1
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Rajabi D, Khanmohammadi S, Rezaei N. The role of long noncoding RNAs in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. Rev Neurosci 2024; 35:533-547. [PMID: 38452377 DOI: 10.1515/revneuro-2023-0155] [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] [Received: 12/14/2023] [Accepted: 02/18/2024] [Indexed: 03/09/2024]
Abstract
Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is a progressive neurodegenerative disease with a poor prognosis leading to death. The diagnosis and treatment of ALS are inherently challenging due to its complex pathomechanism. Long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) are transcripts longer than 200 nucleotides involved in different cellular processes, incisively gene expression. In recent years, more studies have been conducted on lncRNA classes and interference in different disease pathologies, showing their promising contribution to diagnosing and treating neurodegenerative diseases. In this review, we discussed the role of lncRNAs like NEAT1 and C9orf72-as in ALS pathogenesis mechanisms caused by mutations in different genes, including TAR DNA-binding protein-43 (TDP-43), fused in sarcoma (FUS), superoxide dismutase type 1 (SOD1). NEAT1 is a well-established lncRNA in ALS pathogenesis; hence, we elaborate on its involvement in forming paraspeckles, stress response, inflammatory response, and apoptosis. Furthermore, antisense lncRNAs (as-lncRNAs), a key group of transcripts from the opposite strand of genes, including ZEB1-AS1 and ATXN2-AS, are discussed as newly identified components in the pathology of ALS. Ultimately, we review the current standing of using lncRNAs as biomarkers and therapeutic agents and the future vision of further studies on lncRNA applications.
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Affiliation(s)
- Darya Rajabi
- School of Medicine, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Felestin St., Keshavarz Blvd., Tehran, 1416634793, Iran
| | - Shaghayegh Khanmohammadi
- School of Medicine, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Felestin St., Keshavarz Blvd., Tehran, 1416634793, Iran
- Research Center for Immunodeficiencies, Children's Medical Center, No 63, Gharib Ave, Keshavarz Blv, Tehran, 1419733151, Iran
- Network of Immunity in Infection, Malignancy and Autoimmunity (NIIMA), Universal Scientific Education and Research Network (USERN), Children's Medical Center, No 63, Gharib Ave, Keshavarz Blv, Tehran, 1419733151, Iran
| | - Nima Rezaei
- Research Center for Immunodeficiencies, Children's Medical Center, No 63, Gharib Ave, Keshavarz Blv, Tehran, 1419733151, Iran
- Network of Immunity in Infection, Malignancy and Autoimmunity (NIIMA), Universal Scientific Education and Research Network (USERN), Children's Medical Center, No 63, Gharib Ave, Keshavarz Blv, Tehran, 1419733151, Iran
- Department of Immunology, School of Medicine, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Felestin St., Keshavarz Blvd., Tehran, 1416634793, Iran
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2
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Nguyen L. Updates on Disease Mechanisms and Therapeutics for Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis. Cells 2024; 13:888. [PMID: 38891021 PMCID: PMC11172142 DOI: 10.3390/cells13110888] [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] [Received: 03/29/2024] [Revised: 05/08/2024] [Accepted: 05/15/2024] [Indexed: 06/20/2024] Open
Abstract
Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), or Lou Gehrig's disease, is a motor neuron disease. In ALS, upper and lower motor neurons in the brain and spinal cord progressively degenerate during the course of the disease, leading to the loss of the voluntary movement of the arms and legs. Since its first description in 1869 by a French neurologist Jean-Martin Charcot, the scientific discoveries on ALS have increased our understanding of ALS genetics, pathology and mechanisms and provided novel therapeutic strategies. The goal of this review article is to provide a comprehensive summary of the recent findings on ALS mechanisms and related therapeutic strategies to the scientific audience. Several highlighted ALS research topics discussed in this article include the 2023 FDA approved drug for SOD1 ALS, the updated C9orf72 GGGGCC repeat-expansion-related mechanisms and therapeutic targets, TDP-43-mediated cryptic splicing and disease markers and diagnostic and therapeutic options offered by these recent discoveries.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lien Nguyen
- Department of Molecular Genetics and Microbiology, College of Medicine, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL 32610, USA;
- Center for NeuroGenetics, College of Medicine, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL 32610, USA
- Department of Neuroscience, College of Medicine, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL 32610, USA
- Genetics Institute, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL 32610, USA
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3
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Sellier C, Corcia P, Vourc'h P, Dupuis L. C9ORF72 hexanucleotide repeat expansion: From ALS and FTD to a broader pathogenic role? Rev Neurol (Paris) 2024; 180:417-428. [PMID: 38609750 DOI: 10.1016/j.neurol.2024.03.008] [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] [Received: 03/20/2024] [Accepted: 03/30/2024] [Indexed: 04/14/2024]
Abstract
The major gene underlying monogenic forms of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) and fronto-temporal dementia (FTD) is C9ORF72. The causative mutation in C9ORF72 is an abnormal hexanucleotide (G4C2) repeat expansion (HRE) located in the first intron of the gene. The aim of this review is to propose a comprehensive update on recent developments on clinical, biological and therapeutics aspects related to C9ORF72 in order to highlight the current understanding of genotype-phenotype correlations, and also on biological machinery leading to neuronal death. We will particularly focus on the broad phenotypic presentation of C9ORF72-related diseases, that goes well beyond the classical phenotypes observed in ALS and FTD patients. Last, we will comment the possible therapeutical hopes for patients carrying a C9ORF72 HRE.
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Affiliation(s)
- C Sellier
- Centre de recherches en biomédecine de Strasbourg, UMR-S1329, Inserm, université de Strasbourg, Strasbourg, France
| | - P Corcia
- UMR 1253 iBrain, Inserm, université de Tours, Tours, France; Centre constitutif de coordination SLA, CHU de Bretonneau, 2, boulevard Tonnelle, 37044 Tours cedex 1, France
| | - P Vourc'h
- UMR 1253 iBrain, Inserm, université de Tours, Tours, France; Service de biochimie et biologie moléculaire, CHU de Tours, Tours, France
| | - L Dupuis
- Centre de recherches en biomédecine de Strasbourg, UMR-S1329, Inserm, université de Strasbourg, Strasbourg, France.
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4
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Gotoh S, Mori K, Fujino Y, Kawabe Y, Yamashita T, Omi T, Nagata K, Tagami S, Nagai Y, Ikeda M. eIF5 stimulates the CUG initiation of RAN translation of poly-GA dipeptide repeat protein (DPR) in C9orf72 FTLD/ALS. J Biol Chem 2024; 300:105703. [PMID: 38301895 PMCID: PMC10904283 DOI: 10.1016/j.jbc.2024.105703] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/18/2023] [Revised: 01/20/2024] [Accepted: 01/23/2024] [Indexed: 02/03/2024] Open
Abstract
Tandem GGGGCC repeat expansion in C9orf72 is a genetic cause of frontotemporal lobar degeneration (FTLD) and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). Transcribed repeats are translated into dipeptide repeat proteins via repeat-associated non-AUG (RAN) translation. However, the regulatory mechanism of RAN translation remains unclear. Here, we reveal a GTPase-activating protein, eukaryotic initiation factor 5 (eIF5), which allosterically facilitates the conversion of eIF2-bound GTP into GDP upon start codon recognition, as a novel modifier of C9orf72 RAN translation. Compared to global translation, eIF5, but not its inactive mutants, preferentially stimulates poly-GA RAN translation. RAN translation is increased during integrated stress response, but the stimulatory effect of eIF5 on poly-GA RAN translation was additive to the increase of RAN translation during integrated stress response, with no further increase in phosphorylated eIF2α. Moreover, an alteration of the CUG near cognate codon to CCG or AUG in the poly-GA reading frame abolished the stimulatory effects, indicating that eIF5 primarily acts through the CUG-dependent initiation. Lastly, in a Drosophila model of C9orf72 FTLD/ALS that expresses GGGGCC repeats in the eye, knockdown of endogenous eIF5 by two independent RNAi strains significantly reduced poly-GA expressions, confirming in vivo effect of eIF5 on poly-GA RAN translation. Together, eIF5 stimulates the CUG initiation of poly-GA RAN translation in cellular and Drosophila disease models of C9orf72 FTLD/ALS.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shiho Gotoh
- Department of Psychiatry, Osaka University Graduate School of Medicine, Suita, Japan
| | - Kohji Mori
- Department of Psychiatry, Osaka University Graduate School of Medicine, Suita, Japan.
| | - Yuzo Fujino
- Department of Neurology, Kindai University Faculty of Medicine, Osaka-Sayama, Japan; Department of Neurology, Kyoto Prefectural University of Medicine, Kyoto, Japan
| | - Yuya Kawabe
- Department of Psychiatry, Osaka University Graduate School of Medicine, Suita, Japan
| | - Tomoko Yamashita
- Department of Psychiatry, Osaka University Graduate School of Medicine, Suita, Japan
| | - Tsubasa Omi
- Department of Psychiatry, Osaka University Graduate School of Medicine, Suita, Japan
| | - Kenichi Nagata
- Department of Precision Medicine for Dementia, Osaka University Graduate School of Medicine, Suita, Japan
| | - Shinji Tagami
- Department of Psychiatry, Osaka University Graduate School of Medicine, Suita, Japan
| | - Yoshitaka Nagai
- Department of Neurology, Kindai University Faculty of Medicine, Osaka-Sayama, Japan
| | - Manabu Ikeda
- Department of Psychiatry, Osaka University Graduate School of Medicine, Suita, Japan
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5
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Smeele PH, Cesare G, Vaccari T. ALS' Perfect Storm: C9orf72-Associated Toxic Dipeptide Repeats as Potential Multipotent Disruptors of Protein Homeostasis. Cells 2024; 13:178. [PMID: 38247869 PMCID: PMC10813877 DOI: 10.3390/cells13020178] [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] [Received: 12/13/2023] [Revised: 01/10/2024] [Accepted: 01/12/2024] [Indexed: 01/23/2024] Open
Abstract
Protein homeostasis is essential for neuron longevity, requiring a balanced regulation between protein synthesis and degradation. The clearance of misfolded and aggregated proteins, mediated by autophagy and the ubiquitin-proteasome systems, maintains protein homeostasis in neurons, which are post-mitotic and thus cannot use cell division to diminish the burden of misfolded proteins. When protein clearance pathways are overwhelmed or otherwise disrupted, the accumulation of misfolded or aggregated proteins can lead to the activation of ER stress and the formation of stress granules, which predominantly attempt to restore the homeostasis by suppressing global protein translation. Alterations in these processes have been widely reported among studies investigating the toxic function of dipeptide repeats (DPRs) produced by G4C2 expansion in the C9orf72 gene of patients with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) and frontotemporal dementia (FTD). In this review, we outline the modalities of DPR-induced disruptions in protein homeostasis observed in a wide range of models of C9orf72-linked ALS/FTD. We also discuss the relative importance of each DPR for toxicity, possible synergies between DPRs, and discuss the possible functional relevance of DPR aggregation to disease pathogenesis. Finally, we highlight the interdependencies of the observed effects and reflect on the importance of feedback and feedforward mechanisms in their contribution to disease progression. A better understanding of DPR-associated disease pathogenesis discussed in this review might shed light on disease vulnerabilities that may be amenable with therapeutic interventions.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | - Thomas Vaccari
- Department of Biosciences, University of Milan, Via Celoria 26, 20133 Milan, Italy
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6
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Arjmand S. Promoters in Pichia pastoris: A Toolbox for Fine-Tuned Gene Expression. Methods Mol Biol 2024; 2844:159-178. [PMID: 39068339 DOI: 10.1007/978-1-0716-4063-0_11] [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: 07/30/2024]
Abstract
This chapter reviews the different promoters used to control gene expression in the yeast Pichia pastoris, mainly for recombinant protein production. It covers natural inducible, derepressed, and constitutive promoters, as well as engineered synthetic/hybrid promoters, orthologous promoters from related yeasts, and emerging bidirectional promoters. Key examples, characteristics, and regulatory mechanisms are discussed for each promoter class. Recent efforts in promoter engineering through rational design, mutagenesis, and computational approaches are also highlighted. Looking ahead, we anticipate further developments that will enhance promoter design for Pichia pastoris. Overall, this comprehensive overview underscores the importance of promoter choice and engineering for fully harnessing Pichia pastoris biotechnological potential.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sareh Arjmand
- Protein Research Center, Shahid Beheshti University, Tehran, Iran.
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7
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Chen ZS, Ou M, Taylor S, Dafinca R, Peng SI, Talbot K, Chan HYE. Mutant GGGGCC RNA prevents YY1 from binding to Fuzzy promoter which stimulates Wnt/β-catenin pathway in C9ALS/FTD. Nat Commun 2023; 14:8420. [PMID: 38110419 PMCID: PMC10728118 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-023-44215-w] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/10/2022] [Accepted: 12/05/2023] [Indexed: 12/20/2023] Open
Abstract
The GGGGCC hexanucleotide repeat expansion mutation in the chromosome 9 open reading frame 72 (C9orf72) gene is a major genetic cause of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis and frontotemporal dementia (C9ALS/FTD). In this study, we demonstrate that the zinc finger (ZF) transcriptional regulator Yin Yang 1 (YY1) binds to the promoter region of the planar cell polarity gene Fuzzy to regulate its transcription. We show that YY1 interacts with GGGGCC repeat RNA via its ZF and that this interaction compromises the binding of YY1 to the FuzzyYY1 promoter sites, resulting in the downregulation of Fuzzy transcription. The decrease in Fuzzy protein expression in turn activates the canonical Wnt/β-catenin pathway and induces synaptic deficits in C9ALS/FTD neurons. Our findings demonstrate a C9orf72 GGGGCC RNA-initiated perturbation of YY1-Fuzzy transcriptional control that implicates aberrant Wnt/β-catenin signalling in C9ALS/FTD-associated neurodegeneration. This pathogenic cascade provides a potential new target for disease-modifying therapy.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zhefan Stephen Chen
- School of Life Sciences, Faculty of Science, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shatin, N.T., Hong Kong SAR, China
- Oxford Motor Neuron Disease Centre, Nuffield Department of Clinical Neurosciences, John Radcliffe Hospital, University of Oxford, Oxford, OX3 9DU, UK
| | - Mingxi Ou
- School of Life Sciences, Faculty of Science, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shatin, N.T., Hong Kong SAR, China
| | - Stephanie Taylor
- Oxford Motor Neuron Disease Centre, Nuffield Department of Clinical Neurosciences, John Radcliffe Hospital, University of Oxford, Oxford, OX3 9DU, UK
| | - Ruxandra Dafinca
- Oxford Motor Neuron Disease Centre, Nuffield Department of Clinical Neurosciences, John Radcliffe Hospital, University of Oxford, Oxford, OX3 9DU, UK
- Kavli Institute for Nanoscience Discovery, University of Oxford, Dorothy Crowfoot Hodgkin Building, South Parks Road, Oxford, OX1 3QU, UK
| | - Shaohong Isaac Peng
- School of Life Sciences, Faculty of Science, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shatin, N.T., Hong Kong SAR, China
| | - Kevin Talbot
- Oxford Motor Neuron Disease Centre, Nuffield Department of Clinical Neurosciences, John Radcliffe Hospital, University of Oxford, Oxford, OX3 9DU, UK.
- Kavli Institute for Nanoscience Discovery, University of Oxford, Dorothy Crowfoot Hodgkin Building, South Parks Road, Oxford, OX1 3QU, UK.
| | - Ho Yin Edwin Chan
- School of Life Sciences, Faculty of Science, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shatin, N.T., Hong Kong SAR, China.
- Gerald Choa Neuroscience Institute, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shatin, N.T., Hong Kong SAR, China.
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8
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McCallister TX, Lim CKW, Terpstra WM, Alejandra Zeballos C M, Zhang S, Powell JE, Gaj T. A high-fidelity CRISPR-Cas13 system improves abnormalities associated with C9ORF72-linked ALS/FTD. BIORXIV : THE PREPRINT SERVER FOR BIOLOGY 2023:2023.12.12.571328. [PMID: 38168370 PMCID: PMC10760048 DOI: 10.1101/2023.12.12.571328] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/05/2024]
Abstract
An abnormal expansion of a GGGGCC hexanucleotide repeat in the C9ORF72 gene is the most common genetic cause of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) and frontotemporal dementia (FTD), two debilitating neurodegenerative disorders driven in part by gain-of-function mechanisms involving transcribed forms of the repeat expansion. By utilizing a Cas13 variant with reduced collateral effects, we developed a high-fidelity RNA-targeting CRISPR-based system for C9ORF72-linked ALS/FTD. When delivered to the brain of a transgenic rodent model, this Cas13-based platform effectively curbed the expression of the GGGGCC repeat-containing RNA without affecting normal C9ORF72 levels, which in turn decreased the formation of RNA foci and reversed transcriptional deficits. This high-fidelity Cas13 variant possessed improved transcriptome-wide specificity compared to its native form and mediated efficient targeting in motor neuron-like cells derived from a patient with ALS. Our results lay the foundation for the implementation of RNA-targeting CRISPR technologies for C9ORF72-linked ALS/FTD.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tristan X. McCallister
- Department of Bioengineering, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, IL 61801, USA
| | - Colin K. W. Lim
- Department of Bioengineering, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, IL 61801, USA
| | - William M. Terpstra
- Department of Bioengineering, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, IL 61801, USA
| | - M. Alejandra Zeballos C
- Department of Bioengineering, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, IL 61801, USA
| | - Sijia Zhang
- Department of Bioengineering, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, IL 61801, USA
| | - Jackson E. Powell
- Department of Bioengineering, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, IL 61801, USA
| | - Thomas Gaj
- Department of Bioengineering, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, IL 61801, USA
- Carl R. Woese Institute for Genomic Biology, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, IL 61801, USA
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9
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Rothstein JD, Baskerville V, Rapuri S, Mehlhop E, Jafar-Nejad P, Rigo F, Bennett F, Mizielinska S, Isaacs A, Coyne AN. G 2C 4 targeting antisense oligonucleotides potently mitigate TDP-43 dysfunction in human C9orf72 ALS/FTD induced pluripotent stem cell derived neurons. Acta Neuropathol 2023; 147:1. [PMID: 38019311 PMCID: PMC10840905 DOI: 10.1007/s00401-023-02652-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/14/2023] [Revised: 10/09/2023] [Accepted: 10/26/2023] [Indexed: 11/30/2023]
Abstract
The G4C2 repeat expansion in the C9orf72 gene is the most common genetic cause of Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis and Frontotemporal Dementia. Many studies suggest that dipeptide repeat proteins produced from this repeat are toxic, yet, the contribution of repeat RNA toxicity is under investigated and even less is known regarding the pathogenicity of antisense repeat RNA. Recently, two clinical trials targeting G4C2 (sense) repeat RNA via antisense oligonucleotide failed despite a robust decrease in sense-encoded dipeptide repeat proteins demonstrating target engagement. Here, in this brief report, we show that G2C4 antisense, but not G4C2 sense, repeat RNA is sufficient to induce TDP-43 dysfunction in induced pluripotent stem cell (iPSC) derived neurons (iPSNs). Unexpectedly, only G2C4, but not G4C2 sense strand targeting, ASOs mitigate deficits in TDP-43 function in authentic C9orf72 ALS/FTD patient iPSNs. Collectively, our data suggest that the G2C4 antisense repeat RNA may be an important therapeutic target and provide insights into a possible explanation for the recent G4C2 ASO clinical trial failure.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jeffrey D Rothstein
- Brain Science Institute, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, 21205, USA.
