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Rueda‐Carrasco J, Sokolova D, Lee S, Childs T, Jurčáková N, Crowley G, De Schepper S, Ge JZ, Lachica JI, Toomey CE, Freeman OJ, Hardy J, Barnes SJ, Lashley T, Stevens B, Chang S, Hong S. Microglia-synapse engulfment via PtdSer-TREM2 ameliorates neuronal hyperactivity in Alzheimer's disease models. EMBO J 2023; 42:e113246. [PMID: 37575021 PMCID: PMC10548173 DOI: 10.15252/embj.2022113246] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.0] [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: 12/12/2022] [Revised: 07/20/2023] [Accepted: 07/25/2023] [Indexed: 08/15/2023] Open
Abstract
Neuronal hyperactivity is a key feature of early stages of Alzheimer's disease (AD). Genetic studies in AD support that microglia act as potential cellular drivers of disease risk, but the molecular determinants of microglia-synapse engulfment associated with neuronal hyperactivity in AD are unclear. Here, using super-resolution microscopy, 3D-live imaging of co-cultures, and in vivo imaging of lipids in genetic models, we found that spines become hyperactive upon Aβ oligomer stimulation and externalize phosphatidylserine (ePtdSer), a canonical "eat-me" signal. These apoptotic-like spines are targeted by microglia for engulfment via TREM2 leading to amelioration of Aβ oligomer-induced synaptic hyperactivity. We also show the in vivo relevance of ePtdSer-TREM2 signaling in microglia-synapse engulfment in the hAPP NL-F knock-in mouse model of AD. Higher levels of apoptotic-like synapses in mice as well as humans that carry TREM2 loss-of-function variants were also observed. Our work supports that microglia remove hyperactive ePtdSer+ synapses in Aβ-relevant context and suggest a potential beneficial role for microglia in the earliest stages of AD.
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Affiliation(s)
- Javier Rueda‐Carrasco
- UK Dementia Research Institute, Institute of NeurologyUniversity College LondonLondonUK
| | - Dimitra Sokolova
- UK Dementia Research Institute, Institute of NeurologyUniversity College LondonLondonUK
- Neuroscience BioPharmaceuticals R&D, AstraZenecaCambridgeUK
| | - Sang‐Eun Lee
- UK Dementia Research Institute, Institute of NeurologyUniversity College LondonLondonUK
- Department of Physiology and Biomedical SciencesSeoul National University College of MedicineSeoulSouth Korea
| | - Thomas Childs
- UK Dementia Research Institute, Institute of NeurologyUniversity College LondonLondonUK
| | - Natália Jurčáková
- UK Dementia Research Institute, Institute of NeurologyUniversity College LondonLondonUK
- Department of Neuroscience, Physiology and PharmacologyUniversity College LondonLondonUK
| | - Gerard Crowley
- UK Dementia Research Institute, Institute of NeurologyUniversity College LondonLondonUK
| | | | - Judy Z Ge
- UK Dementia Research Institute, Institute of NeurologyUniversity College LondonLondonUK
| | - Joanne I Lachica
- The Queen Square Brain Bank for Neurological DisordersUCL Queen Square Institute of NeurologyLondonUK
- Department of Clinical and Movement NeurosciencesUCL Queen Square Institute of NeurologyLondonUK
| | - Christina E Toomey
- The Queen Square Brain Bank for Neurological DisordersUCL Queen Square Institute of NeurologyLondonUK
- Department of Clinical and Movement NeurosciencesUCL Queen Square Institute of NeurologyLondonUK
| | | | - John Hardy
- UK Dementia Research Institute, Institute of NeurologyUniversity College LondonLondonUK
| | - Samuel J Barnes
- UK Dementia Research Institute, Department of Brain SciencesImperial College LondonLondonUK
| | - Tammaryn Lashley
- The Queen Square Brain Bank for Neurological DisordersUCL Queen Square Institute of NeurologyLondonUK
- Department of Neurodegenerative DiseasesUCL Queen Square Institute of NeurologyLondonUK
| | - Beth Stevens
- F.M. Kirby Neurobiology CenterBoston Children's HospitalBostonMAUSA
- Harvard Medical SchoolBostonMAUSA
- Stanley Center for Psychiatric ResearchBroad Institute of MIT and HarvardCambridgeMAUSA
- Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Boston Children's HospitalBostonMAUSA
| | - Sunghoe Chang
- Department of Physiology and Biomedical SciencesSeoul National University College of MedicineSeoulSouth Korea
| | - Soyon Hong
- UK Dementia Research Institute, Institute of NeurologyUniversity College LondonLondonUK
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Izzo NJ, Yuede CM, LaBarbera KM, Limegrover CS, Rehak C, Yurko R, Waybright L, Look G, Rishton G, Safferstein H, Hamby ME, Williams C, Sadlek K, Edwards HM, Davis CS, Grundman M, Schneider LS, DeKosky ST, Chelsky D, Pike I, Henstridge C, Blennow K, Zetterberg H, LeVine H, Spires-Jones TL, Cirrito JR, Catalano SM. Preclinical and clinical biomarker studies of CT1812: A novel approach to Alzheimer's disease modification. Alzheimers Dement 2021; 17:1365-1382. [PMID: 33559354 PMCID: PMC8349378 DOI: 10.1002/alz.12302] [Citation(s) in RCA: 38] [Impact Index Per Article: 12.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/20/2020] [Revised: 12/16/2020] [Accepted: 01/02/2021] [Indexed: 02/06/2023]
