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Cattaneo I, Valgardsdottir R, Cavagna R, Spinelli O, Bartoletti-Stella A, Capellari S, Galli M, Golay J. Genetic defects of gamma-secretase genes in a multiple myeloma patient with high and dysregulated BCMA surface density: A case report. Br J Haematol 2024; 204:571-575. [PMID: 37957838 DOI: 10.1111/bjh.19168] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/10/2023] [Revised: 09/18/2023] [Accepted: 10/12/2023] [Indexed: 11/15/2023]
Abstract
Multiple myeloma (MM) cells from 1 out of 20 patient expressed high basal levels of membrane B-cell maturation antigen (BCMA, TNFRSF17, CD269), which was not upregulated by gamma-secretase inhibitor, suggesting a defective BCMA shedding by gamma-secretase. Genetic analyses of the patient's bone marrow DNA showed no mutations within the BCMA coding region, but rather partial deletion of PSEN1 and amplification of PSEN2, which encode alternative catalytic units of gamma-secretase. Altogether the data suggest that pt#12 MM cells express high and dysregulated BCMA with no shedding, due to genetic alterations of one or more gamma-secretase subunits.
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Affiliation(s)
- Irene Cattaneo
- Center of Cellular Therapy "G. Lanzani", ASST Papa Giovanni XXIII, Bergamo, Italy
| | - Rut Valgardsdottir
- Center of Cellular Therapy "G. Lanzani", ASST Papa Giovanni XXIII, Bergamo, Italy
| | - Roberta Cavagna
- Division of Hematology, ASST Papa Giovanni XXIII, Bergamo, Italy
| | - Orietta Spinelli
- Division of Hematology, ASST Papa Giovanni XXIII, Bergamo, Italy
| | - Anna Bartoletti-Stella
- Department of Medical and Surgical Sciences (DIMEC), University of Bologna, Bologna, Italy
| | - Sabina Capellari
- IRCCS Istituto delle Scienze Neurologiche di Bologna, Bellaria Hospital, Bologna, Italy
- Department of Biomedical and NeuroMotor Sciences (DIBINEM), University of Bologna, Bologna, Italy
| | - Monica Galli
- Division of Hematology, ASST Papa Giovanni XXIII, Bergamo, Italy
| | - Josée Golay
- Center of Cellular Therapy "G. Lanzani", ASST Papa Giovanni XXIII, Bergamo, Italy
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2
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Nikom D, Zheng S. Alternative splicing in neurodegenerative disease and the promise of RNA therapies. Nat Rev Neurosci 2023; 24:457-473. [PMID: 37336982 DOI: 10.1038/s41583-023-00717-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 18.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 06/02/2023] [Indexed: 06/21/2023]
Abstract
Alternative splicing generates a myriad of RNA products and protein isoforms of different functions from a single gene. Dysregulated alternative splicing has emerged as a new mechanism broadly implicated in the pathogenesis of neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer disease, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, frontotemporal dementia, Parkinson disease and repeat expansion diseases. Understanding the mechanisms and functional outcomes of abnormal splicing in neurological disorders is vital in developing effective therapies to treat mis-splicing pathology. In this Review, we discuss emerging research and evidence of the roles of alternative splicing defects in major neurodegenerative diseases and summarize the latest advances in RNA-based therapeutic strategies to target these disorders.
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Affiliation(s)
- David Nikom
- Neuroscience Graduate Program, University of California, Riverside, Riverside, CA, USA
- Center for RNA Biology and Medicine, University of California, Riverside, Riverside, CA, USA
| | - Sika Zheng
- Neuroscience Graduate Program, University of California, Riverside, Riverside, CA, USA.
- Center for RNA Biology and Medicine, University of California, Riverside, Riverside, CA, USA.
- Division of Biomedical Sciences, University of California, Riverside, Riverside, CA, USA.
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3
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Kulkarni PG, Mohire VM, Bhaisa PK, Joshi MM, Puranik CM, Waghmare PP, Banerjee T. Mitofusin-2: Functional switch between mitochondrial function and neurodegeneration. Mitochondrion 2023; 69:116-129. [PMID: 36764501 DOI: 10.1016/j.mito.2023.02.001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/29/2022] [Revised: 01/07/2023] [Accepted: 02/04/2023] [Indexed: 02/11/2023]
Abstract
Mitochondria are highly dynamic organelles known to play role in the regulation of several cellular biological processes. However, their dynamics such as number, shape, and biological functions are regulated by mitochondrial fusion and fission process. The balance between the fusion and fission process is most important for the maintenance of mitochondrial structure as well as cellular functions. The alterations within mitochondrial dynamic processes were found to be associated with the progression of neurodegenerative diseases. In recent years, mitofusin-2 (Mfn2), a GTPase has emerged as a multifunctional protein which not only is found to regulate the mitochondrial fusion-fission process but also known to regulate several cellular functions such as mitochondrial metabolism, cellular biogenesis, signalling, and apoptosis via maintaining the ER-mitochondria contact sites. In this review, we summarize the current knowledge of the structural and functional properties of the Mfn2, its transcriptional regulation and their roles in several cellular functions with a focus on current advances in the pathogenesis of neurodegenerative diseases.
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Affiliation(s)
- Prakash G Kulkarni
- Department of Biotechnology, Savitribai Phule Pune University, Ganeshkhind Road, Pune 411007, India
| | - Vaibhavi M Mohire
- Molecular Neuroscience Research Centre, Dr. D. Y. Patil Biotechnology & Bioinformatics Institute, Dr. D. Y. Patil Vidyapeeth Survey No 87/88, Mumbai Bangalore Express Highway, Tathawade, Pune 411 033, India
| | - Pooja K Bhaisa
- Molecular Neuroscience Research Centre, Dr. D. Y. Patil Biotechnology & Bioinformatics Institute, Dr. D. Y. Patil Vidyapeeth Survey No 87/88, Mumbai Bangalore Express Highway, Tathawade, Pune 411 033, India
| | - Mrudula M Joshi
- Molecular Neuroscience Research Centre, Dr. D. Y. Patil Biotechnology & Bioinformatics Institute, Dr. D. Y. Patil Vidyapeeth Survey No 87/88, Mumbai Bangalore Express Highway, Tathawade, Pune 411 033, India
| | - Chitranshi M Puranik
- Molecular Neuroscience Research Centre, Dr. D. Y. Patil Biotechnology & Bioinformatics Institute, Dr. D. Y. Patil Vidyapeeth Survey No 87/88, Mumbai Bangalore Express Highway, Tathawade, Pune 411 033, India
| | - Pranjal P Waghmare
- Molecular Neuroscience Research Centre, Dr. D. Y. Patil Biotechnology & Bioinformatics Institute, Dr. D. Y. Patil Vidyapeeth Survey No 87/88, Mumbai Bangalore Express Highway, Tathawade, Pune 411 033, India
| | - Tanushree Banerjee
- Molecular Neuroscience Research Centre, Dr. D. Y. Patil Biotechnology & Bioinformatics Institute, Dr. D. Y. Patil Vidyapeeth Survey No 87/88, Mumbai Bangalore Express Highway, Tathawade, Pune 411 033, India; Infosys Ltd., SEZ unit VI, Plot No. 1, Rajiv Gandhi Infotech Park, Hinjawadi Phase I, Pune, Maharashtra 411057, India.
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4
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Rudenskaya GE, Petukhova MS, Zabnenkova VV, Cherevatova TB, Ryzhkova OP. [Early-onset familial Alzheimer's disease with spastic paraparesis associated with PSEN1 gene]. Zh Nevrol Psikhiatr Im S S Korsakova 2023; 123:120-127. [PMID: 37994898 DOI: 10.17116/jnevro2023123111120] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/24/2023]
Abstract
A familial case of a rare autosomal dominant Alzheimer's disease (AD), related to PSEN1 gene (AD3, OMIM 607822), differing from common multifactorial form by earlier onset and, in part of cases, by accompanying neurological signs, spastic paraparesis particularly, is presented. The first sign in a female proband and in her son was paraparesis manifested at the age of 29 and 21 years, respectively. Cognitive disturbances developed soon; the former diagnosis was hereditary spastic paraplegia with cognitive impairment, In the proband examined in 2008 at 33 years old the diagnosis was not established. In the son examined in 2022 at 27 years old whole-exome sequencing detected a novel PSEN1 missense mutation p.Thr421Ala. The mutation was confirmed by Sanger sequencing in him, found out in the proband (who was severely disabled by that time) and excluded in her unaffected mother. Except for different age of onset, AD3 in two patients was similar, though in whole it is variable, also in relatives. The variability and rareness of the disease hampers clinical diagnostics. Massive parallel sequencing is a most reliable diagnostic method.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - M S Petukhova
- Research Centre for Medical Genetics, Moscow, Russia
| | | | | | - O P Ryzhkova
- Research Centre for Medical Genetics, Moscow, Russia
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5
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Rybak-Wolf A, Plass M. RNA Dynamics in Alzheimer's Disease. Molecules 2021; 26:5113. [PMID: 34500547 PMCID: PMC8433936 DOI: 10.3390/molecules26175113] [Citation(s) in RCA: 23] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/16/2021] [Revised: 08/09/2021] [Accepted: 08/17/2021] [Indexed: 02/06/2023] Open
Abstract
Alzheimer's disease (AD) is the most common age-related neurodegenerative disorder that heavily burdens healthcare systems worldwide. There is a significant requirement to understand the still unknown molecular mechanisms underlying AD. Current evidence shows that two of the major features of AD are transcriptome dysregulation and altered function of RNA binding proteins (RBPs), both of which lead to changes in the expression of different RNA species, including microRNAs (miRNAs), circular RNAs (circRNAs), long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs), and messenger RNAs (mRNAs). In this review, we will conduct a comprehensive overview of how RNA dynamics are altered in AD and how this leads to the differential expression of both short and long RNA species. We will describe how RBP expression and function are altered in AD and how this impacts the expression of different RNA species. Furthermore, we will also show how changes in the abundance of specific RNA species are linked to the pathology of AD.
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Affiliation(s)
- Agnieszka Rybak-Wolf
- Max Delbrück Center for Molecular Medicine (MDC), Berlin Institute for Medical Systems Biology (BIMSB), 10115 Berlin, Germany
| | - Mireya Plass
- Gene Regulation of Cell Identity, Regenerative Medicine Program, Bellvitge Institute for Biomedical Research (IDIBELL), L'Hospitalet del Llobregat, 08908 Barcelona, Spain
- Program for Advancing Clinical Translation of Regenerative Medicine of Catalonia, P-CMR[C], L'Hospitalet del Llobregat, 08908 Barcelona, Spain
- Center for Networked Biomedical Research on Bioengineering, Biomaterials and Nanomedicine (CIBER-BBN), 28029 Madrid, Spain
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6
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Moussavi Nik SH, Porter T, Newman M, Bartlett B, Khan I, Sabale M, Eccles M, Woodfield A, Groth D, Dore V, Villemagne VL, Masters CL, Martins RN, Laws SM, Lardelli M, Verdile G. Relevance of a Truncated PRESENILIN 2 Transcript to Alzheimer's Disease and Neurodegeneration. J Alzheimers Dis 2021; 80:1479-1489. [PMID: 33720885 DOI: 10.3233/jad-201133] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/15/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND The PRESENILIN genes (PSEN1, PSEN2) encoding for their respective proteins have critical roles in many aspects of Alzheimer's disease (AD) pathogenesis. The PS2V transcript of PSEN2 encodes a truncated protein and is upregulated in AD brains; however, its relevance to AD and disease progression remains to be determined. OBJECTIVE Assess transcript levels in postmortem AD and non-AD brain tissue and in lymphocytes collected under the Australian Imaging Biomarker and Lifestyle (AIBL) study. METHODS Full length PSEN2 and PS2V transcript levels were assessed by quantitative digital PCR in postmortem brain tissue (frontal cortex and hippocampus) from control, AD, frontotemporal dementia (FTD), and Lewy body dementia (LBD). Transcript levels were also assessed in lymphocytes obtained from the Perth subset of the AIBL study (n = 160). Linear regression analysis was used to assess correlations between transcript copy number and brain volume and neocortical amyloid load. RESULTS PS2V levels increased in AD postmortem brain but PS2V was also present at significant levels in FTD and LBD brains. PS2V transcript was detected in lymphocytes and PS2V/PSEN2 ratios were increased in mild cognitive impairment (p = 0.024) and AD (p = 0.019) groups compared to control group. Increased ratios were significantly correlated with hippocampal volumes only (n = 62, β= -0.269, p = 0.03). CONCLUSION Taken together, these results suggest that PS2V may be a marker of overall neurodegeneration.
