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Patel KS, Dharamsi A, Priya M, Jain S, Mandal V, Girme A, Modi SJ, Hingorani L. Saffron (Crocus sativus L.) extract attenuates chronic scopolamine-induced cognitive impairment, amyloid beta, and neurofibrillary tangles accumulation in rats. J Ethnopharmacol 2024; 326:117898. [PMID: 38341114 DOI: 10.1016/j.jep.2024.117898] [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] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/12/2023] [Revised: 12/14/2023] [Accepted: 02/07/2024] [Indexed: 02/12/2024]
Abstract
ETHNOPHARMACOLOGICAL RELEVANCE Crocus sativus L. known as saffron, is a popular food condiment with a high aroma, deep colour, and long and thick threads (stigmas) cultivated in Iran, Morocco, Spain, Italy, China, Japan, France, Turkey, and India. In 'Ayurveda', saffron is acknowledged for its immunostimulant, aphrodisiac, cardiotonic, liver tonic, nervine tonic, carminative, diaphoretic, diuretic, emmenagogue, galactagogue, febrifuge, sedative, relaxant, and anxiolytic activities. The renowned Persian physician and philosopher, Avicenna, delineated saffron as an antidepressant, hypnotic, anti-inflammatory, hepatoprotective, bronchodilator, and aphrodisiac in his book, the Canon of Medicine. Within traditional Iranian Medicine (TIM), saffron is characterized as a mood elevator and a rejuvenator for the body and senses. Further, the ethnopharmacological evidence indicates that saffron has shown an effect against neurodegenerative disorders namely, dementia, Alzheimer's, and Parkinson's with its bioactive constituents i.e., carotenoids and apocarotenoids. AIM The present study aimed to investigate the potential of standardized (Kashmir Saffron, India) Crocus sativus extract (CSE) in chronic scopolamine-induced cognitive impairment, amyloid beta (Aβ) plaque, and neurofibrillary tangles (NFT) accumulation in rat brains by targeting AChE inhibition and scopolamine mechanistic effect. METHODS The experimental animals were divided into six groups: group 1: normal control, group 2: scopolamine, group 3,4 and 5 rivastigmine tartrate, CSE (p.o. 10 mg/kg, 15 mg/kg, and 20 mg/kg) respectively. Each treatment group received scopolamine after 20 min of dosing, till 4 weeks. The effects of different treatments on learning, acquisition, and reversal memory were performed using a Morris water maze test. In addition to behavioral assessments, biochemical parameters such as AChE, IL-6, and antioxidants were measured in isolated brains. Histological observations were also conducted to assess the presence of Aβ plaques and NFT. Furthermore, molecular docking was performed to explore the potential AChE inhibitory activity of the bioactive constituents of standardized CSE. RESULTS Scopolamine produces memory impairment, and its chronic administration forms Aβ plaque and NFT in rat brains. Supplementation with CSE in presence of scopolamine has shown remarkable effects on behavioural activity, special acquisition, and reversal memory. The CSE has also shown promising effects on AChE inhibition and antioxidant activity. The results of the docking study also indicate that trans-crocetin, i.e., a biologically active metabolite of Crocins, has strong AChE inhibitory activity, supported by an in vivo animal experiment. CONCLUSION Supplementation with CSE significantly attenuates the formation of Aβ plaque and NFT in the hippocampus at a dose of 20 mg/kg per day. In addition, CSE also counters scopolamine-induced neuroinflammation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Komal S Patel
- Parul Institute of Pharmacy, Parul University, Vadodara, 391760, Gujarat, India.
| | - Abhay Dharamsi
- Parul Institute of Pharmacy, Parul University, Vadodara, 391760, Gujarat, India.
| | - Madhu Priya
- Parul Institute of Pharmacy, Parul University, Vadodara, 391760, Gujarat, India.
| | - Sanskar Jain
- Parul Institute of Pharmacy, Parul University, Vadodara, 391760, Gujarat, India.
| | - Vishal Mandal
- Parul Institute of Pharmacy, Parul University, Vadodara, 391760, Gujarat, India.
| | - Aboli Girme
- Pharmanza Herbal Pvt. Ltd., Anand, 388430, Gujarat, India.
| | | | - Lal Hingorani
- Pharmanza Herbal Pvt. Ltd., Anand, 388430, Gujarat, India.
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Oveisgharan S, Yu L, de Paiva Lopes K, Petyuk VA, Tasaki S, Vialle R, Menon V, Wang Y, De Jager PL, Schneider JA, Bennett DA. G-protein coupled estrogen receptor 1, amyloid-β, and tau tangles in older adults. Commun Biol 2024; 7:569. [PMID: 38750228 PMCID: PMC11096330 DOI: 10.1038/s42003-024-06272-9] [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: 09/22/2023] [Accepted: 04/30/2024] [Indexed: 05/18/2024] Open
Abstract
Accumulation of amyloid-β (Aβ) and tau tangles are hallmarks of Alzheimer's disease. Aβ is extracellular while tau tangles are typically intracellular, and it is unknown how these two proteinopathies are connected. Here, we use data of 1206 elders and test that RNA expression levels of GPER1, a transmembrane protein, modify the association of Aβ with tau tangles. GPER1 RNA expression is related to more tau tangles (p = 0.001). Moreover, GPER1 expression modifies the association of immunohistochemistry-derived Aβ load with tau tangles (p = 0.044). Similarly, GPER1 expression modifies the association between Aβ proteoforms and tau tangles: total Aβ protein (p = 0.030) and Aβ38 peptide (p = 0.002). Using single nuclei RNA-seq indicates that GPER1 RNA expression in astrocytes modifies the relation of Aβ load with tau tangles (p = 0.002), but not GPER1 in excitatory neurons or endothelial cells. We conclude that GPER1 may be a link between Aβ and tau tangles driven mainly by astrocytic GPER1 expression.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shahram Oveisgharan
- Rush Alzheimer's Disease Center, Rush University Medical Center, Chicago, IL, USA.
- Department of Neurological Sciences, Rush University Medical Center, Chicago, IL, USA.
| | - Lei Yu
- Rush Alzheimer's Disease Center, Rush University Medical Center, Chicago, IL, USA
- Department of Neurological Sciences, Rush University Medical Center, Chicago, IL, USA
| | - Katia de Paiva Lopes
- Rush Alzheimer's Disease Center, Rush University Medical Center, Chicago, IL, USA
- Department of Neurological Sciences, Rush University Medical Center, Chicago, IL, USA
| | - Vladislav A Petyuk
- Biological Sciences Division, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, Richland, WA, USA
| | - Shinya Tasaki
- Rush Alzheimer's Disease Center, Rush University Medical Center, Chicago, IL, USA
- Department of Neurological Sciences, Rush University Medical Center, Chicago, IL, USA
| | - Ricardo Vialle
- Rush Alzheimer's Disease Center, Rush University Medical Center, Chicago, IL, USA
- Department of Neurological Sciences, Rush University Medical Center, Chicago, IL, USA
| | - Vilas Menon
- Department of Neurology and Taub Institute for Research on Alzheimer's Disease and the Aging Brain, Center for Translational and Computational Neuroimmunology, Columbia University Irving Medical Center, New York, NY, USA
| | - Yanling Wang
- Rush Alzheimer's Disease Center, Rush University Medical Center, Chicago, IL, USA
| | - Philip L De Jager
- Department of Neurology, Center for Translational and Computational Neuroimmunology, Columbia University Irving Medical Center, New York, NY, USA
- Taub Institute for Research on Alzheimer's Disease and the Aging Brain, Columbia University Irving Medical Center, New York, NY, USA
| | - Julie A Schneider
- Rush Alzheimer's Disease Center, Rush University Medical Center, Chicago, IL, USA
- Department of Neurological Sciences, Rush University Medical Center, Chicago, IL, USA
- Department of Pathology, Rush University Medical Center, Chicago, IL, USA
| | - David A Bennett
- Rush Alzheimer's Disease Center, Rush University Medical Center, Chicago, IL, USA
- Department of Neurological Sciences, Rush University Medical Center, Chicago, IL, USA
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Niu C, Dong M, Niu Y. Natural polyphenol: Their pathogenesis-targeting therapeutic potential in Alzheimer's disease. Eur J Med Chem 2024; 269:116359. [PMID: 38537514 DOI: 10.1016/j.ejmech.2024.116359] [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] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/09/2023] [Revised: 03/17/2024] [Accepted: 03/24/2024] [Indexed: 04/07/2024]
Abstract
Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a detrimental neurodegenerative disease affecting the elderly. Clinically, it is characterized by progressive memory decline and subsequent loss of broader cognitive functions. Current drugs provide only symptomatic relief but do not have profound disease-modifying effects. There is an unmet need to identify novel pharmacological agents for AD therapy. Neuropathologically, the characteristic hallmarks of the disease are extracellular senile plaques containing amyloid β-peptides and intracellular neurofibrillary tangles containing hyperphosphorylated microtubule-associated protein tau. Simultaneously, oxidative stress, neuroinflammation and mitochondrial dysfunction in specific brain regions are early events during the process of AD pathologic changes and are associated with Aβ/tau toxicity. Here, we first summarized probable pathogenic mechanisms leading to neurodegeneration and hopefully identify pathways that serve as specific targets to improve therapy for AD. We then reviewed the mechanisms that underlie disease-modifying effects of natural polyphenols, with a focus on nuclear factor erythroid 2-related factor 2 activators for AD treatment. Lastly, we discussed challenges in the preclinical to clinical translation of natural polyphenols. In conclusion, there is evidence that natural polyphenols can be therapeutically useful in AD through their multifaceted mechanism of action. However, more clinical studies are needed to confirm these effects.
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Affiliation(s)
- Chengu Niu
- Internal Medicine Residency Program, Rochester General Hospital, Rochester, NY, 14621, USA
| | - Miaoxian Dong
- The Institute of Medicine, Qiqihar Medical University, Qiqihar, 161006, China
| | - Yingcai Niu
- The Institute of Medicine, Qiqihar Medical University, Qiqihar, 161006, China.
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Korczyn AD, Grinberg LT. Is Alzheimer disease a disease? Nat Rev Neurol 2024; 20:245-251. [PMID: 38424454 DOI: 10.1038/s41582-024-00940-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 02/01/2024] [Indexed: 03/02/2024]
Abstract
Dementia, a prevalent condition among older individuals, has profound societal implications. Extensive research has resulted in no cure for what is perceived as the most common dementing illness: Alzheimer disease (AD). AD is defined by specific brain abnormalities - amyloid-β plaques and tau protein neurofibrillary tangles - that are proposed to actively influence the neurodegenerative process. However, conclusive evidence of amyloid-β toxicity is lacking, the mechanisms leading to the accumulation of plaques and tangles are unknown, and removing amyloid-β has not halted neurodegeneration. So, the question remains, are we making progress towards a solution? The complexity of AD is underscored by numerous genetic and environmental risk factors, and diverse clinical presentations, suggesting that AD is more akin to a syndrome than to a traditional disease, with its pathological manifestation representing a convergence of pathogenic pathways. Therefore, a solution requires a multifaceted approach over a single 'silver bullet'. Improved recognition and classification of conditions that converge in plaques and tangle accumulation and their treatment requires the use of multiple strategies simultaneously.
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Affiliation(s)
- Amos D Korczyn
- Departments of Neurology, Physiology and Pharmacology, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv, Israel.
| | - Lea T Grinberg
- Departments of Neurology and Pathology, UCSF, San Francisco, CA, USA
- Global Brain Health Institute, UCSF, San Francisco, CA, USA
- Department of Pathology, University of Sao Paulo Medical School, Sao Paulo, Brazil
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Serrano GE, Walker J, Nelson C, Glass M, Arce R, Intorcia A, Cline MP, Nabaty N, Acuña A, Huppert Steed A, Sue LI, Belden C, Choudhury P, Reiman E, Atri A, Beach TG. Correlation of Presynaptic and Postsynaptic Proteins with Pathology in Alzheimer's Disease. Int J Mol Sci 2024; 25:3130. [PMID: 38542104 PMCID: PMC10970005 DOI: 10.3390/ijms25063130] [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: 12/26/2023] [Revised: 02/29/2024] [Accepted: 03/01/2024] [Indexed: 04/28/2024] Open
Abstract
Synaptic transmission is essential for nervous system function and the loss of synapses is a known major contributor to dementia. Alzheimer's disease dementia (ADD) is characterized by synaptic loss in the mesial temporal lobe and cerebral neocortex, both of which are brain areas associated with memory and cognition. The association of synaptic loss and ADD was established in the late 1980s, and it has been estimated that 30-50% of neocortical synaptic protein is lost in ADD, but there has not yet been a quantitative profiling of different synaptic proteins in different brain regions in ADD from the same individuals. Very recently, positron emission tomography (PET) imaging of synapses is being developed, accelerating the focus on the role of synaptic loss in ADD and other conditions. In this study, we quantified the densities of two synaptic proteins, the presynaptic protein Synaptosome Associated Protein 25 (SNAP25) and the postsynaptic protein postsynaptic density protein 95 (PSD95) in the human brain, using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays (ELISA). Protein was extracted from the cingulate gyrus, hippocampus, frontal, primary visual, and entorhinal cortex from cognitively unimpaired controls, subjects with mild cognitive impairment (MCI), and subjects with dementia that have different levels of Alzheimer's pathology. SNAP25 is significantly reduced in ADD when compared to controls in the frontal cortex, visual cortex, and cingulate, while the hippocampus showed a smaller, non-significant reduction, and entorhinal cortex concentrations were not different. In contrast, all brain areas showed lower PSD95 concentrations in ADD when compared to controls without dementia, although in the hippocampus, this failed to reach significance. Interestingly, cognitively unimpaired cases with high levels of AD pathology had higher levels of both synaptic proteins in all brain regions. SNAP25 and PSD95 concentrations significantly correlated with densities of neurofibrillary tangles, amyloid plaques, and Mini Mental State Examination (MMSE) scores. Our results suggest that synaptic transmission is affected by ADD in multiple brain regions. The differences were less marked in the entorhinal cortex and the hippocampus, most likely due to a ceiling effect imposed by the very early development of neurofibrillary tangles in older people in these brain regions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Geidy E. Serrano
- Civin Laboratory for Neuropathology, Banner Sun Health Research Institute, Sun City, AZ 85351, USA; (J.W.); (R.A.); (A.I.); (M.P.C.); (N.N.); (A.A.); (A.H.S.)
| | - Jessica Walker
- Civin Laboratory for Neuropathology, Banner Sun Health Research Institute, Sun City, AZ 85351, USA; (J.W.); (R.A.); (A.I.); (M.P.C.); (N.N.); (A.A.); (A.H.S.)
| | - Courtney Nelson
- Civin Laboratory for Neuropathology, Banner Sun Health Research Institute, Sun City, AZ 85351, USA; (J.W.); (R.A.); (A.I.); (M.P.C.); (N.N.); (A.A.); (A.H.S.)
| | - Michael Glass
- Civin Laboratory for Neuropathology, Banner Sun Health Research Institute, Sun City, AZ 85351, USA; (J.W.); (R.A.); (A.I.); (M.P.C.); (N.N.); (A.A.); (A.H.S.)
| | - Richard Arce
- Civin Laboratory for Neuropathology, Banner Sun Health Research Institute, Sun City, AZ 85351, USA; (J.W.); (R.A.); (A.I.); (M.P.C.); (N.N.); (A.A.); (A.H.S.)
| | - Anthony Intorcia
- Civin Laboratory for Neuropathology, Banner Sun Health Research Institute, Sun City, AZ 85351, USA; (J.W.); (R.A.); (A.I.); (M.P.C.); (N.N.); (A.A.); (A.H.S.)
| | - Madison P. Cline
- Civin Laboratory for Neuropathology, Banner Sun Health Research Institute, Sun City, AZ 85351, USA; (J.W.); (R.A.); (A.I.); (M.P.C.); (N.N.); (A.A.); (A.H.S.)
| | - Natalie Nabaty
- Civin Laboratory for Neuropathology, Banner Sun Health Research Institute, Sun City, AZ 85351, USA; (J.W.); (R.A.); (A.I.); (M.P.C.); (N.N.); (A.A.); (A.H.S.)
| | - Amanda Acuña
- Civin Laboratory for Neuropathology, Banner Sun Health Research Institute, Sun City, AZ 85351, USA; (J.W.); (R.A.); (A.I.); (M.P.C.); (N.N.); (A.A.); (A.H.S.)
| | - Ashton Huppert Steed
- Civin Laboratory for Neuropathology, Banner Sun Health Research Institute, Sun City, AZ 85351, USA; (J.W.); (R.A.); (A.I.); (M.P.C.); (N.N.); (A.A.); (A.H.S.)
| | - Lucia I. Sue
- Civin Laboratory for Neuropathology, Banner Sun Health Research Institute, Sun City, AZ 85351, USA; (J.W.); (R.A.); (A.I.); (M.P.C.); (N.N.); (A.A.); (A.H.S.)
| | - Christine Belden
- Cleo Roberts Center, Banner Sun Health Research Institute, Sun City, AZ 85351, USA (P.C.)
| | - Parichita Choudhury
- Cleo Roberts Center, Banner Sun Health Research Institute, Sun City, AZ 85351, USA (P.C.)
| | - Eric Reiman
- The Banner Alzheimer’s Institute, Phoenix, AZ 85006, USA
| | - Alireza Atri
- Cleo Roberts Center, Banner Sun Health Research Institute, Sun City, AZ 85351, USA (P.C.)
| | - Thomas G. Beach
- Civin Laboratory for Neuropathology, Banner Sun Health Research Institute, Sun City, AZ 85351, USA; (J.W.); (R.A.); (A.I.); (M.P.C.); (N.N.); (A.A.); (A.H.S.)
