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Al-Chalabi A, Andrews J, Farhan S. Recent advances in the genetics of familial and sporadic ALS. INTERNATIONAL REVIEW OF NEUROBIOLOGY 2024; 176:49-74. [PMID: 38802182 DOI: 10.1016/bs.irn.2024.04.007] [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
ALS shows complex genetic inheritance patterns. In about 5% to 10% of cases, there is a family history of ALS or a related condition such as frontotemporal dementia in a first or second degree relative, and for about 80% of such people a pathogenic gene variant can be identified. Such variants are also seen in people with no family history because of factor influencing the expression of genes, such as age. Genetic susceptibility factors also contribute to risk, and the heritability of ALS is between 40% and 60%. The genetic variants influencing ALS risk include single base changes, repeat expansions, copy number variants, and others. Here we review what is known of the genetic landscape and architecture of ALS.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ammar Al-Chalabi
- Department of Basic and Clinical Neuroscience, King's College London, London, United Kingdom.
| | - Jinsy Andrews
- Department of Neurology, Columbia University, New York, NY, United States
| | - Sali Farhan
- Department of Neurology and Neurosurgery, Montreal Neurological Institute-Hospital, Montreal, QC, Canada; Department of Human Genetics, Montreal Neurological Institute-Hospital, Montreal, QC, Canada
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2
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Barbero Mazzucca C, Cappellano G, Chiocchetti A. Nutrition, Immunity and Aging: Current Scenario and Future Perspectives in Neurodegenerative Diseases. CNS & NEUROLOGICAL DISORDERS DRUG TARGETS 2024; 23:573-587. [PMID: 37138438 DOI: 10.2174/1871527322666230502123255] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/28/2022] [Revised: 01/17/2023] [Accepted: 02/14/2023] [Indexed: 05/05/2023]
Abstract
Aging is a gradual decline of physiological function and tissue homeostasis and, in many instances, is related to increased (neuro)-degeneration, together with inflammation, becoming one of the most important risks for developing neurodegenerative diseases. Certain individual nutrients or foods in combination may counteract aging and associated neurodegenerative diseases by promoting a balance between the pro- and anti-inflammatory responses. Thus, nutrition could represent a powerful modulator of this fine balance, other than a modifiable risk factor to contrast inflammaging. This narrative review explores from a broad perspective the impact of nutrition on the hallmarks of aging and inflammation in Alzheimer's disease (AD), Parkinson's disease (PD) and Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis Syndrome (ALS), starting from nutrients up to single foods and complex dietary patterns.
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Affiliation(s)
- Camilla Barbero Mazzucca
- Department of Health Sciences, Interdisciplinary Research Center of Autoimmune Diseases-IRCAD, Università del Piemonte Orientale, Novara, Italy
- Center for Translational Research on Autoimmune and Allergic Disease-CAAD, Università del Piemonte Orientale, Novara, Italy
| | - Giuseppe Cappellano
- Department of Health Sciences, Interdisciplinary Research Center of Autoimmune Diseases-IRCAD, Università del Piemonte Orientale, Novara, Italy
- Center for Translational Research on Autoimmune and Allergic Disease-CAAD, Università del Piemonte Orientale, Novara, Italy
| | - Annalisa Chiocchetti
- Department of Health Sciences, Interdisciplinary Research Center of Autoimmune Diseases-IRCAD, Università del Piemonte Orientale, Novara, Italy
- Center for Translational Research on Autoimmune and Allergic Disease-CAAD, Università del Piemonte Orientale, Novara, Italy
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3
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Marriott H, Kabiljo R, Hunt GP, Khleifat AA, Jones A, Troakes C, Pfaff AL, Quinn JP, Koks S, Dobson RJ, Schwab P, Al-Chalabi A, Iacoangeli A. Unsupervised machine learning identifies distinct ALS molecular subtypes in post-mortem motor cortex and blood expression data. Acta Neuropathol Commun 2023; 11:208. [PMID: 38129934 PMCID: PMC10734072 DOI: 10.1186/s40478-023-01686-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/19/2023] [Accepted: 11/10/2023] [Indexed: 12/23/2023] Open
Abstract
Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) displays considerable clinical and genetic heterogeneity. Machine learning approaches have previously been utilised for patient stratification in ALS as they can disentangle complex disease landscapes. However, lack of independent validation in different populations and tissue samples have greatly limited their use in clinical and research settings. We overcame these issues by performing hierarchical clustering on the 5000 most variably expressed autosomal genes from motor cortex expression data of people with sporadic ALS from the KCL BrainBank (N = 112). Three molecular phenotypes linked to ALS pathogenesis were identified: synaptic and neuropeptide signalling, oxidative stress and apoptosis, and neuroinflammation. Cluster validation was achieved by applying linear discriminant analysis models to cases from TargetALS US motor cortex (N = 93), as well as Italian (N = 15) and Dutch (N = 397) blood expression datasets, for which there was a high assignment probability (80-90%) for each molecular subtype. The ALS and motor cortex specificity of the expression signatures were tested by mapping KCL BrainBank controls (N = 59), and occipital cortex (N = 45) and cerebellum (N = 123) samples from TargetALS to each cluster, before constructing case-control and motor cortex-region logistic regression classifiers. We found that the signatures were not only able to distinguish people with ALS from controls (AUC 0.88 ± 0.10), but also reflect the motor cortex-based disease process, as there was perfect discrimination between motor cortex and the other brain regions. Cell types known to be involved in the biological processes of each molecular phenotype were found in higher proportions, reinforcing their biological interpretation. Phenotype analysis revealed distinct cluster-related outcomes in both motor cortex datasets, relating to disease onset and progression-related measures. Our results support the hypothesis that different mechanisms underpin ALS pathogenesis in subgroups of patients and demonstrate potential for the development of personalised treatment approaches. Our method is available for the scientific and clinical community at https://alsgeclustering.er.kcl.ac.uk .
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Affiliation(s)
- Heather Marriott
- Department of Basic and Clinical Neuroscience, Maurice Wohl Clinical Neuroscience Institute, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, King?s College London, London, SE5 9NU, UK
- Department of Biostatistics and Health Informatics, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, King's College London, London, UK
| | - Renata Kabiljo
- Department of Biostatistics and Health Informatics, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, King's College London, London, UK
| | - Guy P Hunt
- Department of Basic and Clinical Neuroscience, Maurice Wohl Clinical Neuroscience Institute, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, King?s College London, London, SE5 9NU, UK
- Department of Biostatistics and Health Informatics, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, King's College London, London, UK
- Perron Institute for Neurological and Translational Science, Nedlands, WA, 6009, Australia
- Centre for Molecular Medicine and Innovative Therapeutics, Murdoch University, Murdoch, WA, 6150, Australia
| | - Ahmad Al Khleifat
- Department of Basic and Clinical Neuroscience, Maurice Wohl Clinical Neuroscience Institute, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, King?s College London, London, SE5 9NU, UK
| | - Ashley Jones
- Department of Basic and Clinical Neuroscience, Maurice Wohl Clinical Neuroscience Institute, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, King?s College London, London, SE5 9NU, UK
| | - Claire Troakes
- Department of Basic and Clinical Neuroscience, Maurice Wohl Clinical Neuroscience Institute, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, King?s College London, London, SE5 9NU, UK
- MRC London Neurodegenerative Diseases Brain Bank, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, King's College London, London, UK
| | - Abigail L Pfaff
- Perron Institute for Neurological and Translational Science, Nedlands, WA, 6009, Australia
- Centre for Molecular Medicine and Innovative Therapeutics, Murdoch University, Murdoch, WA, 6150, Australia
| | - John P Quinn
- Department of Pharmacology and Therapeutics, Institute of Systems, Molecular and Integrative Biology, University of Liverpool, Liverpool, L69 3BX, UK
| | - Sulev Koks
- Perron Institute for Neurological and Translational Science, Nedlands, WA, 6009, Australia
- Centre for Molecular Medicine and Innovative Therapeutics, Murdoch University, Murdoch, WA, 6150, Australia
| | - Richard J Dobson
- Department of Biostatistics and Health Informatics, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, King's College London, London, UK
- NIHR Maudsley Biomedical Research Centre (BRC), South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust and King's College London, London, UK
- Institute of Health Informatics, University College London, London, UK
- NIHR Biomedical Research Centre, University College London Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, London, UK
| | - Patrick Schwab
- GlaxoSmithKline, Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning, Durham, NC, USA
| | - Ammar Al-Chalabi
- Department of Basic and Clinical Neuroscience, Maurice Wohl Clinical Neuroscience Institute, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, King?s College London, London, SE5 9NU, UK
- King's College Hospital, London, SE5 9RS, UK
| | - Alfredo Iacoangeli
- Department of Basic and Clinical Neuroscience, Maurice Wohl Clinical Neuroscience Institute, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, King?s College London, London, SE5 9NU, UK.
