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Ioannou M, Fella E, Papacharalambous R, Kynigopoulos D, Panayiotou E. Treatment of the CRND8 mouse model for cerebral amyloid angiopathy, exhibited increased levels of neuron specific enolase in brain tissue following long-term treatment with a modified C5a receptor agonist, accompanied by improved cognitive function. Biochem Biophys Res Commun 2023; 675:78-84. [PMID: 37454400 DOI: 10.1016/j.bbrc.2023.07.001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/05/2023] [Revised: 06/07/2023] [Accepted: 07/01/2023] [Indexed: 07/18/2023]
Abstract
Alzheimer's disease (AD) is an irreversible neurodegenerative disorder characterized by amyloid plaques, neurofibrillary tangles, and cerebral amyloid angiopathy (CAA). CAA is a condition manifesting as amyloid deposits in the cerebral vasculature, eventually leading to microhemorrhage. Here, we have treated the CRND8 mouse model with the C5a agonist (EP67) in order to observe the effects on cerebral amyloidosis, CAA, and hyperphosphorylated tau. EP67 attaches to the C5a receptor on phagocytes and stimulates the engulfment and digestion of fibrillar and prefibrillar amyloid while exhibiting minimal inflammation. Older CRND8 mice and their respective controls were treated with EP67 for a prolonged period of time. Following treatment, the CRND8 mice displayed improved spatial memory, while both amyloid deposition and tau hyperphosphorylation were found to be diminished.
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Affiliation(s)
- Maria Ioannou
- Neuropathology Laboratory, The Cyprus Institute of Neurology and Genetics, Nicosia, Cyprus
| | - Eleni Fella
- Neuropathology Laboratory, The Cyprus Institute of Neurology and Genetics, Nicosia, Cyprus
| | | | - Demos Kynigopoulos
- Neuropathology Laboratory, The Cyprus Institute of Neurology and Genetics, Nicosia, Cyprus
| | - Elena Panayiotou
- Neuropathology Laboratory, The Cyprus Institute of Neurology and Genetics, Nicosia, Cyprus.
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2
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Savva K, Zachariou M, Kynigopoulos D, Fella E, Vitali MI, Kosofidou X, Spyrou M, Sargiannidou I, Panayiotou E, Dietis N, Spyrou GM. Preliminary In Vitro and In Vivo Insights of In Silico Candidate Repurposed Drugs for Alzheimer's Disease. Life (Basel) 2023; 13:life13051095. [PMID: 37240740 DOI: 10.3390/life13051095] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 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: 03/10/2023] [Revised: 04/04/2023] [Accepted: 04/24/2023] [Indexed: 05/28/2023] Open
Abstract
Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a progressive neurodegenerative disease and is the most common type of dementia. Although a considerably large amount of money has been invested in drug development for AD, no disease modifying treatment has been detected so far. In our previous work, we developed a computational method to highlight stage-specific candidate repurposed drugs against AD. In this study, we tested the effect of the top 13 candidate repurposed drugs that we proposed in our previous work in a severity stage-specific manner using an in vitro BACE1 assay and the effect of a top-ranked drug from the list of our previous work, tetrabenazine (TBZ), in the 5XFAD as an AD mouse model. From our in vitro screening, we detected 2 compounds (clomiphene citrate and Pik-90) that showed statistically significant inhibition against the activity of the BACE1 enzyme. The administration of TBZ at the selected dose and therapeutic regimen in 5XFAD in male and female mice showed no significant effect in behavioral tests using the Y-maze and the ELISA immunoassay of Aβ40. To our knowledge, this is the first time the drug tetrabenazine has been tested in the 5XFAD mouse model of AD in a sex-stratified manner. Our results highlight 2 drugs (clomiphene citrate and Pik-90) from our previous computational work for further investigation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kyriaki Savva
