Epigenetic Orchestration of Neurodegenerative Disorders: A Possible Target for Curcumin as a Therapeutic

Epigenetic modulations play a major role in gene expression and thus are responsible for various physiological changes including age-associated neurological disorders. Neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer's (AD), Parkinson's (PD), Huntington's disease (HD), although symptomatically different, may share common underlying mechanisms. Most neurodegenerative diseases are associated with increased oxidative stress, aggregation of certain proteins, mitochondrial dysfunction, inactivation/dysregulation of protein degradation machinery, DNA damage and cell excitotoxicity. Epigenetic modulations has been reported to play a significant role in onset and progression of neurodegenerative diseases by regulating these processes. Previous studies have highlighted the marked antioxidant and neuroprotective abilities of polyphenols such as curcumin, by increased activity of detoxification systems like superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase or glutathione peroxidase. The role of curcumin as an epigenetic modulator in neurological disorders and neuroinflammation apart from other chronic diseases have also been reported by a few groups. Nonetheless, the evidences for the role of curcumin mediated epigenetic modulation in its neuroprotective ability are still limited. This review summarizes the current knowledge of the role of mitochondrial dysfunction, epigenetic modulations and mitoepigenetics in age-associated neurological disorders such as PD, AD, HD, Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS), and Multiple Sclerosis (MS), and describes the neuroprotective effects of curcumin in the treatment and/or prevention of these neurodegenerative diseases by regulation of the epigenetic machinery.

Neurotoxic effects of heavy metal pollutants in the environment: Focusing on epigenetic mechanisms

The pollution of heavy metals (HMs) in the environment is a significant global environmental issue, characterized by its extensive distribution, severe contamination, and profound ecological impacts. Excessive exposure to heavy metal pollutants can damage the nervous system. However, the mechanisms underlying the neurotoxicity of most heavy metals are not completely understood. Epigenetics is defined as a heritable change in gene function that can influence gene and subsequent protein expression levels without altering the DNA sequence. Growing evidence indicates that heavy metals can induce neurotoxic effects by triggering epigenetic changes and disrupting the epigenome. Compared with genetic changes, epigenetic alterations are more easily reversible. Epigenetic reprogramming techniques, drugs, and certain nutrients targeting specific epigenetic mechanisms involved in gene expression regulation are emerging as potential preventive or therapeutic tools for diseases. Therefore, this review provides a comprehensive overview of epigenetic modifications encompassing DNA/RNA methylation, histone modifications, and non-coding RNAs in the nervous system, elucidating their association with various heavy metal exposures. These primarily include manganese (Mn), mercury (Hg), lead (Pb), cobalt (Co), cadmium (Cd), nickel (Ni), sliver (Ag), toxic metalloids arsenic (As), and etc. The potential epigenetic mechanisms in the etiology, precision prevention, and target therapy of various neurodevelopmental disorders or different neurodegenerative diseases are emphasized. In addition, the current gaps in research and future areas of study are discussed. From a perspective on epigenetics, this review offers novel insights for prevention and treatment of neurotoxicity induced by heavy metal pollutants.

IGF/mTORC1/S6 Signaling Is Potentiated and Prolonged by Acute Loading of Subtoxicological Manganese Ion

The insulin-like growth factor (IGF)/insulin signaling (IIS) pathway is involved in cellular responses against intracellular divalent manganese ion (Mn2+) accumulation. As a pathway where multiple nodes utilize Mn2+ as a metallic co-factor, how the IIS signaling patterns are affected by Mn2+ overload is unresolved. In our prior studies, acute Mn2+ exposure potentiated IIS kinase activity upon physiological-level stimulation, indicated by elevated phosphorylation of protein kinase B (PKB, also known as AKT). AKT phosphorylation is associated with IIS activity; and provides direct signaling transduction input for the mammalian target of rapamycin complex 1 (mTORC1) and its downstream target ribosomal protein S6 (S6). Here, to better define the impact of Mn2+ exposure on IIS function, Mn2+-induced IIS activation was evaluated with serial concentrations and temporal endpoints. In the wild-type murine striatal neuronal line STHdh, the acute treatment of Mn2+ with IGF induced a Mn2+ concentration-sensitive phosphorylation of S6 at Ser235/236 to as low as 5 μM extracellular Mn2+. This effect required both the essential amino acids and insulin receptor (IR)/IGF receptor (IGFR) signaling input. Similar to simultaneous stimulation of Mn2+ and IGF, when a steady-state elevation of Mn2+ was established via a 24-h pre-exposure, phosphorylation of S6 also displayed higher sensitivity to sub-cytotoxic Mn2+ when compared to AKT phosphorylation at Ser473. This indicates a synergistic effect of sub-cytotoxic Mn2+ on IIS and mTORC1 signaling. Furthermore, elevated intracellular Mn2+, with both durations, led to a prolonged activation in AKT and S6 upon stimulation. Our data demonstrate that the downstream regulator S6 is a highly sensitive target of elevated Mn2+ and is well below the established acute cytotoxicity thresholds (<50 μM). These findings indicate that the IIS/mTORC1 pathways, in which Mn2+ normally serves as an essential co-factor, are dually responsible for the cellular changes in exposures to real-world Mn2+ concentrations.