- Department of Neurology, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, 21205, USA.
| | - Victoria Baskerville
- Brain Science Institute, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, 21205, USA
- Department of Neurology, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, 21205, USA
| | - Sampath Rapuri
- Brain Science Institute, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, 21205, USA
- Department of Neurology, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, 21205, USA
| | - Emma Mehlhop
- Brain Science Institute, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, 21205, USA
- Department of Neurology, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, 21205, USA
| | | | - Frank Rigo
- Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Carlsbad, CA, 92010, USA
| | | | - Sarah Mizielinska
- UK Dementia Research Institute at King's College London, London, UK
- Department of Basic and Clinical Neuroscience, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, Maurice Wohl Clinical Neuroscience Institute, King's College London, London, UK
| | - Adrian Isaacs
- UK Dementia Research Institute at UCL, London, UK
- Department of Neurodegenerative Disease, UCL Queen Square Institute of Neurology, London, UK
- UCL Queen Square Motor Neuron Disease Centre, UCL Queen Square Institute of Neurology, London, UK
| | - Alyssa N Coyne
- Brain Science Institute, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, 21205, USA.
- Department of Neurology, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, 21205, USA.
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10
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Pan Y, Lu J, Feng X, Lu S, Yang Y, Yang G, Tan S, Wang L, Li P, Luo S, Lu B. Gelation of cytoplasmic expanded CAG RNA repeats suppresses global protein synthesis. Nat Chem Biol 2023; 19:1372-1383. [PMID: 37592155 DOI: 10.1038/s41589-023-01384-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/30/2023] [Accepted: 06/13/2023] [Indexed: 08/19/2023]
Abstract
RNA molecules with the expanded CAG repeat (eCAGr) may undergo sol-gel phase transitions, but the functional impact of RNA gelation is completely unknown. Here, we demonstrate that the eCAGr RNA may form cytoplasmic gel-like foci that are rapidly degraded by lysosomes. These RNA foci may significantly reduce the global protein synthesis rate, possibly by sequestering the translation elongation factor eEF2. Disrupting the eCAGr RNA gelation restored the global protein synthesis rate, whereas enhanced gelation exacerbated this phenotype. eEF2 puncta were significantly enhanced in brain slices from a knock-in mouse model and from patients with Huntington's disease, which is a CAG expansion disorder expressing eCAGr RNA. Finally, neuronal expression of the eCAGr RNA by adeno-associated virus injection caused significant behavioral deficits in mice. Our study demonstrates the existence of RNA gelation inside the cells and reveals its functional impact, providing insights into repeat expansion diseases and functional impacts of RNA phase transition.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yuyin Pan
- Neurology Department at Huashan Hospital, State Key Laboratory of Medical Neurobiology and MOE Frontiers Center for Brain Science, New Cornerstone Science Laboratory, School of Life Sciences, Fudan University, Shanghai, China
| | - Junmei Lu
- Neurology Department at Huashan Hospital, State Key Laboratory of Medical Neurobiology and MOE Frontiers Center for Brain Science, New Cornerstone Science Laboratory, School of Life Sciences, Fudan University, Shanghai, China
| | - Xinran Feng
- Neurology Department at Huashan Hospital, State Key Laboratory of Medical Neurobiology and MOE Frontiers Center for Brain Science, New Cornerstone Science Laboratory, School of Life Sciences, Fudan University, Shanghai, China
| | - Shengyi Lu
- Neurology Department at Huashan Hospital, State Key Laboratory of Medical Neurobiology and MOE Frontiers Center for Brain Science, New Cornerstone Science Laboratory, School of Life Sciences, Fudan University, Shanghai, China
| | - Yi Yang
- Peninsula Medical School, University of Plymouth, Plymouth, UK
| | - Guang Yang
- Neurology Department at Huashan Hospital, State Key Laboratory of Medical Neurobiology and MOE Frontiers Center for Brain Science, New Cornerstone Science Laboratory, School of Life Sciences, Fudan University, Shanghai, China
| | - Shudan Tan
- Neurology Department at Huashan Hospital, State Key Laboratory of Medical Neurobiology and MOE Frontiers Center for Brain Science, New Cornerstone Science Laboratory, School of Life Sciences, Fudan University, Shanghai, China
| | - Liang Wang
- Beijing Advanced Innovation Center for Structural Biology & Frontier Research Center for Biological Structure, School of Life Sciences, Tsinghua University, Beijing, China
| | - Pilong Li
- Beijing Advanced Innovation Center for Structural Biology & Frontier Research Center for Biological Structure, School of Life Sciences, Tsinghua University, Beijing, China
| | - Shouqing Luo
- Peninsula Medical School, University of Plymouth, Plymouth, UK.
| | - Boxun Lu
- Neurology Department at Huashan Hospital, State Key Laboratory of Medical Neurobiology and MOE Frontiers Center for Brain Science, New Cornerstone Science Laboratory, School of Life Sciences, Fudan University, Shanghai, China.
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11
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Kortazar-Zubizarreta I, Manero-Azua A, Afonso-Agüera J, Perez de Nanclares G. C9ORF72 Gene GGGGCC Hexanucleotide Expansion: A High Clinical Variability from Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis to Frontotemporal Dementia. J Pers Med 2023; 13:1396. [PMID: 37763163 PMCID: PMC10532825 DOI: 10.3390/jpm13091396] [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: 09/02/2023] [Revised: 09/15/2023] [Accepted: 09/16/2023] [Indexed: 09/29/2023] Open
Abstract
The expanded GGGGCC hexanucleotide repeat (HRE) in the non-coding region of the C9ORF72 gene (C9ORF72-HRE) is the most common genetic cause of familial forms of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), FTD, and concurrent ALS and FTD (ALS-FTD), in addition to contributing to the sporadic forms of these diseases. Both syndromes overlap not only genetically, but also sharing similar clinical and neuropathological findings, being considered as a spectrum. In this paper we describe the clinical-genetic findings in a Basque family with different manifestations within the spectrum, our difficulties in reaching the diagnosis, and a narrative review, carried out as a consequence, of the main features associated with C9ORF72-HRE. Family members underwent a detailed clinical assessment, neurological examination, and genetic analysis by repeat-primed PCR. We studied 10 relatives of a symptomatic carrier of the C9ORF72-HRE expansion. Two of them presented the expansion in the pathological range, one of them was symptomatic whereas the other one remained asymptomatic at 72 years. Given the great intrafamilial clinical variability of C9ORF72-HRE, the characterization of patients and family members with particular clinical and genetic subgroups within ALS and FTD becomes a bottleneck for medication development, in particular for genetically focused medicines for ALS and FTD.
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Affiliation(s)
- Izaro Kortazar-Zubizarreta
- Department of Neurology, Bioaraba Health Research Institute, Araba University Hospital-Txagorritxu, 01009 Vitoria-Gasteiz, Spain
| | - Africa Manero-Azua
- Molecular (Epi) Genetics Laboratory, Bioaraba Health Research Institute, Araba University Hospital, 01009 Vitoria-Gasteiz, Spain; (A.M.-A.); (G.P.d.N.)
| | - Juan Afonso-Agüera
- Department of Neurology, Central University Hospital of Asturias, 33006 Oviedo, Spain;
| | - Guiomar Perez de Nanclares
- Molecular (Epi) Genetics Laboratory, Bioaraba Health Research Institute, Araba University Hospital, 01009 Vitoria-Gasteiz, Spain; (A.M.-A.); (G.P.d.N.)
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12
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Malnar Črnigoj M, Čerček U, Yin X, Ho MT, Repic Lampret B, Neumann M, Hermann A, Rouleau G, Suter B, Mayr M, Rogelj B. Phenylalanine-tRNA aminoacylation is compromised by ALS/FTD-associated C9orf72 C4G2 repeat RNA. Nat Commun 2023; 14:5764. [PMID: 37717009 PMCID: PMC10505166 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-023-41511-3] [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: 10/14/2022] [Accepted: 09/07/2023] [Indexed: 09/18/2023] Open
Abstract
The expanded hexanucleotide GGGGCC repeat mutation in the C9orf72 gene is the main genetic cause of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis and frontotemporal dementia. Under one disease mechanism, sense and antisense transcripts of the repeat are predicted to bind various RNA-binding proteins, compromise their function and cause cytotoxicity. Here we identify phenylalanine-tRNA synthetase (FARS) subunit alpha (FARSA) as the main interactor of the CCCCGG antisense repeat RNA in cytosol. The aminoacylation of tRNAPhe by FARS is inhibited by antisense RNA, leading to decreased levels of charged tRNAPhe. Remarkably, this is associated with global reduction of phenylalanine incorporation in the proteome and decrease in expression of phenylalanine-rich proteins in cellular models and patient tissues. In conclusion, this study reveals functional inhibition of FARSA in the presence of antisense RNA repeats. Compromised aminoacylation of tRNA could lead to impairments in protein synthesis and further contribute to C9orf72 mutation-associated pathology.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mirjana Malnar Črnigoj
- Department of Biotechnology, Jožef Stefan Institute, Ljubljana, 1000, Slovenia
- Graduate School of Biomedicine, Faculty of Medicine, University of Ljubljana, Ljubljana, 1000, Slovenia
| | - Urša Čerček
- Department of Biotechnology, Jožef Stefan Institute, Ljubljana, 1000, Slovenia
- Graduate School of Biomedicine, Faculty of Medicine, University of Ljubljana, Ljubljana, 1000, Slovenia
| | - Xiaoke Yin
- King's BHF Centre, King's College London, London, SE5 9NU, UK
| | - Manh Tin Ho
- Institute of Cell Biology, University of Bern, Bern, 3012, Switzerland
| | - Barbka Repic Lampret
- Clinical Institute of Special Laboratory Diagnostics, University Children's Hospital, University Medical Centre Ljubljana, Ljubljana, 1000, Slovenia
| | - Manuela Neumann
- Molecular Neuropathology of Neurodegenerative Diseases, German Center for Neurodegenerative Diseases, Tübingen, 72076, Germany
- Department of Neuropathology, University Hospital of Tübingen, Tübingen, 72076, Germany
| | - Andreas Hermann
- Translational Neurodegeneration Section "Albrecht-Kossel", Department of Neurology and Center for Transdisciplinary Neurosciences Rostock (CTNR), University Medical Center Rostock, University of Rostock, 18147, Rostock, Germany
- Deutsches Zentrum für Neurodegenerative Erkrankungen (DZNE), Rostock/Greifswald, 18147, Rostock, Germany
| | - Guy Rouleau
- Department of Human Genetics, McGill University, Montréal, QC, H3A 0G4, Canada
- Department of Neurology and Neurosurgery, Montreal Neurological Institute, McGill University, Montréal, QC, H3A 0G4, Canada
| | - Beat Suter
- Institute of Cell Biology, University of Bern, Bern, 3012, Switzerland
| | - Manuel Mayr
- King's BHF Centre, King's College London, London, SE5 9NU, UK
| | - Boris Rogelj
- Department of Biotechnology, Jožef Stefan Institute, Ljubljana, 1000, Slovenia.
- Faculty of Chemistry and Chemical Technology, University of Ljubljana, Ljubljana, 1000, Slovenia.
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13
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McGoldrick P, Robertson J. Unraveling the impact of disrupted nucleocytoplasmic transport systems in C9orf72-associated ALS. Front Cell Neurosci 2023; 17:1247297. [PMID: 37720544 PMCID: PMC10501458 DOI: 10.3389/fncel.2023.1247297] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/25/2023] [Accepted: 08/08/2023] [Indexed: 09/19/2023] Open
Abstract
Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) and frontotemporal dementia (FTD) are two adult-onset neurodegenerative diseases that are part of a common disease spectrum due to clinical, genetic, and pathological overlap. A prominent genetic factor contributing to both diseases is a hexanucleotide repeat expansion in a non-coding region of the C9orf72 gene. This mutation in C9orf72 leads to nuclear depletion and cytoplasmic aggregation of Tar DNA-RNA binding protein 43 (TDP-43). TDP-43 pathology is characteristic of the majority of ALS cases, irrespective of disease causation, and is present in ~50% of FTD cases. Defects in nucleocytoplasmic transport involving the nuclear pore complex, the Ran-GTPase cycle, and nuclear transport factors have been linked with the mislocalization of TDP-43. Here, we will explore and discuss the implications of these system abnormalities of nucleocytoplasmic transport in C9orf72-ALS/FTD, as well as in other forms of familial and sporadic ALS.
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Affiliation(s)
- Philip McGoldrick
- Tanz Centre for Research in Neurodegenerative Diseases, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada
| | - Janice Robertson
- Tanz Centre for Research in Neurodegenerative Diseases, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada
- Department of Laboratory Medicine and Pathobiology, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada
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14
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Hendricks E, Quihuis AM, Hung ST, Chang J, Dorjsuren N, Der B, Staats KA, Shi Y, Sta Maria NS, Jacobs RE, Ichida JK. The C9ORF72 repeat expansion alters neurodevelopment. Cell Rep 2023; 42:112983. [PMID: 37590144 PMCID: PMC10757587 DOI: 10.1016/j.celrep.2023.112983] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/03/2023] [Revised: 07/05/2023] [Accepted: 07/31/2023] [Indexed: 08/19/2023] Open
Abstract
Genetic mutations that cause adult-onset neurodegenerative diseases are often expressed during embryonic stages, but it is unclear whether they alter neurodevelopment and how this might influence disease onset. Here, we show that the most common cause of frontotemporal dementia (FTD) and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), a repeat expansion in C9ORF72, restricts neural stem cell proliferation and reduces cortical and thalamic size in utero. Surprisingly, a repeat expansion-derived dipeptide repeat protein (DPR) not known to reduce neuronal viability plays a key role in impairing neurodevelopment. Pharmacologically mimicking the effects of the repeat expansion on neurodevelopment increases susceptibility of C9ORF72 mice to motor defects. Thus, the C9ORF72 repeat expansion stunts development of the brain regions prominently affected in C9ORF72 FTD/ALS patients.
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Affiliation(s)
- Eric Hendricks
- Department of Stem Cell Biology and Regenerative Medicine, Keck School of Medicine, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA 90033, USA; Eli and Edythe Broad CIRM Center for Regenerative Medicine and Stem Cell Research, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA 90033, USA; Zilkha Neurogenetic Institute, Keck School of Medicine, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA 90033, USA
| | - Alicia M Quihuis
- Zilkha Neurogenetic Institute, Keck School of Medicine, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA 90033, USA; Department of Physiology and Neuroscience, Keck School of Medicine, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA 90033, USA
| | - Shu-Ting Hung
- Department of Stem Cell Biology and Regenerative Medicine, Keck School of Medicine, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA 90033, USA; Eli and Edythe Broad CIRM Center for Regenerative Medicine and Stem Cell Research, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA 90033, USA; Zilkha Neurogenetic Institute, Keck School of Medicine, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA 90033, USA
| | - Jonathan Chang
- Department of Stem Cell Biology and Regenerative Medicine, Keck School of Medicine, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA 90033, USA; Eli and Edythe Broad CIRM Center for Regenerative Medicine and Stem Cell Research, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA 90033, USA; Zilkha Neurogenetic Institute, Keck School of Medicine, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA 90033, USA
| | - Nomongo Dorjsuren
- Department of Stem Cell Biology and Regenerative Medicine, Keck School of Medicine, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA 90033, USA; Eli and Edythe Broad CIRM Center for Regenerative Medicine and Stem Cell Research, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA 90033, USA; Zilkha Neurogenetic Institute, Keck School of Medicine, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA 90033, USA
| | - Balint Der
- Department of Stem Cell Biology and Regenerative Medicine, Keck School of Medicine, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA 90033, USA; Eli and Edythe Broad CIRM Center for Regenerative Medicine and Stem Cell Research, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA 90033, USA
| | - Kim A Staats
- Department of Stem Cell Biology and Regenerative Medicine, Keck School of Medicine, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA 90033, USA; Eli and Edythe Broad CIRM Center for Regenerative Medicine and Stem Cell Research, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA 90033, USA
| | - Yingxiao Shi
- Department of Stem Cell Biology and Regenerative Medicine, Keck School of Medicine, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA 90033, USA; Eli and Edythe Broad CIRM Center for Regenerative Medicine and Stem Cell Research, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA 90033, USA; Zilkha Neurogenetic Institute, Keck School of Medicine, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA 90033, USA
| | - Naomi S Sta Maria
- Zilkha Neurogenetic Institute, Keck School of Medicine, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA 90033, USA; Department of Physiology and Neuroscience, Keck School of Medicine, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA 90033, USA
| | - Russell E Jacobs
- Zilkha Neurogenetic Institute, Keck School of Medicine, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA 90033, USA; Department of Physiology and Neuroscience, Keck School of Medicine, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA 90033, USA
| | - Justin K Ichida
- Department of Stem Cell Biology and Regenerative Medicine, Keck School of Medicine, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA 90033, USA; Eli and Edythe Broad CIRM Center for Regenerative Medicine and Stem Cell Research, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA 90033, USA; Zilkha Neurogenetic Institute, Keck School of Medicine, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA 90033, USA.
