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Subramaniam S, Boregowda S. Curbing Rhes Actions: Mechanism-based Molecular Target for Huntington's Disease and Tauopathies. CNS & NEUROLOGICAL DISORDERS DRUG TARGETS 2024; 23:21-29. [PMID: 36959146 DOI: 10.2174/1871527322666230320103518] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/07/2022] [Revised: 02/10/2023] [Accepted: 02/13/2023] [Indexed: 03/25/2023]
Abstract
A highly interconnected network of diverse brain regions is necessary for the precise execution of human behaviors, including cognitive, psychiatric, and motor functions. Unfortunately, degeneration of specific brain regions causes several neurodegenerative disorders, but the mechanisms that elicit selective neuronal vulnerability remain unclear. This knowledge gap greatly hinders the development of effective mechanism-based therapies, despite the desperate need for new treatments. Here, we emphasize the importance of the Rhes (Ras homolog-enriched in the striatum) protein as an emerging therapeutic target. Rhes, an atypical small GTPase with a SUMO (small ubiquitin-like modifier) E3-ligase activity, modulates biological processes such as dopaminergic transmission, alters gene expression, and acts as an inhibitor of motor stimuli in the brain striatum. Mutations in the Rhes gene have also been identified in selected patients with autism and schizophrenia. Moreover, Rhes SUMOylates pathogenic form of mutant huntingtin (mHTT) and tau, enhancing their solubility and cell toxicity in Huntington's disease and tauopathy models. Notably, Rhes uses membrane projections resembling tunneling nanotubes to transport mHTT between cells and Rhes deletion diminishes mHTT spread in the brain. Thus, we predict that effective strategies aimed at diminishing brain Rhes levels will prevent or minimize the abnormalities that occur in HD and tauopathies and potentially in other brain disorders. We review the emerging technologies that enable specific targeting of Rhes in the brain to develop effective disease-modifying therapeutics.
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Affiliation(s)
- Srinivasa Subramaniam
- Department of Neuroscience, The Herbert Wertheim UF Scripps Institute for Biomedical Innovation & Technology, 130 Scripps Way, C323, Florida, Jupiter, 33458, USA
| | - Siddaraju Boregowda
- Department of Molecular Therapeutics, The Herbert Wertheim UF Scripps Institute for Biomedical Innovation & Technology, 130 Scripps Way, C323, Florida, Jupiter, 33458, USA
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2
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Li J, Wang Y, Yang R, Ma W, Yan J, Li Y, Chen G, Pan J. Pain in Huntington's disease and its potential mechanisms. Front Aging Neurosci 2023; 15:1190563. [PMID: 37484692 PMCID: PMC10357841 DOI: 10.3389/fnagi.2023.1190563] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/21/2023] [Accepted: 06/19/2023] [Indexed: 07/25/2023] Open
Abstract
Pain is common and frequent in many neurodegenerative diseases, although it has not received much attention. In Huntington's disease (HD), pain is often ignored and under-researched because attention is more focused on motor and cognitive decline than psychiatric symptoms. In HD progression, pain symptoms are complex and involved in multiple etiologies, particularly mental issues such as apathy, anxiety and irritability. Because of psychiatric issues, HD patients rarely complain of pain, although their bodies show severe pain symptoms, ultimately resulting in insufficient awareness and lack of research. In HD, few studies have focused on pain and pain-related features. A detailed and systemic pain history is crucial to assess and explore pain pathophysiology in HD. This review provides an overview concentrating on pain-related factors in HD, including neuropathology, frequency, features, affecting factors and mechanisms. More attention and studies are still needed in this interesting field in the future.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jiajie Li
- Department of Histology and Embryology, Medical School of Nantong University, Nantong, China
| | - Yan Wang
- Department of Histology and Embryology, Medical School of Nantong University, Nantong, China
| | - Riyun Yang
- Department of Histology and Embryology, Medical School of Nantong University, Nantong, China
| | - Wenjun Ma
- Department of Histology and Embryology, Medical School of Nantong University, Nantong, China
| | - JunGuo Yan
- Department of Histology and Embryology, Medical School of Nantong University, Nantong, China
| | - Yi Li
- Department of Histology and Embryology, Medical School of Nantong University, Nantong, China
| | - Gang Chen
- Center for Basic Medical Research, Medical School of Nantong University, Co-innovation Center of Neuroregeneration, Nantong, Jiangsu, China
- Department of Anesthesiology, Affiliated Hospital of Nantong University, Nantong, Jiangsu, China
| | - Jingying Pan
- Department of Histology and Embryology, Medical School of Nantong University, Nantong, China
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3
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Lim RG, Al-Dalahmah O, Wu J, Gold MP, Reidling JC, Tang G, Adam M, Dansu DK, Park HJ, Casaccia P, Miramontes R, Reyes-Ortiz AM, Lau A, Hickman RA, Khan F, Paryani F, Tang A, Ofori K, Miyoshi E, Michael N, McClure N, Flowers XE, Vonsattel JP, Davidson S, Menon V, Swarup V, Fraenkel E, Goldman JE, Thompson LM. Huntington disease oligodendrocyte maturation deficits revealed by single-nucleus RNAseq are rescued by thiamine-biotin supplementation. Nat Commun 2022; 13:7791. [PMID: 36543778 PMCID: PMC9772349 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-022-35388-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/26/2021] [Accepted: 11/30/2022] [Indexed: 12/24/2022] Open
Abstract
The complexity of affected brain regions and cell types is a challenge for Huntington's disease (HD) treatment. Here we use single nucleus RNA sequencing to investigate molecular pathology in the cortex and striatum from R6/2 mice and human HD post-mortem tissue. We identify cell type-specific and -agnostic signatures suggesting oligodendrocytes (OLs) and oligodendrocyte precursors (OPCs) are arrested in intermediate maturation states. OL-lineage regulators OLIG1 and OLIG2 are negatively correlated with CAG length in human OPCs, and ATACseq analysis of HD mouse NeuN-negative cells shows decreased accessibility regulated by OL maturation genes. The data implicates glucose and lipid metabolism in abnormal cell maturation and identify PRKCE and Thiamine Pyrophosphokinase 1 (TPK1) as central genes. Thiamine/biotin treatment of R6/1 HD mice to compensate for TPK1 dysregulation restores OL maturation and rescues neuronal pathology. Our insights into HD OL pathology spans multiple brain regions and link OL maturation deficits to abnormal thiamine metabolism.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ryan G Lim
- UCI MIND, University of California Irvine, Irvine, CA, USA
| | - Osama Al-Dalahmah
- Department of Pathology and Cell Biology, Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons, Columbia University Irving Medical Center, New York, NY, USA
| | - Jie Wu
- Department of Biological Chemistry, University of California Irvine, Irvine, CA, USA
| | - Maxwell P Gold
- Department of Biological Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, USA
| | | | - Guomei Tang
- Department of Neurology, Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons, Columbia University Irving Medical Center, New York, NY, USA
| | - Miriam Adam
- Department of Biological Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, USA
| | - David K Dansu
- Advanced Science Research Center at the City University of New York, New York, NY, USA
| | - Hye-Jin Park
- Advanced Science Research Center at the City University of New York, New York, NY, USA
| | - Patrizia Casaccia
- Advanced Science Research Center at the City University of New York, New York, NY, USA
| | | | - Andrea M Reyes-Ortiz
- Department of Biological Chemistry, University of California Irvine, Irvine, CA, USA
| | - Alice Lau
- Department of Psychiatry and Human Behavior, University of California Irvine, Irvine, CA, USA
| | - Richard A Hickman
- Department of Pathology and Cell Biology, Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons, Columbia University Irving Medical Center, New York, NY, USA
| | - Fatima Khan
- Department of Pathology and Cell Biology, Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons, Columbia University Irving Medical Center, New York, NY, USA
| | - Fahad Paryani
- Department of Neurology, Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons, Columbia University Irving Medical Center, New York, NY, USA
| | - Alice Tang
- Department of Pathology and Cell Biology, Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons, Columbia University Irving Medical Center, New York, NY, USA
| | - Kenneth Ofori
- Department of Pathology and Cell Biology, Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons, Columbia University Irving Medical Center, New York, NY, USA
| | - Emily Miyoshi
- Department of Neurobiology and Behavior, University of California Irvine, Irvine, CA, USA
| | - Neethu Michael
- Department of Pathology, University of California Irvine, Irvine, CA, USA
| | - Nicolette McClure
- Department of Neurobiology and Behavior, University of California Irvine, Irvine, CA, USA
| | - Xena E Flowers
- Department of Pathology and Cell Biology, Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons, Columbia University Irving Medical Center, New York, NY, USA
- Taub Institute for Research on Alzheimer's Disease and the Aging Brain, Columbia University Irving Medical Center, New York City, New York, NY, USA
| | - Jean Paul Vonsattel
- Department of Pathology and Cell Biology, Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons, Columbia University Irving Medical Center, New York, NY, USA
- Taub Institute for Research on Alzheimer's Disease and the Aging Brain, Columbia University Irving Medical Center, New York City, New York, NY, USA
| | - Shawn Davidson
- Lewis-Sigler Institute for Integrative Genomics, Princeton, NJ, USA
| | - Vilas Menon
- Department of Neurology, Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons, Columbia University Irving Medical Center, New York, NY, USA
| | - Vivek Swarup
- UCI MIND, University of California Irvine, Irvine, CA, USA
- Department of Neurobiology and Behavior, University of California Irvine, Irvine, CA, USA
| | - Ernest Fraenkel
- Department of Biological Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, USA
| | - James E Goldman
- Department of Pathology and Cell Biology, Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons, Columbia University Irving Medical Center, New York, NY, USA.
- Taub Institute for Research on Alzheimer's Disease and the Aging Brain, Columbia University Irving Medical Center, New York City, New York, NY, USA.
| | - Leslie M Thompson
- UCI MIND, University of California Irvine, Irvine, CA, USA.
- Department of Biological Chemistry, University of California Irvine, Irvine, CA, USA.
- Department of Psychiatry and Human Behavior, University of California Irvine, Irvine, CA, USA.
- Department of Neurobiology and Behavior, University of California Irvine, Irvine, CA, USA.
- Sue and Bill Gross Stem Cell Center University of California Irvine, Irvine, CA, USA.
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Qin Y, Li S, Li XJ, Yang S. CRISPR-Based Genome-Editing Tools for Huntington's Disease Research and Therapy. Neurosci Bull 2022; 38:1397-1408. [PMID: 35608753 PMCID: PMC9672252 DOI: 10.1007/s12264-022-00880-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/02/2021] [Accepted: 03/17/2022] [Indexed: 10/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Huntington's disease (HD) is an autosomal dominantly-inherited neurodegenerative disease, which is caused by CAG trinucleotide expansion in exon 1 of the Huntingtin (HTT) gene. Although HD is a rare disease, its monogenic nature makes it an ideal model in which to understand pathogenic mechanisms and to develop therapeutic strategies for neurodegenerative diseases. Clustered regularly-interspaced short palindromic repeats (CRISPR) is the latest technology for genome editing. Being simple to use and highly efficient, CRISPR-based genome-editing tools are rapidly gaining popularity in biomedical research and opening up new avenues for disease treatment. Here, we review the development of CRISPR-based genome-editing tools and their applications in HD research to offer a translational perspective on advancing the genome-editing technology to HD treatment.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yiyang Qin
- Guangdong Key Laboratory of Non-human Primate Research, Guangdong-Hongkong-Macau Institute of CNS Regeneration, Jinan University, Guangzhou, 510632, China
| | - Shihua Li
- Guangdong Key Laboratory of Non-human Primate Research, Guangdong-Hongkong-Macau Institute of CNS Regeneration, Jinan University, Guangzhou, 510632, China
| | - Xiao-Jiang Li
- Guangdong Key Laboratory of Non-human Primate Research, Guangdong-Hongkong-Macau Institute of CNS Regeneration, Jinan University, Guangzhou, 510632, China
| | - Su Yang
- Guangdong Key Laboratory of Non-human Primate Research, Guangdong-Hongkong-Macau Institute of CNS Regeneration, Jinan University, Guangzhou, 510632, China.
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5
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Podvin S, Rosenthal SB, Poon W, Wei E, Fisch KM, Hook V. Mutant Huntingtin Protein Interaction Map Implicates Dysregulation of Multiple Cellular Pathways in Neurodegeneration of Huntington's Disease. J Huntingtons Dis 2022; 11:243-267. [PMID: 35871359 PMCID: PMC9484122 DOI: 10.3233/jhd-220538] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/15/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Huntington's disease (HD) is a genetic neurodegenerative disease caused by trinucleotide repeat (CAG) expansions in the human HTT gene encoding the huntingtin protein (Htt) with an expanded polyglutamine tract. OBJECTIVE HD models from yeast to transgenic mice have investigated proteins interacting with mutant Htt that may initiate molecular pathways of cell death. There is a paucity of datasets of published Htt protein interactions that include the criteria of 1) defining fragments or full-length Htt forms, 2) indicating the number of poly-glutamines of the mutant and wild-type Htt forms, and 3) evaluating native Htt interaction complexes. This research evaluated such interactor data to gain understanding of Htt dysregulation of cellular pathways. METHODS Htt interacting proteins were compiled from the literature that meet our criteria and were subjected to network analysis via clustering, gene ontology, and KEGG pathways using rigorous statistical methods. RESULTS The compiled data of Htt interactors found that both mutant and wild-type Htt interact with more than 2,971 proteins. Application of a community detection algorithm to all known Htt interactors identified significant signal transduction, membrane trafficking, chromatin, and mitochondrial clusters, among others. Binomial analyses of a subset of reported protein interactor information determined that chromatin organization, signal transduction and endocytosis were diminished, while mitochondria, translation and membrane trafficking had enriched overall edge effects. CONCLUSION The data support the hypothesis that mutant Htt disrupts multiple cellular processes causing toxicity. This dataset is an open resource to aid researchers in formulating hypotheses of HD mechanisms of pathogenesis.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sonia Podvin
- Skaggs School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, CA, USA
| | - Sara Brin Rosenthal
- Center for Computational Biology & Bioinformatics, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, CA, USA
| | - William Poon
- Skaggs School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, CA, USA
| | - Enlin Wei
- Skaggs School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, CA, USA
| | - Kathleen M Fisch
- Center for Computational Biology & Bioinformatics, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, CA, USA.,Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology & Reproductive Sciences, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, CA, USA
| | - Vivian Hook
- Skaggs School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, CA, USA.,Department of Neuroscience and Dept of Pharmacology, School of Medicine, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, CA, USA
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6
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Saba J, Couselo FL, Bruno J, Carniglia L, Durand D, Lasaga M, Caruso C. Neuroinflammation in Huntington's Disease: A Starring Role for Astrocyte and Microglia. Curr Neuropharmacol 2022; 20:1116-1143. [PMID: 34852742 PMCID: PMC9886821 DOI: 10.2174/1570159x19666211201094608] [Citation(s) in RCA: 27] [Impact Index Per Article: 13.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/01/2021] [Revised: 10/06/2021] [Accepted: 11/26/2021] [Indexed: 11/22/2022] Open
Abstract
Huntington's disease (HD) is a neurodegenerative genetic disorder caused by a CAG repeat expansion in the huntingtin gene. HD causes motor, cognitive, and behavioral dysfunction. Since no existing treatment affects the course of this disease, new treatments are needed. Inflammation is frequently observed in HD patients before symptom onset. Neuroinflammation, characterized by the presence of reactive microglia, astrocytes and inflammatory factors within the brain, is also detected early. However, in comparison to other neurodegenerative diseases, the role of neuroinflammation in HD is much less known. Work has been dedicated to altered microglial and astrocytic functions in the context of HD, but less attention has been given to glial participation in neuroinflammation. This review describes evidence of inflammation in HD patients and animal models. It also discusses recent knowledge on neuroinflammation in HD, highlighting astrocyte and microglia involvement in the disease and considering anti-inflammatory therapeutic approaches.
