1
|
Lanzillotta C, Baniowska MR, Prestia F, Sette C, Nalesso V, Perluigi M, Barone E, Duchon A, Tramutola A, Herault Y, Di Domenico F. Shaping down syndrome brain cognitive and molecular changes due to aging using adult animals from the Ts66Yah murine model. Neurobiol Dis 2024; 196:106523. [PMID: 38705491 DOI: 10.1016/j.nbd.2024.106523] [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: 02/23/2024] [Revised: 04/11/2024] [Accepted: 05/02/2024] [Indexed: 05/07/2024] Open
Abstract
Down syndrome (DS) is the most common condition with intellectual disability and is caused by trisomy of Homo sapiens chromosome 21 (HSA21). The increased dosage of genes on HSA21 is associated with early neurodevelopmental changes and subsequently at adult age with the development of Alzheimer-like cognitive decline. However, the molecular mechanisms promoting brain pathology along aging are still missing. The novel Ts66Yah model represents an evolution of the Ts65Dn, used in characterizing the progression of brain degeneration, and it manifest phenotypes closer to human DS condition. In this study we performed a longitudinal analysis (3-9 months) of adult Ts66Yah mice. Our data support the behavioural alterations occurring in Ts66Yah mice at older age with improvement in the detection of spatial memory defects and also a new anxiety-related phenotype. The evaluation of hippocampal molecular pathways in Ts66Yah mice, as effect of age, demonstrate the aberrant regulation of redox balance, proteostasis, stress response, metabolic pathways, programmed cell death and synaptic plasticity. Intriguingly, the genotype-driven changes observed in those pathways occur early promoting altered brain development and the onset of a condition of premature aging. In turn, aging may account for the subsequent hippocampal deterioration that fall in characteristic neuropathological features. Besides, the analysis of sex influence in the alteration of hippocampal mechanisms demonstrate only a mild effect. Overall, data collected in Ts66Yah provide novel and consolidated insights, concerning trisomy-driven processes that contribute to brain pathology in conjunction with aging. This, in turn, aids in bridging the existing gap in comprehending the intricate nature of DS phenotypes.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Chiara Lanzillotta
- Department of Biochemical Sciences A. Rossi Fanelli, Sapienza University of Rome, Piazzale Aldo Moro 5, 00185 Rome, Italy
| | - Monika Rataj Baniowska
- Université de Strasbourg, CNRS, Inserm, Institut de Génétique Biologie Moléculaire et Cellulaire, IGBMC, UMR 7104- UMR-S 1258, F-67400 Illkirch, France
| | - Francesca Prestia
- Department of Biochemical Sciences A. Rossi Fanelli, Sapienza University of Rome, Piazzale Aldo Moro 5, 00185 Rome, Italy
| | - Chiara Sette
- Department of Biochemical Sciences A. Rossi Fanelli, Sapienza University of Rome, Piazzale Aldo Moro 5, 00185 Rome, Italy
| | - Valérie Nalesso
- Université de Strasbourg, CNRS, Inserm, Institut de Génétique Biologie Moléculaire et Cellulaire, IGBMC, UMR 7104- UMR-S 1258, F-67400 Illkirch, France
| | - Marzia Perluigi
- Department of Biochemical Sciences A. Rossi Fanelli, Sapienza University of Rome, Piazzale Aldo Moro 5, 00185 Rome, Italy
| | - Eugenio Barone
- Department of Biochemical Sciences A. Rossi Fanelli, Sapienza University of Rome, Piazzale Aldo Moro 5, 00185 Rome, Italy
| | - Arnaud Duchon
- Université de Strasbourg, CNRS, Inserm, Institut de Génétique Biologie Moléculaire et Cellulaire, IGBMC, UMR 7104- UMR-S 1258, F-67400 Illkirch, France
| | - Antonella Tramutola
- Department of Biochemical Sciences A. Rossi Fanelli, Sapienza University of Rome, Piazzale Aldo Moro 5, 00185 Rome, Italy
| | - Yann Herault
- Université de Strasbourg, CNRS, Inserm, Institut de Génétique Biologie Moléculaire et Cellulaire, IGBMC, UMR 7104- UMR-S 1258, F-67400 Illkirch, France.
| | - Fabio Di Domenico
- Department of Biochemical Sciences A. Rossi Fanelli, Sapienza University of Rome, Piazzale Aldo Moro 5, 00185 Rome, Italy.