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15
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Parameswaran J, Zhang N, Braems E, Tilahun K, Pant DC, Yin K, Asress S, Heeren K, Banerjee A, Davis E, Schwartz SL, Conn GL, Bassell GJ, Van Den Bosch L, Jiang J. Antisense, but not sense, repeat expanded RNAs activate PKR/eIF2α-dependent ISR in C9ORF72 FTD/ALS. eLife 2023; 12:e85902. [PMID: 37073950 PMCID: PMC10188109 DOI: 10.7554/elife.85902] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/02/2023] [Accepted: 04/18/2023] [Indexed: 04/20/2023] Open
Abstract
GGGGCC (G4C2) hexanucleotide repeat expansion in the C9ORF72 gene is the most common genetic cause of frontotemporal dementia (FTD) and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). The repeat is bidirectionally transcribed and confers gain of toxicity. However, the underlying toxic species is debated, and it is not clear whether antisense CCCCGG (C4G2) repeat expanded RNAs contribute to disease pathogenesis. Our study shows that C9ORF72 antisense C4G2 repeat expanded RNAs trigger the activation of the PKR/eIF2α-dependent integrated stress response independent of dipeptide repeat proteins that are produced through repeat-associated non-AUG-initiated translation, leading to global translation inhibition and stress granule formation. Reducing PKR levels with either siRNA or morpholinos mitigates integrated stress response and toxicity caused by the antisense C4G2 RNAs in cell lines, primary neurons, and zebrafish. Increased phosphorylation of PKR/eIF2α is also observed in the frontal cortex of C9ORF72 FTD/ALS patients. Finally, only antisense C4G2, but not sense G4C2, repeat expanded RNAs robustly activate the PKR/eIF2α pathway and induce aberrant stress granule formation. These results provide a mechanism by which antisense C4G2 repeat expanded RNAs elicit neuronal toxicity in FTD/ALS caused by C9ORF72 repeat expansions.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Nancy Zhang
- Department of Cell Biology, Emory UniversityAtlantaUnited States
| | - Elke Braems
- Department of Neurosciences, Experimental Neurology and Leuven Brain Institute, KU LeuvenLeuvenBelgium
- Center for Brain & Disease Research, Laboratory of Neurobiology, VIB, Campus GasthuisbergLeuvenBelgium
| | | | - Devesh C Pant
- Department of Cell Biology, Emory UniversityAtlantaUnited States
| | - Keena Yin
- Department of Cell Biology, Emory UniversityAtlantaUnited States
| | - Seneshaw Asress
- Department of Neurology, Emory UniversityAtlantaUnited States
| | - Kara Heeren
- Department of Neurosciences, Experimental Neurology and Leuven Brain Institute, KU LeuvenLeuvenBelgium
- Center for Brain & Disease Research, Laboratory of Neurobiology, VIB, Campus GasthuisbergLeuvenBelgium
| | - Anwesha Banerjee
- Department of Cell Biology, Emory UniversityAtlantaUnited States
| | - Emma Davis
- Department of Cell Biology, Emory UniversityAtlantaUnited States
| | | | - Graeme L Conn
- Department of Biochemistry, Emory UniversityAtlantaUnited States
| | - Gary J Bassell
- Department of Cell Biology, Emory UniversityAtlantaUnited States
| | - Ludo Van Den Bosch
- Department of Neurosciences, Experimental Neurology and Leuven Brain Institute, KU LeuvenLeuvenBelgium
- Center for Brain & Disease Research, Laboratory of Neurobiology, VIB, Campus GasthuisbergLeuvenBelgium
| | - Jie Jiang
- Department of Cell Biology, Emory UniversityAtlantaUnited States
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16
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Repeat-associated non-AUG translation induces cytoplasmic aggregation of CAG repeat-containing RNAs. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2023; 120:e2215071120. [PMID: 36623192 PMCID: PMC9934169 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2215071120] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/11/2023] Open
Abstract
CAG trinucleotide repeat expansions cause several neurodegenerative diseases, including Huntington's disease and spinocerebellar ataxia. RNAs with expanded CAG repeats contribute to disease in two unusual ways. First, these repeat-containing RNAs may agglomerate in the nucleus as foci that sequester several RNA-binding proteins. Second, these RNAs may undergo aberrant repeat-associated non-AUG (RAN) translation in multiple frames and produce aggregation-prone proteins. The relationship between RAN translation and RNA foci, and their relative contributions to cellular dysfunction, are unclear. Here, we show that CAG repeat-containing RNAs that undergo RAN translation first accumulate at nuclear foci and, over time, are exported to the cytoplasm. In the cytoplasm, these RNAs are initially dispersed but, upon RAN translation, aggregate with the RAN translation products. These RNA-RAN protein agglomerates sequester various RNA-binding proteins and are associated with the disruption of nucleocytoplasmic transport and cell death. In contrast, RNA accumulation at nuclear foci alone does not produce discernable defects in nucleocytoplasmic transport or cell viability. Inhibition of RAN translation prevents cytoplasmic RNA aggregation and alleviates cell toxicity. Our findings demonstrate that RAN translation-induced RNA-protein aggregation correlates with the key pathological hallmarks observed in disease and suggest that cytoplasmic RNA aggregation may be an underappreciated phenomenon in CAG trinucleotide repeat expansion disorders.
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17
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Mori K, Gotoh S, Uozumi R, Miyamoto T, Akamine S, Kawabe Y, Tagami S, Ikeda M. RNA Dysmetabolism and Repeat-Associated Non-AUG Translation in Frontotemporal Lobar Degeneration/Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis due to C9orf72 Hexanucleotide Repeat Expansion. JMA J 2023; 6:9-15. [PMID: 36793534 PMCID: PMC9908409 DOI: 10.31662/jmaj.2022-0160] [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: 08/17/2022] [Accepted: 09/26/2022] [Indexed: 01/12/2023] Open
Abstract
Neuropathological features of frontotemporal dementia and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) due to C9orf72 GGGGCC hexanucleotide repeat expansion include early dipeptide repeats, repeat RNA foci, and subsequent TDP-43 pathologies. Since the discovery of the repeat expansion, extensive studies have elucidated the disease mechanism of how the repeat causes neurodegeneration. In this review, we summarize our current understanding of abnormal repeat RNA metabolism and repeat-associated non-AUG translation in C9orf72 frontotemporal lobar degeneration/ALS. For repeat RNA metabolism, we specifically focus on the role of hnRNPA3, the repeat RNA-binding protein, and the EXOSC10/RNA exosome complex, an intracellular RNA-degrading enzyme. In addition, the mechanism of repeat-associated non-AUG translation inhibition via TMPyP4, a repeat RNA-binding compound, is discussed.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kohji Mori
- Psychiatry, Osaka University Graduate School of Medicine, Suita, Japan
| | - Shiho Gotoh
- Psychiatry, Osaka University Graduate School of Medicine, Suita, Japan
| | - Ryota Uozumi
- Psychiatry, Osaka University Graduate School of Medicine, Suita, Japan
| | - Tesshin Miyamoto
- Psychiatry, Osaka University Graduate School of Medicine, Suita, Japan,Seifukai Ibaraki Hospital, Ibaraki, Japan
| | - Shoshin Akamine
- Psychiatry, Osaka University Graduate School of Medicine, Suita, Japan
| | - Yuya Kawabe
- Psychiatry, Osaka University Graduate School of Medicine, Suita, Japan,Minoh Neuropsychiatric Hospital, Minoh, Japan
| | - Shinji Tagami
- Minoh Neuropsychiatric Hospital, Minoh, Japan,Health and Counseling Center, Osaka University, Toyonaka, Japan
| | - Manabu Ikeda
- Psychiatry, Osaka University Graduate School of Medicine, Suita, Japan
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18
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Dubey SK, Maulding K, Sung H, Lloyd TE. Nucleoporins are degraded via upregulation of ESCRT-III/Vps4 complex in Drosophila models of C9-ALS/FTD. Cell Rep 2022; 40:111379. [PMID: 36130523 PMCID: PMC10099287 DOI: 10.1016/j.celrep.2022.111379] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/03/2021] [Revised: 03/22/2022] [Accepted: 08/28/2022] [Indexed: 11/03/2022] Open
Abstract
Disruption of the nuclear pore complex (NPC) and nucleocytoplasmic transport (NCT) have been implicated in the pathogenesis of neurodegenerative diseases. A GGGGCC hexanucleotide repeat expansion (HRE) in an intron of the C9orf72 gene is the most common genetic cause of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis and frontotemporal dementia, but the mechanism by which the HRE disrupts NCT is incompletely understood. We find that expression of GGGGCC repeats in Drosophila neurons induces proteasome-mediated degradation of select nucleoporins of the NPC. This process requires the Vps4 ATPase and the endosomal-sorting complex required for transport complex-III (ESCRT-III), as knockdown of ESCRT-III/Vps4 genes rescues nucleoporin levels, normalizes NCT, and suppresses GGGGCC-mediated neurodegeneration. GGGGCC expression upregulates nuclear ESCRT-III/Vps4 expression, and expansion microscopy demonstrates that the nucleoporins are translocated into the cytoplasm before undergoing proteasome-mediated degradation. These findings demonstrate a mechanism for nucleoporin degradation and NPC dysfunction in neurodegenerative disease.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sandeep Kumar Dubey
- Department of Neurology, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD 21205, USA
| | - Kirstin Maulding
- Department of Neurology, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD 21205, USA; Cellular and Molecular Medicine Program, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD 21205, USA
| | - Hyun Sung
- Department of Neurology, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD 21205, USA
| | - Thomas E Lloyd
- Department of Neurology, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD 21205, USA; Cellular and Molecular Medicine Program, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD 21205, USA; The Solomon H. Snyder Department of Neuroscience, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD 21205, USA.
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19
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Braems E, Bercier V, Van Schoor E, Heeren K, Beckers J, Fumagalli L, Dedeene L, Moisse M, Geudens I, Hersmus N, Mehta AR, Selvaraj BT, Chandran S, Ho R, Thal DR, Van Damme P, Swinnen B, Van Den Bosch L. HNRNPK alleviates RNA toxicity by counteracting DNA damage in C9orf72 ALS. Acta Neuropathol 2022; 144:465-488. [PMID: 35895140 PMCID: PMC9381635 DOI: 10.1007/s00401-022-02471-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/06/2022] [Revised: 06/24/2022] [Accepted: 07/11/2022] [Indexed: 11/21/2022]
Abstract
A 'GGGGCC' repeat expansion in the first intron of the C9orf72 gene is the most common genetic cause of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) and frontotemporal dementia (FTD). The exact mechanism resulting in these neurodegenerative diseases remains elusive, but C9 repeat RNA toxicity has been implicated as a gain-of-function mechanism. Our aim was to use a zebrafish model for C9orf72 RNA toxicity to identify modifiers of the ALS-linked phenotype. We discovered that the RNA-binding protein heterogeneous nuclear ribonucleoprotein K (HNRNPK) reverses the toxicity of both sense and antisense repeat RNA, which is dependent on its subcellular localization and RNA recognition, and not on C9orf72 repeat RNA binding. We observed HNRNPK cytoplasmic mislocalization in C9orf72 ALS patient fibroblasts, induced pluripotent stem cell (iPSC)-derived motor neurons and post-mortem motor cortex and spinal cord, in line with a disrupted HNRNPK function in C9orf72 ALS. In C9orf72 ALS/FTD patient tissue, we discovered an increased nuclear translocation, but reduced expression of ribonucleotide reductase regulatory subunit M2 (RRM2), a downstream target of HNRNPK involved in the DNA damage response. Last but not least, we showed that increasing the expression of HNRNPK or RRM2 was sufficient to mitigate DNA damage in our C9orf72 RNA toxicity zebrafish model. Overall, our study strengthens the relevance of RNA toxicity as a pathogenic mechanism in C9orf72 ALS and demonstrates its link with an aberrant DNA damage response, opening novel therapeutic avenues for C9orf72 ALS/FTD.
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Affiliation(s)
- Elke Braems
- Department of Neurosciences, Experimental Neurology and Leuven Brain Institute (LBI), KU Leuven-University of Leuven, Leuven, Belgium
- Center for Brain & Disease Research, Laboratory of Neurobiology, VIB, Campus Gasthuisberg, O&N5, Herestraat 49, PB 602, 3000, Leuven, Belgium
| | - Valérie Bercier
- Department of Neurosciences, Experimental Neurology and Leuven Brain Institute (LBI), KU Leuven-University of Leuven, Leuven, Belgium.
- Center for Brain & Disease Research, Laboratory of Neurobiology, VIB, Campus Gasthuisberg, O&N5, Herestraat 49, PB 602, 3000, Leuven, Belgium.
| | - Evelien Van Schoor
- Department of Neurosciences, Experimental Neurology and Leuven Brain Institute (LBI), KU Leuven-University of Leuven, Leuven, Belgium
- Center for Brain & Disease Research, Laboratory of Neurobiology, VIB, Campus Gasthuisberg, O&N5, Herestraat 49, PB 602, 3000, Leuven, Belgium
- Department of Imaging and Pathology, Laboratory of Neuropathology and Leuven Brain Institute (LBI), KU Leuven-University of Leuven, Leuven, Belgium
| | - Kara Heeren
- Department of Neurosciences, Experimental Neurology and Leuven Brain Institute (LBI), KU Leuven-University of Leuven, Leuven, Belgium
- Center for Brain & Disease Research, Laboratory of Neurobiology, VIB, Campus Gasthuisberg, O&N5, Herestraat 49, PB 602, 3000, Leuven, Belgium
| | - Jimmy Beckers
- Department of Neurosciences, Experimental Neurology and Leuven Brain Institute (LBI), KU Leuven-University of Leuven, Leuven, Belgium
- Center for Brain & Disease Research, Laboratory of Neurobiology, VIB, Campus Gasthuisberg, O&N5, Herestraat 49, PB 602, 3000, Leuven, Belgium
| | - Laura Fumagalli
- Department of Neurosciences, Experimental Neurology and Leuven Brain Institute (LBI), KU Leuven-University of Leuven, Leuven, Belgium
- Center for Brain & Disease Research, Laboratory of Neurobiology, VIB, Campus Gasthuisberg, O&N5, Herestraat 49, PB 602, 3000, Leuven, Belgium
| | - Lieselot Dedeene
- Department of Neurosciences, Experimental Neurology and Leuven Brain Institute (LBI), KU Leuven-University of Leuven, Leuven, Belgium
- Center for Brain & Disease Research, Laboratory of Neurobiology, VIB, Campus Gasthuisberg, O&N5, Herestraat 49, PB 602, 3000, Leuven, Belgium
- Department of Imaging and Pathology, Laboratory of Neuropathology and Leuven Brain Institute (LBI), KU Leuven-University of Leuven, Leuven, Belgium
- Department of Neurosciences, Laboratory for Molecular Neurobiomarker Research and Leuven Brain Institute (LBI), KU Leuven-University of Leuven, Leuven, Belgium
| | - Matthieu Moisse
- Department of Neurosciences, Experimental Neurology and Leuven Brain Institute (LBI), KU Leuven-University of Leuven, Leuven, Belgium
- Center for Brain & Disease Research, Laboratory of Neurobiology, VIB, Campus Gasthuisberg, O&N5, Herestraat 49, PB 602, 3000, Leuven, Belgium
| | - Ilse Geudens
- Department of Neurosciences, Experimental Neurology and Leuven Brain Institute (LBI), KU Leuven-University of Leuven, Leuven, Belgium
- Center for Brain & Disease Research, Laboratory of Neurobiology, VIB, Campus Gasthuisberg, O&N5, Herestraat 49, PB 602, 3000, Leuven, Belgium
| | - Nicole Hersmus
- Department of Neurosciences, Experimental Neurology and Leuven Brain Institute (LBI), KU Leuven-University of Leuven, Leuven, Belgium
- Center for Brain & Disease Research, Laboratory of Neurobiology, VIB, Campus Gasthuisberg, O&N5, Herestraat 49, PB 602, 3000, Leuven, Belgium
| | - Arpan R Mehta
- UK Dementia Research Institute, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, UK
- Centre for Clinical Brain Sciences, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, UK
| | - Bhuvaneish T Selvaraj
- UK Dementia Research Institute, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, UK
- Centre for Clinical Brain Sciences, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, UK
| | - Siddharthan Chandran
- UK Dementia Research Institute, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, UK
- Centre for Clinical Brain Sciences, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, UK
| | - Ritchie Ho
- Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, Board of Governors Regenerative Medicine Institute, Los Angeles, CA, USA
| | - Dietmar R Thal
- Department of Imaging and Pathology, Laboratory of Neuropathology and Leuven Brain Institute (LBI), KU Leuven-University of Leuven, Leuven, Belgium
- Department of Pathology, University Hospitals Leuven, Leuven, Belgium
| | - Philip Van Damme
- Department of Neurosciences, Experimental Neurology and Leuven Brain Institute (LBI), KU Leuven-University of Leuven, Leuven, Belgium
- Center for Brain & Disease Research, Laboratory of Neurobiology, VIB, Campus Gasthuisberg, O&N5, Herestraat 49, PB 602, 3000, Leuven, Belgium
- Department of Neurology, University Hospitals Leuven, Leuven, Belgium
| | - Bart Swinnen
- Department of Neurosciences, Experimental Neurology and Leuven Brain Institute (LBI), KU Leuven-University of Leuven, Leuven, Belgium
- Center for Brain & Disease Research, Laboratory of Neurobiology, VIB, Campus Gasthuisberg, O&N5, Herestraat 49, PB 602, 3000, Leuven, Belgium
| | - Ludo Van Den Bosch
- Department of Neurosciences, Experimental Neurology and Leuven Brain Institute (LBI), KU Leuven-University of Leuven, Leuven, Belgium.
- Center for Brain & Disease Research, Laboratory of Neurobiology, VIB, Campus Gasthuisberg, O&N5, Herestraat 49, PB 602, 3000, Leuven, Belgium.
