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Chernyuk D, Callens M, Polozova M, Gordeev A, Chigriai M, Rakovskaya A, Ilina A, Pchitskaya E, Van den Haute C, Vervliet T, Bultynck G, Bezprozvanny I. Neuroprotective properties of anti-apoptotic BCL-2 proteins in 5xFAD mouse model of Alzheimer's disease. IBRO Neurosci Rep 2023; 14:273-283. [PMID: 36926591 PMCID: PMC10011438 DOI: 10.1016/j.ibneur.2023.02.005] [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: 10/11/2022] [Revised: 01/31/2023] [Accepted: 02/21/2023] [Indexed: 02/25/2023] Open
Abstract
Alzheimer's disease (AD) is the most common cause of dementia. An early feature of the AD pathology is the dysregulation of intracellular Ca2+ signaling in neurons. In particular, increased Ca2+ release from endoplasmic reticulum-located Ca2+ channels, including inositol-1,4,5-trisphosphate type 1 receptors (IP3R1) and ryanodine receptors type 2 (RyR2), have been extensively reported. Known for its anti-apoptotic properties, Bcl-2 also has the ability to bind to and inhibit the Ca2+-flux properties of IP3Rs and RyRs. In this study, the hypothesis that the expression of Bcl-2 proteins can normalize dysregulated Ca2+ signaling in a mouse model of AD (5xFAD) and thereby prevent or slow the progression of AD was examined. Therefore, stereotactic injections of adeno-associated viral vectors expressing Bcl-2 proteins were performed in the CA1 region of the 5xFAD mouse hippocampus. In order to assess the importance of the association with IP3R1, the Bcl-2K17D mutant was also included in these experiments. This K17D mutation has been previously shown to decrease the association of Bcl-2 with IP3R1, thereby impairing its ability to inhibit IP3R1 while not affecting Bcl-2's ability to inhibit RyRs. Here, we demonstrate that Bcl-2 protein expression leads to synaptoprotective and amyloid-protective effects in the 5xFAD animal model. Several of these neuroprotective features are also observed by Bcl-2K17D protein expression, suggesting that these effects are not associated with Bcl-2-mediated inhibition of IP3R1. Potential mechanisms for this Bcl-2 synaptoprotective action may be related to its ability to inhibit RyR2 activity as Bcl-2 and Bcl-2K17D are equally potent in inhibiting RyR2-mediated Ca2+ fluxes. This work indicates that Bcl-2-based strategies hold neuroprotective potential in AD models, though the underlying mechanisms requires further investigation.
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Affiliation(s)
- D Chernyuk
- Laboratory of Molecular Neurodegeneration, Peter the Great St. Petersburg State Polytechnic University, Saint Petersburg, Russia
| | - M Callens
- KU Leuven, Laboratory of Molecular & Cellular Signaling, Department of Cellular & Molecular Medicine, Campus Gasthuisberg O/N-I bus 802, Herestraat 49, BE-3000 Leuven, Belgium
| | - M Polozova
- Laboratory of Molecular Neurodegeneration, Peter the Great St. Petersburg State Polytechnic University, Saint Petersburg, Russia
| | - A Gordeev
- Laboratory of Molecular Neurodegeneration, Peter the Great St. Petersburg State Polytechnic University, Saint Petersburg, Russia
| | - M Chigriai
- Laboratory of Molecular Neurodegeneration, Peter the Great St. Petersburg State Polytechnic University, Saint Petersburg, Russia
| | - A Rakovskaya
- Laboratory of Molecular Neurodegeneration, Peter the Great St. Petersburg State Polytechnic University, Saint Petersburg, Russia
| | - A Ilina
- Laboratory of Molecular Neurodegeneration, Peter the Great St. Petersburg State Polytechnic University, Saint Petersburg, Russia
| | - E Pchitskaya
- Laboratory of Molecular Neurodegeneration, Peter the Great St. Petersburg State Polytechnic University, Saint Petersburg, Russia
| | - C Van den Haute
- KU Leuven, Research Group for Neurobiology and Gene Therapy, Department of Neurosciences, Campus Gasthuisberg O/N-5 box 1023, Herestraat 49, BE-3000 Leuven, Belgium.,Leuven Viral Vector Core, BE-3000 Leuven, Belgium
| | - T Vervliet
- KU Leuven, Laboratory of Molecular & Cellular Signaling, Department of Cellular & Molecular Medicine, Campus Gasthuisberg O/N-I bus 802, Herestraat 49, BE-3000 Leuven, Belgium
| | - G Bultynck
- KU Leuven, Laboratory of Molecular & Cellular Signaling, Department of Cellular & Molecular Medicine, Campus Gasthuisberg O/N-I bus 802, Herestraat 49, BE-3000 Leuven, Belgium
