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Rather MA, Khan A, Jahan S, Siddiqui AJ, Wang L. Influence of Tau on Neurotoxicity and Cerebral Vasculature Impairment Associated with Alzheimer's Disease. Neuroscience 2024; 552:1-13. [PMID: 38871021 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroscience.2024.05.042] [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: 12/10/2023] [Revised: 05/28/2024] [Accepted: 05/29/2024] [Indexed: 06/15/2024]
Abstract
Alzheimer's disease is a fatal chronic neurodegenerative condition marked by a gradual decline in cognitive abilities and impaired vascular function within the central nervous system. This affliction initiates its insidious progression with the accumulation of two aberrant protein entities including Aβ plaques and neurofibrillary tangles. These chronic elements target distinct brain regions, steadily erasing the functionality of the hippocampus and triggering the erosion of memory and neuronal integrity. Several assumptions are anticipated for AD as genetic alterations, the occurrence of Aβ plaques, altered processing of amyloid precursor protein, mitochondrial damage, and discrepancy of neurotropic factors. In addition to Aβ oligomers, the deposition of tau hyper-phosphorylates also plays an indispensable part in AD etiology. The brain comprises a complex network of capillaries that is crucial for maintaining proper function. Tau is expressed in cerebral blood vessels, where it helps to regulate blood flow and sustain the blood-brain barrier's integrity. In AD, tau pathology can disrupt cerebral blood supply and deteriorate the BBB, leading to neuronal neurodegeneration. Neuroinflammation, deficits in the microvasculature and endothelial functions, and Aβ deposition are characteristically detected in the initial phases of AD. These variations trigger neuronal malfunction and cognitive impairment. Intracellular tau accumulation in microglia and astrocytes triggers deleterious effects on the integrity of endothelium and cerebral blood supply resulting in further advancement of the ailment and cerebral instability. In this review, we will discuss the impact of tau on neurovascular impairment, mitochondrial dysfunction, oxidative stress, and the role of hyperphosphorylated tau in neuron excitotoxicity and inflammation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mashoque Ahmad Rather
- Department of Molecular Pharmacology and Physiology, University of South Florida, Tampa, United States.
| | - Andleeb Khan
- Department of Biosciences, Faculty of Science, Integral University, Lucknow, 226026, India
| | - Sadaf Jahan
- Department of Medical Laboratory Sciences, College of Applied Medical Sciences, Majmaah University, Al-Majmaah, Saudi Arabia
| | - Arif Jamal Siddiqui
- Department of Biology, College of Science, University of Hail, Hail City, Saudi Arabia
| | - Lianchun Wang
- Department of Molecular Pharmacology and Physiology, University of South Florida, Tampa, United States
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Kallweit L, Hamlett ED, Saternos H, Gilmore A, Granholm AC, Horowitz S. A New Role for RNA G-quadruplexes in Aging and Alzheimer's Disease. BIORXIV : THE PREPRINT SERVER FOR BIOLOGY 2024:2023.10.02.560545. [PMID: 37873355 PMCID: PMC10592952 DOI: 10.1101/2023.10.02.560545] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/25/2023]
Abstract
INTRODUCTION As the world population ages, new molecular targets in aging and Alzheimer's Disease (AD) are needed to combat the expected influx of new AD cases. Until now, the role of RNA structure in aging and neurodegeneration has largely remained unexplored. METHODS In this study, we examined human hippocampal postmortem tissue for the formation of RNA G-quadruplexes (rG4s) in aging and AD. RESULTS We found that rG4 immunostaining strongly increased in the hippocampus with both age and with AD severity. We further found that neurons with accumulation of phospho-tau immunostaining contained rG4s, that rG4 structure can drive tau aggregation, and that rG4 staining density depended on APOE genotype in the human tissue examined. DISCUSSION Combined with previous studies showing the dependence of rG4 structure on stress and the extreme power of rG4s at oligomerizing proteins, we propose a model of neurodegeneration in which chronic rG4 formation drives proteostasis collapse. We propose that further investigation of RNA structure in neurodegeneration is a critical avenue for future treatments and diagnoses.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lena Kallweit
- Department of Chemistry & Biochemistry and the Knoebel Institute for Healthy Aging, University of Denver, 2155 E Wesley Ave, Denver, CO 80208, USA
| | - Eric D Hamlett
- Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, Medical University of South Carolina, 171 Ashley Avenue, Charleston, SC 29425 USA
| | - Hannah Saternos
- Department of Neurosurgery, University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus, 12700 East 19th Avenue, P15-5112, Aurora, CO 80045 USA
| | - Anah Gilmore
- Department of Neurosurgery, University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus, 12700 East 19th Avenue, P15-5112, Aurora, CO 80045 USA
| | - Ann-Charlotte Granholm
- Department of Neurosurgery, University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus, 12700 East 19th Avenue, P15-5112, Aurora, CO 80045 USA
| | - Scott Horowitz
- Department of Chemistry & Biochemistry and the Knoebel Institute for Healthy Aging, University of Denver, 2155 E Wesley Ave, Denver, CO 80208, USA
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Song Z, Wang KW, Hagar HTC, Chen HR, Kuan CY, Zhang K, Kuo MH. Hyperphosphorylated Tau Inflicts Intracellular Stress Responses that Are Mitigated by Apomorphine. Mol Neurobiol 2024; 61:2653-2671. [PMID: 37919601 PMCID: PMC11043184 DOI: 10.1007/s12035-023-03689-x] [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: 07/13/2023] [Accepted: 09/30/2023] [Indexed: 11/04/2023]
Abstract
Abnormal phosphorylation of the microtubule-binding protein tau in the brain is a key pathological marker for Alzheimer's disease and additional neurodegenerative tauopathies. However, how hyperphosphorylated tau causes cellular dysfunction or death that underlies neurodegeneration remains an unsolved question critical for the understanding of disease mechanism and the design of efficacious drugs. Using a recombinant hyperphosphorylated tau protein (p-tau) synthesized by the PIMAX approach, we examined how cells responded to the cytotoxic tau and explored means to enhance cellular resistance to tau attack. Upon p-tau uptake, the intracellular calcium levels rose promptly. Gene expression analyses revealed that p-tau potently triggered endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress, unfolded protein response (UPR), ER stress-associated apoptosis, and pro-inflammation in cells. Proteomics studies showed that p-tau diminished heme oxygenase-1 (HO-1), an ER stress-associated anti-inflammation and anti-oxidative stress regulator, while stimulated the accumulation of MIOS and other proteins. p-Tau-induced ER stress-associated apoptosis and pro-inflammation are ameliorated by apomorphine, a brain-permeable prescription drug widely used to treat Parkinson's disease symptoms, and by overexpression of HO-1. Our results reveal probable cellular functions targeted by hyperphosphorylated tau. Some of these dysfunctions and stress responses have been linked to neurodegeneration in Alzheimer's disease. The observations that the ill effects of p-tau can be mitigated by a small compound and by overexpressing HO-1 that is otherwise diminished in the treated cells inform new directions of Alzheimer's disease drug discovery.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zhenfeng Song
- Center for Molecular Medicine and Genetics, Wayne State University School of Medicine, Detroit, MI, 48201, USA
| | - Kuang-Wei Wang
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI, 48824, USA
| | - Hsiao-Tien Chien Hagar
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI, 48824, USA
| | - Hong-Ru Chen
- Department of Neuroscience, School of Medicine, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA, 22903, USA
- Present address: Department of Life Sciences and Institute of Genome Sciences, National Yang Ming Chiao Tung University, Taipei, Taiwan, 112304
| | - Chia-Yi Kuan
- Department of Neuroscience, School of Medicine, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA, 22903, USA
| | - Kezhong Zhang
- Center for Molecular Medicine and Genetics, Wayne State University School of Medicine, Detroit, MI, 48201, USA.
