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Lopes DM, Wells JA, Ma D, Wallis L, Park D, Llewellyn SK, Ahmed Z, Lythgoe MF, Harrison IF. Glymphatic inhibition exacerbates tau propagation in an Alzheimer's disease model. Alzheimers Res Ther 2024; 16:71. [PMID: 38576025 PMCID: PMC10996277 DOI: 10.1186/s13195-024-01439-2] [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: 12/18/2023] [Accepted: 03/26/2024] [Indexed: 04/06/2024]
Abstract
BACKGROUND The aggregation and spread of misfolded amyloid structured proteins, such as tau and α-synuclein, are key pathological features associated with neurodegenerative disorders, including Alzheimer's and Parkinson's disease. These proteins possess a prion-like property, enabling their transmission from cell to cell leading to propagation throughout the central and peripheral nervous systems. While the mechanisms underlying their intracellular spread are still being elucidated, targeting the extracellular space has emerged as a potential therapeutic approach. The glymphatic system, a brain-wide pathway responsible for clearing extracellular metabolic waste from the central nervous system, has gained attention as a promising target for removing these toxic proteins. METHODS In this study, we investigated the impact of long-term modulation of glymphatic function on tau aggregation and spread by chronically treating a mouse model of tau propagation with a pharmacological inhibitor of AQP4, TGN-020. Thy1-hTau.P301S mice were intracerebrally inoculated with tau into the hippocampus and overlying cortex, and subsequently treated with TGN-020 (3 doses/week, 50 mg/kg TGN-020, i.p.) for 10-weeks. During this time, animal memory was studied using cognitive behavioural tasks, and structural MR images were acquired of the brain in vivo prior to brain extraction for immunohistochemical characterisation. RESULTS Our findings demonstrate increased tau aggregation in the brain and transhemispheric propagation in the hippocampus following the inhibition of glymphatic clearance. Moreover, disruption of the glymphatic system aggravated recognition memory in tau inoculated mice and exacerbated regional changes in brain volume detected in the model. When initiation of drug treatment was delayed for several weeks post-inoculation, the alterations were attenuated. CONCLUSIONS These results indicate that by modulating AQP4 function and, consequently, glymphatic clearance, it is possible to modify the propagation and pathological impact of tau in the brain, particularly during the initial stages of the disease. These findings highlight the critical role of the glymphatic system in preserving healthy brain homeostasis and offer valuable insights into the therapeutic implications of targeting this system for managing neurodegenerative diseases characterized by protein aggregation and spread.
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Affiliation(s)
- Douglas M Lopes
- Centre for Advanced Biomedical Imaging, Department of Imaging, Division of Medicine, University College London, Paul O'Gorman Building, 72 Huntley Street, London, WC1E 6DD, UK
| | - Jack A Wells
- Centre for Advanced Biomedical Imaging, Department of Imaging, Division of Medicine, University College London, Paul O'Gorman Building, 72 Huntley Street, London, WC1E 6DD, UK
| | - Da Ma
- Department of Internal Medicine, Section of Gerontology and Geriatric Medicine, Wake Forest University School of Medicine, Winston-Salem, NC, USA
| | - Lauren Wallis
- Centre for Advanced Biomedical Imaging, Department of Imaging, Division of Medicine, University College London, Paul O'Gorman Building, 72 Huntley Street, London, WC1E 6DD, UK
| | - Daniel Park
- Centre for Advanced Biomedical Imaging, Department of Imaging, Division of Medicine, University College London, Paul O'Gorman Building, 72 Huntley Street, London, WC1E 6DD, UK
| | - Sophie K Llewellyn
- Centre for Advanced Biomedical Imaging, Department of Imaging, Division of Medicine, University College London, Paul O'Gorman Building, 72 Huntley Street, London, WC1E 6DD, UK
| | - Zeshan Ahmed
- Neuroscience Next Generation Therapeutics (NGTx), Eli Lilly and Company, Cambridge, MA, USA
| | - Mark F Lythgoe
- Centre for Advanced Biomedical Imaging, Department of Imaging, Division of Medicine, University College London, Paul O'Gorman Building, 72 Huntley Street, London, WC1E 6DD, UK
| | - Ian F Harrison
- Centre for Advanced Biomedical Imaging, Department of Imaging, Division of Medicine, University College London, Paul O'Gorman Building, 72 Huntley Street, London, WC1E 6DD, UK.
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Wang HL, Siow R, Schmauck-Medina T, Zhang J, Sandset PM, Filshie C, Lund Ø, Partridge L, Bergersen LH, Juel Rasmussen L, Palikaras K, Sotiropoulos I, Storm-Mathisen J, Rubinsztein DC, Spillantini MG, De Zeeuw CI, Watne LO, Vyhnalek M, Veverova K, Liang KX, Tavernarakis N, Bohr VA, Yokote K, Saarela J, Nilsen H, Gonos ES, Scheibye-Knudsen M, Chen G, Kato H, Selbæk G, Fladby T, Nilsson P, Simonsen A, Aarsland D, Lautrup S, Ottersen OP, Cox LS, Fang EF. Meeting Summary of The NYO3 5th NO-Age/AD Meeting and the 1st Norway-UK Joint Meeting on Aging and Dementia: Recent Progress on the Mechanisms and Interventional Strategies. J Gerontol A Biol Sci Med Sci 2024; 79:glae029. [PMID: 38289789 PMCID: PMC10917444 DOI: 10.1093/gerona/glae029] [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: 01/12/2024] [Indexed: 02/01/2024] Open
Abstract
Unhealthy aging poses a global challenge with profound healthcare and socioeconomic implications. Slowing down the aging process offers a promising approach to reduce the burden of a number of age-related diseases, such as dementia, and promoting healthy longevity in the old population. In response to the challenge of the aging population and with a view to the future, Norway and the United Kingdom are fostering collaborations, supported by a "Money Follows Cooperation agreement" between the 2 nations. The inaugural Norway-UK joint meeting on aging and dementia gathered leading experts on aging and dementia from the 2 nations to share their latest discoveries in related fields. Since aging is an international challenge, and to foster collaborations, we also invited leading scholars from 11 additional countries to join this event. This report provides a summary of the conference, highlighting recent progress on molecular aging mechanisms, genetic risk factors, DNA damage and repair, mitophagy, autophagy, as well as progress on a series of clinical trials (eg, using NAD+ precursors). The meeting facilitated dialogue among policymakers, administrative leaders, researchers, and clinical experts, aiming to promote international research collaborations and to translate findings into clinical applications and interventions to advance healthy aging.
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Affiliation(s)
- He-Ling Wang
- Department of Clinical Molecular Biology, University of Oslo and Akershus University Hospital, Lørenskog, Norway
| | - Richard Siow
- School of Cardiovascular and Metabolic Medicine & Sciences, Faculty of Life Sciences & Medicine, King's College London, London, UK
| | - Tomas Schmauck-Medina
- Department of Clinical Molecular Biology, University of Oslo and Akershus University Hospital, Lørenskog, Norway
| | - Jianying Zhang
- Department of Clinical Molecular Biology, University of Oslo and Akershus University Hospital, Lørenskog, Norway
- Xiangya School of Stomatology, Central South University, Changsha, Hunan, China
| | - Per Morten Sandset
- Department of Haematology, Oslo University Hospital, Oslo, Norway
- Institute of Clinical Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway
| | | | | | - Linda Partridge
- Max Planck Institute for Biology of Ageing, Cologne, Germany
- Department of Genetics, Evolution and Environment, Institute of Healthy Ageing, University College London (UCL), London, UK
| | - Linda Hildegard Bergersen
- Brain and Muscle Energy Group, Institute of Oral Biology, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway
- Center for Healthy Aging, Department of Neuroscience and Pharmacology, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - Lene Juel Rasmussen
- Department of Cellular and Molecular Medicine, Center for Healthy Aging, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - Konstantinos Palikaras
- Department of Physiology, Medical School, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Athens, Greece
| | - Ioannis Sotiropoulos
- Institute of Biosciences and Applications NCSR “Demokritos,”Athens, Greece
- Life and Health Sciences Research Institute (ICVS), School of Medicine, University of Minho, Campus de Gualtar, Braga, Portugal
| | - Jon Storm-Mathisen
- Division of Anatomy, Department of Molecular Medicine, Institute of Basic Medical Sciences, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway
| | - David C Rubinsztein
- Department of Medical Genetics, Cambridge Institute for Medical Research, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK
- UK Dementia Research Institute, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK
| | | | - Chris I De Zeeuw
- Netherlands Institute for Neuroscience, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
- Department of Neuroscience, Erasmus MC, Rotterdam, The Netherlands
| | - Leiv Otto Watne
- Institute of Clinical Medicine, Campus Ahus, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway
| | - Martin Vyhnalek
- International Clinical Research Centre, St. Anne’s University Hospital, Brno, Czech Republic
- Department of Neurology, Second Faculty of Medicine, Charles University and Motol University Hospital, Prague, Czech Republic
| | - Katerina Veverova
- Department of Neurology, Second Faculty of Medicine, Charles University and Motol University Hospital, Prague, Czech Republic
| | | | - Nektarios Tavernarakis
- Institute of Molecular Biology and Biotechnology Foundation for Research and Technology, Heraklion, Greece
- Medical School, University of Crete, Heraklion, Greece
| | - Vilhelm A Bohr
- Department of Cellular and Molecular Medicine, Center for Healthy Aging, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark
- Laboratory of Molecular Gerontology, National Institute on Aging, National Institutes of Health, Baltimore, Maryland, USA
| | - Koutaro Yokote
- Department of Endocrinology, Hematology, and Gerontology, Chiba University Graduate School of Medicine, Chiba, Japan
| | - Janna Saarela
- Centre for Molecular Medicine Norway (NCMM), University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway
- Institute for Molecular Medicine Finland (FIMM), HiLIFE, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland
| | - Hilde Nilsen
- Department of Microbiology, Oslo University Hospital, Oslo, Norway
- The Norwegian Centre on Healthy Ageing (NO-Age), Oslo, Norway
| | - Efstathios S Gonos
- National Helenic Research Foundation, Institute of Biology, Medicinal Chemistry and Biotechnology, Athens, Greece
| | - Morten Scheibye-Knudsen
- Department of Cellular and Molecular Medicine, Center for Healthy Aging, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark
- Tracked.bio, Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - Guobing Chen
- Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macau Great Bay Area Geroscience Joint Laboratory, Guangzhou, China
- Department of Microbiology and Immunology, School of Medicine; Institute of Geriatric Immunology, School of Medicine, Jinan University, Guangzhou, China
| | - Hisaya Kato
- Department of Endocrinology, Hematology, and Gerontology, Chiba University Graduate School of Medicine, Chiba, Japan
| | - Geir Selbæk
- Institute of Clinical Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway
- Norwegian National Centre for Ageing and Health, Vestfold Hospital Trust, Tønsberg, Norway
| | - Tormod Fladby
- Institute of Clinical Medicine, Campus Ahus, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway
- Department of Neurology, Akershus University Hospital, Lørenskog, Norway
| | - Per Nilsson
- Department of Neurobiology, Care Sciences and Society, Division of Neurogeriatrics, Center for Alzheimer Research, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Anne Simonsen
- Department of Molecular Medicine, Institute of Basic Medical Sciences, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway
- Department of Molecular Cell Biology, Institute for Cancer Research, Oslo University Hospital Montebello, Oslo, Norway
| | - Dag Aarsland
- Centre for Age-Related Medicine, Stavanger University Hospital, Stavanger, Norway
- Department of Old Age Psychiatry, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology, and Neuroscience, King’s College London, London, UK
| | - Sofie Lautrup
- Department of Clinical Molecular Biology, University of Oslo and Akershus University Hospital, Lørenskog, Norway
| | - Ole Petter Ottersen
- Centre for Sustainable Healthcare Education, Faculty of Medicine, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway
- Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Lynne S Cox
- Department of Biochemistry, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK
| | - Evandro F Fang
- Department of Clinical Molecular Biology, University of Oslo and Akershus University Hospital, Lørenskog, Norway
- The Norwegian Centre on Healthy Ageing (NO-Age), Oslo, Norway
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Stubbs DJ, Khanna S, Davies BM, Vivian ME, Bashford T, Adatia K, Chen P, Clarkson PJ, McGlennan C, Indurawage L, Patel M, Tyagunenko R, Burnstein R, Menon DK, Hutchinson PJ, Joannides A. Challenges and patient outcomes in chronic subdural haematoma at the level of a regional care system A multi-centre, mixed-methods study from the East of England. Age Ageing 2024; 53:afae076. [PMID: 38610063 PMCID: PMC11014781 DOI: 10.1093/ageing/afae076] [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: 10/20/2023] [Indexed: 04/14/2024] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Chronic subdural haematoma (cSDH) is a common neurosurgical pathology affecting older patients with other health conditions. A significant proportion (up-to 90%) of referrals for surgery in neurosciences units (NSU) come from secondary care. However, the organisation of this care and the experience of patients repatriated to non-specialist centres are currently unclear. OBJECTIVES This study aimed to clarify patient outcome in non-specialist centres following NSU discharge for cSDH surgery and to understand key system challenges. The study was set within a representative neurosurgical care system in the east of England. DESIGN AND METHODS We performed a retrospective cohort analysis of patients referred for cSDH surgery. Alongside case record review, patient and staff experience were explored using surveys as well as an interactive c-design workshop. Challenges were identified from thematic analysis of survey responses and triangulated by focussed workshop discussions. RESULTS Data on 381 patients referred for cSDH surgery from six centres was reviewed. One hundred and fifty-six (41%) patients were repatriated following surgery. Sixty-one (39%) of those repatriated suffered an inpatient complication (new infection, troponin rise or renal injury) following NSU discharge, with 58 requiring institutional discharge or new care. Surveys for staff (n = 42) and patients (n = 209) identified that resourcing, communication, and inter-hospital distance posed care challenges. This was corroborated through workshop discussions with stakeholders from two institutions. CONCLUSIONS A significant amount of perioperative care for cSDH is delivered outside of specialist centres. Future improvement initiatives must recognise the system-wide nature of delivery and the challenges such an arrangement presents.
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Affiliation(s)
- Daniel James Stubbs
- Division of Anaesthesia, University of Cambridge, Addenbrooke’s Hospital, Hills Road, Cambridge, CB2 0QQ, UK
| | - Sam Khanna
- Department of Perioperative, Acute, Critical, and Emergency Care (PACE), University of Cambridge, Addenbrooke’s Hospital, Hills Road, Cambridge CB2 0QQ, UK
| | - Benjamin M Davies
- Department of Clinical Neurosurgery, University of Cambridge, Addenbrooke’s Hospital, Hills Road, Cambridge CB2 0QQ, UK
| | - Mark E Vivian
- Department of Anaesthesia, Cambridge University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, Addenbrooke’s Hospital, Hills Road, Cambridge CB2 0QQ, UK
| | - Tom Bashford
- Department of Anaesthesia, Cambridge University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, Addenbrooke’s Hospital, Hills Road, Cambridge CB2 0QQ, UK
- Department of Engineering, Health Systems Design Group, Trumpington Street, Cambridge CB2 1PZ, UK
| | - Krishma Adatia
- Department of Anaesthesia, North West Anglia Foundation Trust, Peterborough City Hospital, Peterborough PE3 9GZ, UK
| | - Ping Chen
- Department of Anaesthesia, Queen Elizabeth Hospital Kings Lynn NHS Foundation Trust, Gayton Road, Kings Lynn, PE30 4ET, UK
| | - Peter John Clarkson
- Department of Engineering, Health Systems Design Group, Trumpington Street, Cambridge CB2 1PZ, UK
| | - Catherine McGlennan
- Department of Anaesthesia, Bedfordshire Hospital NHS Foundation Trust, Luton and Dunstable University Hspital, Lewsey Road, Luton, LU4 ODZ, UK
| | - Lalani Indurawage
- Department of Anaesthesia, James Paget University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, Lowestoft Road, Gorleston-on-Sea, Great Yarmouth NR31 6LA, UK
| | - Martyn Patel
- Older People’s Medicine Department, Norfolk and Norwich University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, Colney Lane, Norwich NR4 7UY, UK
- Clinical Associate Professor in Translational and Clinical Medicine, Norwich Medical School, University of East Anglia, Norwich, UK
| | - Rada Tyagunenko
- Department of Anaesthesia, Northwest Anglia NHS Foundation Trust, Hinchingbrooke Hospital, Parkway Hinchingbrooke, Huntingdon PE29 6NT, UK
| | - Rowan Burnstein
- Department of Anaesthesia, Cambridge University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, Addenbrooke’s Hospital, Hills Road, Cambridge CB2 0QQ, UK
| | - David K Menon
- Department of Medicine, University of Cambridge, Addenbrooke’s Hospital, Hills Road, Cambridge CB2 0QQ, UK
| | - Peter J Hutchinson
- Department of Clinical Neurosurgery, University of Cambridge, Addenbrooke’s Hospital, Hills Road, Cambridge CB2 0QQ, UK
| | - Alexis Joannides
- Department of Clinical Neurosurgery, University of Cambridge, Addenbrooke’s Hospital, Hills Road, Cambridge CB2 0QQ, UK
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4
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McDiarmid AH, Gospodinova KO, Elliott RJR, Dawson JC, Graham RE, El-Daher MT, Anderson SM, Glen SC, Glerup S, Carragher NO, Evans KL. Morphological profiling in human neural progenitor cells classifies hits in a pilot drug screen for Alzheimer's disease. Brain Commun 2024; 6:fcae101. [PMID: 38576795 PMCID: PMC10994270 DOI: 10.1093/braincomms/fcae101] [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] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/30/2023] [Revised: 12/15/2023] [Accepted: 03/27/2024] [Indexed: 04/06/2024] Open
Abstract
Alzheimer's disease accounts for 60-70% of dementia cases. Current treatments are inadequate and there is a need to develop new approaches to drug discovery. Recently, in cancer, morphological profiling has been used in combination with high-throughput screening of small-molecule libraries in human cells in vitro. To test feasibility of this approach for Alzheimer's disease, we developed a cell morphology-based drug screen centred on the risk gene, SORL1 (which encodes the protein SORLA). Increased Alzheimer's disease risk has been repeatedly linked to variants in SORL1, particularly those conferring loss or decreased expression of SORLA, and lower SORL1 levels are observed in post-mortem brain samples from individuals with Alzheimer's disease. Consistent with its role in the endolysosomal pathway, SORL1 deletion is associated with enlarged endosomes in neural progenitor cells and neurons. We, therefore, hypothesized that multi-parametric, image-based cell phenotyping would identify features characteristic of SORL1 deletion. An automated morphological profiling method (Cell Painting) was adapted to neural progenitor cells and used to determine the phenotypic response of SORL1-/- neural progenitor cells to treatment with compounds from a small internationally approved drug library (TargetMol, 330 compounds). We detected distinct phenotypic signatures for SORL1-/- neural progenitor cells compared to isogenic wild-type controls. Furthermore, we identified 16 compounds (representing 14 drugs) that reversed the mutant morphological signatures in neural progenitor cells derived from three SORL1-/- induced pluripotent stem cell sub-clones. Network pharmacology analysis revealed the 16 compounds belonged to five mechanistic groups: 20S proteasome, aldehyde dehydrogenase, topoisomerase I and II, and DNA synthesis inhibitors. Enrichment analysis identified DNA synthesis/damage/repair, proteases/proteasome and metabolism as key pathways/biological processes. Prediction of novel targets revealed enrichment in pathways associated with neural cell function and Alzheimer's disease. Overall, this work suggests that (i) a quantitative phenotypic metric can distinguish induced pluripotent stem cell-derived SORL1-/- neural progenitor cells from isogenic wild-type controls and (ii) phenotypic screening combined with multi-parametric high-content image analysis is a viable option for drug repurposing and discovery in this human neural cell model of Alzheimer's disease.
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Affiliation(s)
- Amina H McDiarmid
- Centre for Genomic & Experimental Medicine, Institute of Genetics & Cancer, University of Edinburgh, Western General Hospital, Edinburgh EH4 2XU, UK
| | - Katerina O Gospodinova
- Centre for Genomic & Experimental Medicine, Institute of Genetics & Cancer, University of Edinburgh, Western General Hospital, Edinburgh EH4 2XU, UK
| | - Richard J R Elliott
- Cancer Research UK Scotland Centre, Institute of Genetics & Cancer, University of Edinburgh, Western General Hospital, Edinburgh EH4 2XU, UK
| | - John C Dawson
- Cancer Research UK Scotland Centre, Institute of Genetics & Cancer, University of Edinburgh, Western General Hospital, Edinburgh EH4 2XU, UK
| | - Rebecca E Graham
- Cancer Research UK Scotland Centre, Institute of Genetics & Cancer, University of Edinburgh, Western General Hospital, Edinburgh EH4 2XU, UK
| | - Marie-Therese El-Daher
- Medical Research Council Human Genetics Unit, Institute of Genetics & Cancer, University of Edinburgh, Western General Hospital, Edinburgh EH4 2XU, UK
| | - Susan M Anderson
- Centre for Genomic & Experimental Medicine, Institute of Genetics & Cancer, University of Edinburgh, Western General Hospital, Edinburgh EH4 2XU, UK
| | - Sophie C Glen
- Centre for Genomic & Experimental Medicine, Institute of Genetics & Cancer, University of Edinburgh, Western General Hospital, Edinburgh EH4 2XU, UK
| | - Simon Glerup
- Department of Biomedicine, Aarhus University, 8000 Aarhus, Denmark
| | - Neil O Carragher
- Cancer Research UK Scotland Centre, Institute of Genetics & Cancer, University of Edinburgh, Western General Hospital, Edinburgh EH4 2XU, UK
| | - Kathryn L Evans
- Centre for Genomic & Experimental Medicine, Institute of Genetics & Cancer, University of Edinburgh, Western General Hospital, Edinburgh EH4 2XU, UK
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Hung C, Patani R. Elevated 4R tau contributes to endolysosomal dysfunction and neurodegeneration in VCP-related frontotemporal dementia. Brain 2024; 147:970-979. [PMID: 37882537 PMCID: PMC10907086 DOI: 10.1093/brain/awad370] [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: 04/11/2023] [Revised: 10/03/2023] [Accepted: 10/11/2023] [Indexed: 10/27/2023] Open
Abstract
Frontotemporal dementia (FTD) and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) are two incurable neurodegenerative diseases that exist on a clinical, genetic and pathological spectrum. The VCP gene is highly relevant, being directly implicated in both FTD and ALS. Here, we investigate the effects of VCP mutations on the cellular homoeostasis of human induced pluripotent stem cell-derived cortical neurons, focusing on endolysosomal biology and tau pathology. We found that VCP mutations cause abnormal accumulation of enlarged endolysosomes accompanied by impaired interaction between two nuclear RNA binding proteins: fused in sarcoma (FUS) and splicing factor, proline- and glutamine-rich (SFPQ) in human cortical neurons. The spatial dissociation of intranuclear FUS and SFPQ correlates with alternative splicing of the MAPT pre-mRNA and increased tau phosphorylation. Importantly, we show that inducing 4R tau expression using antisense oligonucleotide technology is sufficient to drive neurodegeneration in control human neurons, which phenocopies VCP-mutant neurons. In summary, our findings demonstrate that tau hyperphosphorylation, endolysosomal dysfunction, lysosomal membrane rupture, endoplasmic reticulum stress and apoptosis are driven by a pathogenic increase in 4R tau.
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Affiliation(s)
- Christy Hung
- Human Stem Cells and Neurodegeneration Laboratory, The Francis Crick Institute, London NW1 1AT, UK
- UCL Great Ormond Street Institute of Child Health, Zayed Centre for Research into Rare Disease in Children, London WC1N 1DZ, UK
| | - Rickie Patani
- Human Stem Cells and Neurodegeneration Laboratory, The Francis Crick Institute, London NW1 1AT, UK
- Department of Neuromuscular Diseases, Queen Square Institute of Neurology, University College London, London WC1N 3BG, UK
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Mak E, Dounavi ME, Operto G, Ziukelis ET, Jones PS, Low A, Swann P, Newton C, Muniz Terrera G, Malhotra P, Koychev I, Falcon C, Mackay C, Lawlor B, Naci L, Wells K, Ritchie C, Ritchie K, Su L, Gispert JD, O’Brien JT. APOE ɛ4 exacerbates age-dependent deficits in cortical microstructure. Brain Commun 2024; 6:fcad351. [PMID: 38384997 PMCID: PMC10881196 DOI: 10.1093/braincomms/fcad351] [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] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/30/2023] [Revised: 10/20/2023] [Accepted: 02/09/2024] [Indexed: 02/23/2024] Open
Abstract
The apolipoprotein E ɛ4 allele is the primary genetic risk factor for the sporadic type of Alzheimer's disease. However, the mechanisms by which apolipoprotein E ɛ4 are associated with neurodegeneration are still poorly understood. We applied the Neurite Orientation Dispersion Model to characterize the effects of apolipoprotein ɛ4 and its interactions with age and education on cortical microstructure in cognitively normal individuals. Data from 1954 participants were included from the PREVENT-Dementia and ALFA (ALzheimer and FAmilies) studies (mean age = 57, 1197 non-carriers and 757 apolipoprotein E ɛ4 carriers). Structural MRI datasets were processed with FreeSurfer v7.2. The Microstructure Diffusion Toolbox was used to derive Orientation Dispersion Index maps from diffusion MRI datasets. Primary analyses were focused on (i) the main effects of apolipoprotein E ɛ4, and (ii) the interactions of apolipoprotein E ɛ4 with age and education on lobar and vertex-wise Orientation Dispersion Index and implemented using Permutation Analysis of Linear Models. There were apolipoprotein E ɛ4 × age interactions in the temporo-parietal and frontal lobes, indicating steeper age-dependent Orientation Dispersion Index changes in apolipoprotein E ɛ4 carriers. Steeper age-related Orientation Dispersion Index declines were observed among apolipoprotein E ɛ4 carriers with lower years of education. We demonstrated that apolipoprotein E ɛ4 worsened age-related Orientation Dispersion Index decreases in brain regions typically associated with atrophy patterns of Alzheimer's disease. This finding also suggests that apolipoprotein E ɛ4 may hasten the onset age of dementia by accelerating age-dependent reductions in cortical Orientation Dispersion Index.
