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Nuthikattu S, Milenkovic D, Norman JE, Villablanca AC. Single nuclei transcriptomics in diabetic mice reveals altered brain hippocampal endothelial cell function, permeability, and behavior. Biochim Biophys Acta Mol Basis Dis 2024; 1870:166970. [PMID: 38036105 DOI: 10.1016/j.bbadis.2023.166970] [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: 09/13/2023] [Revised: 11/16/2023] [Accepted: 11/21/2023] [Indexed: 12/02/2023]
Abstract
Type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) is a metabolic disorder with cerebrovascular and cardiovascular sequelae. Yet, a clear pattern of gene dysregulation by T2DM in dementia has yet to be defined. We used single nuclei RNA sequencing technology to profile the transcriptome of endothelial cells (EC) from anatomically defined hippocampus of db/db mice to identify differentially expressed (DE) genes, gene pathways and networks, predicted regulating transcription factors, and targets of DE long noncoding RNAs. We also applied gadolinium (Gd) enhanced magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) to assess blood brain barrier (BBB) permeability, and functionally assessed cognitive behavior. The murine gene expression profiles were then integrated with those of persons with Alzheimer's disease (AD) and vascular dementia (VaD). We reveal that the transcriptome of the diabetic hippocampal murine brain endothelium differs substantially from control wild types with molecular changes characterized by differential RNA coding and noncoding pathways enriched for EC signaling and for endothelial functions for neuroinflammation, endothelial barrier disruption, and neurodegeneration. Gd enhanced structural brain MRI linked endothelial molecular alterations to BBB dysfunction by neuroimaging. Integrated multiomics of hippocampal endothelial gene dysregulation associated with impairments in cognitive adaptive capacity. In addition, the diabetic transcriptome significantly and positively correlated with that of persons with AD and VaD. Taken together, our results from comprehensive, multilevel, integrated, single nuclei transcriptomics support the hypothesis of T2DM-mediated neuroinflammation and endothelial cell and barrier disruption as key mechanisms in cognitive decline in T2DM, thereby suggesting potential endothelial-specific molecular therapeutic targets.
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Affiliation(s)
- Saivageethi Nuthikattu
- Division of Cardiovascular Medicine, Department of Internal Medicine, University of California, Davis, CA 95616, USA.
| | - Dragan Milenkovic
- Department of Nutrition, University of California, Davis, CA 95616, USA
| | - Jennifer E Norman
- Division of Cardiovascular Medicine, Department of Internal Medicine, University of California, Davis, CA 95616, USA
| | - Amparo C Villablanca
- Division of Cardiovascular Medicine, Department of Internal Medicine, University of California, Davis, CA 95616, USA
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Gaunt JR, Zainolabidin N, Yip AKK, Tan JM, Low AYT, Chen AI, Ch'ng TH. Cytokine enrichment in deep cerebellar nuclei is contributed by multiple glial populations and linked to reduced amyloid plaque pathology. J Neuroinflammation 2023; 20:269. [PMID: 37978387 PMCID: PMC10656954 DOI: 10.1186/s12974-023-02913-8] [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: 04/24/2023] [Accepted: 09/28/2023] [Indexed: 11/19/2023] Open
Abstract
Alzheimer's disease (AD) pathology and amyloid-beta (Aβ) plaque deposition progress slowly in the cerebellum compared to other brain regions, while the entorhinal cortex (EC) is one of the most vulnerable regions. Using a knock-in AD mouse model (App KI), we show that within the cerebellum, the deep cerebellar nuclei (DCN) has particularly low accumulation of Aβ plaques. To identify factors that might underlie differences in the progression of AD-associated neuropathology across regions, we profiled gene expression in single nuclei (snRNAseq) across all cell types in the DCN and EC of wild-type (WT) and App KI male mice at age 7 months. We found differences in expression of genes associated with inflammatory activation, PI3K-AKT signalling, and neuron support functions between both regions and genotypes. In WT mice, the expression of interferon-response genes in microglia is higher in the DCN than the EC and this enrichment is confirmed by RNA in situ hybridisation, and measurement of inflammatory cytokines by protein array. Our analyses also revealed that multiple glial populations are responsible for establishing this cytokine-enriched niche. Furthermore, homogenates derived from the DCN induced inflammatory gene expression in BV2 microglia. We also assessed the relationship between the DCN microenvironment and Aβ pathology by depleting microglia using a CSF1R inhibitor PLX5622 and saw that, surprisingly, the expression of a subset of inflammatory cytokines was increased while plaque abundance in the DCN was further reduced. Overall, our study revealed the presence of a cytokine-enriched microenvironment unique to the DCN that when modulated, can alter plaque deposition.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jessica R Gaunt
- Lee Kong Chian School of Medicine, Nanyang Technological University, Clinical Science Building, 11 Mandalay Road, Singapore, 308232, Singapore
| | - Norliyana Zainolabidin
- Lee Kong Chian School of Medicine, Nanyang Technological University, Clinical Science Building, 11 Mandalay Road, Singapore, 308232, Singapore
| | - Alaric K K Yip
- Lee Kong Chian School of Medicine, Nanyang Technological University, Clinical Science Building, 11 Mandalay Road, Singapore, 308232, Singapore
| | - Jia Min Tan
- Lee Kong Chian School of Medicine, Nanyang Technological University, Clinical Science Building, 11 Mandalay Road, Singapore, 308232, Singapore
| | - Aloysius Y T Low
- Department of Biology, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA
| | - Albert I Chen
- Center for Aging Research, Scintillon Institute, 6868 Nancy Ridge Drive, San Diego, CA, 92121, USA.
- Molecular Neurobiology Laboratory, Salk Institute, La Jolla, CA, 92037, USA.
| | - Toh Hean Ch'ng
- Lee Kong Chian School of Medicine, Nanyang Technological University, Clinical Science Building, 11 Mandalay Road, Singapore, 308232, Singapore.
- School of Biological Science, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore, 63755, Singapore.
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Looking Forward to Saying Goodbye to COVID-19 and a Step Forward. Int Neurourol J 2022; 26:259-260. [PMID: 36599333 PMCID: PMC9816443 DOI: 10.5213/inj.2222edi05] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/30/2022] Open
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