Lisseth Estefania Burbano
- Florey Institute of Neuroscience and Mental Health, University of Melbourne, Parkville, VIC, 3010, Australia
- Department of Anatomy and Neuroscience, University of Melbourne, Parkville, VIC, 3010, Australia
| | - Luke Milham
- St Vincent's Clinical School, St Vincent's Hospital Sydney, Faculty of Medicine, University of New South Wales, Darlinghurst, NSW, 2010, Australia
- Centre for Neuroscience and Regenerative Medicine, St Vincent's Centre for Applied Medical Research, St Vincent's Hospital Sydney, Darlinghurst, NSW, 2010, Australia
| | - Monica Hoang
- School of Pharmacy, University of Waterloo, Kitchener, ON, N2G 1C5, Canada
| | - Raphael Zinn
- Centre for Neuroscience and Regenerative Medicine, St Vincent's Centre for Applied Medical Research, St Vincent's Hospital Sydney, Darlinghurst, NSW, 2010, Australia
| | - Rose Chesworth
- School of Medicine, Western Sydney University, Campbelltown, NSW, 2560, Australia
| | - Richard P Tan
- Chronic Diseases, School of Medical Sciences, Faculty of Health and Medicine, University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW, 2050, Australia
- Charles Perkins Centre, University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW, 2006, Australia
| | - Gordon A Royle
- Middlemore Hospital, Counties Manukau DHB, Otahuhu, Auckland, 1062, New Zealand
- Faculty of Medical and Health Sciences, University of Auckland, Grafton, Auckland, 1023, New Zealand
| | - Ian Clark
- Research School of Biology, Australian National University, Canberra, ACT, 0200, Australia
| | - Steven Petrou
- Florey Institute of Neuroscience and Mental Health, University of Melbourne, Parkville, VIC, 3010, Australia
- Department of Anatomy and Neuroscience, University of Melbourne, Parkville, VIC, 3010, Australia
| | - Wickliffe C Abraham
- Department of Psychology, Brain Health Research Centre, Brain Research New Zealand, University of Otago, Box 56, Dunedin, 9054, New Zealand
| | - Bryce Vissel
- St Vincent's Clinical School, St Vincent's Hospital Sydney, Faculty of Medicine, University of New South Wales, Darlinghurst, NSW, 2010, Australia.
- Centre for Neuroscience and Regenerative Medicine, St Vincent's Centre for Applied Medical Research, St Vincent's Hospital Sydney, Darlinghurst, NSW, 2010, Australia.
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8
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Van Norden M, Falls Z, Mandloi S, Segal B, Baysal B, Samudrala R, Elkin PL. The Role of C-to-U RNA Editing in Human Biodiversity. BIORXIV : THE PREPRINT SERVER FOR BIOLOGY 2023:2023.07.31.550344. [PMID: 37577456 PMCID: PMC10418052 DOI: 10.1101/2023.07.31.550344] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 08/15/2023]
Abstract
Intra-organism biodiversity is thought to arise from epigenetic modification of our constituent genes and post-translational modifications after mRNA is translated into proteins. We have found that post-transcriptional modification, also known as RNA editing, is also responsible for a significant amount of our biodiversity, substantively expanding this story. The APOBEC (apolipoprotein B mRNA editing catalytic polypeptide-like) family RNA editing enzymes APOBEC3A and APOBEC3G catalyze the deamination of cytosines to uracils (C>U) in specific stem-loop structures.1,2 We used RNAsee (RNA site editing evaluation), a tool developed to predict the locations of APOBEC3A/G RNA editing sites, to determine whether known single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in DNA could be replicated in RNA via RNA editing. About 4.5% of non-synonymous SNPs which result in C>U changes in RNA, and about 5.4% of such SNPs labelled as pathogenic, were identified as probable sites for APOBEC3A/G editing. This suggests that the variant proteins created by these DNA mutations may also be created by transient RNA editing, with the potential to affect human health. Those SNPs identified as potential APOBEC3A/G-mediated RNA editing sites were disproportionately associated with cardiovascular diseases, digestive system diseases, and musculoskeletal diseases. Future work should focus on common sites of RNA editing, any variant proteins created by these RNA editing sites, and the effects of these variants on protein diversity and human health. Classically, our biodiversity is thought to come from our constitutive genetics, epigenetic phenomenon, transcriptional differences, and post-translational modification of proteins. Here, we have shown evidence that RNA editing, often stimulated by environmental factors, could account for a significant degree of the protein biodiversity leading to human disease. In an era where worries about our changing environment are ever increasing, from the warming of our climate to the emergence of new diseases to the infiltration of microplastics and pollutants into our bodies, understanding how environmentally sensitive mechanisms like RNA editing affect our own cells is essential.