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Affiliation(s)
- Elijah Mak
- Department of Psychiatry, School of Clinical Medicine, University of Cambridge, Cambridge CB2 0QQ, UK
| | - Maria-Eleni Dounavi
- Department of Psychiatry, School of Clinical Medicine, University of Cambridge, Cambridge CB2 0QQ, UK
| | - Grégory Operto
- Barcelonaβeta Brain Research Center, Pasqual Maragall Foundation, Barcelona 08005, Spain
| | - Elina T Ziukelis
- Department of Psychiatry, School of Clinical Medicine, University of Cambridge, Cambridge CB2 0QQ, UK
| | - Peter Simon Jones
- Department of Clinical Neurosciences, University of Cambridge, Cambridge CB2 0SZ, UK
| | - Audrey Low
- Department of Psychiatry, School of Clinical Medicine, University of Cambridge, Cambridge CB2 0QQ, UK
| | - Peter Swann
- Department of Psychiatry, School of Clinical Medicine, University of Cambridge, Cambridge CB2 0QQ, UK
| | - Coco Newton
- Department of Psychiatry, School of Clinical Medicine, University of Cambridge, Cambridge CB2 0QQ, UK
| | | | - Paresh Malhotra
- Department of Brain Sciences, Imperial College, London W12 0NN, UK
| | - Ivan Koychev
- Department of Psychiatry, Oxford University, Oxford OX3 7JX, UK
| | - Carles Falcon
- Barcelonaβeta Brain Research Center, Pasqual Maragall Foundation, Barcelona 08005, Spain
- IMIM (Hospital del Mar Medical Research Institute), Barcelona 08003, Spain
- Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red de Bioingeniería, Biomateriales y Nanomedicina (CIBER-BBN), Madrid 28029, Spain
| | - Clare Mackay
- Department of Psychiatry, Oxford University, Oxford OX3 7JX, UK
| | - Brian Lawlor
- Institute of Neuroscience, Trinity College Dublin, University of Dublin, Dublin D02 PX31, Ireland
| | - Lorina Naci
- Institute of Neuroscience, Trinity College Dublin, University of Dublin, Dublin D02 PX31, Ireland
| | - Katie Wells
- Centre for Dementia Prevention, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh EH4 2XU, UK
| | - Craig Ritchie
- Centre for Dementia Prevention, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh EH4 2XU, UK
| | - Karen Ritchie
- Institut National de la Santé et de la Recherche Médicale, U1061 Neuropsychiatrie, Montpellier 34093, France
- Faculty of Medicine, University of Montpellier, Montpellier 34093, France
| | - Li Su
- Department of Psychiatry, School of Clinical Medicine, University of Cambridge, Cambridge CB2 0QQ, UK
| | - Juan Domingo Gispert
- Barcelonaβeta Brain Research Center, Pasqual Maragall Foundation, Barcelona 08005, Spain
- IMIM (Hospital del Mar Medical Research Institute), Barcelona 08003, Spain
- Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red de Bioingeniería, Biomateriales y Nanomedicina (CIBER-BBN), Madrid 28029, Spain
| | - John T O’Brien
- Department of Psychiatry, School of Clinical Medicine, University of Cambridge, Cambridge CB2 0QQ, UK
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Kodosaki E, Watkins WJ, Loveless S, Kreft KL, Richards A, Anderson V, Hurler L, Robertson NP, Zelek WM, Tallantyre EC. Combination protein biomarkers predict multiple sclerosis diagnosis and outcomes. J Neuroinflammation 2024; 21:52. [PMID: 38368354 PMCID: PMC10874571 DOI: 10.1186/s12974-024-03036-4] [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: 10/09/2023] [Accepted: 02/01/2024] [Indexed: 02/19/2024] Open
Abstract
Establishing biomarkers to predict multiple sclerosis diagnosis and prognosis has been challenging using a single biomarker approach. We hypothesised that a combination of biomarkers would increase the accuracy of prediction models to differentiate multiple sclerosis from other neurological disorders and enhance prognostication for people with multiple sclerosis. We measured 24 fluid biomarkers in the blood and cerebrospinal fluid of 77 people with multiple sclerosis and 80 people with other neurological disorders, using ELISA or Single Molecule Array assays. Primary outcomes were multiple sclerosis versus any other diagnosis, time to first relapse, and time to disability milestone (Expanded Disability Status Scale 6), adjusted for age and sex. Multivariate prediction models were calculated using the area under the curve value for diagnostic prediction, and concordance statistics (the percentage of each pair of events that are correctly ordered in time for each of the Cox regression models) for prognostic predictions. Predictions using combinations of biomarkers were considerably better than single biomarker predictions. The combination of cerebrospinal fluid [chitinase-3-like-1 + TNF-receptor-1 + CD27] and serum [osteopontin + MCP-1] had an area under the curve of 0.97 for diagnosis of multiple sclerosis, compared to the best discriminative single marker in blood (osteopontin: area under the curve 0.84) and in cerebrospinal fluid (chitinase-3-like-1 area under the curve 0.84). Prediction for time to next relapse was optimal with a combination of cerebrospinal fluid[vitamin D binding protein + Factor I + C1inhibitor] + serum[Factor B + Interleukin-4 + C1inhibitor] (concordance 0.80), and time to Expanded Disability Status Scale 6 with cerebrospinal fluid [C9 + Neurofilament-light] + serum[chitinase-3-like-1 + CCL27 + vitamin D binding protein + C1inhibitor] (concordance 0.98). A combination of fluid biomarkers has a higher accuracy to differentiate multiple sclerosis from other neurological disorders and significantly improved the prediction of the development of sustained disability in multiple sclerosis. Serum models rivalled those of cerebrospinal fluid, holding promise for a non-invasive approach. The utility of our biomarker models can only be established by robust validation in different and varied cohorts.
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Affiliation(s)
- Eleftheria Kodosaki
- UK Dementia Research Institute at University College London, London, WC1E6BT, UK
- Department of Neurodegenerative Disease, UCL Institute of Neurology, Queen Square, London, WC1N3BG, UK
- Division of Psychological Medicine and Clinical Neurosciences, School of Medicine, Cardiff University, Cardiff, CF14 4XW, UK
| | - W John Watkins
- Division of Infection and Immunity, School of Medicine, Cardiff University, Cardiff, UK
| | - Sam Loveless
- Division of Psychological Medicine and Clinical Neurosciences, School of Medicine, Cardiff University, Cardiff, CF14 4XW, UK
| | - Karim L Kreft
- Department of Neurology, University Hospital of Wales, Cardiff, UK
| | - Aidan Richards
- Division of Psychological Medicine and Clinical Neurosciences, School of Medicine, Cardiff University, Cardiff, CF14 4XW, UK
| | - Valerie Anderson
- Division of Psychological Medicine and Clinical Neurosciences, School of Medicine, Cardiff University, Cardiff, CF14 4XW, UK
| | - Lisa Hurler
- Department of Internal Medicine and Haematology, Semmelweis University, Budapest, 1085, Hungary
| | - Neil P Robertson
- Division of Psychological Medicine and Clinical Neurosciences, School of Medicine, Cardiff University, Cardiff, CF14 4XW, UK
- Department of Neurology, University Hospital of Wales, Cardiff, UK
| | - Wioleta M Zelek
- Division of Infection and Immunity, School of Medicine, Cardiff University, Cardiff, UK
| | - Emma C Tallantyre
- Division of Psychological Medicine and Clinical Neurosciences, School of Medicine, Cardiff University, Cardiff, CF14 4XW, UK.
- Department of Neurology, University Hospital of Wales, Cardiff, UK.
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8
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Negro D, Opazo P. Cognitive resilience in Alzheimer's disease: from large-scale brain networks to synapses. Brain Commun 2024; 6:fcae050. [PMID: 38425748 PMCID: PMC10903981 DOI: 10.1093/braincomms/fcae050] [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] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/08/2024] [Revised: 02/13/2024] [Accepted: 02/14/2024] [Indexed: 03/02/2024] Open
Abstract
This scientific commentary refers to 'Alteration of functional connectivity network in population of objectively-defined subtle cognitive decline' by Zhang et al. (https://doi.org/10.1093/braincomms/fcae033) and 'Posterior cingulate cortex reveals an expression profile of resilience in cognitively intact elders' by Kelley et al. (https://doi.org/10.1093/braincomms/fcac162) in Brain Communications and 'Determinants of cognitive and brain resilience to tau pathology: a longitudinal analysis' by Bocancea et al. (https://doi.org/10.1093/brain/awad100) in Brain.
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Affiliation(s)
- Danilo Negro
- UK Dementia Research Institute, Centre for Discovery Brain Sciences, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh Medical School, Edinburgh EH16 4SB, UK
| | - Patricio Opazo
- UK Dementia Research Institute, Centre for Discovery Brain Sciences, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh Medical School, Edinburgh EH16 4SB, UK
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9
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Walker L, Simpson H, Thomas AJ, Attems J. Prevalence, distribution, and severity of cerebral amyloid angiopathy differ between Lewy body diseases and Alzheimer's disease. Acta Neuropathol Commun 2024; 12:28. [PMID: 38360761 PMCID: PMC10870546 DOI: 10.1186/s40478-023-01714-7] [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: 12/15/2023] [Accepted: 12/17/2023] [Indexed: 02/17/2024] Open
Abstract
Dementia with Lewy bodies (DLB), Parkinson's disease dementia (PDD), and Parkinson's disease (PD) collectively known as Lewy body diseases (LBDs) are neuropathologically characterised by α-synuclein deposits (Lewy bodies and Lewy neurites). However, LBDs also exhibit pathology associated with Alzheimer's disease (AD) (i.e. hyperphosphorylated tau and amyloid β (Aβ). Aβ can be deposited in the walls of blood vessels in the brains of individuals with AD, termed cerebral amyloid angiopathy (CAA). The aim of this study was to investigate the type and distribution of CAA in DLB, PDD, and PD and determine if this differs from AD. CAA type, severity, and topographical distribution was assessed in 94 AD, 30 DLB, 17 PDD, and 11 PD cases, and APOE genotype evaluated in a subset of cases where available. 96.3% AD cases, 70% DLB cases and 82.4% PDD cases exhibited CAA (type 1 or type 2). However only 45.5% PD cases had CAA. Type 1 CAA accounted for 37.2% of AD cases, 10% of DLB cases, and 5.9% of PDD cases, and was not observed in PD cases. There was a hierarchical topographical distribution in regions affected by CAA where AD and DLB displayed the same distribution pattern that differed from PDD and PD. APOE ε4 was associated with severity of CAA in AD cases. Topographical patterns and severity of CAA in DLB more closely resembled AD rather than PDD, and as type 1 CAA is associated with clinical dementia in AD, further investigations are warranted into whether the increased presence of type 1 CAA in DLB compared to PDD are related to the onset of cognitive symptoms and is a distinguishing factor between LBDs. Possible alignment of the the topographical distribution of CAA and microbleeds in DLB warrants further investigation. CAA in DLB more closely resembles AD rather than PDD or PD, and should be taken into consideration when stratifying patients for clinical trials or designing disease modifying therapies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lauren Walker
- Translational and Clinical Research Institute, Newcastle University, Edwardson building, Campus for Ageing and Vitality, Newcastle-upon-Tyne, NE4 5PL, UK.
| | - Harry Simpson
- Translational and Clinical Research Institute, Newcastle University, Edwardson building, Campus for Ageing and Vitality, Newcastle-upon-Tyne, NE4 5PL, UK
| | - Alan J Thomas
- Translational and Clinical Research Institute, Newcastle University, Edwardson building, Campus for Ageing and Vitality, Newcastle-upon-Tyne, NE4 5PL, UK
| | - Johannes Attems
- Translational and Clinical Research Institute, Newcastle University, Edwardson building, Campus for Ageing and Vitality, Newcastle-upon-Tyne, NE4 5PL, UK
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10
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Bondulich MK, Phillips J, Cañibano-Pico M, Nita IM, Byrne LM, Wild EJ, Bates GP. Translatable plasma and CSF biomarkers for use in mouse models of Huntington's disease. Brain Commun 2024; 6:fcae030. [PMID: 38370446 PMCID: PMC10873584 DOI: 10.1093/braincomms/fcae030] [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] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/04/2023] [Revised: 12/14/2023] [Accepted: 02/05/2024] [Indexed: 02/20/2024] Open
Abstract
Huntington's disease is an inherited neurodegenerative disorder for which a wide range of disease-modifying therapies are in development and the availability of biomarkers to monitor treatment response is essential for the success of clinical trials. Baseline levels of neurofilament light chain in CSF and plasma have been shown to be effective in predicting clinical disease status, subsequent clinical progression and brain atrophy. The identification of further sensitive prognostic fluid biomarkers is an active research area, and total-Tau and YKL-40 levels have been shown to be increased in CSF from Huntington's disease mutation carriers. The use of readouts with clinical utility in the preclinical assessment of potential therapeutics should aid in the translation of new treatments. Here, we set out to determine how the concentrations of these three proteins change in plasma and CSF with disease progression in representative, well-established mouse models of Huntington's disease. Plasma and CSF were collected throughout disease progression from R6/2 transgenic mice with CAG repeats of 200 or 90 codons (R6/2:Q200 and R6/2:Q90), zQ175 knock-in mice and YAC128 transgenic mice, along with their respective wild-type littermates. Neurofilament light chain and total-Tau concentrations were quantified in CSF and plasma using ultrasensitive single-molecule array (Quanterix) assays, and a novel Quanterix assay was developed for breast regression protein 39 (mouse homologue of YKL-40) and used to quantify breast regression protein 39 levels in plasma. CSF levels of neurofilament light chain and plasma levels of neurofilament light chain and breast regression protein 39 increased in wild-type biofluids with age, whereas total-Tau remained constant. Neurofilament light chain and breast regression protein 39 were elevated in the plasma and CSF from Huntington's disease mouse models, as compared with wild-type littermates, at presymptomatic stages, whereas total-Tau was only increased at the latest disease stages analysed. Levels of biomarkers that had been measured in the same CSF or plasma samples taken at the latest stages of disease were correlated. The demonstration that breast regression protein 39 constitutes a robust plasma biomarker in Huntington's disease mouse models supports the further investigation of YKL-40 as a CSF biomarker for Huntington's disease mutation carriers. Neurofilament light chain and Tau are considered markers of neuronal damage, and breast regression protein 39 is a marker of inflammation; the similarities and differences in the levels of these proteins between mouse models may provide future insights into their underlying pathology. These data will facilitate the use of fluid biomarkers in the preclinical assessment of therapeutic agents for Huntington's disease, providing readouts with direct relevance to clinical trials.
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Affiliation(s)
- Marie K Bondulich
- Huntington’s Disease Centre, Department of Neurodegenerative Disease and UK Dementia Research Institute at UCL, Queen Square Institute of Neurology, UCL, London WC1N 3BG, UK
| | - Jemima Phillips
- Huntington’s Disease Centre, Department of Neurodegenerative Disease and UK Dementia Research Institute at UCL, Queen Square Institute of Neurology, UCL, London WC1N 3BG, UK
| | - María Cañibano-Pico
- Huntington’s Disease Centre, Department of Neurodegenerative Disease and UK Dementia Research Institute at UCL, Queen Square Institute of Neurology, UCL, London WC1N 3BG, UK
| | - Iulia M Nita
- Huntington’s Disease Centre, Department of Neurodegenerative Disease and UK Dementia Research Institute at UCL, Queen Square Institute of Neurology, UCL, London WC1N 3BG, UK
| | - Lauren M Byrne
- Huntington’s Disease Centre, Department of Neurodegenerative Disease and UK Dementia Research Institute at UCL, Queen Square Institute of Neurology, UCL, London WC1N 3BG, UK
| | - Edward J Wild
- Huntington’s Disease Centre, Department of Neurodegenerative Disease and UK Dementia Research Institute at UCL, Queen Square Institute of Neurology, UCL, London WC1N 3BG, UK
| | - Gillian P Bates
- Huntington’s Disease Centre, Department of Neurodegenerative Disease and UK Dementia Research Institute at UCL, Queen Square Institute of Neurology, UCL, London WC1N 3BG, UK
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11
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Hartnell IJ, Woodhouse D, Jasper W, Mason L, Marwaha P, Graffeuil M, Lau LC, Norman JL, Chatelet DS, Buee L, Nicoll JAR, Blum D, Dorothee G, Boche D. Glial reactivity and T cell infiltration in frontotemporal lobar degeneration with tau pathology. Brain 2024; 147:590-606. [PMID: 37703311 PMCID: PMC10834257 DOI: 10.1093/brain/awad309] [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: 11/25/2022] [Revised: 07/23/2023] [Accepted: 08/11/2023] [Indexed: 09/15/2023] Open
Abstract
Frontotemporal lobar degeneration with tau (FTLD-tau) is a group of tauopathies that underlie ∼50% of FTLD cases. Identification of genetic risk variants related to innate/adaptive immunity have highlighted a role for neuroinflammation and neuroimmune interactions in FTLD. Studies have shown microglial and astrocyte activation together with T cell infiltration in the brain of THY-Tau22 tauopathy mice. However, this remains to be confirmed in FTLD-tau patients. We conducted a detailed post-mortem study of FTLD-tau cases including 45 progressive supranuclear palsy with clinical frontotemporal dementia, 33 Pick's disease, 12 FTLD-MAPT and 52 control brains to characterize the link between phosphorylated tau (pTau) epitopes and the innate and adaptive immunity. Tau pathology was assessed in the cerebral cortex using antibodies directed against: Tau-2 (phosphorylated and unphosphorylated tau), AT8 (pSer202/pThr205), AT100 (pThr212/pSer214), CP13 (pSer202), PHF1 (pSer396/pSer404), pThr181 and pSer356. The immunophenotypes of microglia and astrocytes were assessed with phenotypic markers (Iba1, CD68, HLA-DR, CD64, CD32a, CD16 for microglia and GFAP, EAAT2, glutamine synthetase and ALDH1L1 for astrocytes). The adaptive immune response was explored via CD4+ and CD8+ T cell quantification and the neuroinflammatory environment was investigated via the expression of 30 inflammatory-related proteins using V-Plex Meso Scale Discovery. As expected, all pTau markers were increased in FTLD-tau cases compared to controls. pSer356 expression was greatest in FTLD-MAPT cases versus controls (P < 0.0001), whereas the expression of other markers was highest in Pick's disease. Progressive supranuclear palsy with frontotemporal dementia consistently had a lower pTau protein load compared to Pick's disease across tau epitopes. The only microglial marker increased in FTLD-tau was CD16 (P = 0.0292) and specifically in FTLD-MAPT cases (P = 0.0150). However, several associations were detected between pTau epitopes and microglia, supporting an interplay between them. GFAP expression was increased in FTLD-tau (P = 0.0345) with the highest expression in Pick's disease (P = 0.0019), while ALDH1L1 was unchanged. Markers of astrocyte glutamate cycling function were reduced in FTLD-tau (P = 0.0075; Pick's disease: P < 0.0400) implying astrocyte reactivity associated with a decreased glutamate cycling activity, which was further associated with pTau expression. Of the inflammatory proteins assessed in the brain, five chemokines were upregulated in Pick's disease cases (P < 0.0400), consistent with the recruitment of CD4+ (P = 0.0109) and CD8+ (P = 0.0014) T cells. Of note, the CD8+ T cell infiltration was associated with pTau epitopes and microglial and astrocytic markers. Our results highlight that FTLD-tau is associated with astrocyte reactivity, remarkably little activation of microglia, but involvement of adaptive immunity in the form of chemokine-driven recruitment of T lymphocytes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Iain J Hartnell
- Clinical and Experimental Sciences, Faculty of Medicine, University of Southampton, Southampton SO16 6YD, UK
| | - Declan Woodhouse
- Clinical and Experimental Sciences, Faculty of Medicine, University of Southampton, Southampton SO16 6YD, UK
| | - William Jasper
- Clinical and Experimental Sciences, Faculty of Medicine, University of Southampton, Southampton SO16 6YD, UK
| | - Luke Mason
- Clinical and Experimental Sciences, Faculty of Medicine, University of Southampton, Southampton SO16 6YD, UK
| | - Pavan Marwaha
- Clinical and Experimental Sciences, Faculty of Medicine, University of Southampton, Southampton SO16 6YD, UK
| | - Manon Graffeuil
- Clinical and Experimental Sciences, Faculty of Medicine, University of Southampton, Southampton SO16 6YD, UK
| | - Laurie C Lau
- Clinical and Experimental Sciences, Faculty of Medicine, Sir Henry Wellcome Laboratories, University of Southampton, Southampton O16 6YD, UK
| | - Jeanette L Norman
- Histochemistry Research Unit, Clinical and Experimental Sciences, Faculty of Medicine University of Southampton, Southampton SO16 6YD, UK
| | - David S Chatelet
- Biomedical Imaging Unit, University Hospital Southampton NHS Trust, Southampton SO16 6YD, UK
| | - Luc Buee
- University of Lille, Inserm, CHU Lille, UMR-S1172—Lille Neurosciences and Cognition, Lille 59045, France
- Alzheimer and Tauopathies, LabEX DISTALZ, Lille 59000, France
| | - James A R Nicoll
- Clinical and Experimental Sciences, Faculty of Medicine, University of Southampton, Southampton SO16 6YD, UK
- Department of Cellular Pathology, University Hospital Southampton NHS Trust, Southampton SO16 6YD, UK
| | - David Blum
- University of Lille, Inserm, CHU Lille, UMR-S1172—Lille Neurosciences and Cognition, Lille 59045, France
- Alzheimer and Tauopathies, LabEX DISTALZ, Lille 59000, France
| | - Guillaume Dorothee
- Clinical and Experimental Sciences, Faculty of Medicine, University of Southampton, Southampton SO16 6YD, UK
- Sorbonne Université, Inserm, Centre de Recherche Saint-Antoine, CRSA, Immune System and Neuroinflammation Laboratory, Hôpital Saint-Antoine, Paris 75012, France
| | - Delphine Boche
- Clinical and Experimental Sciences, Faculty of Medicine, University of Southampton, Southampton SO16 6YD, UK
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12
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Belder CRS, Marshall CR, Jiang J, Mazzeo S, Chokesuwattanaskul A, Rohrer JD, Volkmer A, Hardy CJD, Warren JD. Primary progressive aphasia: six questions in search of an answer. J Neurol 2024; 271:1028-1046. [PMID: 37906327 PMCID: PMC10827918 DOI: 10.1007/s00415-023-12030-4] [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: 09/16/2023] [Accepted: 09/27/2023] [Indexed: 11/02/2023]
Abstract
Here, we review recent progress in the diagnosis and management of primary progressive aphasia-the language-led dementias. We pose six key unanswered questions that challenge current assumptions and highlight the unresolved difficulties that surround these diseases. How many syndromes of primary progressive aphasia are there-and is syndromic diagnosis even useful? Are these truly 'language-led' dementias? How can we diagnose (and track) primary progressive aphasia better? Can brain pathology be predicted in these diseases? What is their core pathophysiology? In addition, how can primary progressive aphasia best be treated? We propose that pathophysiological mechanisms linking proteinopathies to phenotypes may help resolve the clinical complexity of primary progressive aphasia, and may suggest novel diagnostic tools and markers and guide the deployment of effective therapies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Christopher R S Belder
- Dementia Research Centre, Department of Neurodegenerative Disease, UCL Queen Square Institute of Neurology, University College London, 8 - 11 Queen Square, London, WC1N 3BG, UK
- UK Dementia Research Institute at UCL, UCL Queen Square Institute of Neurology, University College London, London, UK
- Adelaide Medical School, The University of Adelaide, Adelaide, South Australia, Australia
| | - Charles R Marshall
- Preventive Neurology Unit, Wolfson Institute of Population Health, Queen Mary University of London, London, UK
| | - Jessica Jiang
- Dementia Research Centre, Department of Neurodegenerative Disease, UCL Queen Square Institute of Neurology, University College London, 8 - 11 Queen Square, London, WC1N 3BG, UK
| | - Salvatore Mazzeo
- Dementia Research Centre, Department of Neurodegenerative Disease, UCL Queen Square Institute of Neurology, University College London, 8 - 11 Queen Square, London, WC1N 3BG, UK
- Department of Neuroscience, Psychology, Drug Research and Child Health, University of Florence, Azienda Ospedaliera-Universitaria Careggi, Florence, Italy
| | - Anthipa Chokesuwattanaskul
- Dementia Research Centre, Department of Neurodegenerative Disease, UCL Queen Square Institute of Neurology, University College London, 8 - 11 Queen Square, London, WC1N 3BG, UK
- Division of Neurology, Department of Internal Medicine, King Chulalongkorn Memorial Hospital, Thai Red Cross Society, Bangkok, Thailand
- Cognitive Clinical and Computational Neuroscience Research Unit, Faculty of Medicine, Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok, Thailand
| | - Jonathan D Rohrer
- Dementia Research Centre, Department of Neurodegenerative Disease, UCL Queen Square Institute of Neurology, University College London, 8 - 11 Queen Square, London, WC1N 3BG, UK
| | - Anna Volkmer
- Dementia Research Centre, Department of Neurodegenerative Disease, UCL Queen Square Institute of Neurology, University College London, 8 - 11 Queen Square, London, WC1N 3BG, UK
| | - Chris J D Hardy
- Dementia Research Centre, Department of Neurodegenerative Disease, UCL Queen Square Institute of Neurology, University College London, 8 - 11 Queen Square, London, WC1N 3BG, UK
| | - Jason D Warren
- Dementia Research Centre, Department of Neurodegenerative Disease, UCL Queen Square Institute of Neurology, University College London, 8 - 11 Queen Square, London, WC1N 3BG, UK.
