Nerve growth factor (NGF) pathway biomarkers in Down syndrome prior to and after the onset of clinical Alzheimer's disease: A paired CSF and plasma study

BACKGROUND

The discovery that nerve growth factor (NGF) metabolism is altered in Down syndrome (DS) and Alzheimer's disease (AD) brains offered a framework for the identification of novel biomarkers signalling NGF deregulation in AD pathology.

METHODS

We examined levels of NGF pathway proteins (proNGF, neuroserpin, tissue plasminogen activator [tPA], and metalloproteases [MMP]) in matched cerebrospinal fluid (CSF)/plasma samples from AD-symptomatic (DSAD) and AD-asymptomatic (aDS) individuals with DS, as well as controls (HC).

RESULTS

ProNGF and MMP-3 were elevated while tPA was decreased in plasma from individuals with DS. CSF from individuals with DS showed elevated proNGF, neuroserpin, MMP-3, and MMP-9. ProNGF and MMP-9 in CSF differentiated DSAD from aDS (area under the curve = 0.86, 0.87). NGF pathway markers associated with CSF amyloid beta and tau and differed by sex.

DISCUSSION

Brain NGF metabolism changes can be monitored in plasma and CSF, supporting relevance in AD pathology. These markers could assist staging, subtyping, or precision medicine for AD in DS.

A deep intronic splice variant advises reexamination of presumably dominant SPG7 Cases

OBJECTIVE

To identify causative mutations in a patient affected by ataxia and spastic paraplegia.

METHODS

Whole-exome sequencing (WES) and whole-genome sequencing (WGS) were performed using patient's DNA sample. RT-PCR and cDNA Sanger sequencing were performed on RNA extracted from patient's fibroblasts, as well as western blot.

RESULTS

A novel missense variant in SPG7 (c.2195T> C; p.Leu732Pro) was first found by whole-exome sequencing (WES), while the second, also unreported, deep intronic variant (c.286 + 853A>G) was identified by whole-genome sequencing (WGS). RT-PCR confirmed the in silico predictions showing that this variant activated a cryptic splice site, inducing the inclusion of a pseudoexon into the mRNA sequence, which encoded a premature stop codon. Western blot showed decreased SPG7 levels in patient's fibroblasts.

INTERPRETATION

Identification of a deep intronic variant in SPG7, which could only have been detected by performing WGS, led to a diagnosis in this HSP patient. This case challenges the notion of an autosomal dominant inheritance for SPG7, and illustrates the importance of performing WGS subsequently or alternatively to WES to find additional mutations, especially in patients carrying one variant in a gene causing a predominantly autosomal recessive disease.