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Affiliation(s)
- Melissa Van Norden
- Department of Biomedical Informatics, University at Buffalo, Buffalo, NY, USA
| | - Zackary Falls
- Department of Biomedical Informatics, University at Buffalo, Buffalo, NY, USA
| | - Sapan Mandloi
- Department of Biomedical Informatics, University at Buffalo, Buffalo, NY, USA
| | - Brahm Segal
- Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, Buffalo, NY, USA
- Roswell Park Cancer Center
| | | | - Ram Samudrala
- Department of Biomedical Informatics, University at Buffalo, Buffalo, NY, USA
| | - Peter L Elkin
- Department of Biomedical Informatics, University at Buffalo, Buffalo, NY, USA
- Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, Buffalo, NY, USA
- Department of Veterans Affairs, VA Western New York Healthcare System, Buffalo, NY, USA
- Faculty of Engineering, University of Southern Denmark
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9
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Tarozzi M, Baiardi S, Sala C, Bartoletti-Stella A, Parchi P, Capellari S, Castellani G. Genomic, transcriptomic and RNA editing analysis of human MM1 and VV2 sporadic Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease. Acta Neuropathol Commun 2022; 10:181. [PMID: 36517866 PMCID: PMC9749175 DOI: 10.1186/s40478-022-01483-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/17/2022] [Accepted: 11/20/2022] [Indexed: 12/15/2022] Open
Abstract
Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (CJD) is characterized by a broad phenotypic spectrum regarding symptoms, progression, and molecular features. Current sporadic CJD (sCJD) classification recognizes six main clinical-pathological phenotypes. This work investigates the molecular basis of the phenotypic heterogeneity of prion diseases through a multi-omics analysis of the two most common sCJD subtypes: MM1 and VV2. We performed DNA target sequencing on 118 genes on a cohort of 48 CJD patients and full exome RNA sequencing on post-mortem frontal cortex tissue on a subset of this cohort. DNA target sequencing identified multiple potential genetic contributors to the disease onset and phenotype, both in terms of coding, damaging-predicted variants, and enriched groups of SNPs in the whole cohort and the two subtypes. The results highlight a different functional impairment, with VV2 associated with higher impairment of the pathways related to dopamine secretion, regulation of calcium release and GABA signaling, showing some similarities with Parkinson's disease both on a genomic and a transcriptomic level. MM1 showed a gene expression profile with several traits shared with different neurodegenerative, without an apparent distinctive characteristic or similarities with a specific disease. In addition, integrating genomic and transcriptomic data led to the discovery of several sites of ADAR-mediated RNA editing events, confirming and expanding previous findings in animal models. On the transcriptomic level, this work represents the first application of RNA sequencing on CJD human brain samples. Here, a good clusterization of the transcriptomic profiles of the two subtypes was achieved, together with the finding of several differently impaired pathways between the two subtypes. The results add to the understanding of the molecular features associated with sporadic CJD and its most common subtypes, revealing strain-specific genetic signatures and functional similarities between VV2 and Parkinson's disease and providing preliminary evidence of RNA editing modifications in human sCJD.