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Affiliation(s)
- Seyyed Hani Moussavi Nik
- University of Adelaide, School of Biological Sciences, Centre for Molecular Pathology, Adelaide, SA, Australia
| | - Tenielle Porter
- Collaborative Genomics and Translation Group, Strategic Research Centre for Precision Health, School of Medical and Health Sciences, Edith Cowan University, Joondalup, Western Australia, Australia.,School of Pharmacy and Biomedical Sciences, Faculty of Health Sciences, Curtin Health Innovation Research Institute, Curtin University, Bentley, Western Australia, Australia
| | - Morgan Newman
- University of Adelaide, School of Biological Sciences, Centre for Molecular Pathology, Adelaide, SA, Australia
| | - Benjamin Bartlett
- School of Pharmacy and Biomedical Sciences, Faculty of Health Sciences, Curtin Health Innovation Research Institute, Curtin University, Bentley, Western Australia, Australia.,Department of Advanced Clinical and Translational Cardiovascular Imaging, Harry Perkins Institute of Medical Research, Murdoch, Western Australia, Australia.,School of Medicine, University of Western Australia, Crawley, Western Australia, Australia
| | - Imran Khan
- School of Pharmacy and Biomedical Sciences, Faculty of Health Sciences, Curtin Health Innovation Research Institute, Curtin University, Bentley, Western Australia, Australia
| | - Miheer Sabale
- School of Pharmacy and Biomedical Sciences, Faculty of Health Sciences, Curtin Health Innovation Research Institute, Curtin University, Bentley, Western Australia, Australia.,Biomedical Sciences, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Macquarie University, New South Wales, Australia
| | - Melissa Eccles
- School of Pharmacy and Biomedical Sciences, Faculty of Health Sciences, Curtin Health Innovation Research Institute, Curtin University, Bentley, Western Australia, Australia
| | - Amy Woodfield
- School of Pharmacy and Biomedical Sciences, Faculty of Health Sciences, Curtin Health Innovation Research Institute, Curtin University, Bentley, Western Australia, Australia
| | - David Groth
- School of Pharmacy and Biomedical Sciences, Faculty of Health Sciences, Curtin Health Innovation Research Institute, Curtin University, Bentley, Western Australia, Australia
| | - Vincent Dore
- Department of Nuclear Medicine and Centre for PET, Austin Health, Heidelberg, VIC, Australia
| | - Victor L Villemagne
- Department of Nuclear Medicine and Centre for PET, Austin Health, Heidelberg, VIC, Australia.,The Florey Institute of Neuroscience and Mental Health, The University of Melbourne, Parkville, Victoria, Australia
| | - Colin L Masters
- The Florey Institute of Neuroscience and Mental Health, The University of Melbourne, Parkville, Victoria, Australia
| | - Ralph N Martins
- Biomedical Sciences, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Macquarie University, New South Wales, Australia.,School of Medical and Health Sciences, Edith Cowan University, Western Australia, Australia
| | - Simon M Laws
- Collaborative Genomics and Translation Group, Strategic Research Centre for Precision Health, School of Medical and Health Sciences, Edith Cowan University, Joondalup, Western Australia, Australia.,School of Pharmacy and Biomedical Sciences, Faculty of Health Sciences, Curtin Health Innovation Research Institute, Curtin University, Bentley, Western Australia, Australia
| | - Michael Lardelli
- University of Adelaide, School of Biological Sciences, Centre for Molecular Pathology, Adelaide, SA, Australia
| | - Giuseppe Verdile
- Collaborative Genomics and Translation Group, Strategic Research Centre for Precision Health, School of Medical and Health Sciences, Edith Cowan University, Joondalup, Western Australia, Australia.,School of Pharmacy and Biomedical Sciences, Faculty of Health Sciences, Curtin Health Innovation Research Institute, Curtin University, Bentley, Western Australia, Australia
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7
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Pervaiz S, Bellot GL, Lemoine A, Brenner C. Redox signaling in the pathogenesis of human disease and the regulatory role of autophagy. INTERNATIONAL REVIEW OF CELL AND MOLECULAR BIOLOGY 2020; 352:189-214. [DOI: 10.1016/bs.ircmb.2020.03.002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/13/2022]
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8
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Bram JMDF, Talib LL, Joaquim HPG, Sarno TA, Gattaz WF, Forlenza OV. Protein levels of ADAM10, BACE1, and PSEN1 in platelets and leukocytes of Alzheimer's disease patients. Eur Arch Psychiatry Clin Neurosci 2019; 269:963-972. [PMID: 29845446 DOI: 10.1007/s00406-018-0905-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/07/2017] [Accepted: 05/22/2018] [Indexed: 12/31/2022]
Abstract
The clinical diagnosis of Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a probabilistic formulation that may lack accuracy particularly at early stages of the dementing process. Abnormalities in amyloid-beta precursor protein (APP) metabolism and in the level of APP secretases have been demonstrated in platelets, and to a lesser extent in leukocytes, of AD patients, with conflicting results. The aim of the present study was to compare the protein level of the APP secretases A-disintegrin and metalloprotease 10 (ADAM10), Beta-site APP-cleaving enzyme 1 (BACE1), and presenilin-1 (PSEN1) in platelets and leukocytes from 20 non-medicated older adults with AD and 20 healthy elders, and to determine the potential use of these biomarkers to discriminate cases of AD from controls. The protein levels of all APP secretases were significantly higher in platelets compared to leukocytes. We found statistically a significant decrease in ADAM10 (52.5%, p < 0.0001) and PSEN1 (32%, p = 0.02) in platelets from AD patients compared to controls, but not in leukocytes. Combining all three secretases to generate receiver-operating characteristic (ROC) curves, we found a good discriminatory effect (AD vs. controls) when using platelets (the area under the curve-AUC-0.90, sensitivity 88.9%, specificity 66.7%, p = 0.003), but not in leukocytes (AUC 0.65, sensitivity 77.8%, specificity 50.0%, p = 0.2). Our findings indicate that platelets represent a better biological matrix than leukocytes to address the peripheral level of APP secretases. In addition, combining the protein level of ADAM10, BACE1, and PSEN1 in platelets, yielded a good accuracy to discriminate AD from controls.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jessyka Maria de França Bram
- Laboratorio de Neurociencias (LIM-27), Departamento e Instituto de Psiquiatria, Hospital das Clínicas da Faculdade de Medicina da USP (HCFMUSP), Faculdade de Medicina, Universidade de Sao Paulo, Rua Doutor Ovídio Pires de Campos 785, São Paulo, SP, 05403-010, Brazil
| | - Leda Leme Talib
- Laboratorio de Neurociencias (LIM-27), Departamento e Instituto de Psiquiatria, Hospital das Clínicas da Faculdade de Medicina da USP (HCFMUSP), Faculdade de Medicina, Universidade de Sao Paulo, Rua Doutor Ovídio Pires de Campos 785, São Paulo, SP, 05403-010, Brazil
| | - Helena Passarelli Giroud Joaquim
- Laboratorio de Neurociencias (LIM-27), Departamento e Instituto de Psiquiatria, Hospital das Clínicas da Faculdade de Medicina da USP (HCFMUSP), Faculdade de Medicina, Universidade de Sao Paulo, Rua Doutor Ovídio Pires de Campos 785, São Paulo, SP, 05403-010, Brazil
| | - Tamires Alves Sarno
- Laboratorio de Neurociencias (LIM-27), Departamento e Instituto de Psiquiatria, Hospital das Clínicas da Faculdade de Medicina da USP (HCFMUSP), Faculdade de Medicina, Universidade de Sao Paulo, Rua Doutor Ovídio Pires de Campos 785, São Paulo, SP, 05403-010, Brazil
| | - Wagner Farid Gattaz
- Laboratorio de Neurociencias (LIM-27), Departamento e Instituto de Psiquiatria, Hospital das Clínicas da Faculdade de Medicina da USP (HCFMUSP), Faculdade de Medicina, Universidade de Sao Paulo, Rua Doutor Ovídio Pires de Campos 785, São Paulo, SP, 05403-010, Brazil
| | - Orestes Vicente Forlenza
- Laboratorio de Neurociencias (LIM-27), Departamento e Instituto de Psiquiatria, Hospital das Clínicas da Faculdade de Medicina da USP (HCFMUSP), Faculdade de Medicina, Universidade de Sao Paulo, Rua Doutor Ovídio Pires de Campos 785, São Paulo, SP, 05403-010, Brazil.
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9
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Vöglein J, Willem M, Trambauer J, Schönecker S, Dieterich M, Biskup S, Giudici C, Utz K, Oberstein T, Brendel M, Rominger A, Danek A, Steiner H, Haass C, Levin J. Identification of a rare presenilin 1 single amino acid deletion mutation (F175del) with unusual amyloid-β processing effects. Neurobiol Aging 2019; 84:241.e5-241.e11. [DOI: 10.1016/j.neurobiolaging.2019.08.034] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/19/2018] [Revised: 08/22/2019] [Accepted: 08/31/2019] [Indexed: 10/26/2022]
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10
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Ponomareva NV, Andreeva TV, Protasova MA, Filippova YV, Kolesnikova EP, Fokin VF, Illarioshkin SN, Rogaev EI. Genetic Association between Alzheimer's Disease Risk Variant of the PICALM Gene and Auditory Event-Related Potentials in Aging. BIOCHEMISTRY (MOSCOW) 2018; 83:1075-1082. [PMID: 30472946 DOI: 10.1134/s0006297918090092] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/22/2022]
Abstract
Aging and genetic predisposition are major risk factors in age-related neurodegenerative disorders. The most common neurodegenerative disorder is Alzheimer's disease (AD). Genome-wide association studies (GWAS) have identified statistically significant association of the PICALM rs3851179 polymorphism with AD. The PICALM G allele increases the risk of AD, while the A allele has a protective effect. We examined the association of the PICALM rs3851179 polymorphism with parameters of the P3 component of auditory event-related potentials (ERPs) in 87 non-demented volunteers (age, 19-77 years) subdivided into two cohorts younger and older than 50 years of age. We found statistically significant association between the AD risk variant PICALM GG and increase in the P3 latency in subjects over 50 years old. The age-dependent increase in the P3 latency was more pronounced in the PICALM GG carriers than in the carriers of the PICALM AA and PICALM AG genotypes. The observed PICALM-associated changes in the neurophysiological processes indicate a decline in the information processing speed with aging due, probably, to neuronal dysfunction and subclinical neurodegeneration of the neuronal networks in the hippocampus and the frontal and parietal cortical areas. Such changes were less pronounced in the carriers of the PICALM gene A allele, which might explain the protective effect of this allele in the cognitive decline and AD development.
