Schwann cells are axo-protective after injury irrespective of myelination status in mouse Schwann cell-neuron cocultures

Myelinating Schwann cell (SC)-dorsal root ganglion (DRG) neuron cocultures are an important technique for understanding cell-cell signalling and interactions during peripheral nervous system (PNS) myelination, injury, and regeneration. Although methods using rat SCs and neurons or mouse DRG explants are commonplace, there are no established protocols for compartmentalised myelinating cocultures with dissociated mouse cells. There consequently is a need for a coculture protocol that allows separate genetic manipulation of mouse SCs or neurons, or use of cells from different transgenic animals to complement in vivo mouse experiments. However, inducing myelination of dissociated mouse SCs in culture is challenging. Here, we describe a new method to coculture dissociated mouse SCs and DRG neurons in microfluidic chambers and induce robust myelination. Cocultures can be axotomised to study injury and used for drug treatments, and cells can be lentivirally transduced for live imaging. We used this model to investigate axon degeneration after traumatic axotomy and find that SCs, irrespective of myelination status, are axo-protective. At later timepoints after injury, live imaging of cocultures shows that SCs break up, ingest and clear axonal debris.

Selective neurodegeneration generated by intravenous α-synuclein pre-formed fibril administration is not associated with endogenous α-synuclein levels in the rat brain

Selective loss of discrete neuronal populations is a prominent feature of many neurodegenerative conditions, but the molecular basis of this is poorly understood. A central role of α-synuclein in the selective neurodegeneration of Parkinson's disease has been speculated, as its level of expression critically determines the propensity of this protein to misfold. To investigate whether the propensity of neuronal cell loss is associated with the level of endogenous α-synuclein expression, non-transgenic rats were given a single intravenous administration of α-synuclein pre-formed fibrils (PFFs) reversibly complexed with the rabies virus glycoprotein peptide (RVG9R). The number of surviving cells in different neuronal populations was systematically quantified using unbiased stereology. Our data demonstrated that a non-selective, transvascular delivery of α-synuclein PFFs led to a time-dependent loss of specific populations of midbrain (but not olfactory) dopaminergic neurons, medullary (but not pontine) cholinergic neurons, and brainstem serotonergic neurons. Contrary to the central role of endogenous α-synuclein expression in determining the seeding and aggregation propensity of pathological α-synuclein, we did not observe an association between the levels of α-synuclein expression in different regions of the rodent brain (although did not ascertain this at the individual cell level) and neurodegenerative propensity. The results from our study highlight the complexity of the neurodegenerative process generated by α-synuclein seeding. Further investigations are therefore required to elucidate the molecular basis of neurodegeneration driven by exogenous pathogenic α-synuclein spread.

SARM1 detection in myelinating glia: sarm1/Sarm1 is dispensable for PNS and CNS myelination in zebrafish and mice

Since SARM1 mutations have been identified in human neurological disease, SARM1 inhibition has become an attractive therapeutic strategy to preserve axons in a variety of disorders of the peripheral (PNS) and central nervous system (CNS). While SARM1 has been extensively studied in neurons, it remains unknown whether SARM1 is present and functional in myelinating glia? This is an important question to address. Firstly, to identify whether SARM1 dysfunction in other cell types in the nervous system may contribute to neuropathology in SARM1 dependent diseases? Secondly, to ascertain whether therapies altering SARM1 function may have unintended deleterious impacts on PNS or CNS myelination? Surprisingly, we find that oligodendrocytes express sarm1 mRNA in the zebrafish spinal cord and that SARM1 protein is readily detectable in rodent oligodendrocytes in vitro and in vivo. Furthermore, activation of endogenous SARM1 in cultured oligodendrocytes induces rapid cell death. In contrast, in peripheral glia, SARM1 protein is not detectable in Schwann cells and satellite glia in vivo and sarm1/Sarm1 mRNA is detected at very low levels in Schwann cells, in vivo, in zebrafish and mouse. Application of specific SARM1 activators to cultured mouse Schwann cells does not induce cell death and nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NAD) levels remain unaltered suggesting Schwann cells likely contain no functionally relevant levels of SARM1. Finally, we address the question of whether SARM1 is required for myelination or myelin maintenance. In the zebrafish and mouse PNS and CNS, we show that SARM1 is not required for initiation of myelination and myelin sheath maintenance is unaffected in the adult mouse nervous system. Thus, strategies to inhibit SARM1 function to treat neurological disease are unlikely to perturb myelination in humans.

