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Basheer N, Buee L, Brion JP, Smolek T, Muhammadi MK, Hritz J, Hromadka T, Dewachter I, Wegmann S, Landrieu I, Novak P, Mudher A, Zilka N. Shaping the future of preclinical development of successful disease-modifying drugs against Alzheimer's disease: a systematic review of tau propagation models. Acta Neuropathol Commun 2024; 12:52. [PMID: 38576010 PMCID: PMC10993623 DOI: 10.1186/s40478-024-01748-5] [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: 01/11/2024] [Accepted: 02/21/2024] [Indexed: 04/06/2024] Open
Abstract
The transcellular propagation of the aberrantly modified protein tau along the functional brain network is a key hallmark of Alzheimer's disease and related tauopathies. Inoculation-based tau propagation models can recapitulate the stereotypical spread of tau and reproduce various types of tau inclusions linked to specific tauopathy, albeit with varying degrees of fidelity. With this systematic review, we underscore the significance of judicious selection and meticulous functional, biochemical, and biophysical characterization of various tau inocula. Furthermore, we highlight the necessity of choosing suitable animal models and inoculation sites, along with the critical need for validation of fibrillary pathology using confirmatory staining, to accurately recapitulate disease-specific inclusions. As a practical guide, we put forth a framework for establishing a benchmark of inoculation-based tau propagation models that holds promise for use in preclinical testing of disease-modifying drugs.
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Affiliation(s)
- Neha Basheer
- Institute of Neuroimmunology, Slovak Academy of Sciences, Dubravska Cesta 9, 845 10, Bratislava, Slovakia
| | - Luc Buee
- Inserm, CHU Lille, CNRS, LilNCog - Lille Neuroscience & Cognition, University of Lille, 59000, Lille, France.
| | - Jean-Pierre Brion
- Faculty of Medicine, Laboratory of Histology, Alzheimer and Other Tauopathies Research Group (CP 620), ULB Neuroscience Institute (UNI), Université Libre de Bruxelles, 808, Route de Lennik, 1070, Brussels, Belgium
| | - Tomas Smolek
- Institute of Neuroimmunology, Slovak Academy of Sciences, Dubravska Cesta 9, 845 10, Bratislava, Slovakia
| | - Muhammad Khalid Muhammadi
- Institute of Neuroimmunology, Slovak Academy of Sciences, Dubravska Cesta 9, 845 10, Bratislava, Slovakia
| | - Jozef Hritz
- CEITEC Masaryk University, Kamenice 5, 625 00, Brno, Czech Republic
- Department of Chemistry, Faculty of Science, Masaryk University, Kamenice 5, 62500, Brno, Czech Republic
| | - Tomas Hromadka
- Institute of Neuroimmunology, Slovak Academy of Sciences, Dubravska Cesta 9, 845 10, Bratislava, Slovakia
| | - Ilse Dewachter
- Biomedical Research Institute, BIOMED, Hasselt University, 3500, Hasselt, Belgium
| | - Susanne Wegmann
- German Center for Neurodegenerative Diseases, Charitéplatz 1, 10117, Berlin, Germany
- Einstein Center for Neurosciences Berlin, Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Berlin, Germany
| | - Isabelle Landrieu
- CNRS EMR9002 - BSI - Integrative Structural Biology, 59000, Lille, France
- Inserm, CHU Lille, Institut Pasteur de Lille, U1167 - RID-AGE - Risk Factors and Molecular Determinants of Aging-Related Diseases, University of Lille, 59000, Lille, France
| | - Petr Novak
- Institute of Neuroimmunology, Slovak Academy of Sciences, Dubravska Cesta 9, 845 10, Bratislava, Slovakia
| | - Amritpal Mudher
- School of Biological Sciences, Faculty of Environment and Life Sciences, University of Southampton, Highfield Campus, Southampton, SO17 1BJ, UK
| | - Norbert Zilka
- Institute of Neuroimmunology, Slovak Academy of Sciences, Dubravska Cesta 9, 845 10, Bratislava, Slovakia.
- AXON Neuroscience R&D Services SE, Dubravska Cesta 9, 845 10, Bratislava, Slovakia.
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2
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Liu HN, Wang T, Hu JJ, Chen L, Shi X, Li YM, Luo SZ. The disordered protein SERF promotes α-Synuclein aggregation through liquid-liquid phase separation. J Biol Chem 2024; 300:105667. [PMID: 38272228 PMCID: PMC10877630 DOI: 10.1016/j.jbc.2024.105667] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/01/2023] [Revised: 12/26/2023] [Accepted: 12/28/2023] [Indexed: 01/27/2024] Open
Abstract
The aggregation of α-Synuclein (α-Syn) into amyloid fibrils is the hallmark of Parkinson's disease. Under stress or other pathological conditions, the accumulation of α-Syn oligomers is the main contributor to the cytotoxicity. A potential approach for treating Parkinson's disease involves preventing the accumulation of these α-Syn oligomers. In this study, we present a novel mechanism involving a conserved group of disorderly proteins known as small EDRK-rich factor (SERF), which promotes the aggregation of α-Syn through a cophase separation process. Using diverse methods like confocal microscopy, fluorescence recovery after photobleaching assays, solution-state NMR spectroscopy, and Western blot, we determined that the N-terminal domain of SERF1a plays a role in the interactions that occur during cophase separation. Within these droplets, α-Syn undergoes a gradual transformation from solid condensates to amyloid fibrils, while SERF1a is excluded from the condensates and dissolves into the solution. Notably, in vivo experiments show that SERF1a cophase separation with α-Syn significantly reduces the deposition of α-Syn oligomers and decreases its cellular toxicity under stress. These findings suggest that SERF1a accelerates the conversion of α-Syn from highly toxic oligomers to less toxic fibrils through cophase separation, thereby mitigating the biological damage of α-Syn aggregation.
