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Ferraro G, Gigante Y, Pitea M, Mautone L, Ruocco G, Di Angelantonio S, Leonetti M. A model eye for fluorescent characterization of retinal cultures and tissues. Sci Rep 2023; 13:10983. [PMID: 37415074 PMCID: PMC10326009 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-023-37806-6] [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] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/16/2023] [Accepted: 06/28/2023] [Indexed: 07/08/2023] Open
Abstract
Many human neural or neurodegenerative diseases strongly affect the ocular and retinal environment showing peculiar alterations which can be employed as specific disease biomarkers. The noninvasive optical accessibility of the retina makes the ocular investigation a potentially competitive strategy for screening, thus the development of retinal biomarkers is rapidly growing. Nevertheless, a tool to study and image biomarkers or biological samples in a human-like eye environment is still missing. Here we report on a modular and versatile eye model designed to host biological samples, such as retinal cultures differentiated from human induced pluripotent stem cells and ex-vivo retinal tissue, but also suited to host any kind of retinal biomarkers. We characterized the imaging performance of this eye model on standard biomarkers such as Alexa Fluor 532 and Alexa Fluor 594.
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Affiliation(s)
- G Ferraro
- Center for Life Nano- & Neuro-Science , Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia, Viale Regina Elena, 291, 00161, Rome, Italy
- D-Tails s.r.l. BCorp, Via di Torre Rossa, 66, 00165, Rome, Italy
| | - Y Gigante
- Center for Life Nano- & Neuro-Science , Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia, Viale Regina Elena, 291, 00161, Rome, Italy
- D-Tails s.r.l. BCorp, Via di Torre Rossa, 66, 00165, Rome, Italy
| | - M Pitea
- Center for Life Nano- & Neuro-Science , Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia, Viale Regina Elena, 291, 00161, Rome, Italy
- D-Tails s.r.l. BCorp, Via di Torre Rossa, 66, 00165, Rome, Italy
| | - L Mautone
- Center for Life Nano- & Neuro-Science , Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia, Viale Regina Elena, 291, 00161, Rome, Italy
- Department of Physiology and Pharmacology "V. Erspamer", Sapienza University, Piazzale Aldo Moro 5, 00185, Rome, Italy
| | - G Ruocco
- Center for Life Nano- & Neuro-Science , Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia, Viale Regina Elena, 291, 00161, Rome, Italy
- Dipartimento di Fisica, Sapienza University, Piazzale Aldo Moro, 5, 00185, Rome, Italy
| | - S Di Angelantonio
- Center for Life Nano- & Neuro-Science , Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia, Viale Regina Elena, 291, 00161, Rome, Italy.
- D-Tails s.r.l. BCorp, Via di Torre Rossa, 66, 00165, Rome, Italy.
- Department of Physiology and Pharmacology "V. Erspamer", Sapienza University, Piazzale Aldo Moro 5, 00185, Rome, Italy.
| | - M Leonetti
- Center for Life Nano- & Neuro-Science , Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia, Viale Regina Elena, 291, 00161, Rome, Italy.
- D-Tails s.r.l. BCorp, Via di Torre Rossa, 66, 00165, Rome, Italy.
- Institute of Nanotechnology, Soft and Living Matter Laboratory, Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche (CNR-NANOTEC), Piazzale Aldo Moro 5, 00185, Rome, Italy.
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Pediconi N, Gigante Y, Cama S, Pitea M, Mautone L, Ruocco G, Ghirga S, Di Angelantonio S. Retinal fingerprints of ALS in patients: Ganglion cell apoptosis and TDP-43/p62 misplacement. Front Aging Neurosci 2023; 15:1110520. [PMID: 37009460 PMCID: PMC10061015 DOI: 10.3389/fnagi.2023.1110520] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/28/2022] [Accepted: 02/27/2023] [Indexed: 03/18/2023] Open
Abstract
IntroductionAmyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is a fatal neurodegenerative disease characterized by the progressive loss of motor neuron function. Although ophthalmic deficits are not considered a classic symptom of ALS, recent studies suggest that changes in retinal cells, similar to those in the spinal cord motor neurons, have been observed in postmortem human tissues and animal models.MethodsIn this study, we examined by immunofluorescence analysis the retinal cell layers of sporadic ALS patients in post-mortem retinal slices. We evaluated the presence of cytoplasmic TDP-43 and SQSTM1/p62 aggregates, activation of the apoptotic pathway, and microglia and astrocytes reactivity.ResultsWe found in the retinal ganglion cell layer of ALS patients the increase of mislocalized TDP-43, SQSTM1/p62 aggregates, activation of cleaved caspase-3, and microglia density, suggesting that retinal changes can be used as an additional diagnostic tool for ALS.DiscussionThe retina is considered part of the central nervous system, and neurodegenerative changes in the brain may be accompanied by structural and possibly functional changes in the neuroretina and ocular vasculature. Therefore, using in vivo retinal biomarkers as an additional diagnostic tool for ALS may provide an opportunity to longitudinally monitor individuals and therapies over time in a noninvasive and cost-effective manner.