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20
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Kaliszewska A, Allison J, Col TT, Shaw C, Arias N. Elucidating the Role of Cerebellar Synaptic Dysfunction in C9orf72-ALS/FTD - a Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis. CEREBELLUM (LONDON, ENGLAND) 2022; 21:681-714. [PMID: 34491551 PMCID: PMC9325807 DOI: 10.1007/s12311-021-01320-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 08/16/2021] [Indexed: 12/28/2022]
Abstract
A hexanucleotide repeat expansion in the C9orf72 gene is the most common genetic cause of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) and frontotemporal dementia (FTD) with synaptic dysfunction identified as an early pathological hallmark. Although TDP-43 pathology and overt neurodegeneration are largely absent from the cerebellum, the pathological hallmarks of RNA foci and dipeptide repeat protein (DPR) inclusions are most abundant. Here, we present a systematic literature search in the databases of PubMed, Scopus, Embase, Web of Science and Science Direct up until March 5, 2021, which yielded 19,515 publications. Following the exclusion criteria, 72 articles were included having referred to C9orf72, synapses and the cerebellum. Meta-analyses were conducted on studies which reported experimental and control groups with means and standard deviations extracted from figures using the online tool PlotDigitizer. This revealed dendritic defects (P = 0.03), reduced C9orf72 in human patients (P = 0.005) and DPR-related neuronal loss (P = 0.0006) but no neuromuscular junction abnormalities (P = 0.29) or cerebellar neuronal loss (P = 0.23). Our results suggest that dendritic arborisation defects, synaptic gene dysregulation and altered synaptic neurotransmission may drive cerebellar synaptic dysfunction in C9-ALS/FTD. In this review, we discuss how the chronological appearance of the different pathological hallmarks alters synaptic integrity which may have profound implications for disease progression. We conclude that a reduction in C9orf72 protein levels combined with the accumulation of RNA foci and DPRs act synergistically to drive C9 synaptopathy in the cerebellum of C9-ALS/FTD patients.
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Affiliation(s)
- Aleksandra Kaliszewska
- UK Dementia Research Institute At King's College London, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, Department of Basic & Clinical Neuroscience, Maurice Wohl Clinical Neuroscience Institute, 5 Cutcombe road, Camberwell, SE59RX, London, UK
| | - Joseph Allison
- UK Dementia Research Institute At King's College London, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, Department of Basic & Clinical Neuroscience, Maurice Wohl Clinical Neuroscience Institute, 5 Cutcombe road, Camberwell, SE59RX, London, UK
| | - Tarik-Tarkan Col
- UK Dementia Research Institute At King's College London, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, Department of Basic & Clinical Neuroscience, Maurice Wohl Clinical Neuroscience Institute, 5 Cutcombe road, Camberwell, SE59RX, London, UK
| | - Christopher Shaw
- UK Dementia Research Institute At King's College London, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, Department of Basic & Clinical Neuroscience, Maurice Wohl Clinical Neuroscience Institute, 5 Cutcombe road, Camberwell, SE59RX, London, UK
- Centre for Brain Research, University of Auckland, 85 Grafton Road, Auckland, 1023, New Zealand
| | - Natalia Arias
- UK Dementia Research Institute At King's College London, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, Department of Basic & Clinical Neuroscience, Maurice Wohl Clinical Neuroscience Institute, 5 Cutcombe road, Camberwell, SE59RX, London, UK.
- INEUROPA, Instituto de Neurociencias del Principado de Asturias, Plaza Feijoo s/n, 33003, Oviedo, Spain.
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21
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Baud A, Derbis M, Tutak K, Sobczak K. Partners in crime: Proteins implicated in
RNA
repeat expansion diseases. WIRES RNA 2022; 13:e1709. [PMID: 35229468 PMCID: PMC9539487 DOI: 10.1002/wrna.1709] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/19/2021] [Revised: 12/07/2021] [Accepted: 12/08/2021] [Indexed: 11/06/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Anna Baud
- Department of Gene Expression Institute of Molecular Biology and Biotechnology, Adam Mickiewicz University Poznan Poland
| | - Magdalena Derbis
- Department of Gene Expression Institute of Molecular Biology and Biotechnology, Adam Mickiewicz University Poznan Poland
| | - Katarzyna Tutak
- Department of Gene Expression Institute of Molecular Biology and Biotechnology, Adam Mickiewicz University Poznan Poland
| | - Krzysztof Sobczak
- Department of Gene Expression Institute of Molecular Biology and Biotechnology, Adam Mickiewicz University Poznan Poland
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22
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Liu Y, Xing H, Ernst AF, Liu C, Maugee C, Yokoi F, Lakshmana M, Li Y. Hyperactivity of Purkinje cell and motor deficits in C9orf72 knockout mice. Mol Cell Neurosci 2022; 121:103756. [PMID: 35843530 PMCID: PMC10369482 DOI: 10.1016/j.mcn.2022.103756] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/08/2022] [Accepted: 07/11/2022] [Indexed: 10/17/2022] Open
Abstract
A hexanucleotide (GGGGCC) repeat expansion in the first intron of the C9ORF72 gene is the most frequently reported genetic cause of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) and frontotemporal dementia (FTD). The cerebellum has not traditionally been thought to be involved in the pathogenesis of C9ORF72-associated ALS/FTD, but recent evidence suggested a potential role. C9ORF72 is highly expressed in the cerebellum. Decreased C9ORF72 transcript and protein levels were detected in the postmortem cerebellum, suggesting a loss-of-function effect of C9ORF72 mutation. This study investigated the role of loss of C9ORF72 function using a C9orf72 knockout mouse line. C9orf72 deficiency led to motor impairment in rotarod, beam-walking, paw-print, open-field, and grip-strength tests. Purkinje cells are the sole output neurons in the cerebellum, and we next determined their involvement in the motor phenotypes. We found hyperactivity of Purkinje cells in the C9orf72 knockout mouse accompanied by a significant increase of the large-conductance calcium-activated potassium channel (BK) protein in the cerebellum. The link between BK and Purkinje cell firing was demonstrated by the acute application of the BK activator that increased the firing frequency of the Purkinje cells ex vivo. In vivo chemogenetic activation of Purkinje cells in wild-type mice led to similar motor deficits in rotarod and beam-walking tests. Our results highlight that C9ORF72 loss alters the activity of the Purkinje cell and potentially the pathogenesis of the disease. Manipulating the Purkinje cell firing or cerebellar output may contribute to C9ORF72-associated ALS/FTD treatment.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yuning Liu
- Norman Fixel Institute for Neurological Diseases, Department of Neurology, College of Medicine, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, United States; Genetics Institute, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, United States
| | - Hong Xing
- Norman Fixel Institute for Neurological Diseases, Department of Neurology, College of Medicine, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, United States
| | - Alexis F Ernst
- Norman Fixel Institute for Neurological Diseases, Department of Neurology, College of Medicine, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, United States
| | - Canna Liu
- Norman Fixel Institute for Neurological Diseases, Department of Neurology, College of Medicine, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, United States
| | - Christian Maugee
- Norman Fixel Institute for Neurological Diseases, Department of Neurology, College of Medicine, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, United States; Genetics Institute, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, United States
| | - Fumiaki Yokoi
- Norman Fixel Institute for Neurological Diseases, Department of Neurology, College of Medicine, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, United States
| | - Madepalli Lakshmana
- Department of Immunology and Nano-Medicine, The Herbert Wertheim College of Medicine, Florida International University, Miami, FL, United States
| | - Yuqing Li
- Norman Fixel Institute for Neurological Diseases, Department of Neurology, College of Medicine, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, United States.
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23
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Gleixner AM, Verdone BM, Otte CG, Anderson EN, Ramesh N, Shapiro OR, Gale JR, Mauna JC, Mann JR, Copley KE, Daley EL, Ortega JA, Cicardi ME, Kiskinis E, Kofler J, Pandey UB, Trotti D, Donnelly CJ. NUP62 localizes to ALS/FTLD pathological assemblies and contributes to TDP-43 insolubility. Nat Commun 2022; 13:3380. [PMID: 35697676 PMCID: PMC9192689 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-022-31098-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 23] [Impact Index Per Article: 11.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/10/2021] [Accepted: 06/03/2022] [Indexed: 01/12/2023] Open
Abstract
A G4C2 hexanucleotide repeat expansion in the C9orf72 gene is the most common genetic cause of ALS and FTLD (C9-ALS/FTLD) with cytoplasmic TDP-43 inclusions observed in regions of neurodegeneration. The accumulation of repetitive RNAs and dipeptide repeat protein (DPR) are two proposed mechanisms of toxicity in C9-ALS/FTLD and linked to impaired nucleocytoplasmic transport. Nucleocytoplasmic transport is regulated by the phenylalanine-glycine nucleoporins (FG nups) that comprise the nuclear pore complex (NPC) permeability barrier. However, the relationship between FG nups and TDP-43 pathology remains elusive. Our studies show that nuclear depletion and cytoplasmic mislocalization of one FG nup, NUP62, is linked to TDP-43 mislocalization in C9-ALS/FTLD iPSC neurons. Poly-glycine arginine (GR) DPR accumulation initiates the formation of cytoplasmic RNA granules that recruit NUP62 and TDP-43. Cytoplasmic NUP62 and TDP-43 interactions promotes their insolubility and NUP62:TDP-43 inclusions are frequently found in C9orf72 ALS/FTLD as well as sporadic ALS/FTLD postmortem CNS tissue. Our findings indicate NUP62 cytoplasmic mislocalization contributes to TDP-43 proteinopathy in ALS/FTLD.
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Affiliation(s)
- Amanda M Gleixner
- Department of Neurobiology, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
- LiveLikeLou Center for ALS Research, University of Pittsburgh Brain Institute, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
| | - Brandie Morris Verdone
- Department of Neuroscience, Jefferson Weinberg ALS Center, Vickie and Jack Farber Institute for Neuroscience, Thomas Jefferson University, Philadelphia, PA, USA
| | - Charlton G Otte
- Department of Neurobiology, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
- LiveLikeLou Center for ALS Research, University of Pittsburgh Brain Institute, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
- Physician Scientist Training Program, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
| | - Eric N Anderson
- Department of Pediatrics, Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh, University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
| | - Nandini Ramesh
- Department of Pediatrics, Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh, University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
- Department of Human Genetics, University of Pittsburgh Graduate School of Public Health, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
| | - Olivia R Shapiro
- Department of Neurobiology, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
- LiveLikeLou Center for ALS Research, University of Pittsburgh Brain Institute, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
| | - Jenna R Gale
- Department of Neurobiology, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
- LiveLikeLou Center for ALS Research, University of Pittsburgh Brain Institute, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
| | - Jocelyn C Mauna
- Department of Neurobiology, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
- LiveLikeLou Center for ALS Research, University of Pittsburgh Brain Institute, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
| | - Jacob R Mann
- Department of Neurobiology, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
- LiveLikeLou Center for ALS Research, University of Pittsburgh Brain Institute, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
- Center for Neuroscience, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
| | - Katie E Copley
- Department of Neurobiology, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
- LiveLikeLou Center for ALS Research, University of Pittsburgh Brain Institute, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
| | - Elizabeth L Daley
- The Ken & Ruth Davee Department of Neurology, Northwestern University of Feinberg School of Medicine, Chicago, IL, USA
| | - Juan A Ortega
- The Ken & Ruth Davee Department of Neurology, Northwestern University of Feinberg School of Medicine, Chicago, IL, USA
| | - Maria Elena Cicardi
- Department of Neuroscience, Jefferson Weinberg ALS Center, Vickie and Jack Farber Institute for Neuroscience, Thomas Jefferson University, Philadelphia, PA, USA
| | - Evangelos Kiskinis
- The Ken & Ruth Davee Department of Neurology, Northwestern University of Feinberg School of Medicine, Chicago, IL, USA
- Department of Neuroscience, Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, Chicago, IL, USA
| | - Julia Kofler
- LiveLikeLou Center for ALS Research, University of Pittsburgh Brain Institute, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
- Department of Pathology, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
| | - Udai B Pandey
- LiveLikeLou Center for ALS Research, University of Pittsburgh Brain Institute, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
- Department of Human Genetics, University of Pittsburgh Graduate School of Public Health, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
- Center for Neuroscience, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
| | - Davide Trotti
- Department of Neuroscience, Jefferson Weinberg ALS Center, Vickie and Jack Farber Institute for Neuroscience, Thomas Jefferson University, Philadelphia, PA, USA
| | - Christopher J Donnelly
- Department of Neurobiology, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, PA, USA.
- LiveLikeLou Center for ALS Research, University of Pittsburgh Brain Institute, Pittsburgh, PA, USA.
- Center for Neuroscience, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, USA.
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24
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Liufu T, Zheng Y, Yu J, Yuan Y, Wang Z, Deng J, Hong D. The polyG diseases: a new disease entity. Acta Neuropathol Commun 2022; 10:79. [PMID: 35642014 PMCID: PMC9153130 DOI: 10.1186/s40478-022-01383-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/01/2022] [Accepted: 05/16/2022] [Indexed: 12/20/2022] Open
Abstract
Recently, inspired by the similar clinical and pathological features shared with fragile X-associated tremor/ataxia syndrome (FXTAS), abnormal expansion of CGG repeats in the 5' untranslated region has been found in neuronal intranuclear inclusion disease (NIID), oculopharyngeal myopathy with leukoencephalopathy (OPML), and oculopharyngodistal myopathy (OPDMs). Although the upstream open reading frame has not been elucidated in OPML and OPDMs, polyglycine (polyG) translated by expanded CGG repeats is reported to be as a primary pathogenesis in FXTAS and NIID. Collectively, these findings indicate a new disease entity, the polyG diseases. In this review, we state the common clinical manifestations, pathological features, mechanisms, and potential therapies in these diseases, and provide preliminary opinions about future research in polyG diseases.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tongling Liufu
- Department of Neurology, Peking University First Hospital, Beijing, China
| | - Yilei Zheng
- Department of Neurology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Nanchang University, Nanchang, China
| | - Jiaxi Yu
- Department of Neurology, Peking University First Hospital, Beijing, China
| | - Yun Yuan
- Department of Neurology, Peking University First Hospital, Beijing, China
| | - Zhaoxia Wang
- Department of Neurology, Peking University First Hospital, Beijing, China.,Beijing Key Laboratory of Neurovascular Disease Discovery, Beijing, China
| | - Jianwen Deng
- Department of Neurology, Peking University First Hospital, Beijing, China. .,Beijing Key Laboratory of Neurovascular Disease Discovery, Beijing, China.
| | - Daojun Hong
- Department of Neurology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Nanchang University, Nanchang, China. .,Department of Medical Genetics, The First Affiliated Hospital of Nanchang University, Nanchang, China.
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25
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Todd TW, Petrucelli L. Modelling amyotrophic lateral sclerosis in rodents. Nat Rev Neurosci 2022; 23:231-251. [PMID: 35260846 DOI: 10.1038/s41583-022-00564-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 01/27/2022] [Indexed: 12/11/2022]
Abstract
The efficient study of human disease requires the proper tools, one of the most crucial of which is an accurate animal model that faithfully recapitulates the human condition. The study of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is no exception. Although the majority of ALS cases are considered sporadic, most animal models of this disease rely on genetic mutations identified in familial cases. Over the past decade, the number of genes associated with ALS has risen dramatically and, with each new genetic variant, there is a drive to develop associated animal models. Rodent models are of particular importance as they allow for the study of ALS in the context of a living mammal with a comparable CNS. Such models not only help to verify the pathogenicity of novel mutations but also provide critical insight into disease mechanisms and are crucial for the testing of new therapeutics. In this Review, we aim to summarize the full spectrum of ALS rodent models developed to date.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tiffany W Todd
- Department of Neuroscience, Mayo Clinic Jacksonville, Jacksonville, FL, USA
| | - Leonard Petrucelli
- Department of Neuroscience, Mayo Clinic Jacksonville, Jacksonville, FL, USA.
