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Aranda-Abreu GE, Rojas-Durán F, Hernández-Aguilar ME, Herrera-Covarrubias D, Chí-Castañeda LD, Toledo-Cárdenas MR, Suárez-Medellín JM. Alzheimer's Disease: Cellular and Pharmacological Aspects. Geriatrics (Basel) 2024; 9:86. [PMID: 39051250 PMCID: PMC11270425 DOI: 10.3390/geriatrics9040086] [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: 04/30/2024] [Revised: 05/23/2024] [Accepted: 06/21/2024] [Indexed: 07/27/2024] Open
Abstract
Alzheimer's disease was described more than 100 years ago and despite the fact that several molecules are being tested for its treatment, which are in phase III trials, the disease continues to progress. The main problem is that these molecules function properly in healthy neurons, while neuronal pathology includes plasma membrane disruption, malfunction of various organelles, and hyperphosphorylation of Tau and amyloid plaques. The main objective of this article is the discussion of a neuronal restoration therapy, where molecules designed for the treatment of Alzheimer's disease would probably be more effective, and the quality of life of people would be better.
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Affiliation(s)
- Gonzalo Emiliano Aranda-Abreu
- Instituto de Investigaciones Cerebrales, Universidad Veracruzana, Xalapa 91192, Mexico; (F.R.-D.); (M.E.H.-A.); (D.H.-C.); (L.D.C.-C.); (M.R.T.-C.); (J.M.S.-M.)
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2
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Mesa H, Zhang EY, Wang Y, Zhang Q. Human neurons lacking amyloid precursor protein exhibit cholesterol-associated developmental and presynaptic deficits. J Cell Physiol 2024; 239:e30999. [PMID: 36966431 DOI: 10.1002/jcp.30999] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/28/2022] [Revised: 01/29/2023] [Accepted: 03/06/2023] [Indexed: 03/27/2023]
Abstract
Amyloid precursor protein (APP) produces aggregable β-amyloid peptides and its mutations are associated with familial Alzheimer's disease (AD), which makes it one of the most studied proteins. However, APP's role in the human brain remains unclear despite years of investigation. One problem is that most studies on APP have been carried out in cell lines or model organisms, which are physiologically different from human neurons in the brain. Recently, human-induced neurons (hiNs) derived from induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) provide a practical platform for studying the human brain in vitro. Here, we generated APP-null iPSCs using CRISPR/Cas9 genome editing technology and differentiate them into matured human neurons with functional synapses using a two-step procedure. During hiN differentiation and maturation, APP-null cells exhibited less neurite growth and reduced synaptogenesis in serum-free but not serum-containing media. We have found that cholesterol (Chol) remedies those developmental defects in APP-null cells, consistent with Chol's role in neurodevelopment and synaptogenesis. The phenotypic rescue was also achieved by coculturing those cells with wild-type mouse astrocytes, suggesting that APP's developmental role is likely astrocytic. Next, we examined matured hiNs using patch-clamp recording and detected reduced synaptic transmission in APP-null cells. This change was largely due to decreased synaptic vesicle (SV) release and retrieval, which was confirmed by live-cell imaging using two SV-specific fluorescent reporters. Adding Chol shortly before stimulation mitigated the SV deficits in APP-null iNs, indicating that APP facilitates presynaptic membrane Chol turnover during the SV exo-/endocytosis cycle. Taken together, our study in hiNs supports the notion that APP contributes to neurodevelopment, synaptogenesis, and neurotransmission via maintaining brain Chol homeostasis. Given the vital role of Chol in the central nervous system, the functional connection between APP and Chol bears important implications in the pathogenesis of AD.
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Affiliation(s)
- Haylee Mesa
- Stiles-Nicholson Brain Institute, Florida Atlantic University, Jupiter, Florida, USA
| | - Elaine Y Zhang
- Stiles-Nicholson Brain Institute, Florida Atlantic University, Jupiter, Florida, USA
- Brentwood High School, Brentwood, Tennessee, USA
| | - Yingcai Wang
- Department of Biomedical Sciences, Florida Atlantic University, Boca Raton, Florida, USA
| | - Qi Zhang
- Stiles-Nicholson Brain Institute, Florida Atlantic University, Jupiter, Florida, USA
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Florida Atlantic University, Boca Raton, Florida, USA
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3
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Kim AY, Al Jerdi S, MacDonald R, Triggle CR. Alzheimer's disease and its treatment-yesterday, today, and tomorrow. Front Pharmacol 2024; 15:1399121. [PMID: 38868666 PMCID: PMC11167451 DOI: 10.3389/fphar.2024.1399121] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/11/2024] [Accepted: 04/25/2024] [Indexed: 06/14/2024] Open
Abstract
Alois Alzheimer described the first patient with Alzheimer's disease (AD) in 1907 and today AD is the most frequently diagnosed of dementias. AD is a multi-factorial neurodegenerative disorder with familial, life style and comorbidity influences impacting a global population of more than 47 million with a projected escalation by 2050 to exceed 130 million. In the USA the AD demographic encompasses approximately six million individuals, expected to increase to surpass 13 million by 2050, and the antecedent phase of AD, recognized as mild cognitive impairment (MCI), involves nearly 12 million individuals. The economic outlay for the management of AD and AD-related cognitive decline is estimated at approximately 355 billion USD. In addition, the intensifying prevalence of AD cases in countries with modest to intermediate income countries further enhances the urgency for more therapeutically and cost-effective treatments and for improving the quality of life for patients and their families. This narrative review evaluates the pathophysiological basis of AD with an initial focus on the therapeutic efficacy and limitations of the existing drugs that provide symptomatic relief: acetylcholinesterase inhibitors (AChEI) donepezil, galantamine, rivastigmine, and the N-methyl-D-aspartate receptor (NMDA) receptor allosteric modulator, memantine. The hypothesis that amyloid-β (Aβ) and tau are appropriate targets for drugs and have the potential to halt the progress of AD is critically analyzed with a particular focus on clinical trial data with anti-Aβ monoclonal antibodies (MABs), namely, aducanumab, lecanemab and donanemab. This review challenges the dogma that targeting Aβ will benefit the majority of subjects with AD that the anti-Aβ MABs are unlikely to be the "magic bullet". A comparison of the benefits and disadvantages of the different classes of drugs forms the basis for determining new directions for research and alternative drug targets that are undergoing pre-clinical and clinical assessments. In addition, we discuss and stress the importance of the treatment of the co-morbidities, including hypertension, diabetes, obesity and depression that are known to increase the risk of developing AD.
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Affiliation(s)
- A. Y. Kim
- Medical Education, Weill Cornell Medicine—Qatar, Doha, Qatar
| | | | - R. MacDonald
- Health Sciences Library, Weill Cornell Medicine—Qatar, Doha, Qatar
| | - C. R. Triggle
- Department of Pharmacology and Medical Education, Weill Cornell Medicine—Qatar, Doha, Qatar
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4
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Cao Z, Kong F, Ding J, Chen C, He F, Deng W. Promoting Alzheimer's disease research and therapy with stem cell technology. Stem Cell Res Ther 2024; 15:136. [PMID: 38715083 PMCID: PMC11077895 DOI: 10.1186/s13287-024-03737-w] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/12/2023] [Accepted: 04/17/2024] [Indexed: 05/12/2024] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a prevalent form of dementia leading to memory loss, reduced cognitive and linguistic abilities, and decreased self-care. Current AD treatments aim to relieve symptoms and slow disease progression, but a cure is elusive due to limited understanding of the underlying disease mechanisms. MAIN CONTENT Stem cell technology has the potential to revolutionize AD research. With the ability to self-renew and differentiate into various cell types, stem cells are valuable tools for disease modeling, drug screening, and cell therapy. Recent advances have broadened our understanding beyond the deposition of amyloidβ (Aβ) or tau proteins in AD to encompass risk genes, immune system disorders, and neuron-glia mis-communication, relying heavily on stem cell-derived disease models. These stem cell-based models (e.g., organoids and microfluidic chips) simulate in vivo pathological processes with extraordinary spatial and temporal resolution. Stem cell technologies have the potential to alleviate AD pathology through various pathways, including immunomodulation, replacement of damaged neurons, and neurotrophic support. In recent years, transplantation of glial cells like oligodendrocytes and the infusion of exosomes have become hot research topics. CONCLUSION Although stem cell-based models and therapies for AD face several challenges, such as extended culture time and low differentiation efficiency, they still show considerable potential for AD treatment and are likely to become preferred tools for AD research.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zimeng Cao
- School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Shenzhen Campus of Sun Yat-Sen University, Shenzhen, 518107, China
| | - Fanshu Kong
- School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Shenzhen Campus of Sun Yat-Sen University, Shenzhen, 518107, China
| | - Jiaqi Ding
- School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Shenzhen Campus of Sun Yat-Sen University, Shenzhen, 518107, China
| | - Chunxia Chen
- School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Shenzhen Campus of Sun Yat-Sen University, Shenzhen, 518107, China.
| | - Fumei He
- School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Shenzhen Campus of Sun Yat-Sen University, Shenzhen, 518107, China.
- School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Dali University, Dali, 671000, China.
| | - Wenbin Deng
- School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Shenzhen Campus of Sun Yat-Sen University, Shenzhen, 518107, China.
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5
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Tucker M, Liao GY, Park JY, Rosenfeld M, Wezeman J, Mangalindan R, Ratner D, Darvas M, Ladiges W. Behavioral and neuropathological features of Alzheimer's disease are attenuated in 5xFAD mice treated with intranasal GHK peptide. BIORXIV : THE PREPRINT SERVER FOR BIOLOGY 2023:2023.11.20.567908. [PMID: 38045355 PMCID: PMC10690187 DOI: 10.1101/2023.11.20.567908] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/05/2023]
Abstract
Efforts to find disease modifying treatments for Alzheimer's disease (AD) have met with limited success in part because the focus has been on testing drugs that target a specific pathogenic mechanism. Multiple pathways have been implicated in the pathogenesis of AD. Hence, the probability of more effective treatment for AD is likely increased by using an intervention that targets more than one pathway. The naturally occurring peptide GHK (glycyl-L-histidyl-L-lysine), as a GHK-Cu complex, supports angiogenesis, remodeling, and tissue repair, has anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties, and has been shown to improve cognitive performance in aging mice. In order to test GHK-Cu as a neurotherapeutic for AD, male and female 5xFAD transgenic mice on the C57BL/6 background at 4 months of age were given 15 mg/kg GHK-Cu intranasally 3 times per week for 3 months until 7 months of age. Results showed that intranasal GHK-Cu treatment delayed cognitive impairment, reduced amyloid plaques, and lowered inflammation levels in the frontal cortex and hippocampus. These observations suggest additional studies are warranted to investigate the potential of GHK-Cu peptide as a promising treatment for AD.
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Affiliation(s)
- Matthew Tucker
- Department of Comparative Medicine, School of Medicine, University of Washington, Seattle WA
- Department of Bioengineering, College of Engineering and School of Medicine, University of Washington, Seattle WA
| | - Gerald Yu Liao
- Department of Comparative Medicine, School of Medicine, University of Washington, Seattle WA
| | - Joo Young Park
- Department of Comparative Medicine, School of Medicine, University of Washington, Seattle WA
| | - Manuela Rosenfeld
- Department of Comparative Medicine, School of Medicine, University of Washington, Seattle WA
| | - Jackson Wezeman
- Department of Comparative Medicine, School of Medicine, University of Washington, Seattle WA
| | - Ruby Mangalindan
- Department of Comparative Medicine, School of Medicine, University of Washington, Seattle WA
| | - Dan Ratner
- Department of Bioengineering, College of Engineering and School of Medicine, University of Washington, Seattle WA
| | - Martin Darvas
- Department of Laboratory Medicine and Pathology, School of Medicine, University of Washington, Seattle WA
| | - Warren Ladiges
- Department of Comparative Medicine, School of Medicine, University of Washington, Seattle WA
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6
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Kepp KP, Robakis NK, Høilund-Carlsen PF, Sensi SL, Vissel B. The amyloid cascade hypothesis: an updated critical review. Brain 2023; 146:3969-3990. [PMID: 37183523 DOI: 10.1093/brain/awad159] [Citation(s) in RCA: 38] [Impact Index Per Article: 38.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/12/2022] [Revised: 04/20/2023] [Accepted: 04/23/2023] [Indexed: 05/16/2023] Open
Abstract
Results from recent clinical trials of antibodies that target amyloid-β (Aβ) for Alzheimer's disease have created excitement and have been heralded as corroboration of the amyloid cascade hypothesis. However, while Aβ may contribute to disease, genetic, clinical, imaging and biochemical data suggest a more complex aetiology. Here we review the history and weaknesses of the amyloid cascade hypothesis in view of the new evidence obtained from clinical trials of anti-amyloid antibodies. These trials indicate that the treatments have either no or uncertain clinical effect on cognition. Despite the importance of amyloid in the definition of Alzheimer's disease, we argue that the data point to Aβ playing a minor aetiological role. We also discuss data suggesting that the concerted activity of many pathogenic factors contribute to Alzheimer's disease and propose that evolving multi-factor disease models will better underpin the search for more effective strategies to treat the disease.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kasper P Kepp
- Section of Biophysical and Biomedicinal chemistry, DTU Chemistry, Technical University of Denmark, 2800 Kongens Lyngby, Denmark
| | - Nikolaos K Robakis
- Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai Medical Center, New York, NY 10029, USA
| | - Poul F Høilund-Carlsen
- Department of Nuclear Medicine, Odense University Hospital, 5000 Odense C, Denmark
- Department of Clinical Research, University of Southern Denmark, 5000 Odense C, Denmark
| | - Stefano L Sensi
- Center for Advanced Studies and Technology-CAST, and Institute for Advanced Biotechnology (ITAB), University G. d'Annunzio of Chieti-Pescara, Chieti, 66013, Italy
- Department of Neuroscience, Imaging, and Clinical Sciences, University G. d'Annunzio of Chieti-Pescara, Chieti, 66013, Italy
| | - Bryce Vissel
- St Vincent's Hospital Centre for Applied Medical Research, St Vincent's Hospital, Sydney, 2010, Australia
- School of Clinical Medicine, UNSW Medicine and Health, St Vincent's Healthcare Clinical Campus, Faculty of Medicine and Health, Sydney, NSW 2052, Australia
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7
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Maniv I, Sarji M, Bdarneh A, Feldman A, Ankawa R, Koren E, Magid-Gold I, Reis N, Soteriou D, Salomon-Zimri S, Lavy T, Kesselman E, Koifman N, Kurz T, Kleifeld O, Michaelson D, van Leeuwen FW, Verheijen BM, Fuchs Y, Glickman MH. Altered ubiquitin signaling induces Alzheimer's disease-like hallmarks in a three-dimensional human neural cell culture model. Nat Commun 2023; 14:5922. [PMID: 37739965 PMCID: PMC10516951 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-023-41545-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/01/2023] [Accepted: 09/08/2023] [Indexed: 09/24/2023] Open
Abstract
Alzheimer's disease (AD) is characterized by toxic protein accumulation in the brain. Ubiquitination is essential for protein clearance in cells, making altered ubiquitin signaling crucial in AD development. A defective variant, ubiquitin B + 1 (UBB+1), created by a non-hereditary RNA frameshift mutation, is found in all AD patient brains post-mortem. We now detect UBB+1 in human brains during early AD stages. Our study employs a 3D neural culture platform derived from human neural progenitors, demonstrating that UBB+1 alone induces extracellular amyloid-β (Aβ) deposits and insoluble hyperphosphorylated tau aggregates. UBB+1 competes with ubiquitin for binding to the deubiquitinating enzyme UCHL1, leading to elevated levels of amyloid precursor protein (APP), secreted Aβ peptides, and Aβ build-up. Crucially, silencing UBB+1 expression impedes the emergence of AD hallmarks in this model system. Our findings highlight the significance of ubiquitin signalling as a variable contributing to AD pathology and present a nonclinical platform for testing potential therapeutics.