- Bioinformatics Department, The Cyprus Institute of Neurology and Genetics, 2371 Nicosia, Cyprus
| | - Margarita Zachariou
- Bioinformatics Department, The Cyprus Institute of Neurology and Genetics, 2371 Nicosia, Cyprus
| | - Demos Kynigopoulos
- Department of Neuropathology, The Cyprus Institute of Neurology and Genetics, 2371 Nicosia, Cyprus
| | - Eleni Fella
- Department of Neuropathology, The Cyprus Institute of Neurology and Genetics, 2371 Nicosia, Cyprus
| | - Maria-Ioanna Vitali
- Experimental Pharmacology Laboratory, Medical School, University of Cyprus, 2109 Nicosia, Cyprus
| | - Xeni Kosofidou
- Experimental Pharmacology Laboratory, Medical School, University of Cyprus, 2109 Nicosia, Cyprus
| | - Michail Spyrou
- Experimental Pharmacology Laboratory, Medical School, University of Cyprus, 2109 Nicosia, Cyprus
| | - Irene Sargiannidou
- Neuroscience Department, The Cyprus Institute of Neurology and Genetics, 2371 Nicosia, Cyprus
| | - Elena Panayiotou
- Department of Neuropathology, The Cyprus Institute of Neurology and Genetics, 2371 Nicosia, Cyprus
| | - Nikolas Dietis
- Experimental Pharmacology Laboratory, Medical School, University of Cyprus, 2109 Nicosia, Cyprus
| | - George M Spyrou
- Bioinformatics Department, The Cyprus Institute of Neurology and Genetics, 2371 Nicosia, Cyprus
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Fella E, Papacharalambous R, Kynigopoulos D, Ioannou M, Derua R, Christodoulou C, Stylianou M, Karaiskos C, Kagiava A, Petroula G, Pierides C, Kyriakou M, Koumas L, Costeas P, Panayiotou E. Pharmacological activation of the C5a receptor leads to stimulation of the β-adrenergic receptor and alleviates cognitive impairment in a murine model of familial Alzheimer’s disease. Front Immunol 2022; 13:947071. [PMID: 36091045 PMCID: PMC9462583 DOI: 10.3389/fimmu.2022.947071] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/18/2022] [Accepted: 08/01/2022] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is a progressive neurodegenerative disease of the brain causing either familial or sporadic dementia. We have previously administered the modified C5a receptor agonist (EP67) for a short period to a transgenic mouse model of AD (5XFAD) and have observed not only reduction in β-amyloid deposition and gliosis but also improvement in cognitive impairment. Inquiring, however, on the effects of EP67 in an already heavily burdened animal, thus representing a more realistic scenario, we treated 6-month-old 5XFAD mice for a period of 14 weeks. We recorded a significant decrease in both fibrillar and pre-fibrillar β-amyloid as well as remarkable amelioration of cognitive impairment. Following proteomic analysis and pathway association, we postulate that these events are triggered through the upregulation of β-adrenergic and GABAergic signaling. In summary, our results reveal how inflammatory responses can be employed in inducing tangible phenotype improvements even in advanced stages of AD.
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Affiliation(s)
- Eleni Fella
- Neuropathology Department, Cyprus Institute of Neurology and Genetics, Nicosia, Cyprus
| | | | - Demos Kynigopoulos
- Neuropathology Department, Cyprus Institute of Neurology and Genetics, Nicosia, Cyprus
| | - Maria Ioannou
- Neuropathology Department, Cyprus Institute of Neurology and Genetics, Nicosia, Cyprus
| | - Rita Derua
- Laboratory of Protein Phosphorylation and Proteomics, Katholieke Universiteit Leuven, Leuven, Belgium
| | | | - Myrto Stylianou
- Bioinformatics Department, The Cyprus Institute of Neurology and Genetics, Nicosia, Cyprus
| | - Christos Karaiskos