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13
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van’t Hooft JJ, Benhamou E, Albero Herreros C, Jiang J, Levett B, Core LB, Requena-Komuro MC, Hardy CJD, Tijms BM, Pijnenburg YAL, Warren JD. Musical experience influences socio-emotional functioning in behavioural variant frontotemporal dementia. Front Neurol 2024; 15:1341661. [PMID: 38333611 PMCID: PMC10851745 DOI: 10.3389/fneur.2024.1341661] [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] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/20/2023] [Accepted: 01/11/2024] [Indexed: 02/10/2024] Open
Abstract
Objectives On phenotypic and neuroanatomical grounds, music exposure might potentially affect the clinical expression of behavioural variant frontotemporal dementia (bvFTD). However, this has not been clarified. Methods 14 consecutive patients with bvFTD fulfilling consensus diagnostic criteria were recruited via a specialist cognitive clinic. Earlier life musical experience, current musical listening habits and general socio-emotional behaviours were scored using a bespoke semi-quantitative musical survey and standardised functional scales, completed with the assistance of patients' primary caregivers. Associations of musical scores with behavioural scales were assessed using a linear regression model adjusted for age, sex, educational attainment and level of executive and general cognitive impairment. Results Greater earlier life musical experience was associated with significantly lower Cambridge Behavioural Inventory (Revised) scores (β ± SE = -17.2 ± 5.2; p = 0.01) and higher Modified Interpersonal Reactivity Index (MIRI) perspective-taking scores (β ± SE = 2.8 ± 1.1; p = 0.03), after adjusting for general cognitive ability. Number of hours each week currently spent listening to music was associated with higher MIRI empathic concern (β ± SE = 0.7 ± 0.21; p = 0.015) and MIRI total scores (β ± SE = 1.1 ± 0.34; p = 0.014). Discussion Musical experience in earlier life and potentially ongoing regular music listening may ameliorate socio-emotional functioning in bvFTD. Future work in larger cohorts is required to substantiate the robustness of this association, establish its mechanism and evaluate its clinical potential.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jochum J. van’t Hooft
- Dementia Research Centre, UCL Queen Square Institute of Neurology, University College London, London, United Kingdom
- Alzheimer Centre Amsterdam, Amsterdam UMC, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, Amsterdam, Netherlands
- Amsterdam Neuroscience—Neurodegeneration, Amsterdam, Netherlands
| | - Elia Benhamou
- Dementia Research Centre, UCL Queen Square Institute of Neurology, University College London, London, United Kingdom
| | - Claudia Albero Herreros
- Dementia Research Centre, UCL Queen Square Institute of Neurology, University College London, London, United Kingdom
| | - Jessica Jiang
- Dementia Research Centre, UCL Queen Square Institute of Neurology, University College London, London, United Kingdom
| | - Benjamin Levett
- Dementia Research Centre, UCL Queen Square Institute of Neurology, University College London, London, United Kingdom
| | - Lucy B. Core
- Dementia Research Centre, UCL Queen Square Institute of Neurology, University College London, London, United Kingdom
| | - Mai-Carmen Requena-Komuro
- Dementia Research Centre, UCL Queen Square Institute of Neurology, University College London, London, United Kingdom
| | - Chris J. D. Hardy
- Dementia Research Centre, UCL Queen Square Institute of Neurology, University College London, London, United Kingdom
| | - Betty M. Tijms
- Alzheimer Centre Amsterdam, Amsterdam UMC, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, Amsterdam, Netherlands
- Amsterdam Neuroscience—Neurodegeneration, Amsterdam, Netherlands
| | - Yolande A. L. Pijnenburg
- Alzheimer Centre Amsterdam, Amsterdam UMC, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, Amsterdam, Netherlands
- Amsterdam Neuroscience—Neurodegeneration, Amsterdam, Netherlands
| | - Jason D. Warren
- Dementia Research Centre, UCL Queen Square Institute of Neurology, University College London, London, United Kingdom
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14
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Pan X, Donaghy PC, Roberts G, Chouliaras L, O’Brien JT, Thomas AJ, Heslegrave AJ, Zetterberg H, McGuinness B, Passmore AP, Green BD, Kane JPM. Plasma metabolites distinguish dementia with Lewy bodies from Alzheimer's disease: a cross-sectional metabolomic analysis. Front Aging Neurosci 2024; 15:1326780. [PMID: 38239488 PMCID: PMC10794326 DOI: 10.3389/fnagi.2023.1326780] [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] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/24/2023] [Accepted: 12/11/2023] [Indexed: 01/22/2024] Open
Abstract
Background In multifactorial diseases, alterations in the concentration of metabolites can identify novel pathological mechanisms at the intersection between genetic and environmental influences. This study aimed to profile the plasma metabolome of patients with dementia with Lewy bodies (DLB) and Alzheimer's disease (AD), two neurodegenerative disorders for which our understanding of the pathophysiology is incomplete. In the clinical setting, DLB is often mistaken for AD, highlighting a need for accurate diagnostic biomarkers. We therefore also aimed to determine the overlapping and differentiating metabolite patterns associated with each and establish whether identification of these patterns could be leveraged as biomarkers to support clinical diagnosis. Methods A panel of 630 metabolites (Biocrates MxP Quant 500) and a further 232 metabolism indicators (biologically informative sums and ratios calculated from measured metabolites, each indicative for a specific pathway or synthesis; MetaboINDICATOR) were analyzed in plasma from patients with probable DLB (n = 15; age 77.6 ± 8.2 years), probable AD (n = 15; 76.1 ± 6.4 years), and age-matched cognitively healthy controls (HC; n = 15; 75.2 ± 6.9 years). Metabolites were quantified using a reversed-phase ultra-performance liquid chromatography column and triple-quadrupole mass spectrometer in multiple reaction monitoring (MRM) mode, or by using flow injection analysis in MRM mode. Data underwent multivariate (PCA analysis), univariate and receiving operator characteristic (ROC) analysis. Metabolite data were also correlated (Spearman r) with the collected clinical neuroimaging and protein biomarker data. Results The PCA plot separated DLB, AD and HC groups (R2 = 0.518, Q2 = 0.348). Significant alterations in 17 detected metabolite parameters were identified (q ≤ 0.05), including neurotransmitters, amino acids and glycerophospholipids. Glutamine (Glu; q = 0.045) concentrations and indicators of sphingomyelin hydroxylation (q = 0.039) distinguished AD and DLB, and these significantly correlated with semi-quantitative measurement of cardiac sympathetic denervation. The most promising biomarker differentiating AD from DLB was Glu:lysophosphatidylcholine (lysoPC a 24:0) ratio (AUC = 0.92; 95%CI 0.809-0.996; sensitivity = 0.90; specificity = 0.90). Discussion Several plasma metabolomic aberrations are shared by both DLB and AD, but a rise in plasma glutamine was specific to DLB. When measured against plasma lysoPC a C24:0, glutamine could differentiate DLB from AD, and the reproducibility of this biomarker should be investigated in larger cohorts.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xiaobei Pan
- School of Biological Sciences, Queen’s University Belfast, Belfast, United Kingdom
| | - Paul C. Donaghy
- Translational and Clinical Research Institute, Newcastle University, Newcastle upon Tyne, United Kingdom
| | - Gemma Roberts
- Translational and Clinical Research Institute, Newcastle University, Newcastle upon Tyne, United Kingdom
| | - Leonidas Chouliaras
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, United Kingdom
| | - John T. O’Brien
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, United Kingdom
| | - Alan J. Thomas
- Translational and Clinical Research Institute, Newcastle University, Newcastle upon Tyne, United Kingdom
| | - Amanda J. Heslegrave
- Department of Neurodegenerative Disease, University College London Queen Square Institute of Neurology, London, United Kingdom
- Dementia Research Institute, UCL, London, United Kingdom
| | - Henrik Zetterberg
- Department of Neurodegenerative Disease, University College London Queen Square Institute of Neurology, London, United Kingdom
- Dementia Research Institute, UCL, London, United Kingdom
- Department of Psychiatry and Neurochemistry, Institute of Neuroscience and Physiology, The Sahlgrenska Academy, University of Gothenburg, Gothenburg, Sweden
- Clinical Neurochemistry Laboratory, Sahlgrenska University Hospital, Mölndal, Sweden
- Hong Kong Center for Neurodegenerative Diseases, Kowloon, Hong Kong SAR, China
- Wisconsin Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center, University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI, United States
| | | | - Anthony P. Passmore
- Centre for Public Health, Queen’s University Belfast, Belfast, United Kingdom
| | - Brian D. Green
- School of Biological Sciences, Queen’s University Belfast, Belfast, United Kingdom
| | - Joseph P. M. Kane
- Centre for Public Health, Queen’s University Belfast, Belfast, United Kingdom
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15
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Ullgren A, Öijerstedt L, Olofsson J, Bergström S, Remnestål J, van Swieten JC, Jiskoot LC, Seelaar H, Borroni B, Sanchez-Valle R, Moreno F, Laforce R, Synofzik M, Galimberti D, Rowe JB, Masellis M, Tartaglia MC, Finger E, Vandenberghe R, de Mendonça A, Tirabosch P, Santana I, Ducharme S, Butler CR, Gerhard A, Otto M, Bouzigues A, Russell L, Swift IJ, Sogorb-Esteve A, Heller C, Rohrer JD, Månberg A, Nilsson P, Graff C. Altered plasma protein profiles in genetic FTD - a GENFI study. Mol Neurodegener 2023; 18:85. [PMID: 37968725 PMCID: PMC10648335 DOI: 10.1186/s13024-023-00677-6] [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: 10/09/2023] [Accepted: 10/31/2023] [Indexed: 11/17/2023] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Plasma biomarkers reflecting the pathology of frontotemporal dementia would add significant value to clinical practice, to the design and implementation of treatment trials as well as our understanding of disease mechanisms. The aim of this study was to explore the levels of multiple plasma proteins in individuals from families with genetic frontotemporal dementia. METHODS Blood samples from 693 participants in the GENetic Frontotemporal Dementia Initiative study were analysed using a multiplexed antibody array targeting 158 proteins. RESULTS We found 13 elevated proteins in symptomatic mutation carriers, when comparing plasma levels from people diagnosed with genetic FTD to healthy non-mutation controls and 10 proteins that were elevated compared to presymptomatic mutation carriers. CONCLUSION We identified plasma proteins with altered levels in symptomatic mutation carriers compared to non-carrier controls as well as to presymptomatic mutation carriers. Further investigations are needed to elucidate their potential as fluid biomarkers of the disease process.
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Affiliation(s)
- Abbe Ullgren
- Swedish FTD Initiative, Stockholm, Sweden
- Department of Neurobiology, Care Sciences and Society, Division of Neurogeriatrics, Karolinska Institutet, Solna, Sweden
- Unit for Hereditary Dementias, Karolinska University Hospital, Solna, Sweden
| | - Linn Öijerstedt
- Swedish FTD Initiative, Stockholm, Sweden
- Department of Neurobiology, Care Sciences and Society, Division of Neurogeriatrics, Karolinska Institutet, Solna, Sweden
- Unit for Hereditary Dementias, Karolinska University Hospital, Solna, Sweden
| | - Jennie Olofsson
- Swedish FTD Initiative, Stockholm, Sweden
- Department of Protein Science, Division of Affinity Proteomics, SciLifeLab, KTH Royal Institute of Technology, Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Sofia Bergström
- Swedish FTD Initiative, Stockholm, Sweden
- Department of Protein Science, Division of Affinity Proteomics, SciLifeLab, KTH Royal Institute of Technology, Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Julia Remnestål
- Swedish FTD Initiative, Stockholm, Sweden
- Department of Protein Science, Division of Affinity Proteomics, SciLifeLab, KTH Royal Institute of Technology, Stockholm, Sweden
| | | | - Lize C Jiskoot
- Department of Neurology, Erasmus Medical Centre, Rotterdam, Netherlands
| | - Harro Seelaar
- Department of Neurology, Erasmus Medical Centre, Rotterdam, Netherlands
| | - Barbara Borroni
- Department of Clinical and Experimental Sciences, Centre for Neurodegenerative Disorders, University of Brescia, Brescia, Italy
| | - Raquel Sanchez-Valle
- Alzheimer's Disease and Other Cognitive Disorders Unit, Neurology Service, Hospital Clínic, Institut d'Investigacións Biomèdiques August Pi I Sunyer, University of Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain
| | - Fermin Moreno
- Department of Neurology, Cognitive Disorders Unit, Donostia University Hospital, San Sebastian, Gipuzkoa, Spain
- Neuroscience Area, Biodonostia Health Research Institute, San Sebastian, Gipuzkoa, Spain
| | - Robert Laforce
- Département Des Sciences Neurologiques, Clinique Interdisciplinaire de Mémoire, CHU de Québec, and Faculté de Médecine, Université Laval, Quebec City, QC, Canada
| | - Matthis Synofzik
- Department of Neurodegenerative Diseases, Hertie-Institute for Clinical Brain Research and Center of Neurology, University of Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany
- Center for Neurodegenerative Diseases (DZNE), Tübingen, Germany
| | - Daniela Galimberti
- Fondazione IRCCS Ospedale Policlinico, Milan, Italy
- University of Milan, Centro Dino Ferrari, Milan, Italy
| | - James B Rowe
- Department of Clinical Neurosciences, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK
| | - Mario Masellis
- Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre, Sunnybrook Research Institute, University of Toronto, Toronto, Canada
| | - Maria Carmela Tartaglia
- Tanz Centre for Research in Neurodegenerative Diseases, University of Toronto, Toronto, Canada
| | - Elizabeth Finger
- Department of Clinical Neurological Sciences, University of Western Ontario, London, ON, Canada
| | - Rik Vandenberghe
- Department of Neurosciences, Laboratory for Cognitive Neurology, KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium
- Neurology Service, University Hospitals Leuven, Leuven, Belgium
- Leuven Brain Institute, KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium
| | | | - Pietro Tirabosch
- Fondazione IRCCS Istituto Neurologico Carlo Besta, Milano, Italy
| | - Isabel Santana
- Faculty of Medicine, University Hospital of Coimbra (HUC), Neurology Service, University of Coimbra, Coimbra, Portugal
- Center for Neuroscience and Cell Biology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Coimbra, Coimbra, Portugal
| | - Simon Ducharme
- Department of Psychiatry, McGill University Health Centre, McGill University, Montreal, Québec, Canada
- McConnell Brain Imaging Centre, Montreal Neurological Institute, McGill University, Montreal, Québec, Canada
| | - Chris R Butler
- Nuffield Department of Clinical Neurosciences, Medical Sciences Division, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK
- Department of Brain Sciences, Imperial College London, London, UK
| | - Alexander Gerhard
- Division of Neuroscience and Experimental Psychology, Wolfson Molecular Imaging Centre, University of Manchester, Manchester, UK
- Departments of Geriatric Medicine and Nuclear Medicine, Center for Translational Neuro- and Behavioral Sciences, University Medicine Essen, Essen, Germany
| | - Markus Otto
- Department of Neurology, University of Ulm, Ulm, Germany
| | - Arabella Bouzigues
- Department of Neurodegenerative Disease, Dementia Research Centre, UCL Institute of Neurology, Queen Square, London, UK
- Dementia Research Institute at UCL, UCL Queen Square Institute of Neurology, London, UK
| | - Lucy Russell
- Department of Neurodegenerative Disease, Dementia Research Centre, UCL Institute of Neurology, Queen Square, London, UK
- Dementia Research Institute at UCL, UCL Queen Square Institute of Neurology, London, UK
| | - Imogen J Swift
- Department of Neurodegenerative Disease, Dementia Research Centre, UCL Institute of Neurology, Queen Square, London, UK
- Dementia Research Institute at UCL, UCL Queen Square Institute of Neurology, London, UK
| | - Aitana Sogorb-Esteve
- Department of Neurodegenerative Disease, Dementia Research Centre, UCL Institute of Neurology, Queen Square, London, UK
- Dementia Research Institute at UCL, UCL Queen Square Institute of Neurology, London, UK
| | - Carolin Heller
- Department of Neurodegenerative Disease, Dementia Research Centre, UCL Institute of Neurology, Queen Square, London, UK
- Dementia Research Institute at UCL, UCL Queen Square Institute of Neurology, London, UK
| | - Jonathan D Rohrer
- Department of Neurodegenerative Disease, Dementia Research Centre, UCL Institute of Neurology, Queen Square, London, UK
- Dementia Research Institute at UCL, UCL Queen Square Institute of Neurology, London, UK
| | - Anna Månberg
- Swedish FTD Initiative, Stockholm, Sweden
- Department of Protein Science, Division of Affinity Proteomics, SciLifeLab, KTH Royal Institute of Technology, Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Peter Nilsson
- Swedish FTD Initiative, Stockholm, Sweden
- Department of Protein Science, Division of Affinity Proteomics, SciLifeLab, KTH Royal Institute of Technology, Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Caroline Graff
- Swedish FTD Initiative, Stockholm, Sweden.
- Department of Neurobiology, Care Sciences and Society, Division of Neurogeriatrics, Karolinska Institutet, Solna, Sweden.
- Unit for Hereditary Dementias, Karolinska University Hospital, Solna, Sweden.
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Allen SG, Meade RM, White Stenner LL, Mason JM. Peptide-based approaches to directly target alpha-synuclein in Parkinson's disease. Mol Neurodegener 2023; 18:80. [PMID: 37940962 PMCID: PMC10633918 DOI: 10.1186/s13024-023-00675-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [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: 06/29/2023] [Accepted: 10/27/2023] [Indexed: 11/10/2023] Open
Abstract
Peptides and their mimetics are increasingly recognised as drug-like molecules, particularly for intracellular protein-protein interactions too large for inhibition by small molecules, and inaccessible to larger biologics. In the past two decades, evidence associating the misfolding and aggregation of alpha-synuclein strongly implicates this protein in disease onset and progression of Parkinson's disease and related synucleinopathies. The subsequent formation of toxic, intracellular, Lewy body deposits, in which alpha-synuclein is a major component, is a key diagnostic hallmark of the disease. To reach their therapeutic site of action, peptides must both cross the blood-brain barrier and enter dopaminergic neurons to prevent the formation of these intracellular inclusions. In this review, we describe and summarise the current efforts made in the development of peptides and their mimetics to directly engage with alpha-synuclein with the intention of modulating aggregation, and importantly, toxicity. This is a rapidly expanding field with great socioeconomic impact; these molecules harbour significant promise as therapeutics, or as early biomarkers during prodromal disease stages, or both. As these are age-dependent conditions, an increasing global life expectancy means disease prevalence is rising. No current treatments exist to either prevent or slow disease progression. It is therefore crucial that drugs are developed for these conditions before health care and social care capacities become overrun.
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Affiliation(s)
- Scott G Allen
- Department of Life Sciences, University of Bath, Claverton Down, Bath, BA2 7AY, UK
| | - Richard M Meade
- Department of Life Sciences, University of Bath, Claverton Down, Bath, BA2 7AY, UK
| | - Lucy L White Stenner
- Department of Life Sciences, University of Bath, Claverton Down, Bath, BA2 7AY, UK
| | - Jody M Mason
- Department of Life Sciences, University of Bath, Claverton Down, Bath, BA2 7AY, UK.
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17
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Liu Y, Patalay P, Stafford J, Schott JM, Richards M. Lifecourse investigation of the cumulative impact of adversity on cognitive function in old age and the mediating role of mental health: longitudinal birth cohort study. BMJ Open 2023; 13:e074105. [PMID: 37940163 PMCID: PMC10632868 DOI: 10.1136/bmjopen-2023-074105] [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] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/27/2023] [Accepted: 10/23/2023] [Indexed: 11/10/2023] Open
Abstract
OBJECTIVE To investigate the accumulation of adversities (duration of exposure to any, economic, psychosocial) across the lifecourse (birth to 63 years) on cognitive function in older age, and the mediating role of mental health. DESIGN National birth cohort study. SETTING Great Britain. PARTICIPANTS 5362 singleton births within marriage in England, Wales and Scotland born within 1 week of March 1946, of which 2131 completed at least 1 cognitive assessment. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES Cognitive assessments included the Addenbrooke's Cognitive Examination-III, as a measure of cognitive state, processing speed (timed-letter search task), and verbal memory (word learning task) at 69 years. Scores were standardised to the analytical sample. Mental health at 60-64 years was assessed using the 28-item General Health Questionnaire, with scores standardised to the analytical sample. RESULTS After adjusting for sex, increased duration of exposure to any adversity was associated with decreased performance on cognitive state (β=-0.39; 95% CI -0.59 to -0.20) and verbal memory (β=-0.45; 95% CI -0.63 to -0.27) at 69 years, although these effects were attenuated after adjusting for further covariates (childhood cognition and emotional problems, educational attainment). Analyses by type of adversity revealed stronger associations from economic adversity to verbal memory (β=-0.54; 95% CI -0.70 to -0.39), with a small effect remaining even after adjusting for all covariates (β=-0.18; 95% CI -0.32 to -0.03), and weaker associations from psychosocial adversity. Causal mediation analyses found that mental health mediated all associations between duration of exposure to adversity (any, economic, psychosocial) and cognitive function, with around 15% of the total effect of economic adversity on verbal memory attributable to mental health. CONCLUSIONS Improving mental health among older adults has the potential to reduce cognitive impairments, as well as mitigate against some of the effect of lifecourse accumulation of adversity on cognitive performance in older age.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yiwen Liu
- MRC Unit for Lifelong Health and Ageing, University College London, London, UK
| | - Praveetha Patalay
- MRC Unit for Lifelong Health and Ageing, University College London, London, UK
- Centre for Longitudinal Studies, Social Research Institute, University College London, London, UK
| | - Jean Stafford
- MRC Unit for Lifelong Health and Ageing, University College London, London, UK
| | - Jonathan M Schott
- Dementia Research Centre, UCL Queen Square Institute of Neurology, University College London, London, UK
| | - Marcus Richards
- MRC Unit for Lifelong Health and Ageing, University College London, London, UK
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18
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Cifello J, Kuksa PP, Saravanan N, Valladares O, Wang LS, Leung YY. hipFG: high-throughput harmonization and integration pipeline for functional genomics data. Bioinformatics 2023; 39:btad673. [PMID: 37947320 PMCID: PMC10660288 DOI: 10.1093/bioinformatics/btad673] [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] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/16/2023] [Revised: 09/20/2023] [Accepted: 11/06/2023] [Indexed: 11/12/2023] Open
Abstract
SUMMARY Preparing functional genomic (FG) data with diverse assay types and file formats for integration into analysis workflows that interpret genome-wide association and other studies is a significant and time-consuming challenge. Here we introduce hipFG (Harmonization and Integration Pipeline for Functional Genomics), an automatically customized pipeline for efficient and scalable normalization of heterogenous FG data collections into standardized, indexed, rapidly searchable analysis-ready datasets while accounting for FG datatypes (e.g. chromatin interactions, genomic intervals, quantitative trait loci). AVAILABILITY AND IMPLEMENTATION hipFG is freely available at https://bitbucket.org/wanglab-upenn/hipFG. A Docker container is available at https://hub.docker.com/r/wanglab/hipfg.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jeffrey Cifello
- Penn Neurodegeneration Genomics Center, Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA 19104, United States
| | - Pavel P Kuksa
- Penn Neurodegeneration Genomics Center, Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA 19104, United States
| | - Naveensri Saravanan
- Penn Neurodegeneration Genomics Center, Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA 19104, United States
| | - Otto Valladares
- Penn Neurodegeneration Genomics Center, Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA 19104, United States
| | - Li-San Wang
- Penn Neurodegeneration Genomics Center, Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA 19104, United States
| | - Yuk Yee Leung
- Penn Neurodegeneration Genomics Center, Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA 19104, United States
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19
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Boyanova ST, Lloyd-Morris E, Corpe C, Rahman KM, Farag DB, Page LK, Wang H, Fleckney AL, Gatt A, Troakes C, Vizcay-Barrena G, Fleck R, Reeves SJ, Thomas SA. Interaction of amisulpride with GLUT1 at the blood-brain barrier. Relevance to Alzheimer's disease. PLoS One 2023; 18:e0286278. [PMID: 37874822 PMCID: PMC10597500 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0286278] [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] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/12/2023] [Accepted: 09/27/2023] [Indexed: 10/26/2023] Open
Abstract
Blood-brain barrier (BBB) dysfunction may be involved in the increased sensitivity of Alzheimer's disease (AD) patients to antipsychotics, including amisulpride. Studies indicate that antipsychotics interact with facilitated glucose transporters (GLUT), including GLUT1, and that GLUT1 BBB expression decreases in AD. We tested the hypotheses that amisulpride (charge: +1) interacts with GLUT1, and that BBB transport of amisulpride is compromised in AD. GLUT1 substrates, GLUT1 inhibitors and GLUT-interacting antipsychotics were identified by literature review and their physicochemical characteristics summarised. Interactions between amisulpride and GLUT1 were studied using in silico approaches and the human cerebral endothelial cell line, hCMEC/D3. Brain distribution of [3H]amisulpride was determined using in situ perfusion in wild type (WT) and 5xFamilial AD (5xFAD) mice. With transmission electron microscopy (TEM) we investigated brain capillary degeneration in WT mice, 5xFAD mice and human samples. Western blots determined BBB transporter expression in mouse and human. Literature review revealed that, although D-glucose has no charge, charged molecules can interact with GLUT1. GLUT1 substrates are smaller (184.95±6.45g/mol) than inhibitors (325.50±14.40g/mol) and GLUT-interacting antipsychotics (369.38±16.04). Molecular docking showed beta-D-glucose (free energy binding: -15.39kcal/mol) and amisulpride (-29.04kcal/mol) interact with GLUT1. Amisulpride did not affect [14C]D-glucose hCMEC/D3 accumulation. [3H]amisulpride uptake into the brain (except supernatant) of 5xFAD mice compared to WT remained unchanged. TEM revealed brain capillary degeneration in human AD. There was no difference in GLUT1 or P-glycoprotein BBB expression between WT and 5xFAD mice. In contrast, caudate P-glycoprotein, but not GLUT1, expression was decreased in human AD capillaries versus controls. This study provides new details about the BBB transport of amisulpride, evidence that amisulpride interacts with GLUT1 and that BBB transporter expression is altered in AD. This suggests that antipsychotics could potentially exacerbate the cerebral hypometabolism in AD. Further research into the mechanism of amisulpride transport by GLUT1 is important for improving antipsychotics safety.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sevda T. Boyanova
- King’s College London, Institute of Pharmaceutical Science, London, United Kingdom
| | - Ethlyn Lloyd-Morris
- King’s College London, Institute of Pharmaceutical Science, London, United Kingdom
| | - Christopher Corpe
- King’s College London, Department of Nutritional Sciences, School of Life Course Sciences, Faculty of Life Sciences and Medicine, London, United Kingdom
| | | | - Doaa B. Farag
- Faculty of Pharmacy, Misr International University, Cairo, Egypt
| | - Lee K. Page
- King’s College London, Institute of Pharmaceutical Science, London, United Kingdom
| | - Hao Wang
- King’s College London, Institute of Pharmaceutical Science, London, United Kingdom
| | - Alice L. Fleckney
- King’s College London, Institute of Pharmaceutical Science, London, United Kingdom
| | - Ariana Gatt
- King’s College London, Wolfson Centre for Age Related Disease, London, United Kingdom
| | - Claire Troakes
- King’s College London, London Neurodegenerative Diseases Brain Bank, IoPPN, London, United Kingdom
| | - Gema Vizcay-Barrena
- King’s College London, Centre for Ultrastructural Imaging, London, United Kingdom
| | - Roland Fleck
- King’s College London, Centre for Ultrastructural Imaging, London, United Kingdom
| | - Suzanne J. Reeves
- Faculty of Brain Sciences, University College London, London, United Kingdom
| | - Sarah A. Thomas
- King’s College London, Department of Physiology, London, United Kingdom
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20
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Aldred GG, Rooney TPC, Willems HMG, Boffey HK, Green C, Winpenny D, Skidmore J, Clarke JH, Andrews SP. The rational design of ARUK2007145, a dual inhibitor of the α and γ isoforms of the lipid kinase phosphatidylinositol 5-phosphate 4-kinase (PI5P4K). RSC Med Chem 2023; 14:2035-2047. [PMID: 37859710 PMCID: PMC10583824 DOI: 10.1039/d3md00355h] [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] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/20/2023] [Accepted: 08/23/2023] [Indexed: 10/21/2023] Open
Abstract
The phosphatidylinositol 5-phosphate 4-kinases (PI5P4Ks) are therapeutic targets for diseases such as cancer, neurodegeneration and immunological disorders as they are key components in regulating cell signalling pathways. In an effort to make probe molecules available for further exploring these targets, we have previously reported PI5P4Kα-selective and PI5P4Kγ-selective ligands. Herein we report the rational design of PI5P4Kα/γ dual inhibitors, using knowledge gained during the development of selective inhibitors for these proteins. ARUK2007145 (39) is disclosed as a potent, cell-active probe molecule with ADMET properties amenable to conducting experiments in cells.