| | - Min-Hao Kuo
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI, 48824, USA.
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Doering S, McCullough A, Gordon BA, Chen CD, McKay N, Hobbs D, Keefe S, Flores S, Scott J, Smith H, Jarman S, Jackson K, Hornbeck RC, Ances BM, Xiong C, Aschenbrenner AJ, Hassenstab J, Cruchaga C, Daniels A, Bateman RJ, Morris JC, Benzinger TLS. Deconstructing pathological tau by biological process in early stages of Alzheimer disease: a method for quantifying tau spatial spread in neuroimaging. EBioMedicine 2024; 103:105080. [PMID: 38552342 PMCID: PMC10995809 DOI: 10.1016/j.ebiom.2024.105080] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/14/2023] [Revised: 03/05/2024] [Accepted: 03/08/2024] [Indexed: 04/08/2024] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Neuroimaging studies often quantify tau burden in standardized brain regions to assess Alzheimer disease (AD) progression. However, this method ignores another key biological process in which tau spreads to additional brain regions. We have developed a metric for calculating the extent tau pathology has spread throughout the brain and evaluate the relationship between this metric and tau burden across early stages of AD. METHODS 445 cross-sectional participants (aged ≥ 50) who had MRI, amyloid PET, tau PET, and clinical testing were separated into disease-stage groups based on amyloid positivity and cognitive status (older cognitively normal control, preclinical AD, and symptomatic AD). Tau burden and tau spatial spread were calculated for all participants. FINDINGS We found both tau metrics significantly elevated across increasing disease stages (p < 0.0001) and as a function of increasing amyloid burden for participants with preclinical (p < 0.0001, p = 0.0056) and symptomatic (p = 0.010, p = 0.0021) AD. An interaction was found between tau burden and tau spatial spread when predicting amyloid burden (p = 0.00013). Analyses of slope between tau metrics demonstrated more spread than burden in preclinical AD (β = 0.59), but then tau burden elevated relative to spread (β = 0.42) once participants had symptomatic AD, when the tau metrics became highly correlated (R = 0.83). INTERPRETATION Tau burden and tau spatial spread are both strong biomarkers for early AD but provide unique information, particularly at the preclinical stage. Tau spatial spread may demonstrate earlier changes than tau burden which could have broad impact in clinical trial design. FUNDING This research was supported by the Knight Alzheimer Disease Research Center (Knight ADRC, NIH grants P30AG066444, P01AG026276, P01AG003991), Dominantly Inherited Alzheimer Network (DIAN, NIH grants U01AG042791, U19AG03243808, R01AG052550-01A1, R01AG05255003), and the Barnes-Jewish Hospital Foundation Willman Scholar Fund.
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Affiliation(s)
- Stephanie Doering
- Washington University in Saint Louis School of Medicine, Saint Louis, MO, USA
| | - Austin McCullough
- Washington University in Saint Louis School of Medicine, Saint Louis, MO, USA
| | - Brian A Gordon
- Washington University in Saint Louis School of Medicine, Saint Louis, MO, USA
| | - Charles D Chen
- Washington University in Saint Louis School of Medicine, Saint Louis, MO, USA
| | - Nicole McKay
- Washington University in Saint Louis School of Medicine, Saint Louis, MO, USA
| | - Diana Hobbs
- Washington University in Saint Louis School of Medicine, Saint Louis, MO, USA
| | - Sarah Keefe
- Washington University in Saint Louis School of Medicine, Saint Louis, MO, USA
| | - Shaney Flores
- Washington University in Saint Louis School of Medicine, Saint Louis, MO, USA
| | - Jalen Scott
- Washington University in Saint Louis School of Medicine, Saint Louis, MO, USA
| | - Hunter Smith
- Washington University in Saint Louis School of Medicine, Saint Louis, MO, USA
| | - Stephen Jarman
- Washington University in Saint Louis School of Medicine, Saint Louis, MO, USA
| | - Kelley Jackson
- Washington University in Saint Louis School of Medicine, Saint Louis, MO, USA
| | - Russ C Hornbeck
- Washington University in Saint Louis School of Medicine, Saint Louis, MO, USA
| | - Beau M Ances
- Washington University in Saint Louis School of Medicine, Saint Louis, MO, USA
| | - Chengjie Xiong
- Washington University in Saint Louis School of Medicine, Saint Louis, MO, USA
| | | | - Jason Hassenstab
- Washington University in Saint Louis School of Medicine, Saint Louis, MO, USA
| | - Carlos Cruchaga
- Washington University in Saint Louis School of Medicine, Saint Louis, MO, USA
| | - Alisha Daniels
- Washington University in Saint Louis School of Medicine, Saint Louis, MO, USA
| | - Randall J Bateman
- Washington University in Saint Louis School of Medicine, Saint Louis, MO, USA
| | - John C Morris
- Washington University in Saint Louis School of Medicine, Saint Louis, MO, USA
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Zhang L, Gai Y, Liu Y, Meng D, Zeng Y, Luo Y, Zhang H, Wang Z, Yang M, Li Y, Liu Y, Lai Y, Yang J, Wu G, Chen Y, Zhu J, Liu S, Yu T, Zeng J, Wang J, Zhu D, Wang X, Lan X, Liu R. Tau induces inflammasome activation and microgliosis through acetylating NLRP3. Clin Transl Med 2024; 14:e1623. [PMID: 38488468 PMCID: PMC10941548 DOI: 10.1002/ctm2.1623] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/01/2023] [Revised: 02/21/2024] [Accepted: 02/22/2024] [Indexed: 03/18/2024] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Alzheimer's disease (AD) and related Tauopathies are characterised by the pathologically hyperphosphorylated and aggregated microtubule-associated protein Tau, which is accompanied by neuroinflammation mediated by activated microglia. However, the role of Tau pathology in microglia activation or their causal relationship remains largely elusive. METHODS The levels of nucleotide-binding oligomerisation domain (NOD)-like receptor pyrin domain containing 3 (NLRP3) acetylation and inflammasome activation in multiple cell models with Tau proteins treatment, transgenic mice with Tauopathy, and AD patients were measured