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6
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Zhang J, Pandey M, Awe A, Lue N, Kittock C, Fikse E, Degner K, Staples J, Mokhasi N, Chen W, Yang Y, Adikaram P, Jacob N, Greenfest-Allen E, Thomas R, Bomeny L, Zhang Y, Petros TJ, Wang X, Li Y, Simonds WF. The association of GNB5 with Alzheimer disease revealed by genomic analysis restricted to variants impacting gene function. Am J Hum Genet 2024; 111:473-486. [PMID: 38354736 PMCID: PMC10940018 DOI: 10.1016/j.ajhg.2024.01.005] [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] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/25/2023] [Revised: 01/09/2024] [Accepted: 01/10/2024] [Indexed: 02/16/2024] Open
Abstract
Disease-associated variants identified from genome-wide association studies (GWASs) frequently map to non-coding areas of the genome such as introns and intergenic regions. An exclusive reliance on gene-agnostic methods of genomic investigation could limit the identification of relevant genes associated with polygenic diseases such as Alzheimer disease (AD). To overcome such potential restriction, we developed a gene-constrained analytical method that considers only moderate- and high-risk variants that affect gene coding sequences. We report here the application of this approach to publicly available datasets containing 181,388 individuals without and with AD and the resulting identification of 660 genes potentially linked to the higher AD prevalence among Africans/African Americans. By integration with transcriptome analysis of 23 brain regions from 2,728 AD case-control samples, we concentrated on nine genes that potentially enhance the risk of AD: AACS, GNB5, GNS, HIPK3, MED13, SHC2, SLC22A5, VPS35, and ZNF398. GNB5, the fifth member of the heterotrimeric G protein beta family encoding Gβ5, is primarily expressed in neurons and is essential for normal neuronal development in mouse brain. Homozygous or compound heterozygous loss of function of GNB5 in humans has previously been associated with a syndrome of developmental delay, cognitive impairment, and cardiac arrhythmia. In validation experiments, we confirmed that Gnb5 heterozygosity enhanced the formation of both amyloid plaques and neurofibrillary tangles in the brains of AD model mice. These results suggest that gene-constrained analysis can complement the power of GWASs in the identification of AD-associated genes and may be more broadly applicable to other polygenic diseases.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jianhua Zhang
- Metabolic Diseases Branch, Bldg. 10/Rm 8C-101, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD 20892, USA.
| | - Mritunjay Pandey
- Metabolic Diseases Branch, Bldg. 10/Rm 8C-101, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD 20892, USA
| | - Adam Awe
- Metabolic Diseases Branch, Bldg. 10/Rm 8C-101, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD 20892, USA
| | - Nicole Lue
- Metabolic Diseases Branch, Bldg. 10/Rm 8C-101, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD 20892, USA
| | - Claire Kittock
- Metabolic Diseases Branch, Bldg. 10/Rm 8C-101, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD 20892, USA
| | - Emma Fikse
- Metabolic Diseases Branch, Bldg. 10/Rm 8C-101, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD 20892, USA
| | - Katherine Degner
- Metabolic Diseases Branch, Bldg. 10/Rm 8C-101, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD 20892, USA
| | - Jenna Staples
- Metabolic Diseases Branch, Bldg. 10/Rm 8C-101, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD 20892, USA
| | - Neha Mokhasi
- Metabolic Diseases Branch, Bldg. 10/Rm 8C-101, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD 20892, USA
| | - Weiping Chen
- Genomic Core, National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases, Bldg. 8/Rm 1A11, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD 20892, USA
| | - Yanqin Yang
- Laboratory of Transplantation Genomics, National Heart Lung and Blood Institute, Bldg. 10/Rm 7S261, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD 20892, USA
| | - Poorni Adikaram
- Metabolic Diseases Branch, Bldg. 10/Rm 8C-101, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD 20892, USA
| | - Nirmal Jacob
- Metabolic Diseases Branch, Bldg. 10/Rm 8C-101, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD 20892, USA
| | - Emily Greenfest-Allen
- Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA
| | - Rachel Thomas
- Metabolic Diseases Branch, Bldg. 10/Rm 8C-101, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD 20892, USA
| | - Laura Bomeny
- Metabolic Diseases Branch, Bldg. 10/Rm 8C-101, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD 20892, USA
| | - Yajun Zhang
- Unit on Cellular and Molecular Neurodevelopment, Bldg. 35/Rm 3B 1002, Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD 20892, USA
| | - Timothy J Petros
- Unit on Cellular and Molecular Neurodevelopment, Bldg. 35/Rm 3B 1002, Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD 20892, USA
| | - Xiaowen Wang
- Partek Incorporated, 12747 Olive Boulevard, St. Louis, MO 63141, USA
| | - Yulong Li
- Metabolic Diseases Branch, Bldg. 10/Rm 8C-101, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD 20892, USA
| | - William F Simonds
- Metabolic Diseases Branch, Bldg. 10/Rm 8C-101, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD 20892, USA.
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Nwadiugwu M, Onwuekwe I, Ezeanolue E, Deng H. Beyond Amyloid: A Machine Learning-Driven Approach Reveals Properties of Potent GSK-3β Inhibitors Targeting Neurofibrillary Tangles. Int J Mol Sci 2024; 25:2646. [PMID: 38473895 PMCID: PMC10931970 DOI: 10.3390/ijms25052646] [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: 01/13/2024] [Revised: 02/16/2024] [Accepted: 02/21/2024] [Indexed: 03/14/2024] Open
Abstract
Current treatments for Alzheimer's disease (AD) focus on slowing memory and cognitive decline, but none offer curative outcomes. This study aims to explore and curate the common properties of active, drug-like molecules that modulate glycogen synthase kinase 3β (GSK-3β), a well-documented kinase with increased activity in tau hyperphosphorylation and neurofibrillary tangles-hallmarks of AD pathology. Leveraging quantitative structure-activity relationship (QSAR) data from the PubChem and ChEMBL databases, we employed seven machine learning models: logistic regression (LogR), k-nearest neighbors (KNN), random forest (RF), support vector machine (SVM), extreme gradient boosting (XGB), neural networks (NNs), and ensemble majority voting. Our goal was to correctly predict active and inactive compounds that inhibit GSK-3β activity and identify their key properties. Among the six individual models, the NN demonstrated the highest performance with a 79% AUC-ROC on unbalanced external validation data, while the SVM model was superior in accurately classifying the compounds. The SVM and RF models surpassed NN in terms of Kappa values, and the ensemble majority voting model demonstrated slightly better accuracy to the NN on the external validation data. Feature importance analysis revealed that hydrogen bonds, phenol groups, and specific electronic characteristics are important features of molecular descriptors that positively correlate with active GSK-3β inhibition. Conversely, structural features like imidazole rings, sulfides, and methoxy groups showed a negative correlation. Our study highlights the significance of structural, electronic, and physicochemical descriptors in screening active candidates against GSK-3β. These predictive features could prove useful in therapeutic strategies to understand the important properties of GSK-3β candidate inhibitors that may potentially benefit non-amyloid-based AD treatments targeting neurofibrillary tangles.
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Affiliation(s)
- Martin Nwadiugwu
- Tulane Center for Biomedical Informatics and Genomics, Deming Department of Medicine, Tulane University School of Medicine, Tulane University, New Orleans, LA 70112, USA
| | - Ikenna Onwuekwe
- Neurology Unit, Department of Medicine, University of Nigeria Teaching Hospital, Ituku-Ozalla 400001, Enugu, Nigeria;
- Department of Medicine, College of Medicine, University of Nigeria, Enugu Campus, Nsukka 400001, Enugu, Nigeria
| | - Echezona Ezeanolue
- Center for Translation and Implementation Research (CTAIR), University of Nigeria, Nsukka 410001, Enugu, Nigeria;
- Healthy Sunrise Foundation, Las Vegas, NV 89107, USA
| | - Hongwen Deng
- Tulane Center for Biomedical Informatics and Genomics, Deming Department of Medicine, Tulane University School of Medicine, Tulane University, New Orleans, LA 70112, USA
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8
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Cheng Z, Han T, Yao J, Wang K, Dong X, Yu F, Huang H, Han M, Liao Q, He S, Lyu W, Li Q. Targeting glycogen synthase kinase-3β for Alzheimer's disease: Recent advances and future Prospects. Eur J Med Chem 2024; 265:116065. [PMID: 38160617 DOI: 10.1016/j.ejmech.2023.116065] [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] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/27/2023] [Revised: 12/04/2023] [Accepted: 12/15/2023] [Indexed: 01/03/2024]
Abstract
Senile plaques induced by β-amyloid (Aβ) abnormal aggregation and neurofibrillary tangles (NFT) caused by tau hyperphosphorylation are important pathological manifestations of Alzheimer's disease (AD). Glycogen synthase kinase-3 (GSK-3) is a conserved kinase; one member GSK-3β is highly expressed in the AD brain and involved in the formation of NFT. Hence, pharmacologically inhibiting GSK-3β activity and expression is a good approach to treat AD. As summarized in this article, multiple GSK-3β inhibitors has been comprehensively summarized over recent five years. However, only lithium carbonate and Tideglusib have been studied in clinical trials of AD. Besides ATP-competitive and non-ATP-competitive inhibitors, peptide inhibitors, allosteric inhibitors and other types of inhibitors have gradually attracted more interest. Moreover, considering the close relationship between GSK-3β and other targets involved in cholinergic hypothesis, Aβ aggregation hypothesis, tau hyperphosphorylation hypothesis, oxidative stress hypothesis, neuro-inflammation hypothesis, etc., diverse multifunctional molecules and multi-target directed ligands (MTDLs) have also been disclosed. We hope that these recent advances and critical perspectives will facilitate the discovery of safe and effective GSK-3β inhibitors for AD treatment.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zimeng Cheng
- Department of Medical Pharmacy, School of Basic Medicine, Qingdao University, Qingdao, 266071, Shandong, People's Republic of China
| | - Tianyue Han
- Department of Medical Pharmacy, School of Basic Medicine, Qingdao University, Qingdao, 266071, Shandong, People's Republic of China
| | - Jingtong Yao
- Department of Medical Pharmacy, School of Basic Medicine, Qingdao University, Qingdao, 266071, Shandong, People's Republic of China
| | - Kaixuan Wang
- Department of Medical Pharmacy, School of Basic Medicine, Qingdao University, Qingdao, 266071, Shandong, People's Republic of China
| | - Xue Dong
- Department of Medical Pharmacy, School of Basic Medicine, Qingdao University, Qingdao, 266071, Shandong, People's Republic of China
| | - Fan Yu
- Department of Medical Pharmacy, School of Basic Medicine, Qingdao University, Qingdao, 266071, Shandong, People's Republic of China
| | - He Huang
- Department of Medical Pharmacy, School of Basic Medicine, Qingdao University, Qingdao, 266071, Shandong, People's Republic of China
| | - Menglin Han
- Department of Medical Pharmacy, School of Basic Medicine, Qingdao University, Qingdao, 266071, Shandong, People's Republic of China
| | - Qinghong Liao
- Shandong Kangqiao Biotechnology Co., Ltd, Qingdao, 266033, Shandong, People's Republic of China
| | - Siyu He
- Guizhou Medical University, Guiyang, 550025, Guizhou, People's Republic of China
| | - Weiping Lyu
- State Key Laboratory of Natural and Biomimetic Drugs, School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Peking University, Beijing, 100191, People's Republic of China
| | - Qi Li
- Department of Medical Pharmacy, School of Basic Medicine, Qingdao University, Qingdao, 266071, Shandong, People's Republic of China.
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9
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Zadka Ł, Sochocka M, Hachiya N, Chojdak-Łukasiewicz J, Dzięgiel P, Piasecki E, Leszek J. Endocytosis and Alzheimer's disease. GeroScience 2024; 46:71-85. [PMID: 37646904 PMCID: PMC10828383 DOI: 10.1007/s11357-023-00923-1] [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] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/11/2023] [Accepted: 08/22/2023] [Indexed: 09/01/2023] Open
Abstract
Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a progressive neurodegenerative disorder and is the most common cause of dementia. The pathogenesis of AD still remains unclear, including two main hypotheses: amyloid cascade and tau hyperphosphorylation. The hallmark neuropathological changes of AD are extracellular deposits of amyloid-β (Aβ) plaques and intracellular neurofibrillary tangles (NFTs). Endocytosis plays an important role in a number of cellular processes including communication with the extracellular environment, nutrient uptake, and signaling by the cell surface receptors. Based on the results of genetic and biochemical studies, there is a link between neuronal endosomal function and AD pathology. Taking this into account, we can state that in the results of previous research, endolysosomal abnormality is an important cause of neuronal lesions in the brain. Endocytosis is a central pathway involved in the regulation of the degradation of amyloidogenic components. The results of the studies suggest that a correlation between alteration in the endocytosis process and associated protein expression progresses AD. In this article, we discuss the current knowledge about endosomal abnormalities in AD.
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Affiliation(s)
- Łukasz Zadka
- Division of Ultrastructural Research, Wroclaw Medical University, 50-368, Wroclaw, Poland
| | - Marta Sochocka
- Hirszfeld Institute of Immunology and Experimental Therapy, Polish Academy of Sciences, Rudolfa Weigla 12, 53-114, Wroclaw, Poland.
| | - Naomi Hachiya
- Shonan Research Center, Central Glass Co., Ltd, Shonan Health Innovation Park 26-1, Muraoka-Higashi 2-Chome, Fujisawa, Kanagawa, 251-8555, Japan
| | | | - Piotr Dzięgiel
- Department of Histology and Embryology, Wroclaw Medical University, Chałubińskiego 6a, 50-368, Wroclaw, Poland
| | - Egbert Piasecki
- Hirszfeld Institute of Immunology and Experimental Therapy, Polish Academy of Sciences, Rudolfa Weigla 12, 53-114, Wroclaw, Poland
| | - Jerzy Leszek
- Department of Psychiatry, Wroclaw Medical University, Wybrzeże L. Pasteura 10, 50-367, Wroclaw, Poland
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10
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Kumar M, Quittot N, Dujardin S, Schlaffner CN, Viode A, Wiedmer A, Beerepoot P, Chun JE, Glynn C, Fernandes AR, Donahue C, Steen JA, Hyman BT. Alzheimer proteopathic tau seeds are biochemically a forme fruste of mature paired helical filaments. Brain 2024; 147:637-648. [PMID: 38236720 PMCID: PMC10834235 DOI: 10.1093/brain/awad378] [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: 01/23/2023] [Revised: 09/22/2023] [Accepted: 10/10/2023] [Indexed: 02/03/2024] Open
Abstract
Aggregation prone molecules, such as tau, form both historically well characterized fibrillar deposits (neurofibrillary tangles) and recently identified phosphate-buffered saline (PBS) extract species called proteopathic seeds. Both can cause normal endogenous tau to undergo templated misfolding. The relationship of these seeds to the fibrils that define tau-related diseases is unknown. We characterized the aqueous extractable and sarkosyl insoluble fibrillar tau species derived from human Alzheimer brain using mass spectrometry and in vitro bioassays. Post-translational modifications (PTMs) including phosphorylation, acetylation and ubiquitination are identified in both preparations. PBS extract seed competent tau can be distinguished from sarkosyl insoluble tau by the presence of overlapping, but less abundant, PTMs and an absence of some PTMs unique to the latter. The presence of ubiquitin and other PTMs on the PBS-extracted tau species correlates with the amount of tau in the seed competent size exclusion fractions, with the bioactivity and with the aggressiveness of clinical disease. These results demonstrate that the PTMs present on bioactive, seed competent PBS extract tau species are closely related to, but distinct from, the PTMs of mature paired helical filaments, consistent with the idea that they are a forme fruste of tau species that ultimately form fibrils.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mukesh Kumar
- Department of Neurology, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02115, USA
- F.M. Kirby Neurobiology Center, Boston Children’s Hospital, Boston, MA 02115, USA
| | - Noé Quittot
- Department of Neurology, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02115, USA
- Alzheimer Research Unit, Department of Neurology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA 02129, USA
| | - Simon Dujardin
- Department of Neurology, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02115, USA
- Alzheimer Research Unit, Department of Neurology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA 02129, USA
| | - Christoph N Schlaffner
- Department of Neurology, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02115, USA
- F.M. Kirby Neurobiology Center, Boston Children’s Hospital, Boston, MA 02115, USA
| | - Arthur Viode
- Department of Neurology, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02115, USA
- Department of Pathology, Boston Children’s Hospital, Boston, MA 02115, USA
| | - Anne Wiedmer
- Alzheimer Research Unit, Department of Neurology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA 02129, USA
| | - Pieter Beerepoot
- Department of Neurology, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02115, USA
- F.M. Kirby Neurobiology Center, Boston Children’s Hospital, Boston, MA 02115, USA
| | - Joshua E Chun
- Department of Neurology, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02115, USA
- Alzheimer Research Unit, Department of Neurology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA 02129, USA
| | - Calina Glynn
- Department of Neurology, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02115, USA
- Alzheimer Research Unit, Department of Neurology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA 02129, USA
| | - Analiese R Fernandes
- Alzheimer Research Unit, Department of Neurology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA 02129, USA
| | - Cameron Donahue
- Alzheimer Research Unit, Department of Neurology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA 02129, USA
| | - Judith A Steen
- Department of Neurology, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02115, USA
- F.M. Kirby Neurobiology Center, Boston Children’s Hospital, Boston, MA 02115, USA
| | - Bradley T Hyman
- Department of Neurology, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02115, USA
- Alzheimer Research Unit, Department of Neurology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA 02129, USA
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11
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Korde DS, Humpel C. A Combination of Heavy Metals and Intracellular Pathway Modulators Induces Alzheimer Disease-like Pathologies in Organotypic Brain Slices. Biomolecules 2024; 14:165. [PMID: 38397402 PMCID: PMC10887098 DOI: 10.3390/biom14020165] [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: 12/06/2023] [Revised: 01/17/2024] [Accepted: 01/26/2024] [Indexed: 02/25/2024] Open
Abstract
Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a progressive neurodegenerative disorder that is characterized by amyloid-beta (Aβ) plaques and tau neurofibrillary tangles (NFT). Modelling aspects of AD is challenging due to its complex multifactorial etiology and pathology. The present study aims to establish a cost-effective and rapid method to model the two primary pathologies in organotypic brain slices. Coronal hippocampal brain slices (150 µm) were generated from postnatal (day 8-10) C57BL6 wild-type mice and cultured for 9 weeks. Collagen hydrogels containing either an empty load or a mixture of human Aβ42 and P301S aggregated tau were applied to the slices. The media was further supplemented with various intracellular pathway modulators or heavy metals to augment the appearance of Aβ plaques and tau NFTs, as assessed by immunohistochemistry. Immunoreactivity for Aβ and tau was significantly increased in the ventral areas in slices with a mixture of human Aβ42 and P301S aggregated tau compared to slices with empty hydrogels. Aβ plaque- and tau NFT-like pathologies could be induced independently in slices. Heavy metals (aluminum, lead, cadmium) potently augmented Aβ plaque-like pathology, which developed intracellularly prior to cell death. Intracellular pathway modulators (scopolamine, wortmannin, MHY1485) significantly boosted tau NFT-like pathologies. A combination of nanomolar concentrations of scopolamine, wortmannin, MHY1485, lead, and cadmium in the media strongly increased Aβ plaque- and tau NFT-like immunoreactivity in ventral areas compared to the slices with non-supplemented media. The results highlight that we could harness the potential of the collagen hydrogel-based spreading of human Aβ42 and P301S aggregated tau, along with pharmacological manipulation, to produce pathologies relevant to AD. The results offer a novel ex vivo organotypic slice model to investigate AD pathologies with potential applications for screening drugs or therapies in the future.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Christian Humpel
- Laboratory of Psychiatry and Experimental Alzheimer’s Research, Medical University of Innsbruck, 6020 Innsbruck, Austria;
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12
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Soares Martins T, Pelech S, Ferreira M, Pinho B, Leandro K, de Almeida LP, Breitling B, Hansen N, Esselmann H, Wiltfang J, da Cruz e Silva OAB, Henriques AG. Phosphoproteome Microarray Analysis of Extracellular Particles as a Tool to Explore Novel Biomarker Candidates for Alzheimer's Disease. Int J Mol Sci 2024; 25:1584. [PMID: 38338863 PMCID: PMC10855802 DOI: 10.3390/ijms25031584] [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: 11/30/2023] [Revised: 01/18/2024] [Accepted: 01/22/2024] [Indexed: 02/12/2024] Open
Abstract
Phosphorylation plays a key role in Alzheimer's disease (AD) pathogenesis, impacting distinct processes such as amyloid-beta (Aβ) peptide production and tau phosphorylation. Impaired phosphorylation events contribute to senile plaques and neurofibrillary tangles' formation, two major histopathological hallmarks of AD. Blood-derived extracellular particles (bdEP) can represent a disease-related source of phosphobiomarker candidates, and hence, in this pilot study, bdEP of Control and AD cases were analyzed by a targeted phosphoproteomics approach using a high-density microarray that featured at least 1145 pan-specific and 913 phosphosite-specific antibodies. This approach, innovatively applied to bdEP, allowed the identification of 150 proteins whose expression levels and/or phosphorylation patterns were significantly altered across AD cases. Gene Ontology enrichment and Reactome pathway analysis unraveled potentially relevant molecular targets and disease-associated pathways, and protein-protein interaction networks were constructed to highlight key targets. The discriminatory value of both the total proteome and the phosphoproteome was evaluated by univariate and multivariate approaches. This pilot experiment supports that bdEP are enriched in phosphotargets relevant in an AD context, holding value as peripheral biomarker candidates for disease diagnosis.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tânia Soares Martins
- Neurosciences and Signaling Group, Institute of Biomedicine (iBiMED), Department of Medical Sciences, University of Aveiro, 3810-193 Aveiro, Portugal; (T.S.M.)
| | - Steven Pelech
- Department of Medicine, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC V5Z 1M9, Canada
- Kinexus Bioinformatics Corporation, Vancouver, BC V6P 6T3, Canada
| | - Maria Ferreira
- Neurosciences and Signaling Group, Institute of Biomedicine (iBiMED), Department of Medical Sciences, University of Aveiro, 3810-193 Aveiro, Portugal; (T.S.M.)
| | - Beatriz Pinho
- Neurosciences and Signaling Group, Institute of Biomedicine (iBiMED), Department of Medical Sciences, University of Aveiro, 3810-193 Aveiro, Portugal; (T.S.M.)
| | - Kevin Leandro
- Center for Neuroscience and Cell Biology, Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Coimbra, 3004-504 Coimbra, Portugal
- ViraVector–Viral Vector for Gene Transfer Core Facility, University of Coimbra, 3004-504 Coimbra, Portugal
| | - Luís Pereira de Almeida
- Center for Neuroscience and Cell Biology, Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Coimbra, 3004-504 Coimbra, Portugal
- ViraVector–Viral Vector for Gene Transfer Core Facility, University of Coimbra, 3004-504 Coimbra, Portugal
| | - Benedict Breitling
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, University Medical Center Goettingen (UMG), Georg-August University, 37075 Goettingen, Germany
| | - Niels Hansen
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, University Medical Center Goettingen (UMG), Georg-August University, 37075 Goettingen, Germany
| | - Hermann Esselmann
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, University Medical Center Goettingen (UMG), Georg-August University, 37075 Goettingen, Germany
| | - Jens Wiltfang
- Neurosciences and Signaling Group, Institute of Biomedicine (iBiMED), Department of Medical Sciences, University of Aveiro, 3810-193 Aveiro, Portugal; (T.S.M.)