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Affiliation(s)
- He-Ning Liu
- Beijing Key Laboratory of Bioprocess, College of Life Science and Technology, Beijing University of Chemical Technology, Beijing, China
| | - Ting Wang
- Beijing Key Laboratory of Bioprocess, College of Life Science and Technology, Beijing University of Chemical Technology, Beijing, China
| | - Jin-Jian Hu
- Key Lab of Bioorganic Phosphorus Chemistry & Chemical Biology, Department of Chemistry, Tsinghua University, Beijing, China
| | - Long Chen
- Beijing Key Laboratory of Bioprocess, College of Life Science and Technology, Beijing University of Chemical Technology, Beijing, China
| | - Xiangyan Shi
- Department of Biology, Shenzhen MSU-BIT University, Shenzhen, China.
| | - Yan-Mei Li
- Key Lab of Bioorganic Phosphorus Chemistry & Chemical Biology, Department of Chemistry, Tsinghua University, Beijing, China.
| | - Shi-Zhong Luo
- Beijing Key Laboratory of Bioprocess, College of Life Science and Technology, Beijing University of Chemical Technology, Beijing, China.
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Jash S, Banerjee S, Cheng S, Wang B, Qiu C, Kondo A, Ernerudh J, Zhou XZ, Lu KP, Sharma S. Cis P-tau is a central circulating and placental etiologic driver and therapeutic target of preeclampsia. Nat Commun 2023; 14:5414. [PMID: 37669931 PMCID: PMC10480164 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-023-41144-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/25/2022] [Accepted: 08/24/2023] [Indexed: 09/07/2023] Open
Abstract
Preeclampsia (PE) is the leading cause of maternal and fetal mortality globally and may trigger dementia later in life in mothers and their offspring. However, the etiological drivers remain elusive. Cis P-tau is an early etiological driver and blood biomarker in pre-clinical Alzheimer's and after vascular or traumatic brain injury, which can be targeted by stereo-specific antibody, with clinical trials ongoing. Here we find significant cis P-tau in the placenta and serum of PE patients, and in primary human trophoblasts exposed to hypoxia or sera from PE patients due to Pin1 inactivation. Depletion of cis P-tau from PE patient sera by the antibody prevents their ability to disrupt trophoblast invasion and endovascular activity and to cause the PE-like pathological and clinical features in pregnant humanized tau mice. Our studies uncover that cis P-tau is a central circulating etiological driver and its stereo-specific antibody is valuable for early PE diagnosis and treatment.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sukanta Jash
- Departments of Pediatrics, Women and Infants Hospital, Warren Alpert Medical School, Brown University, Providence, RI, 02905, USA
| | - Sayani Banerjee
- Departments of Pediatrics, Women and Infants Hospital, Warren Alpert Medical School, Brown University, Providence, RI, 02905, USA
| | - Shibin Cheng
- Departments of Pediatrics, Women and Infants Hospital, Warren Alpert Medical School, Brown University, Providence, RI, 02905, USA
| | - Bin Wang
- Division of Translational Therapeutics, Department of Medicine, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, 02215, USA
| | - Chenxi Qiu
- Division of Translational Therapeutics, Department of Medicine, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, 02215, USA
| | - Asami Kondo
- Division of Translational Therapeutics, Department of Medicine, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, 02215, USA
| | - Jan Ernerudh
- Department of Biomedical and Clinical Sciences, Linköping University, SE 58183, Linköping, Sweden
- Department of Clinical Immunology and Transfusion Medicine, Linköping University, SE 58183, Linköping, Sweden
| | - Xiao Zhen Zhou
- Departments of Biochemistry, Schulich School of Medicine & Dentistry, Western University, London, ON, N6G 2V4, Canada.
- Departments of Oncology, Schulich School of Medicine & Dentistry, Western University, London, ON, N6G 2V4, Canada.
- Departments of Pathology & Laboratory Medicine, Schulich School of Medicine & Dentistry, Western University, London, ON, N6G 2V4, Canada.
- Lawson Health Research Institute, Schulich School of Medicine & Dentistry, Western University, London, ON, N6G 2V4, Canada.
| | - Kun Ping Lu
- Departments of Biochemistry, Schulich School of Medicine & Dentistry, Western University, London, ON, N6G 2V4, Canada.