Mitochondrial Complex I Inhibition in Dopaminergic Neurons Causes Altered Protein Profile and Protein Oxidation: Implications for Parkinson's disease

Mitochondrial dysfunction and oxidative stress are critical to neurodegeneration in Parkinson's disease (PD). Mitochondrial dysfunction in PD entails inhibition of the mitochondrial complex I (CI) in the dopaminergic neurons of substantia nigra. The events contributing to CI inhibition and downstream pathways are not completely elucidated. We conducted proteomic analysis in a dopaminergic neuronal cell line exposed individually to neurotoxic CI inhibitors: rotenone (Rot), paraquat (Pq) and 1-methyl-4-phenylpyridinium (MPP⁺). Mass spectrometry (MS) revealed the involvement of biological processes including cell death pathways, structural changes and metabolic processes among others, most of which were common across all models. The proteomic changes induced by Pq were significantly higher than those induced by Rot and MPP⁺. Altered metabolic processes included downregulated mitochondrial proteins such as CI subunits. MS of CI isolated from the models revealed oxidative post-translational modifications with Tryptophan (Trp) oxidation as the predominant modification. Further, 62 peptides in 22 subunits of CI revealed Trp oxidation with 16 subunits common across toxins. NDUFV1 subunit had the greatest number of oxidized Trp and Rot model displayed the highest number of Trp oxidation events compared to the other models. Molecular dynamics simulation (MDS) of NDUFV1 revealed that oxidized Trp 433 altered the local conformation thereby changing the distance between the Fe-S clusters, Fe-S 301(N1a) to Fe-S 502 (N3) and Fe-S 802 (N4) to Fe-S 801 (N5), potentially affecting the efficiency of electron transfer. The events triggered by the neurotoxins represent CI damage, mitochondrial dysfunction and neurodegeneration in PD.

Fibrinogen and Complement Factor H Are Promising CSF Protein Biomarkers for Parkinson's Disease with Cognitive Impairment─A Proteomics-ELISA-Based Study

Parkinson's disease (PD) with cognitive impairment (PDCI) is essentially diagnosed through clinical and neuropsychological examinations. There is a need to identify biomarkers to foresee cognitive decline in them. We performed label-free unbiased nontargeted proteomics (Q-TOF LC/MS-MS) on the CSF of non-neurological control; PDCI; PD; and normal pressure hydrocephalus (NPH) patients, followed by targeted ELISA for validation. Of the 281 proteins identified, 42 were differentially altered in PD, PDCI, and NPH. With a certain overlap, 28 proteins were altered in PDCI and 25 proteins were altered in NPH. Five significantly upregulated proteins in PDCI were fibrinogen, gelsolin, complement factor-H, and apolipoproteins A-I and A-IV, whereas carnosine dipeptidase-1, carboxypeptidase-E, dickkopf-3, and secretogranin-3 precursor proteins were downregulated. Those uniquely altered in NPH were the insulin-like growth factor-binding protein, ceruloplasmin, α-1 antitrypsin, VGF nerve growth factor, and neural cell adhesion molecule L1-like protein. The ELISA-derived protein concentrations correlated with neuropsychological scores of certain cognitive domains. In PDCI, the Wisconsin card sorting percentile correlated negatively with fibrinogen. Intraperitoneal injection of native fibrinogen caused motor deficits in C57BL/6J mice as assessed by the pole test. Thus, a battery of proteins such as fibrinogen-α-chain, CFAH, and APOA-I/APOA-IV alongside neuropsychological assessment could be reliable biomarkers to distinguish PDCI and NPH.

