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Alexander AL, Lim SY, Massingham LJ, Phillips O, Chambers MK, Donahue JE. Pathologic Alexander Disease with Normal GFAP Sequencing: An Autopsy Case Report and Literature Review. J Neuropathol Exp Neurol 2022; 81:1033-1036. [PMID: 36137250 DOI: 10.1093/jnen/nlac086] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/06/2023] Open
Affiliation(s)
- Abigail L Alexander
- Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, Brown University, Providence, Rhode Island, USA
| | - Swee Yang Lim
- Department of Neurology, Brown University, Providence, Rhode Island, USA
| | | | - Oliver Phillips
- Department of Neurology, Brown University, Providence, Rhode Island, USA
| | | | - John E Donahue
- Division of Neuropathology, Brown University, Providence, Rhode Island, USA
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2
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Heshmatzad K, Naderi N, Masoumi T, Pouraliakbar H, Kalayinia S. Identification of a novel de novo pathogenic variant in GFAP in an Iranian family with Alexander disease by whole-exome sequencing. Eur J Med Res 2022; 27:174. [PMID: 36088400 PMCID: PMC9464415 DOI: 10.1186/s40001-022-00799-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/21/2022] [Accepted: 08/23/2022] [Indexed: 11/10/2022] Open
Abstract
Background Alexander disease (AxD) is a rare leukodystrophy with an autosomal dominant inheritance mode. Variants in GFAP lead to this disorder and it is classified into three distinguishable subgroups: infantile, juvenile, and adult-onset types. Objective The aim of this study is to report a novel variant causing AxD and collect all the associated variants with juvenile and adult-onset as well. Methods We report a 2-year-old female with infantile AxD. All relevant clinical and genetic data were evaluated. Search strategy for all AxD types was performed on PubMed. The extracted data include total recruited patients, number of patients carrying a GFAP variant, nucleotide and protein change, zygosity and all the clinical symptoms. Results A novel de novo variant c.217A > G: p. Met73Val was found in our case by whole-exome sequencing. In silico analysis categorized this variant as pathogenic. Totally 377 patients clinically diagnosed with juvenile or adult-onset forms were recruited in these articles, among them 212 patients were affected with juvenile or adult-onset form carrier of an alteration in GFAP. A total of 98 variants were collected. Among these variants c.262C > T 11/212 (5.18%), c.1246C > T 9/212 (4.24%), c.827G > T 8/212 (3.77%), c.232G > A 6/212 (2.83%) account for the majority of reported variants. Conclusion This study highlighted the role of genetic in AxD diagnosing. It also helps to provide more information in order to expand the genetic spectrum of Iranian patients with AxD. Our literature review is beneficial in defining a better genotype–phenotype correlation of AxD disorder.
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Shiohama T, Stewart N, Nangaku M, van der Kouwe AJ, Takahashi E. Identification of association fibers using ex vivo diffusion tractography in Alexander disease brains. J Neuroimaging 2022; 32:866-874. [PMID: 35983725 PMCID: PMC9474676 DOI: 10.1111/jon.13040] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/20/2022] [Revised: 08/05/2022] [Accepted: 08/08/2022] [Indexed: 11/27/2022] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE Alexander disease (AxD) is a neurodegenerative disorder caused by heterozygous Glial Fibrillary Acidic Protein mutation. The characteristic structural findings of AxD, such as leukodystrophic features, are well known, while association fibers of AxD remain uninvestigated. The aim of this study was to explore global and subcortical fibers in four brains with AxD using ex vivo diffusion tractography METHODS: High-angular-resolution diffusion magnetic resonance imaging (HARDI) tractography and diffusion-tensor imaging (DTI) tractography were used to evaluate long and short association fibers and compared to histological findings in brain specimens obtained from four donors with AxD and two donors without neurological disorders RESULTS: AxD brains showed impairment of long association fibers, except for the arcuate fasciculus and cingulum bundle, and abnormal trajectories of the inferior longitudinal and fronto-occipital fasciculi on HARDI tractography and loss of multidirectionality in subcortical fibers on DTI tractography. In histological studies, AxD brains showed diffuse low density on Klüver-Barrera and neurofilament staining and sporadic Rosenthal fibers on hematoxylin and eosin staining CONCLUSIONS: This study describes the spatial distribution of degenerations of short and long association fibers in AxD brains using combined tractography and pathological findings.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tadashi Shiohama
- Division of Newborn Medicine, Department of Medicine, Boston Children’s Hospital, Harvard Medical School, 300 Longwood Avenue, Boston, MA 02115, USA
| | - Natalie Stewart
- College of Science, Northeastern University, Boston, MA 02115, USA
| | | | - Andre J.W. van der Kouwe
- Athinoula A. Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging, Department of Radiology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Charlestown, MA 02144, USA