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Affiliation(s)
- Martina Tarozzi
- grid.6292.f0000 0004 1757 1758Department of Experimental, Diagnostic and Specialty Medicine, University of Bologna, 40139 Bologna, Italy
| | - Simone Baiardi
- grid.6292.f0000 0004 1757 1758Department of Experimental, Diagnostic and Specialty Medicine, University of Bologna, 40139 Bologna, Italy ,grid.492077.fProgramma di Neuropatologia delle Malattie, Neurodegenerative, IRCCS Istituto delle Scienze Neurologiche di Bologna, 40139 Bologna, Italy
| | - Claudia Sala
- grid.6292.f0000 0004 1757 1758Department of Experimental, Diagnostic and Specialty Medicine, University of Bologna, 40139 Bologna, Italy
| | - Anna Bartoletti-Stella
- grid.6292.f0000 0004 1757 1758Department of Experimental, Diagnostic and Specialty Medicine, University of Bologna, 40139 Bologna, Italy
| | - Piero Parchi
- grid.492077.fProgramma di Neuropatologia delle Malattie, Neurodegenerative, IRCCS Istituto delle Scienze Neurologiche di Bologna, 40139 Bologna, Italy ,grid.6292.f0000 0004 1757 1758Department of Biomedical and Neuromotor Sciences, University of Bologna, 40139 Bologna, Italy
| | - Sabina Capellari
- grid.492077.fProgramma di Neuropatologia delle Malattie, Neurodegenerative, IRCCS Istituto delle Scienze Neurologiche di Bologna, 40139 Bologna, Italy ,grid.6292.f0000 0004 1757 1758Department of Biomedical and Neuromotor Sciences, University of Bologna, 40139 Bologna, Italy
| | - Gastone Castellani
- grid.6292.f0000 0004 1757 1758Department of Experimental, Diagnostic and Specialty Medicine, University of Bologna, 40139 Bologna, Italy
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10
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RNA Editing Alterations Define Disease Manifestations in the Progression of Experimental Autoimmune Encephalomyelitis (EAE). Cells 2022; 11:cells11223582. [PMID: 36429012 PMCID: PMC9688714 DOI: 10.3390/cells11223582] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/09/2022] [Revised: 11/01/2022] [Accepted: 11/09/2022] [Indexed: 11/16/2022] Open
Abstract
RNA editing is an epitranscriptomic modification, leading to targeted changes in RNA transcripts. It is mediated by the action of ADAR (adenosine deaminases acting on double-stranded (ds) RNA and APOBEC (apolipoprotein B mRNA editing enzyme catalytic polypeptide-like) deaminases and appears to play a major role in the pathogenesis of many diseases. Here, we assessed its role in experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE), a widely used non-clinical model of autoimmune inflammatory diseases of the central nervous system (CNS), which resembles many aspects of human multiple sclerosis (MS). We have analyzed in silico data from microglia isolated at different timepoints through disease progression to identify the global editing events and validated the selected targets in murine tissue samples. To further evaluate the functional role of RNA editing, we induced EAE in transgenic animals lacking expression of APOBEC-1. We found that RNA-editing events, mediated by the APOBEC and ADAR deaminases, are significantly reduced throughout the course of disease, possibly affecting the protein expression necessary for normal neurological function. Moreover, the severity of the EAE model was significantly higher in APOBEC-1 knock-out mice, compared to wild-type controls. Our results implicate regulatory epitranscriptomic mechanisms in EAE pathogenesis that could be extrapolated to MS and other neurodegenerative disorders (NDs) with common clinical and molecular features.
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11
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Slota JA, Sajesh BV, Frost KF, Medina SJ, Booth SA. Dysregulation of neuroprotective astrocytes, a spectrum of microglial activation states, and altered hippocampal neurogenesis are revealed by single-cell RNA sequencing in prion disease. Acta Neuropathol Commun 2022; 10:161. [PMID: 36352465 PMCID: PMC9647949 DOI: 10.1186/s40478-022-01450-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/30/2022] [Accepted: 09/24/2022] [Indexed: 11/10/2022] Open
Abstract
Prion diseases are neurodegenerative disorders with long asymptomatic incubation periods, followed by a rapid progression of cognitive and functional decline culminating in death. The complexity of intercellular interactions in the brain is challenging to unravel and the basis of disease pathobiology remains poorly understood. In this study, we employed single cell RNA sequencing (scRNAseq) to produce an atlas of 147,536 single cell transcriptomes from cortex and hippocampus of mice infected with prions and showing clinical signs. We identified transcriptionally distinct populations and sub-populations of all the major brain cell-types. Disease-related transcription was highly specific to not only overarching cell-types, but also to sub-populations of glia and neurons. Most striking was an apparent decrease in relative frequency of astrocytes expressing genes that are required for brain homeostasis such as lipid synthesis, glutamate clearance, synaptic modulation and regulation of blood flow. Additionally, we described a spectrum of microglial activation states that suggest delineation of phagocytic and neuroinflammatory functions in different cell subsets. Differential responses of immature and mature neuron populations were also observed, alongside abnormal hippocampal neurogenesis. Our scRNAseq library provides a new layer of knowledge on single cell gene expression in prion disease, and is a basis for a more detailed understanding of cellular interplay that leads to neurodegeneration.