- Department of Biostatistics and Health Informatics, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, King's College London, London, UK.
- NIHR Maudsley Biomedical Research Centre (BRC), South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust and King's College London, London, UK.
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Liu Y, Ding M, Pan S, Zhou R, Yao J, Fu R, Yu H, Lu Z. MicroRNA-23a-3p is upregulated in plasma exosomes of bulbar-onset ALS patients and targets ERBB4. Neuroscience 2023:S0306-4522(23)00250-6. [PMID: 37290686 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroscience.2023.05.030] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/09/2023] [Revised: 05/24/2023] [Accepted: 05/27/2023] [Indexed: 06/10/2023]
Abstract
Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is a neurodegenerative disease related to the progressive death of motor neurons. Understanding the pathogenesis of ALS continues to provide considerable challenges. Bulbar-onset ALS involves faster functional loss and shorter survival time than spinal cord-onset ALS. However, debate is ongoing regarding typical plasma miRNA changes in ALS patients with bulbar onset. Exosomal miRNAs have not yet been described as a tool for bulbar-onset ALS diagnosis or prognosis prediction. In this study, candidate exosomal miRNAs were identified by small RNA sequencing using samples from patients with bulbar-onset ALS and healthy controls. Potential pathogenic mechanisms were identified through enrichment analysis of target genes for differential miRNAs. Expression of miR-16-5p, miR-23a-3p, miR-22-3p, and miR-93-5p was significantly up-regulated in plasma exosomes from bulbar-onset ALS patients compared with healthy control subjects. Among them, miR-16-5p and miR-23a-3p were significantly lower in spinal-onset ALS patients than those with bulbar-onset. Furthermore, up-regulation of miR-23a-3p in motor neuron-like NSC-34 cells promoted apoptosis and inhibited cell viability. This miRNA was found to directly target ERBB4 and regulate the AKT/GSK3β pathway. Collectively, the above miRNAs and their targets are related to the development of bulbar-onset ALS. Our research indicates that miR-23a-3p might have an effect on motor neuron loss observed in bulbar-onset ALS and may be a novel target for the therapy of ALS in the future.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yue Liu
- Department of Neurology, Renmin Hospital of Wuhan University, Wuhan, China
| | - Man Ding
- Department of Neurology, Renmin Hospital of Wuhan University, Wuhan, China
| | - Sijia Pan
- Department of Neurology, Renmin Hospital of Wuhan University, Wuhan, China
| | - Rumeng Zhou
- Department of Neurology, Renmin Hospital of Wuhan University, Wuhan, China
| | - Jiajia Yao
- Department of Neurology, Renmin Hospital of Wuhan University, Wuhan, China
| | - Rong Fu
- Department of Neurology, Renmin Hospital of Wuhan University, Wuhan, China
| | - Hang Yu
- Department of Neurology, Renmin Hospital of Wuhan University, Wuhan, China
| | - Zuneng Lu
- Department of Neurology, Renmin Hospital of Wuhan University, Wuhan, China.
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Zhang X, Cheng S, Li Z, Gu H, Jiang Y, Li H, Meng X, Wang Y. Telomere length and stroke recurrence after ischemic stroke and TIA. Int J Stroke 2023; 18:208-214. [PMID: 35422196 DOI: 10.1177/17474930221096552] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/01/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE Shortening telomere length (TL), as an indicator of aging, has been associated with increased risk of cardiovascular disease and incident stroke. However, there are limited data relating to the association between TL and recurrent stroke. METHODS Patients from the Third China National Stroke Registry who had whole genome sequencing (WGS) were selected. TL was estimated using TelSeq based on binary sequence alignment/map files derived from WGS data. Cox proportional hazards regression models were performed to assess the association of TL with recurrent stroke. RESULTS A total of 8041 patients with ischemic stroke (IS) or transient ischemic attack (TIA) were included. Mean TL was 2.14 ± 0.82 kb. Patients in the lowest tertile of TL had higher incidence of stroke recurrence compared to those in the middle and highest tertile (6.4% vs 5.9% vs 5.2%), but the difference was not longer significant after adjusting for age, sex, cardiovascular risk factors and stroke severity. Similarly, when analyzing TL as a continuous variable, the HR per 1000 bp increase in TL was significant 0.88 (0.79-0.98), but after adjusting for co-variates, was no longer significant (0.91; 95% confidence interval (CI), 0.81-1.02). In patients aged > 65 years, but not in younger patients, after adjusting for co-variates, TL was significantly associated with stroke recurrence. Compared to the lowest tertile, HRs (95% CI) after adjustment for all co-variates for the middle and highest tertiles were 0.78 (0.55-1.10) and 0.67 (0.46-0.98), respectively, with p for trend of 0.03. In analyses using TL as a continuous variable, adjusted HR (95% CI) per 1000 bp increase in TL was 0.80 (0.66-0.96). However, there was no significant interaction between TL and age on risk of stroke recurrence (p for interaction = 0.09). CONCLUSIONS In Chinese IS or TIA patients, no independent association was found between TL and risk of stroke recurrence after adjusting for co-variates. We found a possible association in older patients but this needs replicating.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xing Zhang
- Department of Neurology, Beijing Tiantan Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing, China.,China National Clinical Research Center for Neurological Diseases, Beijing, China
| | - Si Cheng
- Department of Neurology, Beijing Tiantan Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing, China.,China National Clinical Research Center for Neurological Diseases, Beijing, China
| | - Zixiao Li
- Department of Neurology, Beijing Tiantan Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing, China.,China National Clinical Research Center for Neurological Diseases, Beijing, China
| | - Hongqiu Gu
- China National Clinical Research Center for Neurological Diseases, Beijing, China
| | - Yingyu Jiang
- China National Clinical Research Center for Neurological Diseases, Beijing, China
| | - Hao Li
- China National Clinical Research Center for Neurological Diseases, Beijing, China
| | - Xia Meng
- Department of Neurology, Beijing Tiantan Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing, China.,China National Clinical Research Center for Neurological Diseases, Beijing, China
| | - Yongjun Wang
- Department of Neurology, Beijing Tiantan Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing, China.,China National Clinical Research Center for Neurological Diseases, Beijing, China
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Mormone E, Iorio EL, Abate L, Rodolfo C. Sirtuins and redox signaling interplay in neurogenesis, neurodegenerative diseases, and neural cell reprogramming. Front Neurosci 2023; 17:1073689. [PMID: 36816109 PMCID: PMC9929468 DOI: 10.3389/fnins.2023.1073689] [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: 10/18/2022] [Accepted: 01/13/2023] [Indexed: 02/04/2023] Open
Abstract