- Neuroscience Department, Cyprus Institute of Neurology and Genetics, Nicosia, Cyprus
| | - Alexia Kagiava
- Neuroscience Department, Cyprus Institute of Neurology and Genetics, Nicosia, Cyprus
| | - Gerasimou Petroula
- Molecular Haematology-Oncology, The Karaiskakio Foundation, Nicosia, Cyprus
| | - Chryso Pierides
- The Center for the Study of Haematological Malignancies, Nicosia, Cyprus
| | - Maria Kyriakou
- The Center for the Study of Haematological Malignancies, Nicosia, Cyprus
| | - Laura Koumas
- The Center for the Study of Haematological Malignancies, Nicosia, Cyprus
- Cellular Pathology-Immunology, The Karaiskakio Foundation, Nicosia, Cyprus
| | - Paul Costeas
- Molecular Haematology-Oncology, The Karaiskakio Foundation, Nicosia, Cyprus
- The Center for the Study of Haematological Malignancies, Nicosia, Cyprus
- Cyprus Cancer Research Institute, Nicosia, Cyprus
| | - Elena Panayiotou
- Neuropathology Department, Cyprus Institute of Neurology and Genetics, Nicosia, Cyprus
- *Correspondence: Elena Panayiotou,
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Kalogerou M, Ioannou S, Kolovos P, Prokopiou E, Potamiti L, Kyriacou K, Panagiotidis M, Ioannou M, Fella E, Worth EP, Georgiou T. Omega-3 fatty acids promote neuroprotection, decreased apoptosis and reduced glial cell activation in the retina of a mouse model of OPA1-related autosomal dominant optic atrophy. Exp Eye Res 2022; 215:108901. [DOI: 10.1016/j.exer.2021.108901] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/13/2021] [Revised: 12/13/2021] [Accepted: 12/15/2021] [Indexed: 01/10/2023]
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Panayiotou E, Fella E, Andreou S, Papacharalambous R, Gerasimou P, Costeas P, Angeli S, Kousiappa I, Papacostas S, Kyriakides T. C5aR agonist enhances phagocytosis of fibrillar and non-fibrillar Aβ amyloid and preserves memory in a mouse model of familial Alzheimer's disease. PLoS One 2019; 14:e0225417. [PMID: 31809505 PMCID: PMC6897413 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0225417] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/12/2019] [Accepted: 11/03/2019] [Indexed: 12/22/2022] Open
Abstract
According to the amyloid hypothesis of Alzheimer's disease (AD) the deposition of prefibrillar and fibrillar Aβ peptide sets off the pathogenic cascades of neuroinflammation and neurodegeneration that lead to synaptic and neuronal loss resulting in cognitive decline. Various approaches to reduce amyloid load by reducing production of the Aβ peptide or enhancing amyloid clearance by primary or secondary immunization have not proven successful in clinical trials. Interfering with the normal function of secretases and suboptimal timing of Aβ peptide removal have been put forward as possible explanations. Complement, an innate component of the immune system, has been found to modulate disease pathology and in particular neuronal loss in the AD mouse model but its mechanism of action is complex. C1Q has been shown to facilitate phagocytosis of Aβ peptide but its Ablation attenuates neuroinflammation. Experiments in AD mouse models show that inhibition of complement component C5a reduces amyloid deposition and alleviates neuroinflammation. Phagocytes including microglia, monocytes and neutrophils carry C5a receptors. Here, a widely used mouse model of AD, 5XFAD, was intermittently treated with the oral C5a receptor agonist EP67 and several neuronal and neuroinflammatory markers as well as memory function were assessed. EP67 treatment enhanced phagocytosis, resulting in a significant reduction of both fibrillar and non-fibrillar Aβ, reduced astrocytosis and preserved synaptic and neuronal markers as well as memory function. Timely and phasic recruitment of the innate immune system offers a new therapeutic avenue of treating pre-symptomatic Alzheimer disease.
