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Larson KC, Martens LH, Marconi M, Dejesus C, Bruhn S, Miller TA, Tate B, Levenson JM. Preclinical translational platform of neuroinflammatory disease biology relevant to neurodegenerative disease. J Neuroinflammation 2024; 21:37. [PMID: 38297405 PMCID: PMC10832185 DOI: 10.1186/s12974-024-03029-3] [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: 08/23/2023] [Accepted: 01/23/2024] [Indexed: 02/02/2024] Open
Abstract
Neuroinflammation is a key driver of neurodegenerative disease, however the tools available to model this disease biology at the systems level are lacking. We describe a translational drug discovery platform based on organotypic culture of murine cortical brain slices that recapitulate disease-relevant neuroinflammatory biology. After an acute injury response, the brain slices assume a chronic neuroinflammatory state marked by transcriptomic profiles indicative of activation of microglia and astrocytes and loss of neuronal function. Microglia are necessary for manifestation of this neuroinflammation, as depletion of microglia prior to isolation of the brain slices prevents both activation of astrocytes and robust loss of synaptic function genes. The transcriptomic pattern of neuroinflammation in the mouse platform is present in published datasets derived from patients with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, Huntington's disease, and frontotemporal dementia. Pharmacological utility of the platform was validated by demonstrating reversal of microglial activation and the overall transcriptomic signature with transforming growth factor-β. Additional anti-inflammatory targets were screened and inhibitors of glucocorticoid receptors, COX-2, dihydrofolate reductase, and NLRP3 inflammasome all failed to reverse the neuroinflammatory signature. Bioinformatics analysis of the neuroinflammatory signature identified protein tyrosine phosphatase non-receptor type 11 (PTPN11/SHP2) as a potential target. Three structurally distinct inhibitors of PTPN11 (RMC-4550, TN0155, IACS-13909) reversed the neuroinflammatory disease signature. Collectively, these results highlight the utility of this novel neuroinflammatory platform for facilitating identification and validation of targets for neuroinflammatory neurodegenerative disease drug discovery.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kelley C Larson
- Vigil Neuroscience, Watertown, USA
- Tiaki Therapeutics, Inc., c/o Dementia Discovery Fund, 201 Washington Street, 39th Floor, Boston, MA, 02108, USA
| | - Lauren H Martens
- , Neumora Therapeutics, Watertown, USA
- Tiaki Therapeutics, Inc., c/o Dementia Discovery Fund, 201 Washington Street, 39th Floor, Boston, MA, 02108, USA
| | - Michael Marconi
- Department of Molecular Pathology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, USA
- Tiaki Therapeutics, Inc., c/o Dementia Discovery Fund, 201 Washington Street, 39th Floor, Boston, MA, 02108, USA
| | - Christopher Dejesus
- Atalanta Therapeutics, Boston, USA
- Tiaki Therapeutics, Inc., c/o Dementia Discovery Fund, 201 Washington Street, 39th Floor, Boston, MA, 02108, USA
| | - Suzanne Bruhn
- Charcot-Marie-Tooth Association, Glenolden, USA
- Tiaki Therapeutics, Inc., c/o Dementia Discovery Fund, 201 Washington Street, 39th Floor, Boston, MA, 02108, USA
| | - Thomas A Miller
- Walden Biosciences, Cambridge, USA
- Tiaki Therapeutics, Inc., c/o Dementia Discovery Fund, 201 Washington Street, 39th Floor, Boston, MA, 02108, USA
| | - Barbara Tate
- FARA, Homestead, USA
- Tiaki Therapeutics, Inc., c/o Dementia Discovery Fund, 201 Washington Street, 39th Floor, Boston, MA, 02108, USA
| | - Jonathan M Levenson
- FireCyte Therapeutics, Beverly, USA.
- Tiaki Therapeutics, Inc., c/o Dementia Discovery Fund, 201 Washington Street, 39th Floor, Boston, MA, 02108, USA.
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