| | - I Bezprozvanny
- Laboratory of Molecular Neurodegeneration, Peter the Great St. Petersburg State Polytechnic University, Saint Petersburg, Russia.,Department of Physiology, UT Southwestern Medical Center at Dallas, Dallas, TX, USA
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A Transgenic 5xFAD-M Line of Mice for Dendritic Spine Morphology Analysis in Alzheimer's Disease. Brain Sci 2023; 13:brainsci13020307. [PMID: 36831849 PMCID: PMC9954381 DOI: 10.3390/brainsci13020307] [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: 12/23/2022] [Revised: 02/03/2023] [Accepted: 02/09/2023] [Indexed: 02/15/2023] Open
Abstract
Cognitive impairments are closely related to synaptic loss in Alzheimer's disease (AD). Functional changes in synaptic contacts are reflected in dendritic spine morphology. Visualization of neurons for morphological studies in vivo is complicated by the fixed brain slice staining or expensive adeno-associated virus injections. We created a transgenic 5xFAD-M line of mice with AD-associated mutations and expressed GFP protein in single neurons of the brain. This mouse model of AD is a useful tool for the simplified visualization of the hippocampal neurons' morphology in vivo without additional staining manipulations. The progressive elimination of mushroom spines was demonstrated in 5xFAD-M mice between 4 and 5 months of age. Five-month-old 5xFAD-M male and female mice showed change both in the total density and the mushroom spines number compared to sex-matched control. We conclude 5xFAD-M mice can be a useful AD model for studying the mechanisms of synaptic pathology under neurodegenerative conditions and evaluating the effects of potential therapeutic agents on spine morphology as crucial aspect of memory loss in AD.
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Jeong EK, Selvaraj B, Clovis S, Son YJ, Park TH, Veeramanoharan A, Kim HI, Yoo KY, Lee JW, Park CM. Synthesis and neuroprotective effects of H 2S-donor-peptide hybrids on hippocampal neuronal cells. Free Radic Biol Med 2023; 194:316-325. [PMID: 36528123 DOI: 10.1016/j.freeradbiomed.2022.12.012] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/05/2022] [Revised: 12/01/2022] [Accepted: 12/12/2022] [Indexed: 12/23/2022]
Abstract
Hydrogen sulfide (H2S) has emerged as an endogenous signaling molecule that functions in many physiological and pathological processes of human cells in health and disease, including neuromodulation and neuroprotection, inflammation, angiogenesis, and vasorelaxation. The limited clinical applications of current H2S donors have led to the development of H2S donor hybrid compounds that combine current H2S donors with bioactive molecules. Finely tuned multi-targeting hybrid molecules have been shown to have complementary neuroprotective effects against reactive oxygen species (ROS)-induced oxidative stress. In this study, we developed hybrid molecules combining a dithiolethione-based slow-releasing H2S donor that exerts neuroprotective effects, with the tripeptides glycyl-L-histidyl-l-lysine (GHK) and L-alanyl-L-cystinyl-l-glutamine (ACQ), two natural products that exhibit powerful antioxidant effects. In particular, a hybrid combination of a dithiolethione-based slow-releasing H2S donor and ACQ exhibited significant neuroprotective effects against glutamate-induced oxidative damage in HT22 hippocampal neuronal cells. This hybrid remarkably suppressed Ca2+ accumulation and ROS production. Furthermore, it efficiently inhibited apoptotic neuronal cell death by blocking apoptosis-inducing factor release and its translocation to the nucleus. These results indicate that the hybrid efficiently inhibited apoptotic neuronal cell damage by complementary neuroprotective actions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Eui Kyun Jeong
- Department of Chemistry, Gangneung-Wonju National University, Gangneung, Gangwon, 25457, South Korea
| | - Baskar Selvaraj
- Natural Product Research Center, Institute of Natural Product, Korea Institute of Science and Technology, Gangneung, Gangwon, 25451, South Korea
| | - Shyaka Clovis
- Department of Chemistry, Gangneung-Wonju National University, Gangneung, Gangwon, 25457, South Korea
| | - Yun Jeong Son
- Department of Chemistry, Gangneung-Wonju National University, Gangneung, Gangwon, 25457, South Korea
| | - Tae Hoo Park