Promising drug targets and associated therapeutic interventions in Parkinson's disease

Parkinson's disease (PD) is one of the most debilitating brain diseases. Despite the availability of symptomatic treatments, response towards the health of PD patients remains scarce. To fulfil the medical needs of the PD patients, an efficacious and etiological treatment is required. In this review, we have compiled the information covering limitations of current therapeutic options in PD, novel drug targets for PD, and finally, the role of some critical beneficial natural products to control the progression of PD.

Protective effect of Monoisoamyl-2, 3-Dimercaptosuccinic Acid against Manganese-induced Neurotoxicity in rats

BACKGROUND

Apart from being an essential heavy metal, manganese (Mn) serves as an important component of the antioxidant enzyme system in humans. Overexposure to manganese leads to the development of manganism, which is characterized by motor dysfunction along with neurodegeneration. The management of manganism often utilizes chelation therapy. In this regard, Monoisoamyl-2, 3-Dimercaptosuccinic Acid (MiADMSA) has been reported as a novel arsenic chelator, due to the presence of vicinal sulfhydril group. MiADMSA has been reported to reduce the level in divalent ions (like copper) therefore, it may be hypothesized that MiADMSA would be helpful in Mn-induced neurotoxicity.

OBJECTIVE

This study is envisaged to explore the protective effect of MiADMSA on Mn-induced neurotoxicity.

METHOD

Mn exposure was carried out by intraperitoneal administration of Mn (as manganese chloride, 10 mg/kg; i.p.). The animals were treated with MiADMSA (50 mg/kg; p.o.) either alone or in combination with Mn. The effect of different treatments on neurobehavioral functions was observed by assessing spontaneous locomotor activity, motor rotarod test, and depression-like behavior in the forced swim test. After behavioral evaluations, all the animals were sacrificed and the brain and liver were isolated for metal estimations.

RESULTS

Mn exposure leads to loss of motor coordination as observed in spontaneous locomotor activity and rotarod test. However, treatment with MiADMSA significantly improved motor impairments as compared to Mn exposed animals. Accumulation of Mn in the liver and brain has been recorded with Mn exposure; however, MiADMSA treatment significantly reduced the Mn content from the liver and brain.

CONCLUSION

The outcome of the study suggests that treatment with MiADMSA reversed Mn-induced neurotoxicity by reducing Mn load. Therefore, the use of MiADMSA may be suggested in manganese toxicity, after careful investigation.

Defective Mitochondrial Dynamics Underlie Manganese-Induced Neurotoxicity

Perturbations in mitochondrial dynamics have been observed in most neurodegenerative diseases. Here, we focus on manganese (Mn)-induced Parkinsonism-like neurodegeneration, a disorder associated with the preferential of Mn in the basal ganglia where the mitochondria are considered an early target. Despite the extensive characterization of the clinical presentation of manganism, the mechanism by which Mn mediated mitochondrial toxicity is unclear. In this study we hypothesized whether Mn exposure alters mitochondrial activity, including axonal transport of mitochondria and mitochondrial dynamics, morphology, and network. Using primary neuron cultures exposed to 100 μM Mn (which is considered the threshold of Mn toxicity in vitro) and intraperitoneal injections of MnCl2 (25mg/kg) in rat, we observed that Mn increased mitochondrial fission mediated by phosphorylation of dynamin-related protein-1 at serine 616 (p-s616-DRP1) and decreased mitochondrial fusion proteins (MFN1 and MFN2) leading to mitochondrial fragmentation, defects in mitochondrial respiratory capacity, and mitochondrial ultrastructural damage in vivo and in vitro. Furthermore, Mn exposure impaired mitochondrial trafficking by decreasing dynactin (DCTN1) and kinesin-1 (KIF5B) motor proteins and increasing destabilization of the cytoskeleton at protein and gene levels. In addition, mitochondrial communication may also be altered by Mn exposure, increasing the length of nanotunnels to reach out distal mitochondria. These findings revealed an unrecognized role of Mn in dysregulation of mitochondrial dynamics providing a potential explanation of early hallmarks of the disorder, as well as a possible common pathway with neurological disorders arising upon chronic Mn exposure.