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Affiliation(s)
- Inbal Maniv
- Department of Biology, Technion Israel Institute of Technology, Haifa, 3200003, Israel
| | - Mahasen Sarji
- Department of Biology, Technion Israel Institute of Technology, Haifa, 3200003, Israel
| | - Anwar Bdarneh
- Department of Biology, Technion Israel Institute of Technology, Haifa, 3200003, Israel
| | - Alona Feldman
- Department of Biology, Technion Israel Institute of Technology, Haifa, 3200003, Israel
| | - Roi Ankawa
- Department of Biology, Technion Israel Institute of Technology, Haifa, 3200003, Israel
| | - Elle Koren
- Department of Biology, Technion Israel Institute of Technology, Haifa, 3200003, Israel
| | - Inbar Magid-Gold
- Department of Biology, Technion Israel Institute of Technology, Haifa, 3200003, Israel
| | - Noa Reis
- Department of Biology, Technion Israel Institute of Technology, Haifa, 3200003, Israel
| | - Despina Soteriou
- Department of Biology, Technion Israel Institute of Technology, Haifa, 3200003, Israel
| | - Shiran Salomon-Zimri
- Department of Neurobiology, The George S. Wise Faculty of Life Sciences, The Sagol School of Neuroscience, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv, 69978, Israel
| | - Tali Lavy
- Department of Biology, Technion Israel Institute of Technology, Haifa, 3200003, Israel
| | - Ellina Kesselman
- The Wolfson Department of Chemical Engineering, The Technion Center for Electron Microscopy of Soft Matter, Technion Israel Institute of Technology, Haifa, 3200003, Israel
| | - Naama Koifman
- The Wolfson Department of Chemical Engineering, The Technion Center for Electron Microscopy of Soft Matter, Technion Israel Institute of Technology, Haifa, 3200003, Israel
| | - Thimo Kurz
- School of Molecular Biosciences, University of Glasgow, Glasgow, G12 8QQ, Scotland, UK
| | - Oded Kleifeld
- Department of Biology, Technion Israel Institute of Technology, Haifa, 3200003, Israel
| | - Daniel Michaelson
- Department of Neurobiology, The George S. Wise Faculty of Life Sciences, The Sagol School of Neuroscience, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv, 69978, Israel
| | - Fred W van Leeuwen
- Department of Neuroscience, Maastricht University, 6229 ER, Maastricht, the Netherlands
| | - Bert M Verheijen
- Department of Biology, Technion Israel Institute of Technology, Haifa, 3200003, Israel
- Department of Neuroscience, Maastricht University, 6229 ER, Maastricht, the Netherlands
| | - Yaron Fuchs
- Department of Biology, Technion Israel Institute of Technology, Haifa, 3200003, Israel.
- Augmanity, Rehovot, 7670308, Israel.
| | - Michael H Glickman
- Department of Biology, Technion Israel Institute of Technology, Haifa, 3200003, Israel.
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8
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Kropf M. Ethical Aspects of Human Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells and Alzheimer's Disease: Potentials and Challenges of a Seemingly Harmless Method. J Alzheimers Dis Rep 2023; 7:993-1006. [PMID: 37849627 PMCID: PMC10578332 DOI: 10.3233/adr-230018] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/28/2023] [Accepted: 08/14/2023] [Indexed: 10/19/2023] Open
Abstract
Dementia currently affects more than 55 million people worldwide, and scientists predict that this number will continue to rise. The most common form is Alzheimer's disease (AD), which is triggered, among other things, by dysfunctional cells in the human brain. Stem cell research attempts to counteract neurodegenerative processes, for example by replacing or treating diseased cells. In addition to human embryonic stem cells, since the successes of Takahashi and Yamanaka in 2006, there has been an increased focus on human induced pluripotent stem cells (hiPS cells). These cells avoid ethically challenging questions about the moral status of human embryos, but there are numerous problems, such as high production costs, side effects from the reprogramming process, or a potentially new moral status. These ethical issues will be examined primarily in relation to AD. The first part will be a discussion of hiPS cells and their importance for stem cell research, after which the focus turns to AD. Based on scientific studies, the relationship between hiPS cells and AD will be outlined as well as ethical implications presented. While potential limitations of hiPS cells have been discussed by numerous authors, an ethical perspective on the link between hiPS cells and AD seems to be neglected in the scientific community. The following risk analysis aims to identify a possible research agenda. In conclusion, the focus on individuals with AD may help to adopt an ethical stance that recognizes existing limitations and constructively engages with the possibilities of research.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mario Kropf
- Faculty of Catholic Theology, Institute of Moral Theology, University of Graz, Graz, Austria
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9
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Wang J, Qiao H, Wang Z, Zhao W, Chen T, Li B, Zhu L, Chen S, Gu L, Wu Y, Zhang Z, Bi L, Chen P. Rational Design and Acoustic Assembly of Human Cerebral Cortex-Like Microtissues from hiPSC-Derived Neural Progenitors and Neurons. ADVANCED MATERIALS (DEERFIELD BEACH, FLA.) 2023; 35:e2210631. [PMID: 37170683 DOI: 10.1002/adma.202210631] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/16/2022] [Revised: 05/02/2023] [Indexed: 05/13/2023]
Abstract
Development of biologically relevant and clinically relevant human cerebral cortex models is demanded by mechanistic studies of human cerebral cortex-associated neurological diseases and discovery of preclinical neurological drug candidates. Here, rational design of human-sourced brain-like cortical tissue models is demonstrated by reverse engineering and bionic design. To implement this design, the acoustic assembly technique is employed to assemble hiPSC-derived neural progenitors and neurons separately in a label-free and contact-free manner followed by subsequent neural differentiation and culture. The generated microtissues encapsulate the neuronal microanatomy of human cerebral-cortex tissue that contains six-layered neuronal architecture, a 400-µm interlayer distance, synaptic connections between interlayers, and neuroelectrophysiological transmission. Furthermore, these microtissues are infected with herpes simplex virus type I (HSV-1) virus, and the HSV-induced pathogenesis associated with Alzheimer's disease is determined, including neuron loss and the expression of Aβ. Overall, a high-fidelity human-relevant in vitro histotypic model is provided for the cerebral cortex, which will facilitate wide applications in probing the mechanisms of neurodegenerative diseases and screening the candidates for neuroprotective agents.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jibo Wang
- Tissue Engineering and Organ Manufacturing (TEOM) Lab, Department of Biomedical Engineering, Wuhan University TaiKang Medical School (School of Basic Medical Sciences), Wuhan, 430071, China
| | - Haowen Qiao
- Tissue Engineering and Organ Manufacturing (TEOM) Lab, Department of Biomedical Engineering, Wuhan University TaiKang Medical School (School of Basic Medical Sciences), Wuhan, 430071, China
| | - Zhenyan Wang
- Tissue Engineering and Organ Manufacturing (TEOM) Lab, Department of Biomedical Engineering, Wuhan University TaiKang Medical School (School of Basic Medical Sciences), Wuhan, 430071, China
| | - Wen Zhao
- Tissue Engineering and Organ Manufacturing (TEOM) Lab, Department of Biomedical Engineering, Wuhan University TaiKang Medical School (School of Basic Medical Sciences), Wuhan, 430071, China
| | - Tao Chen
- Tissue Engineering and Organ Manufacturing (TEOM) Lab, Department of Biomedical Engineering, Wuhan University TaiKang Medical School (School of Basic Medical Sciences), Wuhan, 430071, China
| | - Bin Li
- Tissue Engineering and Organ Manufacturing (TEOM) Lab, Department of Biomedical Engineering, Wuhan University TaiKang Medical School (School of Basic Medical Sciences), Wuhan, 430071, China
| | - Lili Zhu
- Tissue Engineering and Organ Manufacturing (TEOM) Lab, Department of Biomedical Engineering, Wuhan University TaiKang Medical School (School of Basic Medical Sciences), Wuhan, 430071, China
| | - Sihan Chen
- Tissue Engineering and Organ Manufacturing (TEOM) Lab, Department of Biomedical Engineering, Wuhan University TaiKang Medical School (School of Basic Medical Sciences), Wuhan, 430071, China
| | - Longjun Gu
- Tissue Engineering and Organ Manufacturing (TEOM) Lab, Department of Biomedical Engineering, Wuhan University TaiKang Medical School (School of Basic Medical Sciences), Wuhan, 430071, China
| | - Ying Wu
- State Key Laboratory of Virology, Wuhan University, Wuhan, Hubei, 430072, China
| | - Zhentao Zhang
- Department of Neurology, Renmin Hospital of Wuhan University, Wuhan, 430060, China
| | - Linlin Bi
- Department of Pathology, Wuhan University TaiKang Medical School (School of Basic Medical Sciences), Wuhan, 430071, China
| | - Pu Chen
- Tissue Engineering and Organ Manufacturing (TEOM) Lab, Department of Biomedical Engineering, Wuhan University TaiKang Medical School (School of Basic Medical Sciences), Wuhan, 430071, China
- TaiKang Center for Life and Medical Sciences, Wuhan University, Wuhan, 430071, China
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10
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Salmanzadeh H, Poojari A, Rabiee A, Zeitlin BD, Halliwell RF. Neuropharmacology of human TERA2.cl.SP12 stem cell-derived neurons in ultra-long-term culture for antiseizure drug discovery. Front Neurosci 2023; 17:1182720. [PMID: 37397467 PMCID: PMC10308080 DOI: 10.3389/fnins.2023.1182720] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/09/2023] [Accepted: 05/25/2023] [Indexed: 07/04/2023] Open
Abstract
Modeling the complex and prolonged development of the mammalian central nervous system in vitro remains a profound challenge. Most studies of human stem cell derived neurons are conducted over days to weeks and may or may not include glia. Here we have utilized a single human pluripotent stem cell line, TERA2.cl.SP12 to derive both neurons and glial cells and determined their differentiation and functional maturation over 1 year in culture together with their ability to display epileptiform activity in response to pro-convulsant agents and to detect antiseizure drug actions. Our experiments show that these human stem cells differentiate in vitro into mature neurons and glia cells and form inhibitory and excitatory synapses and integrated neural circuits over 6-8 months, paralleling early human neurogenesis in vivo; these neuroglia cultures display complex electrochemical signaling including high frequency trains of action potentials from single neurons, neural network bursts and highly synchronized, rhythmical firing patterns. Neural activity in our 2D neuron-glia circuits is modulated by a variety of voltage-gated and ligand-gated ion channel acting drugs and these actions were consistent in both young and highly mature neuron cultures. We also show for the first time that spontaneous and epileptiform activity is modulated by first, second and third generation antiseizure agents consistent with animal and human studies. Together, our observations strongly support the value of long-term human stem cell-derived neuroglial cultures in disease modeling and neuropsychiatric drug discovery.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hamed Salmanzadeh
- Thomas J. Long School of Pharmacy, University of the Pacific, Stockton, CA, United States
| | - Ankita Poojari
- Thomas J. Long School of Pharmacy, University of the Pacific, Stockton, CA, United States
| | - Atefeh Rabiee
- Thomas J. Long School of Pharmacy, University of the Pacific, Stockton, CA, United States
| | - Benjamin D. Zeitlin
- Arthur A. Dugoni School of Dentistry, University of the Pacific, San Francisco, CA, United States
| | - Robert F. Halliwell
- Thomas J. Long School of Pharmacy, University of the Pacific, Stockton, CA, United States
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11
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Hebisch M, Klostermeier S, Wolf K, Boccaccini AR, Wolf SE, Tanzi RE, Kim DY. The Impact of the Cellular Environment and Aging on Modeling Alzheimer's Disease in 3D Cell Culture Models. ADVANCED SCIENCE (WEINHEIM, BADEN-WURTTEMBERG, GERMANY) 2023; 10:e2205037. [PMID: 36642841 PMCID: PMC10015857 DOI: 10.1002/advs.202205037] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/01/2022] [Revised: 11/29/2022] [Indexed: 06/13/2023]
Abstract
Creating a cellular model of Alzheimer's disease (AD) that accurately recapitulates disease pathology has been a longstanding challenge. Recent studies showed that human AD neural cells, integrated into three-dimensional (3D) hydrogel matrix, display key features of AD neuropathology. Like in the human brain, the extracellular matrix (ECM) plays a critical role in determining the rate of neuropathogenesis in hydrogel-based 3D cellular models. Aging, the greatest risk factor for AD, significantly alters brain ECM properties. Therefore, it is important to understand how age-associated changes in ECM affect accumulation of pathogenic molecules, neuroinflammation, and neurodegeneration in AD patients and in vitro models. In this review, mechanistic hypotheses is presented to address the impact of the ECM properties and their changes with aging on AD and AD-related dementias. Altered ECM characteristics in aged brains, including matrix stiffness, pore size, and composition, will contribute to disease pathogenesis by modulating the accumulation, propagation, and spreading of pathogenic molecules of AD. Emerging hydrogel-based disease models with differing ECM properties provide an exciting opportunity to study the impact of brain ECM aging on AD pathogenesis, providing novel mechanistic insights. Understanding the role of ECM aging in AD pathogenesis should also improve modeling AD in 3D hydrogel systems.
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Affiliation(s)
- Matthias Hebisch
- Genetics and Aging Research UnitMcCance Center for Brain health, MassGeneral Institute for Neurodegenerative DiseaseMassachusetts General HospitalHarvard Medical SchoolCharlestownMA02129USA
| | - Stefanie Klostermeier
- Institute of Medical PhysicsFriedrich‐Alexander Universität Erlangen‐Nürnberg91052ErlangenGermany
- Max‐Planck‐Zentrum für Physik und Medizin91054ErlangenGermany
| | - Katharina Wolf
- Department of Medicine 1Friedrich‐Alexander‐Universität Erlangen‐Nürnberg91054ErlangenGermany
| | - Aldo R. Boccaccini
- Institute of BiomaterialsDepartment of Materials Science and EngineeringFriedrich‐Alexander‐Universität Erlangen‐Nürnberg91058ErlangenGermany
| | - Stephan E. Wolf
- Institute of Glass and CeramicsDepartment of Materials Science and EngineeringFriedrich‐Alexander‐Universität Erlangen‐Nürnberg91058ErlangenGermany
| | - Rudolph E. Tanzi
- Genetics and Aging Research UnitMcCance Center for Brain health, MassGeneral Institute for Neurodegenerative DiseaseMassachusetts General HospitalHarvard Medical SchoolCharlestownMA02129USA
| | - Doo Yeon Kim
- Genetics and Aging Research UnitMcCance Center for Brain health, MassGeneral Institute for Neurodegenerative DiseaseMassachusetts General HospitalHarvard Medical SchoolCharlestownMA02129USA
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12
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Phadke L, Lau DHW, Aghaizu ND, Ibarra S, Navarron CM, Granat L, Magno L, Whiting P, Jolly S. A primary rodent triculture model to investigate the role of glia-neuron crosstalk in regulation of neuronal activity. Front Aging Neurosci 2022; 14:1056067. [DOI: 10.3389/fnagi.2022.1056067] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/28/2022] [Accepted: 11/07/2022] [Indexed: 12/03/2022] Open
Abstract
Neuroinflammation and hyperexcitability have been implicated in the pathogenesis of neurodegenerative disease, and new models are required to investigate the cellular crosstalk involved in these processes. We developed an approach to generate a quantitative and reproducible triculture system that is suitable for pharmacological studies. While primary rat cells were previously grown in a coculture medium formulated to support only neurons and astrocytes, we now optimised a protocol to generate tricultures containing neurons, astrocytes and microglia by culturing in a medium designed to support all three cell types and adding exogenous microglia to cocultures. Immunocytochemistry was used to confirm the intended cell types were present. The percentage of ramified microglia in the tricultures decreases as the number of microglia present increases. Multi-electrode array recordings indicate that microglia in the triculture model suppress neuronal activity in a dose-dependent manner. Neurons in both cocultures and tricultures are responsive to the potassium channel blocker 4-aminopyridine, suggesting that neurons remained viable and functional in the triculture model. Furthermore, suppressed neuronal activity in tricultures correlates with decreased densities of dendritic spines and of the postsynaptic protein Homer1 along dendrites, indicative of a direct or indirect effect of microglia on synapse function. We thus present a functional triculture model, which, due to its more complete cellular composition, is a more relevant model than standard cocultures. The model can be used to probe glia-neuron interactions and subsequently aid the development of assays for drug discovery, using neuronal excitability as a functional endpoint.
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13
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Griffin A, Mahesh A, Tiwari VK. Disruption of the gene regulatory programme in neurodevelopmental disorders. BIOCHIMICA ET BIOPHYSICA ACTA. GENE REGULATORY MECHANISMS 2022; 1865:194860. [PMID: 36007842 DOI: 10.1016/j.bbagrm.2022.194860] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/22/2022] [Revised: 08/10/2022] [Accepted: 08/12/2022] [Indexed: 06/15/2023]
Abstract
Cortical development consists of a series of synchronised events, including fate transition of cortical progenitors, neuronal migration, specification and connectivity. It is becoming clear that gene expression programs governing these events rely on the interplay between signalling molecules, transcription factors and epigenetic mechanisms. When genetic or environmental factors disrupt expression of genes involved in important brain development processes, neurodevelopmental disorders can occur. This review aims to highlight how recent advances in technologies have helped uncover and imitate the gene regulatory mechanisms commonly disrupted in neurodevelopmental disorders.
