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Dominicis A, Del Giovane A, Torreggiani M, Recchia AD, Ciccarone F, Ciriolo MR, Ragnini-Wilson A. N-Acetylaspartate Drives Oligodendroglial Differentiation via Histone Deacetylase Activation. Cells 2023; 12:1861. [PMID: 37508525 PMCID: PMC10378218 DOI: 10.3390/cells12141861] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/22/2023] [Revised: 07/09/2023] [Accepted: 07/12/2023] [Indexed: 07/30/2023] Open
Abstract
An unmet clinical goal in demyelinating pathologies is to restore the myelin sheath prior to neural degeneration. N-acetylaspartate (NAA) is an acetylated derivative form of aspartate, abundant in the healthy brain but severely reduced during traumatic brain injury and in patients with neurodegenerative pathologies. How extracellular NAA variations impact the remyelination process and, thereby, the ability of oligodendrocytes to remyelinate axons remains unexplored. Here, we evaluated the remyelination properties of the oligodendroglial (OL) mouse cell line Oli-neuM under different concentrations of NAA using a combination of biochemical, qPCR, immunofluorescence assays, and in vitro engagement tests, at NAA doses compatible with those observed in healthy brains and during brain injury. We observed that oligodendroglia cells respond to decreasing levels of NAA by stimulating differentiation and promoting gene expression of myelin proteins in a temporally regulated manner. Low doses of NAA potently stimulate Oli-neuM to engage with synthetic axons. Furthermore, we show a concentration-dependent expression of specific histone deacetylases essential for MBP gene expression under NAA or Clobetasol treatment. These data are consistent with the idea that oligodendrocytes respond to lowering the NAA concentration by activating the remyelination process via deacetylase activation.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Alice Del Giovane
- Department of Biology, University of Rome Tor Vergata, 00133 Rome, Italy
| | - Matteo Torreggiani
- Department of Biology, University of Rome Tor Vergata, 00133 Rome, Italy
| | | | - Fabio Ciccarone
- Department of Biology, University of Rome Tor Vergata, 00133 Rome, Italy
- IRCCS San Raffaele, 00166 Rome, Italy
| | - Maria Rosa Ciriolo
- Department of Biology, University of Rome Tor Vergata, 00133 Rome, Italy
- IRCCS San Raffaele, 00166 Rome, Italy
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Del Giovane A, Russo M, Tirou L, Faure H, Ruat M, Balestri S, Sposato C, Basoli F, Rainer A, Kassoussi A, Traiffort E, Ragnini-Wilson A. Smoothened/AMP-Activated Protein Kinase Signaling in Oligodendroglial Cell Maturation. Front Cell Neurosci 2022; 15:801704. [PMID: 35082605 PMCID: PMC8784884 DOI: 10.3389/fncel.2021.801704] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/25/2021] [Accepted: 11/29/2021] [Indexed: 12/14/2022] Open
Abstract
The regeneration of myelin is known to restore axonal conduction velocity after a demyelinating event. Remyelination failure in the central nervous system contributes to the severity and progression of demyelinating diseases such as multiple sclerosis. Remyelination is controlled by many signaling pathways, such as the Sonic hedgehog (Shh) pathway, as shown by the canonical activation of its key effector Smoothened (Smo), which increases the proliferation of oligodendrocyte precursor cells via the upregulation of the transcription factor Gli1. On the other hand, the inhibition of Gli1 was also found to promote the recruitment of a subset of adult neural stem cells and their subsequent differentiation into oligodendrocytes. Since Smo is also able to transduce Shh signals via various non-canonical pathways such as the blockade of Gli1, we addressed the potential of non-canonical Smo signaling to contribute to oligodendroglial cell maturation in myelinating cells using the non-canonical Smo agonist GSA-10, which downregulates Gli1. Using the Oli-neuM cell line, we show that GSA-10 promotes Gli2 upregulation, MBP and MAL/OPALIN expression via Smo/AMP-activated Protein Kinase (AMPK) signaling, and efficiently increases the number of axonal contact/ensheathment for each oligodendroglial cell. Moreover, GSA-10 promotes the recruitment and differentiation of oligodendroglial progenitors into the demyelinated corpus callosum in vivo. Altogether, our data indicate that non-canonical signaling involving Smo/AMPK modulation and Gli1 downregulation promotes oligodendroglia maturation until axon engagement. Thus, GSA-10, by activation of this signaling pathway, represents a novel potential remyelinating agent.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alice Del Giovane
- Department of Biology, University of Rome “Tor Vergata”, Rome, Italy
| | - Mariagiovanna Russo
- CNRS, Institut des Neurosciences Paris-Saclay, Université Paris-Saclay, Saclay, France
| | - Linda Tirou
- CNRS, Institut des Neurosciences Paris-Saclay, Université Paris-Saclay, Saclay, France
| | - Hélène Faure