Emerging Role of HDACs in Regeneration and Ageing in the Peripheral Nervous System: Repair Schwann Cells as Pivotal Targets

The peripheral nervous system (PNS) has a remarkable regenerative capacity in comparison to the central nervous system (CNS), a phenomenon that is impaired during ageing. The ability of PNS axons to regenerate after injury is due to Schwann cells (SC) being reprogrammed into a repair phenotype called Repair Schwann cells. These repair SCs are crucial for supporting axonal growth after injury, myelin degradation in a process known as myelinophagy, neurotropic factor secretion, and axonal growth guidance through the formation of Büngner bands. After regeneration, repair SCs can remyelinate newly regenerated axons and support nonmyelinated axons. Increasing evidence points to an epigenetic component in the regulation of repair SC gene expression changes, which is necessary for SC reprogramming and regeneration. One of these epigenetic regulations is histone acetylation by histone acetyl transferases (HATs) or histone deacetylation by histone deacetylases (HDACs). In this review, we have focused particularly on three HDAC classes (I, II, and IV) that are Zn²⁺-dependent deacetylases. These HDACs are important in repair SC biology and remyelination after PNS injury. Another key aspect explored in this review is HDAC genetic compensation in SCs and novel HDAC inhibitors that are being studied to improve nerve regeneration.

Distinct subcellular autophagy impairments in induced neurons from Huntington’s disease patients

Huntington's disease is a neurodegenerative disorder caused by CAG expansions in the huntingtin (HTT) gene. Modelling Huntington's disease is challenging, as rodent and cellular models poorly recapitulate the disease as seen in ageing humans. To address this, we generated induced neurons through direct reprogramming of human skin fibroblasts, which retain age-dependent epigenetic characteristics.

Huntington's disease induced neurons (HD-iNs) displayed profound deficits in autophagy, characterized by reduced transport of late autophagic structures from the neurites to the soma. These neurite-specific alterations in autophagy resulted in shorter, thinner and fewer neurites specifically in HD-iNs. CRISPRi-mediated silencing of HTT did not rescue this phenotype but rather resulted in additional autophagy alterations in control induced neurons, highlighting the importance of wild-type HTT in normal neuronal autophagy.

In summary, our work identifies a distinct subcellular autophagy impairment in adult patient derived Huntington's disease neurons and provides a new rationale for future development of autophagy activation therapies.

Failures of nerve regeneration caused by aging or chronic denervation are rescued by restoring Schwann cell c-Jun

After nerve injury, myelin and Remak Schwann cells reprogram to repair cells specialized for regeneration. Normally providing strong regenerative support, these cells fail in aging animals, and during chronic denervation that results from slow axon growth. This impairs axonal regeneration and causes significant clinical problems. In mice, we find that repair cells express reduced c-Jun protein as regenerative support provided by these cells declines during aging and chronic denervation. In both cases, genetically restoring Schwann cell c-Jun levels restores regeneration to control levels. We identify potential gene candidates mediating this effect and implicate Shh in the control of Schwann cell c-Jun levels. This establishes that a common mechanism, reduced c-Jun in Schwann cells, regulates success and failure of nerve repair both during aging and chronic denervation. This provides a molecular framework for addressing important clinical problems, suggesting molecular pathways that can be targeted to promote repair in the PNS.

The sleep and circadian problems of Huntington's disease: when, why and their importance

Introduction

Mounting evidence supports the existence of an important feedforward cycle between sleep and neurodegeneration, wherein neurodegenerative diseases cause sleep and circadian abnormalities, which in turn exacerbate and accelerate neurodegeneration. If so, sleep therapies bear important potential to slow progression in these diseases.

Findings

This cycle is challenging to study, as its bidirectional nature renders cause difficult to disentangle from effect. Likewise, well-controlled intervention studies are often impractical in the setting of established neurodegenerative disease. It is this that makes understanding sleep and circadian abnormalities in Huntington’s disease (HD) important: as a monogenic fully penetrant neurodegenerative condition presenting in midlife, it provides a rare opportunity to study sleep and circadian abnormalities longitudinally, prior to and throughout disease manifestation, and in the absence of confounds rendered by age and comorbidities. It also provides potential to trial sleep therapies at a preclinical or early disease stage. Moreover, its monogenic nature facilitates the development of transgenic animal models through which to run parallel pre-clinical studies. HD, therefore, provides a key model condition through which to gain new insights into the sleep-neurodegeneration interface.

Conclusions

Here, we begin by summarising contemporary knowledge of sleep abnormalities in HD, and consider how well these parallel those of Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s as more common neurodegenerative conditions. We then discuss what is currently known of the sleep-neurodegeneration cyclical relationship in HD. We conclude by outlining key directions of current and future investigation by which to advance the sleep-neurodegeneration field via studies in HD.