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12
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Karagianni K, Pettas S, Christoforidou G, Kanata E, Bekas N, Xanthopoulos K, Dafou D, Sklaviadis T. A Systematic Review of Common and Brain-Disease-Specific RNA Editing Alterations Providing Novel Insights into Neurological and Neurodegenerative Disease Manifestations. Biomolecules 2022; 12:biom12030465. [PMID: 35327657 PMCID: PMC8946084 DOI: 10.3390/biom12030465] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/01/2022] [Revised: 03/08/2022] [Accepted: 03/15/2022] [Indexed: 02/05/2023] Open
Abstract
RNA editing contributes to transcriptome diversification through RNA modifications in relation to genome-encoded information (RNA–DNA differences, RDDs). The deamination of Adenosine (A) to Inosine (I) or Cytidine (C) to Uridine (U) is the most common type of mammalian RNA editing. It occurs as a nuclear co- and/or post-transcriptional event catalyzed by ADARs (Adenosine deaminases acting on RNA) and APOBECs (apolipoprotein B mRNA editing enzyme catalytic polypeptide-like genes). RNA editing may modify the structure, stability, and processing of a transcript. This review focuses on RNA editing in psychiatric, neurological, neurodegenerative (NDs), and autoimmune brain disorders in humans and rodent models. We discuss targeted studies that focus on RNA editing in specific neuron-enriched transcripts with well-established functions in neuronal activity, and transcriptome-wide studies, enabled by recent technological advances. We provide comparative editome analyses between human disease and corresponding animal models. Data suggest RNA editing to be an emerging mechanism in disease development, displaying common and disease-specific patterns. Commonly edited RNAs represent potential disease-associated targets for therapeutic and diagnostic values. Currently available data are primarily descriptive, calling for additional research to expand global editing profiles and to provide disease mechanistic insights. The potential use of RNA editing events as disease biomarkers and available tools for RNA editing identification, classification, ranking, and functional characterization that are being developed will enable comprehensive analyses for a better understanding of disease(s) pathogenesis and potential cures.
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Affiliation(s)
- Korina Karagianni
- Department of Genetics, Development, and Molecular Biology, School of Biology, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, 541 24 Thessaloniki, Greece; (K.K.); (S.P.); (G.C.); (N.B.)
| | - Spyros Pettas
- Department of Genetics, Development, and Molecular Biology, School of Biology, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, 541 24 Thessaloniki, Greece; (K.K.); (S.P.); (G.C.); (N.B.)
| | - Georgia Christoforidou
- Department of Genetics, Development, and Molecular Biology, School of Biology, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, 541 24 Thessaloniki, Greece; (K.K.); (S.P.); (G.C.); (N.B.)
| | - Eirini Kanata
- Neurodegenerative Diseases Research Group, Department of Pharmacy, School of Health Sciences, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, 541 24 Thessaloniki, Greece; (E.K.); (K.X.); (T.S.)
| | - Nikolaos Bekas
- Department of Genetics, Development, and Molecular Biology, School of Biology, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, 541 24 Thessaloniki, Greece; (K.K.); (S.P.); (G.C.); (N.B.)
| | - Konstantinos Xanthopoulos
- Neurodegenerative Diseases Research Group, Department of Pharmacy, School of Health Sciences, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, 541 24 Thessaloniki, Greece; (E.K.); (K.X.); (T.S.)
| | - Dimitra Dafou
- Department of Genetics, Development, and Molecular Biology, School of Biology, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, 541 24 Thessaloniki, Greece; (K.K.); (S.P.); (G.C.); (N.B.)