- CNRS, Institut des Neurosciences Paris-Saclay, Université Paris-Saclay, Saclay, France
| | - Martial Ruat
- CNRS, Institut des Neurosciences Paris-Saclay, Université Paris-Saclay, Saclay, France
| | - Sonia Balestri
- Department of Biology, University of Rome “Tor Vergata”, Rome, Italy
| | - Carola Sposato
- Department of Biology, University of Rome “Tor Vergata”, Rome, Italy
| | - Francesco Basoli
- Department of Engineering, Università Campus Bio-Medico di Roma, Rome, Italy
| | - Alberto Rainer
- Department of Engineering, Università Campus Bio-Medico di Roma, Rome, Italy
- Institute of Nanotechnology (NANOTEC), National Research Council, Lecce, Italy
| | | | - Elisabeth Traiffort
- INSERM, U1195, Université Paris-Saclay, Le Kremlin-Bicêtre, France
- *Correspondence: Elisabeth Traiffort,
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Balestri S, Del Giovane A, Sposato C, Ferrarelli M, Ragnini-Wilson A. The Current Challenges for Drug Discovery in CNS Remyelination. Int J Mol Sci 2021; 22:ijms22062891. [PMID: 33809224 PMCID: PMC8001072 DOI: 10.3390/ijms22062891] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/04/2021] [Revised: 03/09/2021] [Accepted: 03/10/2021] [Indexed: 12/12/2022] Open
Abstract
The myelin sheath wraps around axons, allowing saltatory currents to be transmitted along neurons. Several genetic, viral, or environmental factors can damage the central nervous system (CNS) myelin sheath during life. Unless the myelin sheath is repaired, these insults will lead to neurodegeneration. Remyelination occurs spontaneously upon myelin injury in healthy individuals but can fail in several demyelination pathologies or as a consequence of aging. Thus, pharmacological intervention that promotes CNS remyelination could have a major impact on patient’s lives by delaying or even preventing neurodegeneration. Drugs promoting CNS remyelination in animal models have been identified recently, mostly as a result of repurposing phenotypical screening campaigns that used novel oligodendrocyte cellular models. Although none of these have as yet arrived in the clinic, promising candidates are on the way. Many questions remain. Among the most relevant is the question if there is a time window when remyelination drugs should be administrated and why adult remyelination fails in many neurodegenerative pathologies. Moreover, a significant challenge in the field is how to reconstitute the oligodendrocyte/axon interaction environment representative of healthy as well as disease microenvironments in drug screening campaigns, so that drugs can be screened in the most appropriate disease-relevant conditions. Here we will provide an overview of how the field of in vitro models developed over recent years and recent biological findings about how oligodendrocytes mature after reactivation of their staminal niche. These data have posed novel questions and opened new views about how the adult brain is repaired after myelin injury and we will discuss how these new findings might change future drug screening campaigns for CNS regenerative drugs.
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Nocita E, Del Giovane A, Tiberi M, Boccuni L, Fiorelli D, Sposato C, Romano E, Basoli F, Trombetta M, Rainer A, Traversa E, Ragnini-Wilson A. EGFR/ErbB Inhibition Promotes OPC Maturation up to Axon Engagement by Co-Regulating PIP2 and MBP. Cells 2019; 8:cells8080844. [PMID: 31390799 PMCID: PMC6721729 DOI: 10.3390/cells8080844] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/05/2019] [Revised: 08/04/2019] [Accepted: 08/05/2019] [Indexed: 12/11/2022] Open
Abstract
Remyelination in the adult brain relies on the reactivation of the Neuronal Precursor Cell (NPC) niche and differentiation into Oligodendrocyte Precursor Cells (OPCs) as well as on OPC maturation into myelinating oligodendrocytes (OLs). These two distinct phases in OL development are defined by transcriptional and morphological changes. How this differentiation program is controlled remains unclear. We used two drugs that stimulate myelin basic protein (MBP) expression (Clobetasol and Gefitinib) alone or combined with epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) or Retinoid X Receptor gamma (RXRγ) gene silencing to decode the receptor signaling required for OPC differentiation in myelinating OLs. Electrospun polystyrene (PS) microfibers were used as synthetic axons to study drug efficacy on fiber engagement. We show that EGFR inhibition per se stimulates MBP expression and increases Clobetasol efficacy in OPC differentiation. Consistent with this, Clobetasol and Gefitinib co-treatment, by co-regulating RXRγ, MBP and phosphatidylinositol 4,5-bisphosphate (PIP2) levels, maximizes synthetic axon engagement. Conversely, RXRγ gene silencing reduces the ability of the drugs to promote MBP expression. This work provides a view of how EGFR/ErbB inhibition controls OPC differentiation and indicates the combination of Clobetasol and Gefitinib as a potent remyelination-enhancing treatment.