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, University Medical Center Goettingen (UMG), Georg-August University, 37075 Goettingen, Germany
- German Center for Neurodegenerative Diseases (DZNE), 37075 Goettingen, Germany
| | - Odete A. B. da Cruz e Silva
- Neurosciences and Signaling Group, Institute of Biomedicine (iBiMED), Department of Medical Sciences, University of Aveiro, 3810-193 Aveiro, Portugal; (T.S.M.)
| | - Ana Gabriela Henriques
- Neurosciences and Signaling Group, Institute of Biomedicine (iBiMED), Department of Medical Sciences, University of Aveiro, 3810-193 Aveiro, Portugal; (T.S.M.)
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13
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Iqbal K. Tau and Alzheimer's disease: Past, present and future. Cytoskeleton (Hoboken) 2024; 81:116-121. [PMID: 38126608 PMCID: PMC10977900 DOI: 10.1002/cm.21822] [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: 08/30/2023] [Revised: 12/05/2023] [Accepted: 12/06/2023] [Indexed: 12/23/2023]
Abstract
My journey with tau started when in 1974 for the first time I isolated neurofibrillary tangles of paired helical filaments (PHFs) from autopsied Alzheimer's disease (AD) brains and discovered that they were made up of a ~50-70 KDa protein on SDS-polyacrylamide gels. Subsequently my team discovered that this PHF protein and the microtubule-associated factor called tau were one and the same protein. However, we found that tau in neurofibrillary tangles/PHFs in AD brain was abnormally hyperphosphorylated, and unlike normal tau, which promoted the assembly of tubulin into microtubules, the AD-hyperphosphorylated tau inhibited microtubule assembly. These discoveries of tau pathology in AD opened a new and a major area of research on tau and on the molecular pathology of this major cause of dementia in middle- and old-age individuals. Tau pathology, which without fail is made up of the aggregated hyperphosphorylated state of the protein, is also the hallmark lesion of a family of around 20 related neurodegenerative diseases, called tauopathies. Currently, tau pathology is a major drug target for the treatment of AD and related tauopathies. Both active and passive tau immunization human clinical trials at various stages are underway. Initial results range from negative to partially promising. Future studies will reveal whether tau therapy alone or in combination with drugs targeting Aβ and/or neurodegeneration will be required to achieve the most effective treatment for AD and related disorders.
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Affiliation(s)
- Khalid Iqbal
- Department of Neurochemistry, Inge Grundke-Iqbal Research Floor, New York State Institute for Basic Research in Developmental Disabilities, New York, USA
- Phanes Biotech, Inc., Malvern, Pennsylvania, USA
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14
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Raju RP, Cai L, Tyagi A, Pugazhenthi S. Interactions of Cellular Energetic Gene Clusters in the Alzheimer's Mouse Brain. Mol Neurobiol 2024; 61:476-486. [PMID: 37632678 PMCID: PMC10843700 DOI: 10.1007/s12035-023-03551-0] [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: 04/11/2023] [Accepted: 07/30/2023] [Indexed: 08/28/2023]
Abstract
Alzheimer's disease (AD) is the most common cause of dementia in the aging population. The pathological characteristics include extracellular senile plaques and intracellular neurofibrillary tangles. In addition, mitochondrial dysfunction, oxidative stress, and neuroinflammation contribute to AD pathogenesis. In this study, we sought to determine the crosstalk between different pathways in the brain of 5XFAD mice, a mouse model for amyloid pathology, by RNA-seq analysis. We observed significant changes in the expression of genes (1288 genes; adj p value < 0.05; log2-fold > 1 and < 1) related to pathways including oxidation-reduction, oxidative phosphorylation, innate immune response, ribosomal protein synthesis, and ubiquitin proteosome system. The most striking feature was the downregulation of genes related to oxidation-reduction process with changes in the expression of a large number of mitochondrial genes. We also observed an upregulation of several immune response genes. Gene interaction network of oxidation-reduction related genes further confirmed a tight cluster of mitochondrial genes. Furthermore, gene interaction analysis of all the 1288 genes showed at least three distinct interaction clusters, with the predominant one relating to cellular energetics. In summary, we identified 1288 genes distinctly different in the 5XFAD brain compared to the WT brain and found cellular energetics to be the most distinct gene cluster in the AD mouse brain.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Lun Cai
- Medical College of Georgia, Augusta University, Augusta, GA, USA
| | - Alpna Tyagi
- Rocky Mountain Regional VA Medical Center, Aurora, CO, USA
- Department of Medicine, University of Colorado-Anschutz Medical Campus, Aurora, CO, USA
| | - Subbiah Pugazhenthi
- Rocky Mountain Regional VA Medical Center, Aurora, CO, USA.
- Department of Medicine, University of Colorado-Anschutz Medical Campus, Aurora, CO, USA.
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15
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Lövestam S, Li D, Wagstaff JL, Kotecha A, Kimanius D, McLaughlin SH, Murzin AG, Freund SMV, Goedert M, Scheres SHW. Disease-specific tau filaments assemble via polymorphic intermediates. Nature 2024; 625:119-125. [PMID: 38030728 PMCID: PMC10764278 DOI: 10.1038/s41586-023-06788-w] [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: 07/24/2023] [Accepted: 10/26/2023] [Indexed: 12/01/2023]
Abstract
Intermediate species in the assembly of amyloid filaments are believed to play a central role in neurodegenerative diseases and may constitute important targets for therapeutic intervention1,2. However, structural information about intermediate species has been scarce and the molecular mechanisms by which amyloids assemble remain largely unknown. Here we use time-resolved cryogenic electron microscopy to study the in vitro assembly of recombinant truncated tau (amino acid residues 297-391) into paired helical filaments of Alzheimer's disease or into filaments of chronic traumatic encephalopathy3. We report the formation of a shared first intermediate amyloid filament, with an ordered core comprising residues 302-316. Nuclear magnetic resonance indicates that the same residues adopt rigid, β-strand-like conformations in monomeric tau. At later time points, the first intermediate amyloid disappears and we observe many different intermediate amyloid filaments, with structures that depend on the reaction conditions. At the end of both assembly reactions, most intermediate amyloids disappear and filaments with the same ordered cores as those from human brains remain. Our results provide structural insights into the processes of primary and secondary nucleation of amyloid assembly, with implications for the design of new therapies.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - David Li
- MRC Laboratory of Molecular Biology, Cambridge, UK
| | | | - Abhay Kotecha
- Thermo Fisher Scientific, Eindhoven, The Netherlands
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16
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Puangmalai N, Bhatt N, Bittar A, Jerez C, Shchankin N, Kayed R. Traumatic brain injury derived pathological tau polymorphs induce the distinct propagation pattern and neuroinflammatory response in wild type mice. Prog Neurobiol 2024; 232:102562. [PMID: 38135105 DOI: 10.1016/j.pneurobio.2023.102562] [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] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/04/2023] [Revised: 12/01/2023] [Accepted: 12/16/2023] [Indexed: 12/24/2023]
Abstract
The misfolding and aggregation of the tau protein into neurofibrillary tangles constitutes a central feature of tauopathies. Traumatic brain injury (TBI) has emerged as a potential risk factor, triggering the onset and progression of tauopathies. Our previous research revealed distinct polymorphisms in soluble tau oligomers originating from single versus repetitive mild TBIs. However, the mechanisms orchestrating the dissemination of TBI brain-derived tau polymorphs (TBI-BDTPs) remain elusive. In this study, we explored whether TBI-BDTPs could initiate pathological tau formation, leading to distinct pathogenic trajectories. Wild-type mice were exposed to TBI-BDTPs from sham, single-blast (SB), or repeated-blast (RB) conditions, and their memory function was assessed through behavioral assays at 2- and 8-month post-injection. Our findings revealed that RB-BDTPs induced cognitive and motor deficits, concurrently fostering the emergence of toxic tau aggregates within the injected hippocampus. Strikingly, this tau pathology propagated to cortical layers, intensifying over time. Importantly, RB-BDTP-exposed animals displayed heightened glial cell activation, NLRP3 inflammasome formation, and increased TBI biomarkers, particularly triggering the aggregation of S100B, which is indicative of a neuroinflammatory response. Collectively, our results shed light on the intricate mechanisms underlying TBI-BDTP-induced tau pathology and its association with neuroinflammatory processes. This investigation enhances our understanding of tauopathies and their interplay with neurodegenerative and inflammatory pathways following traumatic brain injury.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nicha Puangmalai
- Mitchell Center for Neurodegenerative Diseases, University of Texas Medical Branch, Galveston, TX 77555, USA; Departments of Neurology, Neuroscience and Cell Biology, University of Texas Medical Branch, Galveston, TX 77555, USA
| | - Nemil Bhatt
- Mitchell Center for Neurodegenerative Diseases, University of Texas Medical Branch, Galveston, TX 77555, USA; Departments of Neurology, Neuroscience and Cell Biology, University of Texas Medical Branch, Galveston, TX 77555, USA
| | - Alice Bittar
- Mitchell Center for Neurodegenerative Diseases, University of Texas Medical Branch, Galveston, TX 77555, USA; Departments of Neurology, Neuroscience and Cell Biology, University of Texas Medical Branch, Galveston, TX 77555, USA
| | - Cynthia Jerez
- Mitchell Center for Neurodegenerative Diseases, University of Texas Medical Branch, Galveston, TX 77555, USA; Departments of Neurology, Neuroscience and Cell Biology, University of Texas Medical Branch, Galveston, TX 77555, USA
| | - Nikita Shchankin
- Mitchell Center for Neurodegenerative Diseases, University of Texas Medical Branch, Galveston, TX 77555, USA; Departments of Neurology, Neuroscience and Cell Biology, University of Texas Medical Branch, Galveston, TX 77555, USA
| | - Rakez Kayed
- Mitchell Center for Neurodegenerative Diseases, University of Texas Medical Branch, Galveston, TX 77555, USA; Departments of Neurology, Neuroscience and Cell Biology, University of Texas Medical Branch, Galveston, TX 77555, USA.
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17
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Love RWB. Aniracetam: An Evidence-Based Model for Preventing the Accumulation of Amyloid-β Plaques in Alzheimer's Disease. J Alzheimers Dis 2024; 98:1235-1241. [PMID: 38552113 DOI: 10.3233/jad-231247] [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] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 04/20/2024]
Abstract
Alzheimer's disease is the leading cause of dementia in the world. It affects 6 million people in the United States and 50 million people worldwide. Alzheimer's disease is characterized by the accumulation of amyloid-β plaques (Aβ), an increase in tau protein neurofibrillary tangles, and a loss of synapses. Since the 1990s, removing and reducing Aβ has been the focus of Alzheimer's treatment and prevention research. The accumulation of Aβ can lead to oxidative stress, inflammation, neurotoxicity, and eventually apoptosis. These insults impair signaling systems in the brain, potentially leading to memory loss and cognitive decline. Aniracetam is a safe, effective, cognitive-enhancing drug that improves memory in both human and animal studies. Aniracetam may prevent the production and accumulation of Aβ by increasing α-secretase activity through two distinct pathways: 1) increasing brain derived neurotrophic factor expression and 2) positively modulating metabotropic glutamate receptors. This is the first paper to propose an evidence-based model for aniracetam reducing the accumulation and production of Aβ.
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Affiliation(s)
- Robert W B Love
- Research Department, Brain Fit For Life, LLC, Lewes, DE, USA
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18
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Desale SE, Chidambaram H, Chinnathambi S. Biochemical and Biophysical Characterization of Tau and α-Linolenic Acid Vesicles In Vitro. Methods Mol Biol 2024; 2754:193-203. [PMID: 38512668 DOI: 10.1007/978-1-0716-3629-9_11] [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] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 03/23/2024]
Abstract
Alzheimer's disease (AD) is characterized by the abnormal accumulation of disordered protein, that is, extracellular senile plaques of amyloid-β (Aβ) and intracellular neurofibrillary tangles of Tau. Tau protein has gained the attention in recent years owing to the ability to propagate in a "prion-like" nature. The disordered protein Tau possesses a high positive charge, which allows its binding to anionic proteins and factors. The native disorder of proteins attends the β-sheet structure from its random-coiled conformation upon charge compensation by various polyanionic agents such as heparin, RNA, etc. Anionic lipids such as arachidonic acid (AA) and oleic acid (OA) are also one of the factors which can induce aggregation of Tau in physiological conditions. The free units of Tau protein can bind to lipid membranes through its repeat domain (RD), the anionic side chains of the membrane lipids induce aggregation of Tau by reducing the activation barrier. In this study, we investigated the role of α-linolenic acid (ALA) as an inducing agent for Tau aggregation in vitro conditions. Omega-3 fatty acids bear a capacity to reduce the pathology of Tau by downregulating the Tau phosphorylation pathway. We have studied by using various biochemical or biophysical methods the potency of ALA as an aggregating agent for Tau. We have implemented different techniques such as SDS-PAGE, transmission electron microscopy, CD spectroscopy to evaluated higher-order aggregates of Tau upon induction by ALA.
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Affiliation(s)
- Smita Eknath Desale
- Neurobiology Group, Division of Biochemical Sciences, CSIR-National Chemical Laboratory, Pune, Maharashtra, India
- Academy of Scientific and Innovative Research (AcSIR), Ghaziabad, Uttar Pradesh, India
| | - Hariharakrishnan Chidambaram
- Neurobiology Group, Division of Biochemical Sciences, CSIR-National Chemical Laboratory, Pune, Maharashtra, India
- Academy of Scientific and Innovative Research (AcSIR), Ghaziabad, Uttar Pradesh, India
| | - Subashchandrabose Chinnathambi
- Neurobiology Group, Division of Biochemical Sciences, CSIR-National Chemical Laboratory, Pune, Maharashtra, India.
- Academy of Scientific and Innovative Research (AcSIR), Ghaziabad, Uttar Pradesh, India.
- Department of Neurochemistry, National Institute of Mental Health and Neuro Sciences (NIMHANS), Institute of National Importance, Bangalore, Karnataka, India.
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19
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Bloom GS, Norambuena A. Dysregulation of mTOR by tau in Alzheimer's disease. Cytoskeleton (Hoboken) 2024; 81:30-34. [PMID: 37638691 PMCID: PMC10919542 DOI: 10.1002/cm.21782] [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: 08/02/2023] [Revised: 08/17/2023] [Accepted: 08/18/2023] [Indexed: 08/29/2023]
Abstract
Tau was discovered in the mid 1970's as a microtubule-associated protein that stimulates tubulin polymerization, and subsequently was shown to be expressed primarily in neurons, where it is most concentrated in axons. Interest in tau rose by the late 1980's, when it was shown to be the principal subunit of the neurofibrillary tangles (NFTs) that accumulate in Alzheimer's disease (AD) brain, and achieved new heights by the late 1990's, when numerous tau mutations were found to be highly penetrant for AD-related disorders that also are associated with NFTs and came to be known as non-Alzheimer's tauopathies. The role of tau in neurodegeneration is far more complex than whatever effects on neurons may be caused by NFTs, however, and here we review our work on dysregulation of mTOR by tau in AD. mTOR is a protein kinase and master regulator of myriad aspects of cellular behavior. We have defined a complex signaling network whereby aberrant tau phosphorylation provoked by amyloid-β oligomers (AβOs), the building blocks of the amyloid plaques that form in AD brain, cause post-mitotic neurons to re-enter the cell cycle, but to die eventually instead of dividing, which may account for most neuron death in AD. Remarkably, we found that this same neuronal signaling network also poisons a fundamental cell biological process that we discovered, nutrient-induced mitochondrial activation, or NiMA. Tau-dependent cell cycle re-entry and NiMA inhibition occur in cultured neurons within a few hours of exposure to AβOs, and thus may represent seminal processes in AD pathogenesis.
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Affiliation(s)
- George S. Bloom
- Department of Biology, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, Virginia, USA
- Department of Cell Biology, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, Virginia, USA
- Department of Neuroscience, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, Virginia, USA
| | - Andrés Norambuena
- Department of Biology, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, Virginia, USA
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20
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Sun X, Ogbolu VC, Baas PW, Qiang L. Reevaluating tau reduction as a therapeutic approach for tauopathies: Insights and perspectives. Cytoskeleton (Hoboken) 2024; 81:57-62. [PMID: 37819557 PMCID: PMC10843461 DOI: 10.1002/cm.21790] [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: 07/25/2023] [Revised: 08/24/2023] [Accepted: 09/13/2023] [Indexed: 10/13/2023]
Abstract
Tau, one of the most abundant microtubule-associated protein in neurons plays a role in regulating microtubule dynamics in axons, as well as shaping the overall morphology of the axon. Recent studies challenge the traditional view of tau as a microtubule stabilizer and shed new light on the complexity of its role in regulating various properties of the microtubule. While reducing tau levels shows therapeutic promise for early tauopathies, efficacy wanes in later stages due to resilient toxic tau aggregates and neurofibrillary tangles. Notably, tauopathies involve factors beyond toxic tau alone, necessitating a broader therapeutic approach. Overexpression of human tau in mouse models, although useful for answering some questions, may not accurately reflect disease mechanisms in patients with tauopathies. Furthermore, the interplay between tau and MAP6, another microtubule-associated protein, adds complexity to tau's regulation of microtubule dynamics. Tau promotes the formation and elongation of labile microtubule domains, vital for cellular processes, while MAP6 stabilizes microtubules. A delicate balance between these proteins is important for neuronal function. Therefore, tau reduction therapies require a comprehensive understanding of disease progression, considering functional tau loss, toxic aggregates, and microtubule dynamics. Stage-dependent application and potential unintended consequences must be carefully evaluated. Restoring microtubule dynamics in late-stage tauopathies may necessitate alternative strategies. This knowledge is valuable for developing effective and safe treatments for tauopathies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xiaohuan Sun
- Department of Neurobiology and Anatomy, Drexel University College of Medicine, Philadelphia, PA 19129
| | - Victor C. Ogbolu
- Department of Neurobiology and Anatomy, Drexel University College of Medicine, Philadelphia, PA 19129
| | - Peter W. Baas
- Department of Neurobiology and Anatomy, Drexel University College of Medicine, Philadelphia, PA 19129
| | - Liang Qiang
- Department of Neurobiology and Anatomy, Drexel University College of Medicine, Philadelphia, PA 19129
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21
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Krummenacher D, He W, Kuhn B, Schnider C, Beurier A, Brom V, Sivasothy T, Marty C, Tosstorff A, Hewings DS, Mesch S, Pinard E, Brändlin M, Hochstrasser R, Westwood P, Rothe J, Kronenberger A, Morandi F, Gutbier S, Schuler A, Heer D, Gloria LE, Joedicke L, Rudolph MG, Müller L, Grüninger F, Baumann K, Kaniyappan S, Manevski N, Bartels B. Discovery of Orally Available and Brain Penetrant AEP Inhibitors. J Med Chem 2023; 66:17026-17043. [PMID: 38090813 DOI: 10.1021/acs.jmedchem.3c01804] [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] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/29/2023]
Abstract
Alzheimer's Disease (AD) is the most widespread form of dementia, with one of the pathological hallmarks being the formation of neurofibrillary tangles (NFTs). These tangles consist of phosphorylated Tau fragments. Asparagine endopeptidase (AEP) is a key Tau cleaving enzyme that generates aggregation-prone Tau fragments. Inhibition of AEP to reduce the level of toxic Tau fragment formation could represent a promising therapeutic strategy. Here, we report the first orthosteric, selective, orally bioavailable, and brain penetrant inhibitors with an irreversible binding mode. We outline the development of the series starting from reversible molecules and demonstrate the link between inhibition of AEP and reduction of Tau N368 fragment both in vitro and in vivo.