Molecular Targets of Manganese-Induced Neurotoxicity: A Five-Year Update

Understanding of the immediate mechanisms of Mn-induced neurotoxicity is rapidly evolving. We seek to provide a summary of recent findings in the field, with an emphasis to clarify existing gaps and future research directions. We provide, here, a brief review of pertinent discoveries related to Mn-induced neurotoxicity research from the last five years. Significant progress was achieved in understanding the role of Mn transporters, such as SLC39A14, SLC39A8, and SLC30A10, in the regulation of systemic and brain manganese handling. Genetic analysis identified multiple metabolic pathways that could be considered as Mn neurotoxicity targets, including oxidative stress, endoplasmic reticulum stress, apoptosis, neuroinflammation, cell signaling pathways, and interference with neurotransmitter metabolism, to name a few. Recent findings have also demonstrated the impact of Mn exposure on transcriptional regulation of these pathways. There is a significant role of autophagy as a protective mechanism against cytotoxic Mn neurotoxicity, yet also a role for Mn to induce autophagic flux itself and autophagic dysfunction under conditions of decreased Mn bioavailability. This ambivalent role may be at the crossroad of mitochondrial dysfunction, endoplasmic reticulum stress, and apoptosis. Yet very recent evidence suggests Mn can have toxic impacts below the no observed adverse effect of Mn-induced mitochondrial dysfunction. The impact of Mn exposure on supramolecular complexes SNARE and NLRP3 inflammasome greatly contributes to Mn-induced synaptic dysfunction and neuroinflammation, respectively. The aforementioned effects might be at least partially mediated by the impact of Mn on α-synuclein accumulation. In addition to Mn-induced synaptic dysfunction, impaired neurotransmission is shown to be mediated by the effects of Mn on neurotransmitter systems and their complex interplay. Although multiple novel mechanisms have been highlighted, additional studies are required to identify the critical targets of Mn-induced neurotoxicity.

Inhibition of mitochondrial complex II in neuronal cells triggers unique pathways culminating in autophagy with implications for neurodegeneration

Mitochondrial dysfunction and neurodegeneration underlie movement disorders such as Parkinson’s disease, Huntington’s disease and Manganism among others. As a corollary, inhibition of mitochondrial complex I (CI) and complex II (CII) by toxins 1-methyl-4-phenylpyridinium (MPP⁺) and 3-nitropropionic acid (3-NPA) respectively, induced degenerative changes noted in such neurodegenerative diseases. We aimed to unravel the down-stream pathways associated with CII inhibition and compared with CI inhibition and the Manganese (Mn) neurotoxicity. Genome-wide transcriptomics of N27 neuronal cells exposed to 3-NPA, compared with MPP⁺ and Mn revealed varied transcriptomic profile. Along with mitochondrial and synaptic pathways, Autophagy was the predominant pathway differentially regulated in the 3-NPA model with implications for neuronal survival. This pathway was unique to 3-NPA, as substantiated by in silico modelling of the three toxins. Morphological and biochemical validation of autophagy markers in the cell model of 3-NPA revealed incomplete autophagy mediated by mechanistic Target of Rapamycin Complex 2 (mTORC2) pathway. Interestingly, Brain Derived Neurotrophic Factor (BDNF), which was elevated in the 3-NPA model could confer neuroprotection against 3-NPA. We propose that, different downstream events are activated upon neurotoxin-dependent CII inhibition compared to other neurotoxins, with implications for movement disorders and regulation of autophagy could potentially offer neuroprotection.

