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Courte J, Le NA, Pan T, Bousset L, Melki R, Villard C, Peyrin JM. Synapses do not facilitate prion-like transfer of alpha-synuclein: a quantitative study in reconstructed unidirectional neural networks. Cell Mol Life Sci 2023; 80:284. [PMID: 37688644 PMCID: PMC10492778 DOI: 10.1007/s00018-023-04915-4] [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] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/05/2023] [Revised: 07/11/2023] [Accepted: 08/07/2023] [Indexed: 09/11/2023]
Abstract
Alpha-synuclein (aSyn) aggregation spreads between cells and underlies the progression of neuronal lesions in the brain of patients with synucleinopathies such as Parkinson's diseases. The mechanisms of cell-to-cell propagation of aggregates, which dictate how aggregation progresses at the network level, remain poorly understood. Notably, while prion and prion-like spreading is often simplistically envisioned as a "domino-like" spreading scenario where connected neurons sequentially propagate protein aggregation to each other, the reality is likely to be more nuanced. Here, we demonstrate that the spreading of preformed aSyn aggregates is a limited process that occurs through molecular sieving of large aSyn seeds. We further show that this process is not facilitated by synaptic connections. This was achieved through the development and characterization of a new microfluidic platform that allows reconstruction of binary fully oriented neuronal networks in vitro with no unwanted backward connections, and through the careful quantification of fluorescent aSyn aggregates spreading between neurons. While this allowed us for the first time to extract quantitative data of protein seeds dissemination along neural pathways, our data suggest that prion-like dissemination of proteinopathic seeding aggregates occurs very progressively and leads to highly compartmentalized pattern of protein seeding in neural networks.
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Affiliation(s)
- Josquin Courte
- Faculté des Sciences et Technologie, Institut de Biologie Paris Seine, Sorbonne Universités, CNRS UMR 8246, INSERM U1130, Neurosciences Paris Seine, 75005 Paris, France
- Institut Curie, CNRS UMR 168, Université PSL, Sorbonne Universités, 75005 Paris, France
| | - Ngoc Anh Le
- Faculté des Sciences et Technologie, Institut de Biologie Paris Seine, Sorbonne Universités, CNRS UMR 8246, INSERM U1130, Neurosciences Paris Seine, 75005 Paris, France
| | - Teng Pan
- Faculté des Sciences et Technologie, Institut de Biologie Paris Seine, Sorbonne Universités, CNRS UMR 8246, INSERM U1130, Neurosciences Paris Seine, 75005 Paris, France
| | - Luc Bousset
- Institut François Jacob, (MIRCen), CEA and Laboratory of Neurodegenerative Diseases, CNRS, 92260 Fontenay-Aux-Roses, France
| | - Ronald Melki
- Institut François Jacob, (MIRCen), CEA and Laboratory of Neurodegenerative Diseases, CNRS, 92260 Fontenay-Aux-Roses, France
| | - Catherine Villard
- Institut Curie, CNRS UMR 168, Université PSL, Sorbonne Universités, 75005 Paris, France
| | - Jean-Michel Peyrin
- Faculté des Sciences et Technologie, Institut de Biologie Paris Seine, Sorbonne Universités, CNRS UMR 8246, INSERM U1130, Neurosciences Paris Seine, 75005 Paris, France
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Gribaudo S, Bousset L, Courte J, Melki R, Peyrin JM, Perrier AL. Propagation of Distinct α-Synuclein Strains Within Human Reconstructed Neuronal Network and Associated Neuronal Dysfunctions. Methods Mol Biol 2023; 2551:357-378. [PMID: 36310215 DOI: 10.1007/978-1-0716-2597-2_24] [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] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/16/2023]
Abstract
Aggregated alpha-synuclein (α-Syn) in neurons is a hallmark of Parkinson's disease (PD) and other synucleinopathies. Recent advances (1) in the production and purification of synthetic assemblies of α-Syn, (2) in the design and production of microfluidic devices allowing the construction of oriented and compartmentalized neuronal network on a chip, and (3) in the differentiation of human pluripotent stem cells (hPSCs) into specific neuronal subtypes now allow the study of cellular and molecular determinants of the prion-like properties of α-Syn in vitro. Here, we described the methods we used to reconstruct a cortico-cortical human neuronal network in microfluidic devices and how to take advantage of this cellular model to characterize (1) the prion-like properties of different α-Syn strains and (2) the neuronal dysfunctions and the alterations associated with the exposure to α-Syn strains or the nucleation of endogenous α-Syn protein in vitro.