Since the discovery of Neural Stem Cells (NSCs) there are still mechanism to be clarified, such as the role of mitochondrial metabolism in the regulation of endogenous adult neurogenesis and its implication in neurodegeneration. Although stem cells require glycolysis to maintain their stemness, they can perform oxidative phosphorylation and it is becoming more and more evident that mitochondria are central players, not only for ATP production but also for neuronal differentiation's steps regulation, through their ability to handle cellular redox state, intracellular signaling, epigenetic state of the cell, as well as the gut microbiota-brain axis, upon dietary influences. In this scenario, the 8-oxoguanine DNA glycosylase (OGG1) repair system would link mitochondrial DNA integrity to the modulation of neural differentiation. On the other side, there is an increasing interest in NSCs generation, from induced pluripotent stem cells, as a clinical model for neurodegenerative diseases (NDs), although this methodology still presents several drawbacks, mainly related to the reprogramming process. Indeed, high levels of reactive oxygen species (ROS), associated with telomere shortening, genomic instability, and defective mitochondrial dynamics, lead to pluripotency limitation and reprogramming efficiency's reduction. Moreover, while a physiological or moderate ROS increase serves as a signaling mechanism, to activate differentiation and suppress self-renewal, excessive oxidative stress is a common feature of NDs and aging. This ROS-dependent regulatory effect might be modulated by newly identified ROS suppressors, including the NAD+-dependent deacetylase enzymes family called Sirtuins (SIRTs). Recently, the importance of subcellular localization of NAD synthesis has been coupled to different roles for NAD in chromatin stability, DNA repair, circadian rhythms, and longevity. SIRTs have been described as involved in the control of both telomere's chromatin state and expression of nuclear gene involved in the regulation of mitochondrial gene expression, as well as in several NDs and aging. SIRTs are ubiquitously expressed in the mammalian brain, where they play important roles. In this review we summarize the current knowledge on how SIRTs-dependent modulation of mitochondrial metabolism could impact on neurogenesis and neurodegeneration, focusing mainly on ROS function and their role in SIRTs-mediated cell reprogramming and telomere protection.
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Affiliation(s)
- Elisabetta Mormone
- Unitá Produttiva per Terapie Avanzate, Fondazione IRCCS Casa Sollievo della Sofferenza, San Giovanni Rotondo, Italy,*Correspondence: Elisabetta Mormone, ;
| | | | - Lucrezia Abate
- Unitá Produttiva per Terapie Avanzate, Fondazione IRCCS Casa Sollievo della Sofferenza, San Giovanni Rotondo, Italy
| | - Carlo Rodolfo
- Department of Biology, University of Rome Tor Vergata, Rome, Italy,Department of Paediatric Onco-Haematology and Cell and Gene Therapy, IRCCS Bambino Gesù Children’s Hospital, Rome, Italy,Carlo Rodolfo,
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Rodríguez-Fernández B, Domingo Gispert J, Guigo R, Navarro A, Vilor-Tejedor N, Crous-Bou M. Genetically predicted Telomere Length and its relationship with Neurodegenerative diseases and Life Expectancy. Comput Struct Biotechnol J 2022; 20:4251-4256. [PMID: 36051868 PMCID: PMC9399257 DOI: 10.1016/j.csbj.2022.08.006] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/08/2022] [Revised: 08/03/2022] [Accepted: 08/03/2022] [Indexed: 11/03/2022] Open
Abstract
Inheriting longer telomere length (TL) increases life expectancy. TL is associated with Alzheimer’s disease but no other neurodegenerative diseases. Diverse biological aging mechanisms might be involved in neurodegenerative diseases.
Telomere length (TL) is a biomarker of biological aging. Shorter telomeres have been associated with mortality and increased rates of age-related diseases. However, observational studies are unable to conclude whether TL is causally associated with those outcomes. Mendelian randomization (MR) was developed for assessing causality using genetic variants in epidemiological research. The objective of this study was to test the potential causal role of TL in neurodegenerative disorders and life expectancy through MR analysis. Summary level data were extracted from the most recent genome-wide association studies for TL, Alzheimer’s disease (AD), Parkinson’s disease, Frontotemporal dementia, Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis, Progressive Supranuclear Palsy and life expectancy. MR estimates revealed that longer telomeres inferred a protective effect on risk of AD (OR = 0.964; adjusted p-value = 0.039). Moreover, longer telomeres were significantly associated with increased life expectancy (βIVW = 0.011; adjusted p-value = 0.039). Sensitivity analyses suggested evidence for directional pleiotropy in AD analyses. Our results showed that genetically predicted longer TL may increase life expectancy and play a protective causal effect on AD. We did not observe significant causal relationships between longer TL and other neurodegenerative diseases. This suggests that the involvement of TL on specific biological mechanisms might differ between AD and life expectancy, with respect to that in other neurodegenerative diseases. Moreover, the presence of pleiotropy may reflect the complex interplay between TL homeostasis and AD pathophysiology. Further observational studies are needed to confirm these results.
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Scarabino D, Veneziano L, Fiore A, Nethisinghe S, Mantuano E, Garcia-Moreno H, Bellucci G, Solanky N, Morello M, Zanni G, Corbo RM, Giunti P. Leukocyte Telomere Length Variability as a Potential Biomarker in Patients with PolyQ Diseases. Antioxidants (Basel) 2022; 11:antiox11081436. [PMID: 35892638 PMCID: PMC9332235 DOI: 10.3390/antiox11081436] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/16/2022] [Revised: 07/15/2022] [Accepted: 07/20/2022] [Indexed: 12/02/2022] Open
Abstract
SCA1, SCA2, and SCA3 are the most common forms of SCAs among the polyglutamine disorders, which include Huntington’s Disease (HD). We investigated the relationship between leukocyte telomere length (LTL) and the phenotype of SCA1, SCA2, and SCA3, comparing them with HD. The results showed that LTL was significantly reduced in SCA1 and SCA3 patients, while LTL was significantly longer in SCA2 patients. A significant negative relationship between LTL and age was observed in SCA1 but not in SCA2 subjects. LTL of SCA3 patients depend on both patient’s age and disease duration. The number of CAG repeats did not affect LTL in the three SCAs. Since LTL is considered an indirect marker of an inflammatory response and oxidative damage, our data suggest that in SCA1 inflammation is present already at an early stage of disease similar to in HD, while in SCA3 inflammation and impaired antioxidative processes are associated with disease progression. Interestingly, in SCA2, contrary to SCA1 and SCA3, the length of leukocyte telomeres does not reduce with age. We have observed that SCAs and HD show a differing behavior in LTL for each subtype, which could constitute relevant biomarkers if confirmed in larger cohorts and longitudinal studies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Daniela Scarabino
- Institute of Molecular Biology and Pathology, National Research Council, 00185 Rome, Italy
- Correspondence: (D.S.); (L.V.)
| | - Liana Veneziano
- Institute of Translational Pharmacology, National Research Council, 00133 Rome, Italy;
- Correspondence: (D.S.); (L.V.)
| | - Alessia Fiore
- Department of Biology and Biotechnology, Sapienza University of Rome, 00185 Rome, Italy; (A.F.); (R.M.C.)