- Natural Product Research Center, Institute of Natural Product, Korea Institute of Science and Technology, Gangneung, Gangwon, 25451, South Korea
| | - Ashokkumar Veeramanoharan
- Department of Chemistry, Gangneung-Wonju National University, Gangneung, Gangwon, 25457, South Korea
| | - Hoe-In Kim
- Department of Chemistry, Gangneung-Wonju National University, Gangneung, Gangwon, 25457, South Korea
| | - Ki-Yeon Yoo
- Department of Anatomy, College of Dentistry, Reseach Institute of Oral Sciences, Gangneung-Wonju National University, Gangneung, Gangwon, 25457, South Korea
| | - Jae Wook Lee
- Natural Product Research Center, Institute of Natural Product, Korea Institute of Science and Technology, Gangneung, Gangwon, 25451, South Korea.
| | - Chung-Min Park
- Department of Chemistry, Gangneung-Wonju National University, Gangneung, Gangwon, 25457, South Korea.
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Zhou J, Li Q, Wu W, Zhang X, Zuo Z, Lu Y, Zhao H, Wang Z. Discovery of Novel Drug Candidates for Alzheimer’s Disease by Molecular Network Modeling. Front Aging Neurosci 2022; 14:850217. [PMID: 35493947 PMCID: PMC9051440 DOI: 10.3389/fnagi.2022.850217] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/07/2022] [Accepted: 02/25/2022] [Indexed: 11/16/2022] Open
Abstract
To identify the molecular mechanisms and novel therapeutic agents of late-onset Alzheimer’s disease (AD), we performed integrative network analysis using multiple transcriptomic profiles of human brains. With the hypothesis that AD pathology involves the whole cerebrum, we first identified co-expressed modules across multiple cerebral regions of the aging human brain. Among them, two modules (M3 and M8) consisting of 1,429 protein-coding genes were significantly enriched with AD-correlated genes. Differential expression analysis of microarray, bulk RNA-sequencing (RNA-seq) data revealed the dysregulation of M3 and M8 across different cerebral regions in both normal aging and AD. The cell-type enrichment analysis and differential expression analysis at the single-cell resolution indicated the extensive neuronal vulnerability in AD pathogenesis. Transcriptomic-based drug screening from Connectivity Map proposed Gly-His-Lys acetate salt (GHK) as a potential drug candidate that could probably restore the dysregulated genes of the M3 and M8 network. Pretreatment with GHK showed a neuroprotective effect against amyloid-beta-induced injury in differentiated human neuron-like SH-SY5Y cells. Taken together, our findings uncover a dysregulated network disrupted across multiple cerebral regions in AD and propose pretreatment with GHK as a novel neuroprotective strategy against AD.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jiaxin Zhou
- Department of Anesthesiology, Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hospital, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, China
| | - Qingyong Li
- Medical Research Center, Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hospital, Guangzhou, China
| | - Wensi Wu
- Department of Anesthesiology, Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hospital, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, China
| | - Xiaojun Zhang
- Department of Anesthesiology, Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hospital, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, China
| | - Zhiyi Zuo
- Department of Anesthesiology, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA, United States
| | - Yanan Lu
- Department of Anesthesiology, Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hospital, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, China
| | - Huiying Zhao
- Medical Research Center, Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hospital, Guangzhou, China
- *Correspondence: Huiying Zhao,
| | - Zhi Wang
- Department of Anesthesiology, Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hospital, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, China
- Zhi Wang,
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Ilina A, Khavinson V, Linkova N, Petukhov M. Neuroepigenetic Mechanisms of Action of Ultrashort Peptides in Alzheimer's Disease. Int J Mol Sci 2022; 23:ijms23084259. [PMID: 35457077 PMCID: PMC9032300 DOI: 10.3390/ijms23084259] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/07/2022] [Revised: 04/07/2022] [Accepted: 04/09/2022] [Indexed: 12/23/2022] Open