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Affiliation(s)
- N V Ponomareva
- Research Center for Neurology, Moscow, 125367, Russia. .,Vavilov Institute of General Genetics, Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow, 119991, Russia
| | - T V Andreeva
- Vavilov Institute of General Genetics, Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow, 119991, Russia.,Lomonosov Moscow State University, Department of Biology, Center of Genetics and Genetic Technologies, Moscow, 119991, Russia
| | - M A Protasova
- Vavilov Institute of General Genetics, Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow, 119991, Russia
| | | | | | - V F Fokin
- Research Center for Neurology, Moscow, 125367, Russia
| | | | - E I Rogaev
- Vavilov Institute of General Genetics, Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow, 119991, Russia. .,Lomonosov Moscow State University, Department of Biology, Center of Genetics and Genetic Technologies, Moscow, 119991, Russia.,Brudnick Neuropsychiatric Research Institute, Department of Psychiatry, University of Massachusetts Medical School, Worcester, USA
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11
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Wu M, Shi H, He Y, Yuan L, Qu X, Zhang J, Wang Z, Cai H, Qi J. Colivelin Ameliorates Impairments in Cognitive Behaviors and Synaptic Plasticity in APP/PS1 Transgenic Mice. J Alzheimers Dis 2018; 59:1067-1078. [PMID: 28731445 DOI: 10.3233/jad-170307] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/14/2022]
Abstract
Alzheimer's disease (AD) is the most common cause of dementia, and effective therapeutics are lacking. Colivelin (CLN), a novel, strong humanin derivative, is effective in vitro in preventing cell death induced by AD-causative genes and amyloid-β protein (Aβ) even at a low concentration. We recently demonstrated that intrahippocampal injection of CLN prevents Aβ25-35-induced deficits in spatial memory and synaptic plasticity in normal rats. Here, we further observed the effects of chronically intranasally (i.n.) administered CLN on cognitive behaviors and pathological hallmarks in 9-month-old APPswe/PS1dE9 (APP/PS1) AD mice using multiple behavioral tests and immunochemistry. The electrophysiological mechanism of CLN neuroprotection was also investigated by recording in vivo hippocampal long-term potentiation (LTP). CLN pretreatment effectively prevented impairments in new object recognition, working memory, and long-term spatial memory and reversed the depression of in vivo hippocampal LTP in APP/PS1 mice. Additionally, chronic application of CLN obviously reduced Aβ deposition in the hippocampus in APP/PS1 mice. These results indicate that CLN has strong neuroprotective effects on learning and memory behaviors in APP/PS1 mice and that this behavioral improvement is closely associated with the reduction of Aβ deposition and alleviation of LTP suppression in the hippocampus, supporting the potential of CLN for the prevention and treatment of AD.
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Affiliation(s)
- Meina Wu
- Department of Physiology, Key Laboratory of Cellular Physiology, Ministry of Education, Shanxi Medical University, Taiyuan, China
| | - Hui Shi
- Department of Physiology, Key Laboratory of Cellular Physiology, Ministry of Education, Shanxi Medical University, Taiyuan, China.,Intensive Care Unit, Chifeng Municipal Hospital of Inner Mongolia, Chifeng, China
| | - Yexin He
- Department of Radiology, Shanxi Provincial People's Hospital, Taiyuan, China
| | - Li Yuan
- Department of Physiology, Key Laboratory of Cellular Physiology, Ministry of Education, Shanxi Medical University, Taiyuan, China
| | - Xuesong Qu
- Department of Physiology, Key Laboratory of Cellular Physiology, Ministry of Education, Shanxi Medical University, Taiyuan, China
| | - Jun Zhang
- Department of Physiology, Key Laboratory of Cellular Physiology, Ministry of Education, Shanxi Medical University, Taiyuan, China
| | - Zhaojun Wang
- Department of Physiology, Key Laboratory of Cellular Physiology, Ministry of Education, Shanxi Medical University, Taiyuan, China
| | - Hongyan Cai
- Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Shanxi Medical University, Taiyuan, China
| | - Jinshun Qi
- Department of Physiology, Key Laboratory of Cellular Physiology, Ministry of Education, Shanxi Medical University, Taiyuan, China
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12
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13
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Abstract
Presenilin-1 and presenilin-2 are highly homologous genes located on chromosomes 14 and 1, respectively, that have recently been linked to some cases of early-onset autosomal dominant inherited forms of Alzhei mer's disease (AD). Presenilins are integral membrane proteins localized in the endoplasmic reticulum of neurons throughout the nervous system. Studies of presenilin-1 knockout mice, and of invertebrate homo logues of presenilins and their interacting proteins, suggest major roles for presenilins in normal develop ment. Presenilin-1 mutant knockin mice do not exhibit developmental abnormalities, which indicates that the pathogenic mechanism of presenilin mutations involves gain of an adverse property of the mutant protein. Expression of presenilin mutations in cultured neurons and transgenic mice results in increased sensitivity to apoptosis induced by trophic factor withdrawal and exposure to oxidative and metabolic insults, and also alters gene expression. The pathogenic mechanism of presenilin mutations may involve perturbed endo plasmic reticulum calcium homeostasis resulting in enhanced oxidative stress, altered proteolytic processing of the amyloid precursor protein (APP), and increased neuronal vulnerability to excitotoxicity. Studies of presenilins are rapidly increasing our understanding the molecular and cellular underpinnings of AD and are also elucidating novel roles of the endoplasmic reticulum in neuronal plasticity and cell death. NEURO SCIENTIST 5:112-124, 1999
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Affiliation(s)
- Mark P. Mattson
- Sanders-Brown Research Center on Aging Department of Anatomy and Neurobiology University of Kentucky Lexmgton, Kentucky
| | - Qing Guo
- Sanders-Brown Research Center on Aging Department of Anatomy and Neurobiology University of Kentucky Lexmgton, Kentucky
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14
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Cervera-Carles L, Clarimón J. Genetic and Epigenetic Architecture of Alzheimer’s Dementia. CURRENT GENETIC MEDICINE REPORTS 2016. [DOI: 10.1007/s40142-016-0086-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/22/2022]
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15
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Brautigam H, Moreno CL, Steele JW, Bogush A, Dickstein DL, Kwok JBJ, Schofield PR, Thinakaran G, Mathews PM, Hof PR, Gandy S, Ehrlich ME. Physiologically generated presenilin 1 lacking exon 8 fails to rescue brain PS1-/- phenotype and forms complexes with wildtype PS1 and nicastrin. Sci Rep 2015; 5:17042. [PMID: 26608390 PMCID: PMC4660297 DOI: 10.1038/srep17042] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/21/2015] [Accepted: 10/20/2015] [Indexed: 11/24/2022] Open
Abstract
The presenilin 1 (PSEN1) L271V mutation causes early-onset familial Alzheimer’s disease by disrupting the alternative splicing of the PSEN1 gene, producing some transcripts harboring the L271V point mutation and other transcripts lacking exon 8 (PS1∆exon8). We previously reported that PS1 L271V increased amyloid beta (Aβ) 42/40 ratios, while PS1∆exon8 reduced Aβ42/40 ratios, indicating that the former and not the exon 8 deletion transcript is amyloidogenic. Also, PS1∆exon8 did not rescue Aβ generation in PS1/2 double knockout cells indicating its identity as a severe loss-of-function splice form. PS1∆exon8 is generated physiologically raising the possibility that we had identified the first physiological inactive PS1 isoform. We studied PS1∆exon8in vivo by crossing PS1∆exon8 transgenics with either PS1-null or Dutch APPE693Q mice. As a control, we crossed APPE693Q with mice expressing a deletion in an adjacent exon (PS1∆exon9). PS1∆exon8 did not rescue embryonic lethality or Notch-deficient phenotypes of PS1-null mice displaying severe loss of function in vivo. We also demonstrate that this splice form can interact with wildtype PS1 using cultured cells and co-immunoprecipitation (co-IP)/bimolecular fluorescence complementation. Further co-IP demonstrates that PS1∆exon8 interacts with nicastrin, participating in the γ–secretase complex formation. These data support that catalytically inactive PS1∆exon8 is generated physiologically and participates in protein-protein interactions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hannah Brautigam
- Fishberg Department of Neuroscience and Friedman Brain Institute, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY 10029.,Alzheimer's Disease Research Center, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY 10029.,Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY 10029.,Ronald M. Loeb Center for Alzheimer's Disease, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY 10029.,School of Pharmacy, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI 53706
| | - Cesar L Moreno
- Fishberg Department of Neuroscience and Friedman Brain Institute, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY 10029.,Department of Neurology, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY 10029.,Department of Pediatrics, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY 10029.,Department of Psychiatry, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY 10029.,Alzheimer's Disease Research Center, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY 10029.,Ronald M. Loeb Center for Alzheimer's Disease, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY 10029
| | - John W Steele
- Department of Neurology, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY 10029.,Alzheimer's Disease Research Center, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY 10029.,Department of Cellular and Molecular Medicine,University of California San Diego, La Jolla, CA 92037.,Department of Preclinical Biology, OrPhi Therapeutics, Carlsbad, CA 92008
| | - Alexey Bogush
- Department of Physiology, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, PA 19104
| | - Dara L Dickstein
- Fishberg Department of Neuroscience and Friedman Brain Institute, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY 10029.,Alzheimer's Disease Research Center, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY 10029.,Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY 10029.,Ronald M. Loeb Center for Alzheimer's Disease, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY 10029
| | - John B J Kwok
- Neuroscience Research Australia, Sydney, NSW 2031, Australia.,School of Medical Sciences, University of New South Wales, Sydney, NSW 2052, Australia
| | - Peter R Schofield
- Neuroscience Research Australia, Sydney, NSW 2031, Australia.,School of Medical Sciences, University of New South Wales, Sydney, NSW 2052, Australia
| | - Gopal Thinakaran
- Departments of Neurobiology, Neurology, and Pathology, The University of Chicago, IL 60637
| | - Paul M Mathews
- Department of Psychiatry, New York University School of Medicine, New York, NY 10016.,Nathan Kline Institute Center for Dementia Research, Orangeburg, NY 10962
| | - Patrick R Hof
- Fishberg Department of Neuroscience and Friedman Brain Institute, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY 10029.,Alzheimer's Disease Research Center, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY 10029.,Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY 10029.,Ronald M. Loeb Center for Alzheimer's Disease, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY 10029
| | - Sam Gandy
- Fishberg Department of Neuroscience and Friedman Brain Institute, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY 10029.,Department of Neurology, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY 10029.,Department of Psychiatry, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY 10029.,Alzheimer's Disease Research Center, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY 10029.,Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY 10029.,James J. Peters VA Medical Center, Bronx, NY 10468
| | - Michelle E Ehrlich
- Department of Neurology, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY 10029.,Department of Pediatrics, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY 10029.,Alzheimer's Disease Research Center, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY 10029.,Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY 10029.,Ronald M. Loeb Center for Alzheimer's Disease, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY 10029.,Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY 10029
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16
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Matz A, Halamoda-Kenzaoui B, Hamelin R, Mosser S, Alattia JR, Dimitrov M, Moniatte M, Fraering PC. Identification of new Presenilin-1 phosphosites: implication for γ-secretase activity and Aβ production. J Neurochem 2015; 133:409-21. [PMID: 25458374 DOI: 10.1111/jnc.12996] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/29/2014] [Revised: 11/02/2014] [Accepted: 11/10/2014] [Indexed: 02/02/2023]
Abstract
An important pathological hallmark of Alzheimer's disease (AD) is the deposition of amyloid-beta (Aβ) peptides in the brain parenchyma, leading to neuronal death and impaired learning and memory. The protease γ-secretase is responsible for the intramembrane proteolysis of the amyloid-β precursor protein (APP), which leads to the production of the toxic Aβ peptides. Thus, an attractive therapeutic strategy to treat AD is the modulation of the γ-secretase activity, to reduce Aβ42 production. Because phosphorylation of proteins is a post-translational modification known to modulate the activity of many different enzymes, we used electrospray (LC-MS/MS) mass spectrometry to identify new phosphosites on highly purified human γ-secretase. We identified 11 new single or double phosphosites in two well-defined domains of Presenilin-1 (PS1), the catalytic subunit of the γ-secretase complex. Next, mutagenesis and biochemical approaches were used to investigate the role of each phosphosite in the maturation and activity of γ-secretase. Together, our results suggest that the newly identified phosphorylation sites in PS1 do not modulate γ-secretase activity and the production of the Alzheimer's Aβ peptides. Individual PS1 phosphosites shall probably not be considered therapeutic targets for reducing cerebral Aβ plaque formation in AD. In this study, we identified 11 new phosphosites in Presenilin-1 (PS1), the catalytic subunit of the Alzheimer's γ-secretase complex. By combining a mutagenesis approach with cell-based and cell-free γ-secretase assays, we demonstrate that the new phosphosites do not modulate the maturation and activity of γ-secretase. Individual PS1 phosphosites shall thus not be considered therapeutic targets for reducing cerebral Aβ plaque formation in Alzheimer's Disease. Aβ, amyloid beta.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alexandre Matz
- Brain Mind Institute and School of Life Sciences, Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL), Lausanne, Switzerland
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17
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Murdock DG, Bradford Y, Schnetz-Boutaud N, Mayo P, Allen MJ, D’Aoust LN, Liang X, Mitchell SL, Zuchner S, Small GW, Gilbert JR, Pericak-Vance MA, Haines JL. KIAA1462, a coronary artery disease associated gene, is a candidate gene for late onset Alzheimer disease in APOE carriers. PLoS One 2013; 8:e82194. [PMID: 24349219 PMCID: PMC3861372 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0082194] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/03/2013] [Accepted: 10/22/2013] [Indexed: 11/19/2022] Open
Abstract
Alzheimer disease (AD) is a devastating neurodegenerative disease affecting more than five million Americans. In this study, we have used updated genetic linkage data from chromosome 10 in combination with expression data from serial analysis of gene expression to choose a new set of thirteen candidate genes for genetic analysis in late onset Alzheimer disease (LOAD). Results in this study identify the KIAA1462 locus as a candidate locus for LOAD in APOE4 carriers. Two genes exist at this locus, KIAA1462, a gene associated with coronary artery disease, and "rokimi", encoding an untranslated spliced RNA The genetic architecture at this locus suggests that the gene product important in this association is either "rokimi", or a different isoform of KIAA1462 than the isoform that is important in cardiovascular disease. Expression data suggests that isoform f of KIAA1462 is a more attractive candidate for association with LOAD in APOE4 carriers than "rokimi" which had no detectable expression in brain.