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Affiliation(s)
- Daniela Krummenacher
- Pharma Research and Early Development, Roche Innovation Center Basel, F. Hoffmann-La Roche Ltd., Basel CH-4070, Switzerland
| | - Weiping He
- WuXi AppTec (Wuhan) Co. Ltd., Wuhan East Lake High-Tech Development Zone, 666 GaoXin Road, Wuhan, Hubei 430075, China
| | - Bernd Kuhn
- Pharma Research and Early Development, Roche Innovation Center Basel, F. Hoffmann-La Roche Ltd., Basel CH-4070, Switzerland
| | - Christian Schnider
- Pharma Research and Early Development, Roche Innovation Center Basel, F. Hoffmann-La Roche Ltd., Basel CH-4070, Switzerland
| | - Angélica Beurier
- Pharma Research and Early Development, Roche Innovation Center Basel, F. Hoffmann-La Roche Ltd., Basel CH-4070, Switzerland
| | - Virginie Brom
- Pharma Research and Early Development, Roche Innovation Center Basel, F. Hoffmann-La Roche Ltd., Basel CH-4070, Switzerland
| | - Thulase Sivasothy
- Pharma Research and Early Development, Roche Innovation Center Basel, F. Hoffmann-La Roche Ltd., Basel CH-4070, Switzerland
| | - Christine Marty
- Pharma Research and Early Development, Roche Innovation Center Basel, F. Hoffmann-La Roche Ltd., Basel CH-4070, Switzerland
| | - Andreas Tosstorff
- Pharma Research and Early Development, Roche Innovation Center Basel, F. Hoffmann-La Roche Ltd., Basel CH-4070, Switzerland
| | - David S Hewings
- Pharma Research and Early Development, Roche Innovation Center Basel, F. Hoffmann-La Roche Ltd., Basel CH-4070, Switzerland
| | - Stefanie Mesch
- Pharma Research and Early Development, Roche Innovation Center Basel, F. Hoffmann-La Roche Ltd., Basel CH-4070, Switzerland
| | - Emmanuel Pinard
- Pharma Research and Early Development, Roche Innovation Center Basel, F. Hoffmann-La Roche Ltd., Basel CH-4070, Switzerland
| | - Mathis Brändlin
- Pharma Research and Early Development, Roche Innovation Center Basel, F. Hoffmann-La Roche Ltd., Basel CH-4070, Switzerland
| | - Remo Hochstrasser
- Pharma Research and Early Development, Roche Innovation Center Basel, F. Hoffmann-La Roche Ltd., Basel CH-4070, Switzerland
| | - Paul Westwood
- Pharma Research and Early Development, Roche Innovation Center Basel, F. Hoffmann-La Roche Ltd., Basel CH-4070, Switzerland
| | - Judith Rothe
- Pharma Research and Early Development, Roche Innovation Center Basel, F. Hoffmann-La Roche Ltd., Basel CH-4070, Switzerland
| | - Alexandra Kronenberger
- Pharma Research and Early Development, Roche Innovation Center Basel, F. Hoffmann-La Roche Ltd., Basel CH-4070, Switzerland
| | - Federica Morandi
- Pharma Research and Early Development, Roche Innovation Center Basel, F. Hoffmann-La Roche Ltd., Basel CH-4070, Switzerland
| | - Simon Gutbier
- Pharma Research and Early Development, Roche Innovation Center Basel, F. Hoffmann-La Roche Ltd., Basel CH-4070, Switzerland
| | - Angelika Schuler
- Pharma Research and Early Development, Roche Innovation Center Basel, F. Hoffmann-La Roche Ltd., Basel CH-4070, Switzerland
| | - Dominik Heer
- Pharma Research and Early Development, Roche Innovation Center Basel, F. Hoffmann-La Roche Ltd., Basel CH-4070, Switzerland
| | - Ludivine Esteves Gloria
- Pharma Research and Early Development, Roche Innovation Center Basel, F. Hoffmann-La Roche Ltd., Basel CH-4070, Switzerland
| | - Lisa Joedicke
- Pharma Research and Early Development, Roche Innovation Center Basel, F. Hoffmann-La Roche Ltd., Basel CH-4070, Switzerland
| | - Markus G Rudolph
- Pharma Research and Early Development, Roche Innovation Center Basel, F. Hoffmann-La Roche Ltd., Basel CH-4070, Switzerland
| | - Lutz Müller
- Pharma Research and Early Development, Roche Innovation Center Basel, F. Hoffmann-La Roche Ltd., Basel CH-4070, Switzerland
| | - Fiona Grüninger
- Pharma Research and Early Development, Roche Innovation Center Basel, F. Hoffmann-La Roche Ltd., Basel CH-4070, Switzerland
| | - Karlheinz Baumann
- Pharma Research and Early Development, Roche Innovation Center Basel, F. Hoffmann-La Roche Ltd., Basel CH-4070, Switzerland
| | - Senthilvelrajan Kaniyappan
- Pharma Research and Early Development, Roche Innovation Center Basel, F. Hoffmann-La Roche Ltd., Basel CH-4070, Switzerland
| | - Nenad Manevski
- Pharma Research and Early Development, Roche Innovation Center Basel, F. Hoffmann-La Roche Ltd., Basel CH-4070, Switzerland
| | - Björn Bartels
- Pharma Research and Early Development, Roche Innovation Center Basel, F. Hoffmann-La Roche Ltd., Basel CH-4070, Switzerland
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22
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Abstract
BACKGROUND Alzheimer's disease (AD) was described in 1907, and since then it changed from a relatively rare condition to one of the most prevalent diseases. OBJECTIVE To describe the evolution of the notions of dementias and AD, and to investigate the reasons for the increase in scientific interest in AD. METHODS A historical analysis was carried out on knowledge about dementia, the site of mental activity, the relationships between brain diseases and mental activity, and on the advances in research about AD, since its discovery until the publication of the amyloid cascade hypothesis in 1992. A search was carried out in the National Library of Medicine (PubMed) for scientific articles that included the terms dementia or AD over 50 years, from 1972 to 2021. RESULTS The scientific research on AD increased from 615 papers with the term AD in the first decade (1972-1981), to 100,028 papers in the last decade (2012-2021): an increase of 162.6 times whereas publications with the term dementia increased 28.6 times in the same period. In the 1960s and 1970s, a consensus was reached that AD is responsible for the majority of cases of dementia previously known as senile dementia. In the 1980s, beta-amyloid peptide was identified in the core of the senile plaque, hyperphosphorylated tau protein was found in neurofibrillary tangles, and a mutation was discovered in a hereditary form of AD. CONCLUSION The expansion of the concept of AD to include senile dementia, and the discoveries that occurred in the 1980s greatly expanded research in AD.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ricardo Nitrini
- Universidade de São Paulo, Faculdade de Medicina, São Paulo SP, Brazil.
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23
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Yang HS, Teng L, Kang D, Menon V, Ge T, Finucane HK, Schultz AP, Properzi M, Klein HU, Chibnik LB, Schneider JA, Bennett DA, Hohman TJ, Mayeux RP, Johnson KA, De Jager PL, Sperling RA. Cell-type-specific Alzheimer's disease polygenic risk scores are associated with distinct disease processes in Alzheimer's disease. Nat Commun 2023; 14:7659. [PMID: 38036535 PMCID: PMC10689816 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-023-43132-2] [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: 05/22/2023] [Accepted: 11/01/2023] [Indexed: 12/02/2023] Open
Abstract
Many of the Alzheimer's disease (AD) risk genes are specifically expressed in microglia and astrocytes, but how and when the genetic risk localizing to these cell types contributes to AD pathophysiology remains unclear. Here, we derive cell-type-specific AD polygenic risk scores (ADPRS) from two extensively characterized datasets and uncover the impact of cell-type-specific genetic risk on AD endophenotypes. In an autopsy dataset spanning all stages of AD (n = 1457), the astrocytic ADPRS affected diffuse and neuritic plaques (amyloid-β), while microglial ADPRS affected neuritic plaques, microglial activation, neurofibrillary tangles (tau), and cognitive decline. In an independent neuroimaging dataset of cognitively unimpaired elderly (n = 2921), astrocytic ADPRS was associated with amyloid-β, and microglial ADPRS was associated with amyloid-β and tau, connecting cell-type-specific genetic risk with AD pathology even before symptom onset. Together, our study provides human genetic evidence implicating multiple glial cell types in AD pathophysiology, starting from the preclinical stage.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hyun-Sik Yang
- Center for Alzheimer Research and Treatment, Department of Neurology, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Boston, MA, USA.
- Department of Neurology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA, USA.
- Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA.
- Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, Cambridge, MA, USA.
| | - Ling Teng
- Center for Alzheimer Research and Treatment, Department of Neurology, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Boston, MA, USA
- Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, Cambridge, MA, USA
| | - Daniel Kang
- Department of Neurology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Vilas Menon
- Center for Translational & Computational Neuroimmunology, Department of Neurology, Columbia University Irving Medical Center, New York, NY, USA
- Department of Neurology and the Taub Institute for the Study of Alzheimer's Disease and the Aging Brain, Columbia University Irving Medical Center, New York, NY, USA
| | - Tian Ge
- Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
- Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, Cambridge, MA, USA
- Psychiatric and Neurodevelopmental Genetics Unit, Center for Genomic Medicine, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA, USA
- Center for Precision Psychiatry, Department of Psychiatry, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Hilary K Finucane
- Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
- Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, Cambridge, MA, USA
- Department of Medicine, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Aaron P Schultz
- Department of Neurology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA, USA
- Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Michael Properzi
- Department of Neurology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Hans-Ulrich Klein
- Center for Translational & Computational Neuroimmunology, Department of Neurology, Columbia University Irving Medical Center, New York, NY, USA
- Department of Neurology and the Taub Institute for the Study of Alzheimer's Disease and the Aging Brain, Columbia University Irving Medical Center, New York, NY, USA
| | - Lori B Chibnik
- Department of Neurology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA, USA
- Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, Cambridge, MA, USA
- Department of Epidemiology, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Julie A Schneider
- Rush Alzheimer's Disease Center, Rush University Medical Center, Chicago, IL, USA
| | - David A Bennett
- Rush Alzheimer's Disease Center, Rush University Medical Center, Chicago, IL, USA
| | - Timothy J Hohman
- Department of Neurology, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, TN, USA
| | - Richard P Mayeux
- Department of Neurology and the Taub Institute for the Study of Alzheimer's Disease and the Aging Brain, Columbia University Irving Medical Center, New York, NY, USA
| | - Keith A Johnson
- Center for Alzheimer Research and Treatment, Department of Neurology, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Boston, MA, USA
- Department of Neurology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA, USA
- Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
- Department of Radiology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Philip L De Jager
- Center for Translational & Computational Neuroimmunology, Department of Neurology, Columbia University Irving Medical Center, New York, NY, USA
- Department of Neurology and the Taub Institute for the Study of Alzheimer's Disease and the Aging Brain, Columbia University Irving Medical Center, New York, NY, USA
| | - Reisa A Sperling
- Center for Alzheimer Research and Treatment, Department of Neurology, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Boston, MA, USA
- Department of Neurology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA, USA
- Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
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24
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Mandal PK, Maroon JC, Garg A, Arora NK, Bansal R, Kaushik A, Samkaria A, Kumaran G, Arora Y. Blood Biomarkers in Alzheimer's Disease. ACS Chem Neurosci 2023; 14:3975-3978. [PMID: 37878665 PMCID: PMC10655041 DOI: 10.1021/acschemneuro.3c00641] [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: 10/06/2023] [Accepted: 10/11/2023] [Indexed: 10/27/2023] Open
Abstract
Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a devastating neurodegenerative disorder that affects millions of people worldwide. The characteristic pathological manifestation of AD includes the deposition of extracellular insoluble β amyloid plaques and intracellular neurofibrillary tangles formed from hyperphosphorylated tau protein. Cost effective and minimally invasive peripheral blood-based biomarkers are critical for early AD diagnosis. Currently, the plasma based two fraction of β amyloid peptide ratio (Aβ42/40) and phosphorylated tau (p-tau) are considered as blood-based biomarkers for AD diagnosis. Recent research indicates that oxidative stress (OS) occurs prior to amyloid plaque (Aβ) formation and abnormal tau phosphorylation in AD. The imbalance of the master antioxidant, glutathione (GSH), and prooxidants (iron, zinc, and copper)─plays a crucial role in AD neurodegeneration. We present peripheral blood-based OS related biomarkers that are mechanistically involved in the disease process and may serve as a novel screening tool for early detection of AD onset. This OS based approach may also provide a quick and cost efficient method to monitor the effects of disease-modifying therapies in AD clinical trials.
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Affiliation(s)
- Pravat K. Mandal
- Neuroimaging
and Neurospectroscopy (NINS) Laboratory, National Brain Research Centre, Gurgaon 122052, India
- The
Florey Institute of Neuroscience and Mental Health, Melbourne School of Medicine Campus, Melbourne 3052, VIC, Australia
- Department
of Neurosurgery, University of Pittsburgh
Medical School, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 15213, United States
| | - Joseph C. Maroon
- Department
of Neurosurgery, University of Pittsburgh
Medical School, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 15213, United States
| | - Arun Garg
- Department
of Neurology, Medanta Medicity, Gurgaon 122001, Haryana, India
| | | | - Rishu Bansal
- Department
of Neurology, Medanta Medicity, Gurgaon 122001, Haryana, India
| | - Aditi Kaushik
- Neuroimaging
and Neurospectroscopy (NINS) Laboratory, National Brain Research Centre, Gurgaon 122052, India
| | - Avantika Samkaria
- Neuroimaging
and Neurospectroscopy (NINS) Laboratory, National Brain Research Centre, Gurgaon 122052, India
- Department
of Forensic Science, Chandigarh University, Mohali 160036, Punjab, India
| | - Gayathri Kumaran
- Neuroimaging
and Neurospectroscopy (NINS) Laboratory, National Brain Research Centre, Gurgaon 122052, India
| | - Yashika Arora
- Neuroimaging
and Neurospectroscopy (NINS) Laboratory, National Brain Research Centre, Gurgaon 122052, India
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25
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Wu N, Zhang L, Zhang X, Zhang Q, Liu J, Li Y, Yan XX, Liang Y, Zhang J, Cui M. Synthesis and Bioevaluation of 2-Styrylquinoxaline Derivatives as Tau-PET Tracers. Mol Pharm 2023; 20:5865-5876. [PMID: 37852240 DOI: 10.1021/acs.molpharmaceut.3c00717] [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] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/20/2023]
Abstract
This study focused on designing and evaluating Tau-PET tracers for noninvasive positron emission computed tomography (PET) imaging of neurofibrillary tangles (NFTs), a hallmark pathology of Alzheimer's disease (AD). The tracers were synthesized with a 2-styrylquinoxaline scaffold and varying lengths of FPEG chains. The compound [18F]15, which had two ethoxy units, showed high affinity for recombinant K18-Tau aggregates (Ki = 41.48 nM) and the highest selectivity versus Aβ1-42 aggregates (8.83-fold). In vitro autoradiography and fluorescent staining profiles further validated the binding of [18F]15 or 15 toward NFTs in brain sections from AD patients and Tau-transgenic mice. In normal ICR mice, [18F]15 exhibited an ideal initial brain uptake (11.21% ID/g at 2 min) and moderate washout ratio (2.29), and micro-PET studies in rats confirmed its ability to penetrate the blood-brain barrier with the peak SUV value of 1.94 in the cortex. These results suggest that [18F]15 has the potential to be developed into a useful Tau-PET tracer for early AD diagnosis and evaluation of anti-Tau therapeutics.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nan Wu
- Key Laboratory of Radiopharmaceuticals, Ministry of Education, College of Chemistry, Beijing Normal University, Beijing 100875, China
| | - Longfei Zhang
- Key Laboratory of Radiopharmaceuticals, Ministry of Education, College of Chemistry, Beijing Normal University, Beijing 100875, China
| | - Xiaojun Zhang
- Department of Nuclear Medicine, Chinese PLA General Hospital, Beijing 100853, China
| | - Qilei Zhang
- Department of Anatomy and Neurobiology, Xiangya School of Medicine, Central South University, Changsha 410013, China
| | - Jiaqi Liu
- Hubei Key Laboratory of Cell Homeostasis, College of Life Sciences, Taikang Center for Life and Medical Science, Hubei Key Laboratory of Cell Homeostasis, Wuhan University, Wuhan 430072, China
| | - Yuying Li
- Key Laboratory of Radiopharmaceuticals, Ministry of Education, College of Chemistry, Beijing Normal University, Beijing 100875, China
| | - Xiao-Xin Yan
- Department of Anatomy and Neurobiology, Xiangya School of Medicine, Central South University, Changsha 410013, China
| | - Yi Liang
- Hubei Key Laboratory of Cell Homeostasis, College of Life Sciences, Taikang Center for Life and Medical Science, Hubei Key Laboratory of Cell Homeostasis, Wuhan University, Wuhan 430072, China
| | - Jinming Zhang
- Department of Nuclear Medicine, Chinese PLA General Hospital, Beijing 100853, China
| | - Mengchao Cui
- Key Laboratory of Radiopharmaceuticals, Ministry of Education, College of Chemistry, Beijing Normal University, Beijing 100875, China
- Center for Advanced Materials Research, Beijing Normal University, Zhuhai 519087, China
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26
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Dave BP, Shah YB, Maheshwari KG, Mansuri KA, Prajapati BS, Postwala HI, Chorawala MR. Pathophysiological Aspects and Therapeutic Armamentarium of Alzheimer's Disease: Recent Trends and Future Development. Cell Mol Neurobiol 2023; 43:3847-3884. [PMID: 37725199 DOI: 10.1007/s10571-023-01408-7] [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] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/07/2023] [Accepted: 08/31/2023] [Indexed: 09/21/2023]
Abstract
Alzheimer's disease (AD) is the primary cause of dementia and is characterized by the death of brain cells due to the accumulation of insoluble amyloid plaques, hyperphosphorylation of tau protein, and the formation of neurofibrillary tangles within the cells. AD is also associated with other pathologies such as neuroinflammation, dysfunction of synaptic connections and circuits, disorders in mitochondrial function and energy production, epigenetic changes, and abnormalities in the vascular system. Despite extensive research conducted over the last hundred years, little is established about what causes AD or how to effectively treat it. Given the severity of the disease and the increasing number of affected individuals, there is a critical need to discover effective medications for AD. The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved several new drug molecules for AD management since 2003, but these drugs only provide temporary relief of symptoms and do not address the underlying causes of the disease. Currently, available medications focus on correcting the neurotransmitter disruption observed in AD, including cholinesterase inhibitors and an antagonist of the N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) receptor, which temporarily alleviates the signs of dementia but does not prevent or reverse the course of AD. Research towards disease-modifying AD treatments is currently underway, including gene therapy, lipid nanoparticles, and dendrimer-based therapy. These innovative approaches aim to target the underlying pathological processes of AD rather than just managing the symptoms. This review discusses the novel aspects of pathogenesis involved in the causation of AD of AD and in recent developments in the therapeutic armamentarium for the treatment of AD such as gene therapy, lipid nanoparticles, and dendrimer-based therapy, and many more.