by Western blotting and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. In addition, the acetyltransferase activity of Tau and NLRP3 acetylation sites were confirmed using the test-tube acetylation assay, co-immunoprecipitation, immunofluorescence (IF) staining, mass spectrometry and molecular docking. The Tau-overexpressing mouse model was established by overexpression of human Tau proteins in mouse hippocampal CA1 neurons through the adeno-associated virus injection. The cognitive functions of Tau-overexpressing mice were assessed in various behavioural tests, and microglia activation was analysed by Iba-1 IF staining and [18F]-DPA-714 positron emission tomography/computed tomography imaging. A peptide that blocks the interaction between Tau and NLRP3 was synthesised to determine the in vitro and in vivo effects of Tau-NLRP3 interaction blockade on NLRP3 acetylation, inflammasome activation, microglia activation and cognitive function. RESULTS Excessively elevated NLRP3 acetylation and inflammasome activation were observed in 3xTg-AD mice, microtubule-associated protein Tau P301S (PS19) mice and AD patients. It was further confirmed that mimics of 'early' phosphorylated-Tau proteins which increase at the initial stage of diseases with Tauopathy, including TauT181E, TauS199E, TauT217E and TauS262E, significantly promoted Tau-K18 domain acetyltransferase activity-dependent NLRP3 acetylation and inflammasome activation in HEK293T and BV-2 microglial cells. In addition, Tau protein could directly acetylate NLRP3 at the K21, K22 and K24 sites at its PYD domain and thereby induce inflammasome activation in vitro. Overexpression of human Tau proteins in mouse hippocampal CA1 neurons resulted in impaired cognitive function, Tau transmission to microglia and microgliosis with NLRP3 acetylation and inflammasome activation. As a targeted intervention, competitive binding of a designed Tau-NLRP3-binding blocking (TNB) peptide to block the interaction of Tau protein with NLRP3 inhibited the NLRP3 acetylation and downstream inflammasome activation in microglia, thereby alleviating microglia activation and cognitive impairment in mice. CONCLUSIONS In conclusion, our findings provide evidence for a novel role of Tau in the regulation of microglia activation through acetylating NLRP3, which has potential implications for early intervention and personalised treatment of AD and related Tauopathies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lun Zhang
- Department of PathophysiologySchool of Basic Medicine, Key Laboratory of Education Ministry of China/Hubei Province for Neurological Disorders, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and TechnologyWuhanChina
- Department of Clinical LaboratoryWuhan Fourth HospitalWuhanChina
| | - Yongkang Gai
- Department of Nuclear MedicineHubei Province Key Laboratory of Molecular Imaging, Union Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and TechnologyWuhanChina
| | - Yushuang Liu
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular BiologySchool of Basic Medicine, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and TechnologyWuhanChina
| | - Dongli Meng
- Department of PathophysiologySchool of Basic Medicine, Key Laboratory of Education Ministry of China/Hubei Province for Neurological Disorders, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and TechnologyWuhanChina
| | - Yi Zeng
- Department of Clinical LaboratoryThe Central Hospital of WuhanWuhanChina
| | - Yong Luo
- Department of PathophysiologySchool of Basic Medicine, Key Laboratory of Education Ministry of China/Hubei Province for Neurological Disorders, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and TechnologyWuhanChina
| | - Huiliang Zhang
- Department of PathophysiologySchool of Basic Medicine, Key Laboratory of Education Ministry of China/Hubei Province for Neurological Disorders, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and TechnologyWuhanChina
| | - Zhuoqun Wang
- Department of PathophysiologySchool of Basic Medicine, Key Laboratory of Education Ministry of China/Hubei Province for Neurological Disorders, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and TechnologyWuhanChina
| | - Mengzhe Yang
- Department of PathophysiologySchool of Basic Medicine, Key Laboratory of Education Ministry of China/Hubei Province for Neurological Disorders, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and TechnologyWuhanChina
| | - Yunfan Li
- Department of PathophysiologySchool of Basic Medicine, Key Laboratory of Education Ministry of China/Hubei Province for Neurological Disorders, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and TechnologyWuhanChina
| | - Yi Liu
- Department of PathophysiologySchool of Basic Medicine, Key Laboratory of Education Ministry of China/Hubei Province for Neurological Disorders, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and TechnologyWuhanChina
| | - Yiwen Lai
- Department of PathophysiologySchool of Basic Medicine, Key Laboratory of Education Ministry of China/Hubei Province for Neurological Disorders, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and TechnologyWuhanChina
| | - Jiayu Yang
- Department of PathophysiologySchool of Basic Medicine, Key Laboratory of Education Ministry of China/Hubei Province for Neurological Disorders, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and TechnologyWuhanChina
| | - Gang Wu
- Department of PathophysiologySchool of Basic Medicine, Key Laboratory of Education Ministry of China/Hubei Province for Neurological Disorders, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and TechnologyWuhanChina
| | - Yu Chen
- Department of PediatricsTongji Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and TechnologyWuhanChina
| | - Jingtan Zhu
- Britton Chance Center for Biomedical Photonics‐MoE Key Laboratory for Biomedical Photonics, Advanced Biomedical Imaging Facility, Wuhan National Laboratory for Optoelectronics, Huazhong University of Science and TechnologyWuhanChina
| | - Shaojun Liu
