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Molloy CJ, Cooke J, Gatford NJF, Rivera-Olvera A, Avazzadeh S, Homberg JR, Grandjean J, Fernandes C, Shen S, Loth E, Srivastava DP, Gallagher L. Bridging the translational gap: what can synaptopathies tell us about autism? Front Mol Neurosci 2023; 16:1191323. [PMID: 37441676 PMCID: PMC10333541 DOI: 10.3389/fnmol.2023.1191323] [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: 03/21/2023] [Accepted: 05/24/2023] [Indexed: 07/15/2023] Open
Abstract
Multiple molecular pathways and cellular processes have been implicated in the neurobiology of autism and other neurodevelopmental conditions. There is a current focus on synaptic gene conditions, or synaptopathies, which refer to clinical conditions associated with rare genetic variants disrupting genes involved in synaptic biology. Synaptopathies are commonly associated with autism and developmental delay and may be associated with a range of other neuropsychiatric outcomes. Altered synaptic biology is suggested by both preclinical and clinical studies in autism based on evidence of differences in early brain structural development and altered glutamatergic and GABAergic neurotransmission potentially perturbing excitatory and inhibitory balance. This review focusses on the NRXN-NLGN-SHANK pathway, which is implicated in the synaptic assembly, trans-synaptic signalling, and synaptic functioning. We provide an overview of the insights from preclinical molecular studies of the pathway. Concentrating on NRXN1 deletion and SHANK3 mutations, we discuss emerging understanding of cellular processes and electrophysiology from induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSC) models derived from individuals with synaptopathies, neuroimaging and behavioural findings in animal models of Nrxn1 and Shank3 synaptic gene conditions, and key findings regarding autism features, brain and behavioural phenotypes from human clinical studies of synaptopathies. The identification of molecular-based biomarkers from preclinical models aims to advance the development of targeted therapeutic treatments. However, it remains challenging to translate preclinical animal models and iPSC studies to interpret human brain development and autism features. We discuss the existing challenges in preclinical and clinical synaptopathy research, and potential solutions to align methodologies across preclinical and clinical research. Bridging the translational gap between preclinical and clinical studies will be necessary to understand biological mechanisms, to identify targeted therapies, and ultimately to progress towards personalised approaches for complex neurodevelopmental conditions such as autism.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ciara J. Molloy
- Department of Psychiatry, School of Medicine, Trinity College Dublin, Dublin, Ireland
| | - Jennifer Cooke
- Forensic and Neurodevelopmental Sciences, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, King’s College London, London, United Kingdom
| | - Nicholas J. F. Gatford
- Kavli Institute for Nanoscience Discovery, Nuffield Department of Clinical Neurosciences, University of Oxford, Medical Sciences Division, Oxford, United Kingdom
| | - Alejandro Rivera-Olvera
- Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition, and Behaviour, Radboud University Medical Centre, Nijmegen, Netherlands
| | - Sahar Avazzadeh
- Physiology and Cellular Physiology Research Laboratory, CÚRAM SFI Centre for Research in Medical Devices, School of Medicine, Human Biology Building, University of Galway, Galway, Ireland
| | - Judith R. Homberg
- Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition, and Behaviour, Radboud University Medical Centre, Nijmegen, Netherlands
| | - Joanes Grandjean
- Physiology and Cellular Physiology Research Laboratory, CÚRAM SFI Centre for Research in Medical Devices, School of Medicine, Human Biology Building, University of Galway, Galway, Ireland
- Department of Medical Imaging, Radboud University Medical Centre, Nijmegen, Netherlands
| | - Cathy Fernandes
- Social, Genetic and Developmental Psychiatry Centre, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, King’s College London, London, United Kingdom
- MRC Centre for Neurodevelopmental Disorders, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, King’s College London, London, United Kingdom
| | - Sanbing Shen