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Affiliation(s)
- Gregory G Aldred
- The ALBORADA Drug Discovery Institute, University of Cambridge Island Research Building, Cambridge Biomedical Campus, Hills Road Cambridge CB2 0AH UK
| | - Timothy P C Rooney
- The ALBORADA Drug Discovery Institute, University of Cambridge Island Research Building, Cambridge Biomedical Campus, Hills Road Cambridge CB2 0AH UK
| | - Henriette M G Willems
- The ALBORADA Drug Discovery Institute, University of Cambridge Island Research Building, Cambridge Biomedical Campus, Hills Road Cambridge CB2 0AH UK
| | - Helen K Boffey
- The ALBORADA Drug Discovery Institute, University of Cambridge Island Research Building, Cambridge Biomedical Campus, Hills Road Cambridge CB2 0AH UK
| | - Christopher Green
- The ALBORADA Drug Discovery Institute, University of Cambridge Island Research Building, Cambridge Biomedical Campus, Hills Road Cambridge CB2 0AH UK
| | - David Winpenny
- The ALBORADA Drug Discovery Institute, University of Cambridge Island Research Building, Cambridge Biomedical Campus, Hills Road Cambridge CB2 0AH UK
| | - John Skidmore
- The ALBORADA Drug Discovery Institute, University of Cambridge Island Research Building, Cambridge Biomedical Campus, Hills Road Cambridge CB2 0AH UK
| | - Jonathan H Clarke
- The ALBORADA Drug Discovery Institute, University of Cambridge Island Research Building, Cambridge Biomedical Campus, Hills Road Cambridge CB2 0AH UK
| | - Stephen P Andrews
- The ALBORADA Drug Discovery Institute, University of Cambridge Island Research Building, Cambridge Biomedical Campus, Hills Road Cambridge CB2 0AH UK
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Ravindran KKG, della Monica C, Atzori G, Lambert D, Hassanin H, Revell V, Dijk DJ. Contactless and longitudinal monitoring of nocturnal sleep and daytime naps in older men and women: a digital health technology evaluation study. Sleep 2023; 46:zsad194. [PMID: 37471049 PMCID: PMC10566241 DOI: 10.1093/sleep/zsad194] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [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: 03/08/2023] [Revised: 06/16/2023] [Indexed: 07/21/2023] Open
Abstract
STUDY OBJECTIVES To compare the 24-hour sleep assessment capabilities of two contactless sleep technologies (CSTs) to actigraphy in community-dwelling older adults. METHODS We collected 7-14 days of data at home from 35 older adults (age: 65-83), some with medical conditions, using Withings Sleep Analyser (WSA, n = 29), Emfit QS (Emfit, n = 17), a standard actigraphy device (Actiwatch Spectrum [AWS, n = 34]), and a sleep diary (n = 35). We compared nocturnal and daytime sleep measures estimated by the CSTs and actigraphy without sleep diary information (AWS-A) against sleep-diary-assisted actigraphy (AWS|SD). RESULTS Compared to sleep diary, both CSTs accurately determined the timing of nocturnal sleep (intraclass correlation [ICC]: going to bed, getting out of bed, time in bed >0.75), whereas the accuracy of AWS-A was much lower. Compared to AWS|SD, the CSTs overestimated nocturnal total sleep time (WSA: +92.71 ± 81.16 minutes; Emfit: +101.47 ± 75.95 minutes) as did AWS-A (+46.95 ± 67.26 minutes). The CSTs overestimated sleep efficiency (WSA: +9.19% ± 14.26%; Emfit: +9.41% ± 11.05%), whereas AWS-A estimate (-2.38% ± 10.06%) was accurate. About 65% (n = 23) of participants reported daytime naps either in bed or elsewhere. About 90% in-bed nap periods were accurately determined by WSA while Emfit was less accurate. All three devices estimated 24-hour sleep duration with an error of ≈10% compared to the sleep diary. CONCLUSIONS CSTs accurately capture the timing of in-bed nocturnal sleep periods without the need for sleep diary information. However, improvements are needed in assessing parameters such as total sleep time, sleep efficiency, and naps before these CSTs can be fully utilized in field settings.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kiran K G Ravindran
- Surrey Sleep Research Centre, University of Surrey, Guildford, UK
- UK Dementia Research Institute, Care Research and Technology Centre at Imperial College, London, UK, and University of Surrey, Guildford, UK
| | - Ciro della Monica
- Surrey Sleep Research Centre, University of Surrey, Guildford, UK
- UK Dementia Research Institute, Care Research and Technology Centre at Imperial College, London, UK, and University of Surrey, Guildford, UK
| | - Giuseppe Atzori
- Surrey Sleep Research Centre, University of Surrey, Guildford, UK
- UK Dementia Research Institute, Care Research and Technology Centre at Imperial College, London, UK, and University of Surrey, Guildford, UK
| | - Damion Lambert
- Surrey Sleep Research Centre, University of Surrey, Guildford, UK
- UK Dementia Research Institute, Care Research and Technology Centre at Imperial College, London, UK, and University of Surrey, Guildford, UK
| | - Hana Hassanin
- UK Dementia Research Institute, Care Research and Technology Centre at Imperial College, London, UK, and University of Surrey, Guildford, UK
- Surrey Clinical Research Facility, Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, School of Biosciences and Medicine, University of Surrey, Guildford, UK
| | - Victoria Revell
- Surrey Sleep Research Centre, University of Surrey, Guildford, UK
| | - Derk-Jan Dijk
- Surrey Sleep Research Centre, University of Surrey, Guildford, UK
- UK Dementia Research Institute, Care Research and Technology Centre at Imperial College, London, UK, and University of Surrey, Guildford, UK
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22
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Jiang J, Johnson JCS, Requena-Komuro MC, Benhamou E, Sivasathiaseelan H, Chokesuwattanaskul A, Nelson A, Nortley R, Weil RS, Volkmer A, Marshall CR, Bamiou DE, Warren JD, Hardy CJD. Comprehension of acoustically degraded speech in Alzheimer's disease and primary progressive aphasia. Brain 2023; 146:4065-4076. [PMID: 37184986 PMCID: PMC10545509 DOI: 10.1093/brain/awad163] [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: 12/05/2022] [Revised: 04/20/2023] [Accepted: 04/27/2023] [Indexed: 05/17/2023] Open
Abstract
Successful communication in daily life depends on accurate decoding of speech signals that are acoustically degraded by challenging listening conditions. This process presents the brain with a demanding computational task that is vulnerable to neurodegenerative pathologies. However, despite recent intense interest in the link between hearing impairment and dementia, comprehension of acoustically degraded speech in these diseases has been little studied. Here we addressed this issue in a cohort of 19 patients with typical Alzheimer's disease and 30 patients representing the three canonical syndromes of primary progressive aphasia (non-fluent/agrammatic variant primary progressive aphasia; semantic variant primary progressive aphasia; logopenic variant primary progressive aphasia), compared to 25 healthy age-matched controls. As a paradigm for the acoustically degraded speech signals of daily life, we used noise-vocoding: synthetic division of the speech signal into frequency channels constituted from amplitude-modulated white noise, such that fewer channels convey less spectrotemporal detail thereby reducing intelligibility. We investigated the impact of noise-vocoding on recognition of spoken three-digit numbers and used psychometric modelling to ascertain the threshold number of noise-vocoding channels required for 50% intelligibility by each participant. Associations of noise-vocoded speech intelligibility threshold with general demographic, clinical and neuropsychological characteristics and regional grey matter volume (defined by voxel-based morphometry of patients' brain images) were also assessed. Mean noise-vocoded speech intelligibility threshold was significantly higher in all patient groups than healthy controls, and significantly higher in Alzheimer's disease and logopenic variant primary progressive aphasia than semantic variant primary progressive aphasia (all P < 0.05). In a receiver operating characteristic analysis, vocoded intelligibility threshold discriminated Alzheimer's disease, non-fluent variant and logopenic variant primary progressive aphasia patients very well from healthy controls. Further, this central hearing measure correlated with overall disease severity but not with peripheral hearing or clear speech perception. Neuroanatomically, after correcting for multiple voxel-wise comparisons in predefined regions of interest, impaired noise-vocoded speech comprehension across syndromes was significantly associated (P < 0.05) with atrophy of left planum temporale, angular gyrus and anterior cingulate gyrus: a cortical network that has previously been widely implicated in processing degraded speech signals. Our findings suggest that the comprehension of acoustically altered speech captures an auditory brain process relevant to daily hearing and communication in major dementia syndromes, with novel diagnostic and therapeutic implications.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jessica Jiang
- Dementia Research Centre, Department of Neurodegenerative Disease, UCL Queen Square Institute of Neurology, University College London, London WC1N 3AR, UK
| | - Jeremy C S Johnson
- Dementia Research Centre, Department of Neurodegenerative Disease, UCL Queen Square Institute of Neurology, University College London, London WC1N 3AR, UK
| | - Maï-Carmen Requena-Komuro
- Dementia Research Centre, Department of Neurodegenerative Disease, UCL Queen Square Institute of Neurology, University College London, London WC1N 3AR, UK
- Kidney Cancer Program, UT Southwestern Medical Centre, Dallas, TX 75390, USA
| | - Elia Benhamou
- Dementia Research Centre, Department of Neurodegenerative Disease, UCL Queen Square Institute of Neurology, University College London, London WC1N 3AR, UK
| | - Harri Sivasathiaseelan
- Dementia Research Centre, Department of Neurodegenerative Disease, UCL Queen Square Institute of Neurology, University College London, London WC1N 3AR, UK
| | - Anthipa Chokesuwattanaskul
- Dementia Research Centre, Department of Neurodegenerative Disease, UCL Queen Square Institute of Neurology, University College London, London WC1N 3AR, UK
- Division of Neurology, Department of Internal Medicine, King Chulalongkorn Memorial Hospital, Thai Red Cross Society, Bangkok 10330, Thailand
| | - Annabel Nelson
- Dementia Research Centre, Department of Neurodegenerative Disease, UCL Queen Square Institute of Neurology, University College London, London WC1N 3AR, UK
| | - Ross Nortley
- Dementia Research Centre, Department of Neurodegenerative Disease, UCL Queen Square Institute of Neurology, University College London, London WC1N 3AR, UK
- Wexham Park Hospital, Frimley Health NHS Foundation Trust, Slough SL2 4HL, UK
| | - Rimona S Weil
- Dementia Research Centre, Department of Neurodegenerative Disease, UCL Queen Square Institute of Neurology, University College London, London WC1N 3AR, UK
| | - Anna Volkmer
- Division of Psychology and Language Sciences, University College London, London WC1H 0AP, UK
| | - Charles R Marshall
- Preventive Neurology Unit, Wolfson Institute of Population Health, Queen Mary University of London, London EC1M 6BQ, UK
| | - Doris-Eva Bamiou
- UCL Ear Institute and UCL/UCLH Biomedical Research Centre, National Institute of Health Research, University College London, London WC1X 8EE, UK
| | - Jason D Warren
- Dementia Research Centre, Department of Neurodegenerative Disease, UCL Queen Square Institute of Neurology, University College London, London WC1N 3AR, UK
| | - Chris J D Hardy
- Dementia Research Centre, Department of Neurodegenerative Disease, UCL Queen Square Institute of Neurology, University College London, London WC1N 3AR, UK
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Banerjee G, Collinge J, Fox NC, Lashley T, Mead S, Schott JM, Werring DJ, Ryan NS. Clinical considerations in early-onset cerebral amyloid angiopathy. Brain 2023; 146:3991-4014. [PMID: 37280119 PMCID: PMC10545523 DOI: 10.1093/brain/awad193] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [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: 08/09/2022] [Revised: 04/16/2023] [Accepted: 05/01/2023] [Indexed: 06/08/2023] Open
Abstract
Cerebral amyloid angiopathy (CAA) is an important cerebral small vessel disease associated with brain haemorrhage and cognitive change. The commonest form, sporadic amyloid-β CAA, usually affects people in mid- to later life. However, early-onset forms, though uncommon, are increasingly recognized and may result from genetic or iatrogenic causes that warrant specific and focused investigation and management. In this review, we firstly describe the causes of early-onset CAA, including monogenic causes of amyloid-β CAA (APP missense mutations and copy number variants; mutations of PSEN1 and PSEN2) and non-amyloid-β CAA (associated with ITM2B, CST3, GSN, PRNP and TTR mutations), and other unusual sporadic and acquired causes including the newly-recognized iatrogenic subtype. We then provide a structured approach for investigating early-onset CAA, and highlight important management considerations. Improving awareness of these unusual forms of CAA amongst healthcare professionals is essential for facilitating their prompt diagnosis, and an understanding of their underlying pathophysiology may have implications for more common, late-onset, forms of the disease.
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Affiliation(s)
- Gargi Banerjee
- MRC Prion Unit at University College London (UCL), Institute of Prion Diseases, UCL, London, W1W 7FF, UK
| | - John Collinge
- MRC Prion Unit at University College London (UCL), Institute of Prion Diseases, UCL, London, W1W 7FF, UK
| | - Nick C Fox
- Dementia Research Centre, Department of Neurodegenerative Disease, UCL Queen Square Institute of Neurology, London, WC1N 3BG, UK
- UK Dementia Research Institute at UCL, London, WC1E 6BT, UK
| | - Tammaryn Lashley
- The Queen Square Brain Bank for Neurological Disorders, Department of Clinical and Movement Disorders, UCL Queen Square Institute of Neurology, London, W1 1PJ, UK
- Department of Neurodegenerative Disease, UCL Queen Square Institute of Neurology, London, WC1N 3BG, UK
| | - Simon Mead
- MRC Prion Unit at University College London (UCL), Institute of Prion Diseases, UCL, London, W1W 7FF, UK
| | - Jonathan M Schott
- Dementia Research Centre, Department of Neurodegenerative Disease, UCL Queen Square Institute of Neurology, London, WC1N 3BG, UK
- UK Dementia Research Institute at UCL, London, WC1E 6BT, UK
| | - David J Werring
- Stroke Research Centre, Department of Brain Repair and Rehabilitation, UCL Queen Square Institute of Neurology, London, WC1N 3BG, UK
| | - Natalie S Ryan
- Dementia Research Centre, Department of Neurodegenerative Disease, UCL Queen Square Institute of Neurology, London, WC1N 3BG, UK
- UK Dementia Research Institute at UCL, London, WC1E 6BT, UK
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24
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Blackman J, Morrison HD, Gabb V, Biswas B, Li H, Turner N, Jolly A, Trender W, Hampshire A, Whone A, Coulthard E. Remote evaluation of sleep to enhance understanding of early dementia due to Alzheimer's Disease (RESTED-AD): an observational cohort study protocol. BMC Geriatr 2023; 23:590. [PMID: 37742001 PMCID: PMC10518099 DOI: 10.1186/s12877-023-04288-0] [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: 01/11/2023] [Accepted: 09/06/2023] [Indexed: 09/25/2023] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Sleep and circadian rhythm disorders are well recognised in both AD (Alzheimer's Disease) dementia and MCI-AD (Mild Cognitive Impairment due to Alzheimer's Disease). Such abnormalities include insomnia, excessive daytime sleepiness, decreased sleep efficiency, increased sleep fragmentation and sundowning. Enhancing understanding of sleep abnormalities may unveil targets for intervention in sleep, a promising approach given hypotheses that sleep disorders may exacerbate AD pathological progression and represent a contributory factor toward impaired cognitive performance and worse quality of life. This may also permit early diagnosis of AD pathology, widely acknowledged as a pre-requisite for future disease-modifying therapies. This study aims to bridge the divide between in-laboratory polysomnographic studies which allow for rich characterisation of sleep but in an unnatural setting, and naturalistic studies typically approximating sleep through use of non-EEG wearable devices. It is also designed to record sleep patterns over a 2 month duration sufficient to capture both infradian rhythm and compensatory responses following suboptimal sleep. Finally, it harnesses an extensively phenotyped population including with AD blood biomarkers. Its principal aims are to improve characterisation of sleep and biological rhythms in individuals with AD, particularly focusing on micro-architectural measures of sleep, compensatory responses to suboptimal sleep and the relationship between sleep parameters, biological rhythms and cognitive performance. METHODS/DESIGN This observational cohort study has two arms (AD-MCI / mild AD dementia and aged-matched healthy adults). Each participant undergoes a baseline visit for collection of demographic, physiological and neuropsychological information utilising validated questionnaires. The main study period involves 7 nights of home-based multi-channel EEG sleep recording nested within an 8-week study period involving continuous wrist-worn actigraphy, sleep diaries and regular brief cognitive tests. Measurement of sleep parameters will be at home thereby obtaining a real-world, naturalistic dataset. Cognitive testing will be repeated at 6 months to stratify participants by longitudinal disease progression. DISCUSSION This study will generate new insights particularly in micro-architectural measures of sleep, circadian patterns and compensatory sleep responses in a population with and without AD neurodegenerative change. It aims to enhance standards of remotely based sleep research through use of a well-phenotyped population and advanced sleep measurement technology.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jonathan Blackman
- Bristol Medical School, University of Bristol, Bristol, BS2 8DZ UK
- Bristol Brain Centre, North Bristol NHS Trust, Bristol, BS10 5NB UK
| | - Hamish Duncan Morrison
- Bristol Medical School, University of Bristol, Bristol, BS2 8DZ UK
- Bristol Brain Centre, North Bristol NHS Trust, Bristol, BS10 5NB UK
| | - Victoria Gabb
- Bristol Medical School, University of Bristol, Bristol, BS2 8DZ UK
- Bristol Brain Centre, North Bristol NHS Trust, Bristol, BS10 5NB UK
| | - Bijetri Biswas
- Bristol Medical School, University of Bristol, Bristol, BS2 8DZ UK
| | - Haoxuan Li
- Bristol Medical School, University of Bristol, Bristol, BS2 8DZ UK
- Bristol Brain Centre, North Bristol NHS Trust, Bristol, BS10 5NB UK
| | - Nicholas Turner
- Bristol Medical School, University of Bristol, Bristol, BS2 8DZ UK
| | - Amy Jolly
- Faculty of Medicine, Imperial College London, London, SW7 2AZ UK
| | - William Trender
- Faculty of Medicine, Imperial College London, London, SW7 2AZ UK
| | - Adam Hampshire
- Faculty of Medicine, Imperial College London, London, SW7 2AZ UK
| | - Alan Whone
- Bristol Brain Centre, North Bristol NHS Trust, Bristol, BS10 5NB UK
| | - Elizabeth Coulthard
- Bristol Medical School, University of Bristol, Bristol, BS2 8DZ UK
- Bristol Brain Centre, North Bristol NHS Trust, Bristol, BS10 5NB UK
- Bristol Medical School, Learning & Research Building, Southmead Hospital, University of Bristol, Bristol, BS10 5NB UK
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25
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Harrison JR, Foley SF, Baker E, Bracher-Smith M, Holmans P, Stergiakouli E, Linden DEJ, Caseras X, Jones DK, Escott-Price V. Pathway-specific polygenic scores for Alzheimer's disease are associated with changes in brain structure in younger and older adults. Brain Commun 2023; 5:fcad229. [PMID: 37744023 PMCID: PMC10517196 DOI: 10.1093/braincomms/fcad229] [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] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/14/2022] [Revised: 05/17/2023] [Accepted: 08/23/2023] [Indexed: 09/26/2023] Open
Abstract
Genome-wide association studies have identified multiple Alzheimer's disease risk loci with small effect sizes. Polygenic risk scores, which aggregate these variants, are associated with grey matter structural changes. However, genome-wide scores do not allow mechanistic interpretations. The present study explored associations between disease pathway-specific scores and grey matter structure in younger and older adults. Data from two separate population cohorts were used as follows: the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children, mean age 19.8, and UK Biobank, mean age 64.4 (combined n = 18 689). Alzheimer's polygenic risk scores were computed using the largest genome-wide association study of clinically assessed Alzheimer's to date. Relationships between subcortical volumes and cortical thickness, pathway-specific scores and genome-wide scores were examined. Increased pathway-specific scores were associated with reduced cortical thickness in both the younger and older cohorts. For example, the reverse cholesterol transport pathway score showed evidence of association with lower left middle temporal cortex thickness in the younger Avon participants (P = 0.034; beta = -0.013, CI -0.025, -0.001) and in the older UK Biobank participants (P = 0.019; beta = -0.003, CI -0.005, -4.56 × 10-4). Pathway scores were associated with smaller subcortical volumes, such as smaller hippocampal volume, in UK Biobank older adults. There was also evidence of positive association between subcortical volumes in Avon younger adults. For example, the tau protein-binding pathway score was negatively associated with left hippocampal volume in UK Biobank (P = 8.35 × 10-05; beta = -11.392, CI -17.066, -5.718) and positively associated with hippocampal volume in the Avon study (P = 0.040; beta = 51.952, CI 2.445, 101.460). The immune response score had a distinct pattern of association, being only associated with reduced thickness in the right posterior cingulate in older and younger adults (P = 0.011; beta = -0.003, CI -0.005, -0.001 in UK Biobank; P = 0.034; beta = -0.016, CI -0.031, -0.001 in the Avon study). The immune response score was associated with smaller subcortical volumes in the older adults, but not younger adults. The disease pathway scores showed greater evidence of association with imaging phenotypes than the genome-wide score. This suggests that pathway-specific polygenic methods may allow progress towards a mechanistic understanding of structural changes linked to polygenic risk in pre-clinical Alzheimer's disease. Pathway-specific profiling could further define pathophysiology in individuals, moving towards precision medicine in Alzheimer's disease.
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Affiliation(s)
- Judith R Harrison
- Institute of Neuroscience, Biomedical Research Building, Campus for Ageing and Vitality, Newcastle University, Newcastle upon Tyne, NE4 5PL, UK
- Cardiff University Brain Research Imaging Centre (CUBRIC), Cardiff University, Cardiff, CF24 4HQ, UK
| | - Sonya F Foley
- Cardiff University Brain Research Imaging Centre (CUBRIC), Cardiff University, Cardiff, CF24 4HQ, UK
| | - Emily Baker
- Dementia Research Institute & MRC Centre for Neuropsychiatric Genetics and Genomics, Cardiff University, Cardiff, CF24 4HQ, UK
| | - Matthew Bracher-Smith
- MRC Centre for Neuropsychiatric Genetics and Genomics, Institute of Psychological Medicine and Clinical Neurosciences, Cardiff University, Cardiff, CF24 4HQ, UK
| | - Peter Holmans
- MRC Centre for Neuropsychiatric Genetics and Genomics, Institute of Psychological Medicine and Clinical Neurosciences, Cardiff University, Cardiff, CF24 4HQ, UK
| | - Evie Stergiakouli
- Bristol Population Health Science Institute, Bristol University, Oakfield House, Bristol, BS8 2BN, UK
- MRC Integrative Epidemiology Unit, University of Bristol, Oakfield House, Bristol, BS8 2BN, UK
| | - David E J Linden
- School for Mental Health and Neuroscience, Maastricht University, PO Box 616, 6200 MD, Maastricht, The Netherlands
| | - Xavier Caseras
- MRC Centre for Neuropsychiatric Genetics and Genomics, Institute of Psychological Medicine and Clinical Neurosciences, Cardiff University, Cardiff, CF24 4HQ, UK
| | - Derek K Jones
- Cardiff University Brain Research Imaging Centre (CUBRIC), Cardiff University, Cardiff, CF24 4HQ, UK
- Mary MacKillop Institute for Health Research, Australian Catholic University, 5/215 Spring St, Melbourne, VIC 3000, Australia
| | - Valentina Escott-Price
- Dementia Research Institute & MRC Centre for Neuropsychiatric Genetics and Genomics, Cardiff University, Cardiff, CF24 4HQ, UK
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26
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James SN, Manning EN, Storey M, Nicholas JM, Coath W, Keuss SE, Cash DM, Lane CA, Parker T, Keshavan A, Buchanan SM, Wagen A, Harris M, Malone I, Lu K, Needham LP, Street R, Thomas D, Dickson J, Murray-Smith H, Wong A, Freiberger T, Crutch SJ, Fox NC, Richards M, Barkhof F, Sudre CH, Barnes J, Schott JM. Neuroimaging, clinical and life course correlates of normal-appearing white matter integrity in 70-year-olds. Brain Commun 2023; 5:fcad225. [PMID: 37680671 PMCID: PMC10481255 DOI: 10.1093/braincomms/fcad225] [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: 10/06/2022] [Revised: 05/30/2023] [Accepted: 08/17/2023] [Indexed: 09/09/2023] Open
Abstract
We investigate associations between normal-appearing white matter microstructural integrity in cognitively normal ∼70-year-olds and concurrently measured brain health and cognition, demographics, genetics and life course cardiovascular health. Participants born in the same week in March 1946 (British 1946 birth cohort) underwent PET-MRI around age 70. Mean standardized normal-appearing white matter integrity metrics (fractional anisotropy, mean diffusivity, neurite density index and orientation dispersion index) were derived from diffusion MRI. Linear regression was used to test associations between normal-appearing white matter metrics and (i) concurrent measures, including whole brain volume, white matter hyperintensity volume, PET amyloid and cognition; (ii) the influence of demographic and genetic predictors, including sex, childhood cognition, education, socio-economic position and genetic risk for Alzheimer's disease (APOE-ɛ4); (iii) systolic and diastolic blood pressure and cardiovascular health (Framingham Heart Study Cardiovascular Risk Score) across adulthood. Sex interactions were tested. Statistical significance included false discovery rate correction (5%). Three hundred and sixty-two participants met inclusion criteria (mean age 70, 49% female). Higher white matter hyperintensity volume was associated with lower fractional anisotropy [b = -0.09 (95% confidence interval: -0.11, -0.06), P < 0.01], neurite density index [b = -0.17 (-0.22, -0.12), P < 0.01] and higher mean diffusivity [b = 0.14 (-0.10, -0.17), P < 0.01]; amyloid (in men) was associated with lower fractional anisotropy [b = -0.04 (-0.08, -0.01), P = 0.03)] and higher mean diffusivity [b = 0.06 (0.01, 0.11), P = 0.02]. Framingham Heart Study Cardiovascular Risk Score in later-life (age 69) was associated with normal-appearing white matter {lower fractional anisotropy [b = -0.06 (-0.09, -0.02) P < 0.01], neurite density index [b = -0.10 (-0.17, -0.03), P < 0.01] and higher mean diffusivity [b = 0.09 (0.04, 0.14), P < 0.01]}. Significant sex interactions (P < 0.05) emerged for midlife cardiovascular health (age 53) and normal-appearing white matter at 70: marginal effect plots demonstrated, in women only, normal-appearing white matter was associated with higher midlife Framingham Heart Study Cardiovascular Risk Score (lower fractional anisotropy and neurite density index), midlife systolic (lower fractional anisotropy, neurite density index and higher mean diffusivity) and diastolic (lower fractional anisotropy and neurite density index) blood pressure and greater blood pressure change between 43 and 53 years (lower fractional anisotropy and neurite density index), independently of white matter hyperintensity volume. In summary, poorer normal-appearing white matter microstructural integrity in ∼70-year-olds was associated with measures of cerebral small vessel disease, amyloid (in males) and later-life cardiovascular health, demonstrating how normal-appearing white matter can provide additional information to overt white matter disease. Our findings further show that greater 'midlife' cardiovascular risk and higher blood pressure were associated with poorer normal-appearing white matter microstructural integrity in females only, suggesting that women's brains may be more susceptible to the effects of midlife blood pressure and cardiovascular health.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sarah-Naomi James
- MRC Unit for Lifelong Health and Ageing at UCL, Institute of Cardiovascular Science, University College London, London, UK
- Dementia Research Centre, UCL Queen Square Institute of Neurology, University College London, London, UK
| | - Emily N Manning
- Dementia Research Centre, UCL Queen Square Institute of Neurology, University College London, London, UK
| | - Mathew Storey
- Dementia Research Centre, UCL Queen Square Institute of Neurology, University College London, London, UK
| | - Jennifer M Nicholas
- Dementia Research Centre, UCL Queen Square Institute of Neurology, University College London, London, UK
- Department of Medical Statistics, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, London, UK
| | - William Coath
- Dementia Research Centre, UCL Queen Square Institute of Neurology, University College London, London, UK
| | - Sarah E Keuss
- Dementia Research Centre, UCL Queen Square Institute of Neurology, University College London, London, UK
| | - David M Cash
- Dementia Research Centre, UCL Queen Square Institute of Neurology, University College London, London, UK
| | - Christopher A Lane
- Dementia Research Centre, UCL Queen Square Institute of Neurology, University College London, London, UK
| | - Thomas Parker
- Dementia Research Centre, UCL Queen Square Institute of Neurology, University College London, London, UK
| | - Ashvini Keshavan
- Dementia Research Centre, UCL Queen Square Institute of Neurology, University College London, London, UK
| | - Sarah M Buchanan
- Dementia Research Centre, UCL Queen Square Institute of Neurology, University College London, London, UK
| | - Aaron Wagen
- Dementia Research Centre, UCL Queen Square Institute of Neurology, University College London, London, UK
- Centre for Medical Image Computing, University College London, London, UK
| | - Mathew Harris
- Dementia Research Centre, UCL Queen Square Institute of Neurology, University College London, London, UK
| | - Ian Malone
- Dementia Research Centre, UCL Queen Square Institute of Neurology, University College London, London, UK
| | - Kirsty Lu
- Dementia Research Centre, UCL Queen Square Institute of Neurology, University College London, London, UK
| | - Louisa P Needham
- MRC Unit for Lifelong Health and Ageing at UCL, Institute of Cardiovascular Science, University College London, London, UK
| | - Rebecca Street
- Dementia Research Centre, UCL Queen Square Institute of Neurology, University College London, London, UK
| | - David Thomas
- Neuroradiological Academic Unit, Department of Brain Repair and Rehabilitation, UCL Queen Square Institute of Neurology, London, UK
| | - John Dickson
- Institute of Nuclear Medicine, University College London Hospitals Foundation Trust, London, UK
| | - Heidi Murray-Smith
- Dementia Research Centre, UCL Queen Square Institute of Neurology, University College London, London, UK
| | - Andrew Wong
- MRC Unit for Lifelong Health and Ageing at UCL, Institute of Cardiovascular Science, University College London, London, UK
| | - Tamar Freiberger
- Dementia Research Centre, UCL Queen Square Institute of Neurology, University College London, London, UK
| | - Sebastian J Crutch
- Dementia Research Centre, UCL Queen Square Institute of Neurology, University College London, London, UK
| | - Nick C Fox
- Dementia Research Centre, UCL Queen Square Institute of Neurology, University College London, London, UK
| | - Marcus Richards
- MRC Unit for Lifelong Health and Ageing at UCL, Institute of Cardiovascular Science, University College London, London, UK
| | - Frederik Barkhof
- Centre for Medical Image Computing, University College London, London, UK
- Department of Radiology and Nuclear Medicine, Amsterdam UMC, Vrije Universiteit, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
| | - Carole H Sudre
- MRC Unit for Lifelong Health and Ageing at UCL, Institute of Cardiovascular Science, University College London, London, UK
- Centre for Medical Image Computing, University College London, London, UK
- School of Biomedical Engineering, King’s College, London, UK
| | - Josephine Barnes
- Dementia Research Centre, UCL Queen Square Institute of Neurology, University College London, London, UK
| | - Jonathan M Schott
- MRC Unit for Lifelong Health and Ageing at UCL, Institute of Cardiovascular Science, University College London, London, UK
- Dementia Research Centre, UCL Queen Square Institute of Neurology, University College London, London, UK
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27
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Wu Y, Mumford P, Noy S, Cleverley K, Mrzyglod A, Luo D, van Dalen F, Verdoes M, Fisher EMC, Wiseman FK. Cathepsin B abundance, activity and microglial localisation in Alzheimer's disease-Down syndrome and early onset Alzheimer's disease; the role of elevated cystatin B. Acta Neuropathol Commun 2023; 11:132. [PMID: 37580797 PMCID: PMC10426223 DOI: 10.1186/s40478-023-01632-8] [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: 06/20/2023] [Accepted: 08/04/2023] [Indexed: 08/16/2023] Open
Abstract
Cathepsin B is a cysteine protease that is implicated in multiple aspects of Alzheimer's disease pathogenesis. The endogenous inhibitor of this enzyme, cystatin B (CSTB) is encoded on chromosome 21. Thus, individuals who have Down syndrome, a genetic condition caused by having an additional copy of chromosome 21, have an extra copy of an endogenous inhibitor of the enzyme. Individuals who have Down syndrome are also at significantly increased risk of developing early-onset Alzheimer's disease (EOAD). The impact of the additional copy of CSTB on Alzheimer's disease development in people who have Down syndrome is not well understood. Here we compared the biology of cathepsin B and CSTB in individuals who had Down syndrome and Alzheimer's disease, with disomic individuals who had Alzheimer's disease or were ageing healthily. We find that the activity of cathepsin B enzyme is decreased in the brain of people who had Down syndrome and Alzheimer's disease compared with disomic individuals who had Alzheimer's disease. This change occurs independently of an alteration in the abundance of the mature enzyme or the number of cathepsin B+ cells. We find that the abundance of CSTB is significantly increased in the brains of individuals who have Down syndrome and Alzheimer's disease compared to disomic individuals both with and without Alzheimer's disease. In mouse and human cellular preclinical models of Down syndrome, three-copies of CSTB increases CSTB protein abundance but this is not sufficient to modulate cathepsin B activity. EOAD and Alzheimer's disease-Down syndrome share many overlapping mechanisms but differences in disease occur in individuals who have trisomy 21. Understanding this biology will ensure that people who have Down syndrome access the most appropriate Alzheimer's disease therapeutics and moreover will provide unique insight into disease pathogenesis more broadly.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yixing Wu
- The UK Dementia Research Institute, University College London, Queen Square, London, WC1N 3BG, UK
| | - Paige Mumford
- The UK Dementia Research Institute, University College London, Queen Square, London, WC1N 3BG, UK
| | - Suzanna Noy
- Department of Neuromuscular Diseases, Queen Square Institute of Neurology, University College London, Queen Square, London, WC1N 3BG, UK
| | - Karen Cleverley
- Department of Neuromuscular Diseases, Queen Square Institute of Neurology, University College London, Queen Square, London, WC1N 3BG, UK
| | - Alicja Mrzyglod
- The UK Dementia Research Institute, University College London, Queen Square, London, WC1N 3BG, UK
| | - Dinghao Luo
- The UK Dementia Research Institute, University College London, Queen Square, London, WC1N 3BG, UK
| | - Floris van Dalen
- Department of Medical BioSciences, Radboudumc, Geert Grooteplein Zuid 28, 6525 GA, Nijmegen, The Netherlands
- Institute for Chemical Immunology, Geert Grooteplein Zuid 28, 6525 GA, Nijmegen, The Netherlands
| | - Martijn Verdoes
- Department of Medical BioSciences, Radboudumc, Geert Grooteplein Zuid 28, 6525 GA, Nijmegen, The Netherlands
- Institute for Chemical Immunology, Geert Grooteplein Zuid 28, 6525 GA, Nijmegen, The Netherlands
| | - Elizabeth M C Fisher
- Department of Neuromuscular Diseases, Queen Square Institute of Neurology, University College London, Queen Square, London, WC1N 3BG, UK
| | - Frances K Wiseman
- The UK Dementia Research Institute, University College London, Queen Square, London, WC1N 3BG, UK.