- Britton Chance Center for Biomedical Photonics‐MoE Key Laboratory for Biomedical Photonics, Advanced Biomedical Imaging Facility, Wuhan National Laboratory for Optoelectronics, Huazhong University of Science and TechnologyWuhanChina
| | - Tingting Yu
- Britton Chance Center for Biomedical Photonics‐MoE Key Laboratory for Biomedical Photonics, Advanced Biomedical Imaging Facility, Wuhan National Laboratory for Optoelectronics, Huazhong University of Science and TechnologyWuhanChina
| | - Ji Zeng
- Department of Clinical LaboratoryWuhan Fourth HospitalWuhanChina
| | - Jianzhi Wang
- Department of PathophysiologySchool of Basic Medicine, Key Laboratory of Education Ministry of China/Hubei Province for Neurological Disorders, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and TechnologyWuhanChina
| | - Dan Zhu
- Britton Chance Center for Biomedical Photonics‐MoE Key Laboratory for Biomedical Photonics, Advanced Biomedical Imaging Facility, Wuhan National Laboratory for Optoelectronics, Huazhong University of Science and TechnologyWuhanChina
| | - Xiaochuan Wang
- Department of PathophysiologySchool of Basic Medicine, Key Laboratory of Education Ministry of China/Hubei Province for Neurological Disorders, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and TechnologyWuhanChina
- Shenzhen Huazhong University of Science and Technology Research InstituteShenzhenChina
| | - Xiaoli Lan
- Department of Nuclear MedicineHubei Province Key Laboratory of Molecular Imaging, Union Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and TechnologyWuhanChina
| | - Rong Liu
- Department of PathophysiologySchool of Basic Medicine, Key Laboratory of Education Ministry of China/Hubei Province for Neurological Disorders, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and TechnologyWuhanChina
- Department of PediatricsTongji Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and TechnologyWuhanChina
- Shenzhen Huazhong University of Science and Technology Research InstituteShenzhenChina
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Granholm AC, Hamlett ED. The Role of Tau Pathology in Alzheimer's Disease and Down Syndrome. J Clin Med 2024; 13:1338. [PMID: 38592182 PMCID: PMC10932364 DOI: 10.3390/jcm13051338] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/24/2024] [Revised: 02/10/2024] [Accepted: 02/20/2024] [Indexed: 04/10/2024] Open
Abstract
Background: Individuals with Down syndrome (DS) exhibit an almost complete penetrance of Alzheimer's disease (AD) pathology but are underrepresented in clinical trials for AD. The Tau protein is associated with microtubule function in the neuron and is crucial for normal axonal transport. In several different neurodegenerative disorders, Tau misfolding leads to hyper-phosphorylation of Tau (p-Tau), which may seed pathology to bystander cells and spread. This review is focused on current findings regarding p-Tau and its potential to seed pathology as a "prion-like" spreader. It also considers the consequences of p-Tau pathology leading to AD, particularly in individuals with Down syndrome. Methods: Scopus (SC) and PubMed (PM) were searched in English using keywords "tau AND seeding AND brain AND down syndrome". A total of 558 SC or 529 PM potentially relevant articles were identified, of which only six SC or three PM articles mentioned Down syndrome. This review was built upon the literature and the recent findings of our group and others. Results: Misfolded p-Tau isoforms are seeding competent and may be responsible for spreading AD pathology. Conclusions: This review demonstrates recent work focused on understanding the role of neurofibrillary tangles and monomeric/oligomeric Tau in the prion-like spreading of Tau pathology in the human brain.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ann-Charlotte Granholm
- Department of Neurosurgery, University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Center, Aurora, CO 80045, USA
| | - Eric D. Hamlett
- Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, Medical University of South Carolina, Charleston, SC 29425, USA;
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7
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Martin SP, Leeman-Markowski BA. Proposed mechanisms of tau: relationships to traumatic brain injury, Alzheimer's disease, and epilepsy. Front Neurol 2024; 14:1287545. [PMID: 38249745 PMCID: PMC10797726 DOI: 10.3389/fneur.2023.1287545] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/01/2023] [Accepted: 11/30/2023] [Indexed: 01/23/2024] Open
Abstract
Traumatic brain injury (TBI), Alzheimer's disease (AD), and epilepsy share proposed mechanisms of injury, including neuronal excitotoxicity, cascade signaling, and activation of protein biomarkers such as tau. Although tau is typically present intracellularly, in tauopathies, phosphorylated (p-) and hyper-phosphorylated (hp-) tau are released extracellularly, the latter leading to decreased neuronal stability and neurofibrillary tangles (NFTs). Tau cleavage at particular sites increases susceptibility to hyper-phosphorylation, NFT formation, and eventual cell death. The relationship between tau and inflammation, however, is unknown. In this review, we present evidence for an imbalanced endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress response and inflammatory signaling pathways resulting in atypical p-tau, hp-tau and NFT formation. Further, we propose tau as a biomarker for neuronal injury severity in TBI, AD, and epilepsy. We present a hypothesis of tau phosphorylation as an initial acute neuroprotective response to seizures/TBI. However, if the underlying seizure pathology or TBI recurrence is not effectively treated, and the pathway becomes chronically activated, we propose a "tipping point" hypothesis that identifies a transition of tau phosphorylation from neuroprotective to injurious. We outline the role of amyloid beta (Aβ) as a "last ditch effort" to revert the cell to programmed death signaling, that, when fails, transitions the mechanism from injurious to neurodegenerative. Lastly, we discuss targets along these pathways for therapeutic intervention in AD, TBI, and epilepsy.