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Affiliation(s)
- Emanuela Nocita
- NeurotechIT Laboratory, Department of Biology, University of Rome "Tor Vergata", 00133 Rome, Italy
| | - Alice Del Giovane
- NeurotechIT Laboratory, Department of Biology, University of Rome "Tor Vergata", 00133 Rome, Italy
| | - Marta Tiberi
- NeurotechIT Laboratory, Department of Biology, University of Rome "Tor Vergata", 00133 Rome, Italy
| | - Laura Boccuni
- NeurotechIT Laboratory, Department of Biology, University of Rome "Tor Vergata", 00133 Rome, Italy
| | - Denise Fiorelli
- NeurotechIT Laboratory, Department of Biology, University of Rome "Tor Vergata", 00133 Rome, Italy
| | - Carola Sposato
- NeurotechIT Laboratory, Department of Biology, University of Rome "Tor Vergata", 00133 Rome, Italy
| | - Elena Romano
- Advanced Microscopy Center, Department of Biology, University of Rome "Tor Vergata", 00133 Rome, Italy
| | - Francesco Basoli
- Department of Engineering, Università Campus Bio-Medico di Roma, 00128 Rome, Italy
| | - Marcella Trombetta
- Department of Engineering, Università Campus Bio-Medico di Roma, 00128 Rome, Italy
| | - Alberto Rainer
- Department of Engineering, Università Campus Bio-Medico di Roma, 00128 Rome, Italy
| | - Enrico Traversa
- School of Materials and Energy, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu 611731, China
| | - Antonella Ragnini-Wilson
- NeurotechIT Laboratory, Department of Biology, University of Rome "Tor Vergata", 00133 Rome, Italy.
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Del Giovane A, Ragnini-Wilson A. Targeting Smoothened as a New Frontier in the Functional Recovery of Central Nervous System Demyelinating Pathologies. Int J Mol Sci 2018; 19:E3677. [PMID: 30463396 PMCID: PMC6274747 DOI: 10.3390/ijms19113677] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/17/2018] [Revised: 11/09/2018] [Accepted: 11/14/2018] [Indexed: 12/20/2022] Open
Abstract
Myelin sheaths on vertebrate axons provide protection, vital support and increase the speed of neuronal signals. Myelin degeneration can be caused by viral, autoimmune or genetic diseases. Remyelination is a natural process that restores the myelin sheath and, consequently, neuronal function after a demyelination event, preventing neurodegeneration and thereby neuron functional loss. Pharmacological approaches to remyelination represent a promising new frontier in the therapy of human demyelination pathologies and might provide novel tools to improve adaptive myelination in aged individuals. Recent phenotypical screens have identified agonists of the atypical G protein-coupled receptor Smoothened and inhibitors of the glioma-associated oncogene 1 as being amongst the most potent stimulators of oligodendrocyte precursor cell (OPC) differentiation in vitro and remyelination in the central nervous system (CNS) of mice. Here, we discuss the current state-of-the-art of studies on the role of Sonic Hedgehog reactivation during remyelination, referring readers to other reviews for the role of Hedgehog signaling in cancer and stem cell maintenance.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alice Del Giovane
- Department of Biology University of Rome Tor Vergata, Viale Della Ricerca Scientifica, 00133 Rome, Italy.
| | - Antonella Ragnini-Wilson
- Department of Biology University of Rome Tor Vergata, Viale Della Ricerca Scientifica, 00133 Rome, Italy.
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