| |
Collapse
|
2
|
Evans LJ, O'Brien D, Shaw PJ. Current neuroprotective therapies and future prospects for motor neuron disease. INTERNATIONAL REVIEW OF NEUROBIOLOGY 2024; 176:327-384. [PMID: 38802178 DOI: 10.1016/bs.irn.2024.04.003] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/29/2024]
Abstract
Four medications with neuroprotective disease-modifying effects are now in use for motor neuron disease (MND). With FDA approvals for tofersen, relyvrio and edaravone in just the past year, 2022 ended a quarter of a century when riluzole was the sole such drug to offer to patients. The acceleration of approvals may mean we are witnessing the beginning of a step-change in how MND can be treated. Improvements in understanding underlying disease biology has led to more therapies being developed to target specific and multiple disease mechanisms. Consideration for how the pipeline of new therapeutic agents coming through in clinical and preclinical development can be more effectively evaluated with biomarkers, advances in patient stratification and clinical trial design pave the way for more successful translation for this archetypal complex neurodegenerative disease. While it must be cautioned that only slowed rates of progression have so far been demonstrated, pre-empting rapid neurodegeneration by using neurofilament biomarkers to signal when to treat, as is currently being trialled with tofersen, may be more effective for patients with known genetic predisposition to MND. Early intervention with personalized medicines could mean that for some patients at least, in future we may be able to substantially treat what is considered by many to be one of the most distressing diseases in medicine.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Laura J Evans
- The Sheffield Institute for Translational Neuroscience, and the NIHR Sheffield Biomedical Research Centre, University of Sheffield, Sheffield, United Kingdom
| | - David O'Brien
- The Sheffield Institute for Translational Neuroscience, and the NIHR Sheffield Biomedical Research Centre, University of Sheffield, Sheffield, United Kingdom
| | - Pamela J Shaw
- The Sheffield Institute for Translational Neuroscience, and the NIHR Sheffield Biomedical Research Centre, University of Sheffield, Sheffield, United Kingdom.
| |
Collapse
|
3
|
Perluigi M, Di Domenico F, Butterfield DA. Oxidative damage in neurodegeneration: roles in the pathogenesis and progression of Alzheimer disease. Physiol Rev 2024; 104:103-197. [PMID: 37843394 PMCID: PMC11281823 DOI: 10.1152/physrev.00030.2022] [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: 09/28/2022] [Revised: 03/30/2023] [Accepted: 05/24/2023] [Indexed: 10/17/2023] Open
Abstract
Alzheimer disease (AD) is associated with multiple etiologies and pathological mechanisms, among which oxidative stress (OS) appears as a major determinant. Intriguingly, OS arises in various pathways regulating brain functions, and it seems to link different hypotheses and mechanisms of AD neuropathology with high fidelity. The brain is particularly vulnerable to oxidative damage, mainly because of its unique lipid composition, resulting in an amplified cascade of redox reactions that target several cellular components/functions ultimately leading to neurodegeneration. The present review highlights the "OS hypothesis of AD," including amyloid beta-peptide-associated mechanisms, the role of lipid and protein oxidation unraveled by redox proteomics, and the antioxidant strategies that have been investigated to modulate the progression of AD. Collected studies from our groups and others have contributed to unraveling the close relationships between perturbation of redox homeostasis in the brain and AD neuropathology by elucidating redox-regulated events potentially involved in both the pathogenesis and progression of AD. However, the complexity of AD pathological mechanisms requires an in-depth understanding of several major intracellular pathways affecting redox homeostasis and relevant for brain functions. This understanding is crucial to developing pharmacological strategies targeting OS-mediated toxicity that may potentially contribute to slow AD progression as well as improve the quality of life of persons with this severe dementing disorder.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Marzia Perluigi
- Department of Biochemical Sciences "A. Rossi Fanelli," Laboratory affiliated to Istituto Pasteur Italia-Fondazione Cenci Bolognetti, Sapienza University of Rome, Rome, Italy
| | - Fabio Di Domenico
- Department of Biochemical Sciences "A. Rossi Fanelli," Laboratory affiliated to Istituto Pasteur Italia-Fondazione Cenci Bolognetti, Sapienza University of Rome, Rome, Italy
| | - D Allan Butterfield
- Department of Chemistry and Sanders-Brown Center on Aging, University of Kentucky, Lexington, Kentucky, United States
| |
Collapse
|
4
|
Bai L, Wu Y, Wang R, Liu R, Liu M, Li Q, Ba Y, Zhang H, Zhou G, Yu F, Huang H. Prepubertal exposure to Pb alters autophagy in the brain of aging mice: A time-series based model. Brain Res Bull 2022; 189:22-33. [PMID: 35987294 DOI: 10.1016/j.brainresbull.2022.08.013] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/24/2022] [Revised: 08/10/2022] [Accepted: 08/13/2022] [Indexed: 12/09/2022]