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Affiliation(s)
- Samantha P. Martin
- Comprehensive Epilepsy Center, New York University Langone Health, New York, NY, United States
- Department of Neurology, New York University Langone Health, New York, NY, United States
- New York University Grossman School of Medicine, New York, NY, United States
- VA New York Harbor Healthcare System, New York, NY, United States
| | - Beth A. Leeman-Markowski
- Comprehensive Epilepsy Center, New York University Langone Health, New York, NY, United States
- Department of Neurology, New York University Langone Health, New York, NY, United States
- VA New York Harbor Healthcare System, New York, NY, United States
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8
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LaCroix MS, Artikis E, Hitt BD, Beaver JD, Estill-Terpack SJ, Gleason K, Tamminga CA, Evers BM, White CL, Caughey B, Diamond MI. Tau seeding without tauopathy. J Biol Chem 2024; 300:105545. [PMID: 38072056 PMCID: PMC10797195 DOI: 10.1016/j.jbc.2023.105545] [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: 07/03/2023] [Revised: 11/28/2023] [Accepted: 11/29/2023] [Indexed: 01/04/2024] Open
Abstract
Neurodegenerative tauopathies such as Alzheimer's disease (AD) are caused by brain accumulation of tau assemblies. Evidence suggests tau functions as a prion, and cells and animals can efficiently propagate unique, transmissible tau pathologies. This suggests a dedicated cellular replication machinery, potentially reflecting a normal physiologic function for tau seeds. Consequently, we hypothesized that healthy control brains would contain seeding activity. We have recently developed a novel monoclonal antibody (MD3.1) specific for tau seeds. We used this antibody to immunopurify tau from the parietal and cerebellar cortices of 19 healthy subjects without any neuropathology, ranging 19 to 65 years. We detected seeding in lysates from the parietal cortex, but not in the cerebellum. We also detected no seeding in brain homogenates from wildtype or human tau knockin mice, suggesting that cellular/genetic context dictates development of seed-competent tau. Seeding did not correlate with subject age or brain tau levels. We confirmed our essential findings using an orthogonal assay, real-time quaking-induced conversion, which amplifies tau seeds in vitro. Dot blot analyses revealed no AT8 immunoreactivity above background levels in parietal and cerebellar extracts and ∼1/100 of that present in AD. Based on binding to a panel of antibodies, the conformational characteristics of control seeds differed from AD, suggesting a unique underlying assembly, or structural ensemble. Tau's ability to adopt self-replicating conformations under nonpathogenic conditions may reflect a normal function that goes awry in disease states.
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Affiliation(s)
- Michael S LaCroix
- Center for Alzheimer's and Neurodegenerative Diseases, Peter O'Donnell Jr. Brain Institute, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, Texas, USA
| | | | - Brian D Hitt
- Center for Alzheimer's and Neurodegenerative Diseases, Peter O'Donnell Jr. Brain Institute, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, Texas, USA; Department of Neurology, UT Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, Texas, USA
| | - Joshua D Beaver
- Center for Alzheimer's and Neurodegenerative Diseases, Peter O'Donnell Jr. Brain Institute, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, Texas, USA
| | - Sandi-Jo Estill-Terpack
- Center for Alzheimer's and Neurodegenerative Diseases, Peter O'Donnell Jr. Brain Institute, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, Texas, USA
| | - Kelly Gleason
- Department of Psychiatry, UT Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, Texas, USA
| | - Carol A Tamminga
- Department of Psychiatry, UT Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, Texas, USA
| | - Bret M Evers
- Department of Pathology, UT Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, Texas, USA
| | - Charles L White
- Department of Pathology, UT Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, Texas, USA
| | - Byron Caughey
- NIH/NIAID, Rocky Mountain Laboratories, Hamilton, Montana, USA
| | - Marc I Diamond
- Center for Alzheimer's and Neurodegenerative Diseases, Peter O'Donnell Jr. Brain Institute, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, Texas, USA; Department of Neurology, UT Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, Texas, USA.
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9
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Ramsden CE, Zamora D, Horowitz MS, Jahanipour J, Calzada E, Li X, Keyes GS, Murray HC, Curtis MA, Faull RM, Sedlock A, Maric D. ApoER2-Dab1 disruption as the origin of pTau-associated neurodegeneration in sporadic Alzheimer's disease. Acta Neuropathol Commun 2023; 11:197. [PMID: 38093390 PMCID: PMC10720169 DOI: 10.1186/s40478-023-01693-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/26/2023] [Accepted: 11/16/2023] [Indexed: 12/17/2023] Open
Abstract
In sporadic Alzheimer's disease (sAD) specific regions, layers and neurons accumulate hyperphosphorylated Tau (pTau) and degenerate early while others remain unaffected even in advanced disease. ApoER2-Dab1 signaling suppresses Tau phosphorylation as part of a four-arm pathway that regulates lipoprotein internalization and the integrity of actin, microtubules, and synapses; however, the role of this pathway in sAD pathogenesis is not fully understood. We previously showed that multiple ApoER2-Dab1 pathway components including ApoE, Reelin, ApoER2, Dab1, pP85αTyr607, pLIMK1Thr508, pTauSer202/Thr205 and pPSD95Thr19 accumulate together within entorhinal-hippocampal terminal zones in sAD, and proposed a unifying hypothesis wherein disruption of this pathway underlies multiple aspects of sAD pathogenesis. However, it is not yet known whether ApoER2-Dab1 disruption can help explain the origin(s) and early progression of pTau pathology in sAD. In the present study, we applied in situ hybridization and immunohistochemistry (IHC) to characterize ApoER2 expression and accumulation of ApoER2-Dab1 pathway components in five regions known to develop early pTau pathology in 64 rapidly autopsied cases spanning the clinicopathological spectrum of sAD. We found that (1) these selectively vulnerable neuron populations strongly express ApoER2; and (2) multiple ApoER2-Dab1 components representing all four arms of this pathway accumulate in abnormal neurons and neuritic plaques in mild cognitive impairment (MCI) and sAD cases and correlate with histological progression and cognitive deficits. Multiplex-IHC revealed that Dab1, pP85αTyr607, pLIMK1Thr508, pTauSer202/Thr205 and pPSD95Thr19 accumulate together within many of the same ApoER2-expressing neurons and in the immediate vicinity of ApoE/ApoJ-enriched extracellular plaques. Collective findings reveal that pTau is only one of many ApoER2-Dab1 pathway components that accumulate in multiple neuroanatomical sites in the earliest stages of sAD and provide support for the concept that ApoER2-Dab1 disruption drives pTau-associated neurodegeneration in human sAD.
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Affiliation(s)
- Christopher E Ramsden
- Lipid Peroxidation Unit, Laboratory of Clinical Investigation, National Institute on Aging, NIH (NIA/NIH), 251 Bayview Blvd., Baltimore, MD, 21224, USA.