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Garland EF, Dennett O, Lau LC, Chatelet DS, Bottlaender M, Nicoll JAR, Boche D. The mitochondrial protein TSPO in Alzheimer's disease: relation to the severity of AD pathology and the neuroinflammatory environment. J Neuroinflammation 2023; 20:186. [PMID: 37580767 PMCID: PMC10424356 DOI: 10.1186/s12974-023-02869-9] [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: 04/24/2023] [Accepted: 08/02/2023] [Indexed: 08/16/2023] Open
Abstract
The 18kD translocator protein (TSPO) is used as a positron emission tomography (PET) target to quantify neuroinflammation in patients. In Alzheimer's disease (AD), the cerebellum is the pseudo-reference region for comparison with the cerebral cortex due to the absence of AD pathology and lower levels of TSPO. However, using the cerebellum as a pseudo-reference region is debated, with other brain regions suggested as more suitable. This paper aimed to establish the neuroinflammatory differences between the temporal cortex and cerebellar cortex, including TSPO expression. Using 60 human post-mortem samples encompassing the spectrum of Braak stages (I-VI), immunostaining for pan-Aβ, hyperphosphorylated (p)Tau, TSPO and microglial proteins Iba1, HLA-DR and MSR-A was performed in the temporal cortex and cerebellum. In the cerebellum, Aβ but not pTau, increased over the course of the disease, in contrast to the temporal cortex, where both proteins were significantly increased. TSPO increased in the temporal cortex, more than twofold in the later stages of AD compared to the early stages, but not in the cerebellum. Conversely, Iba1 increased in the cerebellum, but not in the temporal cortex. TSPO was associated with pTau in the temporal cortex, suggesting that TSPO positive microglia may be reacting to pTau itself and/or neurodegeneration at later stages of AD. Furthermore, the neuroinflammatory microenvironment was examined, using MesoScale Discovery assays, and IL15 only was significantly increased in the temporal cortex. Together this data suggests that the cerebellum maintains a more homeostatic environment compared to the temporal cortex, with a consistent TSPO expression, supporting its use as a pseudo-reference region for quantification in TSPO PET scans.
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Affiliation(s)
- Emma F Garland
- Clinical Neurosciences, Clinical and Experimental Sciences, Faculty of Medicine, University of Southampton, Southampton General Hospital, Southampton, SO16 6YD, UK
| | - Oliver Dennett
- Clinical Neurosciences, Clinical and Experimental Sciences, Faculty of Medicine, University of Southampton, Southampton General Hospital, Southampton, SO16 6YD, UK
| | - Laurie C Lau
- Clinical Neurosciences, Clinical and Experimental Sciences, Faculty of Medicine, University of Southampton, Southampton General Hospital, Southampton, SO16 6YD, UK
| | - David S Chatelet
- Biomedical Imaging Unit, University of Southampton, Southampton General Hospital, Southampton, SO16 6YD, UK
| | - Michel Bottlaender
- CEA, CNRS, Inserm, BioMaps, Service Hospitalier Frederic Joliot, Paris-Sacaly University, 91400, Orsay, France
- UNIACT Neurospin, CEA, Gif-Sur-Yvette, 91191, France
| | - James A R Nicoll
- Clinical Neurosciences, Clinical and Experimental Sciences, Faculty of Medicine, University of Southampton, Southampton General Hospital, Southampton, SO16 6YD, UK
- Department of Cellular Pathology, University Hospital Southampton NHS Trust, Southampton, SO16 6YD, UK
| | - Delphine Boche
- Clinical Neurosciences, Clinical and Experimental Sciences, Faculty of Medicine, University of Southampton, Southampton General Hospital, Southampton, SO16 6YD, UK.
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Mattedi F, Lloyd-Morris E, Hirth F, Vagnoni A. Optogenetic cleavage of the Miro GTPase reveals the direct consequences of real-time loss of function in Drosophila. PLoS Biol 2023; 21:e3002273. [PMID: 37590319 PMCID: PMC10465005 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pbio.3002273] [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] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/14/2022] [Revised: 08/29/2023] [Accepted: 07/22/2023] [Indexed: 08/19/2023] Open
Abstract
Miro GTPases control mitochondrial morphology, calcium homeostasis, and regulate mitochondrial distribution by mediating their attachment to the kinesin and dynein motor complex. It is not clear, however, how Miro proteins spatially and temporally integrate their function as acute disruption of protein function has not been performed. To address this issue, we have developed an optogenetic loss of function "Split-Miro" allele for precise control of Miro-dependent mitochondrial functions in Drosophila. Rapid optogenetic cleavage of Split-Miro leads to a striking rearrangement of the mitochondrial network, which is mediated by mitochondrial interaction with the microtubules. Unexpectedly, this treatment did not impact the ability of mitochondria to buffer calcium or their association with the endoplasmic reticulum. While Split-Miro overexpression is sufficient to augment mitochondrial motility, sustained photocleavage shows that Split-Miro is surprisingly dispensable to maintain elevated mitochondrial processivity. In adult fly neurons in vivo, Split-Miro photocleavage affects both mitochondrial trafficking and neuronal activity. Furthermore, functional replacement of endogenous Miro with Split-Miro identifies its essential role in the regulation of locomotor activity in adult flies, demonstrating the feasibility of tuning animal behaviour by real-time loss of protein function.
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Affiliation(s)
- Francesca Mattedi
- Department of Basic and Clinical Neurosciences, Maurice Wohl Clinical Neuroscience Institute, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, King’s College London, London, United Kingdom
| | - Ethlyn Lloyd-Morris
- Department of Basic and Clinical Neurosciences, Maurice Wohl Clinical Neuroscience Institute, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, King’s College London, London, United Kingdom
| | - Frank Hirth
- Department of Basic and Clinical Neurosciences, Maurice Wohl Clinical Neuroscience Institute, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, King’s College London, London, United Kingdom
| | - Alessio Vagnoni
- Department of Basic and Clinical Neurosciences, Maurice Wohl Clinical Neuroscience Institute, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, King’s College London, London, United Kingdom
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Street D, Jabbari E, Costantini A, Jones PS, Holland N, Rittman T, Jensen MT, Chelban V, Goh YY, Guo T, Heslegrave AJ, Roncaroli F, Klein JC, Ansorge O, Allinson KSJ, Jaunmuktane Z, Revesz T, Warner TT, Lees AJ, Zetterberg H, Russell LL, Bocchetta M, Rohrer JD, Burn DJ, Pavese N, Gerhard A, Kobylecki C, Leigh PN, Church A, Hu MTM, Houlden H, Morris H, Rowe JB. Progression of atypical parkinsonian syndromes: PROSPECT-M-UK study implications for clinical trials. Brain 2023; 146:3232-3242. [PMID: 36975168 PMCID: PMC10393398 DOI: 10.1093/brain/awad105] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [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: 11/24/2022] [Revised: 02/11/2023] [Accepted: 02/21/2023] [Indexed: 03/29/2023] Open
Abstract
The advent of clinical trials of disease-modifying agents for neurodegenerative disease highlights the need for evidence-based end point selection. Here we report the longitudinal PROSPECT-M-UK study of progressive supranuclear palsy (PSP), corticobasal syndrome (CBS), multiple system atrophy (MSA) and related disorders, to compare candidate clinical trial end points. In this multicentre UK study, participants were assessed with serial questionnaires, motor examination, neuropsychiatric and MRI assessments at baseline, 6 and 12 months. Participants were classified by diagnosis at baseline and study end, into Richardson syndrome, PSP-subcortical (PSP-parkinsonism and progressive gait freezing subtypes), PSP-cortical (PSP-frontal, PSP-speech and language and PSP-CBS subtypes), MSA-parkinsonism, MSA-cerebellar, CBS with and without evidence of Alzheimer's disease pathology and indeterminate syndromes. We calculated annual rate of change, with linear mixed modelling and sample sizes for clinical trials of disease-modifying agents, according to group and assessment type. Two hundred forty-three people were recruited [117 PSP, 68 CBS, 42 MSA and 16 indeterminate; 138 (56.8%) male; age at recruitment 68.7 ± 8.61 years]. One hundred and fifty-nine completed the 6-month assessment (82 PSP, 27 CBS, 40 MSA and 10 indeterminate) and 153 completed the 12-month assessment (80 PSP, 29 CBS, 35 MSA and nine indeterminate). Questionnaire, motor examination, neuropsychiatric and neuroimaging measures declined in all groups, with differences in longitudinal change between groups. Neuroimaging metrics would enable lower sample sizes to achieve equivalent power for clinical trials than cognitive and functional measures, often achieving N < 100 required for 1-year two-arm trials (with 80% power to detect 50% slowing). However, optimal outcome measures were disease-specific. In conclusion, phenotypic variance within PSP, CBS and MSA is a major challenge to clinical trial design. Our findings provide an evidence base for selection of clinical trial end points, from potential functional, cognitive, clinical or neuroimaging measures of disease progression.
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Affiliation(s)
- Duncan Street
- University of Cambridge Department of Clinical Neurosciences and Cambridge University Hospitals NHS Trust, Cambridge, CB2 OQQ, UK
| | - Edwin Jabbari
- Department of Clinical and Movement Neurosciences, University College London, Queen Square Institute of Neurology, London, WC1N 3BG, UK
- Movement Disorders Centre, University College London, Queen Square Institute of Neurology, London, WC1N 3BG, UK
| | - Alyssa Costantini
- Department of Clinical and Movement Neurosciences, University College London, Queen Square Institute of Neurology, London, WC1N 3BG, UK
- Movement Disorders Centre, University College London, Queen Square Institute of Neurology, London, WC1N 3BG, UK
| | - P Simon Jones
- University of Cambridge Department of Clinical Neurosciences and Cambridge University Hospitals NHS Trust, Cambridge, CB2 OQQ, UK
| | - Negin Holland
- University of Cambridge Department of Clinical Neurosciences and Cambridge University Hospitals NHS Trust, Cambridge, CB2 OQQ, UK
| | - Timothy Rittman
- University of Cambridge Department of Clinical Neurosciences and Cambridge University Hospitals NHS Trust, Cambridge, CB2 OQQ, UK
| | - Marte T Jensen
- Department of Clinical and Movement Neurosciences, University College London, Queen Square Institute of Neurology, London, WC1N 3BG, UK
- Movement Disorders Centre, University College London, Queen Square Institute of Neurology, London, WC1N 3BG, UK
| | - Viorica Chelban
- Department of Neuromuscular Diseases, University College London, Queen Square Institute of Neurology, London, WC1N 3BG, UK
- Neurobiology and Medical Genetics Laboratory, ‘Nicolae Testemitanu’ State University of Medicine and Pharmacy, Chisinau 2004, Republic of Moldova
| | - Yen Y Goh
- Department of Neuromuscular Diseases, University College London, Queen Square Institute of Neurology, London, WC1N 3BG, UK
| | - Tong Guo
- Department of Clinical and Movement Neurosciences, University College London, Queen Square Institute of Neurology, London, WC1N 3BG, UK
| | - Amanda J Heslegrave
- Department of Neurodegenerative Disease, University College London, Queen Square Institute of Neurology, London, WC1N 3BG, UK
- UK Dementia Research Institute, University College London, London, W1T 7NF, UK
| | - Federico Roncaroli
- Geoffrey Jefferson Brain Research Centre, Division of Neuroscience, Faculty of Biology, Medicine and Health, University of Manchester, Manchester, M6 8HD, UK
| | - Johannes C Klein
- Wellcome Centre for Integrative Neuroimaging, Oxford Centre for Functional MRI of the Brain, Nuffield Department of Clinical Neurosciences, University of Oxford, Oxford, OX3 9DU, UK
- Nuffield Department of Clinical Neurosciences, University of Oxford, Oxford, OX3 9DU, UK
| | - Olaf Ansorge
- Nuffield Department of Clinical Neurosciences, University of Oxford, Oxford, OX3 9DU, UK
| | - Kieren S J Allinson
- University of Cambridge Department of Clinical Neurosciences and Cambridge University Hospitals NHS Trust, Cambridge, CB2 OQQ, UK
| | - Zane Jaunmuktane
- Department of Clinical and Movement Neurosciences, University College London, Queen Square Institute of Neurology, London, WC1N 3BG, UK
- Queen Square Brain Bank for Neurological Disorders, University College London, Queen Square Institute of Neurology, London, WC1N 3BG, UK
- Reta Lila Weston Institute, University College London, Queen Square Institute of Neurology, London, WC1N 3BG, UK
| | - Tamas Revesz
- Queen Square Brain Bank for Neurological Disorders, University College London, Queen Square Institute of Neurology, London, WC1N 3BG, UK
- Reta Lila Weston Institute, University College London, Queen Square Institute of Neurology, London, WC1N 3BG, UK
| | - Thomas T Warner
- Queen Square Brain Bank for Neurological Disorders, University College London, Queen Square Institute of Neurology, London, WC1N 3BG, UK
- Reta Lila Weston Institute, University College London, Queen Square Institute of Neurology, London, WC1N 3BG, UK
| | - Andrew J Lees
- Queen Square Brain Bank for Neurological Disorders, University College London, Queen Square Institute of Neurology, London, WC1N 3BG, UK
- Reta Lila Weston Institute, University College London, Queen Square Institute of Neurology, London, WC1N 3BG, UK
| | - Henrik Zetterberg
- Department of Neurodegenerative Disease, University College London, Queen Square Institute of Neurology, London, WC1N 3BG, UK
- UK Dementia Research Institute, University College London, London, W1T 7NF, UK
- Clinical Neurochemistry Laboratory, Sahlgrenska University Hospital, 431 30 Mölndal, Sweden
- Department of Psychiatry and Neurochemistry, Institute of Neuroscience and Physiology, The Salhgrenska Academy at the University of Gothenburg, 413 45 Goteborg, Sweden
- Hong Kong Center for Neurodegenerative Diseases, Hong Kong Science Park, Shatin, N.T., Hong Kong, China
| | - Lucy L Russell
- Department of Neurodegenerative Disease, University College London, Queen Square Institute of Neurology, London, WC1N 3BG, UK
| | - Martina Bocchetta
- Centre for Cognitive and Clinical Neuroscience, Division of Psychology, Department of Life Sciences, College of Health, Medicine and Life Sciences, Brunel University London, London, UB8 3PH, UK
- Dementia Research Centre, Department of Neurodegenerative Disease, UCL Queen Square Institute of Neurology, University College London, London, WC1N 3BG, UK
| | - Jonathan D Rohrer
- Department of Neurodegenerative Disease, University College London, Queen Square Institute of Neurology, London, WC1N 3BG, UK
| | - David J Burn
- Faculty of Medical Sciences, Newcastle University, Newcastle, NE2 4HH, UK
| | - Nicola Pavese
- Clinical Ageing Research Unit, Newcastle University, Newcastle, NE4 5PL, UK
| | - Alexander Gerhard
- Division of Neuroscience, Wolfson Molecular Imaging Centre, University of Manchester, Manchester, N20 3LJ, UK
- Departments of Geriatric Medicine and Nuclear Medicine, Center for Translational Neuro- and Behavioral Sciences, University Medicine Essen, 45356 Essen, Germany
| | - Christopher Kobylecki
- Division of Neuroscience, Wolfson Molecular Imaging Centre, University of Manchester, Manchester, N20 3LJ, UK
- Department of Neurology, Manchester Academic Health Science Centre, Northern Care Alliance NHS Foundation Trust, Salford, M13 9NQ, UK
| | - P Nigel Leigh
- Department of Neuroscience, Brighton and Sussex Medical School, Brighton, BN1 9PX, UK
| | - Alistair Church
- Department of Neurology, Royal Gwent Hospital, Newport, NP20 2UB, UK
| | - Michele T M Hu
- Nuffield Department of Clinical Neurosciences, University of Oxford, Oxford, OX3 9DU, UK
- Department of Physiology, Anatomy and Genetics, Oxford Parkinson’s Disease Centre, University of Oxford, Oxford, OX1 3QU, UK
| | - Henry Houlden
- Department of Clinical and Movement Neurosciences, University College London, Queen Square Institute of Neurology, London, WC1N 3BG, UK
- Movement Disorders Centre, University College London, Queen Square Institute of Neurology, London, WC1N 3BG, UK
- Department of Neuromuscular Diseases, University College London, Queen Square Institute of Neurology, London, WC1N 3BG, UK
| | - Huw Morris
- Department of Clinical and Movement Neurosciences, University College London, Queen Square Institute of Neurology, London, WC1N 3BG, UK
- Movement Disorders Centre, University College London, Queen Square Institute of Neurology, London, WC1N 3BG, UK
| | - James B Rowe
- University of Cambridge Department of Clinical Neurosciences and Cambridge University Hospitals NHS Trust, Cambridge, CB2 OQQ, UK
- Medical Research Council Cognition and Brain Sciences Unit, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, CB2 7EF, UK
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31
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Philbert SA, Xu J, Scholefield M, Patassini S, Church SJ, Unwin RD, Roncaroli F, Cooper GJS. Extensive multiregional urea elevations in a case-control study of vascular dementia point toward a novel shared mechanism of disease amongst the age-related dementias. Front Mol Neurosci 2023; 16:1215637. [PMID: 37520429 PMCID: PMC10372345 DOI: 10.3389/fnmol.2023.1215637] [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] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/02/2023] [Accepted: 06/26/2023] [Indexed: 08/01/2023] Open
Abstract
Introduction Vascular dementia (VaD) is one of the most common causes of dementia among the elderly. Despite this, the molecular basis of VaD remains poorly characterized when compared to other age-related dementias. Pervasive cerebral elevations of urea have recently been reported in several dementias; however, a similar analysis was not yet available for VaD. Methods Here, we utilized ultra-high-performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (UHPLC-MS/MS) to measure urea levels from seven brain regions in post-mortem tissue from cases of VaD (n = 10) and controls (n = 8/9). Brain-urea measurements from our previous investigations of several dementias were also used to generate comparisons with VaD. Results Elevated urea levels ranging from 2.2- to 2.4-fold-change in VaD cases were identified in six out of the seven regions analysed, which are similar in magnitude to those observed in uremic encephalopathy. Fold-elevation of urea was highest in the basal ganglia and hippocampus (2.4-fold-change), consistent with the observation that these regions are severely affected in VaD. Discussion Taken together, these data not only describe a multiregional elevation of brain-urea levels in VaD but also imply the existence of a common urea-mediated disease mechanism that is now known to be present in at least four of the main age-related dementias.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sasha A. Philbert
- Division of Cardiovascular Sciences, Faculty of Biology, Medicine and Health, School of Medical Sciences, Centre for Advanced Discovery and Experimental Therapeutics, The University of Manchester, Manchester Academic Health Science Centre, Manchester, United Kingdom
| | - Jingshu Xu
- Division of Cardiovascular Sciences, Faculty of Biology, Medicine and Health, School of Medical Sciences, Centre for Advanced Discovery and Experimental Therapeutics, The University of Manchester, Manchester Academic Health Science Centre, Manchester, United Kingdom
| | - Melissa Scholefield
- Division of Cardiovascular Sciences, Faculty of Biology, Medicine and Health, School of Medical Sciences, Centre for Advanced Discovery and Experimental Therapeutics, The University of Manchester, Manchester Academic Health Science Centre, Manchester, United Kingdom
| | - Stefano Patassini
- Faculty of Science, School of Biological Sciences, The University of Auckland, Auckland, New Zealand
| | - Stephanie J. Church
- Division of Cardiovascular Sciences, Faculty of Biology, Medicine and Health, School of Medical Sciences, Centre for Advanced Discovery and Experimental Therapeutics, The University of Manchester, Manchester Academic Health Science Centre, Manchester, United Kingdom
| | - Richard D. Unwin
- Division of Cardiovascular Sciences, Faculty of Biology, Medicine and Health, School of Medical Sciences, Centre for Advanced Discovery and Experimental Therapeutics, The University of Manchester, Manchester Academic Health Science Centre, Manchester, United Kingdom
| | - Federico Roncaroli
- Division of Neuroscience and Experimental Psychology, Faculty of Biology, Medicine and Health, School of Biology, Geoffrey Jefferson Brain Research Centre, The University of Manchester, Manchester, United Kingdom
| | - Garth J. S. Cooper
- Division of Cardiovascular Sciences, Faculty of Biology, Medicine and Health, School of Medical Sciences, Centre for Advanced Discovery and Experimental Therapeutics, The University of Manchester, Manchester Academic Health Science Centre, Manchester, United Kingdom
- Faculty of Science, School of Biological Sciences, The University of Auckland, Auckland, New Zealand
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32
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Watt KJC, Meade RM, James TD, Mason JM. Development of a hydroxyflavone-labelled 4554W peptide probe for monitoring αS aggregation. Sci Rep 2023; 13:10968. [PMID: 37414785 PMCID: PMC10326036 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-023-37655-3] [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: 03/24/2023] [Accepted: 06/25/2023] [Indexed: 07/08/2023] Open
Abstract
Parkinson's is the second most common neurodegenerative disease, with the number of individuals susceptible due to increase as a result of increasing life expectancy and a growing worldwide population. However, despite the number of individuals affected, all current treatments for PD are symptomatic-they alleviate symptoms, but do not slow disease progression. A major reason for the lack of disease-modifying treatments is that there are currently no methods to diagnose individuals during the earliest stages of the disease, nor are there any methods to monitor disease progression at a biochemical level. Herein, we have designed and evaluated a peptide-based probe to monitor αS aggregation, with a particular focus on the earliest stages of the aggregation process and the formation of oligomers. We have identified the peptide-probe K1 as being suitable for further development to be applied to number of applications including: inhibition of αS aggregation; as a probe to monitor αS aggregation, particularly at the earliest stages before Thioflavin-T is active; and a method to detect early-oligomers. With further development and in vivo validation, we anticipate this probe could be used for the early diagnosis of PD, a method to evaluate the effectiveness of potential therapeutics, and as a tool to help in the understanding of the onset and development of PD.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kathryn J C Watt
- Department of Life Sciences, University of Bath, Claverton Down, Bath, BA2 7AY, UK
| | - Richard M Meade
- Department of Life Sciences, University of Bath, Claverton Down, Bath, BA2 7AY, UK
| | - Tony D James
- Department of Chemistry, University of Bath, Claverton Down, Bath, BA2 7AY, UK
| | - Jody M Mason
- Department of Life Sciences, University of Bath, Claverton Down, Bath, BA2 7AY, UK.