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Affiliation(s)
- Natalia Pediconi
- Center for Life Nano- and Neuro-Science of Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia (IIT), Rome, Italy
| | - Ylenia Gigante
- Center for Life Nano- and Neuro-Science of Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia (IIT), Rome, Italy
- D-Tails s.r.l., Rome, Italy
| | - Silvia Cama
- Department of Physiology and Pharmacology, Sapienza University of Rome, Rome, Italy
| | - Martina Pitea
- Center for Life Nano- and Neuro-Science of Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia (IIT), Rome, Italy
- D-Tails s.r.l., Rome, Italy
| | - Lorenza Mautone
- Center for Life Nano- and Neuro-Science of Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia (IIT), Rome, Italy
- Department of Physiology and Pharmacology, Sapienza University of Rome, Rome, Italy
| | - Giancarlo Ruocco
- Center for Life Nano- and Neuro-Science of Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia (IIT), Rome, Italy
- Department of Physics, Sapienza University of Rome, Rome, Italy
| | - Silvia Ghirga
- Center for Life Nano- and Neuro-Science of Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia (IIT), Rome, Italy
- Silvia Ghirga,
| | - Silvia Di Angelantonio
- Center for Life Nano- and Neuro-Science of Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia (IIT), Rome, Italy
- D-Tails s.r.l., Rome, Italy
- Department of Physiology and Pharmacology, Sapienza University of Rome, Rome, Italy
- *Correspondence: Silvia Di Angelantonio,
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Cordella F, Ferrucci L, D’Antoni C, Ghirga S, Brighi C, Soloperto A, Gigante Y, Ragozzino D, Bezzi P, Di Angelantonio S. Human iPSC-Derived Cortical Neurons Display Homeostatic Plasticity. Life (Basel) 2022; 12:life12111884. [PMID: 36431019 PMCID: PMC9696876 DOI: 10.3390/life12111884] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/14/2022] [Revised: 11/03/2022] [Accepted: 11/11/2022] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
Abstract
Maintaining the excitability of neurons and circuits is fundamental for healthy brain functions. The global compensatory increase in excitatory synaptic strength, in response to decreased activity, is one of the main homeostatic mechanisms responsible for such regulation. This type of plasticity has been extensively characterized in rodents in vivo and in vitro, but few data exist on human neurons maturation. We have generated an in vitro cortical model system, based on differentiated human-induced pluripotent stem cells, chronically treated with tetrodotoxin, to investigate homeostatic plasticity at different developmental stages. Our findings highlight the presence of homeostatic plasticity in human cortical networks and show that the changes in synaptic strength are due to both pre- and post-synaptic mechanisms. Pre-synaptic plasticity involves the potentiation of neurotransmitter release machinery, associated to an increase in synaptic vesicle proteins expression. At the post-synaptic level, we report an increase in the expression of post-synaptic density proteins, involved in glutamatergic receptor anchoring. These results extend our understanding of neuronal homeostasis and reveal the developmental regulation of its expression in human cortical networks. Since induced pluripotent stem cell-derived neurons can be obtained from patients with neurodevelopmental and neurodegenerative diseases, our platform offers a versatile model for assessing human neural plasticity under physiological and pathological conditions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Federica Cordella
- Department of Physiology and Pharmacology, Sapienza University of Rome, 00185 Rome, Italy
- Center for Life Nano- & Neuro-Science of Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia (IIT), 00161 Rome, Italy
| | - Laura Ferrucci
- Department of Physiology and Pharmacology, Sapienza University of Rome, 00185 Rome, Italy
| | - Chiara D’Antoni
- Department of Physiology and Pharmacology, Sapienza University of Rome, 00185 Rome, Italy
- Center for Life Nano- & Neuro-Science of Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia (IIT), 00161 Rome, Italy
| | - Silvia Ghirga
- Center for Life Nano- & Neuro-Science of Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia (IIT), 00161 Rome, Italy
| | - Carlo Brighi
- Center for Life Nano- & Neuro-Science of Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia (IIT), 00161 Rome, Italy
- CrestOptics S.p.A., Via di Torre Rossa 66, 00165 Rome, Italy
| | - Alessandro Soloperto
- Center for Life Nano- & Neuro-Science of Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia (IIT), 00161 Rome, Italy
| | - Ylenia Gigante
- Center for Life Nano- & Neuro-Science of Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia (IIT), 00161 Rome, Italy
- D-Tails s.r.l., Via di Torre Rossa 66, 00165 Rome, Italy
| | - Davide Ragozzino
- Department of Physiology and Pharmacology, Sapienza University of Rome, 00185 Rome, Italy
- Santa Lucia Foundation, European Center for Brain Research, 00143 Rome, Italy
| | - Paola Bezzi
- Department of Physiology and Pharmacology, Sapienza University of Rome, 00185 Rome, Italy
- Department of Fundamental Neurosciences, University of Lausanne, 1015 Lausanne, Switzerland
- Correspondence: or (P.B.); or (S.D.A.)