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26
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TDP-43 pathology: from noxious assembly to therapeutic removal. Prog Neurobiol 2022; 211:102229. [DOI: 10.1016/j.pneurobio.2022.102229] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/09/2021] [Revised: 12/08/2021] [Accepted: 01/26/2022] [Indexed: 02/08/2023]
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27
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Larizza L, Calzari L, Alari V, Russo S. Genes for RNA-binding proteins involved in neural-specific functions and diseases are downregulated in Rubinstein-Taybi iNeurons. Neural Regen Res 2022; 17:5-14. [PMID: 34100419 PMCID: PMC8451555 DOI: 10.4103/1673-5374.314286] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/24/2022] Open
Abstract
Taking advantage of the fast-growing knowledge of RNA-binding proteins (RBPs) we review the signature of downregulated genes for RBPs in the transcriptome of induced pluripotent stem cell neurons (iNeurons) modelling the neurodevelopmental Rubinstein Taybi Syndrome (RSTS) caused by mutations in the genes encoding CBP/p300 acetyltransferases. We discuss top and functionally connected downregulated genes sorted to “RNA processing” and “Ribonucleoprotein complex biogenesis” Gene Ontology clusters. The first set of downregulated RBPs includes members of hnRNHP (A1, A2B1, D, G, H2-H1, MAGOHB, PAPBC), core subunits of U small nuclear ribonucleoproteins and Serine-Arginine splicing regulators families, acting in precursor messenger RNA alternative splicing and processing. Consistent with literature findings on reduced transcript levels of serine/arginine repetitive matrix 4 (SRRM4) protein, the main regulator of the neural-specific microexons splicing program upon depletion of Ep300 and Crebbp in mouse neurons, RSTS iNeurons show downregulated genes for proteins impacting this network. We link downregulated genes to neurological disorders including the new HNRNPH1-related intellectual disability syndrome with clinical overlap to RSTS. The set of downregulated genes for Ribosome biogenesis includes several components of ribosomal subunits and nucleolar proteins, such NOP58 and fibrillarin that form complexes with snoRNAs with a central role in guiding post-transcriptional modifications needed for rRNA maturation. These nucleolar proteins are “dual” players as fibrillarin is also required for epigenetic regulation of ribosomal genes and conversely NOP58-associated snoRNA levels are under the control of NOP58 interactor BMAL1, a transcriptional regulator of the circadian rhythm. Additional downregulated genes for “dual specificity” RBPs such as RUVBL1 and METTL1 highlight the links between chromatin and the RBP-ome and the contribution of perturbations in their cross-talk to RSTS. We underline the hub position of CBP/p300 in chromatin regulation, the impact of its defect on neurons’ post-transcriptional regulation of gene expression and the potential use of epidrugs in therapeutics of RBP-caused neurodevelopmental disorders.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lidia Larizza
- Cytogenetics and Molecular Genetics Laboratory, IRCCS Istituto Auxologico Italiano, Milano, Italy
| | - Luciano Calzari
- Cytogenetics and Molecular Genetics Laboratory, IRCCS Istituto Auxologico Italiano, Milano, Italy
| | - Valentina Alari
- Cytogenetics and Molecular Genetics Laboratory, IRCCS Istituto Auxologico Italiano, Milano, Italy
| | - Silvia Russo
- Cytogenetics and Molecular Genetics Laboratory, IRCCS Istituto Auxologico Italiano, Milano, Italy
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28
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Larizza L, Alari V, Calzari L, Russo S. Interconnected Gene Networks Underpin the Clinical Overlap of HNRNPH1-Related and Rubinstein-Taybi Intellectual Disability Syndromes. Front Neurosci 2021; 15:745684. [PMID: 34759793 PMCID: PMC8573106 DOI: 10.3389/fnins.2021.745684] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/22/2021] [Accepted: 09/24/2021] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Affiliation(s)
- Lidia Larizza
- Laboratory of Medical Cytogenetics and Human Molecular Genetics, Biomedical & Technologies Research Center, Istituto di Ricerca e Cura a Carattere Scientifico (IRCCS) Istituto Auxologico Italiano, Milan, Italy
| | - Valentina Alari
- Laboratory of Medical Cytogenetics and Human Molecular Genetics, Biomedical & Technologies Research Center, Istituto di Ricerca e Cura a Carattere Scientifico (IRCCS) Istituto Auxologico Italiano, Milan, Italy
| | - Luciano Calzari
- Laboratory of Medical Cytogenetics and Human Molecular Genetics, Biomedical & Technologies Research Center, Istituto di Ricerca e Cura a Carattere Scientifico (IRCCS) Istituto Auxologico Italiano, Milan, Italy
| | - Silvia Russo
- Laboratory of Medical Cytogenetics and Human Molecular Genetics, Biomedical & Technologies Research Center, Istituto di Ricerca e Cura a Carattere Scientifico (IRCCS) Istituto Auxologico Italiano, Milan, Italy
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29
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Najafi S, Tan SC, Raee P, Rahmati Y, Asemani Y, Lee EHC, Hushmandi K, Zarrabi A, Aref AR, Ashrafizadeh M, Kumar AP, Ertas YN, Ghani S, Aghamiri S. Gene regulation by antisense transcription: A focus on neurological and cancer diseases. Biomed Pharmacother 2021; 145:112265. [PMID: 34749054 DOI: 10.1016/j.biopha.2021.112265] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/13/2021] [Revised: 09/22/2021] [Accepted: 09/27/2021] [Indexed: 02/07/2023] Open
Abstract
Advances in high-throughput sequencing over the past decades have led to the identification of thousands of non-coding RNAs (ncRNAs), which play a major role in regulating gene expression. One emerging class of ncRNAs is the natural antisense transcripts (NATs), the RNA molecules transcribed from the opposite strand of a protein-coding gene locus. NATs are known to concordantly and discordantly regulate gene expression in both cis and trans manners at the transcriptional, post-transcriptional, translational, and epigenetic levels. Aberrant expression of NATs can therefore cause dysregulation in many biological pathways and has been observed in many genetic diseases. This review outlines the involvements and mechanisms of NATs in the pathogenesis of various diseases, with a special emphasis on neurodegenerative diseases and cancer. We also summarize recent findings on NAT knockdown and/or overexpression experiments and discuss the potential of NATs as promising targets for future gene therapies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sajad Najafi
- Student research committee, Department of medical biotechnology, School of Advanced Technologies in Medicine, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran; Cellular and Molecular Biology Research Center, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran
| | - Shing Cheng Tan
- UKM Medical Molecular Biology Institute, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
| | - Pourya Raee
- Department of Biology and Anatomical Sciences, School of Medicine, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran
| | - Yazdan Rahmati
- Department of Medical Genetics and Molecular Biology, Faculty of Medicine, Iran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran
| | - Yahya Asemani
- Department of Immunology, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran
| | - E Hui Clarissa Lee
- Cancer Science Institute of Singapore and Department of Pharmacology, Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine, National University of Singapore, Singapore 117599, Singapore; NUS Centre for Cancer Research (N2CR), Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine, National University of Singapore, Singapore 119228, Singapore
| | - Kiavash Hushmandi
- Department of Food Hygiene and Quality Control, Division of epidemiology, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Tehran, Tehran, Iran
| | - Ali Zarrabi
- Sabanci University Nanotechnology Research and Application Center (SUNUM), Tuzla, 34956 Istanbul, Turkey; Department of Biomedical Engineering, Faculty of Engineering and Natural Sciences, Istinye University, Istanbul, Sariyer 34396, Turkey
| | - Amir Reza Aref
- Belfer Center for Applied Cancer Science, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA; Vice President at Translational Sciences, Xsphera Biosciences Inc, 6 Tide Street, Boston, MA 02210, USA
| | - Milad Ashrafizadeh
- Sabanci University Nanotechnology Research and Application Center (SUNUM), Tuzla, 34956 Istanbul, Turkey; Faculty of Engineering and Natural Sciences, Sabanci University, Orta Mahalle, Üniversite Caddesi No. 27, Orhanlı, Tuzla, 34956 Istanbul, Turkey
| | - Alan Prem Kumar
- Cancer Science Institute of Singapore and Department of Pharmacology, Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine, National University of Singapore, Singapore 117599, Singapore; NUS Centre for Cancer Research (N2CR), Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine, National University of Singapore, Singapore 119228, Singapore
| | - Yavuz Nuri Ertas
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, Erciyes University, Kayseri 38039, Turkey; ERNAM-Nanotechnology Research and Application Center, Erciyes University, Kayseri 38039, Turkey
| | - Sepideh Ghani
- Department of Biotechnology, School of Advanced Technologies in Medicine, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran
| | - Shahin Aghamiri
- Cellular and Molecular Biology Research Center, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran; Department of Biotechnology, School of Advanced Technologies in Medicine, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
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30
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Malik I, Tseng Y, Wright SE, Zheng K, Ramaiyer P, Green KM, Todd PK. SRSF protein kinase 1 modulates RAN translation and suppresses CGG repeat toxicity. EMBO Mol Med 2021; 13:e14163. [PMID: 34542927 PMCID: PMC8573603 DOI: 10.15252/emmm.202114163] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/21/2021] [Revised: 08/28/2021] [Accepted: 08/30/2021] [Indexed: 11/20/2022] Open
Abstract
Transcribed CGG repeat expansions cause neurodegeneration in Fragile X-associated tremor/ataxia syndrome (FXTAS). CGG repeat RNAs sequester RNA-binding proteins (RBPs) into nuclear foci and undergo repeat-associated non-AUG (RAN) translation into toxic peptides. To identify proteins involved in these processes, we employed a CGG repeat RNA-tagging system to capture repeat-associated RBPs by mass spectrometry in mammalian cells. We identified several SR (serine/arginine-rich) proteins that interact selectively with CGG repeats basally and under cellular stress. These proteins modify toxicity in a Drosophila model of FXTAS. Pharmacologic inhibition of serine/arginine protein kinases (SRPKs), which alter SRSF protein phosphorylation, localization, and activity, directly inhibits RAN translation of CGG and GGGGCC repeats (associated with C9orf72 ALS/FTD) and triggers repeat RNA retention in the nucleus. Lowering SRPK expression suppressed toxicity in both FXTAS and C9orf72 ALS/FTD model flies, and SRPK inhibitors suppressed CGG repeat toxicity in rodent neurons. Together, these findings demonstrate roles for CGG repeat RNA binding proteins in RAN translation and repeat toxicity and support further evaluation of SRPK inhibitors in modulating RAN translation associated with repeat expansion disorders.
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Affiliation(s)
- Indranil Malik
- Department of NeurologyUniversity of MichiganAnn ArborMIUSA
| | - Yi‐Ju Tseng
- Department of NeurologyUniversity of MichiganAnn ArborMIUSA
- Cellular and Molecular Biology Graduate ProgramUniversity of MichiganAnn ArborMIUSA
| | - Shannon E Wright
- Department of NeurologyUniversity of MichiganAnn ArborMIUSA
- Neuroscience Graduate ProgramUniversity of MichiganAnn ArborMIUSA
| | - Kristina Zheng
- Department of NeurologyUniversity of MichiganAnn ArborMIUSA
| | | | - Katelyn M Green
- Department of NeurologyUniversity of MichiganAnn ArborMIUSA
- Cellular and Molecular Biology Graduate ProgramUniversity of MichiganAnn ArborMIUSA
| | - Peter K Todd
- Department of NeurologyUniversity of MichiganAnn ArborMIUSA
- Ann Arbor Veterans Administration HealthcareAnn ArborMIUSA
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31
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Torres P, Cabral-Miranda F, Gonzalez-Teuber V, Hetz C. Proteostasis deregulation as a driver of C9ORF72 pathogenesis. J Neurochem 2021; 159:941-957. [PMID: 34679204 DOI: 10.1111/jnc.15529] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/04/2021] [Revised: 10/16/2021] [Accepted: 10/18/2021] [Indexed: 12/21/2022]
Abstract
Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) and frontotemporal dementia (FTD) are two related neurodegenerative disorders that display overlapping features. The hexanucleotide repeat expansion GGGGCC (G4 C2 ) in C9ORF72 gene has been causally linked to both ALS and FTD emergence, thus opening a novel potential therapeutic target for disease intervention. The main driver of C9ORF72 pathology is the disruption of distinct cellular processes involved in the function of the proteostasis network. Here we discuss main findings relating to the induction of neurodegeneration by C9ORF72 mutation and proteostasis deregulation, highlighting the role of the endoplasmic reticulum stress, nuclear transport, and autophagy in the disease process. We further discuss possible points of intervention to target proteostasis mediators to treat C9ORF72-linked ALS/FTD.
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Affiliation(s)
- Paulina Torres
- Biomedical Neuroscience Institute (BNI), Faculty of Medicine, University of Chile, Santiago, Chile.,FONDAP Center for Geroscience, Brain Health, and Metabolism (GERO), Santiago, Chile.,Program of Cellular and Molecular Biology, Institute of Biomedical Science, University of Chile, Santiago, Chile
| | - Felipe Cabral-Miranda
- Instituto de Ciências Biomédicas, Universidade do Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
| | - Vicente Gonzalez-Teuber
- Biomedical Neuroscience Institute (BNI), Faculty of Medicine, University of Chile, Santiago, Chile.,FONDAP Center for Geroscience, Brain Health, and Metabolism (GERO), Santiago, Chile.,Program of Cellular and Molecular Biology, Institute of Biomedical Science, University of Chile, Santiago, Chile
| | - Claudio Hetz
- Biomedical Neuroscience Institute (BNI), Faculty of Medicine, University of Chile, Santiago, Chile.,FONDAP Center for Geroscience, Brain Health, and Metabolism (GERO), Santiago, Chile.,Program of Cellular and Molecular Biology, Institute of Biomedical Science, University of Chile, Santiago, Chile.,Buck Institute for Research on Aging, Novato, California, USA
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32
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Sharpe JL, Harper NS, Garner DR, West RJH. Modeling C9orf72-Related Frontotemporal Dementia and Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis in Drosophila. Front Cell Neurosci 2021; 15:770937. [PMID: 34744635 PMCID: PMC8566814 DOI: 10.3389/fncel.2021.770937] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/05/2021] [Accepted: 09/27/2021] [Indexed: 12/28/2022] Open
Abstract
An intronic hexanucleotide (GGGGCC) expansion in the C9orf72 gene is the most common genetic cause of frontotemporal dementia (FTD) and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). In the decade following its discovery, much progress has been made in enhancing our understanding of how it precipitates disease. Both loss of function caused by reduced C9orf72 transcript levels, and gain of function mechanisms, triggered by the production of repetitive sense and antisense RNA and dipeptide repeat proteins, are thought to contribute to the toxicity. Drosophila models, with their unrivaled genetic tractability and short lifespan, have played a key role in developing our understanding of C9orf72-related FTD/ALS. There is no C9orf72 homolog in fly, and although this precludes investigations into loss of function toxicity, it is useful for elucidating mechanisms underpinning gain of function toxicity. To date there are a range of Drosophila C9orf72 models, encompassing different aspects of gain of function toxicity. In addition to pure repeat transgenes, which produce both repeat RNA and dipeptide repeat proteins (DPRs), RNA only models and DPR models have been generated to unpick the individual contributions of RNA and each dipeptide repeat protein to C9orf72 toxicity. In this review, we discuss how Drosophila models have shaped our understanding of C9orf72 gain of function toxicity, and address opportunities to utilize these models for further research.
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Affiliation(s)
- Joanne L. Sharpe
- Division of Neuroscience and Experimental Psychology, Faculty of Biology, Medicine and Health, The University of Manchester, Manchester, United Kingdom
| | - Nikki S. Harper
- Division of Neuroscience and Experimental Psychology, Faculty of Biology, Medicine and Health, The University of Manchester, Manchester, United Kingdom
| | - Duncan R. Garner
- Sheffield Institute for Translational Neuroscience, The University of Sheffield, Sheffield, United Kingdom
- Neuroscience Institute, The University of Sheffield, Sheffield, United Kingdom
| | - Ryan J. H. West
- Sheffield Institute for Translational Neuroscience, The University of Sheffield, Sheffield, United Kingdom
- Neuroscience Institute, The University of Sheffield, Sheffield, United Kingdom
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33
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Liu YJ, Kuo HC, Chern Y. A system-wide mislocalization of RNA-binding proteins in motor neurons is a new feature of ALS. Neurobiol Dis 2021; 160:105531. [PMID: 34634461 DOI: 10.1016/j.nbd.2021.105531] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/11/2021] [Revised: 09/28/2021] [Accepted: 10/07/2021] [Indexed: 01/01/2023] Open
Abstract
Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is a motor neuron disease characterized by progressive degeneration of motor neurons. Mislocalization of TAR DNA-binding protein 43 (TDP-43) is an early event in the formation of cytoplasmic TDP-43-positive inclusions in motor neurons and a hallmark of ALS. However, the underlying mechanism and the pathogenic impact of this mislocalization are relatively unexplored. We previously reported that abnormal AMPK activation mediates TDP-43 mislocalization in motor neurons of humans and mice with ALS. In the present study, we hypothesized that other nuclear proteins are mislocalized in the cytoplasm of motor neurons due to the AMPK-mediated phosphorylation of importin-α1 and subsequently contribute to neuronal degeneration in ALS. To test this hypothesis, we analyzed motor neurons of sporadic ALS patients and found that when AMPK is activated, importin-α1 is abnormally located in the nucleus. Multiple integrative molecular and cellular approaches (including proteomics, immunoprecipitation/western blot analysis, immunohistological evaluations and gradient analysis of preribosomal complexes) were employed to demonstrate that numerous RNA binding proteins are mislocalized in a rodent motor neuron cell line (NSC34) and human motor neurons derived from iPSCs during AMPK activation. We used comparative proteomic analysis of importin-α1 complexes that were immunoprecipitated with a phosphorylation-deficient mutant of importin-α1 (importin-α1-S105A) and a phosphomimetic mutant of importin-α1 (importin-α1-S105D) to identify 194 proteins that have stronger affinity for the unphosphorylated form than the phosphorylated form of importin-α1. Furthermore, GO and STRING analyses suggested that RNA processing and protein translation is the major machinery affected by abnormalities in the AMPK-importin-α1 axis. Consistently, the expression of importin-α1-S105D alters the assembly of preribosomal complexes and increases cell apoptosis. Collectively, we propose that by impairing importin-α1-mediated nuclear import, abnormal AMPK activation in motor neurons alters the cellular distribution of many RNA-binding proteins, which pathogenically affect multiple cellular machineries in motor neurons and contribute to ALS pathogenesis.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yu-Ju Liu
- Division of Neuroscience, Institute of Biomedical Sciences, Academia Sinica, Taipei, Taiwan
| | - Hung-Chih Kuo
- Institute of Cellular and Organismic Biology, Academia Sinica, Taipei, Taiwan
| | - Yijuang Chern
- Division of Neuroscience, Institute of Biomedical Sciences, Academia Sinica, Taipei, Taiwan.
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34
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Laneve P, Tollis P, Caffarelli E. RNA Deregulation in Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis: The Noncoding Perspective. Int J Mol Sci 2021; 22:10285. [PMID: 34638636 PMCID: PMC8508793 DOI: 10.3390/ijms221910285] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/29/2021] [Revised: 09/17/2021] [Accepted: 09/22/2021] [Indexed: 12/18/2022] Open
Abstract
RNA metabolism is central to cellular physiopathology. Almost all the molecular pathways underpinning biological processes are affected by the events governing the RNA life cycle, ranging from transcription to degradation. The deregulation of these processes contributes to the onset and progression of human diseases. In recent decades, considerable efforts have been devoted to the characterization of noncoding RNAs (ncRNAs) and to the study of their role in the homeostasis of the nervous system (NS), where they are highly enriched. Acting as major regulators of gene expression, ncRNAs orchestrate all the steps of the differentiation programs, participate in the mechanisms underlying neural functions, and are crucially implicated in the development of neuronal pathologies, among which are neurodegenerative diseases. This review aims to explore the link between ncRNA dysregulation and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), the most frequent motoneuron (MN) disorder in adults. Notably, defective RNA metabolism is known to be largely associated with this pathology, which is often regarded as an RNA disease. We also discuss the potential role that these transcripts may play as diagnostic biomarkers and therapeutic targets.
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Affiliation(s)
- Pietro Laneve
- Institute of Molecular Biology and Pathology, National Research Council, 00185 Rome, Italy
| | - Paolo Tollis
- Department of Biology and Biotechnology Charles Darwin, Sapienza University of Rome, 00185 Rome, Italy;
| | - Elisa Caffarelli
- Institute of Molecular Biology and Pathology, National Research Council, 00185 Rome, Italy
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35
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Malik I, Kelley CP, Wang ET, Todd PK. Molecular mechanisms underlying nucleotide repeat expansion disorders. Nat Rev Mol Cell Biol 2021; 22:589-607. [PMID: 34140671 PMCID: PMC9612635 DOI: 10.1038/s41580-021-00382-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 141] [Impact Index Per Article: 47.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 04/30/2021] [Indexed: 02/05/2023]
Abstract
The human genome contains over one million short tandem repeats. Expansion of a subset of these repeat tracts underlies over fifty human disorders, including common genetic causes of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) and frontotemporal dementia (C9orf72), polyglutamine-associated ataxias and Huntington disease, myotonic dystrophy, and intellectual disability disorders such as Fragile X syndrome. In this Review, we discuss the four major mechanisms by which expansion of short tandem repeats causes disease: loss of function through transcription repression, RNA-mediated gain of function through gelation and sequestration of RNA-binding proteins, gain of function of canonically translated repeat-harbouring proteins, and repeat-associated non-AUG translation of toxic repeat peptides. Somatic repeat instability amplifies these mechanisms and influences both disease age of onset and tissue specificity of pathogenic features. We focus on the crosstalk between these disease mechanisms, and argue that they often synergize to drive pathogenesis. We also discuss the emerging native functions of repeat elements and how their dynamics might contribute to disease at a larger scale than currently appreciated. Lastly, we propose that lynchpins tying these disease mechanisms and native functions together offer promising therapeutic targets with potential shared applications across this class of human disorders.