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Granat L, Knorr DY, Ranson DC, Hamer EL, Chakrabarty RP, Mattedi F, Fort-Aznar L, Hirth F, Sweeney ST, Vagnoni A, Chandel NS, Bateman JM. Yeast NDI1 reconfigures neuronal metabolism and prevents the unfolded protein response in mitochondrial complex I deficiency. PLoS Genet 2023; 19:e1010793. [PMID: 37399212 PMCID: PMC10348588 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pgen.1010793] [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] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/26/2022] [Revised: 07/14/2023] [Accepted: 05/22/2023] [Indexed: 07/05/2023] Open
Abstract
Mutations in subunits of the mitochondrial NADH dehydrogenase cause mitochondrial complex I deficiency, a group of severe neurological diseases that can result in death in infancy. The pathogenesis of complex I deficiency remain poorly understood, and as a result there are currently no available treatments. To better understand the underlying mechanisms, we modelled complex I deficiency in Drosophila using knockdown of the mitochondrial complex I subunit ND-75 (NDUFS1) specifically in neurons. Neuronal complex I deficiency causes locomotor defects, seizures and reduced lifespan. At the cellular level, complex I deficiency does not affect ATP levels but leads to mitochondrial morphology defects, reduced endoplasmic reticulum-mitochondria contacts and activation of the endoplasmic reticulum unfolded protein response (UPR) in neurons. Multi-omic analysis shows that complex I deficiency dramatically perturbs mitochondrial metabolism in the brain. We find that expression of the yeast non-proton translocating NADH dehydrogenase NDI1, which reinstates mitochondrial NADH oxidation but not ATP production, restores levels of several key metabolites in the brain in complex I deficiency. Remarkably, NDI1 expression also reinstates endoplasmic reticulum-mitochondria contacts, prevents UPR activation and rescues the behavioural and lifespan phenotypes caused by complex I deficiency. Together, these data show that metabolic disruption due to loss of neuronal NADH dehydrogenase activity cause UPR activation and drive pathogenesis in complex I deficiency.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lucy Granat
- Maurice Wohl Clinical Neuroscience Institute, King’s College London, London, United Kingdom
| | - Debbra Y. Knorr
- Maurice Wohl Clinical Neuroscience Institute, King’s College London, London, United Kingdom
| | - Daniel C. Ranson
- Maurice Wohl Clinical Neuroscience Institute, King’s College London, London, United Kingdom
| | - Emma L. Hamer
- Maurice Wohl Clinical Neuroscience Institute, King’s College London, London, United Kingdom
| | - Ram Prosad Chakrabarty
- Department of Medicine and Biochemistry & Molecular Genetics, Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, Chicago, Illinois, United States of America
| | - Francesca Mattedi
- Maurice Wohl Clinical Neuroscience Institute, King’s College London, London, United Kingdom
| | - Laura Fort-Aznar
- Department of Biology and York Biomedical Research Institute, University of York, Heslington, York, United Kingdom
- Alzheimer’s disease and other cognitive disorders Unit, Hospital Clínic de Barcelona IDIBAPS, Universitat de Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain
| | - Frank Hirth
- Maurice Wohl Clinical Neuroscience Institute, King’s College London, London, United Kingdom
| | - Sean T. Sweeney
- Department of Biology and York Biomedical Research Institute, University of York, Heslington, York, United Kingdom
| | - Alessio Vagnoni
- Maurice Wohl Clinical Neuroscience Institute, King’s College London, London, United Kingdom
| | - Navdeep S. Chandel
- Department of Medicine and Biochemistry & Molecular Genetics, Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, Chicago, Illinois, United States of America
| | - Joseph M. Bateman
- Maurice Wohl Clinical Neuroscience Institute, King’s College London, London, United Kingdom
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Fodder K, de Silva R, Warner TT, Bettencourt C. The contribution of DNA methylation to the (dys)function of oligodendroglia in neurodegeneration. Acta Neuropathol Commun 2023; 11:106. [PMID: 37386505 PMCID: PMC10311741 DOI: 10.1186/s40478-023-01607-9] [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: 05/03/2023] [Accepted: 06/20/2023] [Indexed: 07/01/2023] Open
Abstract
Neurodegenerative diseases encompass a heterogeneous group of conditions characterised by the progressive degeneration of the structure and function of the central or peripheral nervous systems. The pathogenic mechanisms underlying these diseases are not fully understood. However, a central feature consists of regional aggregation of proteins in the brain, such as the accumulation of β-amyloid plaques in Alzheimer's disease (AD), inclusions of hyperphosphorylated microtubule-binding tau in AD and other tauopathies, or inclusions containing α-synuclein in Parkinson's disease (PD), dementia with Lewy bodies (DLB) and multiple system atrophy (MSA). Various pathogenic mechanisms are thought to contribute to disease, and an increasing number of studies implicate dysfunction of oligodendrocytes (the myelin producing cells of the central nervous system) and myelin loss. Aberrant DNA methylation, the most widely studied epigenetic modification, has been associated with many neurodegenerative diseases, including AD, PD, DLB and MSA, and recent findings highlight aberrant DNA methylation in oligodendrocyte/myelin-related genes. Here we briefly review the evidence showing that changes to oligodendrocytes and myelin are key in neurodegeneration, and explore the relevance of DNA methylation in oligodendrocyte (dys)function. As DNA methylation is reversible, elucidating its involvement in pathogenic mechanisms of neurodegenerative diseases and in dysfunction of specific cell-types such as oligodendrocytes may bring opportunities for therapeutic interventions for these diseases.
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Affiliation(s)
- Katherine Fodder
- Queen Square Brain Bank for Neurological Disorders, UCL Queen Square Institute of Neurology, London, UK
- Department of Neurodegenerative Disease, UCL Queen Square Institute of Neurology, London, UK
| | - Rohan de Silva
- Department of Clinical and Movement Neurosciences, UCL Queen Square Institute of Neurology, London, UK
- Reta Lila Weston Institute, UCL Queen Square Institute of Neurology, London, UK
| | - Thomas T Warner
- Queen Square Brain Bank for Neurological Disorders, UCL Queen Square Institute of Neurology, London, UK
- Department of Clinical and Movement Neurosciences, UCL Queen Square Institute of Neurology, London, UK
- Reta Lila Weston Institute, UCL Queen Square Institute of Neurology, London, UK
| | - Conceição Bettencourt
- Queen Square Brain Bank for Neurological Disorders, UCL Queen Square Institute of Neurology, London, UK.
- Department of Neurodegenerative Disease, UCL Queen Square Institute of Neurology, London, UK.
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35
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Darricau M, Katsinelos T, Raschella F, Milekovic T, Crochemore L, Li Q, Courtine G, McEwan WA, Dehay B, Bezard E, Planche V. Tau seeds from patients induce progressive supranuclear palsy pathology and symptoms in primates. Brain 2023; 146:2524-2534. [PMID: 36382344 PMCID: PMC10232263 DOI: 10.1093/brain/awac428] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [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: 08/27/2022] [Revised: 10/26/2022] [Accepted: 11/04/2022] [Indexed: 11/17/2022] Open
Abstract
Progressive supranuclear palsy is a primary tauopathy affecting both neurons and glia and is responsible for both motor and cognitive symptoms. Recently, it has been suggested that progressive supranuclear palsy tauopathy may spread in the brain from cell to cell in a 'prion-like' manner. However, direct experimental evidence of this phenomenon, and its consequences on brain functions, is still lacking in primates. In this study, we first derived sarkosyl-insoluble tau fractions from post-mortem brains of patients with progressive supranuclear palsy. We also isolated the same fraction from age-matched control brains. Compared to control extracts, the in vitro characterization of progressive supranuclear palsy-tau fractions demonstrated a high seeding activity in P301S-tau expressing cells, displaying after incubation abnormally phosphorylated (AT8- and AT100-positivity), misfolded, filamentous (pentameric formyl thiophene acetic acid positive) and sarkosyl-insoluble tau. We bilaterally injected two male rhesus macaques in the supranigral area with this fraction of progressive supranuclear palsy-tau proteopathic seeds, and two other macaques with the control fraction. The quantitative analysis of kinematic features revealed that progressive supranuclear palsy-tau injected macaques exhibited symptoms suggestive of parkinsonism as early as 6 months after injection, remaining present until euthanasia at 18 months. An object retrieval task showed the progressive appearance of a significant dysexecutive syndrome in progressive supranuclear palsy-tau injected macaques compared to controls. We found AT8-positive staining and 4R-tau inclusions only in progressive supranuclear palsy-tau injected macaques. Characteristic pathological hallmarks of progressive supranuclear palsy, including globose and neurofibrillary tangles, tufted astrocytes and coiled bodies, were found close to the injection sites but also in connected brain regions that are known to be affected in progressive supranuclear palsy (striatum, pallidum, thalamus). Interestingly, while glial AT8-positive lesions were the most frequent near the injection site, we found mainly neuronal inclusions in the remote brain area, consistent with a neuronal transsynaptic spreading of the disease. Our results demonstrate that progressive supranuclear palsy patient-derived tau aggregates can induce motor and behavioural impairments in non-human primates related to the prion-like seeding and spreading of typical pathological progressive supranuclear palsy lesions. This pilot study paves the way for supporting progressive supranuclear palsy-tau injected macaque as a relevant animal model to accelerate drug development targeting this rare and fatal neurodegenerative disease.
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Affiliation(s)
- Morgane Darricau
- University of Bordeaux, CNRS, Institut des Maladies Neurodégénératives, UMR 5293, F-33000 Bordeaux, France
| | - Taxiarchis Katsinelos
- UK Dementia Research Institute, Department of Clinical Neurosciences, University of Cambridge, CB2 0AH Cambridge, UK
| | - Flavio Raschella
- Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (EPFL), CH-1011 Lausanne, Switzerland
- Defitech Center for Interventional Neurotherapies (NeuroRestore), CH-1011 Lausanne, Switzerland
- Centre Hospitalier Universitaire Vaudois (CHUV), CH-1011 Lausanne, Switzerland
| | - Tomislav Milekovic
- Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (EPFL), CH-1011 Lausanne, Switzerland
- Defitech Center for Interventional Neurotherapies (NeuroRestore), CH-1011 Lausanne, Switzerland
- Centre Hospitalier Universitaire Vaudois (CHUV), CH-1011 Lausanne, Switzerland
| | - Louis Crochemore
- University of Bordeaux, CNRS, Institut des Maladies Neurodégénératives, UMR 5293, F-33000 Bordeaux, France
| | - Qin Li
- Motac Neuroscience, F-33000 Bordeaux, France
| | - Grégoire Courtine
- Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (EPFL), CH-1011 Lausanne, Switzerland
- Defitech Center for Interventional Neurotherapies (NeuroRestore), CH-1011 Lausanne, Switzerland
- Centre Hospitalier Universitaire Vaudois (CHUV), CH-1011 Lausanne, Switzerland
| | - William A McEwan
- UK Dementia Research Institute, Department of Clinical Neurosciences, University of Cambridge, CB2 0AH Cambridge, UK
| | - Benjamin Dehay
- University of Bordeaux, CNRS, Institut des Maladies Neurodégénératives, UMR 5293, F-33000 Bordeaux, France
| | - Erwan Bezard
- University of Bordeaux, CNRS, Institut des Maladies Neurodégénératives, UMR 5293, F-33000 Bordeaux, France
- Motac Neuroscience, F-33000 Bordeaux, France
| | - Vincent Planche
- University of Bordeaux, CNRS, Institut des Maladies Neurodégénératives, UMR 5293, F-33000 Bordeaux, France
- CHU de Bordeaux, Pôle de Neurosciences Cliniques, Centre Mémoire de Ressources et de Recherche, F-33000 Bordeaux, France
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36
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Willems HMG, Edwards S, Boffey HK, Chawner SJ, Green C, Romero T, Winpenny D, Skidmore J, Clarke JH, Andrews SP. Identification of ARUK2002821 as an isoform-selective PI5P4Kα inhibitor. RSC Med Chem 2023; 14:934-946. [PMID: 37252102 PMCID: PMC10211317 DOI: 10.1039/d3md00039g] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/24/2023] [Accepted: 04/03/2023] [Indexed: 05/31/2023] Open
Abstract
The phosphatidylinositol 5-phosphate 4-kinases (PI5P4Ks) play a central role in regulating cell signalling pathways and, as such, have become therapeutic targets for diseases such as cancer, neurodegeneration and immunological disorders. Many of the PI5P4Kα inhibitors that have been reported to date have suffered from poor selectivity and/or potency and the availability of better tool molecules would facilitate biological exploration. Herein we report a novel PI5P4Kα inhibitor chemotype that was identified through virtual screening. The series was optimised to deliver ARUK2002821 (36), a potent PI5P4Kα inhibitor (pIC50 = 8.0) which is selective vs. other PI5P4K isoforms and has broad selectivity against lipid and protein kinases. ADMET and target engagement data are provided for this tool molecule and others in the series, as well as an X-ray structure of 36 solved in complex with its PI5P4Kα target.
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Affiliation(s)
- Henriëtte M G Willems
- The ALBORADA Drug Discovery Institute, University of Cambridge Island Research Building, Cambridge Biomedical Campus, Hills Road Cambridge CB2 0AH UK
| | - Simon Edwards
- The ALBORADA Drug Discovery Institute, University of Cambridge Island Research Building, Cambridge Biomedical Campus, Hills Road Cambridge CB2 0AH UK
| | - Helen K Boffey
- The ALBORADA Drug Discovery Institute, University of Cambridge Island Research Building, Cambridge Biomedical Campus, Hills Road Cambridge CB2 0AH UK
| | - Stephen J Chawner
- The ALBORADA Drug Discovery Institute, University of Cambridge Island Research Building, Cambridge Biomedical Campus, Hills Road Cambridge CB2 0AH UK
| | - Christopher Green
- The ALBORADA Drug Discovery Institute, University of Cambridge Island Research Building, Cambridge Biomedical Campus, Hills Road Cambridge CB2 0AH UK
| | - Tamara Romero
- The ALBORADA Drug Discovery Institute, University of Cambridge Island Research Building, Cambridge Biomedical Campus, Hills Road Cambridge CB2 0AH UK
| | - David Winpenny
- The ALBORADA Drug Discovery Institute, University of Cambridge Island Research Building, Cambridge Biomedical Campus, Hills Road Cambridge CB2 0AH UK
| | - John Skidmore
- The ALBORADA Drug Discovery Institute, University of Cambridge Island Research Building, Cambridge Biomedical Campus, Hills Road Cambridge CB2 0AH UK
| | - Jonathan H Clarke
- The ALBORADA Drug Discovery Institute, University of Cambridge Island Research Building, Cambridge Biomedical Campus, Hills Road Cambridge CB2 0AH UK
| | - Stephen P Andrews
- The ALBORADA Drug Discovery Institute, University of Cambridge Island Research Building, Cambridge Biomedical Campus, Hills Road Cambridge CB2 0AH UK
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Saunders TS, Pozzolo FE, Heslegrave A, King D, McGeachan RI, Spires-Jones MP, Harris SE, Ritchie C, Muniz-Terrera G, Deary IJ, Cox SR, Zetterberg H, Spires-Jones TL. Predictive blood biomarkers and brain changes associated with age-related cognitive decline. Brain Commun 2023; 5:fcad113. [PMID: 37180996 PMCID: PMC10167767 DOI: 10.1093/braincomms/fcad113] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [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: 07/20/2022] [Revised: 12/28/2022] [Accepted: 04/05/2023] [Indexed: 04/08/2023] Open
Abstract
Growing evidence supports the use of plasma levels of tau phosphorylated at threonine 181, amyloid-β, neurofilament light and glial fibrillary acidic protein as promising biomarkers for Alzheimer's disease. While these blood biomarkers are promising for distinguishing people with Alzheimer's disease from healthy controls, their predictive validity for age-related cognitive decline without dementia remains unclear. Further, while tau phosphorylated at threonine 181 is a promising biomarker, the distribution of this phospho-epitope of tau in the brain is unknown. Here, we tested whether plasma levels of tau phosphorylated at threonine 181, amyloid-β, neurofilament light and fibrillary acidic protein predict cognitive decline between ages 72 and 82 in 195 participants in the Lothian birth cohorts 1936 study of cognitive ageing. We further examined post-mortem brain samples from temporal cortex to determine the distribution of tau phosphorylated at threonine 181 in the brain. Several forms of tau phosphorylated at threonine 181 have been shown to contribute to synapse degeneration in Alzheimer's disease, which correlates closely with cognitive decline in this form of dementia, but to date, there have not been investigations of whether tau phosphorylated at threonine 181 is found in synapses in Alzheimer's disease or healthy ageing brain. It was also previously unclear whether tau phosphorylated at threonine 181 accumulated in dystrophic neurites around plaques, which could contribute to tau leakage to the periphery due to impaired membrane integrity in dystrophies. Brain homogenate and biochemically enriched synaptic fractions were examined with western blot to examine tau phosphorylated at threonine 181 levels between groups (n = 10-12 per group), and synaptic and astrocytic localization of tau phosphorylated at threonine 181 were examined using array tomography (n = 6-15 per group), and localization of tau phosphorylated at threonine 181 in plaque-associated dystrophic neurites with associated gliosis were examined with standard immunofluorescence (n = 8-9 per group). Elevated baseline plasma tau phosphorylated at threonine 181, neurofilament light and fibrillary acidic protein predicted steeper general cognitive decline during ageing. Further, increasing tau phosphorylated at threonine 181 over time predicted general cognitive decline in females only. Change in plasma tau phosphorylated at threonine 181 remained a significant predictor of g factor decline when taking into account Alzheimer's disease polygenic risk score, indicating that the increase of blood tau phosphorylated at threonine 181 in this cohort was not only due to incipient Alzheimer's disease. Tau phosphorylated at threonine 181 was observed in synapses and astrocytes in both healthy ageing and Alzheimer's disease brain. We observed that a significantly higher proportion of synapses contain tau phosphorylated at threonine 181 in Alzheimer's disease relative to aged controls. Aged controls with pre-morbid lifetime cognitive resilience had significantly more tau phosphorylated at threonine 181 in fibrillary acidic protein-positive astrocytes than those with pre-morbid lifetime cognitive decline. Further, tau phosphorylated at threonine 181 was found in dystrophic neurites around plaques and in some neurofibrillary tangles. The presence of tau phosphorylated at threonine 181 in plaque-associated dystrophies may be a source of leakage of tau out of neurons that eventually enters the blood. Together, these data indicate that plasma tau phosphorylated at threonine 181, neurofilament light and fibrillary acidic protein may be useful biomarkers of age-related cognitive decline, and that efficient clearance of tau phosphorylated at threonine 181 by astrocytes may promote cognitive resilience.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tyler S Saunders
- UK Dementia Research Institute and Centre for Discovery Brain Sciences at the University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, EH8 9JZ, UK
- Edinburgh Dementia Prevention & Centre for Clinical Brain Sciences, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, EH4 2XU, UK
| | - Francesca E Pozzolo
- UK Dementia Research Institute and Centre for Discovery Brain Sciences at the University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, EH8 9JZ, UK
| | - Amanda Heslegrave
- United Kingdom UK Dementia Research Institute at University College London, UCL Institute of Neurology, Queen Square, London, WC1N 3BG, UK
- Department of Neurodegenerative Disease, UCL Institute of Neurology, Queen Square, London, WC1N 3BG, UK
| | - Declan King
- UK Dementia Research Institute and Centre for Discovery Brain Sciences at the University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, EH8 9JZ, UK
| | - Robert I McGeachan
- UK Dementia Research Institute and Centre for Discovery Brain Sciences at the University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, EH8 9JZ, UK
| | - Maxwell P Spires-Jones
- UK Dementia Research Institute and Centre for Discovery Brain Sciences at the University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, EH8 9JZ, UK
| | - Sarah E Harris
- Lothian Birth Cohort studies, Department of Psychology, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, EH8 9AD, UK
| | - Craig Ritchie
- Edinburgh Dementia Prevention & Centre for Clinical Brain Sciences, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, EH4 2XU, UK
| | - Graciela Muniz-Terrera
- Edinburgh Dementia Prevention & Centre for Clinical Brain Sciences, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, EH4 2XU, UK
- Department of Social Medicine, Ohio University, Athens, Ohio 45701, USA
- Latin American Institute for Brain Health (BrainLat), Universidad Adolfo Ibanez, Santiago 3485, Chile
| | - Ian J Deary
- Lothian Birth Cohort studies, Department of Psychology, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, EH8 9AD, UK
| | - Simon R Cox
- Lothian Birth Cohort studies, Department of Psychology, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, EH8 9AD, UK
| | - Henrik Zetterberg
- United Kingdom UK Dementia Research Institute at University College London, UCL Institute of Neurology, Queen Square, London, WC1N 3BG, UK
- Department of Neurodegenerative Disease, UCL Institute of Neurology, Queen Square, London, WC1N 3BG, UK
- Department of Psychiatry and Neurochemistry, Sahlgrenska Academy at the University of Gothenburg, S-431 80 Molndal, Sweden
- Clinical Neurochemistry Laboratory, Sahlgrenska University Hospital, S-431 80 Molndal, Sweden
- Hong Kong Center for Neurodegenerative Diseases, Clear Water Bay, Hong Kong, China
| | - Tara L Spires-Jones
- UK Dementia Research Institute and Centre for Discovery Brain Sciences at the University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, EH8 9JZ, UK
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38
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Ranson JM, Bucholc M, Lyall D, Newby D, Winchester L, Oxtoby NP, Veldsman M, Rittman T, Marzi S, Skene N, Al Khleifat A, Foote IF, Orgeta V, Kormilitzin A, Lourida I, Llewellyn DJ. Harnessing the potential of machine learning and artificial intelligence for dementia research. Brain Inform 2023; 10:6. [PMID: 36829050 PMCID: PMC9958222 DOI: 10.1186/s40708-022-00183-3] [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] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/31/2022] [Accepted: 12/26/2022] [Indexed: 02/26/2023] Open
Abstract
Progress in dementia research has been limited, with substantial gaps in our knowledge of targets for prevention, mechanisms for disease progression, and disease-modifying treatments. The growing availability of multimodal data sets opens possibilities for the application of machine learning and artificial intelligence (AI) to help answer key questions in the field. We provide an overview of the state of the science, highlighting current challenges and opportunities for utilisation of AI approaches to move the field forward in the areas of genetics, experimental medicine, drug discovery and trials optimisation, imaging, and prevention. Machine learning methods can enhance results of genetic studies, help determine biological effects and facilitate the identification of drug targets based on genetic and transcriptomic information. The use of unsupervised learning for understanding disease mechanisms for drug discovery is promising, while analysis of multimodal data sets to characterise and quantify disease severity and subtype are also beginning to contribute to optimisation of clinical trial recruitment. Data-driven experimental medicine is needed to analyse data across modalities and develop novel algorithms to translate insights from animal models to human disease biology. AI methods in neuroimaging outperform traditional approaches for diagnostic classification, and although challenges around validation and translation remain, there is optimism for their meaningful integration to clinical practice in the near future. AI-based models can also clarify our understanding of the causality and commonality of dementia risk factors, informing and improving risk prediction models along with the development of preventative interventions. The complexity and heterogeneity of dementia requires an alternative approach beyond traditional design and analytical approaches. Although not yet widely used in dementia research, machine learning and AI have the potential to unlock current challenges and advance precision dementia medicine.