Abstract
Epigenetic regulation of gene expression is necessary for maintaining higher-order cognitive functions (learning and memory). The current understanding of the role of epigenetics in the mechanism of Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is focused on DNA methylation, chromatin remodeling, histone modifications, and regulation of non-coding RNAs. The pathogenetic links of this disease are the misfolding and aggregation of tau protein and amyloid peptides, mitochondrial dysfunction, oxidative stress, impaired energy metabolism, destruction of the blood–brain barrier, and neuroinflammation, all of which lead to impaired synaptic plasticity and memory loss. Ultrashort peptides are promising neuroprotective compounds with a broad spectrum of activity and without reported side effects. The main aim of this review is to analyze the possible epigenetic mechanisms of the neuroprotective action of ultrashort peptides in AD. The review highlights the role of short peptides in the AD pathophysiology. We formulate the hypothesis that peptide regulation of gene expression can be mediated by the interaction of short peptides with histone proteins, cis- and transregulatory DNA elements and effector molecules (DNA/RNA-binding proteins and non-coding RNA). The development of therapeutic agents based on ultrashort peptides may offer a promising addition to the multifunctional treatment of AD.
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Affiliation(s)
- Anastasiia Ilina
- Department of Biogerontology, Saint Petersburg Institute of Bioregulation and Gerontology, 19711 Saint Petersburg, Russia; (V.K.); (N.L.)
- Department of General Pathology and Pathological Physiology, Institute of Experimental Medicine, 197376 Saint Petersburg, Russia
- Correspondence: ; Tel.: +7-(953)145-89-58
| | - Vladimir Khavinson
- Department of Biogerontology, Saint Petersburg Institute of Bioregulation and Gerontology, 19711 Saint Petersburg, Russia; (V.K.); (N.L.)
- Group of Peptide Regulation of Aging, Pavlov Institute of Physiology, Russian Academy of Sciences, 199034 Saint Petersburg, Russia
| | - Natalia Linkova
- Department of Biogerontology, Saint Petersburg Institute of Bioregulation and Gerontology, 19711 Saint Petersburg, Russia; (V.K.); (N.L.)
| | - Mikhael Petukhov
- Department of Molecular Radiation Biophysics, Petersburg Nuclear Physics Institute Named after B.P. Konstantinov, NRC “Kurchatov Institute”, 188300 Gatchina, Russia;
- Group of Biophysics, Higher Engineering and Technical School, Peter the Great St. Petersburg Polytechnic University, 195251 Saint Petersburg, Russia
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Peptide Regulation of Gene Expression: A Systematic Review. Molecules 2021; 26:molecules26227053. [PMID: 34834147 PMCID: PMC8619776 DOI: 10.3390/molecules26227053] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/20/2021] [Revised: 11/16/2021] [Accepted: 11/18/2021] [Indexed: 12/22/2022] Open
Abstract
Peptides are characterized by their wide range of biological activity: they regulate functions of the endocrine, nervous, and immune systems. The mechanism of such action of peptides involves their ability to regulate gene expression and protein synthesis in plants, microorganisms, insects, birds, rodents, primates, and humans. Short peptides, consisting of 2-7 amino acid residues, can penetrate into the nuclei and nucleoli of cells and interact with the nucleosome, the histone proteins, and both single- and double-stranded DNA. DNA-peptide interactions, including sequence recognition in gene promoters, are important for template-directed synthetic reactions, replication, transcription, and reparation. Peptides can regulate the status of DNA methylation, which is an epigenetic mechanism for the activation or repression of genes in both the normal condition, as well as in cases of pathology and senescence. In this context, one can assume that short peptides were evolutionarily among the first signaling molecules that regulated the reactions of template-directed syntheses. This situation enhances the prospects of developing effective and safe immunoregulatory, neuroprotective, antimicrobial, antiviral, and other drugs based on short peptides.
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