| | - Suran Nethisinghe
- Ataxia Center, Department of Clinical and Movement Neuroscience, UCL Queen Square Institute of Neurology, University College, London WC1N 3BG, UK; (S.N.); (H.G.-M.); (N.S.); (P.G.)
| | - Elide Mantuano
- Institute of Translational Pharmacology, National Research Council, 00133 Rome, Italy;
| | - Hector Garcia-Moreno
- Ataxia Center, Department of Clinical and Movement Neuroscience, UCL Queen Square Institute of Neurology, University College, London WC1N 3BG, UK; (S.N.); (H.G.-M.); (N.S.); (P.G.)
| | - Gianmarco Bellucci
- Department of Neurosciences, Mental Health and Sensory Organs, Centre for Experimental Neurological Therapies (CENTERS), Sapienza University of Rome, 00185 Rome, Italy;
| | - Nita Solanky
- Ataxia Center, Department of Clinical and Movement Neuroscience, UCL Queen Square Institute of Neurology, University College, London WC1N 3BG, UK; (S.N.); (H.G.-M.); (N.S.); (P.G.)
| | - Maria Morello
- Department of Experimental Medicine and Surgery, Tor Vergata University, 00133 Rome, Italy;
| | - Ginevra Zanni
- Unit of Neuromuscolar and Neurodegenerative Disorders, Department of Neurosciences, Bambino Gesù Children’s Research Hospital, IRCCS, 00100 Rome, Italy;
| | - Rosa Maria Corbo
- Department of Biology and Biotechnology, Sapienza University of Rome, 00185 Rome, Italy; (A.F.); (R.M.C.)
| | - Paola Giunti
- Ataxia Center, Department of Clinical and Movement Neuroscience, UCL Queen Square Institute of Neurology, University College, London WC1N 3BG, UK; (S.N.); (H.G.-M.); (N.S.); (P.G.)
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9
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Al Khleifat A, Iacoangeli A, Jones AR, van Vugt JJFA, Moisse M, Shatunov A, Zwamborn RAJ, van der Spek RAA, Cooper-Knock J, Topp S, van Rheenen W, Kenna B, Van Eijk KR, Kenna K, Byrne R, López V, Opie-Martin S, Vural A, Campos Y, Weber M, Smith B, Fogh I, Silani V, Morrison KE, Dobson R, van Es MA, McLaughlin RL, Vourc’h P, Chio A, Corcia P, de Carvalho M, Gotkine M, Panades MP, Mora JS, Shaw PJ, Landers JE, Glass JD, Shaw CE, Basak N, Hardiman O, Robberecht W, Van Damme P, van den Berg LH, Veldink JH, Al-Chalabi A. Telomere length analysis in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis using large-scale whole genome sequence data. Front Cell Neurosci 2022; 16:1050596. [PMID: 36589292 PMCID: PMC9799999 DOI: 10.3389/fncel.2022.1050596] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/21/2022] [Accepted: 11/15/2022] [Indexed: 12/23/2022] Open
Abstract
Background Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is a neurodegenerative disease characterized by the loss of upper and lower motor neurons, leading to progressive weakness of voluntary muscles, with death following from neuromuscular respiratory failure, typically within 3 to 5 years. There is a strong genetic contribution to ALS risk. In 10% or more, a family history of ALS or frontotemporal dementia is obtained, and the Mendelian genes responsible for ALS in such families have now been identified in about 50% of cases. Only about 14% of apparently sporadic ALS is explained by known genetic variation, suggesting that other forms of genetic variation are important. Telomeres maintain DNA integrity during cellular replication, differ between sexes, and shorten naturally with age. Sex and age are risk factors for ALS and we therefore investigated telomere length in ALS. Methods Samples were from Project MinE, an international ALS whole genome sequencing consortium that includes phenotype data. For validation we used donated brain samples from motor cortex from people with ALS and controls. Ancestry and relatedness were evaluated by principal components analysis and relationship matrices of DNA microarray data. Whole genome sequence data were from Illumina HiSeq platforms and aligned using the Isaac pipeline. TelSeq was used to quantify telomere length using whole genome sequence data. We tested the association of telomere length with ALS and ALS survival using Cox regression. Results There were 6,580 whole genome sequences, reducing to 6,195 samples (4,315 from people with ALS and 1,880 controls) after quality control, and 159 brain samples (106 ALS, 53 controls). Accounting for age and sex, there was a 20% (95% CI 14%, 25%) increase of telomere length in people with ALS compared to controls (p = 1.1 × 10-12), validated in the brain samples (p = 0.03). Those with shorter telomeres had a 10% increase in median survival (p = 5.0×10-7). Although there was no difference in telomere length between sporadic ALS and familial ALS (p=0.64), telomere length in 334 people with ALS due to expanded C9orf72 repeats was shorter than in those without expanded C9orf72 repeats (p = 5.0×10-4). Discussion Although telomeres shorten with age, longer telomeres are a risk factor for ALS and worsen prognosis. Longer telomeres are associated with ALS.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ahmad Al Khleifat
- Department of Basic and Clinical Neuroscience, Maurice Wohl Clinical Neuroscience Institute, King’s College London, London, United Kingdom
- Ahmad Al Khleifat,
| | - Alfredo Iacoangeli
- Department of Basic and Clinical Neuroscience, Maurice Wohl Clinical Neuroscience Institute, King’s College London, London, United Kingdom
- Department of Biostatistics and Health Informatics, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, King’s College London, London, United Kingdom
| | - Ashley R. Jones
- Department of Basic and Clinical Neuroscience, Maurice Wohl Clinical Neuroscience Institute, King’s College London, London, United Kingdom
| | - Joke J. F. A. van Vugt
- Department of Neurology, University Medical Center (UMC) Utrecht Brain Center, Utrecht University, Utrecht, Netherlands
| | - Matthieu Moisse
- Department of Neurosciences, Experimental Neurology, KU Leuven—University of Leuven, Leuven, Belgium
- VIB Center for Brain & Disease Research, Laboratory of Neurobiology, Leuven, Belgium
| | - Aleksey Shatunov
- Institute of Medicine, North-Eastern Federal University, Yakutsk, Russia
- Department of Molecular and Clinical Pharmacology, University of Liverpool, Liverpool, United Kingdom
| | - Ramona A. J. Zwamborn
- Department of Neurology, University Medical Center (UMC) Utrecht Brain Center, Utrecht University, Utrecht, Netherlands
| | - Rick A. A. van der Spek
- Department of Neurology, University Medical Center (UMC) Utrecht Brain Center, Utrecht University, Utrecht, Netherlands
| | - Johnathan Cooper-Knock
- Sheffield Institute for Translational Neuroscience (SITraN), University of Sheffield, Sheffield, United Kingdom
| | - Simon Topp