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Affiliation(s)
- Bhavarth P Dave
- Department of Pharmacology and Pharmacy Practice, L. M. College of Pharmacy, Opp. Gujarat University, Navrangpura, Ahmedabad, Gujarat, 380009, India
| | - Yesha B Shah
- Department of Pharmacology and Pharmacy Practice, L. M. College of Pharmacy, Opp. Gujarat University, Navrangpura, Ahmedabad, Gujarat, 380009, India
| | - Kunal G Maheshwari
- Department of Pharmacology and Pharmacy Practice, L. M. College of Pharmacy, Opp. Gujarat University, Navrangpura, Ahmedabad, Gujarat, 380009, India
| | - Kaif A Mansuri
- Department of Pharmacology and Pharmacy Practice, L. M. College of Pharmacy, Opp. Gujarat University, Navrangpura, Ahmedabad, Gujarat, 380009, India
| | - Bhadrawati S Prajapati
- Department of Pharmacology and Pharmacy Practice, L. M. College of Pharmacy, Opp. Gujarat University, Navrangpura, Ahmedabad, Gujarat, 380009, India
| | - Humzah I Postwala
- Department of Pharmacology and Pharmacy Practice, L. M. College of Pharmacy, Opp. Gujarat University, Navrangpura, Ahmedabad, Gujarat, 380009, India
| | - Mehul R Chorawala
- Department of Pharmacology and Pharmacy Practice, L. M. College of Pharmacy, Opp. Gujarat University, Navrangpura, Ahmedabad, Gujarat, 380009, India.
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27
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Shah SJA, Zhang Q, Guo J, Liu H, Liu H, Villà-Freixa J. Identification of Aggregation Mechanism of Acetylated PHF6* and PHF6 Tau Peptides Based on Molecular Dynamics Simulations and Markov State Modeling. ACS Chem Neurosci 2023; 14:3959-3971. [PMID: 37830541 DOI: 10.1021/acschemneuro.3c00578] [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] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/14/2023] Open
Abstract
The microtubule-associated protein tau (MAPT) has a critical role in the development and preservation of the nervous system. However, tau's dysfunction and accumulation in the human brain can lead to several neurodegenerative diseases, such as Alzheimer's disease, Down's syndrome, and frontotemporal dementia. The microtubule binding (MTB) domain plays a significant, important role in determining the tau's pathophysiology, as the core of paired helical filaments PHF6* (275VQIINK280) and PHF6 (306VQIVYK311) of R2 and R3 repeat units, respectively, are formed in this region, which promotes tau aggregation. Post-translational modifications, and in particular lysine acetylation at K280 of PHF6* and K311 of PHF6, have been previously established to promote tau misfolding and aggregation. However, the exact aggregation mechanism is not known. In this study, we established an atomic-level nucleation-extension mechanism of the separated aggregation of acetylated PHF6* and PHF6 hexapeptides, respectively, of tau. We show that the acetylation of the lysine residues promotes the formation of β-sheet enriched high-ordered oligomers. The Markov state model analysis of ac-PHF6* and ac-PHF6 aggregation revealed the formation of an antiparallel dimer nucleus which could be extended from both sides in a parallel manner to form mixed-oriented and high-ordered oligomers. Our study describes the detailed mechanism for acetylation-driven tau aggregation, which provides valuable insights into the effect of post-translation modification in altering the pathophysiology of tau hexapeptides.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Qianqian Zhang
- Faculty of Applied Sciences, Macao Polytechnic University, 999078 Macao, SAR, China
| | - Jingjing Guo
- Faculty of Applied Sciences, Macao Polytechnic University, 999078 Macao, SAR, China
| | - Hongli Liu
- Jiangsu Key Laboratory of New Drug Research and Clinical Pharmacy, Xuzhou Medical University, 221004 Xuzhou, Jiangsu, China
| | - Huanxiang Liu
- Faculty of Applied Sciences, Macao Polytechnic University, 999078 Macao, SAR, China
| | - Jordi Villà-Freixa
- Departament de Biociències, Universitat de Vic─Universitat Central de Catalunya, 08500 Vic, Spain
- Institut de Recerca i Innovació en Ciències de la Vida i de la Salut a la Catalunya Central (IRIS-CC), 08500 Vic, Spain
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28
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Duan P, Dregni AJ, Mammeri NE, Hong M. Structure of the nonhelical filament of the Alzheimer's disease tau core. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2023; 120:e2310067120. [PMID: 37878719 PMCID: PMC10622913 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2310067120] [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: 06/15/2023] [Accepted: 09/27/2023] [Indexed: 10/27/2023] Open
Abstract
The microtubule-associated protein tau aggregates into neurofibrillary tangles in Alzheimer's disease (AD). The main type of aggregates, the paired helical filaments (PHF), incorporate about 20% of the full-length protein into the rigid core. Recently, cryo-electron microscopy data showed that a protease-resistant fragment of tau (residues 297-391) self-assembles in vitro in the presence of divalent cations to form twisted filaments whose molecular structure resembles that of AD PHF tau [S. Lövestam et al., Elife 11, e76494 (2022)]. To investigate whether this tau construct is uniquely predisposed to this morphology and structure, we fibrillized tau (297-391) under the reported conditions and determined its structure using solid-state NMR spectroscopy. Unexpectedly, the protein assembled predominantly into nontwisting ribbons whose rigid core spans residues 305-357. This rigid core forms a β-arch that turns at residues 322CGS324. Two protofilaments stack together via a long interface that stretches from G323 to I354. Together, these two protofilaments form a four-layered β-sheet core whose sidechains are stabilized by numerous polar and hydrophobic interactions. This structure gives insight into the fibril morphologies and molecular conformations that can be adopted by this protease-resistant core of AD tau under different pH and ionic conditions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Pu Duan
- Department of Chemistry, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA02139
| | - Aurelio J. Dregni
- Department of Chemistry, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA02139
| | - Nadia El Mammeri
- Department of Chemistry, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA02139
| | - Mei Hong
- Department of Chemistry, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA02139
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Andrade-Guerrero J, Rodríguez-Arellano P, Barron-Leon N, Orta-Salazar E, Ledesma-Alonso C, Díaz-Cintra S, Soto-Rojas LO. Advancing Alzheimer's Therapeutics: Exploring the Impact of Physical Exercise in Animal Models and Patients. Cells 2023; 12:2531. [PMID: 37947609 PMCID: PMC10648553 DOI: 10.3390/cells12212531] [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: 09/26/2023] [Revised: 10/18/2023] [Accepted: 10/25/2023] [Indexed: 11/12/2023] Open
Abstract
Alzheimer's disease (AD) is the main neurodegenerative disorder characterized by several pathophysiological features, including the misfolding of the tau protein and the amyloid beta (Aβ) peptide, neuroinflammation, oxidative stress, synaptic dysfunction, metabolic alterations, and cognitive impairment. These mechanisms collectively contribute to neurodegeneration, necessitating the exploration of therapeutic approaches with multiple targets. Physical exercise has emerged as a promising non-pharmacological intervention for AD, with demonstrated effects on promoting neurogenesis, activating neurotrophic factors, reducing Aβ aggregates, minimizing the formation of neurofibrillary tangles (NFTs), dampening inflammatory processes, mitigating oxidative stress, and improving the functionality of the neurovascular unit (NVU). Overall, the neuroprotective effects of exercise are not singular, but are multi-targets. Numerous studies have investigated physical exercise's potential in both AD patients and animal models, employing various exercise protocols to elucidate the underlying neurobiological mechanisms and effects. The objective of this review is to analyze the neurological therapeutic effects of these exercise protocols in animal models and compare them with studies conducted in AD patients. By translating findings from different approaches, this review aims to identify opportune, specific, and personalized therapeutic windows, thus advancing research on the use of physical exercise with AD patients.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jesús Andrade-Guerrero
- Laboratorio de Patogénesis Molecular, Laboratorio 4, Edificio A4, Carrera Médico Cirujano, Facultad de Estudios Superiores Iztacala, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Tlalnepantla 54090, Mexico;
- Departamento de Neurobiología del Desarrollo y Neurofisiología, Instituto de Neurobiología, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Queretaro 76230, Mexico; (P.R.-A.); (N.B.-L.); (E.O.-S.); (C.L.-A.)
| | - Paola Rodríguez-Arellano
- Departamento de Neurobiología del Desarrollo y Neurofisiología, Instituto de Neurobiología, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Queretaro 76230, Mexico; (P.R.-A.); (N.B.-L.); (E.O.-S.); (C.L.-A.)
| | - Nayeli Barron-Leon
- Departamento de Neurobiología del Desarrollo y Neurofisiología, Instituto de Neurobiología, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Queretaro 76230, Mexico; (P.R.-A.); (N.B.-L.); (E.O.-S.); (C.L.-A.)
| | - Erika Orta-Salazar
- Departamento de Neurobiología del Desarrollo y Neurofisiología, Instituto de Neurobiología, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Queretaro 76230, Mexico; (P.R.-A.); (N.B.-L.); (E.O.-S.); (C.L.-A.)
| | - Carlos Ledesma-Alonso
- Departamento de Neurobiología del Desarrollo y Neurofisiología, Instituto de Neurobiología, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Queretaro 76230, Mexico; (P.R.-A.); (N.B.-L.); (E.O.-S.); (C.L.-A.)
| | - Sofía Díaz-Cintra
- Departamento de Neurobiología del Desarrollo y Neurofisiología, Instituto de Neurobiología, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Queretaro 76230, Mexico; (P.R.-A.); (N.B.-L.); (E.O.-S.); (C.L.-A.)
| | - Luis O. Soto-Rojas
- Laboratorio de Patogénesis Molecular, Laboratorio 4, Edificio A4, Carrera Médico Cirujano, Facultad de Estudios Superiores Iztacala, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Tlalnepantla 54090, Mexico;
- Red MEDICI, Carrera Médico Cirujano, Facultad de Estudios Superiores Iztacala, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Tlalnepantla 54090, Mexico
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Abskharon R, Pan H, Sawaya MR, Seidler PM, Olivares EJ, Chen Y, Murray KA, Zhang J, Lantz C, Bentzel M, Boyer DR, Cascio D, Nguyen BA, Hou K, Cheng X, Pardon E, Williams CK, Nana AL, Vinters HV, Spina S, Grinberg LT, Seeley WW, Steyaert J, Glabe CG, Ogorzalek Loo RR, Loo JA, Eisenberg DS. Structure-based design of nanobodies that inhibit seeding of Alzheimer's patient-extracted tau fibrils. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2023; 120:e2300258120. [PMID: 37801475 PMCID: PMC10576031 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2300258120] [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: 01/16/2023] [Accepted: 08/21/2023] [Indexed: 10/08/2023] Open
Abstract
Despite much effort, antibody therapies for Alzheimer's disease (AD) have shown limited efficacy. Challenges to the rational design of effective antibodies include the difficulty of achieving specific affinity to critical targets, poor expression, and antibody aggregation caused by buried charges and unstructured loops. To overcome these challenges, we grafted previously determined sequences of fibril-capping amyloid inhibitors onto a camel heavy chain antibody scaffold. These sequences were designed to cap fibrils of tau, known to form the neurofibrillary tangles of AD, thereby preventing fibril elongation. The nanobodies grafted with capping inhibitors blocked tau aggregation in biosensor cells seeded with postmortem brain extracts from AD and progressive supranuclear palsy (PSP) patients. The tau capping nanobody inhibitors also blocked seeding by recombinant tau oligomers. Another challenge to the design of effective antibodies is their poor blood-brain barrier (BBB) penetration. In this study, we also designed a bispecific nanobody composed of a nanobody that targets a receptor on the BBB and a tau capping nanobody inhibitor, conjoined by a flexible linker. We provide evidence that the bispecific nanobody improved BBB penetration over the tau capping inhibitor alone after intravenous administration in mice. Our results suggest that the design of synthetic antibodies that target sequences that drive protein aggregation may be a promising approach to inhibit the prion-like seeding of tau and other proteins involved in AD and related proteinopathies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Romany Abskharon
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, UCLA,Los Angeles, CA90095
- Department of Biological Chemistry, UCLA, Los Angeles, CA90095
- HHMI, UCLA, Los Angeles, CA90095
- UCLA-Department of Energy Institute, Molecular Biology Institute, UCLA, Los Angeles, CA90095
| | - Hope Pan
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, UCLA,Los Angeles, CA90095
- Department of Biological Chemistry, UCLA, Los Angeles, CA90095
- HHMI, UCLA, Los Angeles, CA90095
- UCLA-Department of Energy Institute, Molecular Biology Institute, UCLA, Los Angeles, CA90095
| | - Michael R. Sawaya
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, UCLA,Los Angeles, CA90095
- Department of Biological Chemistry, UCLA, Los Angeles, CA90095
- HHMI, UCLA, Los Angeles, CA90095
- UCLA-Department of Energy Institute, Molecular Biology Institute, UCLA, Los Angeles, CA90095
| | - Paul M. Seidler
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, UCLA,Los Angeles, CA90095
- Department of Biological Chemistry, UCLA, Los Angeles, CA90095
- HHMI, UCLA, Los Angeles, CA90095
- UCLA-Department of Energy Institute, Molecular Biology Institute, UCLA, Los Angeles, CA90095
| | | | - Yu Chen
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, UCLA,Los Angeles, CA90095
- Molecular Instrumentation Center, UCLA, Los Angeles, CA90095
| | - Kevin A. Murray
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, UCLA,Los Angeles, CA90095
- Department of Biological Chemistry, UCLA, Los Angeles, CA90095
- HHMI, UCLA, Los Angeles, CA90095
- UCLA-Department of Energy Institute, Molecular Biology Institute, UCLA, Los Angeles, CA90095
| | - Jeffrey Zhang
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, UCLA,Los Angeles, CA90095
- Department of Biological Chemistry, UCLA, Los Angeles, CA90095
- HHMI, UCLA, Los Angeles, CA90095
- UCLA-Department of Energy Institute, Molecular Biology Institute, UCLA, Los Angeles, CA90095
| | - Carter Lantz
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, UCLA,Los Angeles, CA90095
| | - Megan Bentzel
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, UCLA,Los Angeles, CA90095
- Department of Biological Chemistry, UCLA, Los Angeles, CA90095
- HHMI, UCLA, Los Angeles, CA90095
- UCLA-Department of Energy Institute, Molecular Biology Institute, UCLA, Los Angeles, CA90095
| | - David R. Boyer
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, UCLA,Los Angeles, CA90095
- Department of Biological Chemistry, UCLA, Los Angeles, CA90095
- HHMI, UCLA, Los Angeles, CA90095
- UCLA-Department of Energy Institute, Molecular Biology Institute, UCLA, Los Angeles, CA90095
| | - Duilio Cascio
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, UCLA,Los Angeles, CA90095
- Department of Biological Chemistry, UCLA, Los Angeles, CA90095
- HHMI, UCLA, Los Angeles, CA90095
- UCLA-Department of Energy Institute, Molecular Biology Institute, UCLA, Los Angeles, CA90095
| | - Binh A. Nguyen
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, UCLA,Los Angeles, CA90095
- Department of Biological Chemistry, UCLA, Los Angeles, CA90095
- HHMI, UCLA, Los Angeles, CA90095
- UCLA-Department of Energy Institute, Molecular Biology Institute, UCLA, Los Angeles, CA90095
| | - Ke Hou
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, UCLA,Los Angeles, CA90095
- Department of Biological Chemistry, UCLA, Los Angeles, CA90095
- HHMI, UCLA, Los Angeles, CA90095
- UCLA-Department of Energy Institute, Molecular Biology Institute, UCLA, Los Angeles, CA90095
| | - Xinyi Cheng
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, UCLA,Los Angeles, CA90095
- Department of Biological Chemistry, UCLA, Los Angeles, CA90095
- HHMI, UCLA, Los Angeles, CA90095
- UCLA-Department of Energy Institute, Molecular Biology Institute, UCLA, Los Angeles, CA90095
| | - Els Pardon
- VIB-Vrije Universiteit Brussel Center for Structural Biology, VIB and Vrije Universiteit Brussel, BrusselsB-1050, Belgium
| | - Christopher K. Williams
- Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, David Geffen School of Medicine, UCLA, Los Angeles, CA90095
- Department of Neurology, David Geffen School of Medicine, UCLA, Los Angeles, CA90095
| | - Alissa L. Nana
- Department of Neurology, University of California San Francisco Weill Institute for Neurosciences, University of California, San Francisco, CA94143
| | - Harry V. Vinters
- Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, David Geffen School of Medicine, UCLA, Los Angeles, CA90095
- Department of Neurology, David Geffen School of Medicine, UCLA, Los Angeles, CA90095
| | - Salvatore Spina
- Department of Neurology, University of California San Francisco Weill Institute for Neurosciences, University of California, San Francisco, CA94143
| | - Lea T. Grinberg
- Department of Neurology, University of California San Francisco Weill Institute for Neurosciences, University of California, San Francisco, CA94143
- Department of Pathology, University of California, San Francisco, CA94143
| | - William W. Seeley
- Department of Neurology, University of California San Francisco Weill Institute for Neurosciences, University of California, San Francisco, CA94143
- Department of Pathology, University of California, San Francisco, CA94143
| | - Jan Steyaert
- VIB-Vrije Universiteit Brussel Center for Structural Biology, VIB and Vrije Universiteit Brussel, BrusselsB-1050, Belgium
| | - Charles G. Glabe
- Department of Molecular Biology and Biochemistry, University of California, Irvine, CA92697
| | - Rachel R. Ogorzalek Loo
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, UCLA,Los Angeles, CA90095
- Department of Biological Chemistry, UCLA, Los Angeles, CA90095
- UCLA-Department of Energy Institute, Molecular Biology Institute, UCLA, Los Angeles, CA90095
| | - Joseph A. Loo
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, UCLA,Los Angeles, CA90095
- Department of Biological Chemistry, UCLA, Los Angeles, CA90095
- UCLA-Department of Energy Institute, Molecular Biology Institute, UCLA, Los Angeles, CA90095
| | - David S. Eisenberg
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, UCLA,Los Angeles, CA90095
- Department of Biological Chemistry, UCLA, Los Angeles, CA90095
- HHMI, UCLA, Los Angeles, CA90095
- UCLA-Department of Energy Institute, Molecular Biology Institute, UCLA, Los Angeles, CA90095
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Eslami S, Hosseinzadeh Shakib N, Fooladfar Z, Nasrollahian S, Baghaei S, Mosaddad SA, Motamedifar M. The role of periodontitis-associated bacteria in Alzheimer's disease: A narrative review. J Basic Microbiol 2023; 63:1059-1072. [PMID: 37311215 DOI: 10.1002/jobm.202300250] [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] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/02/2023] [Revised: 06/01/2023] [Accepted: 06/03/2023] [Indexed: 06/15/2023]
Abstract
Alzheimer's disease causes memory loss and dementia in older adults through a neurodegenerative mechanism. Despite the pathophysiological clarification of this cognitive disorder, novel molecular and cellular pathways should be identified to determine its exact mechanism. Alzheimer's disease (AD) is pathologically characterized by senile plaques comprising beta-amyloid and neurofibrillary tangles (NFTs) formed by hyperphosphorylated tau as a microtubule-associated protein with a key role in the pathogenesis of AD. Periodontitis through inflammatory pathways is a risk factor for deteriorating cognitive impairment in AD patients. Poor oral hygiene coupled with immunocompromised status in older adults causes periodontal diseases and chronic inflammations through an oral bacterial imbalance. Toxic bacterial products, including bacteria themselves, can reach the central nervous system through the bloodstream and evoke inflammatory responses. The present review was conducted to investigate relationships between AD and periodontitis-involved bacteria as a risk factor.