| | - Silvia Di Angelantonio
- Department of Physiology and Pharmacology, Sapienza University of Rome, 00185 Rome, Italy
- Center for Life Nano- & Neuro-Science of Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia (IIT), 00161 Rome, Italy
- D-Tails s.r.l., Via di Torre Rossa 66, 00165 Rome, Italy
- Correspondence: or (P.B.); or (S.D.A.)
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De Risi M, Tufano M, Alvino FG, Ferraro MG, Torromino G, Gigante Y, Monfregola J, Marrocco E, Pulcrano S, Tunisi L, Lubrano C, Papy-Garcia D, Tuchman Y, Salleo A, Santoro F, Bellenchi GC, Cristino L, Ballabio A, Fraldi A, De Leonibus E. Altered heparan sulfate metabolism during development triggers dopamine-dependent autistic-behaviours in models of lysosomal storage disorders. Nat Commun 2021; 12:3495. [PMID: 34108486 PMCID: PMC8190083 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-021-23903-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/03/2020] [Accepted: 05/19/2021] [Indexed: 01/18/2023] Open
Abstract
Lysosomal storage disorders characterized by altered metabolism of heparan sulfate, including Mucopolysaccharidosis (MPS) III and MPS-II, exhibit lysosomal dysfunctions leading to neurodegeneration and dementia in children. In lysosomal storage disorders, dementia is preceded by severe and therapy-resistant autistic-like symptoms of unknown cause. Using mouse and cellular models of MPS-IIIA, we discovered that autistic-like behaviours are due to increased proliferation of mesencephalic dopamine neurons originating during embryogenesis, which is not due to lysosomal dysfunction, but to altered HS function. Hyperdopaminergia and autistic-like behaviours are corrected by the dopamine D1-like receptor antagonist SCH-23390, providing a potential alternative strategy to the D2-like antagonist haloperidol that has only minimal therapeutic effects in MPS-IIIA. These findings identify embryonic dopaminergic neurodevelopmental defects due to altered function of HS leading to autistic-like behaviours in MPS-II and MPS-IIIA and support evidence showing that altered HS-related gene function is causative of autism.
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Affiliation(s)
- Maria De Risi
- Telethon Institute of Genetics and Medicine, Pozzuoli, Naples, Italy
- Institute of Biochemistry and Cell Biology, CNR, Monterotondo Scalo, Rome, Italy
| | - Michele Tufano
- Telethon Institute of Genetics and Medicine, Pozzuoli, Naples, Italy
| | | | | | - Giulia Torromino
- Telethon Institute of Genetics and Medicine, Pozzuoli, Naples, Italy
- Institute of Biochemistry and Cell Biology, CNR, Monterotondo Scalo, Rome, Italy
| | - Ylenia Gigante
- Telethon Institute of Genetics and Medicine, Pozzuoli, Naples, Italy
| | - Jlenia Monfregola
- Telethon Institute of Genetics and Medicine, Pozzuoli, Naples, Italy
| | - Elena Marrocco
- Telethon Institute of Genetics and Medicine, Pozzuoli, Naples, Italy
| | | | - Lea Tunisi
- Institute of Biomolecular Chemistry, CNR, Pozzuoli, Naples, Italy
| | - Claudia Lubrano
- Center for Advanced Biomaterials for Healthcare, Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia, Naples, Italy
| | | | - Yaakov Tuchman
- Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, USA
| | - Alberto Salleo
- Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, USA
| | - Francesca Santoro
- Center for Advanced Biomaterials for Healthcare, Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia, Naples, Italy
| | | | - Luigia Cristino
- Institute of Biomolecular Chemistry, CNR, Pozzuoli, Naples, Italy
| | - Andrea Ballabio
- Telethon Institute of Genetics and Medicine, Pozzuoli, Naples, Italy
| | - Alessandro Fraldi
- Telethon Institute of Genetics and Medicine, Pozzuoli, Naples, Italy
| | - Elvira De Leonibus
- Telethon Institute of Genetics and Medicine, Pozzuoli, Naples, Italy.
- Institute of Biochemistry and Cell Biology, CNR, Monterotondo Scalo, Rome, Italy.
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