- Department of Basic and Clinical Neuroscience, Maurice Wohl Clinical Neuroscience Institute, King’s College London, London, United Kingdom
| | - Wouter van Rheenen
- Department of Neurology, University Medical Center (UMC) Utrecht Brain Center, Utrecht University, Utrecht, Netherlands
| | - Brendan Kenna
- Department of Neurology, University Medical Center (UMC) Utrecht Brain Center, Utrecht University, Utrecht, Netherlands
| | - Kristel R. Van Eijk
- Department of Neurology, University Medical Center (UMC) Utrecht Brain Center, Utrecht University, Utrecht, Netherlands
| | - Kevin Kenna
- Department of Neurology, University Medical Center (UMC) Utrecht Brain Center, Utrecht University, Utrecht, Netherlands
| | - Ross Byrne
- Complex Trait Genomics Laboratory, Smurfit Institute of Genetics, Trinity College Dublin, Dublin, Ireland
| | - Victoria López
- Computational Biology Unit, Instituto de Salud Carlos III, Madrid, Spain
| | - Sarah Opie-Martin
- Department of Basic and Clinical Neuroscience, Maurice Wohl Clinical Neuroscience Institute, King’s College London, London, United Kingdom
| | - Atay Vural
- School of Medicine, Translational Medicine Research Center-NDAL, Koc University, Istanbul, Turkey
| | - Yolanda Campos
- Computational Biology Unit, Instituto de Salud Carlos III, Madrid, Spain
| | - Markus Weber
- School of Medicine, Translational Medicine Research Center-NDAL, Koc University, Istanbul, Turkey
- Neuromuscular Diseases Unit/ALS Clinic, Kantonsspital St. Gallen, St. Gallen, Switzerland
| | - Bradley Smith
- Department of Basic and Clinical Neuroscience, Maurice Wohl Clinical Neuroscience Institute, King’s College London, London, United Kingdom
| | - Isabella Fogh
- Department of Basic and Clinical Neuroscience, Maurice Wohl Clinical Neuroscience Institute, King’s College London, London, United Kingdom
| | - Vincenzo Silani
- Department of Neurology and Laboratory of Neuroscience, IRCCS Istituto Auxologico Italiano, Milan, Italy
- Department of Pathophysiology and Transplantation, “Dino Ferrari” Center, Università degli Studi di Milano, Milan, Italy
| | - Karen E. Morrison
- Faculty of Medicine, Health and Life Sciences, Queen’s University Belfast, Belfast, United Kingdom
| | - Richard Dobson
- Department of Biostatistics and Health Informatics, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, King’s College London, London, United Kingdom
- Institute of Health Informatics, University College London, London, United Kingdom
| | - Michael A. van Es
- Department of Neurology, University Medical Center (UMC) Utrecht Brain Center, Utrecht University, Utrecht, Netherlands
| | - Russell L. McLaughlin
- Complex Trait Genomics Laboratory, Smurfit Institute of Genetics, Trinity College Dublin, Dublin, Ireland
| | | | - Adriano Chio
- Department of Neuroscience, ALS Centre, University of Torino, Turin, Italy
- Azienda Ospedaliera Citta della Salute e della Scienza, Turin, Italy
| | - Philippe Corcia
- Centre SLA, CHRU de Tours, Tours, France
- Federation des Centres SLA Tours and Limoges, LITORALS, Tours, France
| | - Mamede de Carvalho
- Physiology Institute, Faculty of Medicine, Instituto de Medicina Molecular, University of Lisbon, Lisbon, Portugal
| | - Marc Gotkine
- Department of Neurology, Hadassah Medical Organization and Faculty of Medicine, Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Jerusalem, Israel
| | | | | | - Pamela J. Shaw
- Sheffield Institute for Translational Neuroscience (SITraN), University of Sheffield, Sheffield, United Kingdom
| | - John E. Landers
- Department of Neurology, University of Massachusetts Medical School, Worcester, MA, United States
| | - Jonathan D. Glass
- Department of Neurology, Center for Neurodegenerative Diseases, Emory University, Atlanta, GA, United States
| | - Christopher E. Shaw
- Department of Basic and Clinical Neuroscience, Maurice Wohl Clinical Neuroscience Institute, King’s College London, London, United Kingdom
- King’s College Hospital, London, United Kingdom
| | - Nazli Basak
- School of Medicine, Translational Medicine Research Center-NDAL, Koc University, Istanbul, Turkey
| | - Orla Hardiman
- Academic Unit of Neurology, Trinity Biomedical Sciences Institute, Trinity College Dublin, Dublin, Ireland
- Department of Neurology, Beaumont Hospital, Dublin, Ireland
| | - Wim Robberecht
- Department of Neurosciences, Experimental Neurology, KU Leuven—University of Leuven, Leuven, Belgium
- Department of Neurology, University Hospitals Leuven, Leuven, Belgium
| | - Philip Van Damme
- Department of Neurosciences, Experimental Neurology, KU Leuven—University of Leuven, Leuven, Belgium
- Department of Neurology, University Hospitals Leuven, Leuven, Belgium
| | - Leonard H. van den Berg
- Department of Neurology, University Medical Center (UMC) Utrecht Brain Center, Utrecht University, Utrecht, Netherlands
| | - Jan H. Veldink
- Department of Neurology, University Medical Center (UMC) Utrecht Brain Center, Utrecht University, Utrecht, Netherlands
| | - Ammar Al-Chalabi
- Department of Basic and Clinical Neuroscience, Maurice Wohl Clinical Neuroscience Institute, King’s College London, London, United Kingdom
- King’s College Hospital, London, United Kingdom
- *Correspondence: Ammar Al-Chalabi,
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10
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Is Telomere Length Shortening a Risk Factor for Neurodegenerative Disorders? Dement Neurocogn Disord 2022; 21:83-92. [PMID: 35949423 PMCID: PMC9340245 DOI: 10.12779/dnd.2022.21.3.83] [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: 06/15/2022] [Accepted: 06/30/2022] [Indexed: 11/27/2022] Open
Abstract
Telomeres are located at the end of chromosomes. They are known to protect chromosomes and prevent cellular senescence. Telomere length shortening has been considered an important marker of aging. Many studies have reported this concept in connection with neurodegenerative disorders. Considering the role of telomeres, it seems that longer telomeres are beneficial while shorter telomeres are detrimental in preventing neurodegenerative disorders. However, several studies have shown that people with longer telomeres might also be vulnerable to neurodegenerative disorders. Before these conflicting results can be explained through large-scale longitudinal clinical studies on the role of telomere length in neurodegenerative disorders, it would be beneficial to simultaneously review these opposing results. Understanding these conflicting results might help us plan future studies to reveal the role of telomere length in neurodegenerative disorders. In this review, these contradictory findings are thoroughly discussed, with the aim to better understand the role of telomere length in neurodegenerative disorders.