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Affiliation(s)
- Julieta Saba
- Instituto de Investigaciones Biomédicas (INBIOMED), UBA-CONICET, Paraguay 2155, Facultad de Medicina, Universidad de Buenos Aires, Buenos Aires, Argentina
| | - Federico López Couselo
- Instituto de Investigaciones Biomédicas (INBIOMED), UBA-CONICET, Paraguay 2155, Facultad de Medicina, Universidad de Buenos Aires, Buenos Aires, Argentina
| | - Julieta Bruno
- Instituto de Investigaciones Biomédicas (INBIOMED), UBA-CONICET, Paraguay 2155, Facultad de Medicina, Universidad de Buenos Aires, Buenos Aires, Argentina
| | - Lila Carniglia
- Instituto de Investigaciones Biomédicas (INBIOMED), UBA-CONICET, Paraguay 2155, Facultad de Medicina, Universidad de Buenos Aires, Buenos Aires, Argentina
| | - Daniela Durand
- Instituto de Investigaciones Biomédicas (INBIOMED), UBA-CONICET, Paraguay 2155, Facultad de Medicina, Universidad de Buenos Aires, Buenos Aires, Argentina
| | - Mercedes Lasaga
- Instituto de Investigaciones Biomédicas (INBIOMED), UBA-CONICET, Paraguay 2155, Facultad de Medicina, Universidad de Buenos Aires, Buenos Aires, Argentina
| | - Carla Caruso
- Instituto de Investigaciones Biomédicas (INBIOMED), UBA-CONICET, Paraguay 2155, Facultad de Medicina, Universidad de Buenos Aires, Buenos Aires, Argentina,Address correspondence to this author at the Instituto de Investigaciones Biomédicas (INBIOMED), UBA-CONICET, Paraguay 2155 Piso 10, Facultad de Medicina, Universidad de Buenos Aires, Buenos Aires, Argentina, Tel: +54 11 5285 3380; E-mail:
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7
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Roy M, Nath AK, Pal I, Dey SG. Second Sphere Interactions in Amyloidogenic Diseases. Chem Rev 2022; 122:12132-12206. [PMID: 35471949 DOI: 10.1021/acs.chemrev.1c00941] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Abstract
Amyloids are protein aggregates bearing a highly ordered cross β structural motif, which may be functional but are mostly pathogenic. Their formation, deposition in tissues and consequent organ dysfunction is the central event in amyloidogenic diseases. Such protein aggregation may be brought about by conformational changes, and much attention has been directed toward factors like metal binding, post-translational modifications, mutations of protein etc., which eventually affect the reactivity and cytotoxicity of the associated proteins. Over the past decade, a global effort from different groups working on these misfolded/unfolded proteins/peptides has revealed that the amino acid residues in the second coordination sphere of the active sites of amyloidogenic proteins/peptides cause changes in H-bonding pattern or protein-protein interactions, which dramatically alter the structure and reactivity of these proteins/peptides. These second sphere effects not only determine the binding of transition metals and cofactors, which define the pathology of some of these diseases, but also change the mechanism of redox reactions catalyzed by these proteins/peptides and form the basis of oxidative damage associated with these amyloidogenic diseases. The present review seeks to discuss such second sphere modifications and their ramifications in the etiopathology of some representative amyloidogenic diseases like Alzheimer's disease (AD), type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2Dm), Parkinson's disease (PD), Huntington's disease (HD), and prion diseases.
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Affiliation(s)
- Madhuparna Roy
- School of Chemical Sciences, Indian Association for the Cultivation of Science, 2A & 2B, Raja S. C. Mullick Road, Jadavpur, Kolkata 700032, India
| | - Arnab Kumar Nath
- School of Chemical Sciences, Indian Association for the Cultivation of Science, 2A & 2B, Raja S. C. Mullick Road, Jadavpur, Kolkata 700032, India
| | - Ishita Pal
- School of Chemical Sciences, Indian Association for the Cultivation of Science, 2A & 2B, Raja S. C. Mullick Road, Jadavpur, Kolkata 700032, India
| | - Somdatta Ghosh Dey
- School of Chemical Sciences, Indian Association for the Cultivation of Science, 2A & 2B, Raja S. C. Mullick Road, Jadavpur, Kolkata 700032, India
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Schulze-Krebs A, Canneva F, Stemick J, Plank AC, Harrer J, Bates GP, Aeschlimann D, Steffan JS, von Hörsten S. Transglutaminase 6 Is Colocalized and Interacts with Mutant Huntingtin in Huntington Disease Rodent Animal Models. Int J Mol Sci 2021; 22:8914. [PMID: 34445621 PMCID: PMC8396294 DOI: 10.3390/ijms22168914] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/30/2021] [Revised: 08/09/2021] [Accepted: 08/11/2021] [Indexed: 01/07/2023] Open
Abstract
Mammalian transglutaminases (TGs) catalyze calcium-dependent irreversible posttranslational modifications of proteins and their enzymatic activities contribute to the pathogenesis of several human neurodegenerative diseases. Although different transglutaminases are found in many different tissues, the TG6 isoform is mostly expressed in the CNS. The present study was embarked on/undertaken to investigate expression, distribution and activity of transglutaminases in Huntington disease transgenic rodent models, with a focus on analyzing the involvement of TG6 in the age- and genotype-specific pathological features relating to disease progression in HD transgenic mice and a tgHD transgenic rat model using biochemical, histological and functional assays. Our results demonstrate the physical interaction between TG6 and (mutant) huntingtin by co-immunoprecipitation analysis and the contribution of its enzymatic activity for the total aggregate load in SH-SY5Y cells. In addition, we identify that TG6 expression and activity are especially abundant in the olfactory tubercle and piriform cortex, the regions displaying the highest amount of mHTT aggregates in transgenic rodent models of HD. Furthermore, mHTT aggregates were colocalized within TG6-positive cells. These findings point towards a role of TG6 in disease pathogenesis via mHTT aggregate formation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Anja Schulze-Krebs
- Experimental Therapy, Preclinical Experimental Center, University Hospital Erlangen (UKEr), Friedrich-Alexander-University Erlangen-Nürnberg (FAU), 91054 Erlangen, Germany; (F.C.); (A.-C.P.); (J.H.); (S.v.H.)
| | - Fabio Canneva
- Experimental Therapy, Preclinical Experimental Center, University Hospital Erlangen (UKEr), Friedrich-Alexander-University Erlangen-Nürnberg (FAU), 91054 Erlangen, Germany; (F.C.); (A.-C.P.); (J.H.); (S.v.H.)
| | - Judith Stemick
- Department of Molecular Neurology, University Hospital Erlangen (UKEr), Friedrich-Alexander-University Erlangen-Nürnberg (FAU), 91054 Erlangen, Germany;
| | - Anne-Christine Plank
- Experimental Therapy, Preclinical Experimental Center, University Hospital Erlangen (UKEr), Friedrich-Alexander-University Erlangen-Nürnberg (FAU), 91054 Erlangen, Germany; (F.C.); (A.-C.P.); (J.H.); (S.v.H.)
| | - Julia Harrer
- Experimental Therapy, Preclinical Experimental Center, University Hospital Erlangen (UKEr), Friedrich-Alexander-University Erlangen-Nürnberg (FAU), 91054 Erlangen, Germany; (F.C.); (A.-C.P.); (J.H.); (S.v.H.)
| | - Gillian P. Bates
- Huntington’s Disease Centre, Department of Neurodegenerative Disease and UK Dementia Research Institute at UCL, Queen Square Institute of Neurology, University College London, London WC1N 3BG, UK;
| | - Daniel Aeschlimann
- Matrix Biology and Tissue Repair Research Unit, College of Biomedical and Life Sciences, School of Dentistry, Cardiff University, Cardiff CF14 4XY, UK;
| | - Joan S. Steffan
- Institute of Memory Impairments and Neurological Disorders, University of California, Irvine, CA 92697, USA;
- Department of Psychiatry and Human Behavior, University of California, Irvine, CA 92697, USA
| | - Stephan von Hörsten
- Experimental Therapy, Preclinical Experimental Center, University Hospital Erlangen (UKEr), Friedrich-Alexander-University Erlangen-Nürnberg (FAU), 91054 Erlangen, Germany; (F.C.); (A.-C.P.); (J.H.); (S.v.H.)
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9
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Pogoda A, Chmielewska N, Maciejak P, Szyndler J. Transcriptional Dysregulation in Huntington's Disease: The Role in Pathogenesis and Potency for Pharmacological Targeting. Curr Med Chem 2021; 28:2783-2806. [PMID: 32628586 DOI: 10.2174/0929867327666200705225821] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/24/2020] [Revised: 05/15/2020] [Accepted: 06/19/2020] [Indexed: 11/22/2022]
Abstract
Huntington's disease (HD) is an inherited neurodegenerative disorder caused by a mutation in the gene that encodes a critical cell regulatory protein, huntingtin (Htt). The expansion of cytosine-adenine-guanine (CAG) trinucleotide repeats causes improper folding of functional proteins and is an initial trigger of pathological changes in the brain. Recent research has indicated that the functional dysregulation of many transcription factors underlies the neurodegenerative processes that accompany HD. These disturbances are caused not only by the loss of wild-type Htt (WT Htt) function but also by the occurrence of abnormalities that result from the action of mutant Htt (mHtt). In this review, we aim to describe the role of transcription factors that are currently thought to be strongly associated with HD pathogenesis, namely, RE1-silencing transcription factor, also known as neuron-restrictive silencer factor (REST/NRSF), forkhead box proteins (FOXPs), peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor gamma coactivator-1a (PGC1α), heat shock transcription factor 1 (HSF1), and nuclear factor κ light-chain-enhancer of activated B cells (NF- κB). We also take into account the role of these factors in the phenotype of HD as well as potential pharmacological interventions targeting the analyzed proteins. Furthermore, we considered whether molecular manipulation resulting in changes in transcription factor function may have clinical potency for treating HD.
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Affiliation(s)
- Aleksandra Pogoda
- Faculty of Medicine, Medical University of Warsaw, Zwirki i Wigury Street 61, 02-097 Warsaw, Poland
| | - Natalia Chmielewska
- Department of Neurochemistry, Institute of Psychiatry and Neurology, Sobieskiego Street 9, 02-957 Warsaw, Poland
| | - Piotr Maciejak
- Department of Neurochemistry, Institute of Psychiatry and Neurology, Sobieskiego Street 9, 02-957 Warsaw, Poland
| | - Janusz Szyndler
- Department of Experimental and Clinical Pharmacology, Centre for Preclinical Research and Technology CePT, Medical University of Warsaw, Banacha Street 1B, 02-097 Warsaw, Poland
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10
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Lee CYD, Wang N, Shen K, Stricos M, Langfelder P, Cheon KH, Cortés EP, Vinters HV, Vonsattel JP, Wexler NS, Damoiseaux R, Frydman J, Yang XW. Disease-related Huntingtin seeding activities in cerebrospinal fluids of Huntington's disease patients. Sci Rep 2020; 10:20295. [PMID: 33219289 PMCID: PMC7679413 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-020-77164-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/30/2020] [Accepted: 10/28/2020] [Indexed: 11/09/2022] Open
Abstract
In Huntington's disease (HD), the mutant Huntingtin (mHTT) is postulated to mediate template-based aggregation that can propagate across cells. It has been difficult to quantitatively detect such pathological seeding activities in patient biosamples, e.g. cerebrospinal fluids (CSF), and study their correlation with the disease manifestation. Here we developed a cell line expressing a domain-engineered mHTT-exon 1 reporter, which showed remarkably high sensitivity and specificity in detecting mHTT seeding species in HD patient biosamples. We showed that the seeding-competent mHTT species in HD CSF are significantly elevated upon disease onset and with the progression of neuropathological grades. Mechanistically, we showed that mHTT seeding activities in patient CSF could be ameliorated by the overexpression of chaperone DNAJB6 and by antibodies against the polyproline domain of mHTT. Together, our study developed a selective and scalable cell-based tool to investigate mHTT seeding activities in HD CSF, and demonstrated that the CSF mHTT seeding species are significantly associated with certain disease states. This seeding activity can be ameliorated by targeting specific domain or proteostatic pathway of mHTT, providing novel insights into such pathological activities.
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Affiliation(s)
- C Y Daniel Lee
- Center for Neurobehavioral Genetics, The Jane and Terry Semel Institute for Neuroscience & Human Behavior, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, USA
- Department of Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences, David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, Los Angeles, CA, USA
| | - Nan Wang
- Center for Neurobehavioral Genetics, The Jane and Terry Semel Institute for Neuroscience & Human Behavior, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, USA
- Department of Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences, David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, Los Angeles, CA, USA
| | - Koning Shen
- Department of Biology and BioX Program, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, USA
- Department of Molecular and Cell Biology, UC Berkeley, Berkeley, CA, USA
| | - Matthew Stricos
- Center for Neurobehavioral Genetics, The Jane and Terry Semel Institute for Neuroscience & Human Behavior, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, USA
- Department of Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences, David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, Los Angeles, CA, USA
| | - Peter Langfelder
- Center for Neurobehavioral Genetics, The Jane and Terry Semel Institute for Neuroscience & Human Behavior, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, USA
- Department of Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences, David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, Los Angeles, CA, USA
| | - Kristina H Cheon
- Center for Neurobehavioral Genetics, The Jane and Terry Semel Institute for Neuroscience & Human Behavior, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, USA
- Department of Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences, David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, Los Angeles, CA, USA
| | - Etty P Cortés
- Division of Aging and Dementia, Department of Neurology, Columbia University Medical Center, New York, NY, USA
| | - Harry V Vinters
- Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, Neurology, David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, Los Angeles, CA, USA
| | - Jean Paul Vonsattel
- Division of Aging and Dementia, Department of Neurology, Columbia University Medical Center, New York, NY, USA
| | - Nancy S Wexler
- Departments of Neurology and Psychiatry, College of Physicians and Surgeons, Columbia University, New York, NY, USA
- Hereditary Disease Foundation, New York, NY, USA
| | - Robert Damoiseaux
- California NanoSystems Institute, University of California, Los Angeles, CA, USA
- Department of Molecular and Medical Pharmacology, University of California, Los Angeles, CA, USA
| | - Judith Frydman
- Department of Biology and BioX Program, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, USA
| | - X William Yang
- Center for Neurobehavioral Genetics, The Jane and Terry Semel Institute for Neuroscience & Human Behavior, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, USA.