Exposure to the neurotoxin 3-nitropropionic acid in neuronal cells induces unique histone acetylation pattern: Implications for neurodegeneration

Mitochondrial dysfunction is critical for neurodegeneration in movement disorders. Neurotoxicological models recapitulating movement disorder involve mitochondrial damage including inhibition of mitochondrial complexes. Previously, we demonstrated that neurotoxic models of Parkinson's disease and Manganism showed distinct morphological, electrophysiological and molecular profile indicating disease-specific characteristics. In a recent study, we demonstrated that the transcriptomic changes triggered by the neurotoxic mitochondrial complex II inhibitor 3-nitropropionic acid (3-NPA), was significantly different from the profile induced by the neurotoxic mitochondrial complex I inhibitor 1-methyl-4- phenylpyridinium (MPP⁺) and mitochondrial toxin Manganese (Mn). Among the plausible pathways, we surmised that epigenetic mechanisms could contribute to 3-NPA specific transcriptomic profile. To address this, we assessed global and individual lys-specific acetylation profile of Histone H3 and H4 in the 3-NPA neuronal cell model. Our data revealed histone acetylation profile unique to the 3-NPA model that was not noted in the MPP⁺ and Mn models. Among the individual lys, Histone H3K56 showed robust dose and time-dependent hyperacetylation in the 3-NPA model. Chromatin Immunoprecipitation-sequencing (ChIP-seq) revealed that acetylated H3K56 was associated with 13072 chromatin sites, which showed increased occupancy in the transcription start site-promoter site. Acetylated histone H3K56 was associated with 1747 up-regulated and 263 down-regulated genes in the 3-NPA model, which included many up-regulated autophagy and mitophagy genes. Western analysis validated the involvement of PINK1-Parkin dependent mitophagy in the 3-NPA model. We propose that 3-NPA specific chromatin dynamics could contribute to the unique transcriptomic profile with implications for movement disorders.

Mitochondrial dysfunction in human skeletal muscle biopsies of lipid storage disorder

Mitochondria regulate the balance between lipid metabolism and storage in the skeletal muscle. Altered lipid transport, metabolism and storage influence the bioenergetics, redox status and insulin signalling, contributing to cardiac and neurological diseases. Lipid storage disorders (LSDs) are neurological disorders which entail intramuscular lipid accumulation and impaired mitochondrial bioenergetics in the skeletal muscle causing progressive myopathy with muscle weakness. However, the mitochondrial changes including molecular events associated with impaired lipid storage have not been completely understood in the human skeletal muscle. We carried out morphological and biochemical analysis of mitochondrial function in muscle biopsies of human subjects with LSDs (n = 7), compared to controls (n = 10). Routine histology, enzyme histochemistry and ultrastructural analysis indicated altered muscle cell morphology and mitochondrial structure. Protein profiling of the muscle mitochondria from LSD samples (n = 5) (vs. control, n = 5) by high-throughput mass spectrometric analysis revealed that impaired metabolic processes could contribute to mitochondrial dysfunction and ensuing myopathy in LSDs. We propose that impaired fatty acid and respiratory metabolism along with increased membrane permeability, elevated lipolysis and altered cristae entail mitochondrial dysfunction in LSDs. Some of these mechanisms were unique to LSD apart from others that were common to dystrophic and inflammatory muscle pathologies. Many differentially regulated mitochondrial proteins in LSD are linked with other human diseases, indicating that mitochondrial protection via targeted drugs could be a treatment modality in LSD and related metabolic diseases. Cover Image for this Issue: doi: 10.1111/jnc.14177.

Environmentally relevant manganese overexposure alters neural cell morphology and differentiation in vitro

Manganese (Mn) is a trace metal and micronutrient that is necessary for neurological function. Because of its ability to cross the blood brain barrier, excessive amounts of Mn are neurotoxic and can lead to a neurological disorder, manganism. Environmental overexposure to Mn correlates with impaired cognitive development in children. Though symptoms of manganism and overexposure are well defined, the changes in cellular mechanisms underlying these symptoms are not fully understood. We used cultured adult neural stem cells (NSCs) from young adult rats as an accessible model to investigate the effect of Mn on cellular mechanisms underlying neural differentiation. Concentrations of Mn below current EPA limits caused a dose- and time-dependent collapse of neurites and restructuring of cellular morphology. This effect was confirmed in B35 neuroblastoma cells. These findings indicate that Mn alters cytoskeleton dynamics during differentiation. In addition, Mn overexposure caused downregulation of DCX, a neuronal migration marker, and GFAP, a neural stem cell and astrocyte marker, in NSCs. We conclude that environmentally relevant concentrations of Mn impair cytoskeletal structure and morphology, and may impair differentiation in NSCs. These effects of Mn overexposure on brain cell function could underlie manganism and neurocognitive and developmental defects associated with environmental Mn overexposure.