Abstract
As a ubiquitous toxic heavy metal, lead (Pb) exposure is known to be implicated in the onset and development of neurodegenerative diseases which may cause more serious health hazards with age and the accumulation of Pb in the body. Autophagy is the main degradation route for abnormal aggregated proteins and damaged cell organelles. Here, we aimed to study the effects of adolescent Pb exposure on autophagy at different life nodes. In this study, we developed a time-series model of Pb exposure in mice and randomly divided 4-week-old male C57BL/6 mice into six groups (4 C, 13 C, 16 C, 4Pb, 13Pb and 16Pb). Mice in Pb groups was consumed deionized water containing 0.2 % Pb(Ac)2 for 3 months and then reared to anticipated life nodes, while the control group consumed deionized water. Western blot and Real-time qPCR were used to assess the effects of developmental Pb exposure on individual components of the autophagy machinery and modulation of microtubule-associated protein 1 light chain 3 (LC3) at each age stage. Our results showed that Pb exposure during adolescence reduced the p-mTOR/mTOR ratios with enhanced expression of Beclin-1, Atg12 and Atg7in both the hippocampus (HPC) and prefrontal cortex (PFC) of senescent mice while upregulation of LC3II/LC3I ratios and p62 suggested that autophagy mediates degradation was interrupted. Overall, we confirm that Pb exposure during adolescence promotes autophagic processes in the aged mice brain and that autophagic degradation is hindered, ultimately leading to a failure of autophagic degradation.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Lin Bai
- Department of Environmental Health, College of Public Health, Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou, Henan Province 450001, China; Environment and Health Innovation Team, College of Public Health, Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou, Henan Province 450001, China.
| | - Yingying Wu
- Department of Environmental Health, College of Public Health, Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou, Henan Province 450001, China; Environment and Health Innovation Team, College of Public Health, Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou, Henan Province 450001, China.
| | - Ruike Wang
- Department of Environmental Health, College of Public Health, Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou, Henan Province 450001, China; Environment and Health Innovation Team, College of Public Health, Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou, Henan Province 450001, China.
| | - Rundong Liu
- Department of Environmental Health, College of Public Health, Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou, Henan Province 450001, China; Environment and Health Innovation Team, College of Public Health, Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou, Henan Province 450001, China.
| | - Mengchen Liu
- Department of Environmental Health, College of Public Health, Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou, Henan Province 450001, China; Environment and Health Innovation Team, College of Public Health, Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou, Henan Province 450001, China.
| | - Qiong Li
- Department of Environmental Health, College of Public Health, Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou, Henan Province 450001, China; Environment and Health Innovation Team, College of Public Health, Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou, Henan Province 450001, China.
| | - Yue Ba
- Department of Environmental Health, College of Public Health, Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou, Henan Province 450001, China; Environment and Health Innovation Team, College of Public Health, Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou, Henan Province 450001, China.
| | - Huizhen Zhang
- Department of Environmental Health, College of Public Health, Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou, Henan Province 450001, China; Environment and Health Innovation Team, College of Public Health, Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou, Henan Province 450001, China.
| | - Guoyu Zhou
- Department of Environmental Health, College of Public Health, Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou, Henan Province 450001, China; Environment and Health Innovation Team, College of Public Health, Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou, Henan Province 450001, China.
| | - Fangfang Yu
- Department of Environmental Health, College of Public Health, Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou, Henan Province 450001, China; Environment and Health Innovation Team, College of Public Health, Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou, Henan Province 450001, China.
| | - Hui Huang
- Department of Environmental Health, College of Public Health, Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou, Henan Province 450001, China; Environment and Health Innovation Team, College of Public Health, Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou, Henan Province 450001, China.