- Department of Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences, David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, Los Angeles, CA, USA.
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11
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Cepeda C, Levine MS. Synaptic Dysfunction in Huntington's Disease: Lessons from Genetic Animal Models. Neuroscientist 2020; 28:20-40. [PMID: 33198566 DOI: 10.1177/1073858420972662] [Citation(s) in RCA: 23] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/17/2022]
Abstract
The understanding of the functional and structural changes occurring in the cerebral cortex and basal ganglia in Huntington's disease (HD) has benefited considerably from the generation of genetic animal models. Most studies of synaptic alterations in HD models have focused on the striatum, but a more complete picture of synaptic dysfunction in the cortico-basal ganglia-cortical loop is emerging. Here, we provide a review and analysis of current developments in the study of synaptic alterations in these areas using HD rodent models. Recent evidence indicates that cortical maldevelopment plays a role in synaptic dysfunction along the corticostriatal pathway that may have its roots in the way mutant huntingtin interacts with synaptic proteins. Furthermore, a progressive disconnection in the corticostriatal pathway leads to abnormal function engaging extrasynaptic N-methyl-D-aspartate glutamate receptors that contribute to eventual cell degeneration. In addition, biphasic increases followed by decreases in glutamate and dopamine release in the striatum could explain contrasting symptomatology in early and late stages of the disease. Changes in striatal output regions also are beginning to be examined. Finally, we highlight some therapeutic avenues aimed at rescuing synaptic dysfunction.
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Affiliation(s)
- Carlos Cepeda
- IDDRC, Jane and Terry Semel Institute for Neuroscience & Human Behavior, David Geffen School of Medicine, University of California, Los Angeles, CA, USA
| | - Michael S Levine
- IDDRC, Jane and Terry Semel Institute for Neuroscience & Human Behavior, David Geffen School of Medicine, University of California, Los Angeles, CA, USA
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12
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Yang H, Yang S, Jing L, Huang L, Chen L, Zhao X, Yang W, Pan Y, Yin P, Qin ZS, Tang B, Li S, Li XJ. Truncation of mutant huntingtin in knock-in mice demonstrates exon1 huntingtin is a key pathogenic form. Nat Commun 2020; 11:2582. [PMID: 32444599 PMCID: PMC7244548 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-020-16318-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 31] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/20/2019] [Accepted: 04/21/2020] [Indexed: 12/22/2022] Open
Abstract
Polyglutamine expansion in proteins can cause selective neurodegeneration, although the mechanisms are not fully understood. In Huntington’s disease (HD), proteolytic processing generates toxic N-terminal huntingtin (HTT) fragments that preferentially kill striatal neurons. Here, using CRISPR/Cas9 to truncate full-length mutant HTT in HD140Q knock-in (KI) mice, we show that exon 1 HTT is stably present in the brain, regardless of truncation sites in full-length HTT. This N-terminal HTT leads to similar HD-like phenotypes and age-dependent HTT accumulation in the striatum in different KI mice. We find that exon 1 HTT is constantly generated but its selective accumulation in the striatum is associated with the age-dependent expression of striatum-enriched HspBP1, a chaperone inhibitory protein. Our findings suggest that tissue-specific chaperone function contributes to the selective neuropathology in HD, and highlight the therapeutic potential in blocking generation of exon 1 HTT. The mechanisms by which mutant Huntington protein Htt leads to selective neurodegeneration are not fully understood. Here, using gene editing in HD140Q knock-in mice, the authors show that exon1 Htt is a critical pathological form of the protein.
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Affiliation(s)
- Huiming Yang
- Department of Neurology, The First Affiliated Hospital, Sun Yat-sen University, 510080, Guangzhou, China.,Guangdong-Hongkong-Macau Institute of CNS Regeneration, Ministry of Education CNS Regeneration Collaborative Joint Laboratory, Jinan University, 510632, Guangzhou, China.,Department of Neurology, Xiangya Hospital, Central South University, 410008, Changsha, Hunan, China.,Department of Human Genetics, Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta, GA, 30322, USA
| | - Su Yang
- Guangdong-Hongkong-Macau Institute of CNS Regeneration, Ministry of Education CNS Regeneration Collaborative Joint Laboratory, Jinan University, 510632, Guangzhou, China
| | - Liang Jing
- Department of Human Genetics, Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta, GA, 30322, USA.,Department of Emergency, Tongji Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, 430030, Wuhan, China
| | - Luoxiu Huang
- Department of Human Genetics, Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta, GA, 30322, USA
| | - Luxiao Chen
- Department of Biostatistics and Bioinformatics, Rollins School of Public Health, Emory University, Atlanta, GA, 30322, USA
| | - Xianxian Zhao
- Guangdong-Hongkong-Macau Institute of CNS Regeneration, Ministry of Education CNS Regeneration Collaborative Joint Laboratory, Jinan University, 510632, Guangzhou, China
| | - Weili Yang
- Guangdong-Hongkong-Macau Institute of CNS Regeneration, Ministry of Education CNS Regeneration Collaborative Joint Laboratory, Jinan University, 510632, Guangzhou, China
| | - Yongcheng Pan
- Department of Human Genetics, Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta, GA, 30322, USA.,Department of Neurology & Key Laboratory of Hunan Province in Neurodegenerative Disorders, Xiangya Hospital, Central South University, Hunan, China
| | - Peng Yin
- Guangdong-Hongkong-Macau Institute of CNS Regeneration, Ministry of Education CNS Regeneration Collaborative Joint Laboratory, Jinan University, 510632, Guangzhou, China
| | - Zhaohui S Qin
- Department of Biostatistics and Bioinformatics, Rollins School of Public Health, Emory University, Atlanta, GA, 30322, USA
| | - Beisha Tang
- Department of Neurology & Key Laboratory of Hunan Province in Neurodegenerative Disorders, Xiangya Hospital, Central South University, Hunan, China
| | - Shihua Li
- Guangdong-Hongkong-Macau Institute of CNS Regeneration, Ministry of Education CNS Regeneration Collaborative Joint Laboratory, Jinan University, 510632, Guangzhou, China.
| | - Xiao-Jiang Li
- Guangdong-Hongkong-Macau Institute of CNS Regeneration, Ministry of Education CNS Regeneration Collaborative Joint Laboratory, Jinan University, 510632, Guangzhou, China.
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13
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Abstract
Huntington disease, a neurodegenerative disease characterized by progressive motor, behavioral, and cognitive decline, is caused by a CAG trinucleotide repeat expansion in the huntingtin gene on chromosome 4. Current treatments target symptom management because there are no disease-modifying therapies at this time. Investigation of RNA-based and DNA-based treatment strategies are emerging and hold promise of possible future disease-modifying therapy.
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Affiliation(s)
- Christine M Stahl
- NYU Langone Health, Marlene and Paolo Fresco Institute for Parkinson's and Movement Disorders, 222 East 41st Street, Floor 13, New York, NY 10017, USA.
| | - Andrew Feigin
- NYU Langone Health, Marlene and Paolo Fresco Institute for Parkinson's and Movement Disorders, 222 East 41st Street, Floor 13, New York, NY 10017, USA
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14
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Subramaniam S. Selective Neuronal Death in Neurodegenerative Diseases: The Ongoing Mystery. THE YALE JOURNAL OF BIOLOGY AND MEDICINE 2019; 92:695-705. [PMID: 31866784 PMCID: PMC6913821] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Download PDF] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/14/2022]
Abstract
A major unresolved problem in neurodegenerative disease is why and how a specific set of neurons in the brain are highly vulnerable to neuronal death. Multiple pathways and mechanisms have been proposed to play a role in Alzheimer disease (AD), Parkinson disease (PD), amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), and Huntington disease (HD), yet how they contribute to neuronal vulnerability remains far from clear. In this review, various mechanisms ascribed in AD, PD, ALS, and HD will be briefly summarized. Particular focus will be placed on Rhes-mediated intercellular transport of the HD protein and its role in mitophagy, in which I will discuss some intriguing observations that I apply to model striatal vulnerability in HD. I may have unintentionally missed referring some studies in this review, and I extend my apologies to the authors in those circumstances.
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15
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Wang N, Yang XW. Huntington Disease's Glial Progenitor Cells Hit the Pause Button in the Mouse Brain. Cell Stem Cell 2019; 24:3-4. [PMID: 30609397 DOI: 10.1016/j.stem.2018.12.004] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/12/2022]
Abstract
White matter abnormalities are prominent neuropathological features in Huntington's disease (HD); however, the cellular culprits are unclear. In this issue of Cell Stem Cell, Osipovitch et al. (2019) show that patient-derived glial progenitor cells fail to properly differentiate and myelinate in the mouse brain due to cell-intrinsic transcriptional defects.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nan Wang
- Center for Neurobehavioral Genetics, Jane and Terry Semel Institute for Neuroscience and Human Behavior at UCLA, David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA; Department of Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences, David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA
| | - X William Yang
- Center for Neurobehavioral Genetics, Jane and Terry Semel Institute for Neuroscience and Human Behavior at UCLA, David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA; Department of Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences, David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA.
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16
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Tao M, Pandey NK, Barnes R, Han S, Langen R. Structure of Membrane-Bound Huntingtin Exon 1 Reveals Membrane Interaction and Aggregation Mechanisms. Structure 2019; 27:1570-1580.e4. [PMID: 31466833 DOI: 10.1016/j.str.2019.08.003] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/21/2019] [Revised: 07/23/2019] [Accepted: 08/09/2019] [Indexed: 02/08/2023]
Abstract
Huntington's disease is caused by a polyQ expansion in the first exon of huntingtin (Httex1). Membrane interaction of huntingtin is of physiological and pathological relevance. Using electron paramagnetic resonance and Overhauser dynamic nuclear polarization, we find that the N-terminal residues 3-13 of wild-type Httex1(Q25) form a membrane-bound, amphipathic α helix. This helix is positioned in the interfacial region, where it is sensitive to membrane curvature and electrostatic interactions with head-group charges. Residues 14-22, which contain the first five residues of the polyQ region, are in a transition region that remains in the interfacial region without taking up a stable, α-helical structure. The remaining C-terminal portion is solvent exposed. The phosphomimetic S13D/S16D mutations, which are known to protect from toxicity, inhibit membrane binding and attenuate membrane-mediated aggregation of mutant Httex1(Q46) due to electrostatic repulsion. Targeting the N-terminal membrane anchor using post-translational modifications or specific binders could be a potential means to reduce aggregation and toxicity in vivo.
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Affiliation(s)
- Meixin Tao
- Department of Neuroscience and Physiology, Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Medicine, Zilkha Neurogenetic Institute, Keck School of Medicine, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA 90033, USA
| | - Nitin K Pandey
- Department of Neuroscience and Physiology, Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Medicine, Zilkha Neurogenetic Institute, Keck School of Medicine, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA 90033, USA
| | - Ryan Barnes
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Department of Chemical Engineering, University of California Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara, CA 93106, USA
| | - Songi Han
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Department of Chemical Engineering, University of California Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara, CA 93106, USA
| | - Ralf Langen
- Department of Neuroscience and Physiology, Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Medicine, Zilkha Neurogenetic Institute, Keck School of Medicine, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA 90033, USA.
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17
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Holley SM, Galvan L, Kamdjou T, Dong A, Levine MS, Cepeda C. Major Contribution of Somatostatin-Expressing Interneurons and Cannabinoid Receptors to Increased GABA Synaptic Activity in the Striatum of Huntington's Disease Mice. Front Synaptic Neurosci 2019; 11:14. [PMID: 31139071 PMCID: PMC6527892 DOI: 10.3389/fnsyn.2019.00014] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/27/2019] [Accepted: 04/23/2019] [Indexed: 01/01/2023] Open
Abstract
Huntington’s disease (HD) is a heritable neurological disorder that affects cognitive and motor performance in patients carrying the mutated huntingtin (HTT) gene. In mouse models of HD, previous reports showed a significant increase in spontaneous GABAA receptor-mediated synaptic activity in striatal spiny projection neurons (SPNs). In this study, using optogenetics and slice electrophysiology, we examined the contribution of γ-aminobutyric acid (GABA)-ergic parvalbumin (PV)- and somatostatin (SOM)-expressing interneurons to the increase in GABA neurotransmission using the Q175 (heterozygote) mouse model of HD. Patch clamp recordings in voltage-clamp mode were performed on SPNs from brain slices of presymptomatic (2 months) and symptomatic (8 and 12 months) Q175 mice and wildtype (WT) littermates. While inhibitory postsynaptic currents (IPSCs) evoked in SPNs following optical activation of PV- and SOM-expressing interneurons differed in amplitude, no genotype-dependent differences were observed at all ages from both interneuron types; however, responses evoked by either type were found to have faster kinetics in symptomatic mice. Since SOM-expressing interneurons are constitutively active in striatal brain slices, we then examined the effects of acutely silencing these neurons in symptomatic mice with enhanced Natronomonas pharaonis halorhodopsin (eNpHR). Optically silencing SOM-expressing interneurons resulted in a greater decrease in the frequency of spontaneous IPSCs (sIPSCs) in a subset of SPNs from Q175 mice compared to WTs, suggesting that SOM-expressing interneurons are the main contributors to the overall increased GABA synaptic activity in HD SPNs. Additionally, the effects of activating GABAB and cannabinoid (CB1) receptors were investigated to determine whether these receptors were involved in modulating interneuron-specific GABA synaptic transmission and if this modulation differed in HD mice. When selectively activating PV- and SOM-expressing interneurons in the presence of the CB1 receptor agonist WIN-55,212, the magnitudes of the evoked IPSCs in SPNs decreased for both interneuron types although this change was less prominent in symptomatic Q175 SPNs during SOM-expressing interneuron activation. Overall, these findings show that dysfunction of SOM-expressing interneurons contributes to the increased GABA synaptic activity found in HD mouse models and that dysregulation of the endocannabinoid system may contribute to this effect.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sandra M Holley
- Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities Research Center, Department of Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences, Jane and Terry Semel Institute for Neuroscience and Human Behavior, Brain Research Institute, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, United States
| | - Laurie Galvan
- Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities Research Center, Department of Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences, Jane and Terry Semel Institute for Neuroscience and Human Behavior, Brain Research Institute, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, United States
| | - Talia Kamdjou
- Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities Research Center, Department of Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences, Jane and Terry Semel Institute for Neuroscience and Human Behavior, Brain Research Institute, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, United States
| | - Ashley Dong
- Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities Research Center, Department of Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences, Jane and Terry Semel Institute for Neuroscience and Human Behavior, Brain Research Institute, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, United States
| | - Michael S Levine
- Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities Research Center, Department of Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences, Jane and Terry Semel Institute for Neuroscience and Human Behavior, Brain Research Institute, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, United States
| | - Carlos Cepeda
- Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities Research Center, Department of Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences, Jane and Terry Semel Institute for Neuroscience and Human Behavior, Brain Research Institute, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, United States
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18
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Galkin AP, Velizhanina ME, Sopova YV, Shenfeld AA, Zadorsky SP. Prions and Non-infectious Amyloids of Mammals - Similarities and Differences. BIOCHEMISTRY (MOSCOW) 2018; 83:1184-1195. [PMID: 30472956 DOI: 10.1134/s0006297918100048] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/23/2022]
Abstract
Amyloids are highly ordered aggregates of protein fibrils exhibiting cross-β structure formed by intermolecular hydrogen bonds. Pathological amyloid deposition is associated with the development of several socially significant incurable human diseases. Of particular interest are infectious amyloids, or prions, that cause several lethal neurodegenerative diseases in humans and can be transmitted from one organism to another. Because of almost complete absence of criteria for infectious and non-infectious amyloids, there is a lack of consensus, especially, in the definition of similarities and differences between prions and non-infectious amyloids. In this review, we formulated contemporary molecular-biological criteria for identification of prions and non-infectious amyloids and focused on explaining the differences between these two types of molecules.