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Affiliation(s)
- Saba Eslami
- Research Central Laboratory, Shiraz University of Medical Sciences, Shiraz, Iran
| | | | - Zahra Fooladfar
- Student Research Committee, School of Medicine, Shiraz University of Medical Sciences, Shiraz, Iran
| | - Sina Nasrollahian
- Student Research Committee, School of Medicine, Shiraz University of Medical Sciences, Shiraz, Iran
| | - Saman Baghaei
- Student Research Committee, School of Dentistry, Shiraz University of Medical Sciences, Shiraz, Iran
| | - Seyed Ali Mosaddad
- Student Research Committee, School of Dentistry, Shiraz University of Medical Sciences, Shiraz, Iran
| | - Mohammad Motamedifar
- HIV/AIDS Research Center, Institute of Health, Shiraz University of Medical Sciences, Shiraz, Iran
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Tomé SO, Tsaka G, Ronisz A, Ospitalieri S, Gawor K, Gomes LA, Otto M, von Arnim CAF, Van Damme P, Van Den Bosch L, Ghebremedhin E, Laureyssen C, Sleegers K, Vandenberghe R, Rousseau F, Schymkowitz J, Thal DR. TDP-43 pathology is associated with increased tau burdens and seeding. Mol Neurodegener 2023; 18:71. [PMID: 37777806 PMCID: PMC10544192 DOI: 10.1186/s13024-023-00653-0] [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] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/13/2023] [Accepted: 09/04/2023] [Indexed: 10/02/2023] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Most Alzheimer's Disease (AD) cases also exhibit limbic predominant age-related TDP-43 encephalopathy neuropathological changes (LATE-NC), besides amyloid-β plaques and neurofibrillary tangles (NFTs) containing hyperphosphorylated tau (p-tau). LATE-NC is characterized by cytoplasmic aggregates positive for pathological TDP-43 and is associated with more severe clinical outcomes in AD, compared to AD cases lacking TDP-43 pathology TDP-43: AD(LATE-NC-). Accumulating evidence suggests that TDP-43 and p-tau interact and exhibit pathological synergy during AD pathogenesis. However, it is not yet fully understood how the presence of TDP-43 affects p-tau aggregation in symptomatic AD. METHODS In this study, we investigated the impact of TDP-43 proteinopathy on p-tau pathology with different approaches: histologically, in a human post-mortem cohort (n = 98), as well as functionally using a tau biosensor cell line and TDP-43A315T transgenic mice. RESULTS We found that AD cases with comorbid LATE-NC, AD(LATE-NC+), have increased burdens of pretangles and/or NFTs as well as increased brain levels of p-tau199, compared to AD(LATE-NC-) cases and controls. The burden of TDP-43 pathology was also correlated with the Braak NFT stages. A tau biosensor cell line treated with sarkosyl-insoluble, brain-derived homogenates from AD(LATE-NC+) cases displayed exacerbated p-tau seeding, compared to control and AD(LATE-NC-)-treated cells. Consistently, TDP-43A315T mice injected with AD(LATE-NC+)-derived extracts also exhibited a more severe hippocampal seeding, compared to the remaining experimental groups, albeit no TDP-43 aggregation was observed. CONCLUSIONS Our findings extend the current knowledge by supporting a functional synergy between TDP-43 and p-tau. We further demonstrate that TDP-43 pathology worsens p-tau aggregation in an indirect manner and increases its seeding potential, probably by increasing p-tau levels. This may ultimately contribute to tau-driven neurotoxicity and cell death. Because most AD cases present with comorbid LATE-NC, this study has an impact on the understanding of TDP-43 and tau pathogenesis in AD and LATE, which account for the majority of dementia cases worldwide. Moreover, it highlights the need for the development of a biomarker that detects TDP-43 during life, in order to properly stratify AD and LATE patients.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sandra O Tomé
- Laboratory of Neuropathology - Department of Imaging and Pathology, KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium.
- Leuven Brain Institute, KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium.
| | - Grigoria Tsaka
- Laboratory of Neuropathology - Department of Imaging and Pathology, KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium
- Leuven Brain Institute, KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium
- Switch Laboratory, VIB-KU Leuven Center for Brain & Disease Research, Leuven, Belgium
- Department of Cellular and Molecular Medicine, KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium
| | - Alicja Ronisz
- Laboratory of Neuropathology - Department of Imaging and Pathology, KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium
- Leuven Brain Institute, KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium
| | - Simona Ospitalieri
- Laboratory of Neuropathology - Department of Imaging and Pathology, KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium
- Leuven Brain Institute, KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium
| | - Klara Gawor
- Laboratory of Neuropathology - Department of Imaging and Pathology, KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium
- Leuven Brain Institute, KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium
| | - Luis Aragão Gomes
- Laboratory of Neuropathology - Department of Imaging and Pathology, KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium
- Leuven Brain Institute, KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium
| | - Markus Otto
- Department of Neurology, University of Ulm, Ulm, Germany
- Department of Neurology, University of Halle, Halle, Germany
| | - Christine A F von Arnim
- Department of Neurology, University of Ulm, Ulm, Germany
- Department of Geriatrics, University Medical Center Göttingen, Göttingen, Germany
| | - Philip Van Damme
- Leuven Brain Institute, KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium
- Laboratory for Neurobiology - VIB-KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium
- Department of Neurology, UZ Leuven, Leuven, Belgium
| | - Ludo Van Den Bosch
- Leuven Brain Institute, KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium
- Laboratory for Neurobiology - VIB-KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium
| | - Estifanos Ghebremedhin
- Institute for Clinical Neuroanatomy - Johann Wolfgang Goethe University, Frankfurt Am Main, Germany
| | - Celeste Laureyssen
- Complex Genetics of Alzheimer's Disease Group, VIB-University of Antwerp Center for Molecular Neurology, Antwerp, Belgium
- Department of Biomedical Sciences, University of Antwerp, Antwerp, Belgium
| | - Kristel Sleegers
- Complex Genetics of Alzheimer's Disease Group, VIB-University of Antwerp Center for Molecular Neurology, Antwerp, Belgium
- Department of Biomedical Sciences, University of Antwerp, Antwerp, Belgium
| | - Rik Vandenberghe
- Leuven Brain Institute, KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium
- Department of Neurology, UZ Leuven, Leuven, Belgium
- Laboratory of Experimental Neurology - Department of Neurosciences, KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium
| | - Frederic Rousseau
- Switch Laboratory, VIB-KU Leuven Center for Brain & Disease Research, Leuven, Belgium
- Department of Cellular and Molecular Medicine, KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium
| | - Joost Schymkowitz
- Switch Laboratory, VIB-KU Leuven Center for Brain & Disease Research, Leuven, Belgium
- Department of Cellular and Molecular Medicine, KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium
| | - Dietmar Rudolf Thal
- Laboratory of Neuropathology - Department of Imaging and Pathology, KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium
- Leuven Brain Institute, KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium
- Department of Pathology, UZ Leuven, Leuven, Belgium
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Abstract
Alzheimer's disease (AD) is characterized by the presence of two types of protein deposits in the brain, amyloid plaques and neurofibrillary tangles. The first one are dense deposits of beta amyloid protein, the second one are dense deposits of the protein tau. These proteins are present in all of our brains, but in AD they act unusually, leading to neuronal degeneration. This review will provide an overview of the AD, including the role of amyloid beta and tau, and mechanisms that lead to the formation of plaques and tangles. The review will also cover the existing researches that have focused on the inhibition of amyloid beta formation, cholinesterase, tau hyperphosphorylation, the pathogenic mechanisms of apoE4, and GSK-3 as a solution that could be used to slow or prevent the disease.
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Affiliation(s)
- Abdelkader Basli
- Laboratory of Interaction Research, Biodiversity, Ecosystems and Biotechnology, Faculty of Sciences, University of Skikda, Skikda, Algeria
| | - Jihane Bounaas
- Laboratory of Interaction Research, Biodiversity, Ecosystems and Biotechnology, Faculty of Sciences, University of Skikda, Skikda, Algeria
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34
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Waheed Z, Choudhary J, Jatala FH, Fatimah, Noor A, Zerr I, Zafar S. The Role of Tau Proteoforms in Health and Disease. Mol Neurobiol 2023; 60:5155-5166. [PMID: 37266762 DOI: 10.1007/s12035-023-03387-8] [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] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/12/2022] [Accepted: 05/13/2023] [Indexed: 06/03/2023]
Abstract
Tau is a microtubule-associated binding protein in the nervous system that is known for its role in stabilizing microtubules throughout the nerve cell. It accumulates as β-sheet-rich aggregates and neurofibrillary tangles, leading to an array of different pathologies. Six splice variants of this protein, generated from the microtubule-associated protein tau (MAPT) gene, are expressed in the brain. Amongst these variants, 0N3R, is prominent during fetal development, while the rest, 0N4R, 1N3R, 1N4R, 2N3R, and 2N4R, are expressed in postnatal stages. Tau isoforms play their role separately or in combination with others to contribute to one or multiple neurodegenerative disorders and clinical syndromes. For instance, in Alzheimer's disease and a subset of frontotemporal lobar degeneration (FTLD)-MAPT (i.e., R406W and V337M), both 3R and 4R isoforms are involved; therefore, they are called 3R/4R mix tauopathies. On the other hand, 4R isoforms are aggregated in progressive supranuclear palsy (PSP), corticobasal degeneration (CBD), and a majority of FTLD-MAPT and these diseases are called 4R tauopathies. Similarly, Pick's disease has an association with 3R tau isoforms and is thereby referred to as 3R tauopathy. Unlike 3R isoforms, the 4R variants have a faster rate of aggregation that accelerates the associated neurodegenerative mechanisms. Moreover, post-translational modifications of each isoform occur at a different rate and dictate their physiological and pathological attributes. The smallest tau isoform (0N3R) is highly phosphorylated in the fetal brain but does not lead to the generation of aggregates. On the other hand, proteoforms in the adult human brain undergo aggregation upon their phosphorylation and glycation. Expanding on this knowledge, this article aims to review the physiological and pathological roles of tau isoforms and their underlying mechanisms that result in neurological deficits. Physiological and pathological relevance of microtubule-associated protein tau (MAPT): Tau exists as six splice variants in the brain, each differing with respect to expression, post-translational modifications (PTMs), and aggregation kinetics. Physiologically, they are involved in the stabilization of microtubules that form the molecular highways for axonal transport. However, an imbalance in their expression and the associated PTMs leads to a disruption in their physiological function through the formation of neurofibrillary tangles that accumulate in various regions of the brain and contribute to several types of tauopathies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zuha Waheed
- School of Mechanical and Manufacturing Engineering (SMME), National University of Sciences and Technology (NUST), Bolan Road, Sector H-12, Islamabad, 46000, Pakistan
| | - Jawaria Choudhary
- School of Mechanical and Manufacturing Engineering (SMME), National University of Sciences and Technology (NUST), Bolan Road, Sector H-12, Islamabad, 46000, Pakistan
| | - Faria Hasan Jatala
- School of Mechanical and Manufacturing Engineering (SMME), National University of Sciences and Technology (NUST), Bolan Road, Sector H-12, Islamabad, 46000, Pakistan
| | - Fatimah
- School of Mechanical and Manufacturing Engineering (SMME), National University of Sciences and Technology (NUST), Bolan Road, Sector H-12, Islamabad, 46000, Pakistan
| | - Aneeqa Noor
- School of Mechanical and Manufacturing Engineering (SMME), National University of Sciences and Technology (NUST), Bolan Road, Sector H-12, Islamabad, 46000, Pakistan.
| | - Inga Zerr
- Clinical Department of Neurology, University Medical Center Göttingen and the German Center for Neurodegenerative Diseases (DZNE), Robert-Koch-Straße 40, 37075, Göttingen, Germany
| | - Saima Zafar
- School of Mechanical and Manufacturing Engineering (SMME), National University of Sciences and Technology (NUST), Bolan Road, Sector H-12, Islamabad, 46000, Pakistan
- Clinical Department of Neurology, University Medical Center Göttingen and the German Center for Neurodegenerative Diseases (DZNE), Robert-Koch-Straße 40, 37075, Göttingen, Germany
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35
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Xia Q, Wang Z, Wan W, Feng H, Sun R, Jing B, Ge Y, Liu Y. Fluorene-based tau fibrillation sensor and inhibitor with fluorogenic and photo-crosslinking properties. Chem Commun (Camb) 2023; 59:10008-10011. [PMID: 37522834 DOI: 10.1039/d3cc02581k] [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] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 08/01/2023]
Abstract
Tau protein aggregation into neurofibrillary tangles often causes tauopathies. Herein, we report fluorene based sensors with fluorogenicity upon binding to tau proteins. Intriguingly, these sensors possess triplet state properties to inhibit tau fibrillation upon photo-induced crosslinking.
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Affiliation(s)
- Qiuxuan Xia
- CAS Key Laboratory of Separation Science for Analytical Chemistry, Dalian Institute of Chemical Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 457 Zhongshan Road, Dalian 116023, China.
- University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China
| | - Zhiming Wang
- CAS Key Laboratory of Separation Science for Analytical Chemistry, Dalian Institute of Chemical Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 457 Zhongshan Road, Dalian 116023, China.
- The Second Hospital of Dalian Medical University, 467 Zhongshan Road, Dalian, 116023, China
| | - Wang Wan
- CAS Key Laboratory of Separation Science for Analytical Chemistry, Dalian Institute of Chemical Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 457 Zhongshan Road, Dalian 116023, China.
| | - Huan Feng
- CAS Key Laboratory of Separation Science for Analytical Chemistry, Dalian Institute of Chemical Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 457 Zhongshan Road, Dalian 116023, China.
- University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China
| | - Rui Sun
- CAS Key Laboratory of Separation Science for Analytical Chemistry, Dalian Institute of Chemical Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 457 Zhongshan Road, Dalian 116023, China.
- University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China
| | - Biao Jing
- CAS Key Laboratory of Separation Science for Analytical Chemistry, Dalian Institute of Chemical Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 457 Zhongshan Road, Dalian 116023, China.
- The Second Hospital of Dalian Medical University, 467 Zhongshan Road, Dalian, 116023, China
| | - Yusong Ge
- The Second Hospital of Dalian Medical University, 467 Zhongshan Road, Dalian, 116023, China
| | - Yu Liu
- CAS Key Laboratory of Separation Science for Analytical Chemistry, Dalian Institute of Chemical Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 457 Zhongshan Road, Dalian 116023, China.
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Zhu R, Makwana KM, Zhang Y, Rajewski BH, Del Valle JR, Wang Y. Blocking tau transmission by biomimetic graphene nanoparticles. J Mater Chem B 2023; 11:7378-7388. [PMID: 37431684 PMCID: PMC10528742 DOI: 10.1039/d3tb00850a] [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] [Indexed: 07/12/2023]
Abstract
Tauopathies are a class of neurodegenerative diseases resulting in cognitive dysfunction, executive dysfunction, and motor disturbance. The primary pathological feature of tauopathies is the presence of neurofibrillary tangles in the brain composed of tau protein aggregates. Moreover, tau aggregates can spread from neuron to neuron and lead to the propagation of tau pathology. Although numerous small molecules are known to inhibit tau aggregation and block tau cell-to-cell transmission, it is still challenging to use them for therapeutic applications due to poor specificity and low blood-brain barrier (BBB) penetration. Graphene nanoparticles were previously demonstrated to penetrate the BBB and are amenable to functionalization for targeted delivery. Moreover, these nanoscale biomimetic particles can self-assemble or assemble with various biomolecules including proteins. In this paper, we show that graphene quantum dots (GQDs), as graphene nanoparticles, block the seeding activity of tau fibrils by inhibiting the fibrillization of monomeric tau and triggering the disaggregation of tau filaments. This behavior is attributed to electrostatic and π-π stacking interactions of GQDs with tau. Overall, our studies indicate that GQDs with biomimetic properties can efficiently inhibit and disassemble pathological tau aggregates, and thus block tau transmission, which supports their future developments as a potential treatment for tauopathies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Runyao Zhu
- Department of Chemical & Biomolecular Engineering, University of Notre Dame, Indiana 46556, USA.
| | - Kamlesh M Makwana
- Department of Chemistry & Biochemistry, University of Notre Dame, Indiana 46556, USA
| | - Youwen Zhang
- Department of Chemical & Biomolecular Engineering, University of Notre Dame, Indiana 46556, USA.
| | - Benjamin H Rajewski
- Department of Chemistry & Biochemistry, University of Notre Dame, Indiana 46556, USA
| | - Juan R Del Valle
- Department of Chemistry & Biochemistry, University of Notre Dame, Indiana 46556, USA
| | - Yichun Wang
- Department of Chemical & Biomolecular Engineering, University of Notre Dame, Indiana 46556, USA.
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Aina A, Hsueh SCC, Gibbs E, Peng X, Cashman NR, Plotkin SS. De Novo Design of a β-Helix Tau Protein Scaffold: An Oligomer-Selective Vaccine Immunogen Candidate for Alzheimer's Disease. ACS Chem Neurosci 2023; 14:2603-2617. [PMID: 37458595 DOI: 10.1021/acschemneuro.3c00007] [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] [Indexed: 08/03/2023] Open
Abstract
Tau pathology is associated with many neurodegenerative disorders, including Alzheimer's disease (AD), where the spatio-temporal pattern of tau neurofibrillary tangles strongly correlates with disease progression, which motivates therapeutics selective for misfolded tau. Here, we introduce a new avidity-enhanced, multi-epitope approach for protein-misfolding immunogen design, which is predicted to mimic the conformational state of an exposed epitope in toxic tau oligomers. A predicted oligomer-selective tau epitope 343KLDFK347 was scaffolded by designing a β-helix structure that incorporated multiple instances of the 16-residue tau fragment 339VKSEKLDFKDRVQSKI354. Large-scale conformational ensemble analyses involving Jensen-Shannon Divergence and the embedding depth D showed that the multi-epitope scaffolding approach, employed in designing the β-helix scaffold, was predicted to better discriminate toxic tau oligomers than other "monovalent" strategies utilizing a single instance of an epitope for vaccine immunogen design. Using Rosetta, 10,000 sequences were designed and screened for the linker portions of the β-helix scaffold, along with a C-terminal stabilizing α-helix that interacts with the linkers, to optimize the folded structure and stability of the scaffold. Structures were ranked by energy, and the lowest 1% (82 unique sequences) were verified using AlphaFold. Several selection criteria involving AlphaFold are implemented to obtain a lead-designed sequence. The structure was further predicted to have free energetic stability by using Hamiltonian replica exchange molecular dynamics (MD) simulations. The synthesized β-helix scaffold showed direct binding in surface plasmon resonance (SPR) experiments to several antibodies that were raised to the structured epitope using a designed cyclic peptide. Moreover, the strength of binding of these antibodies to in vitro tau oligomers correlated with the strength of binding to the β-helix construct, suggesting that the construct presents an oligomer-like conformation and may thus constitute an effective oligomer-selective immunogen.