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Affiliation(s)
- Aoife Griffin
- Wellcome-Wolfson Institute for Experimental Medicine, School of Medicine, Dentistry & Biomedical Science, Queens University, Belfast BT9 7BL, United Kingdom
| | - Arun Mahesh
- Wellcome-Wolfson Institute for Experimental Medicine, School of Medicine, Dentistry & Biomedical Science, Queens University, Belfast BT9 7BL, United Kingdom
| | - Vijay K Tiwari
- Wellcome-Wolfson Institute for Experimental Medicine, School of Medicine, Dentistry & Biomedical Science, Queens University, Belfast BT9 7BL, United Kingdom.
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14
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Shimada H, Sato Y, Sasaki T, Shimozawa A, Imaizumi K, Shindo T, Miyao S, Kiyama K, Kondo T, Shibata S, Ishii S, Kuromitsu J, Aoyagi H, Ito D, Okano H. A next-generation iPSC-derived forebrain organoid model of tauopathy with tau fibrils by AAV-mediated gene transfer. CELL REPORTS METHODS 2022; 2:100289. [PMID: 36160042 PMCID: PMC9499998 DOI: 10.1016/j.crmeth.2022.100289] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/06/2022] [Revised: 07/15/2022] [Accepted: 08/17/2022] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Abstract
It is known that the human cellular models of Alzheimer's disease (AD) and tauopathy can only recapitulate the very early stage of the disease. To overcome these limitations, we developed a technology to make forebrain organoids (FBOs) from feeder-free induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSC)s by regulating a FGF2 concentration and applied this method to generate FBOs from patients with familial AD (fAD FBOs). The obtained fAD FBOs recapitulated the amyloid-β pathology and increased tau phosphorylation but not tau aggregates. To fully induce the tau pathology, FBOs were injected with adeno-associated virus (AAV)-expressing P301L mutant tau. In these Tau-P301L FBOs, tau fibrils were observed in the neuronal cell body and neurites with immunoelectron microscopy, in addition to the sarkosyl-insoluble and thioflavin S-positive phospho-tau aggregates. Collectively, this model can be used as a platform for investigating pathogenetic mechanisms and evaluation of target molecules for drug discovery for tauopathy.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hiroko Shimada
- Department of Physiology, Keio University School of Medicine, 35 Shinanomachi, Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo 160-8582, Japan
| | - Yuta Sato
- Graduate School of Science and Technology, Keio University, 3-14-1 Hiyoshi, Kohoku-ku, Yokohama, Kanagawa 223-8522, Japan
| | - Takashi Sasaki
- Center for Supercentenarian Medical Research, Keio University School of Medicine, 35 Shinanomachi, Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo 160-8582, Japan
| | - Aki Shimozawa
- Department of Physiology, Keio University School of Medicine, 35 Shinanomachi, Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo 160-8582, Japan
- Center for Integrated Medical Research, Keio University School of Medicine, 35 Shinanomachi, Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo 160-8582, Japan
| | - Kent Imaizumi
- Department of Physiology, Keio University School of Medicine, 35 Shinanomachi, Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo 160-8582, Japan
| | - Tomoko Shindo
- Electron Microscope Laboratory, Keio University School of Medicine, 35 Shinanomachi, Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo 160-8582, Japan
| | - Sachiyo Miyao
- Department of Physiology, Keio University School of Medicine, 35 Shinanomachi, Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo 160-8582, Japan
| | - Kosuke Kiyama
- Department of Physiology, Keio University School of Medicine, 35 Shinanomachi, Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo 160-8582, Japan
| | - Takahiro Kondo
- Department of Physiology, Keio University School of Medicine, 35 Shinanomachi, Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo 160-8582, Japan
| | - Shinsuke Shibata
- Department of Physiology, Keio University School of Medicine, 35 Shinanomachi, Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo 160-8582, Japan
- Electron Microscope Laboratory, Keio University School of Medicine, 35 Shinanomachi, Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo 160-8582, Japan
| | - Seiji Ishii
- Department of Physiology, Keio University School of Medicine, 35 Shinanomachi, Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo 160-8582, Japan
| | - Junro Kuromitsu
- Department of Physiology, Keio University School of Medicine, 35 Shinanomachi, Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo 160-8582, Japan
- Eisai-Keio innovation Laboratory for Dementia, hhc Data Creation Center, Eisai Co., Ltd., 35 Shinanomachi, Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo 160-8582, Japan
| | - Hirofumi Aoyagi
- Department of Physiology, Keio University School of Medicine, 35 Shinanomachi, Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo 160-8582, Japan
- Eisai-Keio innovation Laboratory for Dementia, hhc Data Creation Center, Eisai Co., Ltd., 35 Shinanomachi, Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo 160-8582, Japan
| | - Daisuke Ito
- Department of Physiology, Keio University School of Medicine, 35 Shinanomachi, Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo 160-8582, Japan
| | - Hideyuki Okano
- Department of Physiology, Keio University School of Medicine, 35 Shinanomachi, Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo 160-8582, Japan
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15
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Ahmad F, Sachdeva P. A consolidated review on stem cell therapy for treatment and management of Alzheimer's disease. Aging Med (Milton) 2022; 5:182-190. [PMID: 36247342 PMCID: PMC9549310 DOI: 10.1002/agm2.12216] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/05/2022] [Revised: 07/08/2022] [Accepted: 07/11/2022] [Indexed: 11/06/2022] Open
Abstract
Alzheimer's disease (AD) is one of the most common forms of dementia and affects around 50 million people around the globe. AD is diagnosed mainly through imaging techniques and to date only five drugs are approved for management of AD but no promising treatment is available for AD. So in this review, we are focusing on stem cell therapy for AD. This review will cover all stem cells like mesenchymal stem cells, embryonic stem cells, induced pluripotent stem cells, and neural stem cells. Clinical trials of AD have also been discussed. Finally, limitations of stem cells are discussed with ongoing clinical trials, and in the future stem cell therapy can be used for treatment of AD.
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Affiliation(s)
- Faizan Ahmad
- Department of Medical Elementology and Toxicology Jamia Hamdard University Delhi India
| | - Punya Sachdeva
- Amity Institute of Neuropsychology and Neurosciences Amity University Noida Uttar Pradesh India
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16
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Awad R, Avital A, Sosnik A. Polymeric nanocarriers for nose-to-brain drug delivery in neurodegenerative diseases and neurodevelopmental disorders. Acta Pharm Sin B 2022; 13:1866-1886. [DOI: 10.1016/j.apsb.2022.07.003] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/04/2022] [Revised: 06/07/2022] [Accepted: 06/10/2022] [Indexed: 11/01/2022] Open
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17
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Quiroga IY, Cruikshank AE, Bond ML, Reed KSM, Evangelista BA, Tseng JH, Ragusa JV, Meeker RB, Won H, Cohen S, Cohen TJ, Phanstiel DH. Synthetic amyloid beta does not induce a robust transcriptional response in innate immune cell culture systems. J Neuroinflammation 2022; 19:99. [PMID: 35459147 PMCID: PMC9034485 DOI: 10.1186/s12974-022-02459-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/24/2021] [Accepted: 04/07/2022] [Indexed: 02/04/2023] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a progressive neurodegenerative disease that impacts nearly 400 million people worldwide. The accumulation of amyloid beta (Aβ) in the brain has historically been associated with AD, and recent evidence suggests that neuroinflammation plays a central role in its origin and progression. These observations have given rise to the theory that Aβ is the primary trigger of AD, and induces proinflammatory activation of immune brain cells (i.e., microglia), which culminates in neuronal damage and cognitive decline. To test this hypothesis, many in vitro systems have been established to study Aβ-mediated activation of innate immune cells. Nevertheless, the transcriptional resemblance of these models to the microglia in the AD brain has never been comprehensively studied on a genome-wide scale. METHODS We used bulk RNA-seq to assess the transcriptional differences between in vitro cell types used to model neuroinflammation in AD, including several established, primary and iPSC-derived immune cell lines (macrophages, microglia and astrocytes) and their similarities to primary cells in the AD brain. We then analyzed the transcriptional response of these innate immune cells to synthetic Aβ or LPS and INFγ. RESULTS We found that human induced pluripotent stem cell (hIPSC)-derived microglia (IMGL) are the in vitro cell model that best resembles primary microglia. Surprisingly, synthetic Aβ does not trigger a robust transcriptional response in any of the cellular models analyzed, despite testing a wide variety of Aβ formulations, concentrations, and treatment conditions. Finally, we found that bacterial LPS and INFγ activate microglia and induce transcriptional changes that resemble many, but not all, aspects of the transcriptomic profiles of disease associated microglia (DAM) present in the AD brain. CONCLUSIONS These results suggest that synthetic Aβ treatment of innate immune cell cultures does not recapitulate transcriptional profiles observed in microglia from AD brains. In contrast, treating IMGL with LPS and INFγ induces transcriptional changes similar to those observed in microglia detected in AD brains.
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Affiliation(s)
- I Y Quiroga
- Thurston Arthritis Research Center, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC, USA
| | - A E Cruikshank
- Postbaccalaureate Research Education Program, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC, USA
| | - M L Bond
- Curriculum in Genetics and Molecular Biology, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC, USA
| | - K S M Reed
- Curriculum in Genetics and Molecular Biology, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC, USA
| | - B A Evangelista
- Department of Cell Biology and Physiology, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC, USA
| | - J H Tseng
- Department of Neurology, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC, USA
| | - J V Ragusa
- Department of Cell Biology and Physiology, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC, USA
| | - R B Meeker
- Department of Neurology, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC, USA
| | - H Won
- Department of Genetics and Neuroscience Center, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC, USA
- Neuroscience Center, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC, USA
| | - S Cohen
- Department of Cell Biology and Physiology, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC, USA
| | - T J Cohen
- Department of Neurology, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC, USA
| | - D H Phanstiel
- Thurston Arthritis Research Center, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC, USA.
- Curriculum in Genetics and Molecular Biology, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC, USA.
- Department of Cell Biology and Physiology, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC, USA.
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18
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Cell models for Down syndrome-Alzheimer’s disease research. Neuronal Signal 2022; 6:NS20210054. [PMID: 35449591 PMCID: PMC8996251 DOI: 10.1042/ns20210054] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/27/2021] [Revised: 03/07/2022] [Accepted: 03/21/2022] [Indexed: 11/29/2022] Open
Abstract
Down syndrome (DS) is the most common chromosomal abnormality and leads to intellectual disability, increased risk of cardiac defects, and an altered immune response. Individuals with DS have an extra full or partial copy of chromosome 21 (trisomy 21) and are more likely to develop early-onset Alzheimer’s disease (AD) than the general population. Changes in expression of human chromosome 21 (Hsa21)-encoded genes, such as amyloid precursor protein (APP), play an important role in the pathogenesis of AD in DS (DS-AD). However, the mechanisms of DS-AD remain poorly understood. To date, several mouse models with an extra copy of genes syntenic to Hsa21 have been developed to characterise DS-AD-related phenotypes. Nonetheless, due to genetic and physiological differences between mouse and human, mouse models cannot faithfully recapitulate all features of DS-AD. Cells differentiated from human-induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs), isolated from individuals with genetic diseases, can be used to model disease-related cellular and molecular pathologies, including DS. In this review, we will discuss the limitations of mouse models of DS and how these can be addressed using recent advancements in modelling DS using human iPSCs and iPSC-mouse chimeras, and potential applications of iPSCs in preclinical studies for DS-AD.
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19
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Ozgun A, Lomboni D, Arnott H, Staines WA, Woulfe J, Variola F. Biomaterial-based strategies for in vitro neural models. Biomater Sci 2022; 10:1134-1165. [PMID: 35023513 DOI: 10.1039/d1bm01361k] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/14/2022]
Abstract
In vitro models have been used as a complementary tool to animal studies in understanding the nervous system's physiological mechanisms and pathological disorders, while also serving as platforms to evaluate the safety and efficiency of therapeutic candidates. Following recent advances in materials science, micro- and nanofabrication techniques and cell culture systems, in vitro technologies have been rapidly gaining the potential to bridge the gap between animal and clinical studies by providing more sophisticated models that recapitulate key aspects of the structure, biochemistry, biomechanics, and functions of human tissues. This was made possible, in large part, by the development of biomaterials that provide cells with physicochemical features that closely mimic the cellular microenvironment of native tissues. Due to the well-known material-driven cellular response and the importance of mimicking the environment of the target tissue, the selection of optimal biomaterials represents an important early step in the design of biomimetic systems to investigate brain structures and functions. This review provides a comprehensive compendium of commonly used biomaterials as well as the different fabrication techniques employed for the design of neural tissue models. Furthermore, the authors discuss the main parameters that need to be considered to develop functional platforms not only for the study of brain physiological functions and pathological processes but also for drug discovery/development and the optimization of biomaterials for neural tissue engineering.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alp Ozgun
- Department of Mechanical Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, Canada. .,Department of Cellular and Molecular Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, Canada
| | - David Lomboni
- Department of Mechanical Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, Canada. .,Ottawa-Carleton Institute for Biomedical Engineering (OCIBME), Ottawa, Canada
| | - Hallie Arnott
- Department of Mechanical Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, Canada. .,Ottawa-Carleton Institute for Biomedical Engineering (OCIBME), Ottawa, Canada
| | - William A Staines
- Department of Cellular and Molecular Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, Canada
| | - John Woulfe
- Department of Cellular and Molecular Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, Canada.,The Ottawa Hospital, Ottawa, Canada
| | - Fabio Variola
- Department of Mechanical Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, Canada. .,Department of Cellular and Molecular Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, Canada.,Ottawa-Carleton Institute for Biomedical Engineering (OCIBME), Ottawa, Canada.,The Ottawa Hospital, Ottawa, Canada.,Children's Hospital of Eastern Ontario (CHEO), Ottawa, Canada
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20
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Neuroimmune contributions to Alzheimer's disease: a focus on human data. Mol Psychiatry 2022; 27:3164-3181. [PMID: 35668160 PMCID: PMC9168642 DOI: 10.1038/s41380-022-01637-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 21] [Impact Index Per Article: 10.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/15/2021] [Revised: 05/05/2022] [Accepted: 05/18/2022] [Indexed: 12/12/2022]
Abstract
The past decade has seen the convergence of a series of new insights that arose from genetic and systems analyses of Alzheimer's disease (AD) with a wealth of epidemiological data from a variety of fields; this resulted in renewed interest in immune responses as important, potentially causal components of AD. Here, we focus primarily on a review of human data which has recently yielded a set of robust, reproducible results that exist in a much larger universe of conflicting reports stemming from small studies with important limitations in their study design. Thus, we are at an important crossroads in efforts to first understand at which step of the long, multiphasic course of AD a given immune response may play a causal role and then modulate this response to slow or block the pathophysiology of AD. We have a wealth of new experimental tools, analysis methods, and capacity to sample human participants at large scale longitudinally; these resources, when coupled to a foundation of reproducible results and novel study designs, will enable us to monitor human immune function in the CNS at the level of complexity that is required while simultaneously capturing the state of the peripheral immune system. This integration of peripheral and central perturbations in immune responses results in pathologic responses in the central nervous system parenchyma where specialized cellular microenvironments composed of multiple cell subtypes respond to these immune perturbations as well as to environmental exposures, comorbidities and the impact of the advancing life course. Here, we offer an overview that seeks to illustrate the large number of interconnecting factors that ultimately yield the neuroimmune component of AD.