| | - Emi Takahashi
- Division of Newborn Medicine, Department of Medicine, Boston Children’s Hospital, Harvard Medical School, 300 Longwood Avenue, Boston, MA 02115, USA
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Holguín-Céspedes GK, Céspedes-Rubio ÁE, Rondón-Barragán IS. First study on response of astrocytes in alevines of red-bellied pacu (Piaractus brachypomus) to subchronic exposure to chlorpyrifos and trichlorfon. Vet World 2022; 15:1676-1683. [PMID: 36185539 PMCID: PMC9394146 DOI: 10.14202/vetworld.2022.1676-1683] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/31/2022] [Accepted: 05/05/2022] [Indexed: 11/16/2022] Open
Abstract
Background and Aim: Organophosphate pesticides (OPs) used in agricultural production pose environmental and public health risks whenever non-target organisms are exposed to them. Oxon-type OPs, such as trichlorfon (TCF) and chlorpyrifos (CPF), are frequently used in Colombia and have been detected in water bodies in the vicinity of croplands; however, their effect on aquatic organisms, especially fish, is largely unknown. The neurotoxicity of OPs includes inhibition of esterase enzymes, neuronal damage, and increased glial reactivity. This study aimed to assess the astrocytic response in the brain tissue of juvenile red-bellied pacu (Piaractus brachypomus) exposed to TCF and CPF.
Materials and Methods: A 25-day subchronic assay was conducted in which juvenile red-bellied pacu were exposed to CPF and TCF. After 25 days of exposure, the fish were killed and brain samples were collected and processed for immunohistochemistry to assess the morphology and reactivity of astrocytes; glial acidic fibrillary protein was used as a biomarker.
Results: The brain samples from animals under subchronic exposure to OPs for 25 days showed higher cellular density as well as changes in astrocyte phenotype characterized by shortening of cytoplasmic projections, hypertrophy, and ameboid morphology compared to those from nonexposed animals. Similarly, astrocyte hyperreactivity was detected in the optic tectum and medial longitudinal fasciculus of the exposed group.
Conclusion: Immunoreactivity of brain glial cells under subchronic exposure to OPs measured through immunohistochemical tests as well as OPs-induced neuropathology may be useful as a biomarker for monitoring environmental pollution. The results also indicate that P. brachypomus is a suitable biomonitoring model for studying neurotoxicological and neurodegenerative diseases.
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Affiliation(s)
- Gisella Karina Holguín-Céspedes
- Research Group of Neurodegenerative Diseases – END, Immunotoxicology, Department of Animal Health, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine and Zootechnics, University of Tolima, Ibagué, Tolima, Colombia
| | - Ángel Enrique Céspedes-Rubio
- Research Group of Neurodegenerative Diseases – END, Immunotoxicology, Department of Animal Health, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine and Zootechnics, University of Tolima, Ibagué, Tolima, Colombia
| | - Iang S. Rondón-Barragán
- Research Group of Neurodegenerative Diseases – END, Immunotoxicology, Department of Animal Health, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine and Zootechnics, University of Tolima, Ibagué, Tolima, Colombia
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5
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Ganne A, Balasubramaniam M, Griffin WST, Shmookler Reis RJ, Ayyadevara S. Glial Fibrillary Acidic Protein: A Biomarker and Drug Target for Alzheimer’s Disease. Pharmaceutics 2022; 14:pharmaceutics14071354. [PMID: 35890250 PMCID: PMC9322874 DOI: 10.3390/pharmaceutics14071354] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/21/2022] [Revised: 06/21/2022] [Accepted: 06/22/2022] [Indexed: 02/05/2023] Open
Abstract
Glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP) is an intermediate filament structural protein involved in cytoskeleton assembly and integrity, expressed in high abundance in activated glial cells. GFAP is neuroprotective, as knockout mice are hypersensitive to traumatic brain injury. GFAP in cerebrospinal fluid is a biomarker of Alzheimer’s disease (AD), dementia with Lewy bodies, and frontotemporal dementia (FTD). Here, we present novel evidence that GFAP is markedly overexpressed and differentially phosphorylated in AD hippocampus, especially in AD with the apolipoprotein E [ε4, ε4] genotype, relative to age-matched controls (AMCs). Kinases that phosphorylate GFAP are upregulated in AD relative to AMC. A knockdown of these kinases in SH-SY5Y-APPSw human neuroblastoma cells reduced amyloid accrual and lowered protein aggregation and associated behavioral traits in C. elegans models of polyglutamine aggregation (as observed in Huntington’s disease) and of Alzheimer’s-like amyloid formation. In silico screening of the ChemBridge structural library identified a small molecule, MSR1, with stable and specific binding to GFAP. Both MSR1 exposure and GF AP-specific RNAi knockdown reduce aggregation with remarkably high concordance of aggregate proteins depleted. These data imply that GFAP and its phosphorylation play key roles in neuropathic aggregate accrual and provide valuable new biomarkers, as well as novel therapeutic targets to alleviate, delay, or prevent AD.