- Departments of Oncology, Schulich School of Medicine & Dentistry, Western University, London, ON, N6G 2V4, Canada.
- Robarts Research Institute, Schulich School of Medicine & Dentistry Western University, London, ON, N6G 2V4, Canada.
| | - Surendra Sharma
- Departments of Pediatrics, Women and Infants Hospital, Warren Alpert Medical School, Brown University, Providence, RI, 02905, USA.
- Departments of Pathology, Women and Infants Hospital, Warren Alpert Medical School, Brown University, Providence, RI, 02905, USA.
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Zeng Z, Vijayan V, Tsay K, Frost MP, Quddus A, Albert A, Vigers M, Woerman AL, Han S. CBD and PSP cell-passaged Tau Seeds Generate Heterogeneous Fibrils with A sub-population Adopting Disease Folds. BIORXIV : THE PREPRINT SERVER FOR BIOLOGY 2023:2023.07.19.549721. [PMID: 37502998 PMCID: PMC10370138 DOI: 10.1101/2023.07.19.549721] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 07/29/2023]
Abstract
The recent discovery by cryo-electron microscopy that the neuropatho-logical hallmarks of different tauopathies, including Alzheimer's disease, corticobasal degeneration (CBD), and progressive supranuclear palsy (PSP), are caused by unique misfolded conformations of the protein tau is among the most profound developments in neurodegenerative disease research. To capitalize on these discoveries for therapeutic development, one must achieve in vitro replication of tau fibrils that adopt the rep-resentative tauopathy disease folds - a grand challenge. To understand whether the commonly used, but imperfect, fragment of the tau pro-tein, K18, is capable of inducing specific protein folds, fibril seeds derived from CBD- and PSP-infected biosensor cells expressing K18, were used to achieve cell-free assembly of naïve, recombinant 4R tau into fibrils without the addition of any cofactors. Using Double Electron Electron Resonance (DEER) spectroscopy, we discovered that cell-passaged patho-logical seeds generate heterogeneous fibrils that are distinct between the CBD and PSP lysate-seeded fibrils, and are also unique from heparin-induced tau fibril populations. Moreover, the lysate-seeded fibrils contain a characteristic sub-population that resembles either the CBD or PSP disease fold, corresponding with the respective starting patient sam-ple. These findings indicate that CBD and PSP patient-derived fibrils retain strain properties after passaging through K18 reporter cells.
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5
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Abbate C. The Adult Neurogenesis Theory of Alzheimer's Disease. J Alzheimers Dis 2023:JAD221279. [PMID: 37182879 DOI: 10.3233/jad-221279] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/16/2023]
Abstract
Alzheimer's disease starts in neural stem cells (NSCs) in the niches of adult neurogenesis. All primary factors responsible for pathological tau hyperphosphorylation are inherent to adult neurogenesis and migration. However, when amyloid pathology is present, it strongly amplifies tau pathogenesis. Indeed, the progressive accumulation of extracellular amyloid-β deposits in the brain triggers a state of chronic inflammation by microglia. Microglial activation has a significant pro-neurogenic effect that fosters the process of adult neurogenesis and supports neuronal migration. Unfortunately, this "reactive" pro-neurogenic activity ultimately perturbs homeostatic equilibrium in the niches of adult neurogenesis by amplifying tau pathogenesis in AD. This scenario involves NSCs in the subgranular zone of the hippocampal dentate gyrus in late-onset AD (LOAD) and NSCs in the ventricular-subventricular zone along the lateral ventricles in early-onset AD (EOAD), including familial AD (FAD). Neuroblasts carrying the initial seed of tau pathology travel throughout the brain via neuronal migration driven by complex signals and convey the disease from the niches of adult neurogenesis to near (LOAD) or distant (EOAD) brain regions. In these locations, or in close proximity, a focus of degeneration begins to develop. Then, tau pathology spreads from the initial foci to large neuronal networks along neural connections through neuron-to-neuron transmission.