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Affiliation(s)
- Indranil Malik
- Department of Neurology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, USA
| | - Chase P Kelley
- Department of Molecular Genetics and Microbiology, Center for NeuroGenetics, Genetics Institute, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, USA
- Genetics and Genomics Graduate Program, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, USA
| | - Eric T Wang
- Department of Molecular Genetics and Microbiology, Center for NeuroGenetics, Genetics Institute, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, USA.
| | - Peter K Todd
- Department of Neurology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, USA.
- VA Ann Arbor Healthcare System, Ann Arbor, MI, USA.
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36
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Lynch EM, Robertson S, FitzGibbons C, Reilly M, Switalski C, Eckardt A, Tey SR, Hayakawa K, Suzuki M. Transcriptome analysis using patient iPSC-derived skeletal myocytes: Bet1L as a new molecule possibly linked to neuromuscular junction degeneration in ALS. Exp Neurol 2021; 345:113815. [PMID: 34310943 DOI: 10.1016/j.expneurol.2021.113815] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/05/2021] [Revised: 06/23/2021] [Accepted: 07/20/2021] [Indexed: 02/07/2023]
Abstract
Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is a fatal neuromuscular disease in which patients gradually become paralyzed due to loss of motor function. Many genetically inheritable mutations have been linked to ALS; however, the majority of ALS patients are considered sporadic. Therefore, there is a need for a common therapy that is effective for all ALS patients. Although there is evidence of the disease beginning in the periphery at the neuromuscular junction (NMJ), the specific processes involved in skeletal muscle and at the NMJ are still largely unknown. To study common disease mechanisms in ALS skeletal muscle, we performed RNA sequencing of skeletal myocytes differentiated from induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) derived from familial ALS (with C9ORF72, SOD1, or TARDBP mutations) and sporadic ALS patients. Compared to healthy control lines, the myocytes from all ALS lines showed downregulation of four genes: BET1L, DCX, GPC3, and HNRNPK. We next measured the expression levels of these four genes in hind limb muscle samples from a rat model of familial ALS (SOD1G93A transgenic) and found that only the Bet1L gene, which encodes Bet1 Golgi Vesicular Membrane Trafficking Protein Like, was commonly downregulated. Bet1L protein appeared to be localized to the basal lamina of the NMJ, with decreased expression over time in SOD1G93A transgenic rats. Importantly, the expression levels began to decrease early in the disease process. Our results indicate that loss of Bet1L at the NMJ could be of interest for better understanding ALS disease progression.
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Affiliation(s)
- Eileen M Lynch
- Department of Comparative Biosciences, University of Wisconsin-Madison, WI, USA
| | - Samantha Robertson
- Department of Comparative Biosciences, University of Wisconsin-Madison, WI, USA
| | - Claire FitzGibbons
- Department of Comparative Biosciences, University of Wisconsin-Madison, WI, USA
| | - Megan Reilly
- Department of Comparative Biosciences, University of Wisconsin-Madison, WI, USA
| | - Colton Switalski
- Department of Comparative Biosciences, University of Wisconsin-Madison, WI, USA
| | - Adam Eckardt
- Department of Comparative Biosciences, University of Wisconsin-Madison, WI, USA
| | - Sin-Ruow Tey
- Department of Comparative Biosciences, University of Wisconsin-Madison, WI, USA
| | - Koji Hayakawa
- Department of Toxicology, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Okayama University of Science, Ehime, Japan
| | - Masatoshi Suzuki
- Department of Comparative Biosciences, University of Wisconsin-Madison, WI, USA; Stem Cell and Regenerative Medicine Center, University of Wisconsin-Madison, WI, USA.
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37
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Policarpo R, Sierksma A, De Strooper B, d'Ydewalle C. From Junk to Function: LncRNAs in CNS Health and Disease. Front Mol Neurosci 2021; 14:714768. [PMID: 34349622 PMCID: PMC8327212 DOI: 10.3389/fnmol.2021.714768] [Citation(s) in RCA: 29] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/25/2021] [Accepted: 06/25/2021] [Indexed: 12/26/2022] Open
Abstract
Recent advances in RNA sequencing technologies helped to uncover the existence of tens of thousands of long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) that arise from the dark matter of the genome. These lncRNAs were originally thought to be transcriptional noise but an increasing number of studies demonstrate that these transcripts can modulate protein-coding gene expression by a wide variety of transcriptional and post-transcriptional mechanisms. The spatiotemporal regulation of lncRNA expression is particularly evident in the central nervous system, suggesting that they may directly contribute to specific brain processes, including neurogenesis and cellular homeostasis. Not surprisingly, lncRNAs are therefore gaining attention as putative novel therapeutic targets for disorders of the brain. In this review, we summarize the recent insights into the functions of lncRNAs in the brain, their role in neuronal maintenance, and their potential contribution to disease. We conclude this review by postulating how these RNA molecules can be targeted for the treatment of yet incurable neurological disorders.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rafaela Policarpo
- VIB-KU Leuven Center For Brain & Disease Research, Leuven, Belgium.,Laboratory for the Research of Neurodegenerative Diseases, Department of Neurosciences, Leuven Brain Institute (LBI), KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium.,Neuroscience Discovery, Janssen Research & Development, Janssen Pharmaceutica N.V., Beerse, Belgium
| | - Annerieke Sierksma
- VIB-KU Leuven Center For Brain & Disease Research, Leuven, Belgium.,Laboratory for the Research of Neurodegenerative Diseases, Department of Neurosciences, Leuven Brain Institute (LBI), KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium
| | - Bart De Strooper
- VIB-KU Leuven Center For Brain & Disease Research, Leuven, Belgium.,Laboratory for the Research of Neurodegenerative Diseases, Department of Neurosciences, Leuven Brain Institute (LBI), KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium.,UK Dementia Research Institute, University College London, London, United Kingdom
| | - Constantin d'Ydewalle
- Neuroscience Discovery, Janssen Research & Development, Janssen Pharmaceutica N.V., Beerse, Belgium
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38
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Frottin F, Pérez-Berlanga M, Hartl FU, Hipp MS. Multiple pathways of toxicity induced by C9orf72 dipeptide repeat aggregates and G 4C 2 RNA in a cellular model. eLife 2021; 10:62718. [PMID: 34161229 PMCID: PMC8221807 DOI: 10.7554/elife.62718] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/02/2020] [Accepted: 06/08/2021] [Indexed: 12/05/2022] Open
Abstract
The most frequent genetic cause of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis and frontotemporal dementia is a G4C2 repeat expansion in the C9orf72 gene. This expansion gives rise to translation of aggregating dipeptide repeat (DPR) proteins, including poly-GA as the most abundant species. However, gain of toxic function effects have been attributed to either the DPRs or the pathological G4C2 RNA. Here, we analyzed in a cellular model the relative toxicity of DPRs and RNA. Cytoplasmic poly-GA aggregates, generated in the absence of G4C2 RNA, interfered with nucleocytoplasmic protein transport, but had little effect on cell viability. In contrast, nuclear poly-GA was more toxic, impairing nucleolar protein quality control and protein biosynthesis. Production of the G4C2 RNA strongly reduced viability independent of DPR translation and caused pronounced inhibition of nuclear mRNA export and protein biogenesis. Thus, while the toxic effects of G4C2 RNA predominate in the cellular model used, DPRs exert additive effects that may contribute to pathology.
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Affiliation(s)
- Frédéric Frottin
- Max Planck Institute of Biochemistry, Martinsried, Germany.,Université Paris-Saclay, CEA, CNRS, Institute for Integrative Biology of the Cell (I2BC), Gif-sur-Yvette, France
| | - Manuela Pérez-Berlanga
- Max Planck Institute of Biochemistry, Martinsried, Germany.,Department of Quantitative Biomedicine, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
| | - F Ulrich Hartl
- Max Planck Institute of Biochemistry, Martinsried, Germany
| | - Mark S Hipp
- Max Planck Institute of Biochemistry, Martinsried, Germany.,Department of Biomedical Sciences of Cells and Systems, University Medical Center Groningen, University of Groningen, Groningen, Netherlands.,School of Medicine and Health Sciences, Carl von Ossietzky University Oldenburg, Oldenburg, Germany
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39
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Long non-coding RNAs in neurodegenerative diseases. Neurochem Int 2021; 148:105096. [PMID: 34118305 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuint.2021.105096] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/26/2021] [Revised: 05/30/2021] [Accepted: 06/06/2021] [Indexed: 02/07/2023]
Abstract
Neurodegenerative diseases are gradually becoming the main burden of society. The morbidity and mortality caused by neurodegenerative diseases remain significant health-care concerns. For most neurodegenerative diseases, there are no effective treatments. Over the past few decades, in a quest to exploit efficacious disease-modifying therapies for the treatment of neurodegenerative diseases, disease mechanisms, reliable biomarkers and therapeutic targets have become a research priority. At present, lncRNA is an area with potential research value. In this article, we first summarize some of the existing results of research into lncRNAs, including origin, molecular characteristics, location types, and functional types. We then introduce the possible functions of lncRNAs in different neurodegenerative diseases. Furthermore, some lncRNAs which show promise as biomarkers or potential therapeutic targets are systematically summarized.
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40
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Todd TW, McEachin ZT, Chew J, Burch AR, Jansen-West K, Tong J, Yue M, Song Y, Castanedes-Casey M, Kurti A, Dunmore JH, Fryer JD, Zhang YJ, San Millan B, Teijeira Bautista S, Arias M, Dickson D, Gendron TF, Sobrido MJ, Disney MD, Bassell GJ, Rossoll W, Petrucelli L. Hexanucleotide Repeat Expansions in c9FTD/ALS and SCA36 Confer Selective Patterns of Neurodegeneration In Vivo. Cell Rep 2021; 31:107616. [PMID: 32375043 DOI: 10.1016/j.celrep.2020.107616] [Citation(s) in RCA: 29] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/03/2019] [Revised: 02/25/2020] [Accepted: 04/14/2020] [Indexed: 01/15/2023] Open
Abstract
A G4C2 hexanucleotide repeat expansion in an intron of C9orf72 is the most common cause of frontal temporal dementia and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (c9FTD/ALS). A remarkably similar intronic TG3C2 repeat expansion is associated with spinocerebellar ataxia 36 (SCA36). Both expansions are widely expressed, form RNA foci, and can undergo repeat-associated non-ATG (RAN) translation to form similar dipeptide repeat proteins (DPRs). Yet, these diseases result in the degeneration of distinct subsets of neurons. We show that the expression of these repeat expansions in mice is sufficient to recapitulate the unique features of each disease, including this selective neuronal vulnerability. Furthermore, only the G4C2 repeat induces the formation of aberrant stress granules and pTDP-43 inclusions. Overall, our results demonstrate that the pathomechanisms responsible for each disease are intrinsic to the individual repeat sequence, highlighting the importance of sequence-specific RNA-mediated toxicity in each disorder.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tiffany W Todd
- Department of Neuroscience, Mayo Clinic, Jacksonville, FL 32224, USA
| | - Zachary T McEachin
- Department of Cell Biology, Emory University, Atlanta, GA 30322, USA; Laboratory for Translational Cell Biology, Emory University, Atlanta, GA 30322, USA; Wallace H. Coulter Graduate Program in Biomedical Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology & Emory University, Atlanta, GA 30332, USA
| | - Jeannie Chew
- Department of Neuroscience, Mayo Clinic, Jacksonville, FL 32224, USA
| | - Alexander R Burch
- Department of Neuroscience, Mayo Clinic, Jacksonville, FL 32224, USA
| | - Karen Jansen-West
- Department of Neuroscience, Mayo Clinic, Jacksonville, FL 32224, USA
| | - Jimei Tong
- Department of Neuroscience, Mayo Clinic, Jacksonville, FL 32224, USA
| | - Mei Yue
- Department of Neuroscience, Mayo Clinic, Jacksonville, FL 32224, USA
| | - Yuping Song
- Department of Neuroscience, Mayo Clinic, Jacksonville, FL 32224, USA
| | | | - Aishe Kurti
- Department of Neuroscience, Mayo Clinic, Jacksonville, FL 32224, USA
| | - Judith H Dunmore
- Department of Neuroscience, Mayo Clinic, Jacksonville, FL 32224, USA
| | - John D Fryer
- Department of Neuroscience, Mayo Clinic, Jacksonville, FL 32224, USA
| | - Yong-Jie Zhang
- Department of Neuroscience, Mayo Clinic, Jacksonville, FL 32224, USA
| | - Beatriz San Millan
- Rare Diseases and Pediatric Medicine Research Group, Galicia Sur Health Research Institute (IIS Galicia Sur), SERGAS-UVIGO, Vigo, Spain; Pathology Department, Complexo Hospitalario Universitario de Vigo (CHUVI), SERGAS, Vigo, Spain
| | - Susana Teijeira Bautista
- Rare Diseases and Pediatric Medicine Research Group, Galicia Sur Health Research Institute (IIS Galicia Sur), SERGAS-UVIGO, Vigo, Spain; Pathology Department, Complexo Hospitalario Universitario de Vigo (CHUVI), SERGAS, Vigo, Spain
| | - Manuel Arias
- Neurogenetics Research Group, Instituto de Investigación Sanitaria (IDIS), Hospital Clínico Universitario, SERGAS, Santiago de Compostela, Spain; Department of Neurology, Hospital Clínico Universitario, SERGAS, Santiago de Compostela, Spain
| | - Dennis Dickson
- Department of Neuroscience, Mayo Clinic, Jacksonville, FL 32224, USA
| | - Tania F Gendron
- Department of Neuroscience, Mayo Clinic, Jacksonville, FL 32224, USA
| | - María-Jesús Sobrido
- Neurogenetics Research Group, Instituto de Investigación Sanitaria (IDIS), Hospital Clínico Universitario, SERGAS, Santiago de Compostela, Spain; Centro de Investigación Biomédica en red de Enfermedades Raras (CIBERER), Santiago de Compostela, Spain
| | - Matthew D Disney
- Department of Chemistry, The Scripps Research Institute, Scripps Florida, Jupiter, FL 33458, USA
| | - Gary J Bassell
- Department of Cell Biology, Emory University, Atlanta, GA 30322, USA; Laboratory for Translational Cell Biology, Emory University, Atlanta, GA 30322, USA; Wallace H. Coulter Graduate Program in Biomedical Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology & Emory University, Atlanta, GA 30332, USA
| | - Wilfried Rossoll
- Department of Neuroscience, Mayo Clinic, Jacksonville, FL 32224, USA.
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41
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Hasegawa-Ogawa M, Okano HJ. Characterization of the upstream and intron promoters of the gene encoding TAR DNA-binding protein. Sci Rep 2021; 11:8720. [PMID: 33888768 PMCID: PMC8062691 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-021-88015-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/11/2019] [Accepted: 03/25/2021] [Indexed: 11/09/2022] Open
Abstract
TAR DNA-binding protein (TDP-43, encoded by TARDBP) is a multifunctional protein that regulates transcription and RNA metabolism by binding DNA or RNA. TDP-43 has been implicated in the pathogenesis of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) because abnormal accumulation of cleaved and phosphorylated C-terminal fragments of TDP-43 in motor neurons is a pathological hallmark of ALS. Here, we cloned and analyzed the promoter region of the TARDBP gene. TARDBP upstream sequences and/or intron/luciferase constructs were generated, and their promoter activity was experimentally assessed. The upstream region predictably exhibited promoter activity and identified putative cis-acting elements, including the i-motif, was relevant for the regulation of TDP-43 expression. The cellular abundance of TDP-43 is strictly controlled, and its constancy is critically important for motor neuron survival. A machinery serving to maintain a constant level of TDP-43 is autoregulation via control of mRNA stability, a negative feedback system involving binding to the 3' untranslated region of its own pre-mRNA. However, whether transcriptional mechanisms contribute to TDP-43 autoregulation is unclear. We further showed that TDP-43 negatively regulates the TARDBP promoter and, surprisingly, that disease-causing TDP-43 mutants lacked this regulatory activity. These results allowed the elucidation of a novel transcriptional autoregulatory mechanism of TDP-43.
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Affiliation(s)
- Minami Hasegawa-Ogawa
- Division of Regenerative Medicine, The Jikei University School of Medicine, 3-25-8 Nishi-Shimbashi, Minato-ku, Tokyo, 1058461, Japan
| | - Hirotaka James Okano
- Division of Regenerative Medicine, The Jikei University School of Medicine, 3-25-8 Nishi-Shimbashi, Minato-ku, Tokyo, 1058461, Japan.