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Affiliation(s)
- Elena Panayiotou
- Neurology Clinic A, The Cyprus Institute of Neurology and Genetics, Nicosia, Cyprus
| | - Eleni Fella
- Cyprus School of Molecular Medicine, Nicosia, Cyprus
| | | | | | | | | | - Stella Angeli
- Cyprus School of Molecular Medicine, Nicosia, Cyprus
| | - Ioanna Kousiappa
- Neurology Clinic B, The Cyprus Institute of Neurology and Genetics, Nicosia, Cyprus
| | - Savvas Papacostas
- Cyprus School of Molecular Medicine, Nicosia, Cyprus
- Neurology Clinic B, The Cyprus Institute of Neurology and Genetics, Nicosia, Cyprus
| | - Theodoros Kyriakides
- Neurology Clinic A, The Cyprus Institute of Neurology and Genetics, Nicosia, Cyprus
- Cyprus School of Molecular Medicine, Nicosia, Cyprus
- * E-mail:
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Fella E, Sokratous K, Papacharalambous R, Kyriacou K, Phillips J, Sanderson S, Panayiotou E, Kyriakides T. Pharmacological Stimulation of Phagocytosis Enhances Amyloid Plaque Clearance; Evidence from a Transgenic Mouse Model of ATTR Neuropathy. Front Mol Neurosci 2017; 10:138. [PMID: 28539873 PMCID: PMC5423984 DOI: 10.3389/fnmol.2017.00138] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/13/2017] [Accepted: 04/21/2017] [Indexed: 12/11/2022] Open
Abstract
Hereditary ATTR V30M amyloidosis is a lethal autosomal dominant sensorimotor and autonomic neuropathy caused by deposition of aberrant transthyretin (TTR). Immunohistochemical examination of sural nerve biopsies in patients with amyloidotic neuropathy show co-aggregation of TTR with several proteins; including apolipoprotein E, serum amyloid P and components of the complement cascade. Complement activation and macrophages are increasingly recognized to play a crucial role in amyloidogenesis at the tissue bed level. In the current study we test the effect of two C5a receptor agonists and a C5a receptor antagonist (PMX53) on disease phenotype in ATTR V30M mice. Our results indicate that amyloid deposition was significantly reduced following treatment with the C5a receptor agonists, while treatment with the antagonist resulted in a significant increase of amyloid load. Administration of the C5a receptor agonists triggered increased recruitment of phagocytic cells resulting in clearance of amyloid deposits.
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Affiliation(s)
- Eleni Fella
- Neurology Clinic A, The Cyprus Institute of Neurology and GeneticsNicosia, Cyprus.,Cyprus School of Molecular MedicineNicosia, Cyprus
| | - Kleitos Sokratous
- Electron Microscopy and Molecular Pathology Department, The Cyprus Institute of Neurology and GeneticsNicosia, Cyprus.,Bioinformatics Group, The Cyprus Institute of Neurology and GeneticsNicosia, Cyprus
| | | | - Kyriacos Kyriacou
- Cyprus School of Molecular MedicineNicosia, Cyprus.,Electron Microscopy and Molecular Pathology Department, The Cyprus Institute of Neurology and GeneticsNicosia, Cyprus
| | - Joy Phillips
- Donald P. Shiley Bioscience Center, San Diego State UniversitySan Diego, CA, USA
| | - Sam Sanderson
- Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, College of Pharmacy, University of Nebraska Medical CenterOmaha, NE, USA
| | - Elena Panayiotou
- Neurology Clinic A, The Cyprus Institute of Neurology and GeneticsNicosia, Cyprus
| | - Theodoros Kyriakides
- Neurology Clinic A, The Cyprus Institute of Neurology and GeneticsNicosia, Cyprus.,Cyprus School of Molecular MedicineNicosia, Cyprus
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Panayiotou E, Fella E, Papacharalambous R, Malas S, Saraiva MJ, Kyriakides T. C1q ablation exacerbates amyloid deposition: A study in a transgenic mouse model of ATTRV30M amyloid neuropathy. PLoS One 2017; 12:e0175767. [PMID: 28407005 PMCID: PMC5391113 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0175767] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/16/2017] [Accepted: 03/30/2017] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
ATTRV30M amyloid neuropathy is a lethal autosomal dominant sensorimotor and autonomic neuropathy, caused by deposition of amyloid fibrils composed of aberrant transthyretin (TTR). Ages of onset and penetrance exhibit great variability and genetic factors have been implicated. Complement activation co-localizes with amyloid deposits in amyloidotic neuropathy and is possibly involved in the kinetics of amyloidogenesis. A candidate gene approach has recently identified C1q polymorphisms to correlate with disease onset in a Cypriot cohort of patients with ATTRV30M amyloid neuropathy. In the current study we use a double transgenic mouse model of ATTRV30M amyloid neuropathy in which C1q is ablated to elucidate further a possible modifier role for C1q. Amyloid deposition is found to be increased by 60% in the absence of C1q. Significant up regulation is also recorded in apoptotic and cellular stress markers reflecting extracellular toxicity of pre-fibrillar and fibrillar TTR. Our data further indicate that in the absence of C1q there is marked reduction of macrophages in association with amyloid deposits and thus less effective phagocytosis of TTR.