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Affiliation(s)
- Adekunle Aina
- Department of Physics and Astronomy, The University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia V6T 1Z1, Canada
| | - Shawn C C Hsueh
- Department of Physics and Astronomy, The University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia V6T 1Z1, Canada
| | - Ebrima Gibbs
- Djavad Mowafaghian Centre for Brain Health, The University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia V6T 1Z1, Canada
| | - Xubiao Peng
- Department of Physics and Astronomy, The University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia V6T 1Z1, Canada
| | - Neil R Cashman
- Djavad Mowafaghian Centre for Brain Health, The University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia V6T 1Z1, Canada
| | - Steven S Plotkin
- Department of Physics and Astronomy, The University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia V6T 1Z1, Canada
- Genome Science and Technology Program, The University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia V6T 1Z1, Canada
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Mate De Gerando A, Welikovitch LA, Khasnavis A, Commins C, Glynn C, Chun JE, Perbet R, Hyman BT. Tau seeding and spreading in vivo is supported by both AD-derived fibrillar and oligomeric tau. Acta Neuropathol 2023; 146:191-210. [PMID: 37341831 PMCID: PMC10329061 DOI: 10.1007/s00401-023-02600-1] [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] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/22/2023] [Revised: 06/12/2023] [Accepted: 06/13/2023] [Indexed: 06/22/2023]
Abstract
Insoluble fibrillar tau, the primary constituent of neurofibrillary tangles, has traditionally been thought to be the biologically active, toxic form of tau mediating neurodegeneration in Alzheimer's disease. More recent studies have implicated soluble oligomeric tau species, referred to as high molecular weight (HMW), due to their properties on size-exclusion chromatography, in tau propagation across neural systems. These two forms of tau have never been directly compared. We prepared sarkosyl-insoluble and HMW tau from the frontal cortex of Alzheimer patients and compared their properties using a variety of biophysical and bioactivity assays. Sarkosyl-insoluble fibrillar tau comprises abundant paired-helical filaments (PHF) as quantified by electron microscopy (EM) and is more resistant to proteinase K, compared to HMW tau, which is mostly in an oligomeric form. Sarkosyl-insoluble and HMW tau are nearly equivalent in potency in HEK cell bioactivity assay for seeding aggregates, and their injection reveals similar local uptake into hippocampal neurons in PS19 Tau transgenic mice. However, the HMW preparation appears to be far more potent in inducing a glial response including Clec7a-positive rod microglia in the absence of neurodegeneration or synapse loss and promotes more rapid propagation of misfolded tau to distal, anatomically connected regions, such as entorhinal and perirhinal cortices. These data suggest that soluble HMW tau has similar properties to fibrillar sarkosyl-insoluble tau with regard to tau seeding potential, but may be equal or even more bioactive with respect to propagation across neural systems and activation of glial responses, both relevant to tau-related Alzheimer phenotypes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Anastasie Mate De Gerando
- Department of Neurology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA, USA
- Harvard Medical School, Cambridge, MA, USA
| | - Lindsay A Welikovitch
- Department of Neurology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA, USA
- Harvard Medical School, Cambridge, MA, USA
| | - Anita Khasnavis
- Department of Neurology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA, USA
- Harvard Medical School, Cambridge, MA, USA
| | - Caitlin Commins
- Department of Neurology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA, USA
- Harvard Medical School, Cambridge, MA, USA
| | - Calina Glynn
- Department of Neurology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA, USA
- Harvard Medical School, Cambridge, MA, USA
| | - Joshua E Chun
- Department of Neurology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA, USA
- Harvard Medical School, Cambridge, MA, USA
| | - Romain Perbet
- Department of Neurology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA, USA
- Harvard Medical School, Cambridge, MA, USA
| | - Bradley T Hyman
- Department of Neurology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA, USA.
- Harvard Medical School, Cambridge, MA, USA.
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Ferreira MJC, Soares Martins T, Alves SR, Rosa IM, Vogelgsang J, Hansen N, Wiltfang J, da Cruz E Silva OAB, Vitorino R, Henriques AG. Bioinformatic analysis of the SPs and NFTs proteomes unravel putative biomarker candidates for Alzheimer's disease. Proteomics 2023; 23:e2200515. [PMID: 37062942 DOI: 10.1002/pmic.202200515] [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: 12/06/2022] [Revised: 03/23/2023] [Accepted: 03/31/2023] [Indexed: 04/18/2023]
Abstract
Aging is the main risk factor for the appearance of age-related neurodegenerative diseases, including Alzheimer's disease (AD). AD is the most common form of dementia, characterized by the presence of senile plaques (SPs) and neurofibrillary tangles (NFTs), the main histopathological hallmarks in AD brains. The core of these deposits are predominantly amyloid fibrils in SPs and hyperphosphorylated Tau protein in NFTs, but other molecular components can be found associated with these pathological lesions. Herein, an extensive literature review was carried out to obtain the SPs and NFTs proteomes, followed by a bioinformatic analysis and further putative biomarker validation. For SPs, 857 proteins were recovered, and, for NFTs, 627 proteins of which 375 occur in both groups and represent the common proteome. Gene Ontology (GO) enrichment analysis permitted the identification of biological processes and the molecular functions most associated with these lesions. Analysis of the SPs and NFTs common proteins unraveled pathways and molecular targets linking both histopathological events. Further, validation of a putative phosphotarget arising from the in silico analysis was performed in serum-derived extracellular vesicles from AD patients. This bioinformatic approach contributed to the identification of putative molecular targets, valuable for AD diagnostic or therapeutic intervention.
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Affiliation(s)
- Maria J Cardoso Ferreira
- Neurosciences and Signaling Group, Department of Medical Sciences, Institute of Biomedicine (iBiMED), University of Aveiro, Aveiro, Portugal
| | - Tânia Soares Martins
- Neurosciences and Signaling Group, Department of Medical Sciences, Institute of Biomedicine (iBiMED), University of Aveiro, Aveiro, Portugal
| | - Steven R Alves
- Neurosciences and Signaling Group, Department of Medical Sciences, Institute of Biomedicine (iBiMED), University of Aveiro, Aveiro, Portugal
| | - Ilka Martins Rosa
- Neurosciences and Signaling Group, Department of Medical Sciences, Institute of Biomedicine (iBiMED), University of Aveiro, Aveiro, Portugal
| | - Jonathan Vogelgsang
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, University Medical Center Goettingen (UMG), Georg-August University, Goettingen, Germany
- Translational Neuroscience Laboratory, McLean Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Belmont, Massachusetts, USA
| | - Niels Hansen
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, University Medical Center Goettingen (UMG), Georg-August University, Goettingen, Germany
| | - Jens Wiltfang
- Neurosciences and Signaling Group, Department of Medical Sciences, Institute of Biomedicine (iBiMED), University of Aveiro, Aveiro, Portugal
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, University Medical Center Goettingen (UMG), Georg-August University, Goettingen, Germany
- German Center for Neurodegenerative Diseases (DZNE), Goettingen, Germany
| | - Odete A B da Cruz E Silva
- Neurosciences and Signaling Group, Department of Medical Sciences, Institute of Biomedicine (iBiMED), University of Aveiro, Aveiro, Portugal
| | - Rui Vitorino
- Department of Medical Sciences, Institute of Biomedicine (iBiMED), University of Aveiro, Aveiro, Portugal
| | - Ana Gabriela Henriques
- Neurosciences and Signaling Group, Department of Medical Sciences, Institute of Biomedicine (iBiMED), University of Aveiro, Aveiro, Portugal
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Hamsafar Y, Chen Q, Borowsky AD, Beach TG, Serrano GE, Sue LI, Adler CH, Walker DG, Dugger BN. Biochemical analyses of tau and other neuronal markers in the submandibular gland and frontal cortex across stages of Alzheimer disease. Neurosci Lett 2023; 810:137330. [PMID: 37330193 PMCID: PMC11006283 DOI: 10.1016/j.neulet.2023.137330] [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: 05/26/2022] [Revised: 02/14/2023] [Accepted: 06/05/2023] [Indexed: 06/19/2023]
Abstract
Hyperphosphorylation of the microtubule-associated protein tau is hypothesized to lead to the development of neurofibrillary tangles in select brain regions during normal aging and in Alzheimer disease (AD). The distribution of neurofibrillary tangles is staged by its involvement starting in the transentorhinal regions of the brain and in final stages progress to neocortices. However, it has also been determined neurofibrillary tangles can extend into the spinal cord and select tau species are found in peripheral tissues and this may be depended on AD disease stage. To further understand the relationships of peripheral tissues to AD, we utilized biochemical methods to evaluate protein levels of total tau and phosphorylated tau (p-tau) as well as other neuronal proteins (i.e., tyrosine hydroxylase (TH), neurofilament heavy chain (NF-H), and microtubule-associated protein 2 (MAP2)) in the submandibular gland and frontal cortex of human cases across different clinicopathological stages of AD (n = 3 criteria not met or low, n = 6 intermediate, and n = 9 high likelihood that dementia is due to AD based on National Institute on Aging-Reagan criteria). We report differential protein levels based on the stage of AD, anatomic specific tau species, as well as differences in TH and NF-H. In addition, exploratory findings were made of the high molecular weight tau species big tau that is unique to peripheral tissues. Although sample sizes were small, these findings are, to our knowledge, the first comparison of these specific protein changes in these tissues.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yamah Hamsafar
- Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, University of California Davis Medical Center, 4400 V Street, Sacramento, CA 95817, USA
| | - Qian Chen
- Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, University of California Davis Medical Center, 4400 V Street, Sacramento, CA 95817, USA
| | - Alexander D Borowsky
- Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, University of California Davis Medical Center, 4400 V Street, Sacramento, CA 95817, USA
| | - Thomas G Beach
- Banner Sun Health Research Institute, 10515 W Santa Fe Dr., Sun City, AZ 95351, USA
| | - Geidy E Serrano
- Banner Sun Health Research Institute, 10515 W Santa Fe Dr., Sun City, AZ 95351, USA
| | - Lucia I Sue
- Banner Sun Health Research Institute, 10515 W Santa Fe Dr., Sun City, AZ 95351, USA
| | - Charles H Adler
- Department of Neurology, Mayo Clinic College of Medicine, Mayo Clinic Arizona, 13400 E. Shea Blvd., Scottsdale, AZ 85259, USA
| | - Douglas G Walker
- School of Life Sciences and Biodesign Institute, Arizona State University, 1151 S. Forest Ave., Tempe, AZ 85281, USA
| | - Brittany N Dugger
- Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, University of California Davis Medical Center, 4400 V Street, Sacramento, CA 95817, USA.
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Matchett BJ, Lincoln SJ, Baker M, Tamvaka N, Labuzan SA, Hicks Sirmans TN, Moloney CM, Helminger J, Hinkle KM, Cabrera-Rodriguez J, Wickland DP, Johnson PW, Heckman MG, Reddy JS, Younkin SG, Carrasquillo MM, Duara R, Graff-Radford NR, Pottier C, Ertekin-Taner N, Ross OA, Rademakers R, Dickson DW, Murray ME. The SERPINA5 coding variant E228Q does not contribute to clinicopathologic characteristics in Alzheimer's disease: A cross-sectional study. Medicine (Baltimore) 2023; 102:e34017. [PMID: 37327267 PMCID: PMC10270469 DOI: 10.1097/md.0000000000034017] [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: 07/27/2022] [Accepted: 05/24/2023] [Indexed: 06/18/2023] Open
Abstract
We previously demonstrated that increased expression of the SERPINA5 gene is associated with hippocampal vulnerability in Alzheimer's disease (AD) brains. SERPINA5 was further demonstrated to be a novel tau-binding partner that colocalizes within neurofibrillary tangles. Our goal was to determine whether genetic variants in the SERPINA5 gene contributed to clinicopathologic phenotypes in AD. To screen for SERPINA5 variants, we sequenced 103 autopsy-confirmed young-onset AD cases with a positive family history of cognitive decline. To further assess the frequency of a rare missense variant, SERPINA5 p.E228Q, we screened an additional 1114 neuropathologically diagnosed AD cases. To provide neuropathologic context in AD, we immunohistochemically evaluated SERPINA5 and tau in a SERPINA5 p.E228Q variant carrier and a matched noncarrier. In the initial SERPINA5 screen, we observed 1 individual with a rare missense variant (rs140138746) that resulted in an amino acid change (p.E228Q). In our AD validation cohort, we identified an additional 5 carriers of this variant, resulting in an allelic frequency of 0.0021. There was no significant difference between SERPINA5 p.E228Q carriers and noncarriers in terms of demographic or clinicopathologic characteristics. Although not significant, on average SERPINA5 p.E228Q carriers were 5 years younger at age of disease onset than noncarriers (median: 66 [60-73] vs 71 [63-77] years, P = .351). In addition, SERPINA5 p.E228Q carriers exhibited a longer disease duration than noncarriers that approached significance (median: 12 [10-15]) vs 9 [6-12] years, P = .079). More severe neuronal loss was observed in the locus coeruleus, hippocampus, and amygdala of the SERPINA5 p.E228Q carrier compared to noncarrier, although no significant difference in SERPINA5-immunopositive lesions was observed. Throughout the AD brain in either carrier or noncarrier, areas with early pretangle pathology or burnt-out ghost tangle accumulation did not reveal SERPINA5-immunopositive neurons. Mature tangles and newly formed ghost tangles appeared to correspond well with SERPINA5-immunopositive tangle-bearing neurons. SERPINA5 gene expression was previously associated with disease phenotype; however, our findings suggest that SERPINA5 genetic variants may not be a contributing factor to clinicopathologic differences in AD. SERPINA5-immunopositive neurons appear to undergo a pathologic process that corresponded with specific levels of tangle maturity.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | - Matt Baker
- Department of Neuroscience, Mayo Clinic, Jacksonville, FL
| | | | | | | | | | - Jacqueline Helminger
- Department of Neuroscience, Mayo Clinic, Jacksonville, FL
- Paracelsus Medical University, Salzburg, Austria
| | | | | | - Daniel P. Wickland
- Department of Quantitative Health Sciences, Mayo Clinic, Jacksonville, FL
| | - Patrick W. Johnson
- Department of Quantitative Health Sciences, Mayo Clinic, Jacksonville, FL
| | - Michael G. Heckman
- Department of Quantitative Health Sciences, Mayo Clinic, Jacksonville, FL
| | - Joseph S. Reddy
- Department of Quantitative Health Sciences, Mayo Clinic, Jacksonville, FL
| | | | | | - Ranjan Duara
- Wien Center for Alzheimer’s Disease and Memory Disorders, Mount Sinai Medical Center, Miami Beach, FL
| | | | - Cyril Pottier
- Department of Neuroscience, Mayo Clinic, Jacksonville, FL
| | - Nilüfer Ertekin-Taner
- Department of Neuroscience, Mayo Clinic, Jacksonville, FL
- Department of Neurology, Mayo Clinic, Jacksonville, FL
| | - Owen A. Ross
- Department of Neuroscience, Mayo Clinic, Jacksonville, FL
| | - Rosa Rademakers
- Department of Neuroscience, Mayo Clinic, Jacksonville, FL
- Applied and Translational Neurogenomics, VIB Center for Molecular Neurology, VIB, Antwerp, Belgium
- Department of Biomedical Sciences, University of Antwerp, Antwerp, Belgium
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Pisani F, Pisani V, Arcangeli F, Harding A, Singhrao SK. Treponema denticola Has the Potential to Cause Neurodegeneration in the Midbrain via the Periodontal Route of Infection-Narrative Review. Int J Environ Res Public Health 2023; 20:6049. [PMID: 37297653 PMCID: PMC10252855 DOI: 10.3390/ijerph20116049] [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] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/26/2023] [Revised: 03/30/2023] [Accepted: 05/29/2023] [Indexed: 06/12/2023]
Abstract
Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a neurodegenerative disease and the most common example of dementia. The neuropathological features of AD are the abnormal deposition of extracellular amyloid-β (Aβ) and intraneuronal neurofibrillary tangles with hyperphosphorylated tau protein. It is recognized that AD starts in the frontal cerebral cortex, and then it progresses to the entorhinal cortex, the hippocampus, and the rest of the brain. However, some studies on animals suggest that AD could also progress in the reverse order starting from the midbrain and then spreading to the frontal cortex. Spirochetes are neurotrophic: From a peripheral route of infection, they can reach the brain via the midbrain. Their direct and indirect effect via the interaction of their virulence factors and the microglia potentially leads to the host peripheral nerve, the midbrain (especially the locus coeruleus), and cortical damage. On this basis, this review aims to discuss the hypothesis of the ability of Treponema denticola to damage the peripheral axons in the periodontal ligament, to evade the complemental pathway and microglial immune response, to determine the cytoskeletal impairment and therefore causing the axonal transport disruption, an altered mitochondrial migration and the consequent neuronal apoptosis. Further insights about the central neurodegeneration mechanism and Treponema denticola's resistance to the immune response when aggregated in biofilm and its quorum sensing are suggested as a pathogenetic model for the advanced stages of AD.