- Correspondence:
| | - Theodoros Sklaviadis
- Neurodegenerative Diseases Research Group, Department of Pharmacy, School of Health Sciences, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, 541 24 Thessaloniki, Greece; (E.K.); (K.X.); (T.S.)
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13
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Aguilar G, Pagano N, Manuelidis L. Reduced Expression of Prion Protein With Increased Interferon-β Fail to Limit Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease Agent Replication in Differentiating Neuronal Cells. Front Physiol 2022; 13:837662. [PMID: 35250638 PMCID: PMC8895124 DOI: 10.3389/fphys.2022.837662] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/16/2021] [Accepted: 01/20/2022] [Indexed: 11/17/2022] Open
Abstract
Immortalized uninfected septal (SEP) neurons proliferate but after physiological mitotic arrest they express differentiated neuronal characteristics including enhanced cell-to-cell membrane contacts and ≥ 8 fold increases in host prion protein (PrP). We compared proliferating uninfected and Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease (CJD) agent infected cells with their arrested counterparts over 33 days by quantitative mRNA and protein blot analyses. Surprisingly, uninfected arrested cells increased interferon-β (IFN-β) mRNA by 2.5–8 fold; IFN-β mRNA elevations were not previously associated with neuronal differentiation. SEP cells with high CJD infectivity titers produced a much larger 40–68-fold increase in IFN-β mRNA, a classic host anti-viral response that is virucidal for RNA but not DNA viruses. High titers of CJD agent also induced dramatic decreases in host PrP, a protein needed for productive agent replication. Uninfected arrested cells produced large sustained 20–30-fold increases in PrP mRNA and protein, whereas CJD arrested cells showed only transient small 5-fold increases in PrP. A > 10-fold increase in infectivity, but not PrP misfolding, induced host PrP reductions that can limit CJD agent replication. In contrast to neuronal lineage cells, functionally distinct migratory microglia with high titers of CJD agent do not induce an IFN-β mRNA response. Because they have 1/50th of PrP of an average brain cell, microglia would be unable to produce the many new infectious particles needed to induce a large IFN-β response by host cells. Instead, microglia and related cells can be persistent reservoirs of infection and spread. Phase separations of agent-associated molecules in neurons, microglia and other cell types can yield new insights into the molecular structure, persistent, and evasive behavior of CJD-type agents.
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14
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Soleymanjahi S, Blanc V, Davidson N. APOBEC1 mediated C-to-U RNA editing: target sequence and trans-acting factor contribution to 177 RNA editing events in 119 murine transcripts in-vivo. RNA (NEW YORK, N.Y.) 2021; 27:rna.078678.121. [PMID: 34083494 PMCID: PMC8284327 DOI: 10.1261/rna.078678.121] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/08/2021] [Accepted: 05/31/2021] [Indexed: 05/04/2023]
Abstract
Mammalian C-to-U RNA editing was described more than 30 years ago as a single nucleotide modification in small intestinal Apob RNA, later shown to be mediated by the RNA-specific cytidine deaminase APOBEC1. Reports of other examples of C-to-U RNA editing, coupled with the advent of genome-wide transcriptome sequencing, identified an expanded range of APOBEC1 targets. Here we analyze the cis-acting regulatory components of verified murine C-to-U RNA editing targets, including nearest neighbor as well as flanking sequence requirements and folding predictions. RNA secondary structure of the editing cassette was associated with editing frequency and exhibited minimal free energy values comparable to small nuclear RNAs. We summarize findings demonstrating the relative importance of trans-acting factors (A1CF, RBM47) acting in concert with APOBEC1. Co-factor dominance was associated with editing frequency, with RNAs targeted by both RBM47 and A1CF edited at a lower frequency than RBM47 dominant targets. Using this information, we developed a multivariable linear regression model to predict APOBEC1 dependent C-to-U RNA editing efficiency, incorporating factors independently associated with editing frequencies based on 103 Sanger-confirmed editing sites, which accounted for 84% of the observed variance. This model also predicted a composite score for available human C-to-U RNA targets, which again correlated with editing frequency.