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Affiliation(s)
- Akshatha Ganne
- Central Arkansas Veterans Healthcare Service, Little Rock, AR 72205, USA; (A.G.); (M.B.); (W.S.T.G.)
- Department of Geriatrics, University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences, Little Rock, AR 72205, USA
| | | | - W. Sue T. Griffin
- Central Arkansas Veterans Healthcare Service, Little Rock, AR 72205, USA; (A.G.); (M.B.); (W.S.T.G.)
- BioInformatics Program, University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences, Little Rock, AR 72205, USA
| | - Robert J. Shmookler Reis
- Central Arkansas Veterans Healthcare Service, Little Rock, AR 72205, USA; (A.G.); (M.B.); (W.S.T.G.)
- Department of Geriatrics, University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences, Little Rock, AR 72205, USA
- BioInformatics Program, University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences, Little Rock, AR 72205, USA
- Department of Biochemistry & Molecular Biology, University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences, Little Rock, AR 72205, USA
- Correspondence: (R.J.S.R.); (S.A.); Tel.: +1-501-526-5820 (R.J.S.R.); +1-501-526-7282 (S.A.)
| | - Srinivas Ayyadevara
- Central Arkansas Veterans Healthcare Service, Little Rock, AR 72205, USA; (A.G.); (M.B.); (W.S.T.G.)
- Department of Geriatrics, University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences, Little Rock, AR 72205, USA
- BioInformatics Program, University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences, Little Rock, AR 72205, USA
- Correspondence: (R.J.S.R.); (S.A.); Tel.: +1-501-526-5820 (R.J.S.R.); +1-501-526-7282 (S.A.)
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Lanciotti A, Brignone MS, Macioce P, Visentin S, Ambrosini E. Human iPSC-Derived Astrocytes: A Powerful Tool to Study Primary Astrocyte Dysfunction in the Pathogenesis of Rare Leukodystrophies. Int J Mol Sci 2021; 23:ijms23010274. [PMID: 35008700 PMCID: PMC8745131 DOI: 10.3390/ijms23010274] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/10/2021] [Revised: 12/21/2021] [Accepted: 12/22/2021] [Indexed: 12/11/2022] Open
Abstract
Astrocytes are very versatile cells, endowed with multitasking capacities to ensure brain homeostasis maintenance from brain development to adult life. It has become increasingly evident that astrocytes play a central role in many central nervous system pathologies, not only as regulators of defensive responses against brain insults but also as primary culprits of the disease onset and progression. This is particularly evident in some rare leukodystrophies (LDs) where white matter/myelin deterioration is due to primary astrocyte dysfunctions. Understanding the molecular defects causing these LDs may help clarify astrocyte contribution to myelin formation/maintenance and favor the identification of possible therapeutic targets for LDs and other CNS demyelinating diseases. To date, the pathogenic mechanisms of these LDs are poorly known due to the rarity of the pathological tissue and the failure of the animal models to fully recapitulate the human diseases. Thus, the development of human induced pluripotent stem cells (hiPSC) from patient fibroblasts and their differentiation into astrocytes is a promising approach to overcome these issues. In this review, we discuss the primary role of astrocytes in LD pathogenesis, the experimental models currently available and the advantages, future evolutions, perspectives, and limitations of hiPSC to study pathologies implying astrocyte dysfunctions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Angela Lanciotti
- Department of Neuroscience, Istituto Superiore di Sanità, 00169 Rome, Italy; (A.L.); (M.S.B.); (P.M.)