Abstract
INTRODUCTION Amyloid beta (Aβ) oligomers are one of the most toxic structural forms of the Aβ protein and are hypothesized to cause synaptotoxicity and memory failure as they build up in Alzheimer's disease (AD) patients' brain tissue. We previously demonstrated that antagonists of the sigma-2 receptor complex effectively block Aβ oligomer toxicity. CT1812 is an orally bioavailable, brain penetrant small molecule antagonist of the sigma-2 receptor complex that appears safe and well tolerated in healthy elderly volunteers. We tested CT1812's effect on Aβ oligomer pathobiology in preclinical AD models and evaluated CT1812's impact on cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) protein biomarkers in mild to moderate AD patients in a clinical trial (ClinicalTrials.gov NCT02907567). METHODS Experiments were performed to measure the impact of CT1812 versus vehicle on Aβ oligomer binding to synapses in vitro, to human AD patient post mortem brain tissue ex vivo, and in living APPSwe /PS1dE9 transgenic mice in vivo. Additional experiments were performed to measure the impact of CT1812 versus vehicle on Aβ oligomer-induced deficits in membrane trafficking rate, synapse number, and protein expression in mature hippocampal/cortical neurons in vitro. The impact of CT1812 on cognitive function was measured in transgenic Thy1 huAPPSwe/Lnd+ and wild-type littermates. A multicenter, double-blind, placebo-controlled parallel group trial was performed to evaluate the safety, tolerability, and impact on protein biomarker expression of CT1812 or placebo given once daily for 28 days to AD patients (Mini-Mental State Examination 18-26). CSF protein expression was measured by liquid chromatography with tandem mass spectrometry or enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay in samples drawn prior to dosing (Day 0) and at end of dosing (Day 28) and compared within each patient and between pooled treated versus placebo-treated dosing groups. RESULTS CT1812 significantly and dose-dependently displaced Aβ oligomers bound to synaptic receptors in three independent preclinical models of AD, facilitated oligomer clearance into the CSF, increased synaptic number and protein expression in neurons, and improved cognitive performance in transgenic mice. CT1812 significantly increased CSF concentrations of Aβ oligomers in AD patient CSF, reduced concentrations of synaptic proteins and phosphorylated tau fragments, and reversed expression of many AD-related proteins dysregulated in CSF. DISCUSSION These preclinical studies demonstrate the novel disease-modifying mechanism of action of CT1812 against AD and Aβ oligomers. The clinical results are consistent with preclinical data and provide evidence of target engagement and impact on fundamental disease-related signaling pathways in AD patients, supporting further development of CT1812.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | | | | | - Courtney Rehak
- Cognition Therapeutics Inc., Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA
| | - Raymond Yurko
- Cognition Therapeutics Inc., Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA
| | - Lora Waybright
- Cognition Therapeutics Inc., Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA
| | - Gary Look
- Cognition Therapeutics Inc., Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA
| | | | | | - Mary E Hamby
- Cognition Therapeutics Inc., Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA
| | | | - Kelsey Sadlek
- Cognition Therapeutics Inc., Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA
| | | | | | - Michael Grundman
- Global R&D Partners, San Diego, California, USA.,University of California San Diego, San Diego, California, USA
| | - Lon S Schneider
- Keck School of Medicine of USC, Los Angeles, California, USA
| | - Steven T DeKosky
- McKnight Brain Institute, University of Florida, Gainesville, Florida, USA
| | | | | | | | - Kaj Blennow
- University of Gothenburg, Mölndal, Sweden.,Sahlgrenska University Hospital, Mölndal, Sweden
| | - Henrik Zetterberg
- University of Gothenburg, Mölndal, Sweden.,Sahlgrenska University Hospital, Mölndal, Sweden.,UCL Institute of Neurology, London, UK
| | - Harry LeVine
- Sanders-Brown Center on Aging, University of Kentucky, Lexington, Kentucky, USA
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DiChiara T, DiNunno N, Clark J, Bu RL, Cline EN, Rollins MG, Gong Y, Brody DL, Sligar SG, Velasco PT, Viola KL, Klein WL. Alzheimer's Toxic Amyloid Beta Oligomers: Unwelcome Visitors to the Na/K ATPase alpha3 Docking Station. Yale J Biol Med 2017; 90:45-61. [PMID: 28356893 PMCID: PMC5369044] [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] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Abstract