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Affiliation(s)
- Janice M Ranson
- University of Exeter Medical School, College House, St Luke's Campus, Heavitree Road, Exeter, EX1 2LU, UK.
| | - Magda Bucholc
- Cognitive Analytics Research Lab, School of Computing, Engineering & Intelligent Systems, Ulster University, Derry, UK
| | - Donald Lyall
- Institute of Health and Wellbeing, University of Glasgow, Glasgow, UK
| | - Danielle Newby
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK
| | | | - Neil P Oxtoby
- Department of Computer Science, UCL Centre for Medical Image Computing, University College London, London, UK
| | | | - Timothy Rittman
- Department of Clinical Neurosciences, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK
| | - Sarah Marzi
- UK Dementia Research Institute, Imperial College London, London, UK
- Department of Brain Sciences, Imperial College London, London, UK
| | - Nathan Skene
- UK Dementia Research Institute, Imperial College London, London, UK
- Department of Brain Sciences, Imperial College London, London, UK
| | - Ahmad Al Khleifat
- Department of Basic and Clinical Neuroscience, King's College London, London, UK
| | | | - Vasiliki Orgeta
- Division of Psychiatry, University College London, London, UK
| | | | - Ilianna Lourida
- University of Exeter Medical School, College House, St Luke's Campus, Heavitree Road, Exeter, EX1 2LU, UK
| | - David J Llewellyn
- University of Exeter Medical School, College House, St Luke's Campus, Heavitree Road, Exeter, EX1 2LU, UK
- The Alan Turing Institute, London, UK
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39
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Samra K, MacDougall AM, Bouzigues A, Bocchetta M, Cash DM, Greaves CV, Convery RS, Hardy C, van Swieten JC, Seelaar H, Jiskoot LC, Moreno F, Sanchez-Valle R, Laforce R, Graff C, Masellis M, Tartaglia MC, Rowe JB, Borroni B, Finger E, Synofzik M, Galimberti D, Vandenberghe R, de Mendonça A, Butler CR, Gerhard A, Ducharme S, Le Ber I, Santana I, Pasquier F, Levin J, Otto M, Sorbi S, Warren JD, Rohrer JD, Russell LL. Genetic forms of primary progressive aphasia within the GENetic Frontotemporal dementia Initiative (GENFI) cohort: comparison with sporadic primary progressive aphasia. Brain Commun 2023; 5:fcad036. [PMID: 36938528 PMCID: PMC10019761 DOI: 10.1093/braincomms/fcad036] [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: 03/04/2022] [Revised: 08/26/2022] [Accepted: 02/15/2023] [Indexed: 02/19/2023] Open
Abstract
Primary progressive aphasia is most commonly a sporadic disorder, but in some cases, it can be genetic. This study aimed to understand the clinical, cognitive and imaging phenotype of the genetic forms of primary progressive aphasia in comparison to the canonical nonfluent, semantic and logopenic subtypes seen in sporadic disease. Participants with genetic primary progressive aphasia were recruited from the international multicentre GENetic Frontotemporal dementia Initiative study and compared with healthy controls as well as a cohort of people with sporadic primary progressive aphasia. Symptoms were assessed using the GENetic Frontotemporal dementia Initiative language, behavioural, neuropsychiatric and motor scales. Participants also underwent a cognitive assessment and 3 T volumetric T1-weighted MRI. One C9orf72 (2%), 1 MAPT (6%) and 17 GRN (44%) symptomatic mutation carriers had a diagnosis of primary progressive aphasia. In the GRN cohort, 47% had a diagnosis of nonfluent variant primary progressive aphasia, and 53% had a primary progressive aphasia syndrome that did not fit diagnostic criteria for any of the three subtypes, called primary progressive aphasia-not otherwise specified here. The phenotype of the genetic nonfluent variant primary progressive aphasia group largely overlapped with that of sporadic nonfluent variant primary progressive aphasia, although the presence of an associated atypical parkinsonian syndrome was characteristic of sporadic and not genetic disease. The primary progressive aphasia -not otherwise specified group however was distinct from the sporadic subtypes with impaired grammar/syntax in the presence of relatively intact articulation, alongside other linguistic deficits. The pattern of atrophy seen on MRI in the genetic nonfluent variant primary progressive aphasia group overlapped with that of the sporadic nonfluent variant primary progressive aphasia cohort, although with more posterior cortical involvement, whilst the primary progressive aphasia-not otherwise specified group was strikingly asymmetrical with involvement particularly of the insula and dorsolateral prefrontal cortex but also atrophy of the orbitofrontal cortex and the medial temporal lobes. Whilst there are overlapping symptoms between genetic and sporadic primary progressive aphasia syndromes, there are also distinct features. Future iterations of the primary progressive aphasia consensus criteria should encompass such information with further research needed to understand the earliest features of these disorders, particularly during the prodromal period of genetic disease.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kiran Samra
- Dementia Research Centre, Department of Neurodegenerative Disease, UCL Queen Square Institute of Neurology, London, UK
| | - Amy M MacDougall
- Department of Medical Statistics, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, London, UK
| | - Arabella Bouzigues
- Dementia Research Centre, Department of Neurodegenerative Disease, UCL Queen Square Institute of Neurology, London, UK
| | - Martina Bocchetta
- Dementia Research Centre, Department of Neurodegenerative Disease, UCL Queen Square Institute of Neurology, London, UK
| | - David M Cash
- Dementia Research Centre, Department of Neurodegenerative Disease, UCL Queen Square Institute of Neurology, London, UK
| | - Caroline V Greaves
- Dementia Research Centre, Department of Neurodegenerative Disease, UCL Queen Square Institute of Neurology, London, UK
| | - Rhian S Convery
- Dementia Research Centre, Department of Neurodegenerative Disease, UCL Queen Square Institute of Neurology, London, UK
| | - Chris Hardy
- Dementia Research Centre, Department of Neurodegenerative Disease, UCL Queen Square Institute of Neurology, London, UK
| | | | - Harro Seelaar
- Department of Neurology, Erasmus Medical Centre, Rotterdam, Netherlands
| | - Lize C Jiskoot
- Department of Neurology, Erasmus Medical Centre, Rotterdam, Netherlands
| | - Fermin Moreno
- Cognitive Disorders Unit, Department of Neurology, Donostia Universitary Hospital, San Sebastian, Spain
- Neuroscience Area, Biodonostia Health Research Institute, San Sebastian, Gipuzkoa, Spain
| | - Raquel Sanchez-Valle
- Alzheimer’s disease and Other Cognitive Disorders Unit, Neurology Service, Hospital Clínic, Institut d’Investigacións Biomèdiques August Pi I Sunyer, University of Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain
| | - Robert Laforce
- Clinique Interdisciplinaire de Mémoire, Département des Sciences Neurologiques, CHU de Québec, and Faculté de Médecine, Université Laval, Québec City, Canada
| | - Caroline Graff
- Center for Alzheimer Research, Division of Neurogeriatrics, Department of Neurobiology, Care Sciences and Society, Bioclinicum, Karolinska Institutet, Solna, Sweden
- Unit for Hereditary Dementias, Theme Aging, Karolinska University Hospital, Solna, Sweden
| | - Mario Masellis
- Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre, Sunnybrook Research Institute, University of Toronto, Toronto, Canada
| | - Maria Carmela Tartaglia
- Tanz Centre for Research in Neurodegenerative Diseases, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada
| | - James B Rowe
- Department of Clinical Neurosciences, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK
| | - Barbara Borroni
- Neurology Unit, Department of Clinical and Experimental Sciences, University of Brescia, Brescia, Italy
| | - Elizabeth Finger
- Department of Clinical Neurological Sciences, University of Western Ontario, London, ON, Canada
| | - Matthis Synofzik
- Department of Neurodegenerative Diseases, Hertie-Institute for Clinical Brain Research and Center of Neurology, University of Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany
- Centre for Neurodegenerative Diseases (DZNE), Tübingen, Germany
| | - Daniela Galimberti
- Fondazione Ca’ Granda, IRCCS Ospedale Policlinico, Milan, Italy
- University of Milan, Centro Dino Ferrari, Milan, Italy
| | - Rik Vandenberghe
- Laboratory for Cognitive Neurology, Department of Neurosciences, KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium
- Neurology Service, University Hospitals Leuven, Leuven, Belgium
- Leuven Brain Institute, KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium
| | - Alexandre de Mendonça
- Laboratory of Neurosciences, Institute of Molecular Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, University of Lisbon, Lisbon, Portugal
| | - Chris R Butler
- Nuffield Department of Clinical Neurosciences, Medical Sciences Division, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK
- Department of Brain Sciences, Imperial College London, London, UK
| | - Alexander Gerhard
- Division of Neuroscience and Experimental Psychology, Wolfson Molecular Imaging Centre, University of Manchester, Manchester, UK
- Departments of Geriatric Medicine and Nuclear Medicine, University of Duisburg-Essen, Germany
| | - Simon Ducharme
- Department of Psychiatry, McGill University Health Centre, McGill University, Montreal, Québec, Canada
- McConnell Brain Imaging Centre, Montreal Neurological Institute, McGill University, Montreal, Québec, Canada
| | - Isabelle Le Ber
- Sorbonne Université, Paris Brain Institute – Institut du Cerveau – ICM, Inserm U1127, CNRS UMR 7225, AP-HP - Hôpital Pitié-Salpêtrière, Paris, France
- Centre de référence des démences rares ou précoces, IM2A, Département de Neurologie, AP-HP - Hôpital Pitié-Salpêtrière, Paris, France
- Département de Neurologie, AP-HP - Hôpital Pitié-Salpêtrière, Paris, France
| | - Isabel Santana
- University Hospital of Coimbra (HUC), Neurology Service, Faculty of Medicine, University of Coimbra, Coimbra, Portugal
- Center for Neuroscience and Cell Biology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Coimbra, Coimbra, Portugal
| | - Florence Pasquier
- Univ Lille, Inserm 1172, Lille, France
- Inserm 1172, Lille, France
- CHU, CNR-MAJ, Labex Distalz, LiCEND Lille, France
| | - Johannes Levin
- Department of Neurology, Ludwig-Maximilians Universität München, Munich, Germany
- German Centre for Neurodegenerative Diseases (DZNE), Munich, Germany
- Munich Cluster of Systems Neurology (SyNergy), Munich, Germany
| | - Markus Otto
- Department of Neurology, University of Ulm, Ulm, Germany
| | - Sandro Sorbi
- Department of Neurofarba, University of Florence, Florence, Italy
- IRCCS Fondazione Don Carlo Gnocchi, Florence, Italy
| | - Jason D Warren
- Dementia Research Centre, Department of Neurodegenerative Disease, UCL Queen Square Institute of Neurology, London, UK
| | - Jonathan D Rohrer
- Dementia Research Centre, Department of Neurodegenerative Disease, UCL Queen Square Institute of Neurology, London, UK
| | - Lucy L Russell
- Dementia Research Centre, Department of Neurodegenerative Disease, UCL Queen Square Institute of Neurology, London, UK
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40
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Stevenson-Hoare J, Heslegrave A, Leonenko G, Fathalla D, Bellou E, Luckcuck L, Marshall R, Sims R, Morgan BP, Hardy J, de Strooper B, Williams J, Zetterberg H, Escott-Price V. Plasma biomarkers and genetics in the diagnosis and prediction of Alzheimer's disease. Brain 2023; 146:690-699. [PMID: 35383826 PMCID: PMC9924904 DOI: 10.1093/brain/awac128] [Citation(s) in RCA: 28] [Impact Index Per Article: 28.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/02/2021] [Revised: 02/14/2022] [Accepted: 03/13/2022] [Indexed: 11/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Plasma biomarkers for Alzheimer's disease-related pathologies have undergone rapid developments during the past few years, and there are now well-validated blood tests for amyloid and tau pathology, as well as neurodegeneration and astrocytic activation. To define Alzheimer's disease with biomarkers rather than clinical assessment, we assessed prediction of research-diagnosed disease status using these biomarkers and tested genetic variants associated with the biomarkers that may reflect more accurately the risk of biochemically defined Alzheimer's disease instead of the risk of dementia. In a cohort of Alzheimer's disease cases [n = 1439, mean age 68 years (standard deviation = 8.2)] and screened controls [n = 508, mean age 82 years (standard deviation = 6.8)], we measured plasma concentrations of the 40 and 42 amino acid-long amyloid-β (Aβ) fragments (Aβ40 and Aβ42, respectively), tau phosphorylated at amino acid 181 (P-tau181), neurofilament light (NfL) and glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP) using state-of-the-art Single molecule array (Simoa) technology. We tested the relationships between the biomarkers and Alzheimer's disease genetic risk, age at onset and disease duration. We also conducted a genome-wide association study for association of disease risk genes with these biomarkers. The prediction accuracy of Alzheimer's disease clinical diagnosis by the combination of all biomarkers, APOE and polygenic risk score reached area under receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC) = 0.81, with the most significant contributors being ε4, Aβ40 or Aβ42, GFAP and NfL. All biomarkers were significantly associated with age in cases and controls (P < 4.3 × 10-5). Concentrations of the Aβ-related biomarkers in plasma were significantly lower in cases compared with controls, whereas other biomarker levels were significantly higher in cases. In the case-control genome-wide analyses, APOE-ε4 was associated with all biomarkers (P = 0.011-4.78 × 10-8), except NfL. No novel genome-wide significant single nucleotide polymorphisms were found in the case-control design; however, in a case-only analysis, we found two independent genome-wide significant associations between the Aβ42/Aβ40 ratio and WWOX and COPG2 genes. Disease prediction modelling by the combination of all biomarkers indicates that the variance attributed to P-tau181 is mostly captured by APOE-ε4, whereas Aβ40, Aβ42, GFAP and NfL biomarkers explain additional variation over and above APOE. We identified novel plausible genome wide-significant genes associated with Aβ42/Aβ40 ratio in a sample which is 50 times smaller than current genome-wide association studies in Alzheimer's disease.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Amanda Heslegrave
- Dementia Research Institute, University College London, London, UK
- Department of Neurodegenerative Disease, UCL Institute of Neurology, Queen Square, London, UK
| | - Ganna Leonenko
- Dementia Research Institute, Cardiff University, Cardiff, UK
| | - Dina Fathalla
- Dementia Research Institute, Cardiff University, Cardiff, UK
| | - Eftychia Bellou
- Dementia Research Institute, Cardiff University, Cardiff, UK
| | - Lauren Luckcuck
- Dementia Research Institute, Cardiff University, Cardiff, UK
| | - Rachel Marshall
- Division of Neuroscience and Mental Health, Cardiff University, Cardiff, UK
| | - Rebecca Sims
- Division of Neuroscience and Mental Health, Cardiff University, Cardiff, UK
| | | | - John Hardy
- Dementia Research Institute, University College London, London, UK
- Department of Neurodegenerative Disease, UCL Institute of Neurology, Queen Square, London, UK
| | - Bart de Strooper
- Dementia Research Institute, University College London, London, UK
- VIB Center for Brain and Disease Research, 3000 Leuven, Belgium
- KU Leuven, Leuven Brain Institute, 3000 Leuven, Belgium
| | - Julie Williams
- Dementia Research Institute, Cardiff University, Cardiff, UK
| | - Henrik Zetterberg
- Dementia Research Institute, University College London, London, UK
- Department of Neurodegenerative Disease, UCL Institute of Neurology, Queen Square, London, UK
- Hong Kong Center for Neurodegenerative Diseases, Hong Kong, China
- Department of Psychiatry and Neurochemistry, Institute of Neuroscience and Physiology, the Sahlgrenska Academy at the University of Gothenburg, Mölndal, Sweden
- Clinical Neurochemistry Laboratory, Sahlgrenska University Hospital, Mölndal, Sweden
| | - Valentina Escott-Price
- Dementia Research Institute, Cardiff University, Cardiff, UK
- Division of Neuroscience and Mental Health, Cardiff University, Cardiff, UK
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Chokesuwattanaskul A, Jiang H, Bond RL, Jimenez DA, Russell LL, Sivasathiaseelan H, Johnson JCS, Benhamou E, Agustus JL, van Leeuwen JEP, Chokesuwattanaskul P, Hardy CJD, Marshall CR, Rohrer JD, Warren JD. The architecture of abnormal reward behaviour in dementia: multimodal hedonic phenotypes and brain substrate. Brain Commun 2023; 5:fcad027. [PMID: 36942157 PMCID: PMC10023829 DOI: 10.1093/braincomms/fcad027] [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: 08/02/2022] [Revised: 10/11/2022] [Accepted: 02/07/2023] [Indexed: 02/11/2023] Open
Abstract
Abnormal reward processing is a hallmark of neurodegenerative diseases, most strikingly in frontotemporal dementia. However, the phenotypic repertoire and neuroanatomical substrates of abnormal reward behaviour in these diseases remain incompletely characterized and poorly understood. Here we addressed these issues in a large, intensively phenotyped patient cohort representing all major syndromes of sporadic frontotemporal dementia and Alzheimer's disease. We studied 27 patients with behavioural variant frontotemporal dementia, 58 with primary progressive aphasia (22 semantic variant, 24 non-fluent/agrammatic variant and 12 logopenic) and 34 with typical amnestic Alzheimer's disease, in relation to 42 healthy older individuals. Changes in behavioural responsiveness were assessed for canonical primary rewards (appetite, sweet tooth, sexual activity) and non-primary rewards (music, religion, art, colours), using a semi-structured survey completed by patients' primary caregivers. Changes in more general socio-emotional behaviours were also recorded. We applied multiple correspondence analysis and k-means clustering to map relationships between hedonic domains and extract core factors defining aberrant hedonic phenotypes. Neuroanatomical associations were assessed using voxel-based morphometry of brain MRI images across the combined patient cohort. Altered (increased and/or decreased) reward responsiveness was exhibited by most patients in the behavioural and semantic variants of frontotemporal dementia and around two-thirds of patients in other dementia groups, significantly (P < 0.05) more frequently than in healthy controls. While food-directed changes were most prevalent across the patient cohort, behavioural changes directed toward non-primary rewards occurred significantly more frequently (P < 0.05) in the behavioural and semantic variants of frontotemporal dementia than in other patient groups. Hedonic behavioural changes across the patient cohort were underpinned by two principal factors: a 'gating' factor determining the emergence of altered reward behaviour and a 'modulatory' factor determining how that behaviour is directed. These factors were expressed jointly in a set of four core, trans-diagnostic and multimodal hedonic phenotypes: 'reward-seeking', 'reward-restricted', 'eating-predominant' and 'control-like'-variably represented across the cohort and associated with more pervasive socio-emotional behavioural abnormalities. The principal gating factor was associated (P < 0.05 after correction for multiple voxel-wise comparisons over the whole brain) with a common profile of grey matter atrophy in anterior cingulate, bilateral temporal poles, right middle frontal and fusiform gyri: the cortical circuitry that mediates behavioural salience and semantic and affective appraisal of sensory stimuli. Our findings define a multi-domain phenotypic architecture for aberrant reward behaviours in major dementias, with novel implications for the neurobiological understanding and clinical management of these diseases.
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Affiliation(s)
- Anthipa Chokesuwattanaskul
- Dementia Research Centre, Department of Neurodegenerative Disease, UCL Queen Square Institute of Neurology, University College London, London, UK
- Division of Neurology, Department of Internal Medicine, King Chulalongkorn Memorial Hospital, Thai Red Cross Society, Bangkok, Thailand
- Cognitive Clinical and Computational Neuroscience Research Unit, Faculty of Medicine, Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok, Thailand
| | - Harmony Jiang
- Dementia Research Centre, Department of Neurodegenerative Disease, UCL Queen Square Institute of Neurology, University College London, London, UK
| | - Rebecca L Bond
- Dementia Research Centre, Department of Neurodegenerative Disease, UCL Queen Square Institute of Neurology, University College London, London, UK
| | - Daniel A Jimenez
- Dementia Research Centre, Department of Neurodegenerative Disease, UCL Queen Square Institute of Neurology, University College London, London, UK
- Department of Neurological Sciences, Faculty of Medicine, University of Chile, Santiago, Chile
| | - Lucy L Russell
- Dementia Research Centre, Department of Neurodegenerative Disease, UCL Queen Square Institute of Neurology, University College London, London, UK
| | - Harri Sivasathiaseelan
- Dementia Research Centre, Department of Neurodegenerative Disease, UCL Queen Square Institute of Neurology, University College London, London, UK
| | - Jeremy C S Johnson
- Dementia Research Centre, Department of Neurodegenerative Disease, UCL Queen Square Institute of Neurology, University College London, London, UK
| | - Elia Benhamou
- Dementia Research Centre, Department of Neurodegenerative Disease, UCL Queen Square Institute of Neurology, University College London, London, UK
| | - Jennifer L Agustus
- Dementia Research Centre, Department of Neurodegenerative Disease, UCL Queen Square Institute of Neurology, University College London, London, UK
| | - Janneke E P van Leeuwen
- Dementia Research Centre, Department of Neurodegenerative Disease, UCL Queen Square Institute of Neurology, University College London, London, UK
| | | | - Chris J D Hardy
- Dementia Research Centre, Department of Neurodegenerative Disease, UCL Queen Square Institute of Neurology, University College London, London, UK
| | - Charles R Marshall
- Dementia Research Centre, Department of Neurodegenerative Disease, UCL Queen Square Institute of Neurology, University College London, London, UK
- Preventive Neurology Unit, Wolfson Institute of Population Health, Queen Mary University of London, London, UK
| | - Jonathan D Rohrer
- Dementia Research Centre, Department of Neurodegenerative Disease, UCL Queen Square Institute of Neurology, University College London, London, UK
| | - Jason D Warren
- Dementia Research Centre, Department of Neurodegenerative Disease, UCL Queen Square Institute of Neurology, University College London, London, UK
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42
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Iglesias JE, Billot B, Balbastre Y, Magdamo C, Arnold SE, Das S, Edlow BL, Alexander DC, Golland P, Fischl B. SynthSR: A public AI tool to turn heterogeneous clinical brain scans into high-resolution T1-weighted images for 3D morphometry. Sci Adv 2023; 9:eadd3607. [PMID: 36724222 PMCID: PMC9891693 DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.add3607] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 17.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/07/2022] [Accepted: 01/04/2023] [Indexed: 05/10/2023]
Abstract
Every year, millions of brain magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scans are acquired in hospitals across the world. These have the potential to revolutionize our understanding of many neurological diseases, but their morphometric analysis has not yet been possible due to their anisotropic resolution. We present an artificial intelligence technique, "SynthSR," that takes clinical brain MRI scans with any MR contrast (T1, T2, etc.), orientation (axial/coronal/sagittal), and resolution and turns them into high-resolution T1 scans that are usable by virtually all existing human neuroimaging tools. We present results on segmentation, registration, and atlasing of >10,000 scans of controls and patients with brain tumors, strokes, and Alzheimer's disease. SynthSR yields morphometric results that are very highly correlated with what one would have obtained with high-resolution T1 scans. SynthSR allows sample sizes that have the potential to overcome the power limitations of prospective research studies and shed new light on the healthy and diseased human brain.
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Affiliation(s)
- Juan E. Iglesias
- Athinoula A. Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging, Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
- Centre for Medical Image Computing, Department of Computer Science, University College London, London, UK
- Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory (CSAIL), Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, USA
| | - Benjamin Billot
- Centre for Medical Image Computing, Department of Computer Science, University College London, London, UK
| | - Yaël Balbastre
- Athinoula A. Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging, Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Colin Magdamo
- Department of Neurology, Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Steven E. Arnold
- Department of Neurology, Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Sudeshna Das
- Department of Neurology, Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Brian L. Edlow
- Athinoula A. Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging, Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
- Department of Neurology, Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
- Center for Neurotechnology and Neurorecovery, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Daniel C. Alexander
- Centre for Medical Image Computing, Department of Computer Science, University College London, London, UK
| | - Polina Golland
- Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory (CSAIL), Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, USA
| | - Bruce Fischl
- Athinoula A. Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging, Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
- Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory (CSAIL), Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, USA
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43
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Smith EJ, Sathasivam K, Landles C, Osborne GF, Mason MA, Gomez-Paredes C, Taxy BA, Milton RE, Ast A, Schindler F, Zhang C, Duan W, Wanker EE, Bates GP. Early detection of exon 1 huntingtin aggregation in zQ175 brains by molecular and histological approaches. Brain Commun 2023; 5:fcad010. [PMID: 36756307 PMCID: PMC9901570 DOI: 10.1093/braincomms/fcad010] [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] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/01/2022] [Revised: 10/08/2022] [Accepted: 01/18/2023] [Indexed: 01/21/2023] Open
Abstract
Huntingtin-lowering approaches that target huntingtin expression are a major focus for therapeutic intervention for Huntington's disease. When the cytosine, adenine and guanine repeat is expanded, the huntingtin pre-mRNA is alternatively processed to generate the full-length huntingtin and HTT1a transcripts. HTT1a encodes the aggregation-prone and highly pathogenic exon 1 huntingtin protein. In evaluating huntingtin-lowering approaches, understanding how the targeting strategy modulates levels of both transcripts and the huntingtin protein isoforms that they encode will be essential. Given the aggregation-propensity of exon 1 huntingtin, the impact of a given strategy on the levels and subcellular location of aggregated huntingtin will need to be determined. We have developed and applied sensitive molecular approaches to monitor the levels of aggregated and soluble huntingtin isoforms in tissue lysates. We have used these, in combination with immunohistochemistry, to map the appearance and accumulation of aggregated huntingtin throughout the CNS of zQ175 mice, a model of Huntington's disease frequently chosen for preclinical studies. Aggregation analyses were performed on tissues from zQ175 and wild-type mice at monthly intervals from 1 to 6 months of age. We developed three homogeneous time-resolved fluorescence assays to track the accumulation of aggregated huntingtin and showed that two of these were specific for the exon 1 huntingtin protein. Collectively, the homogeneous time-resolved fluorescence assays detected huntingtin aggregation in the 10 zQ175 CNS regions by 1-2 months of age. Immunohistochemistry with the polyclonal S830 anti-huntingtin antibody showed that nuclear huntingtin aggregation, in the form of a diffuse nuclear immunostain, could be visualized in the striatum, hippocampal CA1 region and layer IV of the somatosensory cortex by 2 months. That this diffuse nuclear immunostain represented aggregated huntingtin was confirmed by immunohistochemistry with a polyglutamine-specific antibody, which required formic acid antigen retrieval to expose its epitope. By 6 months of age, nuclear and cytoplasmic inclusions were widely distributed throughout the brain. Homogeneous time-resolved fluorescence analysis showed that the comparative levels of soluble exon 1 huntingtin between CNS regions correlated with those for huntingtin aggregation. We found that soluble exon 1 huntingtin levels decreased over the 6-month period, whilst those of soluble full-length mutant huntingtin remained unchanged, data that were confirmed for the cortex by immunoprecipitation and western blotting. These data support the hypothesis that exon 1 huntingtin initiates the aggregation process in knock-in mouse models and pave the way for a detailed analysis of huntingtin aggregation in response to huntingtin-lowering treatments.
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Affiliation(s)
- Edward J Smith
- Huntington’s Disease Centre, Department of Neurodegenerative Disease and UK Dementia Research Institute at UCL, Queen Square Institute of Neurology, University College London, London WC1N 3BG, UK
| | - Kirupa Sathasivam
- Huntington’s Disease Centre, Department of Neurodegenerative Disease and UK Dementia Research Institute at UCL, Queen Square Institute of Neurology, University College London, London WC1N 3BG, UK
| | - Christian Landles
- Huntington’s Disease Centre, Department of Neurodegenerative Disease and UK Dementia Research Institute at UCL, Queen Square Institute of Neurology, University College London, London WC1N 3BG, UK
| | - Georgina F Osborne
- Huntington’s Disease Centre, Department of Neurodegenerative Disease and UK Dementia Research Institute at UCL, Queen Square Institute of Neurology, University College London, London WC1N 3BG, UK
| | - Michael A Mason
- Huntington’s Disease Centre, Department of Neurodegenerative Disease and UK Dementia Research Institute at UCL, Queen Square Institute of Neurology, University College London, London WC1N 3BG, UK
| | - Casandra Gomez-Paredes
- Huntington’s Disease Centre, Department of Neurodegenerative Disease and UK Dementia Research Institute at UCL, Queen Square Institute of Neurology, University College London, London WC1N 3BG, UK
| | - Bridget A Taxy
- Huntington’s Disease Centre, Department of Neurodegenerative Disease and UK Dementia Research Institute at UCL, Queen Square Institute of Neurology, University College London, London WC1N 3BG, UK
| | - Rebecca E Milton
- Huntington’s Disease Centre, Department of Neurodegenerative Disease and UK Dementia Research Institute at UCL, Queen Square Institute of Neurology, University College London, London WC1N 3BG, UK
| | - Anne Ast
- Neuroproteomics, Max Delbrück Center for Molecular Medicine in the Helmholtz Association, Berlin 13125, Germany
| | - Franziska Schindler
- Neuroproteomics, Max Delbrück Center for Molecular Medicine in the Helmholtz Association, Berlin 13125, Germany
| | - Chuangchuang Zhang
- Division of Neurobiology, Department Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences; Department Neuroscience, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD 21287, USA
| | - Wenzhen Duan
- Division of Neurobiology, Department Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences; Department Neuroscience, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD 21287, USA
| | - Erich E Wanker
- Neuroproteomics, Max Delbrück Center for Molecular Medicine in the Helmholtz Association, Berlin 13125, Germany
| | - Gillian P Bates
- Huntington’s Disease Centre, Department of Neurodegenerative Disease and UK Dementia Research Institute at UCL, Queen Square Institute of Neurology, University College London, London WC1N 3BG, UK
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Jones ME, Büchler J, Dufor T, Palomer E, Teo S, Martin-Flores N, Boroviak K, Metzakopian E, Gibb A, Salinas PC. A genetic variant of the Wnt receptor LRP6 accelerates synapse degeneration during aging and in Alzheimer's disease. Sci Adv 2023; 9:eabo7421. [PMID: 36638182 PMCID: PMC10624429 DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.abo7421] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/23/2022] [Accepted: 12/14/2022] [Indexed: 06/17/2023]
Abstract
Synapse loss strongly correlates with cognitive decline in Alzheimer's disease (AD), but the underlying mechanisms are poorly understood. Deficient Wnt signaling contributes to synapse dysfunction and loss in AD. Consistently, a variant of the LRP6 receptor, (LRP6-Val), with reduced Wnt signaling, is linked to late-onset AD. However, the impact of LRP6-Val on the healthy and AD brain has not been examined. Knock-in mice, generated by gene editing, carrying this Lrp6 variant develop normally. However, neurons from Lrp6-val mice do not respond to Wnt7a, a ligand that promotes synaptic assembly through the Frizzled-5 receptor. Wnt7a stimulates the formation of the low-density lipoprotein receptor-related protein 6 (LRP6)-Frizzled-5 complex but not if LRP6-Val is present. Lrp6-val mice exhibit structural and functional synaptic defects that become pronounced with age. Lrp6-val mice present exacerbated synapse loss around plaques when crossed to the NL-G-F AD model. Our findings uncover a previously unidentified role for Lrp6-val in synapse vulnerability during aging and AD.