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Affiliation(s)
- Carlo Abbate
- IRCCS Fondazione Don Carlo Gnocchi ONLUS, Milan, Italy
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6
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Zeng Z, Fichou Y, Vigers M, Tsay K, Han S. Illuminating the Structural Basis of Tau Aggregation by Intramolecular Distance Tracking: A Perspective on Methods. J Phys Chem B 2022; 126:6384-6395. [PMID: 35994024 DOI: 10.1021/acs.jpcb.2c02022] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Abstract
The aggregation of the tau protein is central to several neurodegenerative diseases, collectively known as tauopathies. High-resolution views of tau tangles accumulated under pathological conditions in post-mortem brains have been revealed recently by cryogenic electron microscopy. One of the striking discoveries was that fibril folds are unique to and homogeneous within one disease family, but typically different between different tauopathies. It is widely believed that seeded aggregation can achieve structural propagation of tau fibrils and generate pathological fibril structures. However, direct molecular level measurement of structural evolution during aggregation is missing. Here, we discuss our perspective on the biophysical approaches that can contribute to the ongoing debate regarding the prion-like propagation of tau and the role of cofactors. We discuss the unique potential of double electron-electron resonance (DEER)-based intramolecular distance measurement, sensitive to two to several nanometers distances. DEER can track the structural evolution of tau along the course of aggregation from the completely disordered state, to partially ordered and highly ordered fibril states, and has the potential to be a key tool to elucidate the disease-specific tau aggregation pathways.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zhikai Zeng
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of California Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara, California 93106, United States
| | - Yann Fichou
- CNRS, Chemistry and Biology of Membranes and Nanoobjects (CBMN) UMR 5348, Institut Europeen de Chimie et Biologie (IECB), University of Bordeaux, 33600 Pessac, France
| | - Michael Vigers
- Department of Chemical Engineering, University of California Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara, California 93106, United States
| | - Karen Tsay
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of California Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara, California 93106, United States
| | - Songi Han
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of California Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara, California 93106, United States.,Department of Chemical Engineering, University of California Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara, California 93106, United States
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7
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Robert A, Schöll M, Vogels T. Tau Seeding Mouse Models with Patient Brain-Derived Aggregates. Int J Mol Sci 2021; 22:6132. [PMID: 34200180 PMCID: PMC8201271 DOI: 10.3390/ijms22116132] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/08/2021] [Revised: 05/31/2021] [Accepted: 06/01/2021] [Indexed: 12/23/2022] Open
Abstract
Tauopathies are a heterogeneous class of neurodegenerative diseases characterized by intracellular inclusions of aggregated tau proteins. Tau aggregates in different tauopathies have distinct structural features and can be found in different cell types. Transgenic animal models overexpressing human tau have been used for over two decades in the research of tau pathology. However, these models poorly recapitulate the heterogeneity of tauopathies found in human brains. Recent findings demonstrate that injection of purified tau aggregates from the brains of human tauopathy patients recapitulates both the structural features and cell-type specificity of the tau pathology of the donor tauopathy. These models may therefore have unique translational value in the study of functional consequences of tau pathology, tau-based diagnostics, and tau targeting therapeutics. This review provides an update of the literature relating to seeding-based tauopathy and their potential applications.
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Affiliation(s)
- Aiko Robert
- Department of Neurodegenerative Disease, UCL Queen Square, Institute of Neurology, University College London, London WC1N 3BG, UK; (A.R.); (M.S.)
| | - Michael Schöll
- Department of Neurodegenerative Disease, UCL Queen Square, Institute of Neurology, University College London, London WC1N 3BG, UK; (A.R.); (M.S.)
- Wallenberg Centre for Molecular and Translational Medicine and the Department of Psychiatry and Neurochemistry, University of Gothenburg, 413 45 Gothenburg, Sweden
- Department of Psychiatry and Neurochemistry, University of Gothenburg, 413 45 Gothenburg, Sweden
| | - Thomas Vogels
- Department of Neurodegenerative Disease, UCL Queen Square, Institute of Neurology, University College London, London WC1N 3BG, UK; (A.R.); (M.S.)
- Department of Psychiatry and Neurochemistry, University of Gothenburg, 413 45 Gothenburg, Sweden
- Sylics (Synaptologics B.V.), 3721 MA Bilthoven, The Netherlands
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8
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Hitt BD, Vaquer-Alicea J, Manon VA, Beaver JD, Kashmer OM, Garcia JN, Diamond MI. Ultrasensitive tau biosensor cells detect no seeding in Alzheimer's disease CSF. Acta Neuropathol Commun 2021; 9:99. [PMID: 34039426 PMCID: PMC8152020 DOI: 10.1186/s40478-021-01185-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 27] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/15/2021] [Accepted: 04/19/2021] [Indexed: 12/26/2022] Open
Abstract
Tau protein forms self-replicating assemblies (seeds) that may underlie progression of pathology in Alzheimer’s disease (AD) and related tauopathies. Seeding in recombinant protein preparations and brain homogenates has been quantified with “biosensor” cell lines that express tau with a disease-associated mutation (P301S) fused to complementary fluorescent proteins. Quantification of induced aggregation in cells that score positive by fluorescence resonance energy transfer (FRET) is accomplished by cell imaging or flow cytometry. Several groups have reported seeding activity in antemortem cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) using various methods, but these findings are not yet widely replicated. To address this question, we created two improved FRET-based biosensor cell lines based on tau expression, termed version 2 low (v2L) and version 2 high (v2H). We determined that v2H cells are ~ 100-fold more sensitive to AD-derived tau seeds than our original lines, and coupled with immunoprecipitation reliably detect seeding from samples containing as little as 100 attomoles of recombinant tau fibrils or ~ 32 pg of total protein from AD brain homogenate. We tested antemortem CSF from 11 subjects with a clinical diagnosis of AD, 9 confirmed by validated CSF biomarkers. We used immunoprecipitation coupled with seed detection in v2H cells and detected no tau seeding in any sample. Thus we cannot confirm prior reports of tau seeding activity in the CSF of AD patients. This next generation of ultra-sensitive tau biosensors may nonetheless be useful to the research community to quantify tau pathology as sensitively and specifically as possible.