- Intramural Program of the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, NIH, Bethesda, MD, 20892, USA.
| | - Daisy Zamora
- Lipid Peroxidation Unit, Laboratory of Clinical Investigation, National Institute on Aging, NIH (NIA/NIH), 251 Bayview Blvd., Baltimore, MD, 21224, USA
| | - Mark S Horowitz
- Lipid Peroxidation Unit, Laboratory of Clinical Investigation, National Institute on Aging, NIH (NIA/NIH), 251 Bayview Blvd., Baltimore, MD, 21224, USA
| | - Jahandar Jahanipour
- Flow and Imaging Cytometry Core Facility, National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, NIH, Bethesda, MD, 20892, USA
| | - Elizabeth Calzada
- Lipid Peroxidation Unit, Laboratory of Clinical Investigation, National Institute on Aging, NIH (NIA/NIH), 251 Bayview Blvd., Baltimore, MD, 21224, USA
| | - Xiufeng Li
- Lipid Peroxidation Unit, Laboratory of Clinical Investigation, National Institute on Aging, NIH (NIA/NIH), 251 Bayview Blvd., Baltimore, MD, 21224, USA
| | - Gregory S Keyes
- Lipid Peroxidation Unit, Laboratory of Clinical Investigation, National Institute on Aging, NIH (NIA/NIH), 251 Bayview Blvd., Baltimore, MD, 21224, USA
| | - Helen C Murray
- Department of Anatomy and Medical Imaging and Centre for Brain Research, Faculty of Medical and Health Science, University of Auckland, Private Bag, Auckland, 92019, New Zealand
- Laboratory of Functional and Molecular Imaging, National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, NIH, Bethesda, MD, 20892, USA
| | - Maurice A Curtis
- Department of Anatomy and Medical Imaging and Centre for Brain Research, Faculty of Medical and Health Science, University of Auckland, Private Bag, Auckland, 92019, New Zealand
| | - Richard M Faull
- Department of Anatomy and Medical Imaging and Centre for Brain Research, Faculty of Medical and Health Science, University of Auckland, Private Bag, Auckland, 92019, New Zealand
| | - Andrea Sedlock
- Flow and Imaging Cytometry Core Facility, National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, NIH, Bethesda, MD, 20892, USA
| | - Dragan Maric
- Flow and Imaging Cytometry Core Facility, National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, NIH, Bethesda, MD, 20892, USA
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10
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Frey B, Holzinger D, Taylor K, Ehrnhoefer DE, Striebinger A, Biesinger S, Gasparini L, O'Neill MJ, Wegner F, Barghorn S, Höglinger GU, Heym RG. Tau seed amplification assay reveals relationship between seeding and pathological forms of tau in Alzheimer's disease brain. Acta Neuropathol Commun 2023; 11:181. [PMID: 37964332 PMCID: PMC10644662 DOI: 10.1186/s40478-023-01676-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: 09/26/2023] [Accepted: 10/23/2023] [Indexed: 11/16/2023] Open
Abstract
Tau seed amplification assays (SAAs) directly measure the seeding activity of tau and would therefore be ideal biomarkers for clinical trials targeting seeding-competent tau in Alzheimer's disease (AD). However, the precise relationship between tau seeding measured by SAA and the levels of pathological forms of tau in the AD brain remains unknown. We developed a new tau SAA based on full-length 0N3R tau with sensitivity in the low fg/ml range and used it to characterize 103 brain samples from three independent cohorts. Tau seeding clearly discriminated between AD and control brain samples. Interestingly, seeding was absent in Progressive Supranuclear Palsy (PSP) putamen, suggesting that our tau SAA did not amplify 4R tau aggregates from PSP brain. The specificity of our tau SAA for AD brain was further supported by analysis of matched hippocampus and cerebellum samples. While seeding was detected in hippocampus from Braak stages I-II, no seeding was present in AD cerebellum that is devoid of tau inclusions. Analysis of 40 middle frontal gyrus samples encompassing all Braak stages showed that tau SAA seeding activity gradually increased with Braak stage. This relationship between seeding activity and the presence of tau inclusions in AD brain was further supported by robust correlations between tau SAA results and the levels of phosphorylated tau212/214, phosphorylated tau181, aggregated tau, and sarkosyl-insoluble tau. Strikingly, we detected tau seeding in the middle frontal gyrus already at Braak stage II-III, suggesting that tau SAA can detect tau pathology earlier than conventional immunohistochemical staining. In conclusion, our data suggest a quantitative relationship between tau seeding activity and pathological forms of tau in the human brain and provides an important basis for further development of tau SAA for accessible human samples.
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Affiliation(s)
- Bryan Frey
- AbbVie Deutschland GmbH & Co. KG, Neuroscience Research, Knollstrasse, 67061, Ludwigshafen, Germany.
- Department of Neurology, Hannover Medical School, Hanover, Germany.
- Center for Systems Neuroscience, Hannover, Germany.
| | - David Holzinger
- AbbVie Deutschland GmbH & Co. KG, Neuroscience Research, Knollstrasse, 67061, Ludwigshafen, Germany
| | - Keenan Taylor
- AbbVie Bioresearch Center, Biotherapeutics and Genetic Medicine Technologies, Worcester, MA, USA
| | - Dagmar E Ehrnhoefer
- AbbVie Deutschland GmbH & Co. KG, Neuroscience Research, Knollstrasse, 67061, Ludwigshafen, Germany
| | - Andreas Striebinger
- AbbVie Deutschland GmbH & Co. KG, Neuroscience Research, Knollstrasse, 67061, Ludwigshafen, Germany
| | - Sandra Biesinger
- AbbVie Deutschland GmbH & Co. KG, Neuroscience Research, Knollstrasse, 67061, Ludwigshafen, Germany
| | - Laura Gasparini
- AbbVie Deutschland GmbH & Co. KG, Neuroscience Research, Knollstrasse, 67061, Ludwigshafen, Germany
| | - Michael J O'Neill
- AbbVie Deutschland GmbH & Co. KG, Neuroscience Research, Knollstrasse, 67061, Ludwigshafen, Germany
| | - Florian Wegner
- Department of Neurology, Hannover Medical School, Hanover, Germany
- Center for Systems Neuroscience, Hannover, Germany
| | - Stefan Barghorn
- AbbVie Deutschland GmbH & Co. KG, Neuroscience Research, Knollstrasse, 67061, Ludwigshafen, Germany
| | - Günter U Höglinger
- Department of Neurology, Hannover Medical School, Hanover, Germany
- Center for Systems Neuroscience, Hannover, Germany
- German Center for Neurodegenerative Diseases E.V. (DZNE), Munich, Germany
- Department of Neurology, LMU University Hospital, Ludwig-Maximilians-University (LMU), Munich, Germany
| | - Roland G Heym
- AbbVie Deutschland GmbH & Co. KG, Neuroscience Research, Knollstrasse, 67061, Ludwigshafen, Germany.