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Affiliation(s)
- Megan E. Jones
- Department of Cell and Developmental Biology, University College London, London WC1E 6BT, UK
| | - Johanna Büchler
- Department of Cell and Developmental Biology, University College London, London WC1E 6BT, UK
| | - Tom Dufor
- Department of Cell and Developmental Biology, University College London, London WC1E 6BT, UK
| | - Ernest Palomer
- Department of Cell and Developmental Biology, University College London, London WC1E 6BT, UK
| | - Samuel Teo
- Department of Cell and Developmental Biology, University College London, London WC1E 6BT, UK
| | - Nuria Martin-Flores
- Department of Cell and Developmental Biology, University College London, London WC1E 6BT, UK
| | - Katharina Boroviak
- Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute, Wellcome Genome Campus, Hinxton, Cambridge CB10 1SA, UK
| | - Emmanouil Metzakopian
- UK Dementia Research Institute, Department of Clinical Neuroscience, University of Cambridge, Cambridge CB2 0AH, UK
| | - Alasdair Gibb
- Department of Neuroscience, Physiology and Pharmacology, University College London, London WC1E 6BT, UK
| | - Patricia C. Salinas
- Department of Cell and Developmental Biology, University College London, London WC1E 6BT, UK
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45
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Scarrott JM, Alves-Cruzeiro J, Marchi PM, Webster CP, Yang ZL, Karyka E, Marroccella R, Coldicott I, Thomas H, Azzouz M. Ap4b1-knockout mouse model of hereditary spastic paraplegia type 47 displays motor dysfunction, aberrant brain morphology and ATG9A mislocalization. Brain Commun 2023; 5:fcac335. [PMID: 36632189 PMCID: PMC9825813 DOI: 10.1093/braincomms/fcac335] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/09/2022] [Revised: 10/19/2022] [Accepted: 01/03/2023] [Indexed: 01/09/2023] Open
Abstract
Mutations in any one of the four subunits (ɛ4, β4, μ4 and σ4) comprising the adaptor protein Complex 4 results in a complex form of hereditary spastic paraplegia, often termed adaptor protein Complex 4 deficiency syndrome. Deficits in adaptor protein Complex 4 complex function have been shown to disrupt intracellular trafficking, resulting in a broad phenotypic spectrum encompassing severe intellectual disability and progressive spastic paraplegia of the lower limbs in patients. Here we report the presence of neuropathological hallmarks of adaptor protein Complex 4 deficiency syndrome in a clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats-mediated Ap4b1-knockout mouse model. Mice lacking the β4 subunit, and therefore lacking functional adaptor protein Complex 4, have a thin corpus callosum, enlarged lateral ventricles, motor co-ordination deficits, hyperactivity, a hindlimb clasping phenotype associated with neurodegeneration, and an abnormal gait. Analysis of autophagy-related protein 9A (a known cargo of the adaptor protein Complex 4 in these mice shows both upregulation of autophagy-related protein 9A protein levels across multiple tissues, as well as a striking mislocalization of autophagy-related protein 9A from a generalized cytoplasmic distribution to a marked accumulation in the trans-Golgi network within cells. This mislocalization is present in mature animals but is also in E15.5 embryonic cortical neurons. Histological examination of brain regions also shows an accumulation of calbindin-positive spheroid aggregates in the deep cerebellar nuclei of adaptor protein Complex 4-deficient mice, at the site of Purkinje cell axonal projections. Taken together, these findings show a definitive link between loss-of-function mutations in murine Ap4b1 and the development of symptoms consistent with adaptor protein Complex 4 deficiency disease in humans. Furthermore, this study provides strong evidence for the use of this model for further research into the aetiology of adaptor protein Complex 4 deficiency in humans, as well as its use for the development and testing of new therapeutic modalities.
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Affiliation(s)
- Joseph M Scarrott
- Sheffield Institute for Translational Neuroscience (SITraN), Department of Neuroscience, University of Sheffield, Sheffield S10 2HQ, UK
| | - João Alves-Cruzeiro
- Sheffield Institute for Translational Neuroscience (SITraN), Department of Neuroscience, University of Sheffield, Sheffield S10 2HQ, UK
- URI Neuroscience Institute, University of Sheffield, Western Bank, Sheffield S10 2TN, UK
| | - Paolo M Marchi
- Sheffield Institute for Translational Neuroscience (SITraN), Department of Neuroscience, University of Sheffield, Sheffield S10 2HQ, UK
- URI Neuroscience Institute, University of Sheffield, Western Bank, Sheffield S10 2TN, UK
| | - Christopher P Webster
- Sheffield Institute for Translational Neuroscience (SITraN), Department of Neuroscience, University of Sheffield, Sheffield S10 2HQ, UK
- URI Neuroscience Institute, University of Sheffield, Western Bank, Sheffield S10 2TN, UK
| | - Zih-Liang Yang
- Sheffield Institute for Translational Neuroscience (SITraN), Department of Neuroscience, University of Sheffield, Sheffield S10 2HQ, UK
- URI Neuroscience Institute, University of Sheffield, Western Bank, Sheffield S10 2TN, UK
| | - Evangelia Karyka
- Sheffield Institute for Translational Neuroscience (SITraN), Department of Neuroscience, University of Sheffield, Sheffield S10 2HQ, UK
- URI Neuroscience Institute, University of Sheffield, Western Bank, Sheffield S10 2TN, UK
| | - Raffaele Marroccella
- Sheffield Institute for Translational Neuroscience (SITraN), Department of Neuroscience, University of Sheffield, Sheffield S10 2HQ, UK
| | - Ian Coldicott
- Sheffield Institute for Translational Neuroscience (SITraN), Department of Neuroscience, University of Sheffield, Sheffield S10 2HQ, UK
- URI Neuroscience Institute, University of Sheffield, Western Bank, Sheffield S10 2TN, UK
| | - Hannah Thomas
- Sheffield Institute for Translational Neuroscience (SITraN), Department of Neuroscience, University of Sheffield, Sheffield S10 2HQ, UK
- URI Neuroscience Institute, University of Sheffield, Western Bank, Sheffield S10 2TN, UK
| | - Mimoun Azzouz
- Sheffield Institute for Translational Neuroscience (SITraN), Department of Neuroscience, University of Sheffield, Sheffield S10 2HQ, UK
- URI Neuroscience Institute, University of Sheffield, Western Bank, Sheffield S10 2TN, UK
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46
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Tayler HM, MacLachlan R, Güzel Ö, Miners JS, Love S. Elevated late-life blood pressure may maintain brain oxygenation and slow amyloid-β accumulation at the expense of cerebral vascular damage. Brain Commun 2023; 5:fcad112. [PMID: 37113314 PMCID: PMC10128877 DOI: 10.1093/braincomms/fcad112] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/22/2022] [Revised: 02/16/2023] [Accepted: 04/03/2023] [Indexed: 04/29/2023] Open
Abstract
Hypertension in midlife contributes to cognitive decline and is a modifiable risk factor for dementia. The relationship between late-life hypertension and dementia is less clear. We have investigated the relationship of blood pressure and hypertensive status during late life (after 65 years) to post-mortem markers of Alzheimer's disease (amyloid-β and tau loads); arteriolosclerosis and cerebral amyloid angiopathy; and to biochemical measures of ante-mortem cerebral oxygenation (the myelin-associated glycoprotein:proteolipid protein-1 ratio, which is reduced in chronically hypoperfused brain tissue, and the level of vascular endothelial growth factor-A, which is upregulated by tissue hypoxia); blood-brain barrier damage (indicated by an increase in parenchymal fibrinogen); and pericyte content (platelet-derived growth factor receptor β, which declines with pericyte loss), in Alzheimer's disease (n = 75), vascular (n = 20) and mixed dementia (n = 31) cohorts. Systolic and diastolic blood pressure measurements were obtained retrospectively from clinical records. Non-amyloid small vessel disease and cerebral amyloid angiopathy were scored semiquantitatively. Amyloid-β and tau loads were assessed by field fraction measurement in immunolabelled sections of frontal and parietal lobes. Homogenates of frozen tissue from the contralateral frontal and parietal lobes (cortex and white matter) were used to measure markers of vascular function by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. Diastolic (but not systolic) blood pressure was associated with the preservation of cerebral oxygenation, correlating positively with the ratio of myelin-associated glycoprotein to proteolipid protein-1 and negatively with vascular endothelial growth factor-A in both the frontal and parietal cortices. Diastolic blood pressure correlated negatively with parenchymal amyloid-β in the parietal cortex. In dementia cases, elevated late-life diastolic blood pressure was associated with more severe arteriolosclerosis and cerebral amyloid angiopathy, and diastolic blood pressure correlated positively with parenchymal fibrinogen, indicating blood-brain barrier breakdown in both regions of the cortex. Systolic blood pressure was related to lower platelet-derived growth factor receptor β in controls in the frontal cortex and in dementia cases in the superficial white matter. We found no association between blood pressure and tau. Our findings demonstrate a complex relationship between late-life blood pressure, disease pathology and vascular function in dementia. We suggest that hypertension helps to reduce cerebral ischaemia (and may slow amyloid-β accumulation) in the face of increasing cerebral vascular resistance, but exacerbates vascular pathology.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hannah M Tayler
- Dementia Research Group, Institute of Clinical Neurosciences, Bristol Medical School, University of Bristol, Bristol, BS10 5NB, UK
| | - Robert MacLachlan
- Dementia Research Group, Institute of Clinical Neurosciences, Bristol Medical School, University of Bristol, Bristol, BS10 5NB, UK
| | - Özge Güzel
- Dementia Research Group, Institute of Clinical Neurosciences, Bristol Medical School, University of Bristol, Bristol, BS10 5NB, UK
| | - J Scott Miners
- Dementia Research Group, Institute of Clinical Neurosciences, Bristol Medical School, University of Bristol, Bristol, BS10 5NB, UK
| | - Seth Love
- Correspondence to: Seth Love South West Dementia Brain Bank, University of Bristol Learning & Research Level 1, Southmead Hospital, Bristol, BS10 5NB, UK E-mail:
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47
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Fienko S, Landles C, Sathasivam K, McAteer SJ, Milton RE, Osborne GF, Smith EJ, Jones ST, Bondulich MK, Danby ECE, Phillips J, Taxy BA, Kordasiewicz HB, Bates GP. Alternative processing of human HTT mRNA with implications for Huntington's disease therapeutics. Brain 2022; 145:4409-4424. [PMID: 35793238 PMCID: PMC9762945 DOI: 10.1093/brain/awac241] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [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: 01/14/2022] [Revised: 05/17/2022] [Accepted: 06/11/2022] [Indexed: 11/14/2022] Open
Abstract
Huntington disease is caused by a CAG repeat expansion in exon 1 of the huntingtin gene (HTT) that is translated into a polyglutamine stretch in the huntingtin protein (HTT). We previously showed that HTT mRNA carrying an expanded CAG repeat was incompletely spliced to generate HTT1a, an exon 1 only transcript, which was translated to produce the highly aggregation-prone and pathogenic exon 1 HTT protein. This occurred in all knock-in mouse models of Huntington's disease and could be detected in patient cell lines and post-mortem brains. To extend these findings to a model system expressing human HTT, we took advantage of YAC128 mice that are transgenic for a yeast artificial chromosome carrying human HTT with an expanded CAG repeat. We discovered that the HTT1a transcript could be detected throughout the brains of YAC128 mice. We implemented RNAscope to visualize HTT transcripts at the single molecule level and found that full-length HTT and HTT1a were retained together in large nuclear RNA clusters, as well as being present as single transcripts in the cytoplasm. Homogeneous time-resolved fluorescence analysis demonstrated that the HTT1a transcript had been translated to produce the exon 1 HTT protein. The levels of exon 1 HTT in YAC128 mice, correlated with HTT aggregation, supportive of the hypothesis that exon 1 HTT initiates the aggregation process. Huntingtin-lowering strategies are a major focus of therapeutic development for Huntington's disease. These approaches often target full-length HTT alone and would not be expected to reduce pathogenic exon 1 HTT levels. We have established YAC128 mouse embryonic fibroblast lines and shown that, together with our QuantiGene multiplex assay, these provide an effective screening tool for agents that target HTT transcripts. The effects of current targeting strategies on nuclear RNA clusters are unknown, structures that may have a pathogenic role or alternatively could be protective by retaining HTT1a in the nucleus and preventing it from being translated. In light of recently halted antisense oligonucleotide trials, it is vital that agents targeting HTT1a are developed, and that the effects of HTT-lowering strategies on the subcellular levels of all HTT transcripts and their various HTT protein isoforms are understood.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sandra Fienko
- Department of Neurodegenerative Disease, Huntington’s Disease Centre and UK Dementia Research Institute at UCL, Queen Square Institute of Neurology, UCL, London WC1N 3BG, UK
| | - Christian Landles
- Department of Neurodegenerative Disease, Huntington’s Disease Centre and UK Dementia Research Institute at UCL, Queen Square Institute of Neurology, UCL, London WC1N 3BG, UK
| | - Kirupa Sathasivam
- Department of Neurodegenerative Disease, Huntington’s Disease Centre and UK Dementia Research Institute at UCL, Queen Square Institute of Neurology, UCL, London WC1N 3BG, UK
| | - Sean J McAteer
- Department of Neurodegenerative Disease, Huntington’s Disease Centre and UK Dementia Research Institute at UCL, Queen Square Institute of Neurology, UCL, London WC1N 3BG, UK
| | - Rebecca E Milton
- Department of Neurodegenerative Disease, Huntington’s Disease Centre and UK Dementia Research Institute at UCL, Queen Square Institute of Neurology, UCL, London WC1N 3BG, UK
| | - Georgina F Osborne
- Department of Neurodegenerative Disease, Huntington’s Disease Centre and UK Dementia Research Institute at UCL, Queen Square Institute of Neurology, UCL, London WC1N 3BG, UK
| | - Edward J Smith
- Department of Neurodegenerative Disease, Huntington’s Disease Centre and UK Dementia Research Institute at UCL, Queen Square Institute of Neurology, UCL, London WC1N 3BG, UK
| | - Samuel T Jones
- Department of Neurodegenerative Disease, Huntington’s Disease Centre and UK Dementia Research Institute at UCL, Queen Square Institute of Neurology, UCL, London WC1N 3BG, UK
| | - Marie K Bondulich
- Department of Neurodegenerative Disease, Huntington’s Disease Centre and UK Dementia Research Institute at UCL, Queen Square Institute of Neurology, UCL, London WC1N 3BG, UK
| | - Emily C E Danby
- Department of Neurodegenerative Disease, Huntington’s Disease Centre and UK Dementia Research Institute at UCL, Queen Square Institute of Neurology, UCL, London WC1N 3BG, UK
| | - Jemima Phillips
- Department of Neurodegenerative Disease, Huntington’s Disease Centre and UK Dementia Research Institute at UCL, Queen Square Institute of Neurology, UCL, London WC1N 3BG, UK
| | - Bridget A Taxy
- Department of Neurodegenerative Disease, Huntington’s Disease Centre and UK Dementia Research Institute at UCL, Queen Square Institute of Neurology, UCL, London WC1N 3BG, UK
| | | | - Gillian P Bates
- Department of Neurodegenerative Disease, Huntington’s Disease Centre and UK Dementia Research Institute at UCL, Queen Square Institute of Neurology, UCL, London WC1N 3BG, UK
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48
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Spargo TP, Opie-Martin S, Bowles H, Lewis CM, Iacoangeli A, Al-Chalabi A. Calculating variant penetrance from family history of disease and average family size in population-scale data. Genome Med 2022; 14:141. [PMID: 36522764 PMCID: PMC9753373 DOI: 10.1186/s13073-022-01142-7] [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] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/13/2022] [Accepted: 11/18/2022] [Indexed: 12/23/2022] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Genetic penetrance is the probability of a phenotype when harbouring a particular pathogenic variant. Accurate penetrance estimates are important across biomedical fields including genetic counselling, disease research, and gene therapy. However, existing approaches for penetrance estimation require, for instance, large family pedigrees or availability of large databases of people affected and not affected by a disease. METHODS We present a method for penetrance estimation in autosomal dominant phenotypes. It examines the distribution of a variant among people affected (cases) and unaffected (controls) by a phenotype within population-scale data and can be operated using cases only by considering family disease history. It is validated through simulation studies and candidate variant-disease case studies. RESULTS Our method yields penetrance estimates which align with those obtained via existing approaches in the Parkinson's disease LRRK2 gene and pulmonary arterial hypertension BMPR2 gene case studies. In the amyotrophic lateral sclerosis case studies, examining penetrance for variants in the SOD1 and C9orf72 genes, we make novel penetrance estimates which correspond closely to understanding of the disease. CONCLUSIONS The present approach broadens the spectrum of traits for which reliable penetrance estimates can be obtained. It has substantial utility for facilitating the characterisation of disease risks associated with rare variants with an autosomal dominant inheritance pattern. The yielded estimates avoid any kinship-specific effects and can circumvent ascertainment biases common when sampling rare variants among control populations.
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Affiliation(s)
- Thomas P Spargo
- Department of Basic and Clinical Neuroscience, Maurice Wohl Clinical Neuroscience Institute, King's College London, London, SE5 9RX, UK
| | - Sarah Opie-Martin
- Department of Basic and Clinical Neuroscience, Maurice Wohl Clinical Neuroscience Institute, King's College London, London, SE5 9RX, UK
| | - Harry Bowles
- Department of Basic and Clinical Neuroscience, Maurice Wohl Clinical Neuroscience Institute, King's College London, London, SE5 9RX, UK
| | - Cathryn M Lewis
- Social, Genetic and Developmental Psychiatry Centre, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience, King's College London, de Crespigny Park, London, SE5 8AF, UK
- Department of Medical and Molecular Genetics, Faculty of Life Sciences and Medicine, King's College London, London, UK
| | - Alfredo Iacoangeli
- Department of Basic and Clinical Neuroscience, Maurice Wohl Clinical Neuroscience Institute, King's College London, London, SE5 9RX, UK.
- Department of Biostatistics and Health Informatics, King's College London, London, UK.
- NIHR Maudsley Biomedical Research Centre (BRC) at South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust and King's College London, London, UK.
| | - Ammar Al-Chalabi
- Department of Basic and Clinical Neuroscience, Maurice Wohl Clinical Neuroscience Institute, King's College London, London, SE5 9RX, UK.
- King's College Hospital, Bessemer Road, London, SE5 9RS, UK.
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49
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Willumsen N, Arber C, Lovejoy C, Toombs J, Alatza A, Weston PSJ, Chávez-Gutiérrez L, Hardy J, Zetterberg H, Fox NC, Ryan NS, Lashley T, Wray S. The PSEN1 E280G mutation leads to increased amyloid-β43 production in induced pluripotent stem cell neurons and deposition in brain tissue. Brain Commun 2022; 5:fcac321. [PMID: 36687397 PMCID: PMC9847549 DOI: 10.1093/braincomms/fcac321] [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] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/23/2021] [Revised: 09/06/2022] [Accepted: 12/05/2022] [Indexed: 12/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Mutations in the presenilin 1 gene, PSEN1, which cause familial Alzheimer's disease alter the processing of amyloid precursor protein, leading to the generation of various amyloid-β peptide species. These species differ in their potential for aggregation. Mutation-specific amyloid-β peptide profiles may thereby influence pathogenicity and clinical heterogeneity. There is particular interest in comparing mutations with typical and atypical clinical presentations, such as E280G. We generated PSEN1 E280G mutation induced pluripotent stem cells from two patients and differentiated them into cortical neurons, along with previously reported PSEN1 M146I, PSEN1 R278I and two control lines. We assessed both the amyloid-β peptide profiles and presenilin 1 protein maturity. We also compared amyloid-β peptide profiles in human post-mortem brain tissue from cases with matched mutations. Amyloid-β ratios significantly differed compared with controls and between different patients, implicating mutation-specific alterations in amyloid-β ratios. Amyloid-β42:40 was increased in the M146I and both E280G lines compared with controls. Amyloid-β42:40 was not increased in the R278I line compared with controls. The amyloid-β43:40 ratio was increased in R278I and both E280G lines compared with controls, but not in M146I cells. Distinct amyloid-β peptide patterns were also observed in human brain tissue from individuals with these mutations, showing some similar patterns to cell line observations. Reduced presenilin 1 maturation was observed in neurons with the PSEN1 R278I and E280G mutations, but not the M146I mutation. These results suggest that mutation location can differentially alter the presenilin 1 protein and affect its autoendoproteolysis and processivity, contributing to the pathological phenotype. Investigating differences in underlying molecular mechanisms of familial Alzheimer's disease may inform our understanding of clinical heterogeneity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nanet Willumsen
- Department of Neurodegenerative Disease, UCL Queen Square Institute of Neurology, London WC1N 1PJ, UK
- The Queen Square Brain Bank for Neurological Disorders, Department of Clinical and Movement Neuroscience, UCL Queen Square Institute of Neurology, London WC1N 1PJ, UK
| | - Charles Arber
- Department of Neurodegenerative Disease, UCL Queen Square Institute of Neurology, London WC1N 1PJ, UK
| | - Christopher Lovejoy
- Department of Neurodegenerative Disease, UCL Queen Square Institute of Neurology, London WC1N 1PJ, UK
| | - Jamie Toombs
- Department of Neurodegenerative Disease, UCL Queen Square Institute of Neurology, London WC1N 1PJ, UK
- UK Dementia Research Institute, University College London, London WC1E 6AU, UK
| | - Argyro Alatza
- Department of Neurodegenerative Disease, UCL Queen Square Institute of Neurology, London WC1N 1PJ, UK
| | - Philip S J Weston
- Department of Neurodegenerative Disease, UCL Queen Square Institute of Neurology, London WC1N 1PJ, UK
- Dementia Research Centre, UCL Queen Square Institute of Neurology, London WC1E 6BT, UK
| | - Lucia Chávez-Gutiérrez
- VIB Center for Brain and Disease Research, 3000 Leuven, Belgium
- Department of Neurology, KU Leuven, 3000 Leuven, Belgium
| | - John Hardy
- Department of Neurodegenerative Disease, UCL Queen Square Institute of Neurology, London WC1N 1PJ, UK
- UK Dementia Research Institute, University College London, London WC1E 6AU, UK
| | - Henrik Zetterberg
- Department of Neurodegenerative Disease, UCL Queen Square Institute of Neurology, London WC1N 1PJ, UK
- UK Dementia Research Institute, University College London, London WC1E 6AU, UK
- Department of Psychiatry and Neurochemistry, Institute of Neuroscience and Physiology, Sahlgrenska Academy at University of Gothenburg, S-431 80 Mölndal, Sweden
| | - Nick C Fox
- Department of Neurodegenerative Disease, UCL Queen Square Institute of Neurology, London WC1N 1PJ, UK
- Dementia Research Centre, UCL Queen Square Institute of Neurology, London WC1E 6BT, UK
- UK Dementia Research Institute, University College London, London WC1E 6AU, UK
| | - Natalie S Ryan
- Department of Neurodegenerative Disease, UCL Queen Square Institute of Neurology, London WC1N 1PJ, UK
- Dementia Research Centre, UCL Queen Square Institute of Neurology, London WC1E 6BT, UK
- UK Dementia Research Institute, University College London, London WC1E 6AU, UK
| | - Tammaryn Lashley
- Department of Neurodegenerative Disease, UCL Queen Square Institute of Neurology, London WC1N 1PJ, UK
- The Queen Square Brain Bank for Neurological Disorders, Department of Clinical and Movement Neuroscience, UCL Queen Square Institute of Neurology, London WC1N 1PJ, UK
| | - Selina Wray
- Department of Neurodegenerative Disease, UCL Queen Square Institute of Neurology, London WC1N 1PJ, UK
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McColgan P, Gregory S, Zeun P, Zarkali A, Johnson EB, Parker C, Fayer K, Lowe J, Nair A, Estevez-Fraga C, Papoutsi M, Zhang H, Scahill RI, Tabrizi SJ, Rees G. Neurofilament light-associated connectivity in young-adult Huntington's disease is related to neuronal genes. Brain 2022; 145:3953-3967. [PMID: 35758263 PMCID: PMC9679168 DOI: 10.1093/brain/awac227] [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] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/04/2021] [Revised: 05/27/2022] [Accepted: 06/03/2022] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Upregulation of functional network connectivity in the presence of structural degeneration is seen in the premanifest stages of Huntington's disease (preHD) 10-15 years from clinical diagnosis. However, whether widespread network connectivity changes are seen in gene carriers much further from onset has yet to be explored. We characterized functional network connectivity throughout the brain and related it to a measure of disease pathology burden (CSF neurofilament light, NfL) and measures of structural connectivity in asymptomatic gene carriers, on average 24 years from onset. We related these measurements to estimates of cortical and subcortical gene expression. We found no overall differences in functional (or structural) connectivity anywhere in the brain comparing control and preHD participants. However, increased functional connectivity, particularly between posterior cortical areas, correlated with increasing CSF NfL level in preHD participants. Using the Allen Human Brain Atlas and expression-weighted cell-type enrichment analysis, we demonstrated that this functional connectivity upregulation occurred in cortical regions associated with regional expression of genes specific to neuronal cells. This relationship was validated using single-nucleus RNAseq data from post-mortem Huntington's disease and control brains showing enrichment of neuronal-specific genes that are differentially expressed in Huntington's disease. Functional brain networks in asymptomatic preHD gene carriers very far from disease onset show evidence of upregulated connectivity correlating with increased disease burden. These changes occur among brain areas that show regional expression of genes specific to neuronal GABAergic and glutamatergic cells.
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Affiliation(s)
- Peter McColgan
- Huntington’s Disease Centre, Department of Neurodegenerative disease, UCL Queen Square Institute of Neurology, University College London, London WC1N 3BG, UK
| | - Sarah Gregory
- Huntington’s Disease Centre, Department of Neurodegenerative disease, UCL Queen Square Institute of Neurology, University College London, London WC1N 3BG, UK
| | - Paul Zeun
- Huntington’s Disease Centre, Department of Neurodegenerative disease, UCL Queen Square Institute of Neurology, University College London, London WC1N 3BG, UK
| | - Angeliki Zarkali
- Dementia Research Centre, University College London, London WC1N 3AR, UK
| | - Eileanoir B Johnson
- Huntington’s Disease Centre, Department of Neurodegenerative disease, UCL Queen Square Institute of Neurology, University College London, London WC1N 3BG, UK
| | - Christopher Parker
- Department of Computer Science and Centre for Medical Image Computing, University College London, London WC1V 6LJ, UK
| | - Kate Fayer
- Huntington’s Disease Centre, Department of Neurodegenerative disease, UCL Queen Square Institute of Neurology, University College London, London WC1N 3BG, UK
| | - Jessica Lowe
- Huntington’s Disease Centre, Department of Neurodegenerative disease, UCL Queen Square Institute of Neurology, University College London, London WC1N 3BG, UK
| | - Akshay Nair
- Huntington’s Disease Centre, Department of Neurodegenerative disease, UCL Queen Square Institute of Neurology, University College London, London WC1N 3BG, UK
- Max Planck University College London Centre for Computational Psychiatry and Ageing Research, UCL Queen Square Institute of Neurology, London WC1N 3BG, UK
| | - Carlos Estevez-Fraga
- Huntington’s Disease Centre, Department of Neurodegenerative disease, UCL Queen Square Institute of Neurology, University College London, London WC1N 3BG, UK
| | - Marina Papoutsi
- Huntington’s Disease Centre, Department of Neurodegenerative disease, UCL Queen Square Institute of Neurology, University College London, London WC1N 3BG, UK
| | - Hui Zhang
- Dementia Research Centre, University College London, London WC1N 3AR, UK
| | - Rachael I Scahill
- Huntington’s Disease Centre, Department of Neurodegenerative disease, UCL Queen Square Institute of Neurology, University College London, London WC1N 3BG, UK
| | - Sarah J Tabrizi
- Huntington’s Disease Centre, Department of Neurodegenerative disease, UCL Queen Square Institute of Neurology, University College London, London WC1N 3BG, UK
- Dementia Research Centre, University College London, London WC1N 3AR, UK
| | - Geraint Rees
- University College London Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience, University College London, London WC1N 3AZ, UK
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