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9
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Horie K, Barthélemy NR, Sato C, Bateman RJ. CSF tau microtubule binding region identifies tau tangle and clinical stages of Alzheimer's disease. Brain 2021; 144:515-527. [PMID: 33283854 DOI: 10.1093/brain/awaa373] [Citation(s) in RCA: 85] [Impact Index Per Article: 28.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/18/2020] [Revised: 08/08/2020] [Accepted: 08/19/2020] [Indexed: 12/14/2022] Open
Abstract
Tau is a microtubule associated protein in the brain that aggregates in Alzheimer's disease to form pathological tangles and neurites. Insoluble tau aggregates composed of the microtubule binding region (MTBR) of tau are highly associated with the cognitive and clinical symptoms of Alzheimer's disease. In contrast, levels of soluble forms of tau, such as CSF total tau and phosphorylated tau-181 and tau-217, increase prior to tau aggregation in Alzheimer's disease, but these biomarkers do not measure the MTBR of tau. Thus, how CSF MTBR-tau is altered in Alzheimer's disease remains unclear. In this study, we used sequential immunoprecipitation and chemical extraction methods followed by mass spectrometry to analyse MTBR-tau species in Alzheimer's disease and control CSF. We quantified MTBR-tau-specific regions in the CSF and identified that species containing the region beginning at residue 243 were the most highly correlated with tau PET and cognitive measures. This finding suggests that CSF level of tau species containing the upstream region of MTBR may reflect changes in tau pathology that occur in Alzheimer's disease and could serve as biomarkers to stage Alzheimer's disease and track the development of tau-directed therapeutics.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kanta Horie
- Department of Neurology, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO, USA
| | - Nicolas R Barthélemy
- Department of Neurology, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO, USA
| | - Chihiro Sato
- Department of Neurology, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO, USA
| | - Randall J Bateman
- Department of Neurology, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO, USA.,Hope Center for Neurological Disorders, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO, USA.,Charles F. and Joanne Knight Alzheimer's Disease Research Center, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO, USA
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10
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Lathuiliere A, Hyman BT. Quantitative Methods for the Detection of Tau Seeding Activity in Human Biofluids. Front Neurosci 2021; 15:654176. [PMID: 33828458 PMCID: PMC8020844 DOI: 10.3389/fnins.2021.654176] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/15/2021] [Accepted: 02/25/2021] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
The ability of tau aggregates to recruit and misfold monomeric tau and propagate across brain regions has been studied extensively and is now recognized as a critical pathological step in Alzheimer’s disease (AD) and other tauopathies. Recent evidence suggests that the detection of tau seeds in human samples may be relevant and correlate with clinical data. Here, we review the available methods for the measurement of such tau seeds, their limitations and their potential implementation for the development of the next-generation biomarkers.
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Affiliation(s)
- Aurelien Lathuiliere
- Alzheimer Research Unit, Department of Neurology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Charlestown, MA, United States.,Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, United States
| | - Bradley T Hyman
- Alzheimer Research Unit, Department of Neurology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Charlestown, MA, United States.,Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, United States
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11
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Carlomagno Y, Manne S, DeTure M, Prudencio M, Zhang YJ, Hanna Al-Shaikh R, Dunmore JA, Daughrity LM, Song Y, Castanedes-Casey M, Lewis-Tuffin LJ, Nicholson KA, Wszolek ZK, Dickson DW, Fitzpatrick AWP, Petrucelli L, Cook CN. The AD tau core spontaneously self-assembles and recruits full-length tau to filaments. Cell Rep 2021; 34:108843. [PMID: 33730588 PMCID: PMC8094113 DOI: 10.1016/j.celrep.2021.108843] [Citation(s) in RCA: 31] [Impact Index Per Article: 10.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/30/2020] [Revised: 12/18/2020] [Accepted: 02/17/2021] [Indexed: 02/05/2023] Open
Abstract
Tau accumulation is a major pathological hallmark of Alzheimer's disease (AD) and other tauopathies, but the mechanism(s) of tau aggregation remains unclear. Taking advantage of the identification of tau filament cores by cryoelectron microscopy, we demonstrate that the AD tau core possesses the intrinsic ability to spontaneously aggregate in the absence of an inducer, with antibodies generated against AD tau core filaments detecting AD tau pathology. The AD tau core also drives aggregation of full-length wild-type tau, increases seeding potential, and templates abnormal forms of tau present in brain homogenates and antemortem cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) from patients with AD in an ultrasensitive real-time quaking-induced conversion (QuIC) assay. Finally, we show that the filament cores in corticobasal degeneration (CBD) and Pick's disease (PiD) similarly assemble into filaments under physiological conditions. These results document an approach to modeling tau aggregation and have significant implications for in vivo investigation of tau transmission and biomarker development.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yari Carlomagno
- Department of Neuroscience, Mayo Clinic, Jacksonville, FL, USA
| | - Sireesha Manne
- Department of Neuroscience, Mayo Clinic, Jacksonville, FL, USA
| | - Michael DeTure
- Department of Neuroscience, Mayo Clinic, Jacksonville, FL, USA
| | - Mercedes Prudencio
- Department of Neuroscience, Mayo Clinic, Jacksonville, FL, USA; Neuroscience Graduate Program, Mayo Clinic Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences, Jacksonville, FL, USA
| | - Yong-Jie Zhang
- Department of Neuroscience, Mayo Clinic, Jacksonville, FL, USA; Neuroscience Graduate Program, Mayo Clinic Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences, Jacksonville, FL, USA
| | | | | | | | - Yuping Song
- Department of Neuroscience, Mayo Clinic, Jacksonville, FL, USA
| | | | | | - Katharine A Nicholson
- Sean M. Healey and AMG Center for ALS, Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH), Boston, MA, USA
| | | | - Dennis W Dickson
- Department of Neuroscience, Mayo Clinic, Jacksonville, FL, USA; Neuroscience Graduate Program, Mayo Clinic Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences, Jacksonville, FL, USA
| | - Anthony W P Fitzpatrick
- Mortimer B. Zuckerman Mind Brain Behavior Institute, Columbia University, New York, NY, USA; Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biophysics, Columbia University, New York, NY, USA; Taub Institute for Research on Alzheimer's Disease and the Aging Brain, Columbia University Irving Medical Center, New York, NY, USA
| | - Leonard Petrucelli
- Department of Neuroscience, Mayo Clinic, Jacksonville, FL, USA; Neuroscience Graduate Program, Mayo Clinic Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences, Jacksonville, FL, USA.