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Affiliation(s)
- Deborah G. Murdock
- Center for Human Genetics Research and Department of Molecular Physiology and Biophysics, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, Tennessee, United States of America
| | - Yuki Bradford
- Center for Human Genetics Research and Department of Molecular Physiology and Biophysics, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, Tennessee, United States of America
| | - Nathalie Schnetz-Boutaud
- Center for Human Genetics Research and Department of Molecular Physiology and Biophysics, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, Tennessee, United States of America
| | - Ping Mayo
- Center for Human Genetics Research and Department of Molecular Physiology and Biophysics, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, Tennessee, United States of America
| | - Melissa J. Allen
- Center for Human Genetics Research and Department of Molecular Physiology and Biophysics, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, Tennessee, United States of America
| | - Laura N. D’Aoust
- Center for Human Genetics Research and Department of Molecular Physiology and Biophysics, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, Tennessee, United States of America
| | - Xueying Liang
- Center for Human Genetics Research and Department of Molecular Physiology and Biophysics, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, Tennessee, United States of America
| | - Sabrina L. Mitchell
- Center for Human Genetics Research and Department of Molecular Physiology and Biophysics, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, Tennessee, United States of America
| | - Stephan Zuchner
- Miami Institute for Human Genomics, Miller School of Medicine, University of Miami, Miami, Florida, United States of America
| | - Gary W. Small
- Semel Institute for Neuroscience and Human Behavior, University of California Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California, United States of America
| | - John R. Gilbert
- Miami Institute for Human Genomics, Miller School of Medicine, University of Miami, Miami, Florida, United States of America
| | - Margaret A. Pericak-Vance
- Miami Institute for Human Genomics, Miller School of Medicine, University of Miami, Miami, Florida, United States of America
| | - Jonathan L. Haines
- Center for Human Genetics Research and Department of Molecular Physiology and Biophysics, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, Tennessee, United States of America
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18
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Familial Alzheimer's disease coding mutations reduce Presenilin-1 expression in a novel genomic locus reporter model. Neurobiol Aging 2013; 35:443.e5-443.e16. [PMID: 24011544 DOI: 10.1016/j.neurobiolaging.2013.07.026] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/18/2013] [Revised: 07/28/2013] [Accepted: 07/31/2013] [Indexed: 01/13/2023]
Abstract
We have generated a physiologically relevant bacterial artificial chromosome (BAC)-based genomic DNA expression model to study PS1 gene expression and function. The PS1-WT-BAC construct restored γ-secretase function, whereas the mutant PS1 BACs demonstrated partial to complete loss of enzymatic activity when stably expressed in a PS double knock-out clonal cell line. We then engineered WT and mutant human PS1-BAC-Luciferase whole genomic locus reporter transgenes, which we transiently transduced in mouse and human non-neuronal and neuronal-like cells, respectively. PS1 ΔE9 and C410Y FAD were found to lower PS1 gene expression in both cell lines, whereas PS1-M146V showed a neuron-specific effect. The nonclinical γ-secretase inactive PS1-D257A mutation did not alter gene expression in either cell line. This is the first time that pathogenic coding mutations in the PS1 gene have been shown to lower PS1 gene expression. These findings may represent a pathologic mechanism for PS1 FAD mutations independent of their effects on γ-secretase activity and demonstrate how dominant PS1 mutations may exert their pathogenic effects by a loss-of-function mechanism.
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19
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Sharman MJ, Moussavi Nik SH, Chen MM, Ong D, Wijaya L, Laws SM, Taddei K, Newman M, Lardelli M, Martins RN, Verdile G. The Guinea Pig as a Model for Sporadic Alzheimer's Disease (AD): The Impact of Cholesterol Intake on Expression of AD-Related Genes. PLoS One 2013; 8:e66235. [PMID: 23805206 PMCID: PMC3689723 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0066235] [Citation(s) in RCA: 30] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/11/2013] [Accepted: 05/02/2013] [Indexed: 11/25/2022] Open
Abstract
We investigated the guinea pig, Cavia porcellus, as a model for Alzheimer’s disease (AD), both in terms of the conservation of genes involved in AD and the regulatory responses of these to a known AD risk factor - high cholesterol intake. Unlike rats and mice, guinea pigs possess an Aβ peptide sequence identical to human Aβ. Consistent with the commonality between cardiovascular and AD risk factors in humans, we saw that a high cholesterol diet leads to up-regulation of BACE1 (β-secretase) transcription and down-regulation of ADAM10 (α-secretase) transcription which should increase release of Aβ from APP. Significantly, guinea pigs possess isoforms of AD-related genes found in humans but not present in mice or rats. For example, we discovered that the truncated PS2V isoform of human PSEN2, that is found at raised levels in AD brains and that increases γ-secretase activity and Aβ synthesis, is not uniquely human or aberrant as previously believed. We show that PS2V formation is up-regulated by hypoxia and a high-cholesterol diet while, consistent with observations in humans, Aβ concentrations are raised in some brain regions but not others. Also like humans, but unlike mice, the guinea pig gene encoding tau, MAPT, encodes isoforms with both three and four microtubule binding domains, and cholesterol alters the ratio of these isoforms. We conclude that AD-related genes are highly conserved and more similar to human than the rat or mouse. Guinea pigs represent a superior rodent model for analysis of the impact of dietary factors such as cholesterol on the regulation of AD-related genes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mathew J. Sharman
- Centre of Excellence for Alzheimer’s Disease Research and Care, School of Medical Sciences, Edith Cowan University, Perth, WA, Australia
- School of Human Life Sciences, University of Tasmania, Launceston, Tasmania, Australia
| | - Seyyed H. Moussavi Nik
- Discipline of Genetics, School of Molecular and Biomedical Science, The University of Adelaide, Adelaide, SA, Australia
| | - Mengqi M. Chen
- Centre of Excellence for Alzheimer’s Disease Research and Care, School of Medical Sciences, Edith Cowan University, Perth, WA, Australia
| | - Daniel Ong
- Centre of Excellence for Alzheimer’s Disease Research and Care, School of Medical Sciences, Edith Cowan University, Perth, WA, Australia
| | - Linda Wijaya
- Centre of Excellence for Alzheimer’s Disease Research and Care, School of Medical Sciences, Edith Cowan University, Perth, WA, Australia
| | - Simon M. Laws
- Centre of Excellence for Alzheimer’s Disease Research and Care, School of Medical Sciences, Edith Cowan University, Perth, WA, Australia
| | - Kevin Taddei
- Centre of Excellence for Alzheimer’s Disease Research and Care, School of Medical Sciences, Edith Cowan University, Perth, WA, Australia
- Sir James McCusker Alzheimer’s Disease Research Unit, Hollywood Private Hospital, Nedlands, WA, Australia
- School of Psychiatry and Clinical Neurosciences, University of Western Australia, Crawley, WA, Australia
| | - Morgan Newman
- Discipline of Genetics, School of Molecular and Biomedical Science, The University of Adelaide, Adelaide, SA, Australia
| | - Michael Lardelli
- Discipline of Genetics, School of Molecular and Biomedical Science, The University of Adelaide, Adelaide, SA, Australia
| | - Ralph N. Martins
- Centre of Excellence for Alzheimer’s Disease Research and Care, School of Medical Sciences, Edith Cowan University, Perth, WA, Australia
- Sir James McCusker Alzheimer’s Disease Research Unit, Hollywood Private Hospital, Nedlands, WA, Australia
- School of Psychiatry and Clinical Neurosciences, University of Western Australia, Crawley, WA, Australia
| | - Giuseppe Verdile
- Centre of Excellence for Alzheimer’s Disease Research and Care, School of Medical Sciences, Edith Cowan University, Perth, WA, Australia
- Sir James McCusker Alzheimer’s Disease Research Unit, Hollywood Private Hospital, Nedlands, WA, Australia
- School of Psychiatry and Clinical Neurosciences, University of Western Australia, Crawley, WA, Australia
- * E-mail:
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20
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Zhu J, Qin Y, Liu T, Wang J, Zheng X. Prioritization of candidate disease genes by topological similarity between disease and protein diffusion profiles. BMC Bioinformatics 2013; 14 Suppl 5:S5. [PMID: 23734762 PMCID: PMC3622672 DOI: 10.1186/1471-2105-14-s5-s5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 26] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/10/2022] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Identification of gene-phenotype relationships is a fundamental challenge in human health clinic. Based on the observation that genes causing the same or similar phenotypes tend to correlate with each other in the protein-protein interaction network, a lot of network-based approaches were proposed based on different underlying models. A recent comparative study showed that diffusion-based methods achieve the state-of-the-art predictive performance. RESULTS In this paper, a new diffusion-based method was proposed to prioritize candidate disease genes. Diffusion profile of a disease was defined as the stationary distribution of candidate genes given a random walk with restart where similarities between phenotypes are incorporated. Then, candidate disease genes are prioritized by comparing their diffusion profiles with that of the disease. Finally, the effectiveness of our method was demonstrated through the leave-one-out cross-validation against control genes from artificial linkage intervals and randomly chosen genes. Comparative study showed that our method achieves improved performance compared to some classical diffusion-based methods. To further illustrate our method, we used our algorithm to predict new causing genes of 16 multifactorial diseases including Prostate cancer and Alzheimer's disease, and the top predictions were in good consistent with literature reports. CONCLUSIONS Our study indicates that integration of multiple information sources, especially the phenotype similarity profile data, and introduction of global similarity measure between disease and gene diffusion profiles are helpful for prioritizing candidate disease genes. AVAILABILITY Programs and data are available upon request.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jie Zhu
- Department of Mathematics, Shanghai Normal University, Shanghai, China
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21