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42
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Gillentine MA, Wang T, Hoekzema K, Rosenfeld J, Liu P, Guo H, Kim CN, De Vries BBA, Vissers LELM, Nordenskjold M, Kvarnung M, Lindstrand A, Nordgren A, Gecz J, Iascone M, Cereda A, Scatigno A, Maitz S, Zanni G, Bertini E, Zweier C, Schuhmann S, Wiesener A, Pepper M, Panjwani H, Torti E, Abid F, Anselm I, Srivastava S, Atwal P, Bacino CA, Bhat G, Cobian K, Bird LM, Friedman J, Wright MS, Callewaert B, Petit F, Mathieu S, Afenjar A, Christensen CK, White KM, Elpeleg O, Berger I, Espineli EJ, Fagerberg C, Brasch-Andersen C, Hansen LK, Feyma T, Hughes S, Thiffault I, Sullivan B, Yan S, Keller K, Keren B, Mignot C, Kooy F, Meuwissen M, Basinger A, Kukolich M, Philips M, Ortega L, Drummond-Borg M, Lauridsen M, Sorensen K, Lehman A, Lopez-Rangel E, Levy P, Lessel D, Lotze T, Madan-Khetarpal S, Sebastian J, Vento J, Vats D, Benman LM, Mckee S, Mirzaa GM, Muss C, Pappas J, Peeters H, Romano C, Elia M, Galesi O, Simon MEH, van Gassen KLI, Simpson K, Stratton R, Syed S, Thevenon J, Palafoll IV, Vitobello A, Bournez M, Faivre L, Xia K, Earl RK, Nowakowski T, Bernier RA, Eichler EE. Rare deleterious mutations of HNRNP genes result in shared neurodevelopmental disorders. Genome Med 2021; 13:63. [PMID: 33874999 PMCID: PMC8056596 DOI: 10.1186/s13073-021-00870-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 40] [Impact Index Per Article: 13.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/04/2020] [Accepted: 03/16/2021] [Indexed: 01/08/2023] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND With the increasing number of genomic sequencing studies, hundreds of genes have been implicated in neurodevelopmental disorders (NDDs). The rate of gene discovery far outpaces our understanding of genotype-phenotype correlations, with clinical characterization remaining a bottleneck for understanding NDDs. Most disease-associated Mendelian genes are members of gene families, and we hypothesize that those with related molecular function share clinical presentations. METHODS We tested our hypothesis by considering gene families that have multiple members with an enrichment of de novo variants among NDDs, as determined by previous meta-analyses. One of these gene families is the heterogeneous nuclear ribonucleoproteins (hnRNPs), which has 33 members, five of which have been recently identified as NDD genes (HNRNPK, HNRNPU, HNRNPH1, HNRNPH2, and HNRNPR) and two of which have significant enrichment in our previous meta-analysis of probands with NDDs (HNRNPU and SYNCRIP). Utilizing protein homology, mutation analyses, gene expression analyses, and phenotypic characterization, we provide evidence for variation in 12 HNRNP genes as candidates for NDDs. Seven are potentially novel while the remaining genes in the family likely do not significantly contribute to NDD risk. RESULTS We report 119 new NDD cases (64 de novo variants) through sequencing and international collaborations and combined with published clinical case reports. We consider 235 cases with gene-disruptive single-nucleotide variants or indels and 15 cases with small copy number variants. Three hnRNP-encoding genes reach nominal or exome-wide significance for de novo variant enrichment, while nine are candidates for pathogenic mutations. Comparison of HNRNP gene expression shows a pattern consistent with a role in cerebral cortical development with enriched expression among radial glial progenitors. Clinical assessment of probands (n = 188-221) expands the phenotypes associated with HNRNP rare variants, and phenotypes associated with variation in the HNRNP genes distinguishes them as a subgroup of NDDs. CONCLUSIONS Overall, our novel approach of exploiting gene families in NDDs identifies new HNRNP-related disorders, expands the phenotypes of known HNRNP-related disorders, strongly implicates disruption of the hnRNPs as a whole in NDDs, and supports that NDD subtypes likely have shared molecular pathogenesis. To date, this is the first study to identify novel genetic disorders based on the presence of disorders in related genes. We also perform the first phenotypic analyses focusing on related genes. Finally, we show that radial glial expression of these genes is likely critical during neurodevelopment. This is important for diagnostics, as well as developing strategies to best study these genes for the development of therapeutics.
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Affiliation(s)
- Madelyn A Gillentine
- Department of Genome Sciences, University of Washington School of Medicine, 3720 15th Ave NE S413A, Box 355065, Seattle, WA, 981095-5065, USA
| | - Tianyun Wang
- Department of Genome Sciences, University of Washington School of Medicine, 3720 15th Ave NE S413A, Box 355065, Seattle, WA, 981095-5065, USA
| | - Kendra Hoekzema
- Department of Genome Sciences, University of Washington School of Medicine, 3720 15th Ave NE S413A, Box 355065, Seattle, WA, 981095-5065, USA
| | - Jill Rosenfeld
- Baylor Genetics Laboratories, Houston, TX, USA.,Department of Molecular & Human Genetics, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX, USA
| | - Pengfei Liu
- Baylor Genetics Laboratories, Houston, TX, USA
| | - Hui Guo
- Department of Genome Sciences, University of Washington School of Medicine, 3720 15th Ave NE S413A, Box 355065, Seattle, WA, 981095-5065, USA.,Center for Medical Genetics and Hunan Key Laboratory of Medical Genetics, School of Life Sciences, Central South University, Changsha, Hunan, China
| | - Chang N Kim
- Department of Anatomy, University of California, San Francisco, CA, USA.,Department of Psychiatry, University of California, San Francisco, CA, USA.,Weill Institute for Neurosciences, University of California at San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA.,The Eli and Edythe Broad Center of Regeneration Medicine and Stem Cell Research, University of California, San Francisco, CA, USA
| | - Bert B A De Vries
- Department of Human Genetics, Radboud University Medical Center, Nijmegen, The Netherlands
| | - Lisenka E L M Vissers
- Department of Human Genetics, Radboud University Medical Center, Nijmegen, The Netherlands
| | - Magnus Nordenskjold
- Department of Molecular Medicine and Surgery, Center for Molecular Medicine, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden.,Department of Clinical Genetics, Karolinska University Hospital, Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Malin Kvarnung
- Department of Molecular Medicine and Surgery, Center for Molecular Medicine, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden.,Department of Clinical Genetics, Karolinska University Hospital, Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Anna Lindstrand
- Department of Molecular Medicine and Surgery, Center for Molecular Medicine, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden.,Department of Clinical Genetics, Karolinska University Hospital, Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Ann Nordgren
- Department of Molecular Medicine and Surgery, Center for Molecular Medicine, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden.,Department of Clinical Genetics, Karolinska University Hospital, Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Jozef Gecz
- School of Medicine and the Robinson Research Institute, the University of Adelaide at the Women's and Children's Hospital, Adelaide, South Australia, Australia.,Genetics and Molecular Pathology, SA Pathology, Adelaide, South Australia, Australia.,South Australian Health and Medical Research Institute, Adelaide, South Australia, Australia
| | - Maria Iascone
- Laboratorio di Genetica Medica - ASST Papa Giovanni XXIII, Bergamo, Italy
| | - Anna Cereda
- Department of Pediatrics, ASST Papa Giovanni XXIII, Bergamo, Italy
| | - Agnese Scatigno
- Department of Pediatrics, ASST Papa Giovanni XXIII, Bergamo, Italy
| | - Silvia Maitz
- Genetic Unit, Department of Pediatrics, Fondazione MBBM S. Gerardo Hospital, Monza, Italy
| | - Ginevra Zanni
- Unit of Neuromuscular and Neurodegenerative Disorders, Department Neurosciences, Bambino Gesù Children's Hospital, IRCCS, 00146, Rome, Italy
| | - Enrico Bertini
- Unit of Neuromuscular and Neurodegenerative Disorders, Department Neurosciences, Bambino Gesù Children's Hospital, IRCCS, 00146, Rome, Italy
| | - Christiane Zweier
- Institute of Human Genetics, Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg (FAU), Erlangen, Germany
| | - Sarah Schuhmann
- Institute of Human Genetics, Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg (FAU), Erlangen, Germany
| | - Antje Wiesener
- Institute of Human Genetics, Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg (FAU), Erlangen, Germany
| | - Micah Pepper
- Center on Human Development and Disability, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA.,Seattle Children's Autism Center, Seattle, WA, USA
| | - Heena Panjwani
- Center on Human Development and Disability, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA.,Seattle Children's Autism Center, Seattle, WA, USA
| | | | - Farida Abid
- Department of Pediatrics-Neurology, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX, USA.,Texas Children's Hospital, Houston, TX, USA
| | - Irina Anselm
- Department of Neurology, Boston Children's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Siddharth Srivastava
- Department of Neurology, Boston Children's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Paldeep Atwal
- The Atwal Clinic: Genomic & Personalized Medicine, Jacksonville, FL, USA
| | - Carlos A Bacino
- Department of Molecular & Human Genetics, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX, USA
| | - Gifty Bhat
- Department of Pediatrics, Section of Genetics, University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, IL, USA
| | - Katherine Cobian
- Department of Pediatrics, Section of Genetics, University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, IL, USA
| | - Lynne M Bird
- Department of Pediatrics, University of California San Diego, San Diego, CA, USA.,Genetics/Dysmorphology, Rady Children's Hospital San Diego, San Diego, CA, USA
| | - Jennifer Friedman
- Department of Pediatrics, University of California San Diego, San Diego, CA, USA.,Rady Children's Institute for Genomic Medicine, San Diego, CA, USA.,Department of Neurosciences, University of California San Diego, San Diego, CA, USA
| | - Meredith S Wright
- Department of Pediatrics, University of California San Diego, San Diego, CA, USA.,Rady Children's Institute for Genomic Medicine, San Diego, CA, USA
| | - Bert Callewaert
- Department of Biomolecular Medicine, Ghent University Hospital, Ghent, Belgium
| | - Florence Petit
- Clinique de Génétique, Hôpital Jeanne de Flandre, Bâtiment Modulaire, CHU, 59037, Lille Cedex, France
| | - Sophie Mathieu
- Sorbonne Universités, Centre de Référence déficiences intellectuelles de causes rares, département de génétique et embryologie médicale, Hôpital Trousseau, AP-HP, Paris, France
| | - Alexandra Afenjar
- Sorbonne Universités, Centre de Référence déficiences intellectuelles de causes rares, département de génétique et embryologie médicale, Hôpital Trousseau, AP-HP, Paris, France
| | - Celenie K Christensen
- Department of Pediatrics, Indiana University School of Medicine, Indianapolis, IN, USA
| | - Kerry M White
- Department of Medical and Molecular Genetics, IU Health, Indianapolis, IN, USA
| | - Orly Elpeleg
- Department of Genetics, Hadassah, Hebrew University Medical Center, Jerusalem, Israel
| | - Itai Berger
- Pediatric Neurology, Assuta-Ashdod University Hospital, Ashdod, Israel.,Health Sciences, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Beersheba, Israel
| | - Edward J Espineli
- Department of Pediatrics-Neurology, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX, USA.,Texas Children's Hospital, Houston, TX, USA
| | - Christina Fagerberg
- Department of Clinical Genetics, Odense University Hospital, Odense, Denmark
| | | | | | - Timothy Feyma
- Gillette Children's Specialty Healthcare, Saint Paul, MN, USA
| | - Susan Hughes
- Division of Clinical Genetics, Children's Mercy Kansas City, Kansas City, MO, USA.,The University of Missouri-Kansas City, School of Medicine, Kansas City, MO, USA
| | - Isabelle Thiffault
- The University of Missouri-Kansas City, School of Medicine, Kansas City, MO, USA.,Children's Mercy Kansas City, Center for Pediatric Genomic Medicine, Kansas City, MO, USA
| | - Bonnie Sullivan
- Division of Clinical Genetics, Children's Mercy Kansas City, Kansas City, MO, USA
| | - Shuang Yan
- Division of Clinical Genetics, Children's Mercy Kansas City, Kansas City, MO, USA
| | - Kory Keller
- Oregon Health & Science University, Corvallis, OR, USA
| | - Boris Keren
- Department of Genetics, Hópital Pitié-Salpêtrière, Paris, France
| | - Cyril Mignot
- Department of Genetics, Hópital Pitié-Salpêtrière, Paris, France
| | - Frank Kooy
- Department of Medical Genetics, University of Antwerp, Antwerp, Belgium
| | - Marije Meuwissen
- Department of Medical Genetics, University of Antwerp, Antwerp, Belgium
| | - Alice Basinger
- Genetics Department, Cook Children's Hospital, Fort Worth, TX, USA
| | - Mary Kukolich
- Genetics Department, Cook Children's Hospital, Fort Worth, TX, USA
| | - Meredith Philips
- Genetics Department, Cook Children's Hospital, Fort Worth, TX, USA
| | - Lucia Ortega
- Genetics Department, Cook Children's Hospital, Fort Worth, TX, USA
| | | | - Mathilde Lauridsen
- Department of Clinical Genetics, Odense University Hospital, Odense, Denmark
| | - Kristina Sorensen
- Department of Clinical Genetics, Odense University Hospital, Odense, Denmark
| | - Anna Lehman
- Department of Medical Genetics, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada.,BC Children's Hospital and BC Women's Hospital, Vancouver, BC, Canada
| | | | - Elena Lopez-Rangel
- Department of Medical Genetics, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada.,Division of Developmental Pediatrics, Department of Pediatrics, BC Children's Hospital, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada.,Sunny Hill Health Centre for Children, Vancouver, BC, Canada
| | - Paul Levy
- Department of Pediatrics, The Children's Hospital at Montefiore, Bronx, NY, USA
| | - Davor Lessel
- Institute of Human Genetics, University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, Hamburg, Germany
| | - Timothy Lotze
- Department of Pediatrics-Neurology, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX, USA
| | - Suneeta Madan-Khetarpal
- Department of Human Genetics, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, USA.,UPMC Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
| | - Jessica Sebastian
- Department of Human Genetics, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
| | - Jodie Vento
- Department of Human Genetics, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
| | - Divya Vats
- Kaiser Permanente Southern California, Los Angeles, CA, USA
| | | | - Shane Mckee
- Northern Ireland Regional Genetics Service, Belfast City Hospital, Belfast, UK
| | - Ghayda M Mirzaa
- Center for Integrative Brain Research, Seattle Children's Research Institute, Seattle, WA, USA.,Department of Pediatrics, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA.,Brotman Baty Institute for Precision Medicine, Seattle, WA, USA
| | - Candace Muss
- Al Dupont Hospital for Children, Wilmington, DE, USA
| | - John Pappas
- NYU Grossman School of Medicine, Department of Pediatrics, Clinical Genetic Services, New York, NY, USA
| | - Hilde Peeters
- Center for Human Genetics, KU Leuven and Leuven Autism Research (LAuRes), Leuven, Belgium
| | | | | | | | - Marleen E H Simon
- Department of Genetics, University Medical Center, Utrecht University, Utrecht, The Netherlands
| | - Koen L I van Gassen
- Department of Genetics, University Medical Center, Utrecht University, Utrecht, The Netherlands
| | - Kara Simpson
- Rare Disease Institute, Children's National Health System, Washington, DC, USA
| | - Robert Stratton
- Department of Genetics, Driscoll Children's Hospital, Corpus Christi, TX, USA
| | - Sabeen Syed
- Department of Pediatric Gastroenterology, Driscoll Children's Hospital, Corpus Christi, TX, USA
| | - Julien Thevenon
- Àrea de Genètica Clínica i Molecular, Hospital Vall d'Hebrón, Barcelona, Spain
| | | | - Antonio Vitobello
- UF Innovation en Diagnostic Génomique des Maladies Rares, FHU-TRANSLAD, CHU Dijon Bourgogne and INSERM UMR1231 GAD, Université de Bourgogne Franche-Comté, F-21000, Dijon, France.,INSERM UMR 1231 Génétique des Anomalies du Développement, Université Bourgogne Franche-Comté, Dijon, France
| | - Marie Bournez
- Centre de Référence Maladies Rares « déficience intellectuelle », Centre de Génétique, FHU-TRANSLAD, CHU Dijon Bourgogne, Dijon, France.,Centre de Référence Maladies Rares « Anomalies du Développement et Syndromes malformatifs » Université Bourgogne Franche-Comté, Dijon, France
| | - Laurence Faivre
- INSERM UMR 1231 Génétique des Anomalies du Développement, Université Bourgogne Franche-Comté, Dijon, France.,Centre de Référence Maladies Rares « Anomalies du Développement et Syndromes malformatifs » Université Bourgogne Franche-Comté, Dijon, France
| | - Kun Xia
- Center for Medical Genetics and Hunan Key Laboratory of Medical Genetics, School of Life Sciences, Central South University, Changsha, Hunan, China
| | | | - Rachel K Earl
- Center on Human Development and Disability, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA.,Seattle Children's Autism Center, Seattle, WA, USA.,Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA
| | - Tomasz Nowakowski
- Department of Anatomy, University of California, San Francisco, CA, USA.,Department of Psychiatry, University of California, San Francisco, CA, USA.,Weill Institute for Neurosciences, University of California at San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA.,The Eli and Edythe Broad Center of Regeneration Medicine and Stem Cell Research, University of California, San Francisco, CA, USA
| | - Raphael A Bernier
- Center on Human Development and Disability, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA.,Seattle Children's Autism Center, Seattle, WA, USA.,Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA
| | - Evan E Eichler
- Department of Genome Sciences, University of Washington School of Medicine, 3720 15th Ave NE S413A, Box 355065, Seattle, WA, 981095-5065, USA. .,Howard Hughes Medical Institute, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA.
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Development of LNA Gapmer Oligonucleotide-Based Therapy for ALS/FTD Caused by the C9orf72 Repeat Expansion. Methods Mol Biol 2021; 2176:185-208. [PMID: 32865792 DOI: 10.1007/978-1-0716-0771-8_14] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/23/2022]
Abstract
Several neurodegenerative diseases, including amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), have a complex genetic background, in addition to cases where the disease appears to manifest sporadically. The recent discovery of the hexanucleotide repeat expansion in the C9orf72 gene as the causative agent of ALS (C9ALS) gives rise to the opportunity to develop new therapies directed at this mutation , which is responsible for a large proportion of ALS and/or frontotemporal dementia cases. Mammalian models conscientiously replicating the late-onset motor defects and cellular pathologies seen in human patients do not exist. In this context, patient-derived cells give us a platform to test potential antisense oligonucleotide therapies, which could be the key to treat this subtype of motor neuron disease. Recently, we described that locked nucleic acid gapmer oligonucleotide-based treatment targeting C9orf72 repeat expanded transcripts resulted in recovery from the disease-related phenotypes in patient-derived fibroblasts. Our findings highlight the therapeutic potential of C9ALS using this gapmer oligonucleotide-based approach.