| | - Casey N Cook
- Department of Neuroscience, Mayo Clinic, Jacksonville, FL, USA; Neuroscience Graduate Program, Mayo Clinic Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences, Jacksonville, FL, USA.
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12
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Miller LVC, Mukadam AS, Durrant CS, Vaysburd MJ, Katsinelos T, Tuck BJ, Sanford S, Sheppard O, Knox C, Cheng S, James LC, Coleman MP, McEwan WA. Tau assemblies do not behave like independently acting prion-like particles in mouse neural tissue. Acta Neuropathol Commun 2021; 9:41. [PMID: 33712082 PMCID: PMC7953780 DOI: 10.1186/s40478-021-01141-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/06/2021] [Accepted: 02/26/2021] [Indexed: 11/16/2022] Open
Abstract
A fundamental property of infectious agents is their particulate nature: infectivity arises from independently-acting particles rather than as a result of collective action. Assemblies of the protein tau can exhibit seeding behaviour, potentially underlying the apparent spread of tau aggregation in many neurodegenerative diseases. Here we ask whether tau assemblies share with classical pathogens the characteristic of particulate behaviour. We used organotypic hippocampal slice cultures from P301S tau transgenic mice in order to precisely control the concentration of extracellular tau assemblies in neural tissue. Whilst untreated slices displayed no overt signs of pathology, exposure to recombinant tau assemblies could result in the formation of intraneuronal, hyperphosphorylated tau structures. However, seeding ability of tau assemblies did not titrate in a one-hit manner in neural tissue. The results suggest that seeding behaviour of tau arises at high concentrations, with implications for the interpretation of high-dose intracranial challenge experiments and the possible contribution of seeded aggregation to human disease.
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Nguyen PH, Ramamoorthy A, Sahoo BR, Zheng J, Faller P, Straub JE, Dominguez L, Shea JE, Dokholyan NV, De Simone A, Ma B, Nussinov R, Najafi S, Ngo ST, Loquet A, Chiricotto M, Ganguly P, McCarty J, Li MS, Hall C, Wang Y, Miller Y, Melchionna S, Habenstein B, Timr S, Chen J, Hnath B, Strodel B, Kayed R, Lesné S, Wei G, Sterpone F, Doig AJ, Derreumaux P. Amyloid Oligomers: A Joint Experimental/Computational Perspective on Alzheimer's Disease, Parkinson's Disease, Type II Diabetes, and Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis. Chem Rev 2021; 121:2545-2647. [PMID: 33543942 PMCID: PMC8836097 DOI: 10.1021/acs.chemrev.0c01122] [Citation(s) in RCA: 378] [Impact Index Per Article: 126.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/12/2022]
Abstract
Protein misfolding and aggregation is observed in many amyloidogenic diseases affecting either the central nervous system or a variety of peripheral tissues. Structural and dynamic characterization of all species along the pathways from monomers to fibrils is challenging by experimental and computational means because they involve intrinsically disordered proteins in most diseases. Yet understanding how amyloid species become toxic is the challenge in developing a treatment for these diseases. Here we review what computer, in vitro, in vivo, and pharmacological experiments tell us about the accumulation and deposition of the oligomers of the (Aβ, tau), α-synuclein, IAPP, and superoxide dismutase 1 proteins, which have been the mainstream concept underlying Alzheimer's disease (AD), Parkinson's disease (PD), type II diabetes (T2D), and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) research, respectively, for many years.