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11
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Hitt BD, Gupta A, Singh R, Yang T, Beaver JD, Shang P, White CL, Joachimiak LA, Diamond MI. Anti-tau antibodies targeting a conformation-dependent epitope selectively bind seeds. J Biol Chem 2023; 299:105252. [PMID: 37714465 PMCID: PMC10582770 DOI: 10.1016/j.jbc.2023.105252] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/11/2023] [Revised: 08/21/2023] [Accepted: 08/27/2023] [Indexed: 09/17/2023] Open
Abstract
Neurodegenerative tauopathies are caused by the transition of tau protein from a monomer to a toxic aggregate. They include Alzheimer disease (AD), progressive supranuclear palsy (PSP), corticobasal degeneration (CBD), and Pick disease (PiD). We have previously proposed that tau monomer exists in two conformational ensembles: an inert form (Mi), which does not self-assemble, and seed-competent form (Ms), which self-assembles and templates ordered assembly growth. We proposed that cis/trans isomerization of tau at P301, the site of dominant disease-associated S/L missense mutations, might underlie the transition of wild-type tau to a seed-competent state. Consequently, we created monoclonal antibodies using non-natural antigens consisting of fluorinated proline (P∗) at the analogous P270 in repeat 1 (R1), biased toward the trans-configuration at either the R1/R2 (TENLKHQP∗GGGKVQIINKK) or the R1/R3 (TENLKHQP∗GGGKVQIVYK) interfaces. Two antibodies, MD2.2 and MD3.1, efficiently immunoprecipitated soluble seeds from AD and PSP but not CBD or PiD brain samples. The antibodies efficiently stained brain samples of AD, PSP, and PiD, but not CBD. They did not immunoprecipitate or immunostain tau from the control brain. Creation of potent anti-seed antibodies based on the trans-proline epitope implicates local unfolding around P301 in pathogenesis. MD2.2 and MD3.1 may also be useful for therapy and diagnosis.
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Affiliation(s)
- Brian D Hitt
- Center for Alzheimer's and Neurodegenerative Diseases, UT Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, Texas, USA; Department of Neurology, UT Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, Texas, USA; Department of Neurology, University of California, Irvine, California, USA
| | - Ankit Gupta
- Center for Alzheimer's and Neurodegenerative Diseases, UT Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, Texas, USA
| | - Ruhar Singh
- Center for Alzheimer's and Neurodegenerative Diseases, UT Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, Texas, USA
| | - Ting Yang
- Center for Alzheimer's and Neurodegenerative Diseases, UT Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, Texas, USA
| | - Joshua D Beaver
- Center for Alzheimer's and Neurodegenerative Diseases, UT Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, Texas, USA
| | - Ping Shang
- Department of Pathology, UT Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, Texas, USA; Peter O'Donnell Jr Brain Institute, UT Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, Texas, USA
| | - Charles L White
- Department of Pathology, UT Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, Texas, USA; Peter O'Donnell Jr Brain Institute, UT Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, Texas, USA
| | - Lukasz A Joachimiak
- Center for Alzheimer's and Neurodegenerative Diseases, UT Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, Texas, USA; Peter O'Donnell Jr Brain Institute, UT Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, Texas, USA
| | - Marc I Diamond
- Center for Alzheimer's and Neurodegenerative Diseases, UT Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, Texas, USA; Department of Neurology, UT Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, Texas, USA; Peter O'Donnell Jr Brain Institute, UT Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, Texas, USA.
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12
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Frost B. Alzheimer's disease and related tauopathies: disorders of disrupted neuronal identity. Trends Neurosci 2023; 46:797-813. [PMID: 37591720 PMCID: PMC10528597 DOI: 10.1016/j.tins.2023.07.006] [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: 04/12/2023] [Revised: 06/20/2023] [Accepted: 07/24/2023] [Indexed: 08/19/2023]
Abstract
Postmitotic neurons require persistently active controls to maintain terminal differentiation. Unlike dividing cells, aberrant cell cycle activation in mature neurons causes apoptosis rather than transformation. In Alzheimer's disease (AD) and related tauopathies, evidence suggests that pathogenic forms of tau drive neurodegeneration via neuronal cell cycle re-entry. Multiple interconnected mechanisms linking tau to cell cycle activation have been identified, including, but not limited to, tau-induced overstabilization of the actin cytoskeleton, consequent changes to nuclear architecture, and disruption of heterochromatin-mediated gene silencing. Cancer- and development-associated pathways are upregulated in human and cellular models of tauopathy, and many tau-induced cellular phenotypes are also present in various cancers and progenitor/stem cells. In this review, I delve into mechanistic parallels between tauopathies, cancer, and development, and highlight the role of tau in cancer and in the developing brain. Based on these studies, I put forth a model by which pathogenic forms of tau disrupt the program that maintains terminal neuronal differentiation, driving cell cycle re-entry and consequent neuronal death. This framework presents tauopathies as conditions involving the profound toxic disruption of neuronal identity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Bess Frost
- Sam & Ann Barshop Institute for Longevity and Aging Studies, University of Texas Health San Antonio, San Antonio, TX, USA; Glenn Biggs Institute for Alzheimer's and Neurodegenerative Diseases, University of Texas Health San Antonio, San Antonio, TX, USA; Department of Cell Systems and Anatomy, University of Texas Health San Antonio, San Antonio, TX, USA.
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13
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Flavin WP, Hosseini H, Ruberti JW, Kavehpour HP, Giza CC, Prins ML. Traumatic brain injury and the pathways to cerebral tau accumulation. Front Neurol 2023; 14:1239653. [PMID: 37638180 PMCID: PMC10450935 DOI: 10.3389/fneur.2023.1239653] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/13/2023] [Accepted: 07/24/2023] [Indexed: 08/29/2023] Open
Abstract
Tau is a protein that has received national mainstream recognition for its potential negative impact to the brain. This review succinctly provides information on the structure of tau and its normal physiological functions, including in hibernation and changes throughout the estrus cycle. There are many pathways involved in phosphorylating tau including diabetes, stroke, Alzheimer's disease (AD), brain injury, aging, and drug use. The common mechanisms for these processes are put into context with changes observed in mild and repetitive mild traumatic brain injury (TBI). The phosphorylation of tau is a part of the progression to pathology, but the ability for tau to aggregate and propagate is also addressed. Summarizing both the functional and dysfunctional roles of tau can help advance our understanding of this complex protein, improve our care for individuals with a history of TBI, and lead to development of therapeutic interventions to prevent or reverse tau-mediated neurodegeneration.