| | - Maria Stefania Brignone
- Department of Neuroscience, Istituto Superiore di Sanità, 00169 Rome, Italy; (A.L.); (M.S.B.); (P.M.)
| | - Pompeo Macioce
- Department of Neuroscience, Istituto Superiore di Sanità, 00169 Rome, Italy; (A.L.); (M.S.B.); (P.M.)
| | - Sergio Visentin
- National Center for Research and Preclinical and Clinical Evaluation of Drugs, Istituto Superiore di Sanità, 00169 Rome, Italy;
| | - Elena Ambrosini
- Department of Neuroscience, Istituto Superiore di Sanità, 00169 Rome, Italy; (A.L.); (M.S.B.); (P.M.)
- Correspondence: ; Tel.: +39-064-990-2037
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Candiani S, Carestiato S, Mack AF, Bani D, Bozzo M, Obino V, Ori M, Rosamilia F, De Sarlo M, Pestarino M, Ceccherini I, Bachetti T. Alexander Disease Modeling in Zebrafish: An In Vivo System Suitable to Perform Drug Screening. Genes (Basel) 2020; 11:E1490. [PMID: 33322348 PMCID: PMC7764705 DOI: 10.3390/genes11121490] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/13/2020] [Revised: 12/04/2020] [Accepted: 12/07/2020] [Indexed: 12/03/2022] Open
Abstract
Alexander disease (AxD) is a rare astrogliopathy caused by heterozygous mutations, either inherited or arising de novo, on the glial fibrillary acid protein (GFAP) gene (17q21). Mutations in the GFAP gene make the protein prone to forming aggregates which, together with heat-shock protein 27 (HSP27), αB-crystallin, ubiquitin, and proteasome, contribute to form Rosenthal fibers causing a toxic effect on the cell. Unfortunately, no pharmacological treatment is available yet, except for symptom reduction therapies, and patients undergo a progressive worsening of the disease. The aim of this study was the production of a zebrafish model for AxD, to have a system suitable for drug screening more complex than cell cultures. To this aim, embryos expressing the human GFAP gene carrying the most severe p.R239C under the control of the zebrafish gfap gene promoter underwent functional validation to assess several features already observed in in vitro and other in vivo models of AxD, such as the localization of mutant GFAP inclusions, the ultrastructural analysis of cells expressing mutant GFAP, the effects of treatments with ceftriaxone, and the heat shock response. Our results confirm that zebrafish is a suitable model both to study the molecular pathogenesis of GFAP mutations and to perform pharmacological screenings, likely useful for the search of therapies for AxD.
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Affiliation(s)
- Simona Candiani
- Department of Earth, Environment and Life Sciences (DISTAV), University of Genoa, 16132 Genoa, Italy; (S.C.); (S.C.); (M.B.); (V.O.); (F.R.); (M.P.)
| | - Silvia Carestiato
- Department of Earth, Environment and Life Sciences (DISTAV), University of Genoa, 16132 Genoa, Italy; (S.C.); (S.C.); (M.B.); (V.O.); (F.R.); (M.P.)
| | - Andreas F. Mack
- Institut für Klinische Anatomie und Zellanalytik, Universitaet Tuebingen, 72076 Tuebingen, Germany;
| | - Daniele Bani
- Department of Clinical and Experimental Medicine, University of Florence, 50121 Florence, Italy;
| | - Matteo Bozzo
- Department of Earth, Environment and Life Sciences (DISTAV), University of Genoa, 16132 Genoa, Italy; (S.C.); (S.C.); (M.B.); (V.O.); (F.R.); (M.P.)
| | - Valentina Obino
- Department of Earth, Environment and Life Sciences (DISTAV), University of Genoa, 16132 Genoa, Italy; (S.C.); (S.C.); (M.B.); (V.O.); (F.R.); (M.P.)
| | - Michela Ori
- Department of Biology, University of Pisa, 56126 Pisa, Italy; (M.O.); (M.D.S.)
