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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: 47] [Impact Index Per Article: 11.8] [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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Silva MC, Cheng C, Mair W, Almeida S, Fong H, Biswas MHU, Zhang Z, Huang Y, Temple S, Coppola G, Geschwind DH, Karydas A, Miller BL, Kosik KS, Gao FB, Steen JA, Haggarty SJ. Human iPSC-Derived Neuronal Model of Tau-A152T Frontotemporal Dementia Reveals Tau-Mediated Mechanisms of Neuronal Vulnerability. Stem Cell Reports 2016; 7:325-340. [PMID: 27594585 PMCID: PMC5032560 DOI: 10.1016/j.stemcr.2016.08.001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 74] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/28/2016] [Revised: 07/27/2016] [Accepted: 08/01/2016] [Indexed: 12/30/2022] Open
Abstract
Frontotemporal dementia (FTD) and other tauopathies characterized by focal brain neurodegeneration and pathological accumulation of proteins are commonly associated with tau mutations. However, the mechanism of neuronal loss is not fully understood. To identify molecular events associated with tauopathy, we studied induced pluripotent stem cell (iPSC)-derived neurons from individuals carrying the tau-A152T variant. We highlight the potential of in-depth phenotyping of human neuronal cell models for pre-clinical studies and identification of modulators of endogenous tau toxicity. Through a panel of biochemical and cellular assays, A152T neurons showed accumulation, redistribution, and decreased solubility of tau. Upregulation of tau was coupled to enhanced stress-inducible markers and cell vulnerability to proteotoxic, excitotoxic, and mitochondrial stressors, which was rescued upon CRISPR/Cas9-mediated targeting of tau or by pharmacological activation of autophagy. Our findings unmask tau-mediated perturbations of specific pathways associated with neuronal vulnerability, revealing potential early disease biomarkers and therapeutic targets for FTD and other tauopathies. Upregulation of tau and phospho-tau in FTD patient iPSC-derived tau A152T neurons Upregulation of insoluble tau in A152T neurons Altered proteostasis stress-inducible pathways in tau A152T neurons Tau-dependent vulnerability to stress in A152T neurons reverted by tau downregulation
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Affiliation(s)
- M Catarina Silva
- Department of Neurology, Chemical Neurobiology Laboratory, Center for Human Genetic Research, Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02114, USA
| | - Chialin Cheng
- Department of Neurology, Chemical Neurobiology Laboratory, Center for Human Genetic Research, Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02114, USA
| | - Waltraud Mair
- Department of Neurology, F.M. Kirby Neurobiology Center, Boston Children's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02115, USA
| | - Sandra Almeida
- Department of Neurology, University of Massachusetts Medical School, Worcester, MA 01655, USA
| | - Helen Fong
- Departments of Neurology and Pathology, Gladstone Institute of Neurological Disease, University of California, San Francisco, CA 94158, USA
| | - M Helal U Biswas
- Department of Neurology, University of Massachusetts Medical School, Worcester, MA 01655, USA
| | - Zhijun Zhang
- Department of Neurology, University of Massachusetts Medical School, Worcester, MA 01655, USA
| | - Yadong Huang
- Departments of Neurology and Pathology, Gladstone Institute of Neurological Disease, University of California, San Francisco, CA 94158, USA
| | - Sally Temple
- Neural Stem Cell Institute, Regenerative Research Foundation, Rensselaer, NY 12144, USA
| | - Giovanni Coppola
- Departments of Neurology and Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences, Semel Institute for Neuroscience and Human Behavior, University of California, Los Angeles, CA 90024, USA
| | - Daniel H Geschwind
- Departments of Neurology and Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences, Semel Institute for Neuroscience and Human Behavior, University of California, Los Angeles, CA 90024, USA
| | - Anna Karydas
- Department of Neurology, Memory and Aging Center, University of California, San Francisco, CA 94158, USA
| | - Bruce L Miller
- Department of Neurology, Memory and Aging Center, University of California, San Francisco, CA 94158, USA
| | - Kenneth S Kosik
- Department of Molecular, Cellular and Developmental Biology, Neuroscience Research Institute, University of California, Santa Barbara, CA 93106, USA
| | - Fen-Biao Gao
- Department of Neurology, University of Massachusetts Medical School, Worcester, MA 01655, USA
| | - Judith A Steen
- Department of Neurology, F.M. Kirby Neurobiology Center, Boston Children's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02115, USA
| | - Stephen J Haggarty
- Department of Neurology, Chemical Neurobiology Laboratory, Center for Human Genetic Research, Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02114, USA.