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Affiliation(s)
- A P Galkin
- St. Petersburg Branch of Vavilov Institute of General Genetics, Russian Academy of Sciences, St. Petersburg, 199034, Russia. .,St. Petersburg State University, Department of Genetics and Biotechnology, St. Petersburg, 199034, Russia
| | - M E Velizhanina
- St. Petersburg State University, Department of Genetics and Biotechnology, St. Petersburg, 199034, Russia
| | - Yu V Sopova
- St. Petersburg Branch of Vavilov Institute of General Genetics, Russian Academy of Sciences, St. Petersburg, 199034, Russia.,St. Petersburg State University, Department of Genetics and Biotechnology, St. Petersburg, 199034, Russia
| | - A A Shenfeld
- St. Petersburg Branch of Vavilov Institute of General Genetics, Russian Academy of Sciences, St. Petersburg, 199034, Russia.,St. Petersburg State University, Department of Genetics and Biotechnology, St. Petersburg, 199034, Russia
| | - S P Zadorsky
- St. Petersburg Branch of Vavilov Institute of General Genetics, Russian Academy of Sciences, St. Petersburg, 199034, Russia. .,St. Petersburg State University, Department of Genetics and Biotechnology, St. Petersburg, 199034, Russia
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19
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Okamoto A, Hosoda N, Hoshino SI. Proteolysis: a double-edged sword for the development of amyloidoses. Prion 2018; 12:1-7. [PMID: 30198379 PMCID: PMC6277189 DOI: 10.1080/19336896.2018.1521234] [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: 04/08/2018] [Revised: 08/17/2018] [Accepted: 08/23/2018] [Indexed: 10/28/2022] Open
Abstract
The yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae has proven to be a useful model system to investigate the mechanism of prion generation and inheritance, to which studies in Sup35 made a great contribution. Recent studies demonstrated that 'protein misfolding and aggregation' (i.e. amyloidogenesis) is a common principle underlying the pathogenesis of neurodegenerative diseases including prion, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), Perkinson's (PD), Alzheimer's (AD) diseases and polyglutamine (polyQ) diseases such as spinocerebellar ataxia (SCA) and Hantington's disease (HD). By these findings, the yeast has again been drawing increased attention as a useful system for studying neurodegenerative proteinopathies. So far, it has been reported that proteolytic cleavage of causative amyloidogenic proteins might affect the pathogenesis of the respective neurodegenerative diseases. Although those reports provide a clear phenomenological description, in the majority of cases, it has remained elusive if proteolysis is directly involved in the pathogenesis of the diseases. Recently, we have demonstrated in yeast that proteolysis suppresses prion generation. The yeast-based strategy might make a breakthrough to the unsolved issues.
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Affiliation(s)
- Atsushi Okamoto
- Department of Biological Chemistry, Graduate School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Nagoya City University, Nagoya, Japan
| | - Nao Hosoda
- Department of Biological Chemistry, Graduate School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Nagoya City University, Nagoya, Japan
| | - Shin-ichi Hoshino
- Department of Biological Chemistry, Graduate School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Nagoya City University, Nagoya, Japan
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20
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Hachigian LJ, Carmona V, Fenster RJ, Kulicke R, Heilbut A, Sittler A, Pereira de Almeida L, Mesirov JP, Gao F, Kolaczyk ED, Heiman M. Control of Huntington's Disease-Associated Phenotypes by the Striatum-Enriched Transcription Factor Foxp2. Cell Rep 2018; 21:2688-2695. [PMID: 29212017 DOI: 10.1016/j.celrep.2017.11.018] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/09/2017] [Revised: 09/19/2017] [Accepted: 11/02/2017] [Indexed: 10/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Alteration of corticostriatal glutamatergic function is an early pathophysiological change associated with Huntington's disease (HD). The factors that regulate the maintenance of corticostriatal glutamatergic synapses post-developmentally are not well understood. Recently, the striatum-enriched transcription factor Foxp2 was implicated in the development of these synapses. Here, we show that, in mice, overexpression of Foxp2 in the adult striatum of two models of HD leads to rescue of HD-associated behaviors, while knockdown of Foxp2 in wild-type mice leads to development of HD-associated behaviors. We note that Foxp2 encodes the longest polyglutamine repeat protein in the human reference genome, and we show that it can be sequestered into aggregates with polyglutamine-expanded mutant Huntingtin protein (mHTT). Foxp2 overexpression in HD model mice leads to altered expression of several genes associated with synaptic function, genes that present additional targets for normalization of corticostriatal dysfunction in HD.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lea J Hachigian
- Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences, MIT, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA; Picower Institute for Learning and Memory, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA; Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, Cambridge, MA 02142, USA
| | - Vitor Carmona
- Center for Neuroscience and Cell Biology (CNC) and Faculty of Pharmacy, The University of Coimbra Rua Larga, 3004-504 Coimbra, Portugal
| | - Robert J Fenster
- Picower Institute for Learning and Memory, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA
| | - Ruth Kulicke
- Picower Institute for Learning and Memory, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA; Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, Cambridge, MA 02142, USA
| | - Adrian Heilbut
- Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, Cambridge, MA 02142, USA; Program in Bioinformatics, Boston University, Boston, MA 02215, USA
| | - Annie Sittler
- ICM (Brain and Spine Institute) Pitié-Salpêtrière Hospital, CNRS UMR 7225, 75013 Paris, France
| | - Luís Pereira de Almeida
- Center for Neuroscience and Cell Biology (CNC) and Faculty of Pharmacy, The University of Coimbra Rua Larga, 3004-504 Coimbra, Portugal
| | - Jill P Mesirov
- Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, Cambridge, MA 02142, USA
| | - Fan Gao
- Picower Institute for Learning and Memory, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA
| | - Eric D Kolaczyk
- Program in Bioinformatics, Boston University, Boston, MA 02215, USA; Department of Mathematics and Statistics, Boston University, Boston, MA 02215, USA
| | - Myriam Heiman
- Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences, MIT, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA; Picower Institute for Learning and Memory, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA; Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, Cambridge, MA 02142, USA.
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21
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Blum D, Chern Y, Domenici MR, Buée L, Lin CY, Rea W, Ferré S, Popoli P. The Role of Adenosine Tone and Adenosine Receptors in Huntington's Disease. J Caffeine Adenosine Res 2018; 8:43-58. [PMID: 30023989 PMCID: PMC6049521 DOI: 10.1089/caff.2018.0006] [Citation(s) in RCA: 28] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/15/2022] Open
Abstract
Huntington's disease (HD) is a hereditary neurodegenerative disorder caused by a mutation in the IT15 gene that encodes for the huntingtin protein. Mutated hungtingtin, although widely expressed in the brain, predominantly affects striato-pallidal neurons, particularly enriched with adenosine A2A receptors (A2AR), suggesting a possible involvement of adenosine and A2AR is the pathogenesis of HD. In fact, polymorphic variation in the ADORA2A gene influences the age at onset in HD, and A2AR dynamics is altered by mutated huntingtin. Basal levels of adenosine and adenosine receptors are involved in many processes critical for neuronal function and homeostasis, including modulation of synaptic activity and excitotoxicity, the control of neurotrophin levels and functions, and the regulation of protein degradation mechanisms. In the present review, we critically analyze the current literature involving the effect of altered adenosine tone and adenosine receptors in HD and discuss why therapeutics that modulate the adenosine system may represent a novel approach for the treatment of HD.
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Affiliation(s)
- David Blum
- University of Lille, Inserm, CHU Lille, UMR-S 1172 - JPArc, LabEx DISTALZ, Lille, France
| | - Yijuang Chern
- Institute of Biomedical Sciences, Academia Sinica, Taipei, Taiwan
| | - Maria Rosaria Domenici
- National Center for Drug Research and Evaluation, Istituto Superiore di Sanità, Rome, Italy
| | - Luc Buée
- University of Lille, Inserm, CHU Lille, UMR-S 1172 - JPArc, LabEx DISTALZ, Lille, France
| | - Chien-Yu Lin
- Institute of Biomedical Sciences, Academia Sinica, Taipei, Taiwan
| | - William Rea
- Integrative Neurobiology Section, National Institute on Drug Abuse, National Institutes of Health, Baltimore, Maryland
| | - Sergi Ferré
- Integrative Neurobiology Section, National Institute on Drug Abuse, National Institutes of Health, Baltimore, Maryland
| | - Patrizia Popoli
- National Center for Drug Research and Evaluation, Istituto Superiore di Sanità, Rome, Italy
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22
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The CAG-polyglutamine repeat diseases: a clinical, molecular, genetic, and pathophysiologic nosology. HANDBOOK OF CLINICAL NEUROLOGY 2018; 147:143-170. [PMID: 29325609 DOI: 10.1016/b978-0-444-63233-3.00011-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 55] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/19/2022]
Abstract
Throughout the genome, unstable tandem nucleotide repeats can expand to cause a variety of neurologic disorders. Expansion of a CAG triplet repeat within a coding exon gives rise to an elongated polyglutamine (polyQ) tract in the resultant protein product, and accounts for a unique category of neurodegenerative disorders, known as the CAG-polyglutamine repeat diseases. The nine members of the CAG-polyglutamine disease family include spinal and bulbar muscular atrophy (SBMA), Huntington disease, dentatorubral pallidoluysian atrophy, and six spinocerebellar ataxias (SCA 1, 2, 3, 6, 7, and 17). All CAG-polyglutamine diseases are dominantly inherited, with the exception of SBMA, which is X-linked, and many CAG-polyglutamine diseases display anticipation, which is defined as increasing disease severity in successive generations of an affected kindred. Despite widespread expression of the different polyQ-expanded disease proteins throughout the body, each CAG-polyglutamine disease strikes a particular subset of neurons, although the mechanism for this cell-type selectivity remains poorly understood. While the different genes implicated in these disorders display amino acid homology only in the repeat tract domain, certain pathologic molecular processes have been implicated in almost all of the CAG-polyglutamine repeat diseases, including protein aggregation, proteolytic cleavage, transcription dysregulation, autophagy impairment, and mitochondrial dysfunction. Here we highlight the clinical and molecular genetic features of each distinct disorder, and then discuss common themes in CAG-polyglutamine disease pathogenesis, closing with emerging advances in therapy development.
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Sukoff Rizzo SJ, Crawley JN. Behavioral Phenotyping Assays for Genetic Mouse Models of Neurodevelopmental, Neurodegenerative, and Psychiatric Disorders. Annu Rev Anim Biosci 2017; 5:371-389. [PMID: 28199172 DOI: 10.1146/annurev-animal-022516-022754] [Citation(s) in RCA: 39] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/09/2022]
Abstract
Animal models offer heuristic research tools to understand the causes of human diseases and to identify potential treatments. With rapidly evolving genetic engineering technologies, mutations identified in a human disorder can be generated in the mouse genome. Phenotypic outcomes of the mutation are then explicated to confirm hypotheses about causes and to discover effective therapeutics. Most neurodevelopmental, neurodegenerative, and psychiatric disorders are diagnosed primarily by their prominent behavioral symptoms. Mouse behavioral assays analogous to the human symptoms have been developed to analyze the consequences of mutations and to evaluate proposed therapeutics preclinically. Here we describe the range of mouse behavioral tests available in the established behavioral neuroscience literature, along with examples of their translational applications. Concepts presented have been successfully used in other species, including flies, worms, fish, rats, pigs, and nonhuman primates. Identical strategies can be employed to test hypotheses about environmental causes and gene × environment interactions.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Jacqueline N Crawley
- MIND Institute, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, University of California, Davis School of Medicine, Sacramento, California 95817;
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24
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Veldman MB, Yang XW. Molecular insights into cortico-striatal miscommunications in Huntington's disease. Curr Opin Neurobiol 2017; 48:79-89. [PMID: 29125980 DOI: 10.1016/j.conb.2017.10.019] [Citation(s) in RCA: 33] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/25/2017] [Accepted: 10/18/2017] [Indexed: 12/12/2022]
Abstract
Huntington's disease (HD), a dominantly inherited neurodegenerative disease, is defined by its genetic cause, a CAG-repeat expansion in the HTT gene, its motor and psychiatric symptomology and primary loss of striatal medium spiny neurons (MSNs). However, the molecular mechanisms from genetic lesion to disease phenotype remain largely unclear. Mouse models of HD have been created that exhibit phenotypes partially recapitulating those in the patient, and specifically, cortico-striatal disconnectivity appears to be a shared pathogenic event shared by HD mouse models and patients. Molecular studies have begun to unveil converging molecular and cellular pathogenic mechanisms that may account for cortico-striatal miscommunication in various HD mouse models. Systems biological approaches help to illuminate synaptic molecular networks as a nexus for HD cortio-striatal pathogenesis, and may offer new candidate targets to modify the disease.