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21
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Saavedra L, Wallace K, Freudenrich TF, Mall M, Mundy WR, Davila J, Shafer TJ, Wernig M, Haag D. Comparison of Acute Effects of Neurotoxic Compounds on Network Activity in Human and Rodent Neural Cultures. Toxicol Sci 2021; 180:295-312. [PMID: 33537736 DOI: 10.1093/toxsci/kfab008] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/14/2022] Open
Abstract
Assessment of neuroactive effects of chemicals in cell-based assays remains challenging as complex functional tissue is required for biologically relevant readouts. Recent in vitro models using rodent primary neural cultures grown on multielectrode arrays allow quantitative measurements of neural network activity suitable for neurotoxicity screening. However, robust systems for testing effects on network function in human neural models are still lacking. The increasing number of differentiation protocols for generating neurons from human-induced pluripotent stem cells (hiPSCs) holds great potential to overcome the unavailability of human primary tissue and expedite cell-based assays. Yet, the variability in neuronal activity, prolonged ontogeny and rather immature stage of most neuronal cells derived by standard differentiation techniques greatly limit their utility for screening neurotoxic effects on human neural networks. Here, we used excitatory and inhibitory neurons, separately generated by direct reprogramming from hiPSCs, together with primary human astrocytes to establish highly functional cultures with defined cell ratios. Such neuron/glia cocultures exhibited pronounced neuronal activity and robust formation of synchronized network activity on multielectrode arrays, albeit with noticeable delay compared with primary rat cortical cultures. We further investigated acute changes of network activity in human neuron/glia cocultures and rat primary cortical cultures in response to compounds with known adverse neuroactive effects, including gamma amino butyric acid receptor antagonists and multiple pesticides. Importantly, we observed largely corresponding concentration-dependent effects on multiple neural network activity metrics using both neural culture types. These results demonstrate the utility of directly converted neuronal cells from hiPSCs for functional neurotoxicity screening of environmental chemicals.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lorena Saavedra
- NeuCyte Inc., San Carlos, California 94070, USA.,Institute for Stem Cell Biology and Regenerative Medicine, Department of Pathology, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, California 94305, USA
| | - Kathleen Wallace
- BCTD, CCTE, ORD, US Environmental Protection Agency, Research Triangle Park, North Carolina 27711, USA
| | - Theresa F Freudenrich
- BCTD, CCTE, ORD, US Environmental Protection Agency, Research Triangle Park, North Carolina 27711, USA
| | - Moritz Mall
- Institute for Stem Cell Biology and Regenerative Medicine, Department of Pathology, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, California 94305, USA.,Cell Fate Engineering and Disease Modeling Group, German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ) and DKFZ-ZMBH Alliance, Heidelberg 69120, Germany
| | - William R Mundy
- BCTD, CCTE, ORD, US Environmental Protection Agency, Research Triangle Park, North Carolina 27711, USA
| | - Jorge Davila
- NeuCyte Inc., San Carlos, California 94070, USA.,Institute for Stem Cell Biology and Regenerative Medicine, Department of Pathology, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, California 94305, USA
| | - Timothy J Shafer
- BCTD, CCTE, ORD, US Environmental Protection Agency, Research Triangle Park, North Carolina 27711, USA
| | - Marius Wernig
- Institute for Stem Cell Biology and Regenerative Medicine, Department of Pathology, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, California 94305, USA
| | - Daniel Haag
- NeuCyte Inc., San Carlos, California 94070, USA.,Institute for Stem Cell Biology and Regenerative Medicine, Department of Pathology, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, California 94305, USA
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22
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Vignon A, Salvador-Prince L, Lehmann S, Perrier V, Torrent J. Deconstructing Alzheimer's Disease: How to Bridge the Gap between Experimental Models and the Human Pathology? Int J Mol Sci 2021; 22:8769. [PMID: 34445475 PMCID: PMC8395727 DOI: 10.3390/ijms22168769] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [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: 07/13/2021] [Revised: 08/05/2021] [Accepted: 08/06/2021] [Indexed: 02/07/2023] Open
Abstract
Discovered more than a century ago, Alzheimer's disease (AD) is not only still present in our societies but has also become the most common dementia, with 50 million people worldwide affected by the disease. This number is expected to double in the next generation, and no cure is currently available to slow down or stop the disease progression. Recently, some advances were made due to the approval of the aducanumab treatment by the American Food and Drug Administration. The etiology of this human-specific disease remains poorly understood, and the mechanisms of its development have not been completely clarified. Several hypotheses concerning the molecular mechanisms of AD have been proposed, but the existing studies focus primarily on the two main markers of the disease: the amyloid β peptides, whose aggregation in the brain generates amyloid plaques, and the abnormally phosphorylated tau proteins, which are responsible for neurofibrillary tangles. These protein aggregates induce neuroinflammation and neurodegeneration, which, in turn, lead to cognitive and behavioral deficits. The challenge is, therefore, to create models that best reproduce this pathology. This review aims at gathering the different existing AD models developed in vitro, in cellulo, and in vivo. Many models have already been set up, but it is necessary to identify the most relevant ones for our investigations. The purpose of the review is to help researchers to identify the most pertinent disease models, from the most often used to the most recently generated and from simple to complex, explaining their specificities and giving concrete examples.
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Affiliation(s)
- Anaïs Vignon
- INM, University of Montpellier, INSERM, 34095 Montpellier, France; (A.V.); (L.S.-P.)
| | - Lucie Salvador-Prince
- INM, University of Montpellier, INSERM, 34095 Montpellier, France; (A.V.); (L.S.-P.)
| | - Sylvain Lehmann
- INM, University of Montpellier, INSERM, CHU Montpellier, 34095 Montpellier, France;
| | - Véronique Perrier
- INM, University of Montpellier, INSERM, CNRS, 34095 Montpellier, France
| | - Joan Torrent
- INM, University of Montpellier, INSERM, 34095 Montpellier, France; (A.V.); (L.S.-P.)
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23
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Cadena M, Ning L, King A, Hwang B, Jin L, Serpooshan V, Sloan SA. 3D Bioprinting of Neural Tissues. Adv Healthc Mater 2021; 10:e2001600. [PMID: 33200587 PMCID: PMC8711131 DOI: 10.1002/adhm.202001600] [Citation(s) in RCA: 38] [Impact Index Per Article: 12.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/08/2020] [Revised: 10/19/2020] [Indexed: 02/06/2023]
Abstract
The human nervous system is a remarkably complex physiological network that is inherently challenging to study because of obstacles to acquiring primary samples. Animal models offer powerful alternatives to study nervous system development, diseases, and regenerative processes, however, they are unable to address some species-specific features of the human nervous system. In vitro models of the human nervous system have expanded in prevalence and sophistication, but still require further advances to better recapitulate microenvironmental and cellular features. The field of neural tissue engineering (TE) is rapidly adopting new technologies that enable scientists to precisely control in vitro culture conditions and to better model nervous system formation, function, and repair. 3D bioprinting is one of the major TE technologies that utilizes biocompatible hydrogels to create precisely patterned scaffolds, designed to enhance cellular responses. This review focuses on the applications of 3D bioprinting in the field of neural TE. Important design parameters are considered when bioprinting neural stem cells are discussed. The emergence of various bioprinted in vitro platforms are also reviewed for developmental and disease modeling and drug screening applications within the central and peripheral nervous systems, as well as their use as implants for in vivo regenerative therapies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Melissa Cadena
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, Emory University School of Medicine and Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA 30322, USA
- Department of Human Genetics, Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta, GA 30322, USA
| | - Liqun Ning
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, Emory University School of Medicine and Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA 30322, USA
| | - Alexia King
- Department of Human Genetics, Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta, GA 30322, USA
| | - Boeun Hwang
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, Emory University School of Medicine and Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA 30322, USA
| | - Linqi Jin
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, Emory University School of Medicine and Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA 30322, USA
| | - Vahid Serpooshan
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, Emory University School of Medicine and Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA 30322, USA
- Department of Pediatrics, Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta, GA 30322, USA
- Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta, Atlanta, GA 30322, USA
| | - Steven A. Sloan
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, Emory University School of Medicine and Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA 30322, USA
- Department of Human Genetics, Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta, GA 30322, USA
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24
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Yaqinuddin A, Ikram MF, Ambia AR, Alaujan R, Kashir J. 3D Models as an Adjunct for Models in Studying Alzheimer’s Disease. JOURNAL OF HEALTH AND ALLIED SCIENCES NU 2021. [DOI: 10.1055/s-0041-1731864] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/09/2022]
Abstract
AbstractAlzheimer’s disease (AD) is one of the most common causes of dementia. Disease progression is marked by cognitive decline and memory impairment due to neurodegenerative processes in the brain stemming from amyloid-β (Aβ) deposition and formation of neurofibrillary tangles. Pathogenesis in AD is dependent on two main neurological processes: formation of intracellular neurofibrillary tangles (NFTs) composed of hyperphosphorylated tau protein and deposition of extracellular senile Aβ peptides. Given the nature of the disease, the pathology and progression of AD in vivo in humans have been difficult to study in vivo. To this degree, models can help to study the disease pathogenesis, biochemistry, immunological functions, genetics, and potential pharmacotherapy. While animal and two-dimensional (2D) cell culture models have facilitated significant progress in studying the disease, more recent application of novel three-dimensional (3D) culture models has exhibited several advantages. Herein, we describe a brief background of AD, and how current animal, 2D, and 3D models facilitate the study of this disease and associated therapeutics.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ahmed Yaqinuddin
- Department of Anatomy and Genetic, College of Medicine, Alfaisal University, Riyadh, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia
| | - Muhammad Faisal Ikram
- Department of Anatomy and Genetic, College of Medicine, Alfaisal University, Riyadh, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia
| | - Ayesha Rahman Ambia
- Department of Anatomy and Genetic, College of Medicine, Alfaisal University, Riyadh, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia
| | - Raghad Alaujan
- Department of Anatomy and Genetic, College of Medicine, Alfaisal University, Riyadh, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia
| | - Junaid Kashir
- Department of Anatomy and Genetic, College of Medicine, Alfaisal University, Riyadh, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia
- Department of Comparative Medicine, King Faisal Specialist Hospital and Research Center, Riyadh, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia
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25
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Steg LC, Shireby GL, Imm J, Davies JP, Franklin A, Flynn R, Namboori SC, Bhinge A, Jeffries AR, Burrage J, Neilson GWA, Walker EM, Perfect LW, Price J, McAlonan G, Srivastava DP, Bray NJ, Cope EL, Jones KM, Allen ND, Pishva E, Dempster EL, Lunnon K, Mill J, Hannon E. Novel epigenetic clock for fetal brain development predicts prenatal age for cellular stem cell models and derived neurons. Mol Brain 2021; 14:98. [PMID: 34174924 PMCID: PMC8236187 DOI: 10.1186/s13041-021-00810-w] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/14/2020] [Accepted: 06/14/2021] [Indexed: 12/22/2022] Open
Abstract
Induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) and their differentiated neurons (iPSC-neurons) are a widely used cellular model in the research of the central nervous system. However, it is unknown how well they capture age-associated processes, particularly given that pluripotent cells are only present during the earliest stages of mammalian development. Epigenetic clocks utilize coordinated age-associated changes in DNA methylation to make predictions that correlate strongly with chronological age. It has been shown that the induction of pluripotency rejuvenates predicted epigenetic age. As existing clocks are not optimized for the study of brain development, we developed the fetal brain clock (FBC), a bespoke epigenetic clock trained in human prenatal brain samples in order to investigate more precisely the epigenetic age of iPSCs and iPSC-neurons. The FBC was tested in two independent validation cohorts across a total of 194 samples, confirming that the FBC outperforms other established epigenetic clocks in fetal brain cohorts. We applied the FBC to DNA methylation data from iPSCs and embryonic stem cells and their derived neuronal precursor cells and neurons, finding that these cell types are epigenetically characterized as having an early fetal age. Furthermore, while differentiation from iPSCs to neurons significantly increases epigenetic age, iPSC-neurons are still predicted as being fetal. Together our findings reiterate the need to better understand the limitations of existing epigenetic clocks for answering biological research questions and highlight a limitation of iPSC-neurons as a cellular model of age-related diseases.
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Affiliation(s)
- Leonard C Steg
- College of Medicine and Health, University of Exeter, RILD Building Level 3, Barrack Rd, Exeter, UK
| | - Gemma L Shireby
- College of Medicine and Health, University of Exeter, RILD Building Level 3, Barrack Rd, Exeter, UK
| | - Jennifer Imm
- College of Medicine and Health, University of Exeter, RILD Building Level 3, Barrack Rd, Exeter, UK
| | - Jonathan P Davies
- College of Medicine and Health, University of Exeter, RILD Building Level 3, Barrack Rd, Exeter, UK
| | - Alice Franklin
- College of Medicine and Health, University of Exeter, RILD Building Level 3, Barrack Rd, Exeter, UK
| | - Robert Flynn
- College of Medicine and Health, University of Exeter, RILD Building Level 3, Barrack Rd, Exeter, UK
| | - Seema C Namboori
- College of Medicine and Health, University of Exeter, RILD Building Level 3, Barrack Rd, Exeter, UK
| | - Akshay Bhinge
- College of Medicine and Health, University of Exeter, RILD Building Level 3, Barrack Rd, Exeter, UK
| | - Aaron R Jeffries
- College of Medicine and Health, University of Exeter, RILD Building Level 3, Barrack Rd, Exeter, UK
| | - Joe Burrage
- College of Medicine and Health, University of Exeter, RILD Building Level 3, Barrack Rd, Exeter, UK
| | - Grant W A Neilson
- College of Medicine and Health, University of Exeter, RILD Building Level 3, Barrack Rd, Exeter, UK
| | - Emma M Walker
- College of Medicine and Health, University of Exeter, RILD Building Level 3, Barrack Rd, Exeter, UK
| | - Leo W Perfect
- Department of Basic and Clinical Neuroscience, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, King's College London, London, UK
| | - Jack Price
- Department of Basic and Clinical Neuroscience, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, King's College London, London, UK
| | - Grainne McAlonan
- Department of Forensic and Neurodevelopmental Sciences, King's College London, London, UK
- MRC Centre for Neurodevelopmental Disorders, King's College London, London, UK
- Behavioural and Developmental Psychiatry, South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust, London, UK
| | - Deepak P Srivastava
- Department of Basic and Clinical Neuroscience, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, King's College London, London, UK
- MRC Centre for Neurodevelopmental Disorders, King's College London, London, UK
| | - Nicholas J Bray
- Division of Psychological Medicine and Clinical Neurosciences, School of Medicine, Cardiff University, Cardiff, UK
| | - Emma L Cope
- School of Biosciences, Cardiff University, Cardiff, UK
| | | | | | - Ehsan Pishva
- College of Medicine and Health, University of Exeter, RILD Building Level 3, Barrack Rd, Exeter, UK
- Department of Psychiatry and Neuropsychology, School for Mental Health and Neuroscience (MHeNS), Maastricht University, Maastricht, The Netherlands
| | - Emma L Dempster
- College of Medicine and Health, University of Exeter, RILD Building Level 3, Barrack Rd, Exeter, UK
| | - Katie Lunnon
- College of Medicine and Health, University of Exeter, RILD Building Level 3, Barrack Rd, Exeter, UK
| | - Jonathan Mill
- College of Medicine and Health, University of Exeter, RILD Building Level 3, Barrack Rd, Exeter, UK
| | - Eilis Hannon
- College of Medicine and Health, University of Exeter, RILD Building Level 3, Barrack Rd, Exeter, UK.
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26
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McFarland KN, Ceballos C, Rosario A, Ladd T, Moore B, Golde G, Wang X, Allen M, Ertekin-Taner N, Funk CC, Robinson M, Baloni P, Rappaport N, Chakrabarty P, Golde TE. Microglia show differential transcriptomic response to Aβ peptide aggregates ex vivo and in vivo. Life Sci Alliance 2021; 4:4/7/e202101108. [PMID: 34127518 PMCID: PMC8321667 DOI: 10.26508/lsa.202101108] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/26/2021] [Revised: 05/27/2021] [Accepted: 05/28/2021] [Indexed: 01/01/2023] Open
Abstract
Aggregation and accumulation of amyloid-β (Aβ) is a defining feature of Alzheimer's disease pathology. To study microglial responses to Aβ, we applied exogenous Aβ peptide, in either oligomeric or fibrillar conformation, to primary mouse microglial cultures and evaluated system-level transcriptional changes and then compared these with transcriptomic changes in the brains of CRND8 APP mice. We find that primary microglial cultures have rapid and massive transcriptional change in response to Aβ. Transcriptomic responses to oligomeric or fibrillar Aβ in primary microglia, although partially overlapping, are distinct and are not recapitulated in vivo where Aβ progressively accumulates. Furthermore, although classic immune mediators show massive transcriptional changes in the primary microglial cultures, these changes are not observed in the mouse model. Together, these data extend previous studies which demonstrate that microglia responses ex vivo are poor proxies for in vivo responses. Finally, these data demonstrate the potential utility of using microglia as biosensors of different aggregate conformation, as the transcriptional responses to oligomeric and fibrillar Aβ can be distinguished.