- Inter-University Center for the Promotion of the 3Rs Principles in Teaching & Research (Centro 3R), 56122 Pisa, Italy
| | - Francesca Rosamilia
- Department of Earth, Environment and Life Sciences (DISTAV), University of Genoa, 16132 Genoa, Italy; (S.C.); (S.C.); (M.B.); (V.O.); (F.R.); (M.P.)
| | - Miriam De Sarlo
- Department of Biology, University of Pisa, 56126 Pisa, Italy; (M.O.); (M.D.S.)
| | - Mario Pestarino
- Department of Earth, Environment and Life Sciences (DISTAV), University of Genoa, 16132 Genoa, Italy; (S.C.); (S.C.); (M.B.); (V.O.); (F.R.); (M.P.)
| | - Isabella Ceccherini
- Laboratory of Genetics and Genomics of Rare Diseases, Unità Operativa Semplice Dipartimentale, Istituto Giannina Gaslini, 16147 Genoa, Italy;
| | - Tiziana Bachetti
- Department of Earth, Environment and Life Sciences (DISTAV), University of Genoa, 16132 Genoa, Italy; (S.C.); (S.C.); (M.B.); (V.O.); (F.R.); (M.P.)
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Wnt-PLC-IP 3-Connexin-Ca 2+ axis maintains ependymal motile cilia in zebrafish spinal cord. Nat Commun 2020; 11:1860. [PMID: 32312952 PMCID: PMC7170879 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-020-15248-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 20] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/05/2019] [Accepted: 02/28/2020] [Indexed: 12/31/2022] Open
Abstract
Ependymal cells (ECs) are multiciliated neuroepithelial cells that line the ventricles of the brain and the central canal of the spinal cord (SC). How ependymal motile cilia are maintained remains largely unexplored. Here we show that zebrafish embryos deficient in Wnt signaling have defective motile cilia, yet harbor intact basal bodies. With respect to maintenance of ependymal motile cilia, plcδ3a is a target gene of Wnt signaling. Lack of Connexin43 (Cx43), especially its channel function, decreases motile cilia and intercellular Ca2+ wave (ICW) propagation. Genetic ablation of cx43 in zebrafish and mice diminished motile cilia. Finally, Cx43 is also expressed in ECs of the human SC. Taken together, our findings indicate that gap junction mediated ICWs play an important role in the maintenance of ependymal motile cilia, and suggest that the enhancement of functional gap junctions by pharmacological or genetic manipulations may be adopted to ameliorate motile ciliopathy. Ependymal cells are supporting cells in the central nervous system. Here the authors elucidate a signalling axis in zebrafish spinal cord ependymal cells that is important for motile cilia assembly and maintenance, demonstrating that it depends on intercellular propagation of calcium ions via connexin 43.
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Matsuyama Y, Satake M, Kamei R, Yoshida T. [A case of Alexander disease with repeated loss of consciousness and with rapid aggravation of dysbasia by falling]. Rinsho Shinkeigaku 2020; 60:137-141. [PMID: 31956193 DOI: 10.5692/clinicalneurol.cn-001341] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/10/2023]
Abstract
A 41-year-old woman presented with short-stepped gait from 20 years old and with repeated loss of consciousness from 21 years old. She had a deep cerebral white matter lesion on brain MRI at 34 years of age, but she did not reach a definitive diagnosis. At the age of 41, the gait disorder rapidly worsened after fall and fall-related head trauma. She had fixation nystagmus, dysphonia, speech disorder and exaggerated tendon reflexes. Her bilateral plantar reflex was positive, and she was not able to walk by herself. The brain and cervical MRI showed atrophy of the medulla and upper spinal cord and a deep cerebral white matter lesion. As these imaging features were suggestive of Alexander disease (AxD), we sequenced the GFAP gene. As a result, we identified a heterozygous p.R79H (c.250 G>A) missense mutation of the GFAP gene in the patient. This case suggests that loss of consciousness may be caused by autonomic disorder due to orthostatic hypotension and reflex syncope (vasovagal syncope), psychogenic non-epileptic seizures (PNES) by mental and physical stress. It is important to consider the pathophysiology and management of Alexander disease, in which the progression of gait disorder caused by pyramidal tract disorder is rapidly exacerbated by fall and head injury.