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Affiliation(s)
- Matthew B Veldman
- Center for Neurobehavioral Genetics and Semel Institute for Neuroscience & Human Behavior, David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, Los Angeles, CA 90095, United States; Department of Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences, David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, Los Angeles, CA 90095, United States
| | - X William Yang
- Center for Neurobehavioral Genetics and Semel Institute for Neuroscience & Human Behavior, David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, Los Angeles, CA 90095, United States; Department of Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences, David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, Los Angeles, CA 90095, United States.
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25
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Mutant Huntingtin Inhibits αB-Crystallin Expression and Impairs Exosome Secretion from Astrocytes. J Neurosci 2017; 37:9550-9563. [PMID: 28893927 DOI: 10.1523/jneurosci.1418-17.2017] [Citation(s) in RCA: 66] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/23/2017] [Revised: 08/23/2017] [Accepted: 08/25/2017] [Indexed: 12/11/2022] Open
Abstract
In the brain, astrocytes secrete diverse substances that regulate neuronal function and viability. Exosomes, which are vesicles produced through the formation of multivesicular bodies and their subsequent fusion with the plasma membrane, are also released from astrocytes via exocytotic secretion. Astrocytic exosomes carry heat shock proteins that can reduce the cellular toxicity of misfolded proteins and prevent neurodegeneration. Although mutant huntingtin (mHtt) affects multiple functions of astrocytes, it remains unknown whether mHtt impairs the production of exosomes from astrocytes. We found that mHtt is not present in astrocytic exosomes, but can decrease exosome secretion from astrocytes in HD140Q knock-in (KI) mice. N-terminal mHtt accumulates in the nuclei and forms aggregates, causing decreased secretion of exosomes from cultured astrocytes. Consistently, there is a significant decrease in secreted exosomes in both female and male HD KI mouse striatum in which abundant nuclear mHtt aggregates are present. Conversely, injection of astrocytic exosomes into the striatum of HD140Q KI mice reduces the density of mHtt aggregates. Further, mHtt in astrocytes decreased the expression of αB-crystallin, a small heat shock protein that is enriched in astrocytes and mediates exosome secretion, by reducing the association of Sp1 with the enhancer of the αB-crystallin gene. Importantly, overexpression of αB-crystallin rescues defective exosome release from HD astrocytes as well as mHtt aggregates in the striatum of HD140Q KI mice. Our results demonstrate that mHtt reduces the expression of αB-crystallin in astrocytes to decrease exosome secretion in the HD brains, contributing to non-cell-autonomous neurotoxicity in HD.SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT Huntington's disease (HD) is characterized by selective neurodegeneration that preferentially occurs in the striatal medium spiny neurons. Recent studies in different HD mouse models demonstrated that dysfunction of astrocytes, a major type of glial cell, leads to neuronal vulnerability. Emerging evidence shows that exosomes secreted from astrocytes contain neuroprotective cargoes that could support the survival of neighboring neurons. We found that mHtt in astrocytes impairs exosome secretion by decreasing αB-crystallin, a protein that is expressed mainly in glial cells and mediates exosome secretion. Overexpression of αB-crystallin could alleviate the deficient exosome release and neuropathology in HD mice. Our results revealed a new pathological pathway that affects the critical support of glial cells to neurons in the HD brain.
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26
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Jimenez-Sanchez M, Licitra F, Underwood BR, Rubinsztein DC. Huntington's Disease: Mechanisms of Pathogenesis and Therapeutic Strategies. Cold Spring Harb Perspect Med 2017; 7:cshperspect.a024240. [PMID: 27940602 DOI: 10.1101/cshperspect.a024240] [Citation(s) in RCA: 209] [Impact Index Per Article: 29.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/13/2022]
Abstract
Huntington's disease is a late-onset neurodegenerative disease caused by a CAG trinucleotide repeat in the gene encoding the huntingtin protein. Despite its well-defined genetic origin, the molecular and cellular mechanisms underlying the disease are unclear and complex. Here, we review some of the currently known functions of the wild-type huntingtin protein and discuss the deleterious effects that arise from the expansion of the CAG repeats, which are translated into an abnormally long polyglutamine tract. Finally, we outline some of the therapeutic strategies that are currently being pursued to slow down the disease.
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Affiliation(s)
- Maria Jimenez-Sanchez
- Department of Medical Genetics, University of Cambridge, Cambridge Institute for Medical Research, Addenbrooke's Hospital, Cambridge CB2 0XY, United Kingdom
| | - Floriana Licitra
- Department of Medical Genetics, University of Cambridge, Cambridge Institute for Medical Research, Addenbrooke's Hospital, Cambridge CB2 0XY, United Kingdom
| | - Benjamin R Underwood
- Department of Old Age Psychiatry, Beechcroft, Fulbourn Hospital, Cambridge CB21 5EF, United Kingdom
| | - David C Rubinsztein
- Department of Medical Genetics, University of Cambridge, Cambridge Institute for Medical Research, Addenbrooke's Hospital, Cambridge CB2 0XY, United Kingdom
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27
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Huang X, Luo YL, Mao YS, Ji JL. The link between long noncoding RNAs and depression. Prog Neuropsychopharmacol Biol Psychiatry 2017; 73:73-78. [PMID: 27318257 DOI: 10.1016/j.pnpbp.2016.06.004] [Citation(s) in RCA: 65] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/28/2015] [Revised: 06/07/2016] [Accepted: 06/13/2016] [Indexed: 12/28/2022]
Abstract
The major depressive disorder (MDD) is a relatively common mental disorder from which that hundreds of million people have suffered, leading to displeasing life quality, which is characterized by health damage and even suicidal thoughts. The complicated development and functioning of MDD is still under exploration. Long noncoding RNA (lncRNAs) are highly expressed in the brain, could affect neural stem cell maintenance, neurogenesis and gliogenesis, brain patterning, synaptic and stress responses, and neural plasticity. The dysregulation of certain lncRNAs induces in neurodevelopmental, neurodegenerative and neuroimmunological disorders, primary brain tumors, and psychiatric diseases. Although advances have been made, no fully satisfactory treatments for major depression are available, further investigation is requested. And recently data showed that the expression level of the majority of lncRNAs demonstrated a clear tendency of upregulation, and the certain dysregulated miRNAs and lncRNAs in the MDD have been proved to have a co-synergism mechanism, that is why we speculate lncRNA might get the capability to regulate MDD. Few identified lncRNAs have been deeply studied in detailed experiments up until now, little predictions of their function have been raised, and further researches is calling for discover their signal pathway and related regulatory networks.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xiao Huang
- Department of Psychological Medicine, Zhongshan Hospital, Fudan University, Shanghai 200032, China
| | - Yan-Li Luo
- Department of Psychiatry, Tongji Hospital of Tongji University, Shanghai 200065, China
| | - Yue-Shi Mao
- Department of Neurology, Zhongshan Hospital, Fudan University, Shanghai 200032, China
| | - Jian-Lin Ji
- Department of Psychological Medicine, Zhongshan Hospital, Fudan University, Shanghai 200032, China.
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28
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Miles M, Kitevska-Ilioski T, Hawkins C. Old and Novel Functions of Caspase-2. INTERNATIONAL REVIEW OF CELL AND MOLECULAR BIOLOGY 2017; 332:155-212. [DOI: 10.1016/bs.ircmb.2016.12.002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 26] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/13/2022]
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29
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Ring KL, An MC, Zhang N, O'Brien RN, Ramos EM, Gao F, Atwood R, Bailus BJ, Melov S, Mooney SD, Coppola G, Ellerby LM. Genomic Analysis Reveals Disruption of Striatal Neuronal Development and Therapeutic Targets in Human Huntington's Disease Neural Stem Cells. Stem Cell Reports 2016; 5:1023-1038. [PMID: 26651603 PMCID: PMC4682390 DOI: 10.1016/j.stemcr.2015.11.005] [Citation(s) in RCA: 57] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/04/2015] [Revised: 11/02/2015] [Accepted: 11/12/2015] [Indexed: 12/29/2022] Open
Abstract
We utilized induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) derived from Huntington's disease (HD) patients as a human model of HD and determined that the disease phenotypes only manifest in the differentiated neural stem cell (NSC) stage, not in iPSCs. To understand the molecular basis for the CAG repeat expansion-dependent disease phenotypes in NSCs, we performed transcriptomic analysis of HD iPSCs and HD NSCs compared to isogenic controls. Differential gene expression and pathway analysis pointed to transforming growth factor β (TGF-β) and netrin-1 as the top dysregulated pathways. Using data-driven gene coexpression network analysis, we identified seven distinct coexpression modules and focused on two that were correlated with changes in gene expression due to the CAG expansion. Our HD NSC model revealed the dysregulation of genes involved in neuronal development and the formation of the dorsal striatum. The striatal and neuronal networks disrupted could be modulated to correct HD phenotypes and provide therapeutic targets.
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Affiliation(s)
- Karen L Ring
- Buck Institute for Research on Aging, Novato, CA 94945, USA
| | - Mahru C An
- Buck Institute for Research on Aging, Novato, CA 94945, USA
| | - Ningzhe Zhang
- Buck Institute for Research on Aging, Novato, CA 94945, USA
| | | | - Eliana Marisa Ramos
- Departments of Neurology and Psychiatry, Semel Institute for Neuroscience and Human Behavior, David Geffen School of Medicine, University of California, Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA
| | - Fuying Gao
- Departments of Neurology and Psychiatry, Semel Institute for Neuroscience and Human Behavior, David Geffen School of Medicine, University of California, Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA
| | - Robert Atwood
- Buck Institute for Research on Aging, Novato, CA 94945, USA
| | | | - Simon Melov
- Buck Institute for Research on Aging, Novato, CA 94945, USA
| | - Sean D Mooney
- Buck Institute for Research on Aging, Novato, CA 94945, USA
| | - Giovanni Coppola
- Departments of Neurology and Psychiatry, Semel Institute for Neuroscience and Human Behavior, David Geffen School of Medicine, University of California, Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA
| | - Lisa M Ellerby
- Buck Institute for Research on Aging, Novato, CA 94945, USA.
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30
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Bañez-Coronel M, Ayhan F, Tarabochia AD, Zu T, Perez BA, Tusi SK, Pletnikova O, Borchelt DR, Ross CA, Margolis RL, Yachnis AT, Troncoso JC, Ranum LPW. RAN Translation in Huntington Disease. Neuron 2016; 88:667-77. [PMID: 26590344 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuron.2015.10.038] [Citation(s) in RCA: 252] [Impact Index Per Article: 31.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/06/2015] [Revised: 09/05/2015] [Accepted: 10/15/2015] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Abstract
Huntington disease (HD) is caused by a CAG ⋅ CTG expansion in the huntingtin (HTT) gene. While most research has focused on the HTT polyGln-expansion protein, we demonstrate that four additional, novel, homopolymeric expansion proteins (polyAla, polySer, polyLeu, and polyCys) accumulate in HD human brains. These sense and antisense repeat-associated non-ATG (RAN) translation proteins accumulate most abundantly in brain regions with neuronal loss, microglial activation and apoptosis, including caudate/putamen, white matter, and, in juvenile-onset cases, also the cerebellum. RAN protein accumulation and aggregation are length dependent, and individual RAN proteins are toxic to neural cells independent of RNA effects. These data suggest RAN proteins contribute to HD and that therapeutic strategies targeting both sense and antisense genes may be required for efficacy in HD patients. This is the first demonstration that RAN proteins are expressed across an expansion located in an open reading frame and suggests RAN translation may also contribute to other polyglutamine diseases.
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Affiliation(s)
- Monica Bañez-Coronel
- Center for NeuroGenetics, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL 32610, USA; Department of Molecular Genetics and Microbiology, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL 32610, USA
| | - Fatma Ayhan
- Center for NeuroGenetics, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL 32610, USA; Department of Molecular Genetics and Microbiology, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL 32610, USA
| | - Alex D Tarabochia
- Center for NeuroGenetics, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL 32610, USA; Department of Molecular Genetics and Microbiology, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL 32610, USA
| | - Tao Zu
- Center for NeuroGenetics, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL 32610, USA; Department of Molecular Genetics and Microbiology, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL 32610, USA
| | - Barbara A Perez
- Center for NeuroGenetics, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL 32610, USA; Department of Molecular Genetics and Microbiology, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL 32610, USA
| | - Solaleh Khoramian Tusi
- Center for NeuroGenetics, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL 32610, USA; Department of Molecular Genetics and Microbiology, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL 32610, USA; Genetics Institute, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL 32610, USA
| | - Olga Pletnikova
- Department of Pathology, The John Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD 21205, USA
| | - David R Borchelt
- Center for NeuroGenetics, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL 32610, USA; Department of Neuroscience, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL 32610, USA
| | - Christopher A Ross
- Division of Neurobiology, The John Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD 21205, USA; Department of Psychiatry, The John Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD 21205, USA; Department of Neurology, The John Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD 21205, USA; Department of Pharmacology, The John Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD 21205, USA; Department of Neuroscience, The John Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD 21205, USA; Program in Cellular and Molecular Medicine, The John Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD 21205, USA; Baltimore Huntington's Disease Center, The John Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD 21205, USA
| | - Russell L Margolis
- Division of Neurobiology, The John Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD 21205, USA; Department of Psychiatry, The John Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD 21205, USA; Department of Neurology, The John Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD 21205, USA; Department of Neuroscience, The John Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD 21205, USA; Baltimore Huntington's Disease Center, The John Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD 21205, USA
| | - Anthony T Yachnis
- Department of Pathology, Immunology and Laboratory Medicine, College of Medicine, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL 32610, USA
| | - Juan C Troncoso
- Department of Pathology, The John Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD 21205, USA; Department of Neurology, The John Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD 21205, USA
| | - Laura P W Ranum
- Center for NeuroGenetics, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL 32610, USA; Department of Molecular Genetics and Microbiology, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL 32610, USA; Department of Neurology, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL 32610, USA; Genetics Institute, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL 32610, USA.