| |
Collapse
|
5
|
Di Domenico F, Lanzillotta C. The disturbance of protein synthesis/degradation homeostasis is a common trait of age-related neurodegenerative disorders. ADVANCES IN PROTEIN CHEMISTRY AND STRUCTURAL BIOLOGY 2022; 132:49-87. [PMID: 36088079 DOI: 10.1016/bs.apcsb.2022.05.008] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/26/2023]
Abstract
Protein homeostasis or "proteostasis" represent the process that regulates the balance of the intracellular functional and "healthy" proteins. Proteostasis is fundamental to preserve physiological metabolic processes in the cell and it allow to respond to any given stimulus as the expression of components of the proteostasis network is customized according to the proteomic demands of different cellular environments. In conditions that promote unfolding/misfolding of proteins chaperones act as signaling molecules inducing extreme measures to either fix the problem or destroy unfolded proteins. When the chaperone machinery fails under pathological insults unfolded proteins induce the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress activating the unfolded protein response (UPR) machinery. The activation of the UPR restores ER proteostasis primarily through the transcriptional remodeling of ER protein folding, trafficking, and degradation pathways, such as the ubiquitin proteasome system (UPS). If these mechanisms do not manage to clear the aberrant proteins, proteasome overload and become defective, and misfolded proteins may form aggregates thus extending the UPR mechanism. These aggregates are then attempted to be cleared by macroautophagy. Impaired proteostasis promote the accumulation of misfolded proteins that exacerbate the damage to chaperones, surveillance systems and/or degradative activities. Remarkably, the removal of toxic misfolded proteins is critical for all cells, but it is especially significant in neurons since these cannot be readily replaced. In neurons, the maintenance of efficient proteostasis is essential to healthy aging since the dysregulation of the proteostasis network can lead to neurodegenerative disease. Each of these brain pathologies is characterized by the repeated misfolding of one of more peculiar proteins, which evade both the protein folding machinery and cellular degradation mechanisms and begins to form aggregates that nucleate out into large fibrillar aggregates. In this chapter we describe the mechanisms, associated with faulty proteostasis, that promote the formation of protein aggregates, amyloid fibrils, intracellular, and extracellular inclusions in the most common nondegenerative disorders also referred to as protein misfolding disorders.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Fabio Di Domenico
- Department of Biochemical Sciences "A. Rossi Fanelli", Sapienza University of Rome, Rome, Italy.
| | - Chiara Lanzillotta
- Department of Biochemical Sciences "A. Rossi Fanelli", Sapienza University of Rome, Rome, Italy
| |
Collapse
|
6
|
Barone E, Di Domenico F, Perluigi M, Butterfield DA. The interplay among oxidative stress, brain insulin resistance and AMPK dysfunction contribute to neurodegeneration in type 2 diabetes and Alzheimer disease. Free Radic Biol Med 2021; 176:16-33. [PMID: 34530075 PMCID: PMC8595768 DOI: 10.1016/j.freeradbiomed.2021.09.006] [Citation(s) in RCA: 60] [Impact Index Per Article: 20.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/02/2021] [Revised: 08/31/2021] [Accepted: 09/09/2021] [Indexed: 02/08/2023]
Abstract
Alzheimer's disease (AD) is the most common form of dementia in the elderly followed by vascular dementia. In addition to clinically diagnosed dementia, cognitive dysfunction has been reported in diabetic patients. Recent studies are now beginning to recognize type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM), characterized by chronic hyperglycemia and insulin resistance, as a risk factor for AD and other cognitive disorders. While studies on insulin action have remained traditionally in the domain of peripheral tissues, the detrimental effects of insulin resistance in the central nervous system on cognitive dysfunction are increasingly being reported in recent clinical and preclinical studies. Brain functions require continuous supply of glucose and oxygen and a tight regulation of metabolic processes. Loss of this metabolic regulation has been proposed to be a contributor to memory dysfunction associated with neurodegeneration. Within the above scenario, this review will focus on the interplay among oxidative stress (OS), insulin resistance and AMPK dysfunctions in the brain by highlighting how these neurotoxic events contribute to neurodegeneration. We provide an overview on the detrimental effects of OS on proteins regulating insulin signaling and how these alterations impact cell metabolic dysfunctions through AMPK dysregulation. Such processes, we assert, are critically involved in the molecular pathways that underlie AD.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Eugenio Barone
- Department of Biochemical Sciences "A. Rossi-Fanelli", Sapienza University of Rome, Piazzale A. Moro 5, 00185, Roma, Italy
| | - Fabio Di Domenico
- Department of Biochemical Sciences "A. Rossi-Fanelli", Sapienza University of Rome, Piazzale A. Moro 5, 00185, Roma, Italy
| | - Marzia Perluigi
- Department of Biochemical Sciences "A. Rossi-Fanelli", Sapienza University of Rome, Piazzale A. Moro 5, 00185, Roma, Italy
| | - D Allan Butterfield
- Department of Chemistry and Sanders-Brown Center on Aging, University of Kentucky, Lexington, KY, 40506-0055, USA.