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Affiliation(s)
- Simona Gribaudo
- Université Paris-Saclay, INSERM, I-Stem, AFM, Corbeil-Essonnes, France
- INSERM UMR-S 1270, 75005, Paris, France
- Sorbonne Université, F75005, Paris, France
- Institut du Fer à Moulin, F75005, Paris, France
| | - Luc Bousset
- Université Paris-Saclay, CEA, CNRS, MIRCen, Laboratoire des Maladies Neurodégénératives, Fontenay-aux-Roses, France
| | - Josquin Courte
- Sorbonne Université, Faculté des Sciences et Technologie, CNRS UMR 8246, INSERM U1130, Neurosciences Paris Seine, Institut de Biologie Paris Seine, Paris, France
- Sorbonne Université, CNRS UMR 168, Physico Chimie Curie, Institut Pierre-Gilles de Gennes, Paris, France
| | - Ronald Melki
- Université Paris-Saclay, CEA, CNRS, MIRCen, Laboratoire des Maladies Neurodégénératives, Fontenay-aux-Roses, France.
| | - Jean-Michel Peyrin
- Sorbonne Université, Faculté des Sciences et Technologie, CNRS UMR 8246, INSERM U1130, Neurosciences Paris Seine, Institut de Biologie Paris Seine, Paris, France.
| | - Anselme L Perrier
- Université Paris-Saclay, INSERM, I-Stem, AFM, Corbeil-Essonnes, France.
- Université Paris-Saclay, CEA, CNRS, MIRCen, Laboratoire des Maladies Neurodégénératives, Fontenay-aux-Roses, France.
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Lam C, Saluja S, Courcoubetis G, Yu D, Chung C, Courte J, Morsut L. Parameterized Computational Framework for the Description and Design of Genetic Circuits of Morphogenesis Based on Contact-Dependent Signaling and Changes in Cell-Cell Adhesion. ACS Synth Biol 2022; 11:1417-1439. [PMID: 35363477 PMCID: PMC10389258 DOI: 10.1021/acssynbio.0c00369] [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] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/02/2023]
Abstract
Synthetic development is a nascent field of research that uses the tools of synthetic biology to design genetic programs directing cellular patterning and morphogenesis in higher eukaryotic cells, such as mammalian cells. One specific example of such synthetic genetic programs was based on cell-cell contact-dependent signaling using synthetic Notch pathways and was shown to drive the formation of multilayered spheroids by modulating cell-cell adhesion via differential expression of cadherin family proteins in a mouse fibroblast cell line (L929). The design method for these genetic programs relied on trial and error, which limited the number of possible circuits and parameter ranges that could be explored. Here, we build a parameterized computational framework that, given a cell-cell communication network driving changes in cell adhesion and initial conditions as inputs, predicts developmental trajectories. We first built a general computational framework where contact-dependent cell-cell signaling networks and changes in cell-cell adhesion could be designed in a modular fashion. We then used a set of available in vitro results (that we call the "training set" in analogy to similar pipelines in the machine learning field) to parameterize the computational model with values for adhesion and signaling. We then show that this parameterized model can qualitatively predict experimental results from a "testing set" of available in vitro data that varied the genetic network in terms of adhesion combinations, initial number of cells, and even changes to the network architecture. Finally, this parameterized model is used to recommend novel network implementation for the formation of a four-layered structure that has not been reported previously. The framework that we develop here could function as a testing ground to identify the reachable space of morphologies that can be obtained by controlling contact-dependent cell-cell communications and adhesion with these molecular tools and in this cellular system. Additionally, we discuss how the model could be expanded to include other forms of communication or effectors for the computational design of the next generation of synthetic developmental trajectories.
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Affiliation(s)
- Calvin Lam
- Eli and Edythe Broad CIRM Center, Department of Stem Cell Biology and Regenerative Medicine, Keck School of Medicine, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, California 90033-9080, United States
| | - Sajeev Saluja
- Eli and Edythe Broad CIRM Center, Department of Stem Cell Biology and Regenerative Medicine, Keck School of Medicine, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, California 90033-9080, United States
| | - George Courcoubetis
- Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, California 90089-0484, United States
| | - Dottie Yu
- Eli and Edythe Broad CIRM Center, Department of Stem Cell Biology and Regenerative Medicine, Keck School of Medicine, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, California 90033-9080, United States
| | - Christian Chung
- Eli and Edythe Broad CIRM Center, Department of Stem Cell Biology and Regenerative Medicine, Keck School of Medicine, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, California 90033-9080, United States
| | - Josquin Courte
- Eli and Edythe Broad CIRM Center, Department of Stem Cell Biology and Regenerative Medicine, Keck School of Medicine, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, California 90033-9080, United States
| | - Leonardo Morsut
- Eli and Edythe Broad CIRM Center, Department of Stem Cell Biology and Regenerative Medicine, Keck School of Medicine, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, California 90033-9080, United States
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, Viterbi School of Engineering, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, California 90089-1111, United States
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Courte J, Renault R, Jan A, Viovy JL, Peyrin JM, Villard C. Reconstruction of directed neuronal networks in a microfluidic device with asymmetric microchannels. Methods Cell Biol 2018; 148:71-95. [PMID: 30473075 DOI: 10.1016/bs.mcb.2018.07.002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/13/2022]
Abstract
Microfluidic devices for controlling neuronal connectivity in vitro are extremely useful tools for deciphering pathological and physiological processes occurring in neuronal networks. These devices allow the connection between different neuronal populations located into separate culture chambers through axon-selective microchannels. In order to implement specific features of brain connectivity such as directionality, it is necessary to control axonal growth orientation in these devices. Among the various strategies proposed to achieve this goal, one of the most promising and easily reproducible is the use of asymmetric microchannels. We present here a general protocol and several guidelines for the design, production and testing of a new paradigm of asymmetric microchannels geometries based on a "return to sender" strategy. In this method, axons are either allowed to travel between the emitting and receiving chambers within straight microchannels (forward direction), or are rerouted toward their initial location through curved microchannels (reverse direction). We introduce variations of these "arches" microchannels and evaluate their respective axonal filtering capacities. Importantly, one of these variants presents an almost complete filtration of axonal growth in the non-permissive direction while allowing robust axonal invasion in the other one, with a selectivity ratio as high as 99.7%.