- Regenerative Medicine Institute, School of Medicine, University of Galway, Galway, Ireland
- FutureNeuro, The SFI Research Centre for Chronic and Rare Neurological Diseases, Royal College of Surgeons, Dublin, Ireland
| | - Eva Loth
- Forensic and Neurodevelopmental Sciences, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, King’s College London, London, United Kingdom
| | - Deepak P. Srivastava
- MRC Centre for Neurodevelopmental Disorders, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, King’s College London, London, United Kingdom
- Department of Basic and Clinical Neuroscience, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, King’s College London, London, United Kingdom
| | - Louise Gallagher
- Department of Psychiatry, School of Medicine, Trinity College Dublin, Dublin, Ireland
- The Hospital for SickKids, Toronto, ON, Canada
- The Peter Gilgan Centre for Research and Learning, SickKids Research Institute, Toronto, ON, Canada
- The Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, Toronto, ON, Canada
- Department of Psychiatry, Temerty Faculty of Medicine, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada
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Dottori M, Li WJ, Minchiotti G, Rosa A, Sangiuolo F. Editorial: Reviews in induced pluripotent stem cells. Front Cell Dev Biol 2023; 11:1197891. [PMID: 37215079 PMCID: PMC10193027 DOI: 10.3389/fcell.2023.1197891] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/31/2023] [Accepted: 04/27/2023] [Indexed: 05/24/2023] Open
Affiliation(s)
- Mirella Dottori
- School of Medical, Indigenous and Health Sciences, University of Wollongong, Wollongong, Australia
| | - Wan-Ju Li
- Department of Orthopedics and Rehabilitation, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, United States
| | - Gabriella Minchiotti
- Institute of Genetics and Biophysics “A. Buzzati-Traverso”, Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche, Naples, Italy
| | - Alessandro Rosa
- Department of Biology and Biotechnologies “Charles Darwin”, Sapienza University of Rome, Rome, Italy
- Center for Life Nano- & Neuro-Science, Fondazione Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia (IIT), Rome, Italy
| | - Federica Sangiuolo
- Department of Biomedicine and Prevention, University of Rome Tor Vergata, Rome, Italy
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Kouskoff V, Asakura A. Editorial: Editor's Pick 2021: Highlights in Stem Cell Research. Front Cell Dev Biol 2022; 10:859472. [PMID: 35399510 PMCID: PMC8990225 DOI: 10.3389/fcell.2022.859472] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/21/2022] [Accepted: 03/09/2022] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Affiliation(s)
- Valerie Kouskoff
- Developmental Hematopoiesis Group, Faculty of Biology, Medicine and Health, The University of Manchester, Manchester, United Kingdom
| | - Atsushi Asakura
- Paul and Sheila Wellstone Muscular Dystrophy Center, Department of Neurology, Stem Cell Institute, University of Minnesota Medical School, Minneapolis, MN, United States
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Kühn R, Mahajan A, Canoll P, Hargus G. Human Induced Pluripotent Stem Cell Models of Frontotemporal Dementia With Tau Pathology. Front Cell Dev Biol 2021; 9:766773. [PMID: 34858989 PMCID: PMC8631302 DOI: 10.3389/fcell.2021.766773] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [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: 08/30/2021] [Accepted: 09/27/2021] [Indexed: 12/04/2022] Open
Abstract
Neurodegenerative dementias are the most common group of neurodegenerative diseases affecting more than 40 million people worldwide. One of these diseases is frontotemporal dementia (FTD), an early onset dementia and one of the leading causes of dementia in people under the age of 60. FTD is a heterogeneous group of neurodegenerative disorders with pathological accumulation of particular proteins in neurons and glial cells including the microtubule-associated protein tau, which is deposited in its hyperphosphorylated form in about half of all patients with FTD. As for other patients with dementia, there is currently no cure for patients with FTD and thus several lines of research focus on the characterization of underlying pathogenic mechanisms with the goal to identify therapeutic targets. In this review, we provide an overview of reported disease phenotypes in induced pluripotent stem cell (iPSC)-derived neurons and glial cells from patients with tau-associated FTD with the aim to highlight recent progress in this fast-moving field of iPSC disease modeling. We put a particular focus on genetic forms of the disease that are linked to mutations in the gene encoding tau and summarize mutation-associated changes in FTD patient cells related to tau splicing and tau phosphorylation, microtubule function and cell metabolism as well as calcium homeostasis and cellular stress. In addition, we discuss challenges and limitations but also opportunities using differentiated patient-derived iPSCs for disease modeling and biomedical research on neurodegenerative diseases including FTD.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rebekka Kühn
- Department of Pathology and Cell Biology, Columbia University, New York, NY, United States
| | - Aayushi Mahajan
- Department of Pathology and Cell Biology, Columbia University, New York, NY, United States
| | - Peter Canoll
- Department of Pathology and Cell Biology, Columbia University, New York, NY, United States
| | - Gunnar Hargus
- Department of Pathology and Cell Biology, Columbia University, New York, NY, United States.,Taub Institute for Research on Alzheimer's Disease and the Aging Brain, Columbia University, New York, NY, United States
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Zhao MT, Ye S, Su J, Garg V. Cardiomyocyte Proliferation and Maturation: Two Sides of the Same Coin for Heart Regeneration. Front Cell Dev Biol 2020; 8:594226. [PMID: 33178704 PMCID: PMC7593613 DOI: 10.3389/fcell.2020.594226] [Citation(s) in RCA: 41] [Impact Index Per Article: 10.3] [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: 08/12/2020] [Accepted: 09/25/2020] [Indexed: 12/20/2022] Open
Abstract
In the past few decades, cardiac regeneration has been the central target for restoring the injured heart. In mammals, cardiomyocytes are terminally differentiated and rarely divide during adulthood. Embryonic and fetal cardiomyocytes undergo robust proliferation to form mature heart chambers in order to accommodate the increased workload of a systemic circulation. In contrast, postnatal cardiomyocytes stop dividing and initiate hypertrophic growth by increasing the size of the cardiomyocyte when exposed to increased workload. Extracellular and intracellular signaling pathways control embryonic cardiomyocyte proliferation and postnatal cardiac hypertrophy. Harnessing these pathways could be the future focus for stimulating endogenous cardiac regeneration in response to various pathological stressors. Meanwhile, patient-specific cardiomyocytes derived from autologous induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) could become the major exogenous sources for replenishing the damaged myocardium. Human iPSC-derived cardiomyocytes (iPSC-CMs) are relatively immature and have the potential to increase the population of cells that advance to physiological hypertrophy in the presence of extracellular stimuli. In this review, we discuss how cardiac proliferation and maturation are regulated during embryonic development and postnatal growth, and explore how patient iPSC-CMs could serve as the future seed cells for cardiac cell replacement therapy.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ming-Tao Zhao
- Center for Cardiovascular Research, The Abigail Wexner Research Institute, Nationwide Children's Hospital, Columbus, OH, United States.,The Heart Center, Nationwide Children's Hospital, Columbus, OH, United States.,Department of Pediatrics, The Ohio State University College of Medicine, Columbus, OH, United States
| | - Shiqiao Ye
- Center for Cardiovascular Research, The Abigail Wexner Research Institute, Nationwide Children's Hospital, Columbus, OH, United States
| | - Juan Su
- Center for Cardiovascular Research, The Abigail Wexner Research Institute, Nationwide Children's Hospital, Columbus, OH, United States
| | - Vidu Garg
- Center for Cardiovascular Research, The Abigail Wexner Research Institute, Nationwide Children's Hospital, Columbus, OH, United States.,The Heart Center, Nationwide Children's Hospital, Columbus, OH, United States.,Department of Pediatrics, The Ohio State University College of Medicine, Columbus, OH, United States.,Department of Molecular Genetics, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH, United States
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