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Kakraba S, Ayyadevara S, Penthala NR, Balasubramaniam M, Ganne A, Liu L, Alla R, Bommagani SB, Barger SW, Griffin WST, Crooks PA, Shmookler Reis RJ. A Novel Microtubule-Binding Drug Attenuates and Reverses Protein Aggregation in Animal Models of Alzheimer's Disease. Front Mol Neurosci 2020; 12:310. [PMID: 31920540 PMCID: PMC6920216 DOI: 10.3389/fnmol.2019.00310] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/28/2019] [Accepted: 11/29/2019] [Indexed: 11/14/2022] Open
Abstract
Age-progressive neurodegenerative pathologies, including Alzheimer’s disease (AD), are distinguished and diagnosed by disease-specific components of intra- or extra-cellular aggregates. Increasing evidence suggests that neuroinflammation promotes protein aggregation, and is involved in the etiology of neurological diseases. We synthesized and tested analogs of the naturally occurring tubulin-binding compound, combretastatin A-4. One such analog, PNR502, markedly reduced the quantity of Alzheimer-associated amyloid aggregates in the BRI-Aβ1–42 mouse model of AD, while blunting the ability of the pro-inflammatory cytokine IL-1β to raise levels of amyloid plaque and its protein precursors in a neuronal cell-culture model. In transgenic Caenorhabditis elegans (C. elegans) strains that express human Aβ1–42 in muscle or neurons, PNR502 rescued Aβ-induced disruption of motility (3.8-fold, P < 0.0001) or chemotaxis (1.8-fold, P < 0.05), respectively. Moreover, in C. elegans with neuronal expression of Aβ1–42, a single day of PNR502 exposure reverses the chemotaxis deficit by 54% (P < 0.01), actually exceeding the protection from longer exposure. Moreover, continuous PNR502 treatment extends nematode lifespan 23% (P ≤ 0.001). Given that PNR502 can slow, prevent, or reverse Alzheimer-like protein aggregation in human-cell-culture and animal models, and that its principal predicted and observed binding targets are proteins previously implicated in Alzheimer’s, we propose that PNR502 has therapeutic potential to inhibit cerebral Aβ1–42 aggregation and prevent or reverse neurodegeneration.
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Affiliation(s)
- Samuel Kakraba
- BioInformatics Program, University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences and University of Arkansas at Little Rock, Little Rock, AR, United States
| | - Srinivas Ayyadevara
- Central Arkansas Veterans Healthcare Service, Little Rock, AR, United States.,Department of Geriatrics, University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences, Little Rock, AR, United States
| | - Narsimha Reddy Penthala
- Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences, Little Rock, AR, United States
| | | | - Akshatha Ganne
- BioInformatics Program, University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences and University of Arkansas at Little Rock, Little Rock, AR, United States
| | - Ling Liu
- Department of Geriatrics, University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences, Little Rock, AR, United States
| | - Ramani Alla
- Central Arkansas Veterans Healthcare Service, Little Rock, AR, United States.,Department of Geriatrics, University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences, Little Rock, AR, United States
| | - Shoban Babu Bommagani
- Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences, Little Rock, AR, United States
| | - Steven W Barger
- Central Arkansas Veterans Healthcare Service, Little Rock, AR, United States.,Department of Geriatrics, University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences, Little Rock, AR, United States
| | - W Sue T Griffin
- Central Arkansas Veterans Healthcare Service, Little Rock, AR, United States.,Department of Geriatrics, University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences, Little Rock, AR, United States
| | - Peter A Crooks
- Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences, Little Rock, AR, United States
| | - Robert J Shmookler Reis
- BioInformatics Program, University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences and University of Arkansas at Little Rock, Little Rock, AR, United States.,Central Arkansas Veterans Healthcare Service, Little Rock, AR, United States.,Department of Geriatrics, University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences, Little Rock, AR, United States
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11
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Abstract
Alexander disease (AxD) is a rare autosomal dominant leukodystrophy with three clinical subtypes: infantile, juvenile and adult. Forms differ by age of symptoms occurrence and the clinical presentation. Although recent data suggest considering only two subtypes: type I (infantile onset with lesions extending to the cerebral hemispheres); type II (adult onset with primary involvement of subtentorial structures). Dominant mutations in the glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP) gene in AxD cause dysfunction of astrocytes (a type III intermediate filament). The authors discuss the clinical picture of a boy with infantile form of AxD confirmed by the presence of de novo heterozygous mutation c.236G>A in the GFAP gene and without striking symptoms such as macrocephaly and with exceptional late-onset epileptic spasms with hypsarrhyth- mia on electroencephalogram (EEG).