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11
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Xia K, Zhang L, Zhang G, Wang Y, Huang T, Fan D. Leukocyte telomere length and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis: a Mendelian randomization study. Orphanet J Rare Dis 2021; 16:508. [PMID: 34906191 PMCID: PMC8670150 DOI: 10.1186/s13023-021-02135-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/09/2021] [Accepted: 11/28/2021] [Indexed: 11/30/2022] Open
Abstract
Background Observational studies have suggested that telomere length is associated with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). However, whether this association is causal remains unclear. In this study, we aimed to explore the causal relationship between leukocyte telomere length (LTL) and ALS by a two-sample Mendelian randomization (MR) approach. Single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) for LTL were identified through high-quality genome-wide association studies (GWASs). The ALS GWAS summary data (20,806 cases; 59,804 controls) with largest sample size to date was obtained. We adopted the inverse variance weighted (IVW) method to examine the effect of LTL on ALS and used the weighted median method, simple median method, MR Egger method and MR-PRESSO method to perform sensitivity analyses. Results We found that genetically determined increased LTL was inversely associated with the risk of ALS (odds ratio (OR) = 0.846, 95% confidence interval (CI): 0.744–0.962, P = 0.011), which was mainly driven by rs940209 in the OBFC1 gene, suggesting a potential effect of OBFC1 on ALS. The results were further confirmed by sensitivity analysis with the MR Egger method (OR = 0.647, 95% CI = 0.447–0.936, P = 0.050). Analyses by the weighted median method (OR = 0.893, P = 0.201) and simple median method (OR = 0.935, P = 0.535) also showed a similar trend. The MR Egger analysis did not suggest directional pleiotropy, with an intercept of 0.025 (P = 0.168). Neither the influence of instrumental outliers nor heterogeneity was found. Conclusions Our results suggest that genetically predicted increased LTL has a causal relationship with a lower risk of ALS. Protecting against telomere loss may be of great importance in the prevention and treatment of ALS. Supplementary Information The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s13023-021-02135-2.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kailin Xia
- Department of Neurology, Peking University Third Hospital, Beijing, China.,Beijing Municipal Key Laboratory of Biomarker and Translational Research in Neurodegenerative Diseases, Beijing, China
| | - Linjing Zhang
- Department of Neurology, Peking University Third Hospital, Beijing, China.,Beijing Municipal Key Laboratory of Biomarker and Translational Research in Neurodegenerative Diseases, Beijing, China
| | - Gan Zhang
- Department of Neurology, Peking University Third Hospital, Beijing, China.,Beijing Municipal Key Laboratory of Biomarker and Translational Research in Neurodegenerative Diseases, Beijing, China
| | - Yajun Wang
- Department of Neurology, Peking University Third Hospital, Beijing, China.,Beijing Municipal Key Laboratory of Biomarker and Translational Research in Neurodegenerative Diseases, Beijing, China
| | - Tao Huang
- Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, School of Public Health, Peking University, Beijing, China.,Key Laboratory of Molecular Cardiovascular Sciences (Peking University), Ministry of Education, Beijing, China
| | - Dongsheng Fan
- Department of Neurology, Peking University Third Hospital, Beijing, China. .,Beijing Municipal Key Laboratory of Biomarker and Translational Research in Neurodegenerative Diseases, Beijing, China. .,Key Laboratory for Neuroscience, National Health Commission/Ministry of Education, Peking University, Beijing, China.
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12
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Kahl VFS, da Silva J. Inorganic elements in occupational settings: A review on the effects on telomere length and biology. MUTATION RESEARCH. GENETIC TOXICOLOGY AND ENVIRONMENTAL MUTAGENESIS 2021; 872:503418. [PMID: 34798938 DOI: 10.1016/j.mrgentox.2021.503418] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/23/2021] [Revised: 08/31/2021] [Accepted: 10/15/2021] [Indexed: 06/13/2023]
Abstract
The past decades have shown that telomere crisis is highly affected by external factors. Effects of human exposure to xenobiotics on telomere length (TL), particularly in their workplace, have been largely studied. TL has been shown to be an efficient biomarker in occupational risk assessment. This is the first review focusing on studies about the effects on TL from occupational exposures to metals (lead [Pb] and mixtures), and particulate matter (PM) related to inorganic elements. Data from 15 studies were evaluated regarding occupational exposure to metals and PM-associated inorganic elements and impact on TL. Potential complementary analyses and subjects' background (age, length of employment and gender) were also assessed. There was limited information on the correlations between work length and TL dynamics, and that was also true for the correlation between age and TL. Results indicated that TL is affected differently across the types of occupational exposure investigated in this review, and even within the same exposure, a variety of effects can be observed. Fifty-three percent of the studies observed decreased TL in occupational exposure among welding fumes, open-cast coal mine, Pb and PM industries workers. Two studies focused particularly on the levels of metals and association with TL, and both linear and non-linear associations were found. Interestingly, TL modifications were accompanied by increase in DNA damage in 7 out of 8 studies that investigated it, measured either by Cytokinesis-block Micronucleus Assay or Comet assay. Five studies also investigated oxidative stress parameters, and 4 of them found increased levels of oxidative damage along with TL impairment. Oxidative stress is one of the main mechanisms by which telomeres are affected due to their high guanine content. Our review highlights the need of further studies accessing TL in simultaneous occupational exposure to mixtures of xenobiotics.
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Affiliation(s)
- Vivian F Silva Kahl
- The University of Queensland Diamantina Institute, The University of Queensland, Faculty of Medicine, 37 Kent Street, Woolloongabba, Queensland 4102, Australia; Translational Research Institute, 37 Kent Street, Woolloongabba, Queensland 4102, Australia.
| | - Juliana da Silva
- Laboratory of Genetic Toxicology, Post Graduate Program in Cellular and Molecular Biology Applied to Health, Lutheran University of Brazil, Av Farroupilha 8001, Canoas, Rio Grande do Sul, 92425-900, Brazil; LaSalle University (UniLaSalle), Av Victor Barreto 2288, Canoas, Rio Grande do Sul, 92010-000, Brazil.
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13
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Kim EJ, Koh SH, Ha J, Na DL, Seo SW, Kim HJ, Park KW, Lee JH, Roh JH, Kwon JC, Yoon SJ, Jung NY, Jeong JH, Jang JW, Kim HJ, Park KH, Choi SH, Kim S, Park YH, Kim BC, Kim YE, Kwon HS, Park HH, Jin JH. Increased telomere length in patients with frontotemporal dementia syndrome. J Neurol Sci 2021; 428:117565. [PMID: 34311139 DOI: 10.1016/j.jns.2021.117565] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/04/2021] [Revised: 06/22/2021] [Accepted: 07/01/2021] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Telomeres are repetitive DNA sequences of TTAGGG at the ends of chromosomes. Many studies have shown that telomere shortening is associated with aging-related diseases, such as cardiovascular diseases, hypertension, diabetes, cancer, and various neurodegenerative diseases, including Alzheimer's disease, vascular dementia, Parkinson's disease, and dementia with Lewy bodies. However, changes in telomere length (TL) in patients with frontotemporal dementia (FTD) syndrome are unclear. Accordingly, in this study, we assessed TL in blood samples from patients with FTD syndrome. METHODS Absolute TL was measured in peripheral blood leukocytes from 53 patients with FTD syndromes (25 with behavioral variant FTD, 19 with semantic variant primary progressive aphasia [PPA], six with nonfluent/agrammatic variant PPA, and three with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis [ALS] plus) and 28 cognitively unimpaired (CU) controls using terminal restriction fragment analysis. RESULTS TL was significantly longer in the FTD group than in the CU group. All FTD subtypes had significantly longer TL than controls. There were no significant differences in TL among FTD syndromes. No significant correlations were found between TL and demographic factors in the FTD group. CONCLUSIONS Longer telomeres were associated with FTD syndrome, consistent with a recent report demonstrating that longer telomeres are related to ALS. Therefore, our results may support a shared biology between FTD and ALS. More studies with larger sample sizes are needed.
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Affiliation(s)
- Eun-Joo Kim
- Department of Neurology, Pusan National University Hospital, Pusan National University School of Medicine and Medical Research Institute, Busan, Republic of Korea
| | - Seong-Ho Koh
- Department of Neurology, Hanyang University College of Medicine, Gyeonggi-do, Republic of Korea.