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15
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Cheng Y, Saville L, Gollen B, Veronesi AA, Mohajerani M, Joseph JT, Zovoilis A. Increased Alu RNA processing in Alzheimer brains is linked to gene expression changes. EMBO Rep 2021; 22:e52255. [PMID: 33645898 PMCID: PMC8097388 DOI: 10.15252/embr.202052255] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/10/2020] [Revised: 01/23/2021] [Accepted: 02/01/2021] [Indexed: 12/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Despite significant steps in our understanding of Alzheimer's disease (AD), many of the molecular processes underlying its pathogenesis remain largely unknown. Here, we focus on the role of non-coding RNAs produced by small interspersed nuclear elements (SINEs). RNAs from SINE B2 repeats in mouse and SINE Alu repeats in humans, long regarded as "junk" DNA, control gene expression by binding RNA polymerase II and suppressing transcription. They also possess self-cleaving activity that is accelerated through their interaction with certain proteins disabling this suppression. Here, we show that similar to mouse SINE RNAs, human Alu RNAs, are processed, and the processing rate is increased in brains of AD patients. This increased processing correlates with the activation of genes up-regulated in AD patients, while increased intact Alu RNA levels correlate with down-regulated gene expression in AD. In vitro assays show that processing of Alu RNAs is accelerated by HSF1. Overall, our data show that RNAs from SINE elements in the human brain show a similar pattern of deregulation during amyloid beta pathology as in mouse.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yubo Cheng
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of Lethbridge, Lethbridge, AB, Canada.,Southern Alberta Genome Sciences Centre, University of Lethbridge, Lethbridge, AB, Canada.,Canadian Centre for Behavioral Neuroscience, University of Lethbridge, Lethbridge, AB, Canada
| | - Luke Saville
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of Lethbridge, Lethbridge, AB, Canada.,Southern Alberta Genome Sciences Centre, University of Lethbridge, Lethbridge, AB, Canada.,Canadian Centre for Behavioral Neuroscience, University of Lethbridge, Lethbridge, AB, Canada
| | - Babita Gollen
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of Lethbridge, Lethbridge, AB, Canada.,Southern Alberta Genome Sciences Centre, University of Lethbridge, Lethbridge, AB, Canada.,Canadian Centre for Behavioral Neuroscience, University of Lethbridge, Lethbridge, AB, Canada
| | - Ana Alvarez Veronesi
- Departments of Pathology and Clinical Neurosciences and Calgary Brain Bank, University of Calgary, Calgary, AB, Canada
| | - Majid Mohajerani
- Canadian Centre for Behavioral Neuroscience, University of Lethbridge, Lethbridge, AB, Canada
| | - Jeffrey T Joseph
- Departments of Pathology and Clinical Neurosciences and Calgary Brain Bank, University of Calgary, Calgary, AB, Canada
| | - Athanasios Zovoilis
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of Lethbridge, Lethbridge, AB, Canada.,Southern Alberta Genome Sciences Centre, University of Lethbridge, Lethbridge, AB, Canada.,Canadian Centre for Behavioral Neuroscience, University of Lethbridge, Lethbridge, AB, Canada
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16
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Li Y, Xu Q, Wu D, Chen G. Exploring Additional Valuable Information From Single-Cell RNA-Seq Data. Front Cell Dev Biol 2020; 8:593007. [PMID: 33335900 PMCID: PMC7736616 DOI: 10.3389/fcell.2020.593007] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/04/2020] [Accepted: 10/26/2020] [Indexed: 12/28/2022] Open
Abstract
Single-cell RNA-seq (scRNA-seq) technologies are broadly applied to dissect the cellular heterogeneity and expression dynamics, providing unprecedented insights into single-cell biology. Most of the scRNA-seq studies mainly focused on the dissection of cell types/states, developmental trajectory, gene regulatory network, and alternative splicing. However, besides these routine analyses, many other valuable scRNA-seq investigations can be conducted. Here, we first review cell-to-cell communication exploration, RNA velocity inference, identification of large-scale copy number variations and single nucleotide changes, and chromatin accessibility prediction based on single-cell transcriptomics data. Next, we discuss the identification of novel genes/transcripts through transcriptome reconstruction approaches, as well as the profiling of long non-coding RNAs and circular RNAs. Additionally, we survey the integration of single-cell and bulk RNA-seq datasets for deconvoluting the cell composition of large-scale bulk samples and linking single-cell signatures to patient outcomes. These additional analyses could largely facilitate corresponding basic science and clinical applications.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yunjin Li