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Affiliation(s)
- Karen N McFarland
- Department of Neurology, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, USA .,Center for Translational Research in Neurodegenerative Disease, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, USA.,McKnight Brain Institute, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, USA
| | - Carolina Ceballos
- Center for Translational Research in Neurodegenerative Disease, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, USA.,McKnight Brain Institute, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, USA.,Department of Neuroscience, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, USA
| | - Awilda Rosario
- Center for Translational Research in Neurodegenerative Disease, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, USA.,McKnight Brain Institute, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, USA.,Department of Neuroscience, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, USA
| | - Thomas Ladd
- Center for Translational Research in Neurodegenerative Disease, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, USA.,McKnight Brain Institute, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, USA.,Department of Neuroscience, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, USA
| | - Brenda Moore
- Center for Translational Research in Neurodegenerative Disease, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, USA.,McKnight Brain Institute, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, USA.,Department of Neuroscience, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, USA
| | - Griffin Golde
- Center for Translational Research in Neurodegenerative Disease, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, USA
| | - Xue Wang
- Department of Health Sciences Research, Mayo Clinic, Jacksonville, FL, USA
| | - Mariet Allen
- Department of Neuroscience, Mayo Clinic, Jacksonville, FL, USA
| | - Nilüfer Ertekin-Taner
- Department of Neuroscience, Mayo Clinic, Jacksonville, FL, USA.,Department of Neurology, Mayo Clinic, Jacksonville, FL, USA
| | - Cory C Funk
- Institute for Systems Biology, Seattle, WA, USA
| | | | | | | | - Paramita Chakrabarty
- Center for Translational Research in Neurodegenerative Disease, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, USA.,McKnight Brain Institute, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, USA.,Department of Neuroscience, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, USA
| | - Todd E Golde
- Center for Translational Research in Neurodegenerative Disease, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, USA .,McKnight Brain Institute, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, USA.,Department of Neuroscience, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, USA
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27
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Genome-wide CRISPR screen identifies protein pathways modulating tau protein levels in neurons. Commun Biol 2021; 4:736. [PMID: 34127790 PMCID: PMC8203616 DOI: 10.1038/s42003-021-02272-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/24/2020] [Accepted: 05/24/2021] [Indexed: 12/24/2022] Open
Abstract
Aggregates of hyperphosphorylated tau protein are a pathological hallmark of more than 20 distinct neurodegenerative diseases, including Alzheimer’s disease, progressive supranuclear palsy, and frontotemporal dementia. While the exact mechanism of tau aggregation is unknown, the accumulation of aggregates correlates with disease progression. Here we report a genome-wide CRISPR screen to identify modulators of endogenous tau protein for the first time. Primary screens performed in SH-SY5Y cells, identified positive and negative regulators of tau protein levels. Hit validation of the top 43 candidate genes was performed using Ngn2-induced human cortical excitatory neurons. Using this approach, genes and pathways involved in modulation of endogenous tau levels were identified, including chromatin modifying enzymes, neddylation and ubiquitin pathway members, and components of the mTOR pathway. TSC1, a critical component of the mTOR pathway, was further validated in vivo, demonstrating the relevance of this screening strategy. These findings may have implications for treating neurodegenerative diseases in the future. Using an unbiased genome-wide CRISPR screen approach, Sanchez et al. identified modulators of endogenous tau protein. This study suggests that chromatin modifiers, neddylation, ubiquitination, and the mTOR pathways regulate overall levels of tau protein in neurons, which could help in future identification of therapeutics for neurodegenerative diseases.
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28
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Vieira de Sá R, Cañizares Luna M, Pasterkamp RJ. Advances in Central Nervous System Organoids: A Focus on Organoid-Based Models for Motor Neuron Disease. Tissue Eng Part C Methods 2021; 27:213-224. [PMID: 33446055 DOI: 10.1089/ten.tec.2020.0337] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Despite their large societal burden, the development of therapeutic treatments for neurodegenerative diseases (NDDs) has been relatively unsuccessful. This is, in part, due to a lack of representative experimental models that reveal fundamental aspects of human brain pathology. Recently, assays for in vitro modeling of the human central nervous system (CNS) have significantly improved with the development of brain and spinal cord organoids. Coupled with induced-pluripotent stem cell and genome editing technologies, CNS organoids are a promising tool for studying neurodegeneration in a patient-specific manner. An extensive array of protocols for the generation of organoids for different brain regions has been developed and used for studying neurodegenerative and other brain diseases. However, their application in the field of motor neuron disease (MND) has been limited due to a lack of adequate organoid models. The development of protocols to derive spinal cord and trunk organoids and progress in the field of assembloids are providing new opportunities for modeling MND. In this study here we review recent advances in the development of CNS organoid models, their application in NDDs, and technical limitations. Finally, we discuss future perspectives for the development of organoid-based systems for MND and provide a framework for their development. Impact statement Animal models and two-dimensional cultures are currently the main platforms for studying neurodegenerative diseases (NDDs). However, central nervous system (CNS) organoid technology offers novel possibilities for studying these diseases. Organoid modeling in combination with emerging organ-on-a-chip approaches, induced-pluripotent stem cell technology, and genome editing render in vitro modeling of NDDs more robust and physiologically relevant. In this study, we review the principles underlying CNS organoid generation, their use in NDD research, and future perspectives in organoid technology. Finally, we discuss how advances in different fields could be combined to generate a multisystem organoid-on-a-chip model to investigate a specific class of NDDs, motor neuron diseases.
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Affiliation(s)
- Renata Vieira de Sá
- Department of Translational Neuroscience, University Medical Center Utrecht Brain Center, Utrecht University, Utrecht, The Netherlands
| | - Marta Cañizares Luna
- Department of Translational Neuroscience, University Medical Center Utrecht Brain Center, Utrecht University, Utrecht, The Netherlands
| | - R Jeroen Pasterkamp
- Department of Translational Neuroscience, University Medical Center Utrecht Brain Center, Utrecht University, Utrecht, The Netherlands
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29
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Arber C, Alatza A, Leckey CA, Paterson RW, Zetterberg H, Wray S. Mass spectrometry analysis of tau and amyloid-beta in iPSC-derived models of Alzheimer's disease and dementia. J Neurochem 2021; 159:305-317. [PMID: 33539581 PMCID: PMC8613538 DOI: 10.1111/jnc.15315] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/23/2020] [Revised: 01/18/2021] [Accepted: 01/25/2021] [Indexed: 12/11/2022]
Abstract
Induced pluripotent stem cell (iPSC) technology enables the generation of human neurons in vitro, which contain the precise genome of the cell donor, therefore permitting the generation of disease models from individuals with a disease-associated genotype of interest. This approach has been extensively used to model inherited forms of Alzheimer's disease and frontotemporal dementia. The combination of iPSC-derived neuronal models with targeted mass spectrometry analysis has provided unprecedented insights into the regulation of specific proteins in human neuronal physiology and pathology. For example enabling investigations into tau and APP/Aβ, specifically: protein isoform expression, relative levels of cleavage fragments, aggregated species and functionally critical post-translational modifications. The use of mass spectrometry has enabled a determination of how closely iPSC-derived models recapitulate disease profiles observed in the human brain. This review will highlight the progress to date in studies using iPSCs and mass spectrometry to model Alzheimer's disease and dementia. We go on to convey our optimism, as studies in the near future will make use of this precedent, together with novel techniques such as genome editing and stable isotope labelling, to provide real progress towards an in depth understanding of early neurodegenerative processes and development of novel therapeutic agents.
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Affiliation(s)
- Charles Arber
- Department of Neurodegenerative Disease, UCL Queen Square Institute of Neurology, University College London, London, UK
| | - Argyro Alatza
- Department of Neurodegenerative Disease, UCL Queen Square Institute of Neurology, University College London, London, UK
| | - Claire A Leckey
- Department of Neurodegenerative Disease, UCL Queen Square Institute of Neurology, University College London, London, UK.,Translational Mass Spectrometry Research Group, UCL Great Ormond Street Institute of Child Health, University College London, London, UK.,UK Dementia Research Institute at UCL, London, UK
| | - Ross W Paterson
- Department of Neurodegenerative Disease, UCL Queen Square Institute of Neurology, University College London, London, UK
| | - Henrik Zetterberg
- Department of Neurodegenerative Disease, UCL Queen Square Institute of Neurology, University College London, London, UK.,UK Dementia Research Institute at UCL, London, UK.,Department of Psychiatry and Neurochemistry, Institute of Neuroscience and Physiology, Sahlgrenska Academy at the University of Gothenburg, Mölndal, Sweden.,Clinical Neurochemistry Laboratory, Sahlgrenska University Hospital, Mölndal, Sweden
| | - Selina Wray
- Department of Neurodegenerative Disease, UCL Queen Square Institute of Neurology, University College London, London, UK
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Abstract
The history of Alzheimer's disease (AD) started in 1907, but we needed to wait until the end of the century to identify the components of pathological hallmarks and genetic subtypes and to formulate the first pathogenic hypothesis. Thanks to biomarkers and new technologies, the concept of AD then rapidly changed from a static view of an amnestic dementia of the presenium to a biological entity that could be clinically manifested as normal cognition or dementia of different types. What is clearly emerging from studies is that AD is heterogeneous in each aspect, such as amyloid composition, tau distribution, relation between amyloid and tau, clinical symptoms, and genetic background, and thus it is probably impossible to explain AD with a single pathological process. The scientific approach to AD suffers from chronological mismatches between clinical, pathological, and technological data, causing difficulty in conceiving diagnostic gold standards and in creating models for drug discovery and screening. A recent mathematical computer-based approach offers the opportunity to study AD in real life and to provide a new point of view and the final missing pieces of the AD puzzle.
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Affiliation(s)
- Camilla Ferrari
- Department of Neuroscience, Psychology, Drug Research, and Child Health (NEUROFARBA), University of Florence, Florence, Italy
| | - Sandro Sorbi
- Department of Neuroscience, Psychology, Drug Research, and Child Health (NEUROFARBA), University of Florence, Florence, Italy.,IRCCS Fondazione Don Carlo Gnocchi, Florence, Italy
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31
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Cellular Technologies in Traumatology: from Cells to Tissue Engineering. ACTA BIOMEDICA SCIENTIFICA 2021. [DOI: 10.29413/abs.2020-5.6.8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/12/2022] Open
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Caffrey TM, Button EB, Robert J. Toward three-dimensional in vitro models to study neurovascular unit functions in health and disease. Neural Regen Res 2021; 16:2132-2140. [PMID: 33818484 PMCID: PMC8354124 DOI: 10.4103/1673-5374.310671] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/12/2022] Open
Abstract
The high metabolic demands of the brain require an efficient vascular system to be coupled with neural activity to supply adequate nutrients and oxygen. This supply is coordinated by the action of neurons, glial and vascular cells, known collectively as the neurovascular unit, which temporally and spatially regulate local cerebral blood flow through a process known as neurovascular coupling. In many neurodegenerative diseases, changes in functions of the neurovascular unit not only impair neurovascular coupling but also permeability of the blood-brain barrier, cerebral blood flow and clearance of waste from the brain. In order to study disease mechanisms, we need improved physiologically-relevant human models of the neurovascular unit. Advances towards modeling the cellular complexity of the neurovascular unit in vitro have been made using stem-cell derived organoids and more recently, vascularized organoids, enabling intricate studies of non-cell autonomous processes. Engineering and design innovations in microfluidic devices and tissue engineering are progressing our ability to interrogate the cerebrovasculature. These advanced models are being used to gain a better understanding of neurodegenerative disease processes and potential therapeutics. Continued innovation is required to build more physiologically-relevant models of the neurovascular unit encompassing both the cellular complexity and designed features to interrogate neurovascular unit functionality.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tara M Caffrey
- Djavad Mowafaghian Center for Brain Health; Department of Pathology, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada
| | - Emily B Button
- Djavad Mowafaghian Center for Brain Health; Department of Pathology, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada
| | - Jerome Robert
- Institute of Clinical Chemistry, University Hospital of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
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33
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Current and future applications of induced pluripotent stem cell-based models to study pathological proteins in neurodegenerative disorders. Mol Psychiatry 2021; 26:2685-2706. [PMID: 33495544 PMCID: PMC8505258 DOI: 10.1038/s41380-020-00999-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/25/2020] [Revised: 12/02/2020] [Accepted: 12/09/2020] [Indexed: 12/13/2022]
Abstract
Neurodegenerative disorders emerge from the failure of intricate cellular mechanisms, which ultimately lead to the loss of vulnerable neuronal populations. Research conducted across several laboratories has now provided compelling evidence that pathogenic proteins can also contribute to non-cell autonomous toxicity in several neurodegenerative contexts, including Alzheimer's, Parkinson's, and Huntington's diseases as well as Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis. Given the nearly ubiquitous nature of abnormal protein accumulation in such disorders, elucidating the mechanisms and routes underlying these processes is essential to the development of effective treatments. To this end, physiologically relevant human in vitro models are critical to understand the processes surrounding uptake, release and nucleation under physiological or pathological conditions. This review explores the use of human-induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) to study prion-like protein propagation in neurodegenerative diseases, discusses advantages and limitations of this model, and presents emerging technologies that, combined with the use of iPSC-based models, will provide powerful model systems to propel fundamental research forward.
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34
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Yin J, VanDongen AM. Enhanced Neuronal Activity and Asynchronous Calcium Transients Revealed in a 3D Organoid Model of Alzheimer's Disease. ACS Biomater Sci Eng 2020; 7:254-264. [PMID: 33347288 DOI: 10.1021/acsbiomaterials.0c01583] [Citation(s) in RCA: 28] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/18/2022]
Abstract
Advances in the development of three-dimensional (3D) brain organoids maintained in vitro have provided excellent opportunities to study brain development and neurodegenerative disorders, including Alzheimer's disease (AD). However, there remains a need to generate AD organoids bearing patient-specific genomic backgrounds that can functionally recapitulate the key features observed in the AD patient's brain. To address this need, we described a strategy to generate self-organizing 3D cerebral organoids which develop a functional neuronal network connectivity. This was achieved by neuroectoderm induction of human pluripotent stem cell (hPSCs) aggregates and subsequent differentiation into desired neuroepithelia and mature neurons in a 3D Matrigel matrix. Using this approach, we successfully generated AD cerebral organoids from human pluripotent stem cells (hPSCs) derived from a familial AD patient with a common mutation in presenilin 2 (PSEN2N141I). An isogenic control with an identical genetic background but wild-type PSEN2 was generated using CRISPR/Cas9 technology. Both control and AD organoids were characterized by analyzing their morphology, the Aβ42/Aβ40 ratio, functional neuronal network activity, drug sensitivity, and the extent of neural apoptosis. The spontaneous activity of the network and its synchronization was measured in the organoids via calcium imaging. We found that compared with the mutation-corrected control organoids, AD organoids had a higher Aβ42/Aβ40 ratio, asynchronous calcium transients, and enhanced neuronal hyperactivity, successfully recapitulating an AD-like pathology at the molecular, cellular, and network level in a human genetic context. Moreover, two drugs which increase neuronal activity, 4-aminopyridine (4-AP) and bicuculline methochloride, induced high-frequency synchronized network bursting to a similar extent in both organoids. Therefore, our study presents a promising organoid-based biosystem for the study of the pathophysiology of AD and a platform for AD drug development.
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Affiliation(s)
- Juan Yin
- Program in Neuroscience and Behavioural Disorders, Duke-NUS Medical School, 169857, Singapore
| | - Antonius M VanDongen
- Program in Neuroscience and Behavioural Disorders, Duke-NUS Medical School, 169857, Singapore
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35
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Wu Q, Shaikh MA, Meymand ES, Zhang B, Luk KC, Trojanowski JQ, Lee VMY. Neuronal activity modulates alpha-synuclein aggregation and spreading in organotypic brain slice cultures and in vivo. Acta Neuropathol 2020; 140:831-849. [PMID: 33021680 DOI: 10.1007/s00401-020-02227-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 30] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/24/2020] [Revised: 09/15/2020] [Accepted: 09/16/2020] [Indexed: 12/11/2022]
Abstract
Alpha-synuclein (αSyn) preformed fibrils (PFF) induce endogenous αSyn aggregation leading to reduced synaptic transmission. Neuronal activity modulates release of αSyn; however, whether neuronal activity regulates the spreading of αSyn pathology remains elusive. Here, we established a hippocampal slice culture system from wild-type (WT) mice and found that both Ca2+ influx and the uptake of αSyn PFF were higher in the CA3 than in the CA1 sub-region. Pharmacologically enhancing neuronal activity substantially increased αSyn pathology in αSyn PFF-treated hippocampal or midbrain slice cultures and accelerated dopaminergic neuron degeneration. Consistently, neuronal hyperactivity promoted PFF trafficking along axons/dendrites within microfluidic chambers. Unexpectedly, enhancing neuronal activity in LRRK2 G2019S mutant slice cultures further increased αSyn pathology, especially with more Lewy body (LB) forming than in WT slice cultures. Finally, following injection of αSyn PFF and chemogenetic modulators into the dorsal striatum of WT mice, both motor behavior and αSyn pathology were exacerbated likely by enhancing neuronal activity, since they were ameliorated by reducing neuronal activity. Thus, a greater understanding of the impact of neuronal activity on αSyn aggregation and spreading, as well as dopaminergic neuronal vulnerability, may provide new therapeutic strategies for patients with LB disease (LBD).