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Affiliation(s)
- Phuong H Nguyen
- CNRS, UPR9080, Université de Paris, Laboratory of Theoretical Biochemistry, IBPC, Fondation Edmond de Rothschild, PSL Research University, Paris 75005, France
| | - Ayyalusamy Ramamoorthy
- Biophysics and Department of Chemistry, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan 48109-1055, United States
| | - Bikash R Sahoo
- Biophysics and Department of Chemistry, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan 48109-1055, United States
| | - Jie Zheng
- Department of Chemical & Biomolecular Engineering, The University of Akron, Akron, Ohio 44325, United States
| | - Peter Faller
- Institut de Chimie, UMR 7177, CNRS-Université de Strasbourg, 4 rue Blaise Pascal, 67000 Strasbourg, France
| | - John E Straub
- Department of Chemistry, Boston University, 590 Commonwealth Avenue, Boston, Massachusetts 02215, United States
| | - Laura Dominguez
- Facultad de Química, Departamento de Fisicoquímica, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Mexico City 04510, Mexico
| | - Joan-Emma Shea
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, and Department of Physics, University of California, Santa Barbara, California 93106, United States
| | - Nikolay V Dokholyan
- Department of Pharmacology and Biochemistry & Molecular Biology, Penn State University College of Medicine, Hershey, Pennsylvania 17033, United States
- Department of Chemistry, and Biomedical Engineering, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, Pennsylvania 16802, United States
| | - Alfonso De Simone
- Department of Life Sciences, Imperial College London, London SW7 2AZ, U.K
- Molecular Biology, University of Naples Federico II, Naples 80138, Italy
| | - Buyong Ma
- Basic Science Program, Leidos Biomedical Research, Inc., Cancer and Inflammation Program, National Cancer Institute, Frederick, Maryland 21702, United States
- School of Pharmacy, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai, China
| | - Ruth Nussinov
- Basic Science Program, Leidos Biomedical Research, Inc., Cancer and Inflammation Program, National Cancer Institute, Frederick, Maryland 21702, United States
- Sackler Institute of Molecular Medicine, Department of Human Genetics and Molecular Medicine Sackler School of Medicine, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv, Israel
| | - Saeed Najafi
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, and Department of Physics, University of California, Santa Barbara, California 93106, United States
| | - Son Tung Ngo
- Laboratory of Theoretical and Computational Biophysics & Faculty of Applied Sciences, Ton Duc Thang University, 33000 Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam
| | - Antoine Loquet
- Institute of Chemistry & Biology of Membranes & Nanoobjects, (UMR5248 CBMN), CNRS, Université Bordeaux, Institut Européen de Chimie et Biologie, 33600 Pessac, France
| | - Mara Chiricotto
- Department of Chemical Engineering and Analytical Science, University of Manchester, Manchester M13 9PL, U.K
| | - Pritam Ganguly
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, and Department of Physics, University of California, Santa Barbara, California 93106, United States
| | - James McCarty
- Chemistry Department, Western Washington University, Bellingham, Washington 98225, United States
| | - Mai Suan Li
- Institute for Computational Science and Technology, SBI Building, Quang Trung Software City, Tan Chanh Hiep Ward, District 12, Ho Chi Minh City 700000, Vietnam
- Institute of Physics, Polish Academy of Sciences, Al. Lotnikow 32/46, 02-668 Warsaw, Poland
| | - Carol Hall
- Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, North Carolina 27695-7905, United States
| | - Yiming Wang
- Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, North Carolina 27695-7905, United States
| | - Yifat Miller
- Department of Chemistry and The Ilse Katz Institute for Nanoscale Science & Technology, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Be'er Sheva 84105, Israel
| | | | - Birgit Habenstein
- Institute of Chemistry & Biology of Membranes & Nanoobjects, (UMR5248 CBMN), CNRS, Université Bordeaux, Institut Européen de Chimie et Biologie, 33600 Pessac, France
| | - Stepan Timr
- CNRS, UPR9080, Université de Paris, Laboratory of Theoretical Biochemistry, IBPC, Fondation Edmond de Rothschild, PSL Research University, Paris 75005, France
| | - Jiaxing Chen
- Department of Pharmacology and Biochemistry & Molecular Biology, Penn State University College of Medicine, Hershey, Pennsylvania 17033, United States
| | - Brianna Hnath
- Department of Pharmacology and Biochemistry & Molecular Biology, Penn State University College of Medicine, Hershey, Pennsylvania 17033, United States
| | - Birgit Strodel
- Institute of Complex Systems: Structural Biochemistry (ICS-6), Forschungszentrum Jülich, 52425 Jülich, Germany
| | - Rakez Kayed
- Mitchell Center for Neurodegenerative Diseases, and Departments of Neurology, Neuroscience and Cell Biology, University of Texas Medical Branch, Galveston, Texas 77555, United States
| | - Sylvain Lesné
- Department of Neuroscience, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, Minnesota 55455, United States
| | - Guanghong Wei
- Department of Physics, State Key Laboratory of Surface Physics, and Key Laboratory for Computational Physical Science, Multiscale Research Institute of Complex Systems, Fudan University, Shanghai 200438, China
| | - Fabio Sterpone
- CNRS, UPR9080, Université de Paris, Laboratory of Theoretical Biochemistry, IBPC, Fondation Edmond de Rothschild, PSL Research University, Paris 75005, France
| | - Andrew J Doig
- Division of Neuroscience and Experimental Psychology, School of Biological Sciences, Faculty of Biology, Medicine and Health, University of Manchester, Manchester M13 9PT, U.K