| | - Jungsoon Ha
- Department of Neurology, Hanyang University College of Medicine, Gyeonggi-do, Republic of Korea; GemVax & Kael Co., Ltd, Gyeonggi-do, Republic of Korea
| | - Duk L Na
- Department of Neurology, Samsung Medical Center, Sungkyunkwan University School of Medicine, Seoul, Republic of Korea
| | - Sang Won Seo
- Department of Neurology, Samsung Medical Center, Sungkyunkwan University School of Medicine, Seoul, Republic of Korea
| | - Hee-Jin Kim
- Department of Neurology, Samsung Medical Center, Sungkyunkwan University School of Medicine, Seoul, Republic of Korea
| | - Kyung Won Park
- Department of Neurology, Dong-A Medical Center, Dong-A University College of Medicine, Busan, Republic of Korea
| | - Jae-Hong Lee
- Department of Neurology, Asan Medical Center, University of Ulsan College of Medicine, Seoul, Republic of Korea
| | - Jee Hoon Roh
- Department of Neurology, Asan Medical Center, University of Ulsan College of Medicine, Seoul, Republic of Korea
| | - Jay C Kwon
- Department of Neurology, Changwon Fatima Hospital, Changwon, Republic of Korea
| | - Soo Jin Yoon
- Department of Neurology, Eulgi University Hospital, Daejeon, Republic of Korea
| | - Na-Yeon Jung
- Department of Neurology, Pusan National University Yangsan Hospital, Research Institute for Convergence of Biomedical Science and Technology, Busan, Republic of Korea
| | - Jee H Jeong
- Department of Neurology, Ewha Womans University Hospital, Seoul, Republic of Korea
| | - Jae-Won Jang
- Department of Neurology, Kangwon National University Hospital, Chuncheon, Republic of Korea
| | - Hee-Jin Kim
- Department of Neurology, Hanyang University College of Medicine, Seoul, Republic of Korea
| | - Kee Hyung Park
- Department of Neurology, Gachon University Gil Hospital, Incheon, Republic of Korea
| | - Seong Hye Choi
- Department of Neurology, Inha University School of Medicine, Incheon, Republic of Korea
| | - SangYun Kim
- Department of Neurology, Seoul National University College of Medicine and Clinical Neuroscience Center, Seoul National University Bundang Hospital, Gyeonggi-do, Republic of Korea
| | - Young Ho Park
- Department of Neurology, Seoul National University College of Medicine and Clinical Neuroscience Center, Seoul National University Bundang Hospital, Gyeonggi-do, Republic of Korea
| | - Byeong C Kim
- Department of Neurology, Chonnam National University Medical School, Chonnam National University Hospital, Gwangju, Republic of Korea
| | - Young-Eun Kim
- Department of Laboratory Medicine, Hanyang University College of Medicine, Seoul, Republic of Korea
| | - Hyuk Sung Kwon
- Department of Neurology, Hanyang University College of Medicine, Gyeonggi-do, Republic of Korea
| | - Hyun-Hee Park
- Department of Neurology, Hanyang University College of Medicine, Gyeonggi-do, Republic of Korea
| | - Jeong-Hwa Jin
- Department of Neurology, Hanyang University College of Medicine, Gyeonggi-do, Republic of Korea
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14
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Miner AE, Graves JS. What telomeres teach us about MS. Mult Scler Relat Disord 2021; 54:103084. [PMID: 34371369 DOI: 10.1016/j.msard.2021.103084] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/08/2021] [Revised: 05/14/2021] [Accepted: 06/09/2021] [Indexed: 02/03/2023]
Abstract
While the precise mechanisms driving progressive forms of MS are not fully understood, patient age has clear impact on disease phenotype. The very young with MS have high relapse rates and virtually no progressive disease, whereas older patients tend to experience more rapid disability accumulation with few relapses. Defining a patient's biological age may offer more precision in determining the role of aging processes in MS phenotype and pathophysiology than just working with an individual's birthdate. The most well recognized measurement of an individual's "biological clock" is telomere length (TL). While TL may differ across tissue types in an individual, most cells TL correlate well with leukocyte TL (LTL), which is the most common biomarker used for aging. LTL has been associated with risk for aging related diseases and most recently with higher levels of disability and brain atrophy in people living with MS. LTL explains 15% of the overall association of chronological age with MS disability level. While LTL may be used just as a biomarker of overall somatic aging processes, triggering of the DNA damage response by telomere attrition leads to senescence pathways that are likely highly relevant to a chronic autoimmune disease. Considering reproductive aging factors, particularly ovarian aging in women, which correlates with LTL and oocyte telomere length, may complement measurements of somatic aging in understanding MS progression. The key to stopping non-relapse related progression in MS might lie in targeting pathways related to biological aging effects on the immune and nervous systems.
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Affiliation(s)
- Annalise E Miner
- Department of Neurosciences, University of California, San Diego, USA
| | - Jennifer S Graves
- Department of Neurosciences, University of California, San Diego, USA.
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15
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Shatunov A, Al-Chalabi A. The genetic architecture of ALS. Neurobiol Dis 2020; 147:105156. [PMID: 33130222 DOI: 10.1016/j.nbd.2020.105156] [Citation(s) in RCA: 31] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/15/2020] [Revised: 10/27/2020] [Accepted: 10/27/2020] [Indexed: 12/12/2022] Open
Affiliation(s)
- Aleksey Shatunov
- Department of Basic & Clinical Neuroscience, Maurice Wohl Clinical Neuroscience Institute, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, King's College London, London SE5 9RX, UK
| | - Ammar Al-Chalabi
- Department of Basic & Clinical Neuroscience, Maurice Wohl Clinical Neuroscience Institute, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, King's College London, London SE5 9RX, UK; Department of Neurology, King's College Hospital, London SE5 9RS, UK.
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16
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Mendelian randomization implies no direct causal association between leukocyte telomere length and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. Sci Rep 2020; 10:12184. [PMID: 32699404 PMCID: PMC7376149 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-020-68848-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/13/2020] [Accepted: 07/02/2020] [Indexed: 12/14/2022] Open
Abstract
We employed Mendelian randomization (MR) to evaluate the causal relationship between leukocyte telomere length (LTL) and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) with summary statistics from genome-wide association studies (n = ~ 38,000 for LTL and ~ 81,000 for ALS in the European population; n = ~ 23,000 for LTL and ~ 4,100 for ALS in the Asian population). We further evaluated mediation roles of lipids in the pathway from LTL to ALS. The odds ratio per standard deviation decrease of LTL on ALS was 1.10 (95% CI 0.93–1.31, p = 0.274) in the European population and 0.75 (95% CI 0.53–1.07, p = 0.116) in the Asian population. This null association was also detected between LTL and frontotemporal dementia in the European population. However, we found that an indirect effect of LTL on ALS might be mediated by low density lipoprotein (LDL) or total cholesterol (TC) in the European population. These results were robust against extensive sensitivity analyses. Overall, our MR study did not support the direct causal association between LTL and the ALS risk in neither population, but provided suggestive evidence for the mediation role of LDL or TC on the influence of LTL and ALS in the European population.
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17
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Krahn AI, Wells C, Drewry DH, Beitel LK, Durcan TM, Axtman AD. Defining the Neural Kinome: Strategies and Opportunities for Small Molecule Drug Discovery to Target Neurodegenerative Diseases. ACS Chem Neurosci 2020; 11:1871-1886. [PMID: 32464049 DOI: 10.1021/acschemneuro.0c00176] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/08/2023] Open
Abstract
Kinases are highly tractable drug targets that have reached unparalleled success in fields such as cancer but whose potential has not yet been realized in neuroscience. There are currently 55 approved small molecule kinase-targeting drugs, 48 of which have an anticancer indication. The intrinsic complexity linked to central nervous system (CNS) drug development and a lack of validated targets has hindered progress in developing kinase inhibitors for CNS disorders when compared to other therapeutic areas such as oncology. Identification and/or characterization of new kinases as potential drug targets for neurodegenerative diseases will create opportunities for the development of CNS drugs in the future. The track record of kinase inhibitors in other disease indications supports the idea that with the best targets identified small molecule kinase modulators will become impactful therapeutics for neurodegenerative diseases. This Review highlights the imminent need for new therapeutics to treat the most prevalent neurodegenerative diseases as well as the promise of kinase inhibitors to address this need. With a focus on kinases that remain largely unexplored after decades of dedicated research in the kinase field, we offer specific examples of understudied kinases that are supported by patient-derived data as linked to Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease, and/or amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. Finally, we show literature-reported high-quality inhibitors for several understudied kinases and suggest other kinases that merit additional medicinal chemistry efforts to elucidate their therapeutic potential.