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12
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Li L, Tian E, Chen X, Chao J, Klein J, Qu Q, Sun G, Sun G, Huang Y, Warden CD, Ye P, Feng L, Li X, Cui Q, Sultan A, Douvaras P, Fossati V, Sanjana NE, Riggs AD, Shi Y. GFAP Mutations in Astrocytes Impair Oligodendrocyte Progenitor Proliferation and Myelination in an hiPSC Model of Alexander Disease. Cell Stem Cell 2019; 23:239-251.e6. [PMID: 30075130 DOI: 10.1016/j.stem.2018.07.009] [Citation(s) in RCA: 58] [Impact Index Per Article: 11.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/18/2017] [Revised: 04/23/2018] [Accepted: 07/16/2018] [Indexed: 10/28/2022]
Abstract
Alexander disease (AxD) is a leukodystrophy that primarily affects astrocytes and is caused by mutations in the astrocytic filament gene GFAP. While astrocytes are thought to have important roles in controlling myelination, AxD animal models do not recapitulate critical myelination phenotypes and it is therefore not clear how AxD astrocytes contribute to leukodystrophy. Here, we show that AxD patient iPSC-derived astrocytes recapitulate key features of AxD pathology such as GFAP aggregation. Moreover, AxD astrocytes inhibit proliferation of human iPSC-derived oligodendrocyte progenitor cells (OPCs) in co-culture and reduce their myelination potential. CRISPR/Cas9-based correction of GFAP mutations reversed these phenotypes. Transcriptomic analyses of AxD astrocytes and postmortem brains identified CHI3L1 as a key mediator of AxD astrocyte-induced inhibition of OPC activity. Thus, this iPSC-based model of AxD not only recapitulates patient phenotypes not observed in animal models, but also reveals mechanisms underlying disease pathology and provides a platform for assessing therapeutic interventions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Li Li
- Division of Stem Cell Biology Research, Department of Developmental and Stem Cell Biology, Beckman Research Institute of City of Hope, Duarte, CA 91010, USA; Irell and Manella Graduate School of Biological Sciences, Beckman Research Institute of City of Hope, Duarte, CA 91010, USA
| | - E Tian
- Division of Stem Cell Biology Research, Department of Developmental and Stem Cell Biology, Beckman Research Institute of City of Hope, Duarte, CA 91010, USA
| | - Xianwei Chen
- Division of Stem Cell Biology Research, Department of Developmental and Stem Cell Biology, Beckman Research Institute of City of Hope, Duarte, CA 91010, USA
| | - Jianfei Chao
- Division of Stem Cell Biology Research, Department of Developmental and Stem Cell Biology, Beckman Research Institute of City of Hope, Duarte, CA 91010, USA
| | - Jeremy Klein
- Division of Stem Cell Biology Research, Department of Developmental and Stem Cell Biology, Beckman Research Institute of City of Hope, Duarte, CA 91010, USA
| | - Qiuhao Qu
- Division of Stem Cell Biology Research, Department of Developmental and Stem Cell Biology, Beckman Research Institute of City of Hope, Duarte, CA 91010, USA
| | - Guihua Sun
- Department of Diabetes Complications and Metabolism, Diabetes and Metabolism Research Institute, Beckman Research Institute of City of Hope, Duarte, CA 91010, USA
| | - Guoqiang Sun
- Division of Stem Cell Biology Research, Department of Developmental and Stem Cell Biology, Beckman Research Institute of City of Hope, Duarte, CA 91010, USA
| | - Yanzhou Huang
- Division of Stem Cell Biology Research, Department of Developmental and Stem Cell Biology, Beckman Research Institute of City of Hope, Duarte, CA 91010, USA
| | - Charles D Warden
- Integrative Genomics Core, Beckman Research Institute of City of Hope, Duarte, CA 91010, USA
| | - Peng Ye
- Division of Stem Cell Biology Research, Department of Developmental and Stem Cell Biology, Beckman Research Institute of City of Hope, Duarte, CA 91010, USA
| | - Lizhao Feng
- Division of Stem Cell Biology Research, Department of Developmental and Stem Cell Biology, Beckman Research Institute of City of Hope, Duarte, CA 91010, USA
| | - Xinqiang Li
- Division of Stem Cell Biology Research, Department of Developmental and Stem Cell Biology, Beckman Research Institute of City of Hope, Duarte, CA 91010, USA
| | - Qi Cui
- Division of Stem Cell Biology Research, Department of Developmental and Stem Cell Biology, Beckman Research Institute of City of Hope, Duarte, CA 91010, USA
| | - Abdullah Sultan
- Division of Stem Cell Biology Research, Department of Developmental and Stem Cell Biology, Beckman Research Institute of City of Hope, Duarte, CA 91010, USA
| | - Panagiotis Douvaras
- The New York Stem Cell Foundation Research Institute, New York, NY 10019, USA
| | - Valentina Fossati
- The New York Stem Cell Foundation Research Institute, New York, NY 10019, USA
| | - Neville E Sanjana
- New York Genome Center, New York, NY 10013, USA; Department of Biology, New York University, New York, NY 10003, USA; Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02142, USA
| | - Arthur D Riggs
- Department of Diabetes Complications and Metabolism, Diabetes and Metabolism Research Institute, Beckman Research Institute of City of Hope, Duarte, CA 91010, USA
| | - Yanhong Shi
- Division of Stem Cell Biology Research, Department of Developmental and Stem Cell Biology, Beckman Research Institute of City of Hope, Duarte, CA 91010, USA; Irell and Manella Graduate School of Biological Sciences, Beckman Research Institute of City of Hope, Duarte, CA 91010, USA.