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31
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Mantovani S, Gordon R, Li R, Christie DC, Kumar V, Woodruff TM. Motor deficits associated with Huntington's disease occur in the absence of striatal degeneration in BACHD transgenic mice. Hum Mol Genet 2016; 25:1780-91. [PMID: 26908618 DOI: 10.1093/hmg/ddw050] [Citation(s) in RCA: 21] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/01/2015] [Accepted: 02/15/2016] [Indexed: 11/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Huntington's disease (HD) is an incurable neurodegenerative condition characterized by progressive motor and cognitive dysfunction, and depletion of neurons in the striatum. Recently, BACHD transgenic mice expressing the full-length human huntingtin gene have been generated, which recapitulate some of the motor and cognitive deficits seen in HD. In this study, we carried out a series of extensive behavioural and neuropathological tests on BACHD mice, to validate this mouse for preclinical research. Transgenic C57BL/6J BACHD and litter-matched wild-type mice were examined in a battery of motor and cognitive function tests at regular intervals up to 12 months of age. Brains from these mice were also analysed for signs of neurodegeneration and striatal and cortical volume sizes compared using anatomic 16.4T magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) brain scans. BACHD mice showed progressive motor impairments on rotarod and balance beam tests starting from 3 months of age, were hypoactive in the open field tests starting from 6 months of age, however, showed no alterations in gait and grip strength at any age. Surprisingly, despite these distinct motor deficits, no signs of neuronal loss, gliosis or blood-brain barrier degeneration were observed in the striatum of 12-month-old mice. MRI brain scans confirmed no reduction in striatal or cortical volumes at 12 months of age, and BACHD mice had a normal lifespan. These results demonstrate that classical Huntington's-like motor impairments seen in this transgenic model, do not occur due to degeneration of the striatum, and thus caution against the use of this model for preclinical studies into HD.
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Affiliation(s)
- Susanna Mantovani
- School of Biomedical Sciences, The University of Queensland, St Lucia, Brisbane, QLD, Australia and Wesley Medical Research, Auchenflower, Brisbane, QLD, Australia
| | - Richard Gordon
- School of Biomedical Sciences, The University of Queensland, St Lucia, Brisbane, QLD, Australia and
| | - Rui Li
- School of Biomedical Sciences, The University of Queensland, St Lucia, Brisbane, QLD, Australia and
| | - Daniel C Christie
- School of Biomedical Sciences, The University of Queensland, St Lucia, Brisbane, QLD, Australia and
| | - Vinod Kumar
- School of Biomedical Sciences, The University of Queensland, St Lucia, Brisbane, QLD, Australia and
| | - Trent M Woodruff
- School of Biomedical Sciences, The University of Queensland, St Lucia, Brisbane, QLD, Australia and
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Characterization of Behavioral, Neuropathological, Brain Metabolic and Key Molecular Changes in zQ175 Knock-In Mouse Model of Huntington's Disease. PLoS One 2016; 11:e0148839. [PMID: 26859386 PMCID: PMC4747517 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0148839] [Citation(s) in RCA: 44] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/06/2015] [Accepted: 01/25/2016] [Indexed: 11/19/2022] Open
Abstract
Huntington’s disease (HD) is caused by an expansion of the trinucleotide poly (CAG) tract located in exon 1 of the huntingtin (Htt) gene leading to progressive neurodegeneration in selected brain regions, and associated functional impairments in motor, cognitive, and psychiatric domains. Since the discovery of the gene mutation that causes the disease, mouse models have been developed by different strategies. Recently, a new model, the zQ175 knock-in (KI) line, was developed in an attempt to have the Htt gene in a context and causing a phenotype that more closely mimics HD in humans. The behavioral phenotype was characterized across the independent laboratories and important features reminiscent of human HD are observed in zQ175 mice. In the current study, we characterized the zQ175 model housed in an academic laboratory under reversed dark-light cycle, including motor function, in vivo longitudinal structural MRI imaging for brain volume, MRS for striatal metabolites, neuropathology, as well as a panel of key disease marker proteins in the striatum at different ages. Our results suggest that homozygous zQ175 mice exhibited significant brain atrophy before the motor deficits and brain metabolite changes. Altered striatal medium spiny neuronal marker, postsynaptic marker protein and complement component C1qC also characterized zQ175 mice. Our results confirmed that the zQ175 KI model is valuable in understanding of HD-like pathophysiology and evaluation of potential therapeutics. Our data also provide suggestions to select appropriate outcome measurements in preclinical studies using the zQ175 mice.
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33
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Recombinant Adeno Associated Viral (AAV) vector type 9 delivery of Ex1-Q138-mutant huntingtin in the rat striatum as a short-time model for in vivo studies in drug discovery. Neurobiol Dis 2016; 86:41-51. [DOI: 10.1016/j.nbd.2015.11.019] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/24/2015] [Revised: 09/30/2015] [Accepted: 11/23/2015] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
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34
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Veldman MB, Rios-Galdamez Y, Lu XH, Gu X, Qin W, Li S, Yang XW, Lin S. The N17 domain mitigates nuclear toxicity in a novel zebrafish Huntington's disease model. Mol Neurodegener 2015; 10:67. [PMID: 26645399 PMCID: PMC4673728 DOI: 10.1186/s13024-015-0063-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 34] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/18/2015] [Accepted: 11/30/2015] [Indexed: 01/14/2023] Open
Abstract
Background Although the genetic cause for Huntington’s disease (HD) has been known for over 20 years, the mechanisms that cause the neurotoxicity and behavioral symptoms of this disease are not well understood. One hypothesis is that N-terminal fragments of the HTT protein are the causative agents in HD and that peptide sequences adjacent to the poly-glutamine (Q) repeats modify its toxicity. Here we test the function of the N-terminal 17 amino acids (N17) in the context of the exon 1 fragment of HTT in a novel, inducible zebrafish model of HD. Results Deletion of N17 coupled with 97Q expansion (mHTT-ΔN17-exon1) resulted in a robust, rapidly progressing movement deficit, while fish with intact N17 and 97Q expansion (mHTT-exon1) have more delayed-onset movement deficits with slower progression. The level of mHTT-ΔN17-exon1 protein was significantly higher than mHTT-exon1, although the mRNA level of each transgene was marginally different, suggesting that N17 may regulate HTT protein stability in vivo. In addition, cell lineage specific induction of the mHTT-ΔN17-exon1 transgene in neurons was sufficient to recapitulate the consequences of ubiquitous transgene expression. Within neurons, accelerated nuclear accumulation of the toxic HTT fragment was observed in mHTT-ΔN17-exon1 fish, demonstrating that N17 also plays an important role in sub-cellular localization in vivo. Conclusions We have developed a novel, inducible zebrafish model of HD. These animals exhibit a progressive movement deficit reminiscent of that seen in other animal models and human patients. Deletion of the N17 terminal amino acids of the huntingtin fragment results in an accelerated HD-like phenotype that may be due to enhanced protein stability and nuclear accumulation of HTT. These transgenic lines will provide a valuable new tool to study mechanisms of HD at the behavioral, cellular, and molecular levels. Future experiments will be focused on identifying genetic modifiers, mechanisms and therapeutics that alleviate polyQ aggregation in the nucleus of neurons. Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s13024-015-0063-2) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.
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Affiliation(s)
- Matthew B Veldman
- Department of Molecular, Cell and Developmental Biology, University of California-Los Angeles, 621 Charles E. Young Drive South, Los Angeles, CA, 90095, USA
| | - Yesenia Rios-Galdamez
- Department of Molecular, Cell and Developmental Biology, University of California-Los Angeles, 621 Charles E. Young Drive South, Los Angeles, CA, 90095, USA
| | - Xiao-Hong Lu
- Center for Neurobehavioral Genetics, Semel Institute for Neuroscience and Human Behavior, Los Angeles, USA.,Department of Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences, David Geffen School of Medicine, Los Angeles, USA.,Brain Research Institute, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, 90095, USA
| | - Xiaofeng Gu
- Center for Neurobehavioral Genetics, Semel Institute for Neuroscience and Human Behavior, Los Angeles, USA.,Department of Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences, David Geffen School of Medicine, Los Angeles, USA.,Brain Research Institute, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, 90095, USA
| | - Wei Qin
- Laboratory of Chemical Genomics, School of Chemical Biology and Biotechnology, Peking University Shenzhen Graduate School, Shenzhen, 518055, China
| | - Song Li
- Laboratory of Chemical Genomics, School of Chemical Biology and Biotechnology, Peking University Shenzhen Graduate School, Shenzhen, 518055, China
| | - X William Yang
- Center for Neurobehavioral Genetics, Semel Institute for Neuroscience and Human Behavior, Los Angeles, USA.,Department of Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences, David Geffen School of Medicine, Los Angeles, USA.,Brain Research Institute, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, 90095, USA
| | - Shuo Lin
- Department of Molecular, Cell and Developmental Biology, University of California-Los Angeles, 621 Charles E. Young Drive South, Los Angeles, CA, 90095, USA. .,Laboratory of Chemical Genomics, School of Chemical Biology and Biotechnology, Peking University Shenzhen Graduate School, Shenzhen, 518055, China.
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35
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Holm IE, Alstrup AKO, Luo Y. Genetically modified pig models for neurodegenerative disorders. J Pathol 2015; 238:267-87. [DOI: 10.1002/path.4654] [Citation(s) in RCA: 72] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/27/2015] [Revised: 09/22/2015] [Accepted: 10/05/2015] [Indexed: 12/12/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Ida E Holm
- Department of Pathology; Randers Hospital; 8930 Randers Denmark
- Department of Clinical Medicine; Aarhus University; 8000 Aarhus C Denmark
| | | | - Yonglun Luo
- Department of Biomedicine; Aarhus University; 8000 Aarhus C Denmark
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36
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Gonzales ED, Tanenhaus AK, Zhang J, Chaffee RP, Yin JCP. Early-onset sleep defects in Drosophila models of Huntington's disease reflect alterations of PKA/CREB signaling. Hum Mol Genet 2015; 25:837-52. [PMID: 26604145 DOI: 10.1093/hmg/ddv482] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/18/2015] [Accepted: 11/17/2015] [Indexed: 12/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Huntington's disease (HD) is a progressive neurological disorder whose non-motor symptoms include sleep disturbances. Whether sleep and activity abnormalities are primary molecular disruptions of mutant Huntingtin (mutHtt) expression or result from neurodegeneration is unclear. Here, we report Drosophila models of HD exhibit sleep and activity disruptions very early in adulthood, as soon as sleep patterns have developed. Pan-neuronal expression of full-length or N-terminally truncated mutHtt recapitulates sleep phenotypes of HD patients: impaired sleep initiation, fragmented and diminished sleep, and nighttime hyperactivity. Sleep deprivation of HD model flies results in exacerbated sleep deficits, indicating that homeostatic regulation of sleep is impaired. Elevated PKA/CREB activity in healthy flies produces patterns of sleep and activity similar to those in our HD models. We were curious whether aberrations in PKA/CREB signaling were responsible for our early-onset sleep/activity phenotypes. Decreasing signaling through the cAMP/PKA pathway suppresses mutHtt-induced developmental lethality. Genetically reducing PKA abolishes sleep/activity deficits in HD model flies, restores the homeostatic response and extends median lifespan. In vivo reporters, however, show dCREB2 activity is unchanged, or decreased when sleep/activity patterns are abnormal, suggesting dissociation of PKA and dCREB2 occurs early in pathogenesis. Collectively, our data suggest that sleep defects may reflect a primary pathological process in HD, and that measurements of sleep and cAMP/PKA could be prodromal indicators of disease, and serve as therapeutic targets for intervention.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | | | - Ryan P Chaffee
- Molecular and Cellular Pharmacology Training Program, University of Wisconsin-Madison, 425-G Henry Mall, Madison, WI 53706, USA and
| | - Jerry C P Yin
- Department of Medical Genetics, Department of Neurology, University of Wisconsin-Madison, 1685 Highland Ave., Madison, WI 53705-2281, USA
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37
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Mutant huntingtin downregulates myelin regulatory factor-mediated myelin gene expression and affects mature oligodendrocytes. Neuron 2015; 85:1212-26. [PMID: 25789755 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuron.2015.02.026] [Citation(s) in RCA: 108] [Impact Index Per Article: 12.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/17/2014] [Revised: 11/27/2014] [Accepted: 02/05/2015] [Indexed: 11/21/2022]
Abstract
Growing evidence indicates that non-neuronal mutant huntingtin toxicity plays an important role in Huntington's disease (HD); however, whether and how mutant huntingtin affects oligodendrocytes, which are vitally important for neural function and axonal integrity, remains unclear. We first verified the presence of mutant huntingtin in oligodendrocytes in HD140Q knockin mice. We then established transgenic mice (PLP-150Q) that selectively express mutant huntingtin in oligodendrocytes. PLP-150Q mice show progressive neurological symptoms and early death, as well as age-dependent demyelination and reduced expression of myelin genes that are downstream of myelin regulatory factor (MYRF or MRF), a transcriptional regulator that specifically activates and maintains the expression of myelin genes in mature oligodendrocytes. Consistently, mutant huntingtin binds abnormally to MYRF and affects its transcription activity. Our findings suggest that dysfunction of mature oligodendrocytes is involved in HD pathogenesis and may also make a good therapeutic target.
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38
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Chang R, Liu X, Li S, Li XJ. Transgenic animal models for study of the pathogenesis of Huntington's disease and therapy. DRUG DESIGN DEVELOPMENT AND THERAPY 2015; 9:2179-88. [PMID: 25931812 PMCID: PMC4404937 DOI: 10.2147/dddt.s58470] [Citation(s) in RCA: 31] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/16/2022]
Abstract
Huntington’s disease (HD) is caused by a genetic mutation that results in polyglutamine expansion in the N-terminal regions of huntingtin. As a result, this polyQ expansion leads to the misfolding and aggregation of mutant huntingtin as well as age-dependent neurodegeneration. The genetic mutation in HD allows for generating a variety of animal models that express different forms of mutant huntingtin and show differential pathology. Studies of these animal models have provided an important insight into the pathogenesis of HD. Mouse models of HD include transgenic mice, which express N-terminal or full-length mutant huntingtin ubiquitously or selectively in different cell types, and knock-in mice that express full-length mutant Htt at the endogenous level. Large animals, such as pig, sheep, and monkeys, have also been used to generate animal HD models. This review focuses on the different features of commonly used transgenic HD mouse models as well as transgenic large animal models of HD, and also discusses how to use them to identify potential therapeutics. Since HD shares many pathological features with other neurodegenerative diseases, identification of therapies for HD would also help to develop effective treatment for different neurodegenerative diseases that are also caused by protein misfolding and occur in an age-dependent manner.