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Abstract
The unfolded protein response (UPR) is a stress response of the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) to a disturbance in protein folding. The so-called ER stress sensors PERK, IRE1 and ATF6 play a central role in the initiation and regulation of the UPR. The accumulation of misfolded and aggregated proteins is a common characteristic of neurodegenerative diseases. With the discovery of the basic machinery of the UPR, the idea was born that the UPR or part of its machinery could be involved in neurodegenerative diseases like Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis and prion disease. Over the last decade, the UPR has been addressed in an increasing number of studies on neurodegeneration. The involvement of the UPR has been investigated in human neuropathology across different neurological diseases, as well as in cell and mouse models for neurodegeneration. Studies using different disease models display discrepancies on the role and function of the UPR during neurodegeneration, which can often be attributed to differences in methodology. In this review, we will address the importance of investigation of human brain material for the interpretation of the role of the UPR in neurological diseases. We will discuss evidence for UPR activation in neurodegenerative diseases, and the methodology to study UPR activation and its connection to brain pathology will be addressed. More recently, the UPR is recognized as a target for drug therapy for treatment and prevention of neurodegeneration, by inhibiting the function of specific mediators of the UPR. Several preclinical studies have shown a proof-of-concept for this approach targeting the machinery of UPR, in particular the PERK pathway, in different models for neurodegeneration and have yielded paradoxical results. The promises held by these observations will need further support by clarification of the observed differences between disease models, as well as increased insight obtained from human neuropathology.
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van der Harg JM, Nölle A, Zwart R, Boerema AS, van Haastert ES, Strijkstra AM, Hoozemans JJ, Scheper W. The unfolded protein response mediates reversible tau phosphorylation induced by metabolic stress. Cell Death Dis 2014; 5:e1393. [PMID: 25165879 PMCID: PMC4454326 DOI: 10.1038/cddis.2014.354] [Citation(s) in RCA: 67] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/22/2014] [Revised: 07/11/2014] [Accepted: 07/23/2014] [Indexed: 01/01/2023]
Abstract
The unfolded protein response (UPR) is activated in neurodegenerative tauopathies such as Alzheimer's disease (AD) in close connection with early stages of tau pathology. Metabolic disturbances are strongly associated with increased risk for AD and are a potent inducer of the UPR. Here, we demonstrate that metabolic stress induces the phosphorylation of endogenous tau via activation of the UPR. Strikingly, upon restoration of the metabolic homeostasis, not only the levels of the UPR markers pPERK, pIRE1α and BiP, but also tau phosphorylation are reversed both in cell models as well as in torpor, a physiological hypometabolic model in vivo. Intervention in the UPR using the global UPR inhibitor TUDCA or a specific small-molecule inhibitor of the PERK signaling pathway, inhibits the metabolic stress-induced phosphorylation of tau. These data support a role for UPR-mediated tau phosphorylation as part of an adaptive response to metabolic stress. Failure to restore the metabolic homeostasis will lead to prolonged UPR activation and tau phosphorylation, and may thus contribute to AD pathogenesis. We demonstrate that the UPR is functionally involved in the early stages of tau pathology. Our data indicate that targeting of the UPR may be employed for early intervention in tau-related neurodegenerative diseases.
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Affiliation(s)
- J M van der Harg
- Department of Genome Analysis, Academic Medical Center, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
| | - A Nölle
- Department of Genome Analysis, Academic Medical Center, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
| | - R Zwart
- Department of Genome Analysis, Academic Medical Center, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
| | - A S Boerema
- Units of Chronobiology and Molecular Neurobiology, Center for Behaviour and Neurosciences, University of Groningen, Groningen, The Netherlands
| | - E S van Haastert
- Department of Pathology, Neuroscience Campus Amsterdam, VU University Medical Center, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
| | - A M Strijkstra
- Units of Chronobiology and Molecular Neurobiology, Center for Behaviour and Neurosciences, University of Groningen, Groningen, The Netherlands
| | - J Jm Hoozemans
- Department of Pathology, Neuroscience Campus Amsterdam, VU University Medical Center, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
| | - W Scheper
- 1] Department of Genome Analysis, Academic Medical Center, Amsterdam, The Netherlands [2] Department of Clinical Genetics and Alzheimer Center, VU University Medical Center, Amsterdam, The Netherlands [3] Departments of Functional Genomics and Molecular and Cellular Neuroscience, Center for Neurogenomics and Cognitive Research, Neuroscience Campus Amsterdam, VU University, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
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