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Affiliation(s)
- Qihui Wu
- Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, Institute on Aging and Center for Neurodegenerative Disease Research, University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine, Philadelphia, PA, 19104-4283, USA
| | - Muhammad A Shaikh
- Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, Institute on Aging and Center for Neurodegenerative Disease Research, University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine, Philadelphia, PA, 19104-4283, USA
| | - Emily S Meymand
- Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, Institute on Aging and Center for Neurodegenerative Disease Research, University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine, Philadelphia, PA, 19104-4283, USA
| | - Bin Zhang
- Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, Institute on Aging and Center for Neurodegenerative Disease Research, University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine, Philadelphia, PA, 19104-4283, USA
| | - Kelvin C Luk
- Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, Institute on Aging and Center for Neurodegenerative Disease Research, University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine, Philadelphia, PA, 19104-4283, USA
| | - John Q Trojanowski
- Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, Institute on Aging and Center for Neurodegenerative Disease Research, University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine, Philadelphia, PA, 19104-4283, USA
| | - Virginia M-Y Lee
- Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, Institute on Aging and Center for Neurodegenerative Disease Research, University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine, Philadelphia, PA, 19104-4283, USA.
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Kolagar TA, Farzaneh M, Nikkar N, Khoshnam SE. Human Pluripotent Stem Cells in Neurodegenerative Diseases: Potentials, Advances and Limitations. Curr Stem Cell Res Ther 2020; 15:102-110. [PMID: 31441732 DOI: 10.2174/1574888x14666190823142911] [Citation(s) in RCA: 35] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/06/2019] [Revised: 06/15/2019] [Accepted: 07/17/2019] [Indexed: 12/14/2022]
Abstract
Neurodegenerative diseases are progressive and uncontrolled gradual loss of motor neurons function or death of neuron cells in the central nervous system (CNS) and the mechanisms underlying their progressive nature remain elusive. There is urgent need to investigate therapeutic strategies and novel treatments for neural regeneration in disorders like Alzheimer's disease (AD), Parkinson's disease (PD), amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), and multiple sclerosis (MS). Currently, the development and identification of pluripotent stem cells enabling the acquisition of a large number of neural cells in order to improve cell recovery after neurodegenerative disorders. Pluripotent stem cells which consist of embryonic stem cells (ESCs) and induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) are characterized by their ability to indefinitely self-renew and the capacity to differentiate into different types of cells. The first human ESC lines were established from donated human embryos; while, because of a limited supply of donor embryos, human ESCs derivation remains ethically and politically controversial. Hence, hiPSCs-based therapies have been shown as an effective replacement for human ESCs without embryo destruction. Compared to the invasive methods for derivation of human ESCs, human iPSCs has opened possible to reprogram patient-specific cells by defined factors and with minimally invasive procedures. Human pluripotent stem cells are a good source for cell-based research, cell replacement therapies and disease modeling. To date, hundreds of human ESC and human iPSC lines have been generated with the aim of treating various neurodegenerative diseases. In this review, we have highlighted the recent potentials, advances, and limitations of human pluripotent stem cells for the treatment of neurodegenerative disorders.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tannaz Akbari Kolagar
- Faculty of Biological Sciences, Tehran North Branch, Islamic Azad University, Tehran, Iran
| | - Maryam Farzaneh
- Department of Stem Cells and Developmental Biology, Cell Science Research Center, Royan Institute for Stem Cell Biology and Technology, ACECR, Tehran, Iran
| | - Negin Nikkar
- Department of Biology, Faculty of Sciences, Alzahra University, Tehran, Iran
| | - Seyed Esmaeil Khoshnam
- Physiology Research Center, Ahvaz Jundishapur University of Medical Sciences, Ahvaz, Iran
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37
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Rai MA, Hammonds J, Pujato M, Mayhew C, Roskin K, Spearman P. Comparative analysis of human microglial models for studies of HIV replication and pathogenesis. Retrovirology 2020; 17:35. [PMID: 33213476 PMCID: PMC7678224 DOI: 10.1186/s12977-020-00544-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 33] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/13/2020] [Accepted: 11/09/2020] [Indexed: 12/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Background HIV associated neurocognitive disorders cause significant morbidity and mortality despite the advent of highly active antiretroviral therapy. A deeper understanding of fundamental mechanisms underlying HIV infection and pathogenesis in the central nervous system is warranted. Microglia are resident myeloid cells of the brain that are readily infected by HIV and may constitute a CNS reservoir. We evaluated two microglial model cell lines (C20, HMC3) and two sources of primary cell-derived microglia (monocyte-derived microglia [MMG] and induced pluripotent stem cell-derived microglia [iPSC-MG]) as potential model systems for studying HIV-microglia interactions. Results All four microglial model cells expressed typical myeloid markers with the exception of low or absent CD45 and CD11b expression by C20 and HMC3, and all four expressed the microglia-specific markers P2RY12 and TMEM119. Marked differences were observed upon gene expression profiling, however, indicating that MMG and iPSC-MG cluster closely together with primary human microglial cells, while C20 and HMC3 were similar to each other but very different from primary microglia. Expression of HIV-relevant genes also revealed important differences, with iPSC-MG and MMG expressing relevant genes at levels more closely resembling primary microglia. iPSC-MG and MMG were readily infected with R5-tropic HIV, while C20 and HMC3 lack CD4 and require pseudotyping for infection. Despite many similarities, HIV replication dynamics and HIV-1 particle capture by Siglec-1 differed markedly between the MMG and iPSC-MG. Conclusions MMG and iPSC-MG appear to be viable microglial models that are susceptible to HIV infection and bear more similarities to authentic microglia than two transformed microglia cell lines. The observed differences in HIV replication and particle capture between MMG and iPSC-MG warrant further study.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mohammad A Rai
- Division of Infectious Diseases, Cincinnati Children's Hospital, 3333 Burnet Avenue, MLC 7017, Cincinnati, OH, 45229, USA.,Division of Infectious Diseases, Department of Medicine, University of Cincinnati School of Medicine, Cincinnati, OH, USA
| | - Jason Hammonds
- Division of Infectious Diseases, Cincinnati Children's Hospital, 3333 Burnet Avenue, MLC 7017, Cincinnati, OH, 45229, USA.,Department of Pediatrics, University of Cincinnati School of Medicine, Cincinnati, OH, USA
| | - Mario Pujato
- Division of Biomedical Informatics, Cincinnati Children's Hospital, Cincinnati, OH, USA.,Department of Pediatrics, University of Cincinnati School of Medicine, Cincinnati, OH, USA
| | - Christopher Mayhew
- Pluripotent Stem Cell Core Facility, Cincinnati Children's Hospital, Cincinnati, OH, USA
| | - Krishna Roskin
- Division of Biomedical Informatics, Cincinnati Children's Hospital, Cincinnati, OH, USA.,Department of Pediatrics, University of Cincinnati School of Medicine, Cincinnati, OH, USA
| | - Paul Spearman
- Division of Infectious Diseases, Cincinnati Children's Hospital, 3333 Burnet Avenue, MLC 7017, Cincinnati, OH, 45229, USA. .,Department of Pediatrics, University of Cincinnati School of Medicine, Cincinnati, OH, USA.
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Fang J, Pieper AA, Nussinov R, Lee G, Bekris L, Leverenz JB, Cummings J, Cheng F. Harnessing endophenotypes and network medicine for Alzheimer's drug repurposing. Med Res Rev 2020; 40:2386-2426. [PMID: 32656864 PMCID: PMC7561446 DOI: 10.1002/med.21709] [Citation(s) in RCA: 46] [Impact Index Per Article: 11.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/26/2019] [Revised: 06/23/2020] [Accepted: 06/27/2020] [Indexed: 12/16/2022]
Abstract
Following two decades of more than 400 clinical trials centered on the "one drug, one target, one disease" paradigm, there is still no effective disease-modifying therapy for Alzheimer's disease (AD). The inherent complexity of AD may challenge this reductionist strategy. Recent observations and advances in network medicine further indicate that AD likely shares common underlying mechanisms and intermediate pathophenotypes, or endophenotypes, with other diseases. In this review, we consider AD pathobiology, disease comorbidity, pleiotropy, and therapeutic development, and construct relevant endophenotype networks to guide future therapeutic development. Specifically, we discuss six main endophenotype hypotheses in AD: amyloidosis, tauopathy, neuroinflammation, mitochondrial dysfunction, vascular dysfunction, and lysosomal dysfunction. We further consider how this endophenotype network framework can provide advances in computational and experimental strategies for drug-repurposing and identification of new candidate therapeutic strategies for patients suffering from or at risk for AD. We highlight new opportunities for endophenotype-informed, drug discovery in AD, by exploiting multi-omics data. Integration of genomics, transcriptomics, radiomics, pharmacogenomics, and interactomics (protein-protein interactions) are essential for successful drug discovery. We describe experimental technologies for AD drug discovery including human induced pluripotent stem cells, transgenic mouse/rat models, and population-based retrospective case-control studies that may be integrated with multi-omics in a network medicine methodology. In summary, endophenotype-based network medicine methodologies will promote AD therapeutic development that will optimize the usefulness of available data and support deep phenotyping of the patient heterogeneity for personalized medicine in AD.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jiansong Fang
- Science and Technology Innovation Center, Guangzhou University of Chinese Medicine, Guangzhou, Guangdong 510006, China
- Genomic Medicine Institute, Lerner Research Institute, Cleveland Clinic, Cleveland, OH 44195, USA
| | - Andrew A Pieper
- Harrington Discovery Institute, University Hospital Case Medical Center; Department of Psychiatry, Case Western Reserve University, Geriatric Research Education and Clinical Centers, Louis Stokes Cleveland VAMC, Cleveland, OH 44106, USA
| | - Ruth Nussinov
- Cancer and Inflammation Program, Leidos Biomedical Research, Inc., Frederick National Laboratory for Cancer Research, National Cancer Institute at Frederick, Frederick, MD 21702, USA
- Department of Human Molecular Genetics and Biochemistry, Sackler School of Medicine, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv 69978, Israel
| | - Garam Lee
- Cleveland Clinic Lou Ruvo Center for Brain Health, Las Vegas, NV 89106, USA
| | - Lynn Bekris
- Genomic Medicine Institute, Lerner Research Institute, Cleveland Clinic, Cleveland, OH 44195, USA
- Department of Molecular Medicine, Cleveland Clinic Lerner College of Medicine, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, OH 44195, USA
| | - James B. Leverenz
- Lou Ruvo Center for Brain Health, Neurological Institute, Cleveland Clinic, Cleveland, OH 44195, USA
| | - Jeffrey Cummings
- Cleveland Clinic Lou Ruvo Center for Brain Health, Las Vegas, NV 89106, USA
- Department of Brain Health, School of Integrated Health Sciences, UNLV, Las Vegas, NV 89154, USA
| | - Feixiong Cheng
- Genomic Medicine Institute, Lerner Research Institute, Cleveland Clinic, Cleveland, OH 44195, USA
- Department of Molecular Medicine, Cleveland Clinic Lerner College of Medicine, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, OH 44195, USA
- Case Comprehensive Cancer Center, Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine, Cleveland, Ohio 44106, USA
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Pasteuning-Vuhman S, de Jongh R, Timmers A, Pasterkamp RJ. Towards Advanced iPSC-based Drug Development for Neurodegenerative Disease. Trends Mol Med 2020; 27:263-279. [PMID: 33121873 DOI: 10.1016/j.molmed.2020.09.013] [Citation(s) in RCA: 29] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/05/2020] [Revised: 09/27/2020] [Accepted: 09/28/2020] [Indexed: 12/12/2022]
Abstract
Neurodegenerative diseases (NDDs) are a heterogeneous group of diseases that are characterized by the progressive loss of neurons leading to motor, sensory, and/or cognitive defects. Currently, NDDs are not curable and treatment focuses on alleviating symptoms and halting disease progression. Phenotypic heterogeneity between individual NDD patients, lack of robust biomarkers, the limited translational potential of experimental models, and other factors have hampered drug development for the treatment of NDDs. This review summarizes and discusses the use of induced pluripotent stem cell (iPSC) approaches for improving drug discovery and testing. It highlights challenges associated with iPSC modeling and also discusses innovative approaches such as brain organoids and microfluidic-based technology which will improve drug development for NDDs.
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Affiliation(s)
- Svetlana Pasteuning-Vuhman
- Department of Translational Neuroscience, University Medical Center Utrecht Brain Center, Utrecht University, Utrecht, The Netherlands
| | - Rianne de Jongh
- Department of Translational Neuroscience, University Medical Center Utrecht Brain Center, Utrecht University, Utrecht, The Netherlands
| | - Annabel Timmers
- Department of Translational Neuroscience, University Medical Center Utrecht Brain Center, Utrecht University, Utrecht, The Netherlands
| | - R Jeroen Pasterkamp
- Department of Translational Neuroscience, University Medical Center Utrecht Brain Center, Utrecht University, Utrecht, The Netherlands.
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40
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Serneels L, T'Syen D, Perez-Benito L, Theys T, Holt MG, De Strooper B. Modeling the β-secretase cleavage site and humanizing amyloid-beta precursor protein in rat and mouse to study Alzheimer's disease. Mol Neurodegener 2020; 15:60. [PMID: 33076948 PMCID: PMC7574558 DOI: 10.1186/s13024-020-00399-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 31] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/29/2020] [Accepted: 08/18/2020] [Indexed: 12/31/2022] Open
Abstract
Background Three amino acid differences between rodent and human APP affect medically important features, including β-secretase cleavage of APP and Aβ peptide aggregation (De Strooper et al., EMBO J 14:4932-38, 1995; Ueno et al., Biochemistry 53:7523-30, 2014; Bush, 2003, Trends Neurosci 26:207–14). Most rodent models for Alzheimer’s disease (AD) are, therefore, based on the human APP sequence, expressed from artificial mini-genes randomly inserted in the rodent genome. While these models mimic rather well various biochemical aspects of the disease, such as Aβ-aggregation, they are also prone to overexpression artifacts and to complex phenotypical alterations, due to genes affected in or close to the insertion site(s) of the mini-genes (Sasaguri et al., EMBO J 36:2473-87, 2017; Goodwin et al., Genome Res 29:494-505, 2019). Knock-in strategies which introduce clinical mutants in a humanized endogenous rodent APP sequence (Saito et al., Nat Neurosci 17:661-3, 2014) represent useful improvements, but need to be compared with appropriate humanized wildtype (WT) mice. Methods Computational modelling of the human β-CTF bound to BACE1 was used to study the differential processing of rodent and human APP. We humanized the three pivotal residues we identified G676R, F681Y and R684H (labeled according to the human APP770 isoform) in the mouse and rat genomes using a CRISPR-Cas9 approach. These new models, termed mouse and rat Apphu/hu, express APP from the endogenous promotor. We also introduced the early-onset familial Alzheimer’s disease (FAD) mutation M139T into the endogenous Rat Psen1 gene. Results We show that introducing these three amino acid substitutions into the rodent sequence lowers the affinity of the APP substrate for BACE1 cleavage. The effect on β-secretase processing was confirmed as both humanized rodent models produce three times more (human) Aβ compared to the original WT strain. These models represent suitable controls, or starting points, for studying the effect of transgenes or knock-in mutations on APP processing (Saito et al., Nat Neurosci 17:661-3, 2014). We introduced the early-onset familial Alzheimer’s disease (FAD) mutation M139T into the endogenous Rat Psen1 gene and provide an initial characterization of Aβ processing in this novel rat AD model. Conclusion The different humanized APP models (rat and mouse) expressing human Aβ and PSEN1 M139T are valuable controls to study APP processing in vivo allowing the use of a human Aβ ELISA which is more sensitive than the equivalent system for rodents. These animals will be made available to the research community.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lutgarde Serneels
- Centre for Brain and Disease Research, Flanders Institute for Biotechnology (VIB), Leuven, Belgium.,Department of Neurosciences and Leuven Brain Institute, KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium
| | - Dries T'Syen
- Centre for Brain and Disease Research, Flanders Institute for Biotechnology (VIB), Leuven, Belgium.,Department of Neurosciences and Leuven Brain Institute, KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium
| | - Laura Perez-Benito
- Computational Chemistry, Janssen Research & Development, Janssen Pharmaceutica NV, Beerse, Belgium
| | - Tom Theys
- Department of Neurosciences, Research Group Experimental Neurosurgery and Neuroanatomy, KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium
| | - Matthew G Holt
- Centre for Brain and Disease Research, Flanders Institute for Biotechnology (VIB), Leuven, Belgium.,Department of Neurosciences and Leuven Brain Institute, KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium
| | - Bart De Strooper
- Centre for Brain and Disease Research, Flanders Institute for Biotechnology (VIB), Leuven, Belgium. .,Department of Neurosciences and Leuven Brain Institute, KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium. .,UK Dementia Research Institute at UCL, University College London, London, UK.