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Affiliation(s)
- Renbao Chang
- State Key Laboratory of Molecular Developmental Biology, Institute of Genetics and Developmental Biology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, People's Republic of China
| | - Xudong Liu
- State Key Laboratory of Molecular Developmental Biology, Institute of Genetics and Developmental Biology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, People's Republic of China
| | - Shihua Li
- Department of Human Genetics, Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta, GA, USA
| | - Xiao-Jiang Li
- State Key Laboratory of Molecular Developmental Biology, Institute of Genetics and Developmental Biology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, People's Republic of China ; Department of Human Genetics, Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta, GA, USA
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39
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Drouin-Ouellet J, Sawiak SJ, Cisbani G, Lagacé M, Kuan WL, Saint-Pierre M, Dury RJ, Alata W, St-Amour I, Mason SL, Calon F, Lacroix S, Gowland PA, Francis ST, Barker RA, Cicchetti F. Cerebrovascular and blood-brain barrier impairments in Huntington's disease: Potential implications for its pathophysiology. Ann Neurol 2015; 78:160-77. [PMID: 25866151 DOI: 10.1002/ana.24406] [Citation(s) in RCA: 187] [Impact Index Per Article: 20.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/24/2015] [Revised: 03/06/2015] [Accepted: 03/06/2015] [Indexed: 12/12/2022]
Abstract
OBJECTIVE Although the underlying cause of Huntington's disease (HD) is well established, the actual pathophysiological processes involved remain to be fully elucidated. In other proteinopathies such as Alzheimer's and Parkinson's diseases, there is evidence for impairments of the cerebral vasculature as well as the blood-brain barrier (BBB), which have been suggested to contribute to their pathophysiology. We investigated whether similar changes are also present in HD. METHODS We used 3- and 7-Tesla magnetic resonance imaging as well as postmortem tissue analyses to assess blood vessel impairments in HD patients. Our findings were further investigated in the R6/2 mouse model using in situ cerebral perfusion, histological analysis, Western blotting, as well as transmission and scanning electron microscopy. RESULTS We found mutant huntingtin protein (mHtt) aggregates to be present in all major components of the neurovascular unit of both R6/2 mice and HD patients. This was accompanied by an increase in blood vessel density, a reduction in blood vessel diameter, as well as BBB leakage in the striatum of R6/2 mice, which correlated with a reduced expression of tight junction-associated proteins and increased numbers of transcytotic vesicles, which occasionally contained mHtt aggregates. We confirmed the existence of similar vascular and BBB changes in HD patients. INTERPRETATION Taken together, our results provide evidence for alterations in the cerebral vasculature in HD leading to BBB leakage, both in the R6/2 mouse model and in HD patients, a phenomenon that may, in turn, have important pathophysiological implications.
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Affiliation(s)
- Janelle Drouin-Ouellet
- Department of Clinical Neurosciences, John van Geest Centre for Brain Repair, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, United Kingdom
| | - Stephen J Sawiak
- Wolfson Brain Imaging Centre, Department of Clinical Neurosciences, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, United Kingdom
| | - Giulia Cisbani
- Centre de recherche du CHU de Québec (CHUQ), Québec, Québec, Canada
| | - Marie Lagacé
- Centre de recherche du CHU de Québec (CHUQ), Québec, Québec, Canada
| | - Wei-Li Kuan
- Department of Clinical Neurosciences, John van Geest Centre for Brain Repair, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, United Kingdom
| | | | - Richard J Dury
- Sir Peter Mansfield Magnetic Resonance Centre, School of Physics and Astronomy, University of Nottingham, Nottingham, United Kingdom
| | - Wael Alata
- Centre de recherche du CHU de Québec (CHUQ), Québec, Québec, Canada
| | | | - Sarah L Mason
- Department of Clinical Neurosciences, John van Geest Centre for Brain Repair, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, United Kingdom
| | - Frédéric Calon
- Centre de recherche du CHU de Québec (CHUQ), Québec, Québec, Canada.,Faculté de Pharmacie, Université Laval, Québec, Québec, Canada
| | - Steve Lacroix
- Centre de recherche du CHU de Québec (CHUQ), Québec, Québec, Canada.,Département de Médecine Moléculaire, Université Laval, Québec, Québec, Canada
| | - Penny A Gowland
- Sir Peter Mansfield Magnetic Resonance Centre, School of Physics and Astronomy, University of Nottingham, Nottingham, United Kingdom
| | - Susan T Francis
- Sir Peter Mansfield Magnetic Resonance Centre, School of Physics and Astronomy, University of Nottingham, Nottingham, United Kingdom
| | - Roger A Barker
- Department of Clinical Neurosciences, John van Geest Centre for Brain Repair, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, United Kingdom
| | - Francesca Cicchetti
- Centre de recherche du CHU de Québec (CHUQ), Québec, Québec, Canada.,Département de Psychiatrie & Neurosciences, Université Laval, Québec, Québec, Canada
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40
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Cheng HM, Chern Y, Chen IH, Liu CR, Li SH, Chun SJ, Rigo F, Bennett CF, Deng N, Feng Y, Lin CS, Yan YT, Cohen SN, Cheng TH. Effects on murine behavior and lifespan of selectively decreasing expression of mutant huntingtin allele by supt4h knockdown. PLoS Genet 2015; 11:e1005043. [PMID: 25760041 PMCID: PMC4356588 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pgen.1005043] [Citation(s) in RCA: 43] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/07/2014] [Accepted: 01/30/2015] [Indexed: 01/13/2023] Open
Abstract
Production of protein containing lengthy stretches of polyglutamine encoded by multiple repeats of the trinucleotide CAG is a hallmark of Huntington's disease (HD) and of a variety of other inherited degenerative neurological and neuromuscular disorders. Earlier work has shown that interference with production of the transcription elongation protein SUPT4H results in decreased cellular capacity to transcribe mutant huntingtin gene (Htt) alleles containing long CAG expansions, but has little effect on expression of genes containing short CAG stretches. zQ175 and R6/2 are genetically engineered mouse strains whose genomes contain human HTT alleles that include greatly expanded CAG repeats and which are used as animal models for HD. Here we show that reduction of SUPT4H expression in brains of zQ175 mice by intracerebroventricular bolus injection of antisense 2'-O-methoxyethyl oligonucleotides (ASOs) directed against Supt4h, or in R6/2 mice by deletion of one copy of the Supt4h gene, results in a decrease in mRNA and protein encoded specifically by mutant Htt alleles. We further show that reduction of SUPT4H in mouse brains is associated with decreased HTT protein aggregation, and in R6/2 mice, also with prolonged lifespan and delay of the motor impairment that normally develops in these animals. Our findings support the view that targeting of SUPT4H function may be useful as a therapeutic countermeasure against HD.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hui-Min Cheng
- Institute of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, National Yang-Ming University, Taipei, Taiwan, Republic of China
| | - Yijuang Chern
- Institute of Biomedical Sciences, Academia Sinica, Taipei, Taiwan, Republic of China
| | - I-Hui Chen
- Institute of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, National Yang-Ming University, Taipei, Taiwan, Republic of China
| | - Chia-Rung Liu
- Institute of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, National Yang-Ming University, Taipei, Taiwan, Republic of China
| | - Sih-Huei Li
- Institute of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, National Yang-Ming University, Taipei, Taiwan, Republic of China
| | - Seung J. Chun
- ISIS Pharmaceuticals, Carlsbad, California, United States of America
| | - Frank Rigo
- ISIS Pharmaceuticals, Carlsbad, California, United States of America
| | - C. Frank Bennett
- ISIS Pharmaceuticals, Carlsbad, California, United States of America
| | - Ning Deng
- Department of Genetics, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, California, United States of America
| | - Yanan Feng
- Department of Genetics, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, California, United States of America
| | - Chyuan-Sheng Lin
- Department of Pathology and Cell Biology & Herbert Irving Comprehensive Cancer Center, Columbia University, New York, New York, United States of America
| | - Yu-Ting Yan
- Institute of Biomedical Sciences, Academia Sinica, Taipei, Taiwan, Republic of China
| | - Stanley N. Cohen
- Department of Genetics, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, California, United States of America
| | - Tzu-Hao Cheng
- Institute of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, National Yang-Ming University, Taipei, Taiwan, Republic of China
- Brain Research Center, National Yang-Ming University, Taipei, Taiwan, Republic of China
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41
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Gu X, Cantle JP, Greiner ER, Lee CYD, Barth AM, Gao F, Park CS, Zhang Z, Sandoval-Miller S, Zhang RL, Diamond M, Mody I, Coppola G, Yang XW. N17 Modifies mutant Huntingtin nuclear pathogenesis and severity of disease in HD BAC transgenic mice. Neuron 2015; 85:726-41. [PMID: 25661181 PMCID: PMC4386927 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuron.2015.01.008] [Citation(s) in RCA: 52] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/07/2014] [Revised: 11/07/2014] [Accepted: 01/04/2015] [Indexed: 11/26/2022]
Abstract
The nucleus is a critical subcellular compartment for the pathogenesis of polyglutamine disorders, including Huntington’s disease (HD). Recent studies suggest the first 17-amino-acid domain (N17) of mutant Huntingtin (mHTT) mediates its nuclear exclusion in cultured cells. Here, we test whether N17 could be a molecular determinant of nuclear mHTT pathogenesis in vivo. BAC transgenic mice expressing mHTT lacking the N17 domain (BACHD-ΔN17) show dramatically accelerated mHTT pathology exclusively in the nucleus, which is associated with HD-like transcriptionopathy. Interestingly, BACHD-ΔN17 mice manifest more overt disease-like phenotypes than the original BACHD mice, including body weight loss, movement deficits, robust striatal neuronal loss, and neuroinflammation. Mechanistically, N17 is necessary for nuclear exclusion of small mHTT fragments that are part of nuclear pathology in HD. Together, our study suggests that N17 modifies nuclear pathogenesis and disease severity in HD mice by regulating subcellular localization of known nuclear pathogenic mHTT species.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xiaofeng Gu
- Center for Neurobehavioral Genetics, Semel Institute for Neuroscience and Human Behavior, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA; Department of Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences, David Geffen School of Medicine, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA; Brain Research Institute, David Geffen School of Medicine, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA
| | - Jeffrey P Cantle
- Center for Neurobehavioral Genetics, Semel Institute for Neuroscience and Human Behavior, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA; Department of Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences, David Geffen School of Medicine, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA; Brain Research Institute, David Geffen School of Medicine, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA
| | - Erin R Greiner
- Center for Neurobehavioral Genetics, Semel Institute for Neuroscience and Human Behavior, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA; Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA
| | - C Y Daniel Lee
- Center for Neurobehavioral Genetics, Semel Institute for Neuroscience and Human Behavior, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA; Department of Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences, David Geffen School of Medicine, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA; Brain Research Institute, David Geffen School of Medicine, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA
| | - Albert M Barth
- Department of Neurology, David Geffen School of Medicine, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA
| | - Fuying Gao
- Center for Neurobehavioral Genetics, Semel Institute for Neuroscience and Human Behavior, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA; Department of Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences, David Geffen School of Medicine, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA
| | - Chang Sin Park
- Center for Neurobehavioral Genetics, Semel Institute for Neuroscience and Human Behavior, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA; Department of Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences, David Geffen School of Medicine, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA; Brain Research Institute, David Geffen School of Medicine, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA
| | - Zhiqiang Zhang
- Department of Neurology, Washington University School of Medicine St. Louis, MO 63110, USA; Department of Neurology and Neurotherapeutics, University of Texas, Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, TX 75390, USA
| | - Susana Sandoval-Miller
- Center for Neurobehavioral Genetics, Semel Institute for Neuroscience and Human Behavior, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA; Department of Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences, David Geffen School of Medicine, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA; Brain Research Institute, David Geffen School of Medicine, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA
| | - Richard L Zhang
- Center for Neurobehavioral Genetics, Semel Institute for Neuroscience and Human Behavior, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA; Department of Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences, David Geffen School of Medicine, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA; Brain Research Institute, David Geffen School of Medicine, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA
| | - Marc Diamond
- Department of Neurology, Washington University School of Medicine St. Louis, MO 63110, USA; Department of Neurology and Neurotherapeutics, University of Texas, Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, TX 75390, USA
| | - Istvan Mody
- Department of Neurology, David Geffen School of Medicine, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA
| | - Giovanni Coppola
- Center for Neurobehavioral Genetics, Semel Institute for Neuroscience and Human Behavior, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA; Department of Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences, David Geffen School of Medicine, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA; Brain Research Institute, David Geffen School of Medicine, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA; Department of Neurology, David Geffen School of Medicine, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA
| | - X William Yang
- Center for Neurobehavioral Genetics, Semel Institute for Neuroscience and Human Behavior, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA; Department of Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences, David Geffen School of Medicine, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA; Brain Research Institute, David Geffen School of Medicine, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA.
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42
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Zheng CL, Wilmot B, Walter NA, Oberbeck D, Kawane S, Searles RP, McWeeney SK, Hitzemann R. Splicing landscape of the eight collaborative cross founder strains. BMC Genomics 2015; 16:52. [PMID: 25652416 PMCID: PMC4320832 DOI: 10.1186/s12864-015-1267-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/30/2014] [Accepted: 01/22/2015] [Indexed: 12/20/2022] Open
Abstract
Background The Collaborative Cross (CC) is a large panel of genetically diverse recombinant inbred mouse strains specifically designed to provide a systems genetics resource for the study of complex traits. In part, the utility of the CC stems from the extensive genome-wide annotations of founder strain sequence and structural variation. Still missing, however, are transcriptome-specific annotations of the CC founder strains that could further enhance the utility of this resource. Results We provide a comprehensive survey of the splicing landscape of the 8 CC founder strains by leveraging the high level of alternative splicing within the brain. Using deep transcriptome sequencing, we found that a majority of the splicing landscape is conserved among the 8 strains, with ~65% of junctions being shared by at least 2 strains. We, however, found a large number of potential strain-specific splicing events as well, with an average of ~3000 and ~500 with ≥3 and ≥10 sequence read coverage, respectively, within each strain. To better understand strain-specific splicing within the CC founder strains, we defined criteria for and identified high-confidence strain-specific splicing events. These splicing events were defined as exon-exon junctions 1) found within only one strain, 2) with a read coverage ≥10, and 3) defined by a canonical splice site. With these criteria, a total of 1509 high-confidence strain-specific splicing events were identified, with the majority found within two of the wild-derived strains, CAST and PWK. Strikingly, the overwhelming majority, 94%, of these strain-specific splicing events are not yet annotated. Strain-specific splicing was also located within genomic regions recently reported to be over- and under-represented within CC populations. Conclusions Phenotypic characterization of CC populations is increasing; thus these results will not only aid in further elucidating the transcriptomic architecture of the individual CC founder strains, but they will also help in guiding the utilization of the CC populations in the study of complex traits. This report is also the first to establish guidelines in defining and identifying strain-specific splicing across different mouse strains. Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s12864-015-1267-0) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.