Toxic amyloid beta oligomers (AβOs) are known to accumulate in Alzheimer's disease (AD) and in animal models of AD. Their structure is heterogeneous, and they are found in both intracellular and extracellular milieu. When given to CNS cultures or injected ICV into non-human primates and other non-transgenic animals, AβOs have been found to cause impaired synaptic plasticity, loss of memory function, tau hyperphosphorylation and tangle formation, synapse elimination, oxidative and ER stress, inflammatory microglial activation, and selective nerve cell death. Memory loss and pathology in transgenic models are prevented by AβO antibodies, while Aducanumab, an antibody that targets AβOs as well as fibrillar Aβ, has provided cognitive benefit to humans in early clinical trials. AβOs have now been investigated in more than 3000 studies and are widely thought to be the major toxic form of Aβ. Although much has been learned about the downstream mechanisms of AβO action, a major gap concerns the earliest steps: How do AβOs initially interact with surface membranes to generate neuron-damaging transmembrane events? Findings from Ohnishi et al (PNAS 2005) combined with new results presented here are consistent with the hypothesis that AβOs act as neurotoxins because they attach to particular membrane protein docks containing Na/K ATPase-α3, where they inhibit ATPase activity and pathologically restructure dock composition and topology in a manner leading to excessive Ca++ build-up. Better understanding of the mechanism that makes attachment of AβOs to vulnerable neurons a neurotoxic phenomenon should open the door to therapeutics and diagnostics targeting the first step of a complex pathway that leads to neural damage and dementia.
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Affiliation(s)
- Thomas DiChiara
- Department of Neurobiology, Weinberg College of Arts & Sciences, Northwestern University
| | - Nadia DiNunno
- Department of Neurobiology, Weinberg College of Arts & Sciences, Northwestern University
| | - Jeffrey Clark
- Department of Neurobiology, Weinberg College of Arts & Sciences, Northwestern University
| | - Riana Lo Bu
- Department of Neurobiology, Weinberg College of Arts & Sciences, Northwestern University
| | - Erika N. Cline
- Department of Neurobiology, Weinberg College of Arts & Sciences, Northwestern University
| | - Madeline G. Rollins
- Department of Neurobiology, Weinberg College of Arts & Sciences, Northwestern University
| | | | - David L. Brody
- Department of Neurology, Washington University Medical School
| | - Stephen G. Sligar
- School of Molecular and Cell Biology, University of Illinois, Urbana-Champagne
| | - Pauline T. Velasco
- Department of Neurobiology, Weinberg College of Arts & Sciences, Northwestern University
| | - Kirsten L. Viola
- Department of Neurobiology, Weinberg College of Arts & Sciences, Northwestern University
| | - William L. Klein
- Department of Neurobiology, Weinberg College of Arts & Sciences, Northwestern University,Department of Neurology, Feinberg School of Medicine, Northwestern University,To whom all correspondence should be addressed: William L. Klein, Northwestern University, Dept. Neurobiology, 2205 Tech Drive, Evanston, IL 60208, ph: 847-491-5510, fax: 847-491-5211,
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De Mario A, Castellani A, Peggion C, Massimino ML, Lim D, Hill AF, Sorgato MC, Bertoli A. The prion protein constitutively controls neuronal store-operated Ca(2+) entry through Fyn kinase. Front Cell Neurosci 2015; 9:416. [PMID: 26578881 PMCID: PMC4623396 DOI: 10.3389/fncel.2015.00416] [Citation(s) in RCA: 22] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/07/2015] [Accepted: 10/02/2015] [Indexed: 11/23/2022] Open
Abstract
The prion protein (PrPC) is a cell surface glycoprotein mainly expressed in neurons, whose misfolded isoforms generate the prion responsible for incurable neurodegenerative disorders. Whereas PrPC involvement in prion propagation is well established, PrPC physiological function is still enigmatic despite suggestions that it could act in cell signal transduction by modulating phosphorylation cascades and Ca2+ homeostasis. Because PrPC binds neurotoxic protein aggregates with high-affinity, it has also been proposed that PrPC acts as receptor for amyloid-β (Aβ) oligomers associated with Alzheimer’s disease (AD), and that PrPC-Aβ binding mediates AD-related synaptic dysfunctions following activation of the tyrosine kinase Fyn. Here, use of gene-encoded Ca2+ probes targeting different cell domains in primary cerebellar granule neurons (CGN) expressing, or not, PrPC, allowed us to investigate whether PrPC regulates store-operated Ca2+ entry (SOCE) and the implication of Fyn in this control. Our findings show that PrPC attenuates SOCE, and Ca2+ accumulation in the cytosol and mitochondria, by constitutively restraining Fyn activation and tyrosine phosphorylation of STIM1, a key molecular component of SOCE. This data establishes the existence of a PrPC-Fyn-SOCE triad in neurons. We also demonstrate that treating cerebellar granule and cortical neurons with soluble Aβ(1–42) oligomers abrogates the control of PrPC over Fyn and SOCE, suggesting a PrPC-dependent mechanizm for Aβ-induced neuronal Ca2+ dyshomeostasis.