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Hu ZP, Browne ER, Liu T, Angel TE, Ho PC, Chan ECY. Metabonomic Profiling of TASTPM Transgenic Alzheimer’s Disease Mouse Model. J Proteome Res 2012; 11:5903-13. [DOI: 10.1021/pr300666p] [Citation(s) in RCA: 43] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Ze-Ping Hu
- Department of Pharmacy, Faculty
of Science, National University of Singapore, 18 Science Drive 4, Singapore 117543
- Biological Sciences Division, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, Richland, Washington
99352, United States
| | - Edward R. Browne
- GlaxoSmithKline R&D China, Singapore Research Centre, Biopolis at One-North, 11 Biopolis Way, The Helios #03-01/02, Singapore 138667
| | - Tao Liu
- Biological Sciences Division, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, Richland, Washington
99352, United States
| | - Thomas E Angel
- Biological Sciences Division, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, Richland, Washington
99352, United States
| | - Paul C. Ho
- Department of Pharmacy, Faculty
of Science, National University of Singapore, 18 Science Drive 4, Singapore 117543
| | - Eric Chun Yong Chan
- Department of Pharmacy, Faculty
of Science, National University of Singapore, 18 Science Drive 4, Singapore 117543
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22
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Ramamoorthy M, Sykora P, Scheibye-Knudsen M, Dunn C, Kasmer C, Zhang Y, Becker KG, Croteau DL, Bohr VA. Sporadic Alzheimer disease fibroblasts display an oxidative stress phenotype. Free Radic Biol Med 2012; 53:1371-80. [PMID: 22885031 PMCID: PMC4617209 DOI: 10.1016/j.freeradbiomed.2012.07.018] [Citation(s) in RCA: 42] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/09/2012] [Revised: 06/13/2012] [Accepted: 07/17/2012] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
Abstract
Alzheimer disease (AD) is a major health problem in the United States, affecting one in eight Americans over the age of 65. The number of elderly suffering from AD is expected to continue to increase over the next decade, as the average age of the U.S. population increases. The risk factors for and etiology of AD are not well understood; however, recent studies suggest that exposure to oxidative stress may be a contributing factor. Here, microarray gene expression signatures were compared in AD-patient-derived fibroblasts and normal fibroblasts exposed to hydrogen peroxide or menadione (to simulate conditions of oxidative stress). Using the 23K Illumina cDNA microarray to screen expression of >14,000 human genes, we identified a total of 1017 genes that are chronically up- or downregulated in AD fibroblasts, 215 of which were also differentially expressed in normal human fibroblasts within 12h after exposure to hydrogen peroxide or menadione. Pathway analysis of these 215 genes and their associated pathways revealed cellular functions that may be critically dysregulated by oxidative stress and play a critical role in the etiology and/or pathology of AD. We then examined the AD fibroblasts for the presence of oxidative DNA damage and found increased accumulation of 8-oxo-guanine. These results indicate the possible role of oxidative stress in the gene expression profile seen in AD.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mahesh Ramamoorthy
- Laboratory of Molecular Gerontology, Biomedical Research Center, 251 Bayview Boulevard, National Institute on Aging, NIH, Baltimore, MD 21224, USA
| | - Peter Sykora
- Laboratory of Molecular Gerontology, Biomedical Research Center, 251 Bayview Boulevard, National Institute on Aging, NIH, Baltimore, MD 21224, USA
| | - Morten Scheibye-Knudsen
- Laboratory of Molecular Gerontology, Biomedical Research Center, 251 Bayview Boulevard, National Institute on Aging, NIH, Baltimore, MD 21224, USA
| | - Christopher Dunn
- Laboratory of Molecular Gerontology, Biomedical Research Center, 251 Bayview Boulevard, National Institute on Aging, NIH, Baltimore, MD 21224, USA
| | - Cindy Kasmer
- Laboratory of Molecular Gerontology, Biomedical Research Center, 251 Bayview Boulevard, National Institute on Aging, NIH, Baltimore, MD 21224, USA
| | - Yongqing Zhang
- Gene Expression and Genomics Unit, National Institute on Aging, National Institutes of Health, Baltimore, MD 21224, USA
| | - Kevin G. Becker
- Gene Expression and Genomics Unit, National Institute on Aging, National Institutes of Health, Baltimore, MD 21224, USA
| | - Deborah L. Croteau
- Laboratory of Molecular Gerontology, Biomedical Research Center, 251 Bayview Boulevard, National Institute on Aging, NIH, Baltimore, MD 21224, USA
| | - Vilhelm A. Bohr
- Laboratory of Molecular Gerontology, Biomedical Research Center, 251 Bayview Boulevard, National Institute on Aging, NIH, Baltimore, MD 21224, USA
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23
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Moraes CF, Lins TC, Carmargos EF, Naves JOS, Pereira RW, Nóbrega OT. Lessons from genome-wide association studies findings in Alzheimer's disease. Psychogeriatrics 2012; 12:62-73. [PMID: 22416831 DOI: 10.1111/j.1479-8301.2011.00378.x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/14/2023]
Abstract
Alzheimer's disease (AD) is the most common neurodegenerative disorder with a complex genetic background. Recent genome-wide association studies (GWAS) have placed important new contributors into the genetic framework of early- and late-onset forms of this dementia. Besides confirming the major role of classic allelic variants (e.g. apolipoprotein E) in the development of AD, GWAS have thus far implicated over 20 single nucleotide polymorphisms in AD. In this review, we summarize the findings of 16 AD-based GWAS performed to date whose public registries are available at the National Human Genome Research Institute, with an emphasis on understanding whether the polymorphic markers under consideration support functional implications to the pathophysiological role of the major genetic risk factors unraveled by GWAS.
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Affiliation(s)
- Clayton F Moraes
- Geriatric Service, Hospital of the Catholic University of Brasília, Graduate Program in Medical Sciences, University of Brasília, Brasília - DF, Brazil
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24
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Abstract
In contrast to B-DNA that has a right-handed double helical structure with Watson-Crick base pairing under the ordinary physiological conditions, repetitive DNA sequences under certain conditions have the potential to fold into non-B DNA structures such as hairpin, triplex, cruciform, left-handed Z-form, tetraplex, A-motif, etc. Since the non-B DNA-forming sequences induce the genetic instability and consequently can cause human diseases, the molecular mechanism for their genetic instability has been extensively investigated. On the contrary, non-B DNA can be widely used for application in biotechnology because many DNA breakage hotspots are mapped in or near the sequences that have the potential to adopt non-B DNA structures. In addition, they are regarded as a fascinating material for the nanotechnology using non-B DNAs because they do not produce any toxic byproducts and are robust enough for the repetitive working cycle. This being the case, an understanding on the mechanism and dynamics of their structural changes is important. In this critical review, we describe the latest studies on the conformational dynamics of non-B DNAs, with a focus on G-quadruplex, i-motif, Z-DNA, A-motif, hairpin and triplex (189 references).
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Affiliation(s)
- Jungkweon Choi
- The Institute of Scientific and Industrial Research (SANKEN), Osaka University, Ibaraki, Osaka 567-0047, Japan
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25
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Recent progress report on DNA B-Z transition modulated by rare earth-amino acid complex and Alzheimer's disease amyloid beta. J RARE EARTH 2010. [DOI: 10.1016/s1002-0721(09)60232-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/18/2022]
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26
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Sanjo N, Katayama T, Hasegawa H, Jin H, Duthie M, Mount HTJ, Mizusawa H, St George-Hyslop P, Fraser PE. Localization and trafficking of endogenous anterior pharynx-defective 1, a component of Alzheimer's disease related gamma-secretase. Neurosci Lett 2010; 483:53-6. [PMID: 20674680 DOI: 10.1016/j.neulet.2010.07.061] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/11/2010] [Revised: 07/20/2010] [Accepted: 07/23/2010] [Indexed: 10/19/2022]
Abstract
Anterior pharynx-defective 1 (Aph-1) is a multi-spanning membrane protein and an integral component of the high molecular weight gamma-secretase complex that also contains presenilin, nicastrin, and Pen-2. In order to clarify the existence of an endogenous fragment of Aph-1 and dissect the localization and processing of endogenous Aph-1 proteins, we examined cell lines and primary cell cultures with our own carboxyl terminal-specific antibodies for Aph-1aL. Fractionation and immunofluorescence studies indicated that the endogenous full-length Aph-1aL isoform localizes primarily to the endoplasmic reticulum as well as Golgi intermediate compartment, but small amount of it was detected at Golgi apparatus where most of its carboxyl terminal domain fragment existed. In primary neuronal and glial cultures, Aph-1aL was present in the neurites and glial cell processes. Endogenous Aph-1a and its proteolytic fragment have unique properties for cleavage control that may have implications for gamma-secretase regulation and intracellular distribution.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nobuo Sanjo
- Centre for Research in Neurodegenerative Diseases, University of Toronto, 6 Queen's Park Crescent West, Toronto, Ontario M5S 3H2, Canada.
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Gianni D, Li A, Tesco G, McKay KM, Moore J, Raygor K, Rota M, Gwathmey JK, Dec GW, Aretz T, Leri A, Semigran MJ, Anversa P, Macgillivray TE, Tanzi RE, del Monte F. Protein aggregates and novel presenilin gene variants in idiopathic dilated cardiomyopathy. Circulation 2010; 121:1216-26. [PMID: 20194882 DOI: 10.1161/circulationaha.109.879510] [Citation(s) in RCA: 96] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Heart failure is a debilitating condition resulting in severe disability and death. In a subset of cases, clustered as idiopathic dilated cardiomyopathy (iDCM), the origin of heart failure is unknown. In the brain of patients with dementia, proteinaceous aggregates and abnormal oligomeric assemblies of beta-amyloid impair cell function and lead to cell death. METHODS AND RESULTS We have similarly characterized fibrillar and oligomeric assemblies in the hearts of iDCM patients, pointing to abnormal protein aggregation as a determinant of iDCM. We also showed that oligomers alter myocyte Ca(2+) homeostasis. Additionally, we have identified 2 new sequence variants in the presenilin-1 (PSEN1) gene promoter leading to reduced gene and protein expression. We also show that presenilin-1 coimmunoprecipitates with SERCA2a. CONCLUSIONS On the basis of these findings, we propose that 2 mechanisms may link protein aggregation and cardiac function: oligomer-induced changes on Ca(2+) handling and a direct effect of PSEN1 sequence variants on excitation-contraction coupling protein function.