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Affiliation(s)
- Andrea I. Krahn
- Early Drug Discovery Unit, Montreal Neurological Institute-Hospital, McGill University, Montreal, QC, Canada H3A 2B4
| | - Carrow Wells
- Structural Genomics Consortium, UNC Eshelman School of Pharmacy, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, North Carolina 27599, United States
- Division of Chemical Biology and Medicinal Chemistry, UNC Eshelman School of Pharmacy, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, North Carolina 27599, United States
| | - David H. Drewry
- Structural Genomics Consortium, UNC Eshelman School of Pharmacy, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, North Carolina 27599, United States
- Division of Chemical Biology and Medicinal Chemistry, UNC Eshelman School of Pharmacy, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, North Carolina 27599, United States
| | - Lenore K. Beitel
- Early Drug Discovery Unit, Montreal Neurological Institute-Hospital, McGill University, Montreal, QC, Canada H3A 2B4
| | - Thomas M. Durcan
- Early Drug Discovery Unit, Montreal Neurological Institute-Hospital, McGill University, Montreal, QC, Canada H3A 2B4
| | - Alison D. Axtman
- Structural Genomics Consortium, UNC Eshelman School of Pharmacy, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, North Carolina 27599, United States
- Division of Chemical Biology and Medicinal Chemistry, UNC Eshelman School of Pharmacy, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, North Carolina 27599, United States
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18
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Bean DM, Al-Chalabi A, Dobson RJB, Iacoangeli A. A Knowledge-Based Machine Learning Approach to Gene Prioritisation in Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis. Genes (Basel) 2020; 11:genes11060668. [PMID: 32575372 PMCID: PMC7349022 DOI: 10.3390/genes11060668] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/13/2020] [Revised: 06/13/2020] [Accepted: 06/16/2020] [Indexed: 02/07/2023] Open
Abstract
Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis is a neurodegenerative disease of the upper and lower motor neurons resulting in death from neuromuscular respiratory failure, typically within two to five years of first symptoms. Several rare disruptive gene variants have been associated with ALS and are responsible for about 15% of all cases. Although our knowledge of the genetic landscape of this disease is improving, it remains limited. Machine learning models trained on the available protein-protein interaction and phenotype-genotype association data can use our current knowledge of the disease genetics for the prediction of novel candidate genes. Here, we describe a knowledge-based machine learning method for this purpose. We trained our model on protein-protein interaction data from IntAct, gene function annotation from Gene Ontology, and known disease-gene associations from DisGeNet. Using several sets of known ALS genes from public databases and a manual review as input, we generated a list of new candidate genes for each input set. We investigated the relevance of the predicted genes in ALS by using the available summary statistics from the largest ALS genome-wide association study and by performing functional and phenotype enrichment analysis. The predicted sets were enriched for genes associated with other neurodegenerative diseases known to overlap with ALS genetically and phenotypically, as well as for biological processes associated with the disease. Moreover, using ALS genes from ClinVar and our manual review as input, the predicted sets were enriched for ALS-associated genes (ClinVar p = 0.038 and manual review p = 0.060) when used for gene prioritisation in a genome-wide association study.
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Affiliation(s)
- Daniel M. Bean
- Department of Biostatistics & Health Informatics, King′s College London, 16 De Crespigny Park, London SE5 8AF, UK;
- Health Data Research UK London, University College London, 16 De Crespigny Park, London SE5 8AF, UK
- Correspondence: (D.M.B.); (A.I.)
| | - Ammar Al-Chalabi
- King′s College Hospital, Bessemer Road, Denmark Hill, Brixton, London SE5 9RS, UK;
- Maurice Wohl Clinical Neuroscience Institute, Department of Basic and Clinical Neuroscience, King′s College London, London, 5 Cutcombe Rd, Brixton, London SE5 9RT, UK
| | - Richard J. B. Dobson
- Department of Biostatistics & Health Informatics, King′s College London, 16 De Crespigny Park, London SE5 8AF, UK;
- Health Data Research UK London, University College London, 16 De Crespigny Park, London SE5 8AF, UK
- Institute of Health Informatics, University College London, 222 Euston Rd, London NW1 2DA, UK
| | - Alfredo Iacoangeli
- Department of Biostatistics & Health Informatics, King′s College London, 16 De Crespigny Park, London SE5 8AF, UK;
- Maurice Wohl Clinical Neuroscience Institute, Department of Basic and Clinical Neuroscience, King′s College London, London, 5 Cutcombe Rd, Brixton, London SE5 9RT, UK
- Correspondence: (D.M.B.); (A.I.)
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Kuraszkiewicz B, Goszczyńska H, Podsiadły-Marczykowska T, Piotrkiewicz M, Andersen P, Gromicho M, Grosskreutz J, Kuźma-Kozakiewicz M, Petri S, Stubbendorf B, Szacka K, Uysal H, de Carvalho M. Potential Preventive Strategies for Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis. Front Neurosci 2020; 14:428. [PMID: 32528241 PMCID: PMC7264408 DOI: 10.3389/fnins.2020.00428] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/11/2019] [Accepted: 04/07/2020] [Indexed: 12/11/2022] Open
Abstract
It may seem useless to propose preventive measures for a disease without established pathogenesis and successful therapy, such as amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). However, we will show that ALS shares essential molecular mechanisms with aging and that established anti-aging strategies, such as healthy diet or individually adjusted exercise, may be successfully applied to ameliorate the condition of ALS patients. These strategies might be applied for prevention if persons at ALS risk could be identified early enough. Recent research advances indicate that this may happen soon.
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Affiliation(s)
- B Kuraszkiewicz
- Department of Methods of Brain Imaging and Functional Research of Nervous System, Nalecz Institute of Biocybernetics and Biomedical Engineering, Polish Academy of Sciences, Warsaw, Poland
| | - H Goszczyńska
- Department of Methods of Brain Imaging and Functional Research of Nervous System, Nalecz Institute of Biocybernetics and Biomedical Engineering, Polish Academy of Sciences, Warsaw, Poland
| | - T Podsiadły-Marczykowska
- Department of Methods of Brain Imaging and Functional Research of Nervous System, Nalecz Institute of Biocybernetics and Biomedical Engineering, Polish Academy of Sciences, Warsaw, Poland
| | - M Piotrkiewicz
- Department of Methods of Brain Imaging and Functional Research of Nervous System, Nalecz Institute of Biocybernetics and Biomedical Engineering, Polish Academy of Sciences, Warsaw, Poland
| | - P Andersen
- Department of Clinical Sciences, Umeå University, Umeå, Sweden
| | - M Gromicho
- Institute of Physiology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Lisbon, Lisbon, Portugal
| | - J Grosskreutz
- Department of Neurology, University Hospital Jena, Jena, Germany.,Jena Centre for Healthy Aging, University Hospital Jena, Jena, Germany
| | | | - S Petri
- Clinic for Neurology, Hannover Medical School, Hanover, Germany
| | - B Stubbendorf
- Department of Neurology, University Hospital Jena, Jena, Germany
| | - K Szacka
- Department of Neurology, Medical University of Warsaw, Warsaw, Poland
| | - H Uysal
- Akdeniz University Faculty of Medicine, Antalya, Turkey
| | - M de Carvalho
- Institute of Physiology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Lisbon, Lisbon, Portugal
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