| |
Collapse
|
7
|
Perluigi M, Di Domenico F, Barone E, Butterfield DA. mTOR in Alzheimer disease and its earlier stages: Links to oxidative damage in the progression of this dementing disorder. Free Radic Biol Med 2021; 169:382-396. [PMID: 33933601 PMCID: PMC8145782 DOI: 10.1016/j.freeradbiomed.2021.04.025] [Citation(s) in RCA: 60] [Impact Index Per Article: 20.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/07/2021] [Accepted: 04/15/2021] [Indexed: 12/11/2022]
Abstract
Alzheimer's disease (AD) is the most prevalent form of dementia in the elderly population and has worldwide impact. The etiology of the disease is complex and results from the confluence of multiple mechanisms ultimately leading to neuronal loss and cognitive decline. Among risk factors, aging is the most relevant and accounts for several pathogenic events that contribute to disease-specific toxic mechanisms. Accumulating evidence linked the alterations of the mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR), a serine/threonine protein kinase playing a key role in the regulation of protein synthesis and degradation, to age-dependent cognitive decline and pathogenesis of AD. To date, growing studies demonstrated that aberrant mTOR signaling in the brain affects several pathways involved in energy metabolism, cell growth, mitochondrial function and proteostasis. Recent advances associated alterations of the mTOR pathway with the increased oxidative stress. Disruption of all these events strongly contribute to age-related cognitive decline including AD. The current review discusses the main regulatory roles of mTOR signaling network in the brain, focusing on its role in autophagy, oxidative stress and energy metabolism. Collectively, experimental data suggest that targeting mTOR in the CNS can be a valuable strategy to prevent/slow the progression of AD.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- M Perluigi
- Department of Biochemical Sciences "A. Rossi-Fanelli", Sapienza University of Rome, Piazzale A. Moro 5, 00185, Roma, Italy
| | - F Di Domenico
- Department of Biochemical Sciences "A. Rossi-Fanelli", Sapienza University of Rome, Piazzale A. Moro 5, 00185, Roma, Italy
| | - E Barone
- Department of Biochemical Sciences "A. Rossi-Fanelli", Sapienza University of Rome, Piazzale A. Moro 5, 00185, Roma, Italy
| | - D A Butterfield
- Department of Chemistry, Sapienza University of Rome, Piazzale A. Moro 5, 00185, Roma, Italy; Department of Chemistry and Sanders-Brown Center on Aging, University of Kentucky, Lexington, KY, 40506-0055, USA.
| |
Collapse
|
8
|
Lanzillotta C, Di Domenico F. Stress Responses in Down Syndrome Neurodegeneration: State of the Art and Therapeutic Molecules. Biomolecules 2021; 11:biom11020266. [PMID: 33670211 PMCID: PMC7916967 DOI: 10.3390/biom11020266] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/09/2021] [Revised: 02/05/2021] [Accepted: 02/09/2021] [Indexed: 12/11/2022] Open
Abstract
Down syndrome (DS) is the most common genomic disorder characterized by the increased incidence of developing early Alzheimer’s disease (AD). In DS, the triplication of genes on chromosome 21 is intimately associated with the increase of AD pathological hallmarks and with the development of brain redox imbalance and aberrant proteostasis. Increasing evidence has recently shown that oxidative stress (OS), associated with mitochondrial dysfunction and with the failure of antioxidant responses (e.g., SOD1 and Nrf2), is an early signature of DS, promoting protein oxidation and the formation of toxic protein aggregates. In turn, systems involved in the surveillance of protein synthesis/folding/degradation mechanisms, such as the integrated stress response (ISR), the unfolded stress response (UPR), and autophagy, are impaired in DS, thus exacerbating brain damage. A number of pre-clinical and clinical studies have been applied to the context of DS with the aim of rescuing redox balance and proteostasis by boosting the antioxidant response and/or inducing the mechanisms of protein re-folding and clearance, and at final of reducing cognitive decline. So far, such therapeutic approaches demonstrated their efficacy in reverting several aspects of DS phenotype in murine models, however, additional studies aimed to translate these approaches in clinical practice are still needed.