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Affiliation(s)
- Elena Panayiotou
- Clinic A, Neuropathology Department, The Cyprus Institute of Neurology & Genetics, Nicosia, Cyprus
| | - Eleni Fella
- The Cyprus School of Molecular Medicine, Nicosia, Cyprus
| | - Revekka Papacharalambous
- Clinic A, Neuropathology Department, The Cyprus Institute of Neurology & Genetics, Nicosia, Cyprus
| | - Stavros Malas
- Clinic A, Neuropathology Department, The Cyprus Institute of Neurology & Genetics, Nicosia, Cyprus
| | - Maria Joao Saraiva
- Instituto de Inovação e Investigação em Saúde (I3S) and Neurobiologia Molecular-Instituto de Biologia Molecular (IBMC) - Universidade do Porto, Porto, Portugal
| | - Theodoros Kyriakides
- Clinic A, Neuropathology Department, The Cyprus Institute of Neurology & Genetics, Nicosia, Cyprus
- The Cyprus School of Molecular Medicine, Nicosia, Cyprus
- * E-mail:
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8
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Panayiotou E, Papacharalambous R, Antoniou A, Christophides G, Papageorgiou L, Fella E, Malas S, Kyriakides T. Genetic background modifies amyloidosis in a mouse model of ATTR neuropathy. Biochem Biophys Rep 2016; 8:48-54. [PMID: 28955941 PMCID: PMC5613746 DOI: 10.1016/j.bbrep.2016.08.005] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/01/2016] [Revised: 07/04/2016] [Accepted: 08/04/2016] [Indexed: 11/29/2022] Open
Abstract
Penetrance and age of onset of ATTRV30M amyloidotic neuropathy varies significantly among different populations. This variability has been attributed to both genetic and environmental modifiers. We studied the effect of genetic background on phenotype in two lines of transgenic mice bearing the same ATTRV30M transgene. Amyloid deposition, transthyretin (TTR), megalin, clusterin and disease markers of endoplasmic reticulum stress, the ubiquitin-proteasome system, apoptosis, and complement activation were assessed with WB and immunohistochemistry in donor and recipient tissue. Our results indicate that genetic background modulates amyloid deposition by influencing TTR handling in recipient tissue and may partly account for the marked variability in penetrance observed in various world populations. Genetic background modulates ATTR amyloid deposition. Genetic background affects pathogenic cascades involved in amyloidogenesis. Megalin and clustering possibly involved in the handing of TTR monomers.
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Affiliation(s)
- E Panayiotou
- Cyprus Institute of Neurology and Genetics, P.O.Box 23462, 1683 Nicosia, Cyprus
| | - R Papacharalambous
- Cyprus Institute of Neurology and Genetics, P.O.Box 23462, 1683 Nicosia, Cyprus
| | - A Antoniou
- Cyprus School of Molecular Medicine, P.O.Box 23462, 1683 Nicosia, Cyprus
| | - G Christophides
- Cyprus School of Molecular Medicine, P.O.Box 23462, 1683 Nicosia, Cyprus
| | - L Papageorgiou
- Cyprus School of Molecular Medicine, P.O.Box 23462, 1683 Nicosia, Cyprus
| | - E Fella
- Cyprus School of Molecular Medicine, P.O.Box 23462, 1683 Nicosia, Cyprus
| | - S Malas
- Cyprus Institute of Neurology and Genetics, P.O.Box 23462, 1683 Nicosia, Cyprus
| | - T Kyriakides
- Cyprus Institute of Neurology and Genetics, P.O.Box 23462, 1683 Nicosia, Cyprus.,Cyprus School of Molecular Medicine, P.O.Box 23462, 1683 Nicosia, Cyprus
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Panayiotou E, Fella E, Papacharalambous R, Malas S, Kyriakides T. The role of complement in ATTR amyloidosis: a new therapeutic avenue? Orphanet J Rare Dis 2015. [PMCID: PMC4642124 DOI: 10.1186/1750-1172-10-s1-p3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/10/2022] Open
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