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Affiliation(s)
- Agnese De Mario
- Department of Biomedical Science, University of Padova Padova, Italy
| | - Angela Castellani
- Department of Biomedical Science, University of Padova Padova, Italy
| | - Caterina Peggion
- Department of Biomedical Science, University of Padova Padova, Italy
| | | | - Dmitry Lim
- Department of Pharmaceutical Science, University of Piemonte Orientale Novara, Italy
| | - Andrew F Hill
- Department of Biochemistry and Genetics, La Trobe Institute for Molecular Science, La Trobe University Melbourne, VIC, Australia
| | - M Catia Sorgato
- Department of Biomedical Science, University of Padova Padova, Italy ; CNR Neuroscience Institute, University of Padova Padova, Italy
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Miller EC, Teravskis PJ, Dummer BW, Zhao X, Huganir RL, Liao D. Tau phosphorylation and tau mislocalization mediate soluble Aβ oligomer-induced AMPA glutamate receptor signaling deficits. Eur J Neurosci 2014; 39:1214-24. [PMID: 24713000 DOI: 10.1111/ejn.12507] [Citation(s) in RCA: 81] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/16/2013] [Revised: 01/08/2014] [Accepted: 01/10/2014] [Indexed: 12/16/2022]
Abstract
In our previous studies, phosphorylation-dependent tau mislocalization to dendritic spines resulted in early cognitive and synaptic deficits. It is well known that amyloid beta (Aβ) oligomers cause synaptic dysfunction by inducing calcineurin-dependent AMPA receptor (AMPAR) internalization. However, it is unknown whether Aβ-induced synaptic deficits depend upon tau phosphorylation. It is also unknown whether changes in tau can cause calcineurin-dependent loss of AMPARs in synapses. Here, we show that tau mislocalizes to dendritic spines in cultured hippocampal neurons from APPSwe Alzheimer's disease (AD)-transgenic mice and in cultured rat hippocampal neurons treated with soluble Aβ oligomers. Interestingly, Aβ treatment also impairs synaptic function by decreasing the amplitude of miniature excitatory postsynaptic currents (mEPSCs). The above tau mislocalization and Aβ-induced synaptic impairment are both diminished by the expression of AP tau, indicating that these events require tau phosphorylation. The phosphatase activity of calcineurin is important for AMPAR internalization via dephosphorylation of GluA1 residue S845. The effects of Aβ oligomers on mEPSCs are blocked by the calcineurin inhibitor FK506. Aβ-induced loss of AMPARs is diminished in neurons from knock-in mice expressing S845A mutant GluA1 AMPA glutamate receptor subunits. This finding suggests that changes in phosphorylation state at S845 are involved in this pathogenic cascade. Furthermore, FK506 rescues deficits in surface AMPAR clustering on dendritic spines in neurons cultured from transgenic mice expressing P301L tau proteins. Together, our results support the role of tau and calcineurin as two intermediate signaling molecules between Aβ initiation and eventual synaptic dysfunction early in AD pathogenesis.
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Affiliation(s)
- Eric C Miller
- Department of Neuroscience, University of Minnesota, 2101 6th St. SE, Minneapolis, MN, 55455, USA; Graduate Program in Neuroscience, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN, USA; N. Bud Grossman Center for Memory Research and Care, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN, USA
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