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Quezada E, Cappelli C, Diaz I, Jury N, Wightman N, Brown RH, Montecino M, van Zundert B. BET bromodomain inhibitors PFI-1 and JQ1 are identified in an epigenetic compound screen to enhance C9ORF72 gene expression and shown to ameliorate C9ORF72-associated pathological and behavioral abnormalities in a C9ALS/FTD model. Clin Epigenetics 2021; 13:56. [PMID: 33726839 PMCID: PMC7962347 DOI: 10.1186/s13148-021-01039-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/30/2020] [Accepted: 02/23/2021] [Indexed: 12/25/2022] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND An intronic GGGGCC (G4C2) hexanucleotide repeat expansion (HRE) in the C9ORF72 gene is the most common cause of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) and frontotemporal dementia (FTD), referred to as C9ALS/FTD. No cure or effective treatment exist for C9ALS/FTD. Three major molecular mechanisms have emerged to explain C9ALS/FTD disease mechanisms: (1) C9ORF72 loss-of-function through haploinsufficiency, (2) dipeptide repeat (DPR) proteins mediated toxicity by the translation of the repeat RNAs, and more controversial, (3) RNA-mediated toxicity by bidirectional transcription of the repeats that form intranuclear RNA foci. Recent studies indicate a double-hit pathogenic mechanism in C9ALS/FTD, where reduced C9ORF72 protein levels lead to impaired clearance of toxic DPRs. Here we explored whether pharmacological compounds can revert these pathological hallmarks in vitro and cognitive impairment in a C9ALS/FTD mouse model (C9BAC). We specifically focused our study on small molecule inhibitors targeting chromatin-regulating proteins (epidrugs) with the goal of increasing C9ORF72 gene expression and reduce toxic DPRs. RESULTS We generated luciferase reporter cell lines containing 10 (control) or ≥ 90 (mutant) G4C2 HRE located between exon 1a and 1b of the human C9ORF72 gene. In a screen of 14 different epidrugs targeting bromodomains, chromodomains and histone-modifying enzymes, we found that several bromodomain and extra-terminal domain (BET) inhibitors (BETi), including PFI-1 and JQ1, increased luciferase reporter activity. Using primary cortical cultures from C9BAC mice, we further found that PFI-1 treatment increased the expression of V1-V3 transcripts of the human mutant C9ORF72 gene, reduced poly(GP)-DPR inclusions but enhanced intranuclear RNA foci. We also tested whether JQ1, an BETi previously shown to reach the mouse brain by intraperitoneal (i.p.) injection, can revert behavioral abnormalities in C9BAC mice. Interestingly, it was found that JQ1 administration (daily i.p. administration for 7 days) rescued hippocampal-dependent cognitive deficits in C9BAC mice. CONCLUSIONS Our findings place BET bromodomain inhibitors as a potential therapy for C9ALS/FTD by ameliorating C9ORF72-associated pathological and behavioral abnormalities. Our finding that PFI-1 increases accumulation of intranuclear RNA foci is in agreement with recent data in flies suggesting that nuclear RNA foci can be neuroprotective by sequestering repeat transcripts that result in toxic DPRs.
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Affiliation(s)
- Esteban Quezada
- Institute of Biomedical Sciences (ICB), Faculty of Medicine & Faculty of Life Sciences, Universidad Andres Bello, Santiago, Chile
| | - Claudio Cappelli
- Institute of Biomedical Sciences (ICB), Faculty of Medicine & Faculty of Life Sciences, Universidad Andres Bello, Santiago, Chile
| | - Iván Diaz
- Institute of Biomedical Sciences (ICB), Faculty of Medicine & Faculty of Life Sciences, Universidad Andres Bello, Santiago, Chile
| | - Nur Jury
- Institute of Biomedical Sciences (ICB), Faculty of Medicine & Faculty of Life Sciences, Universidad Andres Bello, Santiago, Chile
| | - Nicholas Wightman
- Department of Neurology, University of Massachusetts Medical School (UMMS), Worcester, MA, USA
| | - Robert H Brown
- Department of Neurology, University of Massachusetts Medical School (UMMS), Worcester, MA, USA
| | - Martín Montecino
- Institute of Biomedical Sciences (ICB), Faculty of Medicine & Faculty of Life Sciences, Universidad Andres Bello, Santiago, Chile.
- FONDAP Center for Genome Regulation, Santiago, Chile.
| | - Brigitte van Zundert
- Institute of Biomedical Sciences (ICB), Faculty of Medicine & Faculty of Life Sciences, Universidad Andres Bello, Santiago, Chile.
- Department of Neurology, University of Massachusetts Medical School (UMMS), Worcester, MA, USA.
- CARE Biomedical Research Center, Faculty of Biological Sciences, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile, Santiago, Chile.
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Kim W, Kim DY, Lee KH. RNA-Binding Proteins and the Complex Pathophysiology of ALS. Int J Mol Sci 2021; 22:ijms22052598. [PMID: 33807542 PMCID: PMC7961459 DOI: 10.3390/ijms22052598] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/27/2021] [Revised: 02/26/2021] [Accepted: 03/01/2021] [Indexed: 12/21/2022] Open
Abstract
Genetic analyses of patients with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) have identified disease-causing mutations and accelerated the unveiling of complex molecular pathogenic mechanisms, which may be important for understanding the disease and developing therapeutic strategies. Many disease-related genes encode RNA-binding proteins, and most of the disease-causing RNA or proteins encoded by these genes form aggregates and disrupt cellular function related to RNA metabolism. Disease-related RNA or proteins interact or sequester other RNA-binding proteins. Eventually, many disease-causing mutations lead to the dysregulation of nucleocytoplasmic shuttling, the dysfunction of stress granules, and the altered dynamic function of the nucleolus as well as other membrane-less organelles. As RNA-binding proteins are usually components of several RNA-binding protein complexes that have other roles, the dysregulation of RNA-binding proteins tends to cause diverse forms of cellular dysfunction. Therefore, understanding the role of RNA-binding proteins will help elucidate the complex pathophysiology of ALS. Here, we summarize the current knowledge regarding the function of disease-associated RNA-binding proteins and their role in the dysfunction of membrane-less organelles.
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Affiliation(s)
- Wanil Kim
- Division of Cosmetic Science and Technology, Daegu Haany University, Hanuidae-ro 1, Gyeongsan, Gyeongbuk 38610, Korea;
| | - Do-Yeon Kim
- Department of Pharmacology, School of Dentistry, Kyungpook National University, Daegu 41940, Korea
- Correspondence: (D.-Y.K.); (K.-H.L.); Tel.: +82-53-660-6880 (D.-Y.K.); +82-53-819-7743 (K.-H.L.)
| | - Kyung-Ha Lee
- Division of Cosmetic Science and Technology, Daegu Haany University, Hanuidae-ro 1, Gyeongsan, Gyeongbuk 38610, Korea;
- Correspondence: (D.-Y.K.); (K.-H.L.); Tel.: +82-53-660-6880 (D.-Y.K.); +82-53-819-7743 (K.-H.L.)
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Vangoor VR, Gomes‐Duarte A, Pasterkamp RJ. Long non-coding RNAs in motor neuron development and disease. J Neurochem 2021; 156:777-801. [PMID: 32970857 PMCID: PMC8048821 DOI: 10.1111/jnc.15198] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/01/2020] [Revised: 09/11/2020] [Accepted: 09/14/2020] [Indexed: 12/11/2022]
Abstract
Long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) are RNAs that exceed 200 nucleotides in length and that are not translated into proteins. Thousands of lncRNAs have been identified with functions in processes such as transcription and translation regulation, RNA processing, and RNA and protein sponging. LncRNAs show prominent expression in the nervous system and have been implicated in neural development, function and disease. Recent work has begun to report on the expression and roles of lncRNAs in motor neurons (MNs). The cell bodies of MNs are located in cortex, brainstem or spinal cord and their axons project into the brainstem, spinal cord or towards peripheral muscles, thereby controlling important functions such as movement, breathing and swallowing. Degeneration of MNs is a pathological hallmark of diseases such as amyotrophic lateral sclerosis and spinal muscular atrophy. LncRNAs influence several aspects of MN development and disruptions in these lncRNA-mediated effects are proposed to contribute to the pathogenic mechanisms underlying MN diseases (MNDs). Accumulating evidence suggests that lncRNAs may comprise valuable therapeutic targets for different MNDs. In this review, we discuss the role of lncRNAs (including circular RNAs [circRNAs]) in the development of MNs, discuss how lncRNAs may contribute to MNDs and provide directions for future research.
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Affiliation(s)
- Vamshidhar R. Vangoor
- Department of Translational NeuroscienceUniversity Medical Center Utrecht Brain CenterUtrecht UniversityUtrechtThe Netherlands
| | - Andreia Gomes‐Duarte
- Department of Translational NeuroscienceUniversity Medical Center Utrecht Brain CenterUtrecht UniversityUtrechtThe Netherlands
| | - R. Jeroen Pasterkamp
- Department of Translational NeuroscienceUniversity Medical Center Utrecht Brain CenterUtrecht UniversityUtrechtThe Netherlands
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Aladesuyi Arogundade O, Nguyen S, Leung R, Wainio D, Rodriguez M, Ravits J. Nucleolar stress in C9orf72 and sporadic ALS spinal motor neurons precedes TDP-43 mislocalization. Acta Neuropathol Commun 2021; 9:26. [PMID: 33588953 PMCID: PMC7885352 DOI: 10.1186/s40478-021-01125-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/13/2021] [Accepted: 01/30/2021] [Indexed: 12/11/2022] Open
Abstract
Nucleolar stress has been implicated in the pathology and disease pathogenesis of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) and frontotemporal lobar degeneration (FTLD) from repeat expansions of GGGGCC in C9orf72 (C9-ALS/FTLD) but not in sporadic ALS (SALS). Previously we reported that antisense RNA transcripts are unique in C9-ALS because of their nucleolar localization in spinal motor neurons and correlation with TDP-43 mislocalization, the hallmark proteinopathy of ALS and FTLD. Here we report our further studies of 11 SALS, 11 C9-ALS and 11 control spinal cords. We find that nucleolar stress manifests specifically as shrinkage in nucleoli of C9-ALS spinal motor neurons. Nucleolar size reduction is greatest in similarly sized alpha motor neurons from C9-ALS cases and results are not skewed by the number of surviving neurons from each ALS spinal cord. Surprisingly, nucleolar shrinkage occurs before main pathological hallmarks-TDP-43 mislocalization or antisense RNA foci-appear and this suggest that nucleolar stress can precede pathology in C9-ALS, findings previously identified in C9-FTLD using sense RNA foci and dipeptide repeat proteins as pathological markers. Importantly, these observations are also seen in SALS motor neurons and thus nucleolar stress appears to be a significant and probably upstream problem in sporadic disease.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Sandra Nguyen
- University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, CA, USA
| | - Ringo Leung
- University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, CA, USA
| | | | | | - John Ravits
- University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, CA, USA.
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Marshall KL, Farah MH. Axonal regeneration and sprouting as a potential therapeutic target for nervous system disorders. Neural Regen Res 2021; 16:1901-1910. [PMID: 33642358 PMCID: PMC8343323 DOI: 10.4103/1673-5374.308077] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/04/2022] Open
Abstract
Nervous system disorders are prevalent health issues that will only continue to increase in frequency as the population ages. Dying-back axonopathy is a hallmark of many neurologic diseases and leads to axonal disconnection from their targets, which in turn leads to functional impairment. During the course of many of neurologic diseases, axons can regenerate or sprout in an attempt to reconnect with the target and restore synapse function. In amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), distal motor axons retract from neuromuscular junctions early in the disease-course before significant motor neuron death. There is evidence of compensatory motor axon sprouting and reinnervation of neuromuscular junctions in ALS that is usually quickly overtaken by the disease course. Potential drugs that enhance compensatory sprouting and encourage reinnervation may slow symptom progression and retain muscle function for a longer period of time in ALS and in other diseases that exhibit dying-back axonopathy. There remain many outstanding questions as to the impact of distinct disease-causing mutations on axonal outgrowth and regeneration, especially in regards to motor neurons derived from patient induced pluripotent stem cells. Compartmentalized microfluidic chambers are powerful tools for studying the distal axons of human induced pluripotent stem cells-derived motor neurons, and have recently been used to demonstrate striking regeneration defects in human motor neurons harboring ALS disease-causing mutations. Modeling the human neuromuscular circuit with human induced pluripotent stem cells-derived motor neurons will be critical for developing drugs that enhance axonal regeneration, sprouting, and reinnervation of neuromuscular junctions. In this review we will discuss compensatory axonal sprouting as a potential therapeutic target for ALS, and the use of compartmentalized microfluidic devices to find drugs that enhance regeneration and axonal sprouting of motor axons.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Mohamed H Farah
- Department of Neurology at Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, USA
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Gagliardi D, Costamagna G, Taiana M, Andreoli L, Biella F, Bersani M, Bresolin N, Comi GP, Corti S. Insights into disease mechanisms and potential therapeutics for C9orf72-related amyotrophic lateral sclerosis/frontotemporal dementia. Ageing Res Rev 2020; 64:101172. [PMID: 32971256 DOI: 10.1016/j.arr.2020.101172] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/16/2020] [Accepted: 08/31/2020] [Indexed: 12/12/2022]
Abstract
In 2011, a hexanucleotide repeat expansion (HRE) in the noncoding region of C9orf72 was associated with the most frequent genetic cause of frontotemporal dementia (FTD) and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). The main pathogenic mechanisms in C9-ALS/FTD are haploinsufficiency of the C9orf72 protein and gain of function toxicity from bidirectionally-transcribed repeat-containing RNAs and dipeptide repeat proteins (DPRs) resulting from non-canonical RNA translation. Additionally, abnormalities in different downstream cellular mechanisms, such as nucleocytoplasmic transport and autophagy, play a role in pathogenesis. Substantial research efforts using in vitro and in vivo models have provided valuable insights into the contribution of each mechanism in disease pathogenesis. However, conflicting evidence exists, and a unifying theory still lacks. Here, we provide an overview of the recently published literature on clinical, neuropathological and molecular features of C9-ALS/FTD. We highlight the supposed neuronal role of C9orf72 and the HRE pathogenic cascade, mainly focusing on the contribution of RNA foci and DPRs to neurodegeneration and discussing the several downstream mechanisms. We summarize the emerging biochemical and neuroimaging biomarkers, as well as the potential therapeutic approaches. Despite promising results, a specific disease-modifying treatment is still not available to date and greater insights into disease mechanisms may help in this direction.
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Affiliation(s)
- Delia Gagliardi
- Dino Ferrari Centre, Neuroscience Section, Department of Pathophysiology and Transplantation (DEPT), University of Milan, Via Francesco Sforza 35, 20122 Milan, Italy
| | - Gianluca Costamagna
- Dino Ferrari Centre, Neuroscience Section, Department of Pathophysiology and Transplantation (DEPT), University of Milan, Via Francesco Sforza 35, 20122 Milan, Italy
| | - Michela Taiana
- Dino Ferrari Centre, Neuroscience Section, Department of Pathophysiology and Transplantation (DEPT), University of Milan, Via Francesco Sforza 35, 20122 Milan, Italy
| | - Luca Andreoli
- Dino Ferrari Centre, Neuroscience Section, Department of Pathophysiology and Transplantation (DEPT), University of Milan, Via Francesco Sforza 35, 20122 Milan, Italy
| | - Fabio Biella
- Dino Ferrari Centre, Neuroscience Section, Department of Pathophysiology and Transplantation (DEPT), University of Milan, Via Francesco Sforza 35, 20122 Milan, Italy
| | - Margherita Bersani
- Dino Ferrari Centre, Neuroscience Section, Department of Pathophysiology and Transplantation (DEPT), University of Milan, Via Francesco Sforza 35, 20122 Milan, Italy
| | - Nereo Bresolin
- Dino Ferrari Centre, Neuroscience Section, Department of Pathophysiology and Transplantation (DEPT), University of Milan, Via Francesco Sforza 35, 20122 Milan, Italy; Neurology Unit, IRCCS Foundation Ca' Granda Ospedale Maggiore Policlinico, Via Francesco Sforza 35, 20122, Milan, Italy
| | - Giacomo Pietro Comi
- Dino Ferrari Centre, Neuroscience Section, Department of Pathophysiology and Transplantation (DEPT), University of Milan, Via Francesco Sforza 35, 20122 Milan, Italy; Neurology Unit, IRCCS Foundation Ca' Granda Ospedale Maggiore Policlinico, Via Francesco Sforza 35, 20122, Milan, Italy
| | - Stefania Corti
- Dino Ferrari Centre, Neuroscience Section, Department of Pathophysiology and Transplantation (DEPT), University of Milan, Via Francesco Sforza 35, 20122 Milan, Italy; Neurology Unit, IRCCS Foundation Ca' Granda Ospedale Maggiore Policlinico, Via Francesco Sforza 35, 20122, Milan, Italy.
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50
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Braems E, Swinnen B, Van Den Bosch L. C9orf72 loss-of-function: a trivial, stand-alone or additive mechanism in C9 ALS/FTD? Acta Neuropathol 2020; 140:625-643. [PMID: 32876811 PMCID: PMC7547039 DOI: 10.1007/s00401-020-02214-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 35] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/14/2020] [Revised: 07/28/2020] [Accepted: 08/13/2020] [Indexed: 12/11/2022]
Abstract
A repeat expansion in C9orf72 is responsible for the characteristic neurodegeneration in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) and frontotemporal dementia (FTD) in a still unresolved manner. Proposed mechanisms involve gain-of-functions, comprising RNA and protein toxicity, and loss-of-function of the C9orf72 gene. Their exact contribution is still inconclusive and reports regarding loss-of-function are rather inconsistent. Here, we review the function of the C9orf72 protein and its relevance in disease. We explore the potential link between reduced C9orf72 levels and disease phenotypes in postmortem, in vitro, and in vivo models. Moreover, the significance of loss-of-function in other non-coding repeat expansion diseases is used to clarify its contribution in C9orf72 ALS/FTD. In conclusion, with evidence pointing to a multiple-hit model, loss-of-function on itself seems to be insufficient to cause neurodegeneration in C9orf72 ALS/FTD.
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Affiliation(s)
- Elke Braems
- Department of Neurosciences, Experimental Neurology, and Leuven Brain Institute (LBI), KU Leuven-University of Leuven, 3000, Leuven, Belgium
- Laboratory of Neurobiology, Experimental Neurology, Center for Brain and Disease Research, VIB, Campus Gasthuisberg, O&N4, Herestraat 49, PB 602, 3000, Leuven, Belgium
| | - Bart Swinnen
- Department of Neurosciences, Experimental Neurology, and Leuven Brain Institute (LBI), KU Leuven-University of Leuven, 3000, Leuven, Belgium
- Laboratory of Neurobiology, Experimental Neurology, Center for Brain and Disease Research, VIB, Campus Gasthuisberg, O&N4, Herestraat 49, PB 602, 3000, Leuven, Belgium
- Department of Neurology, University Hospitals Leuven, 3000, Leuven, Belgium
| | - Ludo Van Den Bosch
- Department of Neurosciences, Experimental Neurology, and Leuven Brain Institute (LBI), KU Leuven-University of Leuven, 3000, Leuven, Belgium.
- Laboratory of Neurobiology, Experimental Neurology, Center for Brain and Disease Research, VIB, Campus Gasthuisberg, O&N4, Herestraat 49, PB 602, 3000, Leuven, Belgium.
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