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Affiliation(s)
- Davide Gianni
- Cardiovascular Institute, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Boston, MA 02125, USA
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Geng J, Zhao C, Ren J, Qu X. Alzheimer's disease amyloid beta converting left-handed Z-DNA back to right-handed B-form. Chem Commun (Camb) 2010; 46:7187-9. [DOI: 10.1039/c0cc02049d] [Citation(s) in RCA: 42] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/15/2023]
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Gama Sosa MA, Gasperi RD, Rocher AB, Wang ACJ, Janssen WGM, Flores T, Perez GM, Schmeidler J, Dickstein DL, Hof PR, Elder GA. Age-related vascular pathology in transgenic mice expressing presenilin 1-associated familial Alzheimer's disease mutations. THE AMERICAN JOURNAL OF PATHOLOGY 2009; 176:353-68. [PMID: 20008141 DOI: 10.2353/ajpath.2010.090482] [Citation(s) in RCA: 73] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/20/2022]
Abstract
Mutations in the presenilin 1 (PS1) gene are the most commonly recognized cause of familial Alzheimer's disease (FAD). Besides senile plaques, neurofibrillary tangles, and neuronal loss, Alzheimer's disease (AD) is also accompanied by vascular pathology. Here we describe an age-related vascular pathology in two lines of PS1 FAD-mutant transgenic mice that mimics many features of the vascular pathology seen in AD. The pathology was especially prominent in the microvasculature whose vessels became thinned and irregular with the appearance of many abnormally looped vessels as well as string vessels. Stereologic assessments revealed a reduction of the microvasculature in the hippocampus that was accompanied by hippocampal atrophy. The vascular changes were not congophilic. Yet, despite the lack of congophilia, penetrating vessels at the cortical surface were often abnormal morphologically and microhemorrhages sometimes occurred. Altered immunostaining of blood vessels with basement membrane-associated antigens was an early feature of the microangiopathy and was associated with thickening of the vascular basal laminae and endothelial cell alterations that were visible ultrastructurally. Interestingly, although the FAD-mutant transgene was expressed in neurons in both lines of mice, there was no detectable expression in vascular endothelial cells or glial cells. These studies thus have implications for the role of neuronal to vascular signaling in the pathogenesis of the vascular pathology associated with AD.
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Affiliation(s)
- Miguel A Gama Sosa
- Research and Development, James J. Peters Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Bronx, New York, USA
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30
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DNA methylation of Alzheimer disease and tauopathy-related genes in postmortem brain. J Neuropathol Exp Neurol 2009; 68:880-91. [PMID: 19606065 DOI: 10.1097/nen.0b013e3181af2e46] [Citation(s) in RCA: 123] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/25/2022] Open
Abstract
DNA methylation occurs predominantly at cytosines that precede guanines in dinucleotide CpG sites; it is one of the most important mechanisms for epigenetic DNA regulation during normal development and for aberrant DNA in cancer. To determine the feasibility of DNA methylation studies in the postmortem human brain, we evaluated brain samples with variable postmortem artificially increased delays up to 48 hours. DNA methylation was analyzed in selected regions of MAPT, APP, and PSEN1 in the frontal cortex and hippocampus of controls (n=26) and those with Alzheimer disease at Stages I to II (n=17); Alzheimer disease at Stages III to IV (n=15); Alzheimer disease at Stages V to VI (n=12); argyrophilic grain disease (n=10); frontotemporal lobar degeneration linked to tau mutations (n=6); frontotemporal lobar degeneration with ubiquitin-immunoreactive inclusions (n=4); frontotemporal lobar degeneration with motor neuron disease (n=3); Pick disease (n=3); Parkinson disease (n=8); dementia with Lewy bodies, pure form (n=5); and dementia with Lewy bodies, common form (n=15). UCHL1 (ubiquitin carboxyl-terminal hydrolase 1 gene) was analyzed in the frontal cortex of controls and those with Parkinson disease and related synucleinopathies. DNA methylation sites were very reproducible in every case. No differences in the percentage of CpG methylation were found between control and disease samples or among the different pathological entities in any region analyzed. Because small changes in methylation of DNA promoters in vulnerable cells might have not been detected in total homogenates, however, these results should be interpreted with caution, particularly as they relate to chronic degenerative diseases in which small modifications may be sufficient to modulate disease progression.
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31
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Molecular pathology of Lewy body diseases. Int J Mol Sci 2009; 10:724-45. [PMID: 19399218 PMCID: PMC2671999 DOI: 10.3390/ijms10030724] [Citation(s) in RCA: 87] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/18/2008] [Revised: 02/03/2009] [Accepted: 02/23/2009] [Indexed: 11/16/2022] Open
Abstract
Lewy body diseases are characterized by the presence of Lewy bodies, alpha-synuclein(AS)-positive inclusions in the brain. Since their main component is conformationally modified AS, aggregation of the latter is thought to be a key pathogenic event in these diseases. The analysis of inclusion body constituents gives additional information about pathways also involved in the pathology of synucleinopathies. Widespread mitochondrial dysfunction is very closely related to disease development. The impairment of protein degradation pathways, including both the ubiquitin-proteasome system and the autophagy-lysosome pathway also play an important role during the development of Lewy body diseases. Finally, differential expression changes of isoforms corresponding to genes primarily involved in Lewy body formation point to alternative splicing as another important mechanism in the development of Parkinson’s disease, as well as dementia with Lewy bodies. The present paper attempts to give an overview of recent molecular findings related to the pathogenesis of Lewy body diseases.
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Wakabayashi T, De Strooper B. Presenilins: members of the gamma-secretase quartets, but part-time soloists too. Physiology (Bethesda) 2008; 23:194-204. [PMID: 18697993 DOI: 10.1152/physiol.00009.2008] [Citation(s) in RCA: 97] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/22/2022] Open
Abstract
The presenilins in combination with other proteins generate different gamma-secretases, which are involved in the regulated intramembrane proteolysis of a variety of proteins. Understanding the specificity and regulation of these proteases will potentially lead to novel therapeutics for Alzheimer's disease and cancer. Presenilins appear also to exert additional functions outside of the gamma-secretase quartets, which needs further investigation.
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Jiménez Caballero PE, de Diego Boguna C, Martin Correa E, Serviá Candela M, Marsal Alonso C. A novel presenilin 1 mutation (V261L) associated with presenile Alzheimer’s disease and spastic paraparesis. Eur J Neurol 2008; 15:991-4. [DOI: 10.1111/j.1468-1331.2008.02230.x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/27/2022]
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Abstract
Humanin (HN) and its derivatives, such as Colivelin (CLN), suppress neuronal death induced by insults related to Alzheimer's disease (AD) by activating STAT3 in vitro. They also ameliorate functional memory impairment of mice induced by anticholinergic drugs or soluble toxic amyloid-beta (Abeta) in vivo when either is directly administered into the cerebral ventricle or intraperitoneally injected. However, the mechanism underlying the in vivo effect remains uncharacterized. In addition, from the standpoint of clinical application, drug delivery methods that are less invasive and specific to the central nervous system (CNS) should be developed. In this study, we show that intranasally (i.n.) administered CLN can be successfully transferred to CNS via the olfactory bulb. Using several behavioral tests, we have demonstrated that i.n. administered CLN ameliorates memory impairment of AD models in a dose-responsive manner. Attenuation of AD-related memory impairment by HN derivatives such as CLN appears to be correlated with an increase in STAT3 phosphorylation levels in the septohippocampal region, suggesting that anti-AD activities of HN derivatives may be mediated by activation of STAT3 in vivo as they are in vitro. We further demonstrate that CLN treatment inhibits an Abeta induced decrease in the number of choline acetyltransferase (ChAT)-positive neurons in the medial septum. Combined with the finding that HN derivatives upregulate mRNA expression of neuronal ChAT and vesicular acetylcholine transporter (VAChT) in vitro, it is assumed that CLN may ameliorate memory impairment of AD models by supporting cholinergic neurotransmission, which is at least partly mediated by STAT3-mediated transcriptional upregulation of ChAT and VAChT.
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Shapshak P, Rodriguez HE, Kayathri R, Levine A, Chiappelli F, Minagar A. Alzheimer's disease and HIV associated dementia related genes: I. location and function. Bioinformation 2008; 2:348-57. [PMID: 18685724 PMCID: PMC2478736 DOI: 10.6026/97320630002348] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/29/2008] [Accepted: 05/06/2008] [Indexed: 11/23/2022] Open
Abstract
Alzheimer's disease (AD), the most common cause of dementia, has few clinical similarities to HIV-1-associated dementia (HAD). However, genes were identified related among these dementias. Discovering correlations between gene function, expression, and structure in the human genome continues to aid in understanding the similarities between pathogenesis of these two dementing disorders. The current work attempts to identify relationships between these dementias in spite of their clinical differences, based on genomic structure, function, and expression. In this comparative study, the NCBI Entrez Genome Database is used to detect these relationships. This approach serves as a model for future diagnosis and treatment in the clinical arena as well as suggesting parallel pathways of disease mechanisms. Identifying a correlation among expression, structure, and function of genes involved in pathogenesis of these dementing disorders, may assist to understand better their interaction with each other and the human genome.
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Affiliation(s)
- Paul Shapshak
- Division of Infectious Diseases, Department of Internal Medicine, of South Florida, College of Medicine, Tampa, FL 33613, USA.
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36
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Belbin O, Beaumont H, Warden D, Smith AD, Kalsheker N, Morgan K. PSEN1 polymorphisms alter the rate of cognitive decline in sporadic Alzheimer's disease patients. Neurobiol Aging 2008; 30:1992-9. [PMID: 18403054 DOI: 10.1016/j.neurobiolaging.2008.02.013] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/16/2007] [Revised: 02/12/2008] [Accepted: 02/16/2008] [Indexed: 11/19/2022]
Abstract
Mutations in amyloid precursor protein (APP) and presenilin (PSEN) genes are known to cause familial early-onset Alzheimer's disease (AD), which account for around 5% of AD cases. Genetic associations for the remaining "sporadic" cases, other than the risks associated with the apolipoprotein (APOE) epsilon4 allele are currently not fully established. The aim of this study was to investigate whether single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in PSEN1 are associated with a modified risk for sporadic AD or a modified disease phenotype. Eight tag SNPs were identified using linkage disequilibrium (LD) data from the International HapMap project providing coverage of the entire PSEN1 gene. These SNPs were investigated for AD susceptibility in a case-control haplotype association study (N=714) and for genotype-specific effects on cognitive performance in AD patients (N=169) using non-linear mixed effects modelling. Replication of a mild associated-risk of an intronic PSEN1 polymorphism with AD was achieved (P=0.03). No other single SNPs or haplotypes were associated with AD risk. However, 3 SNPs were associated with an altered rate of cognitive decline underlining their role as genetic modifiers of disease.
