Interleukin-17A in Alzheimer's disease: recent advances and controversies

mosGraphGPT: a foundation model for multi-omic signaling graphs using generative AI

Generative pretrained models represent a significant advancement in natural language processing and computer vision, which can generate coherent and contextually relevant content based on the pre-training on large general datasets and fine-tune for specific tasks. Building foundation models using large scale omic data is promising to decode and understand the complex signaling language patterns within cells. Different from existing foundation models of omic data, we build a foundation model, mosGraphGPT, for multi-omic signaling (mos) graphs, in which the multi-omic data was integrated and interpreted using a multi-level signaling graph. The model was pretrained using multi-omic data of cancers in The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA), and fine-turned for multi-omic data of Alzheimer's Disease (AD). The experimental evaluation results showed that the model can not only improve the disease classification accuracy, but also is interpretable by uncovering disease targets and signaling interactions. And the model code are uploaded via GitHub with link: https://github.com/mosGraph/mosGraphGPT.

Roles of Cytokines in Alzheimer's Disease

The neuroimmune system is a collection of immune cells, cytokines, and the glymphatic system that plays a pivotal role in the pathogenesis and progression of Alzheimer's disease (AD). Of particular focus are cytokines, a group of immune signaling molecules that facilitate communication among immune cells and contribute to inflammation in AD. Extensive research has shown that the dysregulated secretion of certain cytokines (IL-1β, IL-17, IL-12, IL-23, IL-6, and TNF-α) promotes neuroinflammation and exacerbates neuronal damage in AD. However, anti-inflammatory cytokines (IL-2, IL-3, IL-33, and IL-35) are also secreted during AD onset and progression, thereby preventing neuroinflammation. This review summarizes the involvement of pro- and anti-inflammatory cytokines in AD pathology and discusses their therapeutic potential.

A blunted TH17 cytokine signature in women with mild cognitive impairment: insights from inflammatory profiling of a community-based cohort of older adults

People with dementia have an increase in brain inflammation, caused in part by innate and adaptive immune cells. However, it remains unknown whether dementia-associated diseases alter neuro-immune reflex arcs to impact the systemic immune system. We examined peripheral immune cells from a community-based cohort of older adults to test if systemic inflammatory cytokine signatures associated with early stages of cognitive impairment. Human peripheral blood mononuclear cells were cultured with monocyte or T-cell-targeted stimuli, and multiplex assays quantitated cytokines in the conditioned media. Following T-cell-targeted stimulation, cells from women with cognitive impairment produced lower amounts of TH17 cytokines compared with cells from cognitively healthy women, while myeloid-targeted stimuli elicited similar amounts of cytokines from cells of both groups. This TH17 signature correlated with the proportion of circulating CD4+ and CD8+ T cells and plasma glial fibrillary acidic protein and neurofilament light concentrations. These results suggest that decreases in TH17 cytokines could be an early systemic change in women at risk for developing dementia. Amelioration of TH17s cytokines in early cognitive impairment could, in part, explain the compromised ability of older adults to respond to vaccines or defend against infection.

The role of Th17 cells/IL-17A in AD, PD, ALS and the strategic therapy targeting on IL-17A

Neurodegenerative diseases are a group of disorders characterized by progressive loss of certain populations of neurons, which eventually lead to dysfunction. These diseases include Alzheimer’s disease (AD), Parkinson’s disease (PD), and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). Immune pathway dysregulation is one of the common features of neurodegeneration. Recently, there is growing interest in the specific role of T helper Th 17 cells and Interleukin-17A (IL-17A), the most important cytokine of Th 17 cells, in the pathogenesis of the central nervous system (CNS) of neurodegenerative diseases. In the present study, we summarized current knowledge about the function of Th17/IL-17A, the physiology of Th17/IL-17A in diseases, and the contribution of Th17/IL-17A in AD, PD, and ALS. We also update the findings on IL-17A-targeting drugs as potentially immunomodulatory therapeutic agents for neurodegenerative diseases. Although the specific mechanism of Th17/IL-17A in this group of diseases is still controversial, uncovering the molecular pathways of Th17/IL-17A in neurodegeneration allows the identification of suitable targets to modulate these cellular processes. Therapeutics targeting IL-17A might represent potentially novel anti-neurodegeneration drugs.

Novel Therapeutic Target for Prevention of Neurodegenerative Diseases: Modulation of Neuroinflammation with Sig-1R Ligands

Neurodegenerative diseases (NDDs) are characterized by progressive deterioration of the structure and function of cells and their networks in the nervous system. There are currently no drugs or other treatments that can stop the progression of NDDs. NDDs have many similarities and common pathways, e.g., formation of misfolded amyloid proteins, intra- and extracellular amyloid deposits, and chronic inflammation. Initially, the inflammation process has a cytoprotective function; however, an elevated and prolonged immune response has damaging effects and causes cell death. Neuroinflammation has been a target of drug development for treating and curing NDDs. Treatment of different NDDs with non-steroid anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) has failed or has given inconsistent results. The use of NSAIDs in diagnosed Alzheimer's disease is currently not recommended. Sigma-1 receptor (Sig-1R) is a novel target for NDD drug development. Sig-1R plays a key role in cellular stress signaling, and it regulates endoplasmic reticulum stress and unfolded protein response. Activation of Sig-1R provides neuroprotection in cell cultures and animal studies. Clinical trials demonstrated that several Sig-1R agonists (pridopidine, ANAVEX3-71, fluvoxamine, dextrometorphan) and their combinations have a neuroprotective effect and slow down the progression of distinct NDDs.