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Affiliation(s)
- Flavio Pisani
- Faculty of Clinical and Biomedical Sciences, School of Dentistry, University of Central Lancashire, Preston PR1 2HE, UK
| | - Valerio Pisani
- IRCCS, “Santa Lucia” Foundation, Neurology and Neurorehabilitation Unit, Via Ardeatina, 306, 00179 Rome, Italy
| | - Francesca Arcangeli
- Azienda Sanitaria Locale ASLRM1, Nuovo Regina Margherita Hospital, Geriatric Department, Advanced Centre for Dementia and Cognitive Disorders, Via Emilio Morosini, 30, 00153 Rome, Italy
| | - Alice Harding
- Dementia and Neurodegenerative Disease Research Group, Faculty of Clinical and Biomedical Sciences, School of Dentistry, University of Central Lancashire, Preston PR1 2HE, UK
| | - Simarjit Kaur Singhrao
- Dementia and Neurodegenerative Disease Research Group, Faculty of Clinical and Biomedical Sciences, School of Dentistry, University of Central Lancashire, Preston PR1 2HE, UK
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43
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Abstract
Aluminum (Al) is an environmentally abundant metal that is not essential for life. There is considerable evidence that Al as a neurotoxic xenobiotic may play a role in the pathogenesis of neurodegenerative diseases like Alzheimer's disease (AD). Exposure to aluminum has been shown to cause neuronal damage that resembles the symptoms of AD. In this review, we will summarize recent data about Al as the possible risk of incidence of AD. Then glycogen synthase kinase-3 beta (GSK3β) contributes to the hyperphosphorylation of Tau protein, the main component of neurofibrillary tangles, one of the hallmarks of AD as one of the mechanisms behind Al neurotoxicity will be covered. Overall, there is still a need for epidemiological studies and more in vivo and in vitro studies to determine the exact mechanisms of its neurotoxicity and the role of GSK3β in both Al toxic effect and AD.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sonia Sanajou
- Department of Toxicology, Faculty of Pharmacy, Hacettepe University, Ankara, Turkey
- Faculty of Pharmacy, Eastern Mediterranean University, Famagusta, North Cyprus, Via Mersin 10, Turkey
| | - Pınar Erkekoğlu
- Department of Toxicology, Faculty of Pharmacy, Hacettepe University, Ankara, Turkey
| | - Gönül Şahin
- Faculty of Pharmacy, Eastern Mediterranean University, Famagusta, North Cyprus, Via Mersin 10, Turkey
| | - Terken Baydar
- Department of Toxicology, Faculty of Pharmacy, Hacettepe University, Ankara, Turkey
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44
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Badimon A, Torrente D, Norris EH. Vascular Dysfunction in Alzheimer's Disease: Alterations in the Plasma Contact and Fibrinolytic Systems. Int J Mol Sci 2023; 24:7046. [PMID: 37108211 PMCID: PMC10138543 DOI: 10.3390/ijms24087046] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [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: 03/16/2023] [Revised: 03/30/2023] [Accepted: 04/07/2023] [Indexed: 04/29/2023] Open
Abstract
Alzheimer's disease (AD) is the most common neurodegenerative disease, affecting millions of people worldwide. The classical hallmarks of AD include extracellular beta-amyloid (Aβ) plaques and neurofibrillary tau tangles, although they are often accompanied by various vascular defects. These changes include damage to the vasculature, a decrease in cerebral blood flow, and accumulation of Aβ along vessels, among others. Vascular dysfunction begins early in disease pathogenesis and may contribute to disease progression and cognitive dysfunction. In addition, patients with AD exhibit alterations in the plasma contact system and the fibrinolytic system, two pathways in the blood that regulate clotting and inflammation. Here, we explain the clinical manifestations of vascular deficits in AD. Further, we describe how changes in plasma contact activation and the fibrinolytic system may contribute to vascular dysfunction, inflammation, coagulation, and cognitive impairment in AD. Given this evidence, we propose novel therapies that may, alone or in combination, ameliorate AD progression in patients.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | - Erin H. Norris
- Patricia and John Rosenwald Laboratory of Neurobiology and Genetics, The Rockefeller University, 1230 York Avenue, New York, NY 10065, USA
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45
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Vacher MC, Durrant CS, Rose J, Hall AJ, Spires‐Jones TL, Gunn‐Moore F, Dagleish MP. Alzheimer's disease-like neuropathology in three species of oceanic dolphin. Eur J Neurosci 2023; 57:1161-1179. [PMID: 36514861 PMCID: PMC10947196 DOI: 10.1111/ejn.15900] [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: 08/19/2022] [Revised: 11/18/2022] [Accepted: 11/25/2022] [Indexed: 12/15/2022]
Abstract
Alzheimer's disease (AD) is the most common neurodegenerative disease and the primary cause of disability and dependency among elderly humans worldwide. AD is thought to be a disease unique to humans although several other animals develop some aspects of AD-like pathology. Odontocetes (toothed whales) share traits with humans that suggest they may be susceptible to AD. The brains of 22 stranded odontocetes of five different species were examined using immunohistochemistry to investigate the presence or absence of neuropathological hallmarks of AD: amyloid-beta plaques, phospho-tau accumulation and gliosis. Immunohistochemistry revealed that all aged animals accumulated amyloid plaque pathology. In three animals of three different species of odontocete, there was co-occurrence of amyloid-beta plaques, intraneuronal accumulation of hyperphosphorylated tau, neuropil threads and neuritic plaques. One animal showed well-developed neuropil threads, phospho-tau accumulation and neuritic plaques, but no amyloid plaques. Microglia and astrocytes were present as expected in all brain samples examined, but we observed differences in cell morphology and numbers between individual animals. The simultaneous occurrence of amyloid-beta plaques and hyperphosphorylated tau pathology in the brains of odontocetes shows that these three species develop AD-like neuropathology spontaneously. The significance of this pathology with respect to the health and, ultimately, death of the animals remains to be determined. However, it may contribute to the cause(s) of unexplained live-stranding in some odontocete species and supports the 'sick-leader' theory whereby healthy conspecifics in a pod mass strand due to high social cohesion.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Claire S. Durrant
- Centre for Discovery Brain Sciences and UK Dementia Research InstituteUniversity of EdinburghEdinburghUK
| | - Jamie Rose
- Centre for Discovery Brain Sciences and UK Dementia Research InstituteUniversity of EdinburghEdinburghUK
| | - Ailsa J. Hall
- Sea Mammal Research Unit, Scottish Oceans InstituteUniversity of St. AndrewsFifeUK
| | - Tara L. Spires‐Jones
- Centre for Discovery Brain Sciences and UK Dementia Research InstituteUniversity of EdinburghEdinburghUK
| | | | - Mark P. Dagleish
- School of Biodiversity, One Health and Veterinary Medicine, Pathology DepartmentUniversity of GlasgowScotlandUK
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46
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Wang M, Zhang H, Liang J, Huang J, Chen N. Exercise suppresses neuroinflammation for alleviating Alzheimer's disease. J Neuroinflammation 2023; 20:76. [PMID: 36935511 PMCID: PMC10026496 DOI: 10.1186/s12974-023-02753-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 18.0] [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: 07/08/2022] [Accepted: 02/28/2023] [Indexed: 03/21/2023] Open
Abstract
Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a chronic neurodegenerative disease, with the characteristics of neurofibrillary tangle (NFT) and senile plaque (SP) formation. Although great progresses have been made in clinical trials based on relevant hypotheses, these studies are also accompanied by the emergence of toxic and side effects, and it is an urgent task to explore the underlying mechanisms for the benefits to prevent and treat AD. Herein, based on animal experiments and a few clinical trials, neuroinflammation in AD is characterized by long-term activation of pro-inflammatory microglia and the NOD-, LRR- and pyrin domain-containing protein 3 (NLRP3) inflammasomes. Damaged signals from the periphery and within the brain continuously activate microglia, thus resulting in a constant source of inflammatory responses. The long-term chronic inflammatory response also exacerbates endoplasmic reticulum oxidative stress in microglia, which triggers microglia-dependent immune responses, ultimately leading to the occurrence and deterioration of AD. In this review, we systematically summarized and sorted out that exercise ameliorates AD by directly and indirectly regulating immune response of the central nervous system and promoting hippocampal neurogenesis to provide a new direction for exploring the neuroinflammation activity in AD.
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Affiliation(s)
- Minghui Wang
- Tianjiu Research and Development Center for Exercise Nutrition and Foods, Hubei Key Laboratory of Exercise Training and Monitoring, College of Sports Medicine, Wuhan Sports University, Wuhan, 430079, China
| | - Hu Zhang
- Tianjiu Research and Development Center for Exercise Nutrition and Foods, Hubei Key Laboratory of Exercise Training and Monitoring, College of Sports Medicine, Wuhan Sports University, Wuhan, 430079, China
| | - Jiling Liang
- Tianjiu Research and Development Center for Exercise Nutrition and Foods, Hubei Key Laboratory of Exercise Training and Monitoring, College of Sports Medicine, Wuhan Sports University, Wuhan, 430079, China
| | - Jielun Huang
- Tianjiu Research and Development Center for Exercise Nutrition and Foods, Hubei Key Laboratory of Exercise Training and Monitoring, College of Sports Medicine, Wuhan Sports University, Wuhan, 430079, China
| | - Ning Chen
- Tianjiu Research and Development Center for Exercise Nutrition and Foods, Hubei Key Laboratory of Exercise Training and Monitoring, College of Sports Medicine, Wuhan Sports University, Wuhan, 430079, China.
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47
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Rajab MD, Jammeh E, Taketa T, Brayne C, Matthews FE, Su L, Ince PG, Wharton SB, Wang D. Assessment of Alzheimer-related pathologies of dementia using machine learning feature selection. Alzheimers Res Ther 2023; 15:47. [PMID: 36895019 PMCID: PMC9999590 DOI: 10.1186/s13195-023-01195-9] [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: 04/22/2022] [Accepted: 02/20/2023] [Indexed: 03/11/2023]
Abstract
Although a variety of brain lesions may contribute to the pathological assessment of dementia, the relationship of these lesions to dementia, how they interact and how to quantify them remains uncertain. Systematically assessing neuropathological measures by their degree of association with dementia may lead to better diagnostic systems and treatment targets. This study aims to apply machine learning approaches to feature selection in order to identify critical features of Alzheimer-related pathologies associated with dementia. We applied machine learning techniques for feature ranking and classification to objectively compare neuropathological features and their relationship to dementia status during life using a cohort (n=186) from the Cognitive Function and Ageing Study (CFAS). We first tested Alzheimer's Disease and tau markers and then other neuropathologies associated with dementia. Seven feature ranking methods using different information criteria consistently ranked 22 out of the 34 neuropathology features for importance to dementia classification. Although highly correlated, Braak neurofibrillary tangle stage, beta-amyloid and cerebral amyloid angiopathy features were ranked the highest. The best-performing dementia classifier using the top eight neuropathological features achieved 79% sensitivity, 69% specificity and 75% precision. However, when assessing all seven classifiers and the 22 ranked features, a substantial proportion (40.4%) of dementia cases was consistently misclassified. These results highlight the benefits of using machine learning to identify critical indices of plaque, tangle and cerebral amyloid angiopathy burdens that may be useful for classifying dementia.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mohammed D Rajab
- Sheffield Institute for Translational Neuroscience, University of Sheffield, Sheffield, S10 2HQ, UK
- Department of Computer Science, University of Sheffield, Sheffield, S1 4DP, UK
| | - Emmanuel Jammeh
- Sheffield Institute for Translational Neuroscience, University of Sheffield, Sheffield, S10 2HQ, UK
| | - Teruka Taketa
- Sheffield Institute for Translational Neuroscience, University of Sheffield, Sheffield, S10 2HQ, UK
| | | | - Fiona E Matthews
- Population Health Sciences Institute, Newcastle University, Newcastle upon Tyne, NE4 5PL, UK
| | - Li Su
- Sheffield Institute for Translational Neuroscience, University of Sheffield, Sheffield, S10 2HQ, UK
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, CB2 0SP, UK
| | - Paul G Ince
- Sheffield Institute for Translational Neuroscience, University of Sheffield, Sheffield, S10 2HQ, UK
| | - Stephen B Wharton
- Sheffield Institute for Translational Neuroscience, University of Sheffield, Sheffield, S10 2HQ, UK
| | - Dennis Wang
- Sheffield Institute for Translational Neuroscience, University of Sheffield, Sheffield, S10 2HQ, UK.
- Department of Computer Science, University of Sheffield, Sheffield, S1 4DP, UK.
- Singapore Institute for Clinical Sciences, A*STAR, Singapore, 117609, Singapore.
- National Heart and Lung Institute, Imperial College London, London, SW3 6LY, UK.
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48
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Abstract
Alzheimer's disease (AD) is characterized by the pathological accumulation of amyloid β (Aβ) plaques and neurofibrillary tangles composed of hyperphosphorylated tau. Microglia and astrocytes respond to the abnormal presence of tau protein with induced transposable element (TE) transcription. In this Forum, we discuss new data that link dysregulated TE expression to AD pathogenesis.
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Affiliation(s)
- Teresa H Evering
- Division of Infectious Diseases, Department of Medicine, Weill Cornell Medicine, New York, NY, 10021, USA
| | - Jez L Marston
- Division of Infectious Diseases, Department of Medicine, Weill Cornell Medicine, New York, NY, 10021, USA
| | - Li Gan
- Helen and Robert Appel Alzheimer's Disease Institute, Brain and Mind Research Institute, Weill Cornell Medicine, New York, NY, 10021, USA
| | - Douglas F Nixon
- Division of Infectious Diseases, Department of Medicine, Weill Cornell Medicine, New York, NY, 10021, USA.
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49
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Moore KBE, Hung TJ, Fortin JS. Hyperphosphorylated tau (p-tau) and drug discovery in the context of Alzheimer's disease and related tauopathies. Drug Discov Today 2023; 28:103487. [PMID: 36634842 PMCID: PMC9975055 DOI: 10.1016/j.drudis.2023.103487] [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] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/07/2022] [Revised: 12/14/2022] [Accepted: 01/03/2023] [Indexed: 01/11/2023]
Abstract
Alzheimer's disease (AD) is the most common form of dementia, characterized by intracellular neurofibrillary tangles (NFTs) and extracellular β-amyloid (βA) plaques. No disease-modifying therapy is currently available to prevent the progression of, or cure, the disease. Misfolded hyperphosphorylated tau (p-tau) is considered a pivotal point in the pathogenesis of AD and other tauopathies. Compelling evidence suggests that it is a key driver of the accumulation of NFTs and can be directly correlated with the extent of dementia in patients with AD. Therefore, inhibiting tau hyperphosphorylation-induced aggregation could be a viable strategy to discover and develop therapeutics for patients with AD.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kendall B E Moore
- Department of Basic Medical Sciences, College of Veterinary Medicine, Purdue University, 625 Harrison Street, West Lafayette, IN, USA
| | - Ta-Jung Hung
- Department of Basic Medical Sciences, College of Veterinary Medicine, Purdue University, 625 Harrison Street, West Lafayette, IN, USA
| | - Jessica S Fortin
- Department of Basic Medical Sciences, College of Veterinary Medicine, Purdue University, 625 Harrison Street, West Lafayette, IN, USA.
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50
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Tissot C, Servaes S, Lussier FZ, Ferrari-Souza JP, Therriault J, Ferreira PCL, Bezgin G, Bellaver B, Leffa DT, Mathotaarachchi SS, Chamoun M, Stevenson J, Rahmouni N, Kang MS, Pallen V, Margherita-Poltronetti N, Wang YT, Fernandez-Arias J, Benedet AL, Zimmer ER, Soucy JP, Tudorascu DL, Cohen AD, Sharp M, Gauthier S, Massarweh G, Lopresti B, Klunk WE, Baker SL, Villemagne VL, Rosa-Neto P, Pascoal TA. The Association of Age-Related and Off-Target Retention with Longitudinal Quantification of [ 18F]MK6240 Tau PET in Target Regions. J Nucl Med 2023; 64:452-459. [PMID: 36396455 PMCID: PMC10071794 DOI: 10.2967/jnumed.122.264434] [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: 05/26/2022] [Revised: 09/21/2022] [Accepted: 09/21/2022] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
6-(fluoro-18F)-3-(1H-pyrrolo[2,3-c]pyridin-1-yl)isoquinolin-5-amine ([18F]MK6240) tau PET tracer quantifies the brain tau neurofibrillary tangle load in Alzheimer disease. The aims of our study were to test the stability of common reference region estimates in the cerebellum over time and across diagnoses and evaluate the effects of age-related and off-target retention on the longitudinal quantification of [18F]MK6240 in target regions. Methods: We assessed reference, target, age-related, and off-target regions in 125 individuals across the aging and Alzheimer disease spectrum with longitudinal [18F]MK6240 SUVs and SUV ratios (SUVRs) (mean ± SD, 2.25 ± 0.40 y of follow-up). We obtained SUVR from meninges, exhibiting frequent off-target retention with [18F]MK6240. Additionally, we compared tracer uptake between 37 cognitively unimpaired young (CUY) (mean age, 23.41 ± 3.33 y) and 27 cognitively unimpaired older (CU) adults (amyloid-β-negative and tau-negative, 58.50 ± 9.01 y) to identify possible nonvisually apparent, age-related signal. Two-tailed t testing and Pearson correlation testing were used to determine the difference between groups and associations between changes in region uptake, respectively. Results: Inferior cerebellar gray matter SUV did not differ on the basis of diagnosis and amyloid-β status, cross-sectionally and over time. [18F]MK6240 uptake significantly differed between CUY and CU adults in the putamen or pallidum (affecting ∼75% of the region) and in the Braak II region (affecting ∼35%). Changes in meningeal and putamen or pallidum SUVRs did not significantly differ from zero, nor did they vary across diagnostic groups. We did not observe significant correlations between longitudinal changes in age-related or meningeal off-target retention and changes in target regions, whereas changes in all target regions were strongly correlated. Conclusion: Inferior cerebellar gray matter was similar across diagnostic groups cross-sectionally and stable over time and thus was deemed a suitable reference region for quantification. Despite not being visually perceptible, [18F]MK6240 has age-related retention in subcortical regions, at a much lower magnitude but topographically colocalized with significant off-target signal of the first-generation tau tracers. The lack of correlation between changes in age-related or meningeal and target retention suggests little influence of possible off-target signals on longitudinal tracer quantification. Nevertheless, the age-related retention in the Braak II region needs to be further investigated. Future postmortem studies should elucidate the source of the newly reported age-related [18F]MK6240 signal, and in vivo studies should further explore its impact on tracer quantification.
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Affiliation(s)
- Cécile Tissot
- McGill University, Montreal, Quebec, Canada
- McGill University Research Center for Studies in Aging, Montreal, Quebec, Canada
- Departments of Psychiatry and Neurology, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
| | - Stijn Servaes
- McGill University, Montreal, Quebec, Canada
- McGill University Research Center for Studies in Aging, Montreal, Quebec, Canada
| | - Firoza Z Lussier
- Departments of Psychiatry and Neurology, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
| | - João Pedro Ferrari-Souza
- Departments of Psychiatry and Neurology, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
- Graduate Program in Biological Sciences: Biochemistry, Porto Alegre, Brazil
| | - Joseph Therriault
- McGill University, Montreal, Quebec, Canada
- McGill University Research Center for Studies in Aging, Montreal, Quebec, Canada
| | - Pâmela C L Ferreira
- Departments of Psychiatry and Neurology, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
| | - Gleb Bezgin
- McGill University, Montreal, Quebec, Canada
- McGill University Research Center for Studies in Aging, Montreal, Quebec, Canada
| | - Bruna Bellaver
- Departments of Psychiatry and Neurology, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
- Graduate Program in Biological Sciences: Biochemistry, Porto Alegre, Brazil
| | - Douglas Teixeira Leffa
- Departments of Psychiatry and Neurology, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
| | - Sulantha S Mathotaarachchi
- McGill University, Montreal, Quebec, Canada
- McGill University Research Center for Studies in Aging, Montreal, Quebec, Canada
| | - Mira Chamoun
- McGill University, Montreal, Quebec, Canada
- McGill University Research Center for Studies in Aging, Montreal, Quebec, Canada
| | - Jenna Stevenson
- McGill University, Montreal, Quebec, Canada
- McGill University Research Center for Studies in Aging, Montreal, Quebec, Canada
| | - Nesrine Rahmouni
- McGill University, Montreal, Quebec, Canada
- McGill University Research Center for Studies in Aging, Montreal, Quebec, Canada
| | - Min Su Kang
- Artificial Intelligence and Computational Neurosciences Lab, Sunnybrook Research Institute, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
- L.C. Campbell Cognitive Neurology Unit, Hurvitz Brain Sciences Program, Sunnybrook Research Institute, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
| | - Vanessa Pallen
- McGill University, Montreal, Quebec, Canada
- McGill University Research Center for Studies in Aging, Montreal, Quebec, Canada
| | - Nina Margherita-Poltronetti
- McGill University, Montreal, Quebec, Canada
- McGill University Research Center for Studies in Aging, Montreal, Quebec, Canada
| | - Yi-Ting Wang
- McGill University, Montreal, Quebec, Canada
- McGill University Research Center for Studies in Aging, Montreal, Quebec, Canada
| | - Jaime Fernandez-Arias
- McGill University, Montreal, Quebec, Canada
- McGill University Research Center for Studies in Aging, Montreal, Quebec, Canada
| | | | - Eduardo R Zimmer
- Graduate Program in Biological Sciences: Biochemistry, Porto Alegre, Brazil
- Department of Pharmacology, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul, Porto Alegre, Brazil
| | | | - Dana L Tudorascu
- Departments of Psychiatry and Neurology, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
| | - Annie D Cohen
- Departments of Psychiatry and Neurology, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
| | | | - Serge Gauthier
- McGill University Research Center for Studies in Aging, Montreal, Quebec, Canada
- Douglas Mental Health Institute, Montreal, Quebec, Canada
| | - Gassan Massarweh
- Department of Radiochemistry, Montreal Neurological Institute, Montreal, Quebec, Canada
| | - Brian Lopresti
- Department of Radiology, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania; and
| | - William E Klunk
- Departments of Psychiatry and Neurology, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
| | | | - Victor L Villemagne
- Departments of Psychiatry and Neurology, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
| | - Pedro Rosa-Neto
- McGill University, Montreal, Quebec, Canada
- McGill University Research Center for Studies in Aging, Montreal, Quebec, Canada
- Montreal Neurological Institute, Montreal, Quebec, Canada
- Douglas Mental Health Institute, Montreal, Quebec, Canada
| | - Tharick A Pascoal
- Departments of Psychiatry and Neurology, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania;
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