Hyperosmotic stress induces cell-dependent aggregation of α-synuclein

The aggregation of alpha-synuclein (α-syn) is a pathological feature of a number of neurodegenerative conditions, including Parkinson’s disease. Genetic mutations, abnormal protein synthesis, environmental stress, and aging have all been implicated as causative factors in this process. The importance of water in the polymerisation of monomers, however, has largely been overlooked. In the present study, we highlight the role of hyperosmotic stress in inducing human α-syn to aggregate in cells in vitro, through rapid treatment of the cells with three different osmolytes: sugar, salt and alcohol. This effect is cell-dependent and not due to direct protein-osmolyte interaction, and is specific for α-syn when compared to other neurodegeneration-related proteins, such as Tau or Huntingtin. This new property of α-syn not only highlights a unique aspect of its behaviour which may have some relevance for disease states, but may also be useful as a screening test for compounds to inhibit the aggregation of α-syn in vitro.

Graded Elevation of c-Jun in Schwann Cells In Vivo: Gene Dosage Determines Effects on Development, Remyelination, Tumorigenesis, and Hypomyelination

Schwann cell c-Jun is implicated in adaptive and maladaptive functions in peripheral nerves. In injured nerves, this transcription factor promotes the repair Schwann cell phenotype and regeneration and promotes Schwann-cell-mediated neurotrophic support in models of peripheral neuropathies. However, c-Jun is associated with tumor formation in some systems, potentially suppresses myelin genes, and has been implicated in demyelinating neuropathies. To clarify these issues and to determine how c-Jun levels determine its function, we have generated c-Jun OE/+ and c-Jun OE/OE mice with graded expression of c-Jun in Schwann cells and examined these lines during development, in adulthood, and after injury using RNA sequencing analysis, quantitative electron microscopic morphometry, Western blotting, and functional tests. Schwann cells are remarkably tolerant of elevated c-Jun because the nerves of c-Jun OE/+ mice, in which c-Jun is elevated ∼6-fold, are normal with the exception of modestly reduced myelin thickness. The stronger elevation of c-Jun in c-Jun OE/OE mice is, however, sufficient to induce significant hypomyelination pathology, implicating c-Jun as a potential player in demyelinating neuropathies. The tumor suppressor P19ARF is strongly activated in the nerves of these mice and, even in aged c-Jun OE/OE mice, there is no evidence of tumors. This is consistent with the fact that tumors do not form in injured nerves, although they contain proliferating Schwann cells with strikingly elevated c-Jun. Furthermore, in crushed nerves of c-Jun OE/+ mice, where c-Jun levels are overexpressed sufficiently to accelerate axonal regeneration, myelination and function are restored after injury.SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT In injured and diseased nerves, the transcription factor c-Jun in Schwann cells is elevated and variously implicated in controlling beneficial or adverse functions, including trophic Schwann cell support for neurons, promotion of regeneration, tumorigenesis, and suppression of myelination. To analyze the functions of c-Jun, we have used transgenic mice with graded elevation of Schwann cell c-Jun. We show that high c-Jun elevation is a potential pathogenic mechanism because it inhibits myelination. Conversely, we did not find a link between c-Jun elevation and tumorigenesis. Modest c-Jun elevation, which is beneficial for regeneration, is well tolerated during Schwann cell development and in the adult and is compatible with restoration of myelination and nerve function after injury.

Changes in the Coding and Non-coding Transcriptome and DNA Methylome that Define the Schwann Cell Repair Phenotype after Nerve Injury

Repair Schwann cells play a critical role in orchestrating nerve repair after injury, but the cellular and molecular processes that generate them are poorly understood. Here, we perform a combined whole-genome, coding and non-coding RNA and CpG methylation study following nerve injury. We show that genes involved in the epithelial-mesenchymal transition are enriched in repair cells, and we identify several long non-coding RNAs in Schwann cells. We demonstrate that the AP-1 transcription factor C-JUN regulates the expression of certain micro RNAs in repair Schwann cells, in particular miR-21 and miR-34. Surprisingly, unlike during development, changes in CpG methylation are limited in injury, restricted to specific locations, such as enhancer regions of Schwann cell-specific genes (e.g., Nedd4l), and close to local enrichment of AP-1 motifs. These genetic and epigenomic changes broaden our mechanistic understanding of the formation of repair Schwann cell during peripheral nervous system tissue repair.