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13
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Karthikkeyan G, Subbannayya Y, Najar MA, Mohanty V, Pinto SM, Arunachalam C, Prasad TSK, Murthy KR. Human Optic Nerve: An Enhanced Proteomic Expression Profile. OMICS-A JOURNAL OF INTEGRATIVE BIOLOGY 2018; 22:642-652. [PMID: 30346883 DOI: 10.1089/omi.2018.0130] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/13/2023]
Abstract
Ophthalmology and visual health are new frontiers for postgenomic research and technologies such as proteomics. In this context, the optic nerve and retina extend as the outgrowth of the brain, wherein the latter receives the optical input and the former relays the information for processing. While efforts to understand the optic nerve proteome have been made earlier, there exists a lacuna in its biochemical composition and molecular functions. We report, in this study, a high-resolution mass spectrometry-based approach using an Orbitrap Fusion Tribrid mass spectrometer to elucidate the human optic nerve proteomic profile. Raw spectra were searched against NCBI Human RefSeq 75 database using SEQUEST HT and MASCOT algorithms. We identified nearly 35,000 peptides in human optic nerve samples, corresponding to 5682 proteins, of which 3222 proteins are being reported for the first time. Label-free quantification using spectral abundance pointed out to neuronal structural proteins such as myelin basic protein, glial fibrillary acidic protein, and proteolipid protein 1 as the most abundant proteins. We also identified several neurotransmitter receptors and postsynaptic density synaptosomal scaffold proteins. Pathway analysis revealed that a majority of the proteins are structural proteins and have catalytic and binding activity. This study is one of the largest proteomic profiles of the human optic nerve and offers the research community an initial baseline optic nerve proteome for further studies. This will also help understand the protein dynamics of the human optic nerve under normal conditions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Gayathree Karthikkeyan
- 1 Center for Systems Biology and Molecular Medicine, Yenepoya Research Centre, Yenepoya (Deemed to be University) , Mangalore, India
| | - Yashwanth Subbannayya
- 1 Center for Systems Biology and Molecular Medicine, Yenepoya Research Centre, Yenepoya (Deemed to be University) , Mangalore, India
| | - Mohd Altaf Najar
- 1 Center for Systems Biology and Molecular Medicine, Yenepoya Research Centre, Yenepoya (Deemed to be University) , Mangalore, India
| | - Varshasnata Mohanty
- 1 Center for Systems Biology and Molecular Medicine, Yenepoya Research Centre, Yenepoya (Deemed to be University) , Mangalore, India
| | - Sneha M Pinto
- 1 Center for Systems Biology and Molecular Medicine, Yenepoya Research Centre, Yenepoya (Deemed to be University) , Mangalore, India
| | - Cynthia Arunachalam
- 2 Department of Ophthalmology, Yenepoya Medical College, Yenepoya (Deemed to be University) , Mangalore, India
| | - Thottethodi Subrahmanya Keshava Prasad
- 1 Center for Systems Biology and Molecular Medicine, Yenepoya Research Centre, Yenepoya (Deemed to be University) , Mangalore, India .,3 Institute of Bioinformatics , International Tech Park, Bangalore, Karnataka, India
| | - Krishna R Murthy
- 3 Institute of Bioinformatics , International Tech Park, Bangalore, Karnataka, India .,4 Vittala International Institute of Ophthalmology , Bangalore, Karnataka, India .,5 Manipal Academy of Higher Education , Manipal, Karnataka, India
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