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Lin L, Liu A, Li H, Feng J, Yan Z. Inhibition of Histone Methyltransferases EHMT1/2 Reverses Amyloid-β-Induced Loss of AMPAR Currents in Human Stem Cell-Derived Cortical Neurons. J Alzheimers Dis 2020; 70:1175-1185. [PMID: 31322566 DOI: 10.3233/jad-190190] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/12/2022]
Abstract
Emerging evidence suggests that epigenetic dysregulation of gene expression is one of the key molecular mechanisms of neurodegeneration and Alzheimer's disease (AD). However, little is known about the role of epigenetic dysregulation on synaptic dysfunction in humans, because of the difficulties of obtaining live human neurons. Here we generated mature human cortical neurons differentiated from human embryonic stem cells, and exposed them to amyloid-β (Aβ). We found that the histone methyltransferase, EHMT1, which catalyzes histone lysine 9 dimethylation (H3K9me2, a mark for gene repression), was significantly elevated in Aβ-treated human stem cell-derived neurons. Aβ treatment led to a significant reduction of AMPAR-mediated whole-cell current and excitatory postsynaptic current. Application of BIX01294, a selective inhibitor of EHMT1/2, restored AMPAR currents and glutamatergic synaptic transmission in Aβ-treated human cortical neurons. These results suggest that inhibition of the aberrant histone methylation is a novel approach to reverse Aβ-induced synaptic deficits in human neurons.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lin Lin
- Department of Physiology and Biophysics, State University of New York at Buffalo, School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, Buffalo, NY, USA
| | - Aiyi Liu
- Department of Physiology and Biophysics, State University of New York at Buffalo, School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, Buffalo, NY, USA
| | - Hanqin Li
- Department of Physiology and Biophysics, State University of New York at Buffalo, School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, Buffalo, NY, USA.,Veterans Affairs Western New York Healthcare System, Buffalo, NY, USA
| | - Jian Feng
- Department of Physiology and Biophysics, State University of New York at Buffalo, School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, Buffalo, NY, USA.,Veterans Affairs Western New York Healthcare System, Buffalo, NY, USA
| | - Zhen Yan
- Department of Physiology and Biophysics, State University of New York at Buffalo, School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, Buffalo, NY, USA.,Veterans Affairs Western New York Healthcare System, Buffalo, NY, USA
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Cai H, Ao Z, Hu L, Moon Y, Wu Z, Lu HC, Kim J, Guo F. Acoustofluidic assembly of 3D neurospheroids to model Alzheimer's disease. Analyst 2020; 145:6243-6253. [PMID: 32840509 PMCID: PMC7530134 DOI: 10.1039/d0an01373k] [Citation(s) in RCA: 37] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/16/2022]
Abstract
Neuroinflammation plays a central role in the progression of many neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer's disease, and challenges remain in modeling the complex pathological or physiological processes. Here, we report an acoustofluidic method that can rapidly construct 3D neurospheroids and inflammatory microenvironments for modeling microglia-mediated neuroinflammation in Alzheimer's disease. By incorporating a unique contactless and label-free acoustic assembly, this cell culture platform can assemble dissociated embryonic mouse brain cells into hundreds of uniform 3D neurospheroids with controlled cell numbers, composition (e.g. neurons, astrocytes, and microglia), and environmental components (e.g. amyloid-β aggregates) in hydrogel within minutes. Moreover, this platform can maintain and monitor the interaction among neurons, astrocytes, microglia, and amyloid-β aggregates in real-time for several days to weeks, after the integration of a high-throughput, time-lapse cell imaging approach. We demonstrated that our engineered 3D neurospheroids can represent the amyloid-β neurotoxicity, which is one of the main pathological features of Alzheimer's disease. Using this method, we also investigated the microglia migratory behaviors and activation in the engineered 3D inflammatory microenvironment at a high throughput manner, which is not easy to achieve in 2D neuronal cultures or animal models. Along with the simple fabrication and setup, the acoustofluidic technology is compatible with conventional Petri dishes and well-plates, supports the fine-tuning of the cellular and environmental components of 3D neurospheroids, and enables the high-throughput cellular interaction investigation. We believe our technology may be widely used to facilitate 3D in vitro brain models for modeling neurodegenerative diseases, discovering new drugs, and testing neurotoxicity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hongwei Cai
- Department of Intelligent Systems Engineering, Indiana University, Bloomington, Indiana 47405, USA.
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Quarta A, Meese T, Pieters Z, Van Breedam E, Le Blon D, Van Broeckhoven J, Hendrix S, Goossens H, Hens N, Berneman Z, Van Nieuwerburgh F, Ponsaerts P. Murine induced pluripotent stem cell-derived neuroimmune cell culture models emphasize opposite immune-effector functions of interleukin 13-primed microglia and macrophages in terms of neuroimmune toxicity. Glia 2020; 69:326-345. [PMID: 32865285 DOI: 10.1002/glia.23899] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/26/2020] [Revised: 07/28/2020] [Accepted: 07/30/2020] [Indexed: 12/19/2022]
Abstract
Cellular models of induced pluripotent stem cell (iPSC)-derived microglia and macrophages are an emerging toolbox to investigate neuroinflammation in vitro. We previously demonstrated that murine iPSC-microglia and iPSC-macrophages display phenotypical activation properties highly comparable to microglia and macrophages in vivo. Here we extended the characterization of iPSC-microglia and iPSC-macrophages with the analysis of their transcriptome profile. Next, these cellular models were employed to evaluate neuroimmune toxicity in vitro and to investigate the immune-modulatory properties of interleukin 13 (IL13), a cytokine known for its ability to protect against neuroinflammation-induced pathology by modulating microglia and macrophage activation. iPSC-microglia and iPSC-macrophages, in co-culture with astrocyte-committed neural stem cells (NSC), were (pre)treated with IL13 and stimulated with lipopolysaccharide (LPS) and interferon γ (IFNγ), to assess how IL13 modulates their inflammatory response. Additionally, the use of luciferase-expressing NSC (Luc-NSC) allowed real-time monitoring of immune-mediated neurotoxicity. Despite the known anti-inflammatory properties of IL13, iPSC-microglia primed with IL13 before LPS + IFNγ stimulation significantly increased NO secretion. This was associated with a marked reduction of the luminescence signal produced by Luc-NSC. Interestingly, we observed that IL13 signaling has a divergent functional outcome in microglia as compared to macrophages, as for the latter no major alterations in NO release and Luc-NSC viability were observed upon IL13 (pre)treatment. Finally, the striking IL13-induced upregulation of NO secretion by microglia under pro-inflammatory conditions was confirmed in vivo, where intracerebral delivery of IL13 increased inducible nitric oxide synthase mRNA expression. Concluding, we applied iPSC-derived neuroimmune cell culture models to identify distinct neuroimmune (toxicity) responses of microglia and macrophages to IL13-based immune modulation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alessandra Quarta
- Laboratory of Experimental Hematology, University of Antwerp, Antwerp, Belgium.,Vaccine and Infectious Disease Institute (Vaxinfectio), University of Antwerp, Antwerp, Belgium
| | - Tim Meese
- Laboratory of Pharmaceutical Biotechnology, Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium
| | - Zoë Pieters
- Vaccine and Infectious Disease Institute (Vaxinfectio), University of Antwerp, Antwerp, Belgium.,Interuniversity Institute for Biostatistics and Statistical Bioinformatics (I-BioStat), Data Science Institute, Hasselt University, Hasselt, Belgium.,Centre for Health Economics Research and Modelling Infectious Diseases, University of Antwerp, Antwerp, Belgium
| | - Elise Van Breedam
- Laboratory of Experimental Hematology, University of Antwerp, Antwerp, Belgium.,Vaccine and Infectious Disease Institute (Vaxinfectio), University of Antwerp, Antwerp, Belgium
| | - Debbie Le Blon
- Laboratory of Experimental Hematology, University of Antwerp, Antwerp, Belgium.,Vaccine and Infectious Disease Institute (Vaxinfectio), University of Antwerp, Antwerp, Belgium
| | - Jana Van Broeckhoven
- Department of Immunology and Infection, Biomedical Research Institute, Hasselt University, Diepenbeek, Belgium
| | - Sven Hendrix
- Department of Immunology and Infection, Biomedical Research Institute, Hasselt University, Diepenbeek, Belgium
| | - Herman Goossens
- Vaccine and Infectious Disease Institute (Vaxinfectio), University of Antwerp, Antwerp, Belgium
| | - Niel Hens
- Vaccine and Infectious Disease Institute (Vaxinfectio), University of Antwerp, Antwerp, Belgium.,Interuniversity Institute for Biostatistics and Statistical Bioinformatics (I-BioStat), Data Science Institute, Hasselt University, Hasselt, Belgium.,Centre for Health Economics Research and Modelling Infectious Diseases, University of Antwerp, Antwerp, Belgium
| | - Zwi Berneman
- Laboratory of Experimental Hematology, University of Antwerp, Antwerp, Belgium.,Vaccine and Infectious Disease Institute (Vaxinfectio), University of Antwerp, Antwerp, Belgium
| | - Filip Van Nieuwerburgh
- Laboratory of Pharmaceutical Biotechnology, Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium
| | - Peter Ponsaerts
- Laboratory of Experimental Hematology, University of Antwerp, Antwerp, Belgium.,Vaccine and Infectious Disease Institute (Vaxinfectio), University of Antwerp, Antwerp, Belgium
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Pomeshchik Y, Klementieva O, Gil J, Martinsson I, Hansen MG, de Vries T, Sancho-Balsells A, Russ K, Savchenko E, Collin A, Vaz AR, Bagnoli S, Nacmias B, Rampon C, Sorbi S, Brites D, Marko-Varga G, Kokaia Z, Rezeli M, Gouras GK, Roybon L. Human iPSC-Derived Hippocampal Spheroids: An Innovative Tool for Stratifying Alzheimer Disease Patient-Specific Cellular Phenotypes and Developing Therapies. Stem Cell Reports 2020; 15:256-273. [PMID: 32589876 PMCID: PMC7363942 DOI: 10.1016/j.stemcr.2020.06.001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 34] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/13/2019] [Revised: 06/01/2020] [Accepted: 06/01/2020] [Indexed: 12/12/2022] Open
Abstract
The hippocampus is important for memory formation and is severely affected in the brain with Alzheimer disease (AD). Our understanding of early pathogenic processes occurring in hippocampi in AD is limited due to tissue unavailability. Here, we report a chemical approach to rapidly generate free-floating hippocampal spheroids (HSs), from human induced pluripotent stem cells. When used to model AD, both APP and atypical PS1 variant HSs displayed increased Aβ42/Aβ40 peptide ratios and decreased synaptic protein levels, which are common features of AD. However, the two variants differed in tau hyperphosphorylation, protein aggregation, and protein network alterations. NeuroD1-mediated gene therapy in HSs-derived progenitors resulted in modulation of expression of numerous genes, including those involved in synaptic transmission. Thus, HSs can be harnessed to unravel the mechanisms underlying early pathogenic changes in the hippocampi of AD patients, and provide a robust platform for the development of therapeutic strategies targeting early stage AD.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yuriy Pomeshchik
- iPSC Laboratory for CNS Disease Modeling, Department of Experimental Medical Science, BMC D10, Lund University, Lund SE-221 84, Sweden; Strategic Research Area MultiPark, Lund University, Lund SE-221 84, Sweden; Lund Stem Cell Center, Lund University, Lund SE-221 84, Sweden
| | - Oxana Klementieva
- Strategic Research Area MultiPark, Lund University, Lund SE-221 84, Sweden; Medical Microspectroscopy, Department of Experimental Medical Science, BMC B11, Lund University, Lund SE-221 84, Sweden; Experimental Dementia Research Unit, Department of Experimental Medical Science, BMC B11, Lund University, Lund SE-221 84, Sweden
| | - Jeovanis Gil
- Clinical Protein Science and Imaging, Department of Biomedical Engineering, BMC D13, Lund University, Lund SE-221 84, Sweden
| | - Isak Martinsson
- Strategic Research Area MultiPark, Lund University, Lund SE-221 84, Sweden; Experimental Dementia Research Unit, Department of Experimental Medical Science, BMC B11, Lund University, Lund SE-221 84, Sweden
| | - Marita Grønning Hansen
- Lund Stem Cell Center, Lund University, Lund SE-221 84, Sweden; Laboratory of Stem Cells and Restorative Neurology, Department of Clinical Sciences, BMC B10, Lund University, Lund SE-221 84, Sweden
| | - Tessa de Vries
- iPSC Laboratory for CNS Disease Modeling, Department of Experimental Medical Science, BMC D10, Lund University, Lund SE-221 84, Sweden; Strategic Research Area MultiPark, Lund University, Lund SE-221 84, Sweden; Lund Stem Cell Center, Lund University, Lund SE-221 84, Sweden
| | - Anna Sancho-Balsells
- iPSC Laboratory for CNS Disease Modeling, Department of Experimental Medical Science, BMC D10, Lund University, Lund SE-221 84, Sweden; Strategic Research Area MultiPark, Lund University, Lund SE-221 84, Sweden; Lund Stem Cell Center, Lund University, Lund SE-221 84, Sweden
| | - Kaspar Russ
- iPSC Laboratory for CNS Disease Modeling, Department of Experimental Medical Science, BMC D10, Lund University, Lund SE-221 84, Sweden; Strategic Research Area MultiPark, Lund University, Lund SE-221 84, Sweden; Lund Stem Cell Center, Lund University, Lund SE-221 84, Sweden
| | - Ekaterina Savchenko
- iPSC Laboratory for CNS Disease Modeling, Department of Experimental Medical Science, BMC D10, Lund University, Lund SE-221 84, Sweden; Strategic Research Area MultiPark, Lund University, Lund SE-221 84, Sweden; Lund Stem Cell Center, Lund University, Lund SE-221 84, Sweden
| | - Anna Collin
- Department of Clinical Genetics and Pathology, Office for Medical Services, Lund SE-221 85, Sweden
| | - Ana Rita Vaz
- Research Institute for Medicines (iMed.ULisboa), Faculty of Pharmacy, Universidade de Lisboa, Lisbon, Portugal; Department of Biochemistry and Human Biology, Faculty of Pharmacy, Universidade de Lisboa, Lisbon, Portugal
| | - Silvia Bagnoli
- Laboratorio di Neurogenetica, Dipartimento di Neuroscienze, Psicologia, Area del Farmaco e Salute del Bambino- NEUROFARBA, Università degli Studi di Firenze, Florence 50134, Italy; IRCCS Fondazione Don Carlo Gnocchi, Florence, Italy
| | - Benedetta Nacmias
- Laboratorio di Neurogenetica, Dipartimento di Neuroscienze, Psicologia, Area del Farmaco e Salute del Bambino- NEUROFARBA, Università degli Studi di Firenze, Florence 50134, Italy; IRCCS Fondazione Don Carlo Gnocchi, Florence, Italy
| | - Claire Rampon
- Centre de Recherches sur la Cognition Animale (CRCA), Centre de Biologie Intégrative (CBI), Université de Toulouse; CNRS, UPS, Toulouse Cedex 9, France
| | - Sandro Sorbi
- Laboratorio di Neurogenetica, Dipartimento di Neuroscienze, Psicologia, Area del Farmaco e Salute del Bambino- NEUROFARBA, Università degli Studi di Firenze, Florence 50134, Italy; IRCCS Fondazione Don Carlo Gnocchi, Florence, Italy
| | - Dora Brites
- Research Institute for Medicines (iMed.ULisboa), Faculty of Pharmacy, Universidade de Lisboa, Lisbon, Portugal; Department of Biochemistry and Human Biology, Faculty of Pharmacy, Universidade de Lisboa, Lisbon, Portugal
| | - György Marko-Varga
- Clinical Protein Science and Imaging, Department of Biomedical Engineering, BMC D13, Lund University, Lund SE-221 84, Sweden
| | - Zaal Kokaia
- Lund Stem Cell Center, Lund University, Lund SE-221 84, Sweden; Laboratory of Stem Cells and Restorative Neurology, Department of Clinical Sciences, BMC B10, Lund University, Lund SE-221 84, Sweden
| | - Melinda Rezeli
- Clinical Protein Science and Imaging, Department of Biomedical Engineering, BMC D13, Lund University, Lund SE-221 84, Sweden
| | - Gunnar K Gouras
- Strategic Research Area MultiPark, Lund University, Lund SE-221 84, Sweden; Experimental Dementia Research Unit, Department of Experimental Medical Science, BMC B11, Lund University, Lund SE-221 84, Sweden
| | - Laurent Roybon
- iPSC Laboratory for CNS Disease Modeling, Department of Experimental Medical Science, BMC D10, Lund University, Lund SE-221 84, Sweden; Strategic Research Area MultiPark, Lund University, Lund SE-221 84, Sweden; Lund Stem Cell Center, Lund University, Lund SE-221 84, Sweden.