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Affiliation(s)
- Olivia Belbin
- Division of Clinical Chemistry, Institute of Genetics, Queen's Medical Centre, University of Nottingham, NG7 2UH, UK
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Abstract
Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a complex disorder of the central nervous system (CNS). Molecular genetic research has provided a wealth of information regarding the genetic etiology of this devastating disease. Identification and functional characterization of autosomal dominant mutations in the amyloid precursor protein gene (APP) and the presenilin genes 1 and 2 (PSEN1 and PSEN2) have contributed substantially to our understanding of the biological mechanisms leading towards CNS neurodegeneration in AD. Nonetheless, a large part of the genetic etiology remains unresolved, especially that of more common, sporadic forms of AD. While substantial efforts were invested in the identification of genetic risk factors underlying sporadic AD, using carefully designed genetic association studies in large patient-control groups, the only firmly established risk factor remains the epsilon4 allele of the apolipoprotein E gene (APOE). Nevertheless, one can expect that with the current availability of high-throughput genotyping platforms and dense maps of single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs), large-scale genetic studies will eventually generate additional knowledge about the genetic risk profile for AD. This review provides an overview of the current understanding in the field of AD genetics, covering both the rare monogenic forms as well as recent developments in the search for novel AD susceptibility genes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nathalie Brouwers
- Neurodegenerative Brain Diseases Group, Department of Molecular Genetics, VIB, Antwerpen, Belgium
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38
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Beyer K, Domingo-Sábat M, Lao JI, Carrato C, Ferrer I, Ariza A. Identification and characterization of a new alpha-synuclein isoform and its role in Lewy body diseases. Neurogenetics 2007; 9:15-23. [PMID: 17955272 DOI: 10.1007/s10048-007-0106-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 60] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/05/2007] [Accepted: 09/27/2007] [Indexed: 01/13/2023]
Abstract
Alternative splicing is an important mechanism to generate a large number of mRNAs, thus increasing proteome diversity and tissue specificity. Three transcript variants of alpha-synuclein, a neuronal protein mainly involved in synapses, have been described so far. Whereas alpha-synuclein 140 is the whole and main transcript, alpha-synuclein 112 and 126 are short proteins that result from in-frame deletions of exons 3 and 5, respectively. Because the aforesaid alpha-synuclein isoforms show differential expression changes in Lewy body diseases (LBDs), in the present work, we searched for a fourth alpha-synuclein isoform and studied its expression levels in LBD brains. By using isoform-specific primers, isoform co-amplification and direct sequencing, we identified alpha-synuclein 98, which lacks exons 3 and 5. mRNA expression analyses in non-neuronal tissue revealed that alpha-synuclein 98 is a brain-specific splice variant with varying expression levels in different areas of fetal and adult brain. Additionally, we studied alpha-synuclein 98 expression levels by real-time semi-quantitative RT-PCR in the frontal cortices of LBD patients and compared them with those of Alzheimer disease (AD) patients and control subjects. Overexpression of alpha-synuclein 98 in LBD and AD brains would indicate its specific involvement in the pathogenesis of these neurodegenerative disorders.
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Affiliation(s)
- Katrin Beyer
- Department of Pathology, Hospital Universitari Germans Trias i Pujol, Autonomous University of Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain.
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39
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Ferrer I, Armstrong J, Capellari S, Parchi P, Arzberger T, Bell J, Budka H, Ströbel T, Giaccone G, Rossi G, Bogdanovic N, Fakai P, Schmitt A, Riederers P, Al-Sarraj S, Ravid R, Kretzschmar H. Effects of formalin fixation, paraffin embedding, and time of storage on DNA preservation in brain tissue: a BrainNet Europe study. Brain Pathol 2007; 17:297-303. [PMID: 17465988 PMCID: PMC8095589 DOI: 10.1111/j.1750-3639.2007.00073.x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 105] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/27/2022] Open
Abstract
There is a large amount of tissue stored in brain collections and brain banks, but little is known about whether formalin-fixed tissues and paraffin blocks stored for years in brain banks are suitable for the retrospective genetic studies. The study was carried out in order to: (i) compare DNA preservation in frozen, formalin-fixed and paraffin-embedded tissues stored for different periods; (ii) study point mutations and triplet expansions in frozen, formalin-fixed and paraffin-embedded material stored for variable periods, and using different fixative solutions; (iii) compare different methods to optimize DNA extraction and DNA amplification from suboptimally preserved brain tissue. DNA preservation is suitable for genetic studies in samples stored at -80 degrees C for several years. Formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded tissue was inferior to frozen tissue, but did yield adequate results in many cases depending on the type of fixative solution and time of fixation before embedding. Prolonged fixation in formalin rarely yielded useful DNA. Similar results were obtained in samples from prion diseases. The best results were obtained by using the Qiagen kits (QIAmp DNA Micro) in frozen material, paraffin blocks and formalin-fixed tissue. Genomiphi and TaKaRa Ex Taq methods were also assayed in paraffin blocks and in formalin-fixed samples with limited success.
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Affiliation(s)
- Isidre Ferrer
- Institut de Neuropatologia, Servei Anatomia Patològica, IDIBELL-Hospital Universitari de Bellvitge, Universitat de Barcelona, 08907 Hospitalet de Llobregat, Spain.
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Scacchi R, Gambina G, Moretto G, Corbo RM. A mutation screening by DHPLC of PSEN1 and APP genes reveals no significant variation associated with the sporadic late-onset form of Alzheimer's disease. Neurosci Lett 2007; 418:282-5. [PMID: 17412506 DOI: 10.1016/j.neulet.2007.03.035] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/07/2006] [Revised: 03/12/2007] [Accepted: 03/16/2007] [Indexed: 11/25/2022]
Abstract
Alzheimer's disease (AD), the most common cause of dementia in the elderly, is usually divided into familial and sporadic forms, according to family history. The familial form has often been reportedly caused by mutations in amyloid precursor protein (APP), presenilin-1 (PSEN1), or presenilin-2 (PSEN2) genes, whereas the genetic component for the sporadic form is less clear. We carried out mutation screening in exons 16 and 17 of APP, and in exons 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 10 of PSEN1 genes in patients with the sporadic late-onset form of AD (LOAD). The aim of this study was to ascertain whether any variation in these genes, besides that of the well-known apolipoprotein E common polymorphism, could be involved in the onset of the disease. To search for the single nucleotide substitutions, we examined 172 LOAD patients by the denaturing high-performance liquid chromatography (DHPLC) technique. Only one same-sense mutation in exon 4 of PSEN1 gene (N32) was observed in this patient group. We concluded that the variation in the screened exons of the APP and PSEN1 genes, reportedly associated with familial AD, is not present in LOAD.
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Affiliation(s)
- Renato Scacchi
- CNR Institute of Molecular Biology and Pathology, c/o Department of Genetics and Molecular Biology, University La Sapienza, P.le Aldo Moro 5, 00185 Rome, Italy.
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Mitsuda T, Hayakawa Y, Itoh M, Ohta K, Nakagawa T. ATF4 regulates γ-secretase activity during amino acid imbalance. Biochem Biophys Res Commun 2007; 352:722-7. [PMID: 17141186 DOI: 10.1016/j.bbrc.2006.11.075] [Citation(s) in RCA: 33] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/14/2006] [Accepted: 11/14/2006] [Indexed: 12/18/2022]
Abstract
Accumulation of amyloid-beta (Abeta), which is generated from amyloid precursor protein by gamma-secretase, in cerebral cortex is common and critical incident in Alzheimer disease. Specifically, presenilin is an essential for gamma-secretase activity. However, the regulation of presenilin expression, affecting gamma-secretase activity, remains obscure. We investigated mechanism controlling the expression of presenilin-1 (PS1) and gamma-secretase activity. We showed that PS1 is induced by activating transcription factor 4 (ATF4), regulated by GCN2 eukaryotic initiation factor 2alpha (eIF2alpha) kinase. A chromatin immunoprecipitation analysis and an electrophoretic mobility shift assay demonstrated that ATF4 binds to the regulatory region of human PS1 gene. Through knockdown analysis, we observed that the secretion of Abeta (1-42) and induction of gamma-secretase cofactors are controlled by ATF4. These data indicate that ATF4 is critical for gamma-secretase activity, by which ATF4 mRNA is preferentially translated in response to eIF2alpha phosphorylation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Teruhiko Mitsuda
- Department of Neurobiology, Gifu University Graduate School of Medicine, 1-1 Yanagido, Gifu 501-1194, Japan
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42
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Jozwiak K, Zekanowski C, Filipek S. Linear patterns of Alzheimer's disease mutations along α-helices of presenilins as a tool for PS-1 model construction. J Neurochem 2006; 98:1560-72. [PMID: 16923167 DOI: 10.1111/j.1471-4159.2006.03983.x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Abstract
We performed an analysis of mutation patterns in all 10 hydrophobic regions (HRs) of presenilin-1 (PS-1) and PS-2 using a recent database of Alzheimer's disease (AD) mutations. The linear patterns were confirmed and extended to areas spanning as many as three faces of a given HR. The complementary areas of residues free of AD mutations were identified based on the location of non-pathogenic polymorphisms and PS-1 versus PS-2 amino acid discordances. Taking into account the location of areas of AD mutations and mutation-free areas/regions, we proposed a preliminary model of PS-1 structure using a general stick-out-mutation rule. To build a molecular structure of PS-1 and preserve features of the preliminary model, we used bacteriorhodopsin template in homology/comparative modelling. Two molecular models were built differing in the location of C-terminal fragment helices. The models properly distinguish residues belonging to AD-affected sites and non-pathogenic areas, and may be used for classification purposes. They also comply with experimental results, such as differences in accessibility of the catalytic residues in uncleaved PS-1, and binding of PEN-2 by the PS-1 NF motif.
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Affiliation(s)
- Krzysztof Jozwiak
- International Institute of Molecular and Cell Biology, Warsaw, Poland
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43
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Wang R, Zhang YW, Zhang X, Liu R, Zhang X, Hong S, Xia K, Xia J, Zhang Z, Xu H. Transcriptional regulation of APH-1A and increased gamma-secretase cleavage of APP and Notch by HIF-1 and hypoxia. FASEB J 2006; 20:1275-7. [PMID: 16645044 DOI: 10.1096/fj.06-5839fje] [Citation(s) in RCA: 85] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/02/2023]
Abstract
The proteolytic cleavage of Alzheimer beta-amyloid precursor protein (APP) and signaling receptor Notch is mediated by the PS/gamma-secretase complex, which consists of presenilins, nicastrin, APH-1, and PEN-2. Although the four components are known to coordinately regulate each other at the protein level, information regarding their transcription regulation is scarce. Here we characterized the 5'-flanking region of the human APH-1A gene and identified a 271-bp fragment containing the transcription initiation site for the promoter activity. Sequence analysis, mutagenesis, and gel shift studies revealed a binding of AP4 and HIF-1 to the promoter, which affects the promoter activity. Activation of HIF-1 by short-term NiCl2 treatments (a condition of chemical hypoxia) dramatically increased APH-1A mRNA and protein expression, accompanied by increased secretion of Abeta and decreased APP CTFs formation, indicative of an increase in gamma-secretase activity. NiCl2 treatments had little effect on APP and the other three components of the gamma-secretase complex. The cellular concentration of Notch intracellular domain (NICD) was also increased by the hypoxic treatment. Our results demonstrate that APH-1A expression and the gamma-secretase mediated Abeta and Notch NICD generation are regulated by HIF-1, and the specific control of APH-1A expression may imply physiological functions uniquely assigned to APH-1A.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ruishan Wang
- Laboratory of Molecular and Cellular Neuroscience, School of Life Sciences, Xiamen University, Xiamen, China
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44
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Larner AJ, Doran M. Clinical phenotypic heterogeneity of Alzheimer's disease associated with mutations of the presenilin-1 gene. J Neurol 2005; 253:139-58. [PMID: 16267640 DOI: 10.1007/s00415-005-0019-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 150] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/21/2005] [Revised: 05/31/2005] [Accepted: 06/13/2005] [Indexed: 10/25/2022]
Abstract
It is now 10 years since the first report of mutations in the presenilin genes that were deterministic for familial autosomal dominant Alzheimer's disease. The most common of these mutations occurs in the presenilin-1 gene (PSEN1) located on chromosome 14. In the ensuing decade, more than 100 PSEN1 mutations have been described. The emphasis of these reports has largely been on the novelty of the mutations and their potential pathogenic consequences rather than detailed clinical, neuropsychological, neuroimaging and neuropathological accounts of patients with the mutation. This article reviews the clinical phenotypes of reported PSEN1 mutations, emphasizing their heterogeneity, and suggesting that other factors, both genetic and epigenetic,must contribute to disease phenotype.