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Affiliation(s)
- Josquin Courte
- Physico-Chimie Curie, Université PSL, CNRS, Institut Pierre-Gilles de Gennes pour la Microfluidique, Paris, France; Sorbonne Université, Institut Biologie Paris-Seine, CNRS, Inserm, Neuroscience Paris-Seine, Paris, France.
| | - Renaud Renault
- Physico-Chimie Curie, Université PSL, CNRS, Institut Pierre-Gilles de Gennes pour la Microfluidique, Paris, France
| | - Audric Jan
- Physico-Chimie Curie, Université PSL, CNRS, Institut Pierre-Gilles de Gennes pour la Microfluidique, Paris, France; CNRS, Inserm, Institut de Biologie de l'Ecole Normale Supérieure, Paris, France
| | - Jean-Louis Viovy
- Physico-Chimie Curie, Université PSL, CNRS, Institut Pierre-Gilles de Gennes pour la Microfluidique, Paris, France
| | - Jean-Michel Peyrin
- Sorbonne Université, Institut Biologie Paris-Seine, CNRS, Inserm, Neuroscience Paris-Seine, Paris, France
| | - Catherine Villard
- Physico-Chimie Curie, Université PSL, CNRS, Institut Pierre-Gilles de Gennes pour la Microfluidique, Paris, France.
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Tan VX, Lassus B, Lim CK, Tixador P, Courte J, Bessede A, Guillemin GJ, Peyrin JM. Neurotoxicity of the Cyanotoxin BMAA Through Axonal Degeneration and Intercellular Spreading. Neurotox Res 2017; 33:62-75. [PMID: 28842862 DOI: 10.1007/s12640-017-9790-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/30/2017] [Revised: 07/20/2017] [Accepted: 07/21/2017] [Indexed: 12/12/2022]
Abstract
β-Methylamino-L-alanine (BMAA) is implicated in neurodegeneration and neurotoxicity, particularly in ALS-Parkinson Dementia Complex. Neurotoxic properties of BMAA have been partly elucidated, while its transcellular spreading capacity has not been examined. Using reconstructed neuronal networks in microfluidic chips, separating neuronal cells into two subcompartments-(1) the proximal, containing first-order neuronal soma and dendrites, and (2) a distal compartment, containing either only axons originating from first-order neurons or second-order striatal neurons-creates a cortico-striatal network. Using this system, we investigated the toxicity and spreading of BMAA in murine primary neurons. We used a newly developed antibody to detect BMAA in cells. After treatment with 10 μM BMAA, the cyanotoxin was incorporated in first-degree neurons. We also observed a rapid trans-neuronal spread of BMAA to unexposed second-degree neurons in 48 h, followed by axonal degeneration, with limited somatic death. This in vitro study demonstrates BMAA axonal toxicity at sublethal concentrations and, for the first time, the transcellular spreading abilities of BMAA. This neuronal dying forward spread that could possibly be associated with progression of some neurodegenerative diseases especially amyotrophic lateral sclerosis.
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Affiliation(s)
- Vanessa X Tan
- Macquarie University Centre for MND Research, Department of Biological Sciences, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Macquarie University, Sydney, NSW, Australia.,Sorbonne Universités, UPMC Univ Paris 06, INSERM, CNRS, Neuroscience Paris Seine, Adaptation Biologique et vieillissement, F-75005, Paris, France
| | - Benjamin Lassus
- Sorbonne Universités, UPMC Univ Paris 06, INSERM, CNRS, Neuroscience Paris Seine, Adaptation Biologique et vieillissement, F-75005, Paris, France
| | - Chai K Lim
- Macquarie University Centre for MND Research, Department of Biological Sciences, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Macquarie University, Sydney, NSW, Australia
| | - Philippe Tixador
- Sorbonne Universités, UPMC Univ Paris 06, INSERM, CNRS, Neuroscience Paris Seine, Adaptation Biologique et vieillissement, F-75005, Paris, France
| | - Josquin Courte
- Sorbonne Universités, UPMC Univ Paris 06, INSERM, CNRS, Neuroscience Paris Seine, Adaptation Biologique et vieillissement, F-75005, Paris, France
| | | | - Gilles J Guillemin
- Macquarie University Centre for MND Research, Department of Biological Sciences, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Macquarie University, Sydney, NSW, Australia.
| | - Jean-Michel Peyrin
- Sorbonne Universités, UPMC Univ Paris 06, INSERM, CNRS, Neuroscience Paris Seine, Adaptation Biologique et vieillissement, F-75005, Paris, France.
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