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45
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Silva MC, Haggarty SJ. Human pluripotent stem cell-derived models and drug screening in CNS precision medicine. Ann N Y Acad Sci 2020; 1471:18-56. [PMID: 30875083 PMCID: PMC8193821 DOI: 10.1111/nyas.14012] [Citation(s) in RCA: 39] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/27/2018] [Revised: 01/02/2019] [Accepted: 01/07/2019] [Indexed: 12/12/2022]
Abstract
Development of effective therapeutics for neurological disorders has historically been challenging partly because of lack of accurate model systems in which to investigate disease etiology and test new therapeutics at the preclinical stage. Human stem cells, particularly patient-derived induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) upon differentiation, have the ability to recapitulate aspects of disease pathophysiology and are increasingly recognized as robust scalable systems for drug discovery. We review advances in deriving cellular models of human central nervous system (CNS) disorders using iPSCs along with strategies for investigating disease-relevant phenotypes, translatable biomarkers, and therapeutic targets. Given their potential to identify novel therapeutic targets and leads, we focus on phenotype-based, small-molecule screens employing human stem cell-derived models. Integrated efforts to assemble patient iPSC-derived cell models with deeply annotated clinicopathological data, along with molecular and drug-response signatures, may aid in the stratification of patients, diagnostics, and clinical trial success, shifting translational science and precision medicine approaches. A number of remaining challenges, including the optimization of cost-effective, large-scale culture of iPSC-derived cell types, incorporation of aging into neuronal models, as well as robustness and automation of phenotypic assays to support quantitative drug efficacy, toxicity, and metabolism testing workflows, are covered. Continued advancement of the field is expected to help fully humanize the process of CNS drug discovery.
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Affiliation(s)
- M. Catarina Silva
- Chemical Neurobiology Laboratory, Departments of Neurology and Psychiatry, Massachusetts General Hospital, Center for Genomic Medicine, Harvard Medical School, Boston MA, USA
| | - Stephen J. Haggarty
- Chemical Neurobiology Laboratory, Departments of Neurology and Psychiatry, Massachusetts General Hospital, Center for Genomic Medicine, Harvard Medical School, Boston MA, USA
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46
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Tang Y, Han Y, Yu H, Zhang B, Li G. Increased GABAergic development in iPSC-derived neurons from patients with sporadic Alzheimer's disease. Neurosci Lett 2020; 735:135208. [PMID: 32615251 DOI: 10.1016/j.neulet.2020.135208] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/29/2020] [Revised: 06/07/2020] [Accepted: 06/23/2020] [Indexed: 12/24/2022]
Abstract
Alzheimer's disease (AD) is the most common cause of dementia in the elderly, and the underlying molecular mechanisms of this neurodegenerative disorder are still unclear. γ-Aminobutyric acid (GABA) neurons play an essential role in the excitatory/inhibitory (E/I) balance in the brain, and the GABAergic system may contribute to the pathogenesis of AD. We used human induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) generated from sporadic AD (SAD) patients to analyze the phenotype and transcriptional profiles of SAD iPSC-derived neural cells. We observed reduced neurogenesis and increased astrogenesis in SAD neural differentiation. We discovered elevated levels of GABA, glutamate decarboxylase 67 (GAD67), and vesicular GABA transporter (vGAT) in SAD neurons that indicated increased GABAergic development. Gene expression profiling of SAD neural cultures showed upregulation of the GABAergic signaling pathway and downregulation of the neurogenesis pathway. We presumed that the GABAergic transmission system might be enhanced in SAD neurons, as an early pathological change of SAD, which provides a novel target and new direction for the development of more effective therapeutic strategies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yueyu Tang
- Department of Neurology, Shanghai East Hospital, Tongji University School of Medicine, 1800 Yuntai Road, Shanghai, 200123, China
| | - Yingying Han
- Department of Neurology, Shanghai East Hospital, Tongji University School of Medicine, 1800 Yuntai Road, Shanghai, 200123, China
| | - Hongxiang Yu
- Department of Neurology, Shanghai East Hospital, Tongji University School of Medicine, 1800 Yuntai Road, Shanghai, 200123, China
| | - Bei Zhang
- Department of Neurology, Shanghai East Hospital, Tongji University School of Medicine, 1800 Yuntai Road, Shanghai, 200123, China.
| | - Gang Li
- Department of Neurology, Shanghai East Hospital, Tongji University School of Medicine, 1800 Yuntai Road, Shanghai, 200123, China.
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47
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Cairns DM, Rouleau N, Parker RN, Walsh KG, Gehrke L, Kaplan DL. A 3D human brain-like tissue model of herpes-induced Alzheimer's disease. SCIENCE ADVANCES 2020; 6:eaay8828. [PMID: 32494701 PMCID: PMC7202879 DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.aay8828] [Citation(s) in RCA: 136] [Impact Index Per Article: 34.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/25/2019] [Accepted: 02/18/2020] [Indexed: 05/23/2023]
Abstract
Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a neurodegenerative disorder that causes cognitive decline, memory loss, and inability to perform everyday functions. Hallmark features of AD-including generation of amyloid plaques, neurofibrillary tangles, gliosis, and inflammation in the brain-are well defined; however, the cause of the disease remains elusive. Growing evidence implicates pathogens in AD development, with herpes simplex virus type I (HSV-1) gaining increasing attention as a potential causative agent. Here, we describe a multidisciplinary approach to produce physiologically relevant human tissues to study AD using human-induced neural stem cells (hiNSCs) and HSV-1 infection in a 3D bioengineered brain model. We report a herpes-induced tissue model of AD that mimics human disease with multicellular amyloid plaque-like formations, gliosis, neuroinflammation, and decreased functionality, completely in the absence of any exogenous mediators of AD. This model will allow for future studies to identify potential downstream drug targets for treating this devastating disease.
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Affiliation(s)
- Dana M. Cairns
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, Tufts University, Medford, MA 02155, USA
- Allen Discovery Center, Tufts University, Medford, MA 02155, USA
| | - Nicolas Rouleau
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, Tufts University, Medford, MA 02155, USA
- Allen Discovery Center, Tufts University, Medford, MA 02155, USA
| | - Rachael N. Parker
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, Tufts University, Medford, MA 02155, USA
| | | | - Lee Gehrke
- Institute for Medical Engineering and Science, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02142, USA
| | - David L. Kaplan
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, Tufts University, Medford, MA 02155, USA
- Allen Discovery Center, Tufts University, Medford, MA 02155, USA
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48
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Pimenova AA, Goate AM. Novel presenilin 1 and 2 double knock-out cell line for in vitro validation of PSEN1 and PSEN2 mutations. Neurobiol Dis 2020; 138:104785. [PMID: 32032730 PMCID: PMC7515654 DOI: 10.1016/j.nbd.2020.104785] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/23/2019] [Revised: 01/05/2020] [Accepted: 01/31/2020] [Indexed: 12/23/2022] Open
Abstract
Mutations in APP (amyloid precursor protein), PSEN1 (presenilin 1) or PSEN2 (presenilin 2) are the main cause of early-onset familial forms of Alzheimer's disease (autosomal dominant AD or ADAD). These genes affect γ-secretase-dependent generation of Amyloid β (Aβ) peptides, the main constituent of amyloid plaques and one of the pathological hallmarks of AD. Evaluation of patients with ADAD includes assessment of family history, clinical presentation, biomarkers, neuropathology when available and DNA sequencing data. These analyses frequently uncover novel variants of unknown significance in ADAD genes. This presents a barrier to recruitment of such individuals into clinical trials, unless a biochemical test can demonstrate that a novel mutation results in altered APP processing in a manner consistent with pathogenicity. Here we describe generation and characterization of a novel presenilin 1 and 2 double knock-out in N2A mouse neuroblastoma cells using CRISPR/Cas9, which results in complete ablation of Aβ production, decreased Pen-2 expression and Nicastrin glycosylation. Because of the absence of background Aβ secretion from endogenous γ-secretases, these cells can be used for validation of PSEN1 and PSEN2 variant effects on production of Aβ or other γ-secretase substrates and for biochemical studies of γ-secretase function using novel variants. We examined several PSEN1 and PSEN2 mutations of known and unknown pathogenicity. Known mutants increased Aβ42/Aβ40 ratio with varying effect on Aβ40, Aβ42, total Aβ levels and Pen-2 expression, which aligns with previous work on these mutants. Our data on novel PSEN1 V142F, G206V and G206D mutations suggest that these mutations underlie the reported clinical observations in ADAD patients. We believe our novel cell line will be valuable for the scientific community for reliable validation of presenilin mutations and helpful in defining their pathogenicity to improve and facilitate evaluation of ADAD patients, particularly in the context of enrollment in clinical trials.
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Affiliation(s)
- Anna A Pimenova
- Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY, USA; Ronald M. Loeb Center for Alzheimer's disease, Department of Neuroscience, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY, USA
| | - Alison M Goate
- Ronald M. Loeb Center for Alzheimer's disease, Department of Neuroscience, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY, USA; Department of Genetics and Genomic Sciences, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY, USA.
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49
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Ooi L, Dottori M, Cook AL, Engel M, Gautam V, Grubman A, Hernández D, King AE, Maksour S, Targa Dias Anastacio H, Balez R, Pébay A, Pouton C, Valenzuela M, White A, Williamson R. If Human Brain Organoids Are the Answer to Understanding Dementia, What Are the Questions? Neuroscientist 2020; 26:438-454. [PMID: 32281909 PMCID: PMC7539594 DOI: 10.1177/1073858420912404] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/13/2022]
Abstract
Because our beliefs regarding our individuality, autonomy, and personhood are intimately bound up with our brains, there is a public fascination with cerebral organoids, the "mini-brain," the "brain in a dish". At the same time, the ethical issues around organoids are only now being explored. What are the prospects of using human cerebral organoids to better understand, treat, or prevent dementia? Will human organoids represent an improvement on the current, less-than-satisfactory, animal models? When considering these questions, two major issues arise. One is the general challenge associated with using any stem cell-generated preparation for in vitro modelling (challenges amplified when using organoids compared with simpler cell culture systems). The other relates to complexities associated with defining and understanding what we mean by the term "dementia." We discuss 10 puzzles, issues, and stumbling blocks to watch for in the quest to model "dementia in a dish."
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Affiliation(s)
- Lezanne Ooi
- Illawarra Health and Medical Research Institute, Wollongong, New South Wales, Australia.,School of Chemistry and Molecular Bioscience, University of Wollongong, Wollongong, New South Wales, Australia
| | - Mirella Dottori
- Illawarra Health and Medical Research Institute, Wollongong, New South Wales, Australia.,School of Medicine, University of Wollongong, Wollongong, New South Wales, Australia.,Department of Anatomy & Neuroscience, University of Melbourne, Parkville, Victoria, Australia.,Department of Biomedical Engineering, University of Melbourne, Parkville, Victoria, Australia
| | - Anthony L Cook
- Wicking Dementia Research and Education Centre, College of Health and Medicine, University of Tasmania, Hobart, Tasmania, Australia
| | - Martin Engel
- Illawarra Health and Medical Research Institute, Wollongong, New South Wales, Australia.,School of Chemistry and Molecular Bioscience, University of Wollongong, Wollongong, New South Wales, Australia
| | - Vini Gautam
- John Curtin School of Medical Research, Australian National University, Canberra, ACT, Australia
| | - Alexandra Grubman
- Department of Anatomy and Developmental Biology, Monash University, Clayton, Victoria, Australia.,Development and Stem Cells Program, Monash Biomedicine Discovery Institute, Clayton, Victoria, Australia.,Australian Regenerative Medicine Institute, Monash University, Clayton, Victoria, Australia
| | - Damián Hernández
- Department of Anatomy & Neuroscience, University of Melbourne, Parkville, Victoria, Australia.,Centre for Eye Research Australia, Royal Victorian Eye and Ear Hospital, University of Melbourne, East Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.,Department of Surgery, University of Melbourne, Parkville, Victoria, Australia
| | - Anna E King
- Wicking Dementia Research and Education Centre, College of Health and Medicine, University of Tasmania, Hobart, Tasmania, Australia
| | - Simon Maksour
- Illawarra Health and Medical Research Institute, Wollongong, New South Wales, Australia.,School of Medicine, University of Wollongong, Wollongong, New South Wales, Australia
| | - Helena Targa Dias Anastacio
- Illawarra Health and Medical Research Institute, Wollongong, New South Wales, Australia.,School of Chemistry and Molecular Bioscience, University of Wollongong, Wollongong, New South Wales, Australia
| | - Rachelle Balez
- Illawarra Health and Medical Research Institute, Wollongong, New South Wales, Australia.,School of Chemistry and Molecular Bioscience, University of Wollongong, Wollongong, New South Wales, Australia
| | - Alice Pébay
- Department of Anatomy & Neuroscience, University of Melbourne, Parkville, Victoria, Australia.,Centre for Eye Research Australia, Royal Victorian Eye and Ear Hospital, University of Melbourne, East Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.,Department of Surgery, University of Melbourne, Parkville, Victoria, Australia
| | - Colin Pouton
- Monash Institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Monash University, Parkville, Victoria, Australia
| | - Michael Valenzuela
- Regenerative Neuroscience Group, Brain and Mind Centre and Sydney Medical School, University of Sydney, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
| | - Anthony White
- Queensland Institute of Medical Research Berghofer, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia
| | - Robert Williamson
- Murdoch Children's Research Institute, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.,Department of Paediatrics, University of Melbourne, Parkville, Victoria, Australia
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50
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Scearce-Levie K, Sanchez PE, Lewcock JW. Leveraging preclinical models for the development of Alzheimer disease therapeutics. Nat Rev Drug Discov 2020; 19:447-462. [PMID: 32612262 DOI: 10.1038/s41573-020-0065-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 62] [Impact Index Per Article: 15.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 02/26/2020] [Indexed: 02/06/2023]
Abstract
A large number of mouse models have been engineered, characterized and used to advance biomedical research in Alzheimer disease (AD). Early models simply damaged the rodent brain through toxins or lesions. Later, the spread of genetic engineering technology enabled investigators to develop models of familial AD by overexpressing human genes such as those encoding amyloid precursor protein (APP) or presenilins (PSEN1 or PSEN2) carrying mutations linked to early-onset AD. Recently, more complex models have sought to explore the impact of multiple genetic risk factors in the context of different biological challenges. Although none of these models has proven to be a fully faithful reproduction of the human disease, models remain essential as tools to improve our understanding of AD biology, conduct thorough pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic analyses, discover translatable biomarkers and evaluate specific therapeutic approaches. To realize the full potential of animal models as new technologies and knowledge become available, it is critical to define an optimal strategy for their use. Here, we review progress and challenges in the use of AD mouse models, highlight emerging scientific innovations in model development, and introduce a conceptual framework for use of preclinical models for therapeutic development.
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