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Affiliation(s)
- A J Larner
- Cognitive Function Clinic, Walton Centre for Neurology and Neurosurgery Fazakerley, Liverpool, UK.
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Mastrangelo P, Mathews PM, Chishti MA, Schmidt SD, Gu Y, Yang J, Mazzella MJ, Coomaraswamy J, Horne P, Strome B, Pelly H, Levesque G, Ebeling C, Jiang Y, Nixon RA, Rozmahel R, Fraser PE, St George-Hyslop P, Carlson GA, Westaway D. Dissociated phenotypes in presenilin transgenic mice define functionally distinct gamma-secretases. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2005; 102:8972-7. [PMID: 15951428 PMCID: PMC1149500 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.0500940102] [Citation(s) in RCA: 68] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Gamma-secretase depends on presence of presenilins (PS), Nct, Aph-1, and PEN-2 within a core complex. This endoproteolytic activity cleaves within transmembrane domains of amyloid-beta precursor protein (APP) and Notch, and familial Alzheimer's disease (FAD) mutations in PS1 or PS2 genes shift APP cleavage from production of amyloid-beta (Abeta) 40 peptide to greater production of Abeta42. Although studies in PS1/PS2-deficient embryonic cells define overlapping activities for these proteins, in vivo complementation of PS1-deficient animals described here reveals an unexpected spectrum of activities dictated by PS1 and PS2 alleles. Unlike PS1 transgenes, wild-type PS2 transgenes expressed in the mouse CNS support little Abeta40 or Abeta42 production, and FAD PS2 alleles support robust production of only Abeta42. Although wild-type PS2 transgenes failed to rescue Notch-associated skeletal defects in PS1 hypomorphs, a "gained" competence in this regard was apparent for FAD alleles of PS2. The range of discrete and divergent processing activities in mice reconstituted with different PS genes and alleles argues against gamma-secretase being a single enzyme with intrinsically relaxed substrate and cleavage site specificities. Instead, our studies define functionally distinct gamma-secretase variants. We speculate that extrinsic components, in combination with core complexes, may tailor functional variants of this enzyme to their preferred substrates.
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Affiliation(s)
- Peter Mastrangelo
- Centre for Research in Neurodegenerative Diseases, Department of Laboratory Medicine and Pathobiology, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada M5S 3H2
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Pastorcic M, Das HK. Alternative initiation of transcription of the human presenilin 1 gene in SH-SY5Y and SK-N-SH cells. The role of Ets factors in the regulation of presenilin 1. ACTA ACUST UNITED AC 2005; 271:4485-94. [PMID: 15560789 DOI: 10.1111/j.1432-1033.2004.04453.x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/31/2022]
Abstract
We have identified DNA sequences required for the expression of the presenilin 1 (PS1) gene. A promoter region has been mapped in SK-N-SH cells and includes sequences between -118 and +178 flanking the major initiation site (+1). The PS1 gene is also efficiently transcribed in the SH-SY5Y subclone of SK-N-SH cells. However the promoter appears to be utilized in alternative ways in both cell types. Sequences both upstream as well as downstream from the initiation site mapped in SK-N-SH cells were shown by 5'- and 3'-deletion analysis to play a crucial role in both cell lines. However, in SH-SY5Y cells either upstream or downstream sequences are sufficient to direct transcription, whereas in SK-N-SH cells 5'-deletions past the +1 site eliminate over 95% of transcription. Several Ets motifs (GGAA) as well as Sp1 motifs [(G/T)GGCGGRRY] are juxtaposed both upstream and downstream from +1. To understand how the promoter may be utilized alternatively in different cell types we have examined the effect of point mutations in these elements. Altering an Ets motif at -10 eliminates 80% of transcription in SK-N-SH cells whereas the same mutation has only a minor effect in SH-SY5Y cells. Conversely, mutation of the Ets element at +90, which eliminates 70% of transcription in SH-SY5Y cells, has a lesser effect in SK-N-SH cells. In both cell types a promoter including mutations at both -10 and +90 sites loses over 90% transcription activity indicating the crucial importance of these two Ets motifs. The effect of Sp1 mutations appears to be similar in both cell types. Hence the differential expression in each cell type may be at least partially determined by Ets factors and the -10/+90 sites. We have identified several Ets factors that recognize specifically the -10 Ets motif by the yeast one-hybrid selection including avian erythroblastosis virus E26 oncogene homologue 2, Ets-like gene 1, Ets translocation variant 1 and Ets related molecule (ERM). We show here that ERM specifically recognizes Ets motifs on the PS1 promoter located at -10 as well as downstream at +90, +129 and +165 and activates PS1 transcription with promoter fragments containing or not the -10 Ets site.
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Affiliation(s)
- Martine Pastorcic
- Department of Pharmacology & Neuroscience, University of North Texas Health Science Center at Fort Worth, TX 76107, USA
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Loraine AE, Helt GA, Cline MS, Siani-Rose MA. Exploring alternative transcript structure in the human genome using blocks and InterPro. J Bioinform Comput Biol 2005; 1:289-306. [PMID: 15290774 DOI: 10.1142/s0219720003000113] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/15/2002] [Revised: 12/07/2002] [Accepted: 01/15/2003] [Indexed: 11/18/2022]
Abstract
Understanding how alternative splicing affects gene function is an important challenge facing modern-day molecular biology. Using homology-based, protein sequence analysis methods, it should be possible to investigate how transcript diversity impacts protein function. To test this, high-quality exon-intron structures were deduced for over 8000 human genes, including over 1300 (17 percent) that produce multiple transcript variants. A data mining technique (DiffMotif) was developed to identify genes in which transcript variation coincides with changes in conserved motifs between variants. Applying this method, we found that 30 percent of the multi-variant genes in our test set exhibited a differential profile of conserved InterPro and/or BLOCKS motifs across different mRNA variants. To investigate these, a visualization tool (ProtAnnot) that displays amino acid motifs in the context of genomic sequence was developed. Using this tool, genes revealed by the DiffMotif method were analyzed, and when possible, hypotheses regarding the potential role of alternative transcript structure in modulating gene function were developed. Examples of these, including: MEOX1, a homeobox-containing protein; AIRE, involved in auto-immune disease; PLAT, tissue type plasminogen activator; and CD79b, a component of the B-cell receptor complex, are presented. These results demonstrate that amino acid motif databases like BLOCKS and InterPro are useful tools for investigating how alternative transcript structure affects gene function.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ann E Loraine
- Bioinformatics Department, Affymetrix, 6550 Vallejo St, Emeryville, CA 94530 USA.
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Fuso A, Seminara L, Cavallaro RA, D'Anselmi F, Scarpa S. S-adenosylmethionine/homocysteine cycle alterations modify DNA methylation status with consequent deregulation of PS1 and BACE and beta-amyloid production. Mol Cell Neurosci 2005; 28:195-204. [PMID: 15607954 DOI: 10.1016/j.mcn.2004.09.007] [Citation(s) in RCA: 246] [Impact Index Per Article: 12.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/20/2004] [Accepted: 09/14/2004] [Indexed: 12/21/2022] Open
Abstract
Few diseases are characterized by high homocysteine (HCY) and low folate and vitamin B12 blood levels. Alzheimer disease (AD) is among these. It has already been shown that DNA methylation is involved in amyloid precursor protein (APP) processing and beta-amyloid (A beta) production through the regulation of Presenilin1 (PS1) expression and that exogenous S-adenosylmethionine (SAM) can silence the gene reducing A beta production. Here we demonstrate that BACE (beta-secretase), as well as PS1, is regulated by methylation and that the reduction of folate and vitamin B12 in culture medium can cause a reduction of SAM levels with consequent increase in presenilin1 and BACE levels and with increase in A beta production. The simultaneous administration of SAM to the deficient medium can restore the normal gene expression, thus reducing the A beta levels. The use of deprived medium was intended to mimic a mild nutritional deficit involved in the onset of AD.
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Affiliation(s)
- Andrea Fuso
- Laboratorio di Ricerca, Dipartimento di Chirurgia P. Valdoni, Università di Roma La Sapienza, 00161 Rome, Italy
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Scheper W, Zwart R, Baas F. Alternative splicing in the N-terminus of Alzheimer's presenilin 1. Neurogenetics 2004; 5:223-7. [PMID: 15480879 DOI: 10.1007/s10048-004-0195-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/23/2004] [Accepted: 08/27/2004] [Indexed: 12/17/2022]
Abstract
Presenilin 1 (PS1) is mutated in the majority of familial cases of Alzheimer disease (AD). Although it is clear that PS1 is involved in the processing of the amyloid precursor protein (APP), the exact function of PS1 is still elusive. Human presenilin 1 (PS1) is alternatively spliced, resulting in the presence or absence of a four-amino acid motif, VRSQ, in the PS1 N-terminus. In human tissues, both isoforms are expressed. Here we report that mouse and rat only express the longer PS1 isoform. The presence of this motif introduces a potential phosphorylation site for protein kinase C. Because the splice occurs in the region of PS1 that we have previously shown to bind to rabGDI, this might provide a regulatory mechanism for this interaction. Our data show that the -VRSQ isoform binds rabGDI, but the +VRSQ does not. Moreover, mutation of the putatively phosphorylated threonine in PS1 disrupts the binding to rabGDI, showing its importance for the interaction. To our knowledge this is the first study showing a functional difference between PS1 splice variants. The possible consequences for APP processing and the pathogenesis of AD are discussed.
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Affiliation(s)
- Wiep Scheper
- Neurogenetics Laboratory, Academic Medical Center, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
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Lucarelli P, Piciullo A, Palmarino M, Verdecchia M, Saccucci P, Arpino C, Curatolo P. Association between presenilin-1 −48C/T polymorphism and Down’s syndrome. Neurosci Lett 2004; 367:88-91. [PMID: 15308304 DOI: 10.1016/j.neulet.2004.05.086] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/15/2004] [Revised: 05/25/2004] [Accepted: 05/26/2004] [Indexed: 10/26/2022]
Abstract
Individuals with Down's syndrome (DS), i.e., trisomy 21, over 40 years of age, are likely to develop neuropathological changes characteristic of Alzheimer's disease (AD). The involvement of chromosome 21 both in DS and AD suggests a shared genetic susceptibility to these disorders, but genetic determinants are still undefined. The -48C/T polymorphism in the PSEN1 promoter is a possible candidate, since it has recently been associated with an increased risk of early onset AD. Based on the assumption that the excess of dementia in DS might be a consequence of a different distribution of the -48C/T polymorphism, we investigated the association between DS and this polymorphism in patients with trisomy 21 and controls. Overall, 260 DS patients and 197 controls were recruited at the Department of Neurosciences, Tor Vergata University of Rome. Cases and controls had similar age and gender distribution. High molecular weight DNA was extracted from whole blood samples collected in EDTANa(2) and -48C/T genotypes were determined. Genotype and allele frequencies were compared between cases and controls. Cases were less likely than controls to have the CC genotype ( P = 0.05). A significant difference for allele distribution between DS cases and controls was found, with DS showing a lower frequency of the allele C compared with the control population (OR: 0.57; 95% CI: 0.35-0.91; P = 0.01). No significant interaction of PSEN1 with age, gender, ApoE and -850 TNF-alpha polymorphisms was found. The association found suggests that the -48C/T polymorphism in the PSN1 gene promoter, which is involved in the modulation of amyloid beta load in human AD, is associated with DS. However, the biological role of this polymorphism in DS-related dementia remains unclear and merits further investigation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Paola Lucarelli
- Institute of Molecular Biology and Pathology, National Research Council, Rome 00185, Italy
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