- Center for Bioinformatics and Computational Biology, Shanghai Key Laboratory of Regulatory Biology, Institute of Biomedical Sciences, School of Life Sciences, East China Normal University, Shanghai, China
| | - Qiyue Xu
- Center for Bioinformatics and Computational Biology, Shanghai Key Laboratory of Regulatory Biology, Institute of Biomedical Sciences, School of Life Sciences, East China Normal University, Shanghai, China
| | - Duojiao Wu
- Institute of Clinical Science, Zhongshan Hospital, Fudan University, Shanghai, China
| | - Geng Chen
- Center for Bioinformatics and Computational Biology, Shanghai Key Laboratory of Regulatory Biology, Institute of Biomedical Sciences, School of Life Sciences, East China Normal University, Shanghai, China
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17
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Scheckel C, Imeri M, Schwarz P, Aguzzi A. Ribosomal profiling during prion disease uncovers progressive translational derangement in glia but not in neurons. eLife 2020; 9:62911. [PMID: 32960170 PMCID: PMC7527237 DOI: 10.7554/elife.62911] [Citation(s) in RCA: 32] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/10/2020] [Accepted: 09/16/2020] [Indexed: 01/19/2023] Open
Abstract
Prion diseases are caused by PrPSc, a self-replicating pathologically misfolded protein that exerts toxicity predominantly in the brain. The administration of PrPSc causes a robust, reproducible and specific disease manifestation. Here, we have applied a combination of translating ribosome affinity purification and ribosome profiling to identify biologically relevant prion-induced changes during disease progression in a cell-type-specific and genome-wide manner. Terminally diseased mice with severe neurological symptoms showed extensive alterations in astrocytes and microglia. Surprisingly, we detected only minor changes in the translational profiles of neurons. Prion-induced alterations in glia overlapped with those identified in other neurodegenerative diseases, suggesting that similar events occur in a broad spectrum of pathologies. Our results suggest that aberrant translation within glia may suffice to cause severe neurological symptoms and may even be the primary driver of prion disease.
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Affiliation(s)
- Claudia Scheckel
- Institute of Neuropathology, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Marigona Imeri
- Institute of Neuropathology, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Petra Schwarz
- Institute of Neuropathology, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Adriano Aguzzi
- Institute of Neuropathology, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
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18
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Sorce S, Nuvolone M, Russo G, Chincisan A, Heinzer D, Avar M, Pfammatter M, Schwarz P, Delic M, Müller M, Hornemann S, Sanoudou D, Scheckel C, Aguzzi A. Genome-wide transcriptomics identifies an early preclinical signature of prion infection. PLoS Pathog 2020; 16:e1008653. [PMID: 32598380 PMCID: PMC7360066 DOI: 10.1371/journal.ppat.1008653] [Citation(s) in RCA: 29] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/18/2020] [Revised: 07/14/2020] [Accepted: 05/26/2020] [Indexed: 12/17/2022] Open
Abstract
The clinical course of prion diseases is accurately predictable despite long latency periods, suggesting that prion pathogenesis is driven by precisely timed molecular events. We constructed a searchable genome-wide atlas of mRNA abundance and splicing alterations during the course of disease in prion-inoculated mice. Prion infection induced PrP-dependent transient changes in mRNA abundance and processing already at eight weeks post inoculation, well ahead of any neuropathological and clinical signs. In contrast, microglia-enriched genes displayed an increase simultaneous with the appearance of clinical signs, whereas neuronal-enriched transcripts remained unchanged until the very terminal stage of disease. This suggests that glial pathophysiology, rather than neuronal demise, could be the final driver of disease. The administration of young plasma attenuated the occurrence of early mRNA abundance alterations and delayed signs in the terminal phase of the disease. The early onset of prion-induced molecular changes might thus point to novel biomarkers and potential interventional targets.