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Affiliation(s)
- Christina L Zheng
- Department of Medical Informatics and Clinical Epidemiology, Division of Bioinformatics and Computational Biology, Oregon Health & Science University, Portland, Oregon, USA. .,Knight Cancer Institute, Oregon Health & Science University, Portland, Oregon, USA.
| | - Beth Wilmot
- Department of Medical Informatics and Clinical Epidemiology, Division of Bioinformatics and Computational Biology, Oregon Health & Science University, Portland, Oregon, USA. .,Knight Cancer Institute, Oregon Health & Science University, Portland, Oregon, USA. .,Oregon Clinical and Translational Research Institute, Oregon Health & Science University, Portland, Oregon, USA.
| | - Nicole Ar Walter
- Department of Behavioral Neuroscience, Oregon Health & Science University, Portland, Oregon, USA. .,Portland Alcohol Research Center, Oregon Health & Science University, Portland, Oregon, USA.
| | - Denesa Oberbeck
- Department of Behavioral Neuroscience, Oregon Health & Science University, Portland, Oregon, USA.
| | - Sunita Kawane
- Oregon Clinical and Translational Research Institute, Oregon Health & Science University, Portland, Oregon, USA.
| | - Robert P Searles
- Integrated Genomics Laboratory, Oregon Health & Science University, Portland, Oregon, USA.
| | - Shannon K McWeeney
- Department of Medical Informatics and Clinical Epidemiology, Division of Bioinformatics and Computational Biology, Oregon Health & Science University, Portland, Oregon, USA. .,Knight Cancer Institute, Oregon Health & Science University, Portland, Oregon, USA. .,Oregon Clinical and Translational Research Institute, Oregon Health & Science University, Portland, Oregon, USA. .,Department of Public Health and Preventative Medicine, Division of Biostatistics, Oregon Health & Science University, Portland, Oregon, USA.
| | - Robert Hitzemann
- Department of Behavioral Neuroscience, Oregon Health & Science University, Portland, Oregon, USA. .,Veterans Affairs Research Service, Portland, OR, USA.
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43
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Jin J, Peng Q, Hou Z, Jiang M, Wang X, Langseth AJ, Tao M, Barker PB, Mori S, Bergles DE, Ross CA, Detloff PJ, Zhang J, Duan W. Early white matter abnormalities, progressive brain pathology and motor deficits in a novel knock-in mouse model of Huntington's disease. Hum Mol Genet 2015; 24:2508-27. [PMID: 25609071 DOI: 10.1093/hmg/ddv016] [Citation(s) in RCA: 60] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/21/2014] [Accepted: 01/19/2015] [Indexed: 12/21/2022] Open
Abstract
White matter abnormalities have been reported in premanifest Huntington's disease (HD) subjects before overt striatal neuronal loss, but whether the white matter changes represent a necessary step towards further pathology and the underlying mechanism of these changes remains unknown. Here, we characterized a novel knock-in mouse model that expresses mouse HD gene homolog (Hdh) with extended CAG repeat- HdhQ250, which was derived from the selective breeding of HdhQ150 mice. HdhQ250 mice manifest an accelerated and robust phenotype compared with its parent line. HdhQ250 mice exhibit progressive motor deficits, reduction in striatal and cortical volume, accumulation of mutant huntingtin aggregation, decreased levels of DARPP32 and BDNF and altered striatal metabolites. The abnormalities detected in this mouse model are reminiscent of several aspects of human HD. In addition, disturbed myelination was evident in postnatal Day 14 HdhQ250 mouse brain, including reduced levels of myelin regulatory factor and myelin basic protein, and decreased numbers of myelinated axons in the corpus callosum. Thinner myelin sheaths, indicated by increased G-ratio of myelin, were also detected in the corpus callosum of adult HdhQ250 mice. Moreover, proliferation of oligodendrocyte precursor cells is altered by mutant huntingtin both in vitro and in vivo. Our data indicate that this model is suitable for understanding comprehensive pathogenesis of HD in white matter and gray matter as well as developing therapeutics for HD.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jing Jin
- Division of Neurobiology, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences
| | - Qi Peng
- Division of Neurobiology, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences
| | | | - Mali Jiang
- Division of Neurobiology, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences
| | - Xin Wang
- Department of Radiation Oncology, Weill Cornell Medical College, New York, NY 10065, USA
| | | | - Michael Tao
- Division of Neurobiology, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences
| | | | | | | | - Christopher A Ross
- Division of Neurobiology, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Program in Cellular and Molecular Medicine, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD 21287, USA, Department of Neuroscience, Department of Neurology and Pharmacology and Molecular Sciences and
| | - Peter J Detloff
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Genetics, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, AL 35242, USA
| | | | - Wenzhen Duan
- Division of Neurobiology, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Program in Cellular and Molecular Medicine, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD 21287, USA, Department of Neuroscience,
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44
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van Wamelen DJ, Aziz NA, Roos RAC, Swaab DF. Hypothalamic alterations in Huntington's disease patients: comparison with genetic rodent models. J Neuroendocrinol 2014; 26:761-75. [PMID: 25074766 DOI: 10.1111/jne.12190] [Citation(s) in RCA: 31] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/09/2014] [Revised: 07/26/2014] [Accepted: 07/26/2014] [Indexed: 11/27/2022]
Abstract
Unintended weight loss, sleep and circadian disturbances and autonomic dysfunction are prevalent features of Huntington's disease (HD), an autosomal dominantly inherited neurodegenerative disorder caused by an expanded CAG repeat sequence in the HTT gene. These features form a substantial contribution to disease burden in HD patients and appear to be accompanied by a number of neuroendocrine and metabolic changes, pointing towards hypothalamic pathology as a likely underlying mechanism. Neuronal inclusion bodies of mutant huntingtin, which are hallmarks of the disease, occur throughout the hypothalamus, and indicate local mutant huntingtin expression that could interfere with hypothalamic neuropeptide production. Also, several genetic rodent models of HD show features that could be related to hypothalamic pathology, such as weight loss and circadian rhythm disturbances. In these rodents, several hypothalamic neuropeptide populations are affected. In the present review, we summarise the changes in genetic rodent models of HD for individual hypothalamic nuclei, compare these observations to the hypothalamic changes that occur in HD patients, and make an inventory of the work that still needs to be done. Surprisingly, there is only limited overlap in the hypothalamic changes reported in HD patients and genetic rodent models. At present, the only similarity between the hypothalamic alterations in HD patients and genetic rodent models is a decrease in the number of orexin-expressing neurones in the lateral hypothalamus. Possible reasons for these discrepancies, as well as potential consequences for the development of novel therapeutic strategies, are discussed.
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Affiliation(s)
- D J van Wamelen
- Netherlands Institute for Neuroscience, Institute of the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences, Amsterdam ZO, The Netherlands; Department of Neurology, Leiden University Medical Center, Leiden, The Netherlands
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Zielonka D, Piotrowska I, Marcinkowski JT, Mielcarek M. Skeletal muscle pathology in Huntington's disease. Front Physiol 2014; 5:380. [PMID: 25339908 PMCID: PMC4186279 DOI: 10.3389/fphys.2014.00380] [Citation(s) in RCA: 83] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/31/2014] [Accepted: 09/13/2014] [Indexed: 12/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Huntington's disease (HD) is a hereditary neurodegenerative disorder caused by the expansion of a polyglutamine stretch within the huntingtin protein (HTT). The neurological symptoms, that involve motor, cognitive and psychiatric disturbances, are caused by neurodegeneration that is particularly widespread in the basal ganglia and cereberal cortex. HTT is ubiquitously expressed and in recent years it has become apparent that HD patients experience a wide array of peripheral organ dysfunction including severe metabolic phenotype, weight loss, HD-related cardiomyopathy and skeletal muscle wasting. Although skeletal muscles pathology became a hallmark of HD, the mechanisms underlying muscular atrophy in this disorder are unknown. Skeletal muscles account for approximately 40% of body mass and are highly adaptive to physiological and pathological conditions that may result in muscle hypertrophy (due to increased mechanical load) or atrophy (inactivity, chronic disease states). The atrophy is caused by degeneration of myofibers and their replacement by fibrotic tissue is the major pathological feature in many genetic muscle disorders. Under normal physiological conditions the muscle function is orchestrated by a network of intrinsic hypertrophic and atrophic signals linked to the functional properties of the motor units that are likely to be imbalanced in HD. In this article, we highlight the emerging field of research with particular focus on the recent studies of the skeletal muscle pathology and the identification of new disease-modifying treatments.
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Affiliation(s)
- Daniel Zielonka
- Department of Social Medicine, Poznan University of Medical Sciences Poznan, Poland
| | | | - Jerzy T Marcinkowski
- Department of Social Medicine, Poznan University of Medical Sciences Poznan, Poland
| | - Michal Mielcarek
- Department of Medical and Molecular Genetics, King's College London London, UK
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Hannan AJ. Environmental enrichment and brain repair: harnessing the therapeutic effects of cognitive stimulation and physical activity to enhance experience-dependent plasticity. Neuropathol Appl Neurobiol 2014; 40:13-25. [PMID: 24354721 DOI: 10.1111/nan.12102] [Citation(s) in RCA: 170] [Impact Index Per Article: 17.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/26/2013] [Accepted: 11/29/2013] [Indexed: 12/12/2022]
Abstract
Environmental enrichment (EE) increases levels of novelty and complexity, inducing enhanced sensory, cognitive and motor stimulation. In wild-type rodents, EE has been found to have a range of effects, such as enhancing experience-dependent cellular plasticity and cognitive performance, relative to standard-housed controls. Whilst environmental enrichment is of course a relative term, dependent on the nature of control environmental conditions, epidemiological studies suggest that EE has direct clinical relevance to a range of neurological and psychiatric disorders. EE has been demonstrated to induce beneficial effects in animal models of a wide variety of brain disorders. The first evidence of beneficial effects of EE in a genetically targeted animal model was generated using Huntington's disease transgenic mice. Subsequent studies found that EE was also therapeutic in mouse models of Alzheimer's disease, consistent with epidemiological studies of relevant environmental modifiers. EE has also been found to ameliorate behavioural, cellular and molecular deficits in animal models of various neurological and psychiatric disorders, including Parkinson's disease, stroke, traumatic brain injury, epilepsy, multiple sclerosis, depression, schizophrenia and autism spectrum disorders. This review will focus on the effects of EE observed in animal models of neurodegenerative brain diseases, at molecular, cellular and behavioural levels. The proposal that EE may act synergistically with other approaches, such as drug and cell therapies, to facilitate brain repair will be discussed. I will also discuss the therapeutic potential of 'enviromimetics', drugs which mimic or enhance the therapeutic effects of cognitive activity and physical exercise, for both neuroprotection and brain repair.
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Affiliation(s)
- A J Hannan
- Florey Institute of Neuroscience and Mental Health, University of Melbourne, Melbourne Brain Centre, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
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Chak LL, Okamura K. Argonaute-dependent small RNAs derived from single-stranded, non-structured precursors. Front Genet 2014; 5:172. [PMID: 24959173 PMCID: PMC4050365 DOI: 10.3389/fgene.2014.00172] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/25/2014] [Accepted: 05/22/2014] [Indexed: 12/31/2022] Open
Abstract
A general feature of Argonaute-dependent small RNAs is their base-paired precursor structures, and precursor duplex structures are often required for confident annotation of miRNA genes. However, this rule has been broken by discoveries of functional small RNA species whose precursors lack a predictable double-stranded (ds-) RNA structure, arguing that duplex structures are not prerequisite for small RNA loading to Argonautes. The biological significance of single-stranded (ss-) RNA loading has been recognized particularly in systems where active small RNA amplification mechanisms are involved, because even a small amount of RNA molecules can trigger the production of abundant RNA species leading to profound biological effects. However, even in the absence of small RNA amplification mechanisms, recent studies have demonstrated that potent gene silencing can be achieved using chemically modified synthetic ssRNAs that are resistant to RNases in mice. Therefore, such ssRNA-mediated gene regulation may have broader roles than previously recognized, and the findings have opened the door for further research to optimize the design of ss-siRNAs toward future pharmaceutical and biomedical applications of gene silencing technologies. In this review, we will summarize studies about endogenous ssRNA species that are bound by Argonaute proteins and how ssRNA precursors are recognized by various small RNA pathways.
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Affiliation(s)
- Li-Ling Chak
- Temasek Life Sciences Laboratory, 1 Research Link, National University of Singapore Singapore, Singapore
| | - Katsutomo Okamura
- Temasek Life Sciences Laboratory, 1 Research Link, National University of Singapore Singapore, Singapore ; School of Biological Sciences, Nanyang Technological University Singapore, Singapore
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Cisbani G, Cicchetti F. Review: The fate of cell grafts for the treatment of Huntington's disease: thepost-mortemevidence. Neuropathol Appl Neurobiol 2014; 40:71-90. [DOI: 10.1111/nan.12104] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/17/2013] [Accepted: 12/03/2013] [Indexed: 12/13/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- G. Cisbani
- Centre de Recherche du CHU de Québec (CHUL); Québec QC Canada
| | - F. Cicchetti
- Centre de Recherche du CHU de Québec (CHUL); Québec QC Canada
- Département de Psychiatrie et Neurosciences; Université Laval; Québec QC Canada
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Lee CF, Chern Y. Adenosine receptors and Huntington's disease. INTERNATIONAL REVIEW OF NEUROBIOLOGY 2014; 119:195-232. [PMID: 25175968 DOI: 10.1016/b978-0-12-801022-8.00010-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 34] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/09/2023]
Abstract
Adenosine regulates important pathophysiological functions via four distinct adenosine receptor subtypes (A1, A2A, A2B, and A3). The A1 and A2A adenosine receptors (A1R and A2AR) are major targets of caffeine and have been extensively investigated. Huntington's disease (HD) is a dominant neurodegenerative disease caused by an abnormal CAG expansion in the Huntingtin gene. Since the first genetic HD model was created almost two decades ago, tremendous progress regarding the function of the adenosine receptors in HD has been made. Chronic intake of caffeine was recently shown to be positively associated with the disease onset of HD. Moreover, genetic polymorphism of A2AR is believed to impact the age of onset. Given the importance of adenosine receptors as drug targets for human diseases, this review highlights the recent findings that delineate the roles of adenosine receptors in HD and discusses their potential for serving as drug targets and/or biomarkers for HD. Adenosine is a purine nucleoside that regulates important physiological functions via four different adenosine receptors (A1, A2A, A2B, and A3). These adenosine receptors have seven transmembrane domains and belong to the G protein-coupled receptor family. The functions of the A1 adenosine receptor (A1R) and A2A adenosine receptor (A2AR) have been investigated relative to HD. In this review, we summarize the recent findings regarding the role of adenosine receptors in HD and discuss the potential application of adenosine receptors as drug targets and biomarkers for HD.
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Affiliation(s)
- Chien-fei Lee
- Division of Neuroscience, Institute of Biomedical Sciences, Academia Sinica, Taipei, Taiwan
| | - Yijuang Chern
- Division of Neuroscience, Institute of Biomedical Sciences, Academia Sinica, Taipei, Taiwan.
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