Collapse
|
9
|
Lanzillotta C, Zuliani I, Vasavda C, Snyder SH, Paul BD, Perluigi M, Di Domenico F, Barone E. BVR-A Deficiency Leads to Autophagy Impairment through the Dysregulation of AMPK/mTOR Axis in the Brain-Implications for Neurodegeneration. Antioxidants (Basel) 2020; 9:antiox9080671. [PMID: 32727065 PMCID: PMC7466043 DOI: 10.3390/antiox9080671] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/30/2020] [Revised: 07/15/2020] [Accepted: 07/23/2020] [Indexed: 02/06/2023] Open
Abstract
Biliverdin reductase-A (BVR-A) impairment is associated with increased accumulation of oxidatively-damaged proteins along with the impairment of autophagy in the brain during neurodegenerative disorders. Reduced autophagy inhibits the clearance of misfolded proteins, which then form neurotoxic aggregates promoting neuronal death. The aim of our study was to clarify the role for BVR-A in the regulation of the mTOR/autophagy axis by evaluating age-associated changes (2, 6 and 11 months) in cerebral cortex samples collected from BVR-A knock-out (BVR-A−/−) and wild-type (WT) mice. Our results show that BVR-A deficiency leads to the accumulation of oxidatively-damaged proteins along with mTOR hyper-activation in the cortex. This process starts in juvenile mice and persists with aging. mTOR hyper-activation is associated with the impairment of autophagy as highlighted by reduced levels of Beclin-1, LC3β, LC3II/I ratio, Atg5–Atg12 complex and Atg7 in the cortex of BVR-A−/− mice. Furthermore, we have identified the dysregulation of AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK) as a critical event driving mTOR hyper-activation in the absence of BVR-A. Overall, our results suggest that BVR-A is a new player in the regulation of autophagy, which may be targeted to arrive at novel therapeutics for diseases involving impaired autophagy.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Chiara Lanzillotta
- Department of Biochemical Sciences “A. Rossi-Fanelli”, Sapienza University of Rome, 00185 Rome, Italy; (C.L.); (I.Z.); (M.P.)
| | - Ilaria Zuliani
- Department of Biochemical Sciences “A. Rossi-Fanelli”, Sapienza University of Rome, 00185 Rome, Italy; (C.L.); (I.Z.); (M.P.)
| | - Chirag Vasavda
- The Solomon H. Snyder Department of Neuroscience, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD 21205, USA; (C.V.); (S.H.S.); (B.D.P.)
| | - Solomon H. Snyder
- The Solomon H. Snyder Department of Neuroscience, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD 21205, USA; (C.V.); (S.H.S.); (B.D.P.)
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD 21205, USA
- Department of Pharmacology and Molecular Sciences, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD 21205, USA
| | - Bindu D. Paul
- The Solomon H. Snyder Department of Neuroscience, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD 21205, USA; (C.V.); (S.H.S.); (B.D.P.)
| | - Marzia Perluigi
- Department of Biochemical Sciences “A. Rossi-Fanelli”, Sapienza University of Rome, 00185 Rome, Italy; (C.L.); (I.Z.); (M.P.)
| | - Fabio Di Domenico
- Department of Biochemical Sciences “A. Rossi-Fanelli”, Sapienza University of Rome, 00185 Rome, Italy; (C.L.); (I.Z.); (M.P.)
- Correspondence: (F.D.D.); (E.B.)
| | - Eugenio Barone
- Department of Biochemical Sciences “A. Rossi-Fanelli”, Sapienza University of Rome, 00185 Rome, Italy; (C.L.); (I.Z.); (M.P.)
- Correspondence: (F.D.D.); (E.B.)
| |
Collapse
|