| | - Philippe Derreumaux
- CNRS, UPR9080, Université de Paris, Laboratory of Theoretical Biochemistry, IBPC, Fondation Edmond de Rothschild, PSL Research University, Paris 75005, France
- Laboratory of Theoretical Chemistry, Ton Duc Thang University, 33000 Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam
- Faculty of Pharmacy, Ton Duc Thang University, 33000 Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam
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Characterization of tau binding by gosuranemab. Neurobiol Dis 2020; 146:105120. [DOI: 10.1016/j.nbd.2020.105120] [Citation(s) in RCA: 24] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/28/2020] [Revised: 09/11/2020] [Accepted: 09/24/2020] [Indexed: 12/15/2022] Open
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15
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Bjorkli C, Sandvig A, Sandvig I. Bridging the Gap Between Fluid Biomarkers for Alzheimer's Disease, Model Systems, and Patients. Front Aging Neurosci 2020; 12:272. [PMID: 32982716 PMCID: PMC7492751 DOI: 10.3389/fnagi.2020.00272] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/31/2020] [Accepted: 08/06/2020] [Indexed: 12/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is a debilitating neurodegenerative disease characterized by the accumulation of two proteins in fibrillar form: amyloid-β (Aβ) and tau. Despite decades of intensive research, we cannot yet pinpoint the exact cause of the disease or unequivocally determine the exact mechanism(s) underlying its progression. This confounds early diagnosis and treatment of the disease. Cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) biomarkers, which can reveal ongoing biochemical changes in the brain, can help monitor developing AD pathology prior to clinical diagnosis. Here we review preclinical and clinical investigations of commonly used biomarkers in animals and patients with AD, which can bridge translation from model systems into the clinic. The core AD biomarkers have been found to translate well across species, whereas biomarkers of neuroinflammation translate to a lesser extent. Nevertheless, there is no absolute equivalence between biomarkers in human AD patients and those examined in preclinical models in terms of revealing key pathological hallmarks of the disease. In this review, we provide an overview of current but also novel AD biomarkers and how they relate to key constituents of the pathological cascade, highlighting confounding factors and pitfalls in interpretation, and also provide recommendations for standardized procedures during sample collection to enhance the translational validity of preclinical AD models.
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Affiliation(s)
- Christiana Bjorkli
- Sandvig Group, Department of Neuromedicine and Movement Science, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Trondheim, Norway
| | - Axel Sandvig
- Sandvig Group, Department of Neuromedicine and Movement Science, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Trondheim, Norway.,Institute of Neuromedicine and Movement Science, Department of Neurology, St. Olavs Hospital, Trondheim, Norway.,Department of Pharmacology and Clinical Neurosciences, Division of Neuro, Head, and Neck, University Hospital of Umeå, Umeå, Sweden
| | - Ioanna Sandvig
- Sandvig Group, Department of Neuromedicine and Movement Science, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Trondheim, Norway
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From the prion-like propagation hypothesis to therapeutic strategies of anti-tau immunotherapy. Acta Neuropathol 2020; 139:3-25. [PMID: 31686182 PMCID: PMC6942016 DOI: 10.1007/s00401-019-02087-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 105] [Impact Index Per Article: 26.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/28/2019] [Revised: 10/18/2019] [Accepted: 10/19/2019] [Indexed: 12/15/2022]
Abstract
The term “propagon” is used to define proteins that may transmit misfolding in vitro, in tissues or in organisms. Among propagons, misfolded tau is thought to be involved in the pathogenic mechanisms of various “tauopathies” that include Alzheimer's disease, progressive supranuclear palsy, and argyrophilic grain disease. Here, we review the available data in the literature and point out how the prion-like tau propagation has been extended from Alzheimer's disease to tauopathies. First, in Alzheimer’s disease, the progression of tau aggregation follows stereotypical anatomical stages which may be considered as spreading. The mechanisms of the propagation are now subject to intensive and controversial research. It has been shown that tau may be secreted in the interstitial fluid in an active manner as reflected by high and constant concentration of extracellular tau during Alzheimer’s pathology. Animal and cell models have been devised to mimic tau seeding and propagation, and despite their limitations, they have further supported to the prion-like propagation hypothesis. Finally, such new ways of thinking have led to different therapeutic strategies in anti-tau immunotherapy among tauopathies and have stimulated new clinical trials. However, it appears that the prion-like propagation hypothesis mainly relies on data obtained in Alzheimer’s disease. From this review, it appears that further studies are needed (1) to characterize extracellular tau species, (2) to find the right pathological tau species to target, (3) to follow in vivo tau pathology by brain imaging and biomarkers and (4) to interpret current clinical trial results aimed at reducing the progression of these pathologies. Such inputs will be essential to have a comprehensive view of these promising therapeutic strategies in tauopathies.
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