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Affiliation(s)
- Silvia Sorce
- Institute of Neuropathology, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Mario Nuvolone
- Institute of Neuropathology, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
- Amyloidosis Research and Treatment Center, Foundation Scientific Institute Policlinico San Matteo, Department of Molecular Medicine, University of Pavia, Pavia, Italy
| | - Giancarlo Russo
- Functional Genomics Center Zurich, ETH/University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Andra Chincisan
- Institute of Neuropathology, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Daniel Heinzer
- Institute of Neuropathology, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Merve Avar
- Institute of Neuropathology, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
| | | | - Petra Schwarz
- Institute of Neuropathology, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Mirzet Delic
- Institute of Neuropathology, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Micha Müller
- Institute of Molecular Life Sciences, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Simone Hornemann
- Institute of Neuropathology, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Despina Sanoudou
- Clinical Genomics and Pharmacogenomics Unit, 4th Department of Internal Medicine, Attikon Hospital, Medical School, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Athens, Greece
| | - Claudia Scheckel
- Institute of Neuropathology, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Adriano Aguzzi
- Institute of Neuropathology, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
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19
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Nakagawa Y, Yamada S. Metal homeostasis disturbances in neurodegenerative disorders, with special emphasis on Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease - Potential pathogenetic mechanism and therapeutic implications. Pharmacol Ther 2019; 207:107455. [PMID: 31863817 DOI: 10.1016/j.pharmthera.2019.107455] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/23/2019] [Accepted: 12/09/2019] [Indexed: 12/14/2022]
Abstract
Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (CJD) is characterized by a rapidly progressive dementia often accompanied by myoclonus and other signs of brain dysfunction, relying on the conversion of the normal cellular form of the prion protein (PrPC) to a misfolded form (PrPSc). The neuropathological changes include spongiform degeneration, neuronal loss, astrogliosis, and deposition of PrPSc. It is still unclear how these pathological changes correlate with the development of CJD symptoms because few patients survive beyond 2 years after diagnosis. Inasmuch as the symptoms of CJD overlap some of those observed in Alzheimer's, Parkinson's, and Huntington's diseases, there may be some underlying pathologic mechanisms associated with CJD that may contribute to the symptoms of non-prion neurodegenerative diseases as well. Data suggest that imbalance of metals, including copper, zinc, iron, and manganese, induces abnormalities in processing and degradation of prion proteins that are accompanied by self-propagation of PrPSc. These events appear to be responsible for glutamatergic synaptic dysfunctions, neuronal death, and PrPSc aggregation. Given that the prodromal symptoms of CJD such as sleep disturbances and mood disorders are associated with brain stem and limbic system dysfunction, the pathological changes may initially occur in these brain regions, then spread throughout the entire brain. Alterations in cerebrospinal fluid homeostasis, which may be linked to imbalance of these metals, seem to be more important than neuroinflammation in causing the cell death. It is proposed that metal dyshomeostasis could be responsible for the initiation and progression of the pathological changes associated with symptoms of CJD and other neurodegenerative disorders.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yutaka Nakagawa
- Center for Pharma-Food Research (CPFR), Division of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Graduate School of Integrative Pharmaceutical and Nutritional Sciences, University of Shizuoka, 52-1 Yada, Suruga-ku, Shizuoka 422-8526, Japan.
| | - Shizuo Yamada
- Center for Pharma-Food Research (CPFR), Division of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Graduate School of Integrative Pharmaceutical and Nutritional Sciences, University of Shizuoka, 52-1 Yada, Suruga-ku, Shizuoka 422-8526, Japan
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