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Affiliation(s)
- William P. Flavin
- Department of Neurology, David Geffen School of Medicine, UCLA, Los Angeles, CA, United States
- Steve Tisch BrainSPORT Program, Department of Pediatrics and Neurosurgery, David Geffen School of Medicine, UCLA, Los Angeles, CA, United States
| | - Helia Hosseini
- Department of Bioengineering, UCLA, Los Angeles, CA, United States
| | - Jeffrey W. Ruberti
- Department of Bioengineering, Northeastern University, Boston, MA, United States
| | - H. Pirouz Kavehpour
- Department of Bioengineering, UCLA, Los Angeles, CA, United States
- Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, UCLA, Los Angeles, CA, United States
| | - Christopher C. Giza
- Steve Tisch BrainSPORT Program, Department of Pediatrics and Neurosurgery, David Geffen School of Medicine, UCLA, Los Angeles, CA, United States
- Department of Bioengineering, UCLA, Los Angeles, CA, United States
- Department of Neurosurgery, Brain Injury Research Center, David Geffen School of Medicine, UCLA, Los Angeles, CA, United States
| | - Mayumi L. Prins
- Steve Tisch BrainSPORT Program, Department of Pediatrics and Neurosurgery, David Geffen School of Medicine, UCLA, Los Angeles, CA, United States
- Department of Bioengineering, UCLA, Los Angeles, CA, United States
- Department of Neurosurgery, Brain Injury Research Center, David Geffen School of Medicine, UCLA, Los Angeles, CA, United States
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14
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Lathuiliere A, Jo Y, Perbet R, Donahue C, Commins C, Quittot N, Fan Z, Bennett RE, Hyman BT. Specific detection of tau seeding activity in Alzheimer's disease using rationally designed biosensor cells. Mol Neurodegener 2023; 18:53. [PMID: 37553663 PMCID: PMC10408046 DOI: 10.1186/s13024-023-00643-2] [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: 03/09/2023] [Accepted: 07/28/2023] [Indexed: 08/10/2023] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND The prion-like propagation of tau in neurodegenerative disorders implies that misfolded pathological tau can recruit the normal protein and template its aggregation. Here, we report the methods for the development of sensitive biosensor cell lines for the detection of tau seeding activity. RESULTS We performed the rational design of novel tau probes based on the current structural knowledge of pathological tau aggregates in Alzheimer's disease. We generated Förster resonance energy transfer (FRET)-based biosensor stable cell lines and characterized their sensitivity, specificity, and overall ability to detect bioactive tau in human samples. As compared to the reference biosensor line, the optimized probe design resulted in an increased efficiency in the detection of tau seeding. The increased sensitivity allowed for the detection of lower amount of tau seeding competency in human brain samples, while preserving specificity for tau seeds found in Alzheimer's disease. CONCLUSIONS This next generation of FRET-based biosensor cells is a novel tool to study tau seeding activity in Alzheimer's disease human samples, especially in samples with low levels of seeding activity, which may help studying early tau-related pathological events.
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Affiliation(s)
- Aurelien Lathuiliere
- Department of Neurology, Massachusetts General Hospital/Harvard Medical School, 114 16Th Street, Charlestown, MA, 02129, USA
- Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
- Memory Center, Department of Rehabilitation and Geriatrics, Geneva University Hospital and University of Geneva, Geneva, Switzerland
| | - Youhwa Jo
- Department of Neurology, Massachusetts General Hospital/Harvard Medical School, 114 16Th Street, Charlestown, MA, 02129, USA
| | - Romain Perbet
- Department of Neurology, Massachusetts General Hospital/Harvard Medical School, 114 16Th Street, Charlestown, MA, 02129, USA
- Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Cameron Donahue
- Department of Neurology, Massachusetts General Hospital/Harvard Medical School, 114 16Th Street, Charlestown, MA, 02129, USA
| | - Caitlin Commins
- Department of Neurology, Massachusetts General Hospital/Harvard Medical School, 114 16Th Street, Charlestown, MA, 02129, USA
| | - Noé Quittot
- Department of Neurology, Massachusetts General Hospital/Harvard Medical School, 114 16Th Street, Charlestown, MA, 02129, USA
- Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Zhanyun Fan
- Department of Neurology, Massachusetts General Hospital/Harvard Medical School, 114 16Th Street, Charlestown, MA, 02129, USA
| | - Rachel E Bennett
- Department of Neurology, Massachusetts General Hospital/Harvard Medical School, 114 16Th Street, Charlestown, MA, 02129, USA
- Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Bradley T Hyman
- Department of Neurology, Massachusetts General Hospital/Harvard Medical School, 114 16Th Street, Charlestown, MA, 02129, USA.
- Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA.
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15
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Wuestefeld A, Pichet Binette A, Berron D, Spotorno N, van Westen D, Stomrud E, Mattsson-Carlgren N, Strandberg O, Smith R, Palmqvist S, Glenn T, Moes S, Honer M, Arfanakis K, Barnes LL, Bennett DA, Schneider JA, Wisse LEM, Hansson O. Age-related and amyloid-beta-independent tau deposition and its downstream effects. Brain 2023; 146:3192-3205. [PMID: 37082959 PMCID: PMC10393402 DOI: 10.1093/brain/awad135] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/14/2022] [Revised: 03/20/2023] [Accepted: 04/06/2023] [Indexed: 04/22/2023] Open
Abstract
Amyloid-β (Aβ) is hypothesized to facilitate the spread of tau pathology beyond the medial temporal lobe. However, there is evidence that, independently of Aβ, age-related tau pathology might be present outside of the medial temporal lobe. We therefore aimed to study age-related Aβ-independent tau deposition outside the medial temporal lobe in two large cohorts and to investigate potential downstream effects of this on cognition and structural measures. We included 545 cognitively unimpaired adults (40-92 years) from the BioFINDER-2 study (in vivo) and 639 (64-108 years) from the Rush Alzheimer's Disease Center cohorts (ex vivo). 18F-RO948- and 18F-flutemetamol-PET standardized uptake value ratios were calculated for regional tau and global/regional Aβ in vivo. Immunohistochemistry was used to estimate Aβ load and tangle density ex vivo. In vivo medial temporal lobe volumes (subiculum, cornu ammonis 1) and cortical thickness (entorhinal cortex, Brodmann area 35) were obtained using Automated Segmentation for Hippocampal Subfields packages. Thickness of early and late neocortical Alzheimer's disease regions was determined using FreeSurfer. Global cognition and episodic memory were estimated to quantify cognitive functioning. In vivo age-related tau deposition was observed in the medial temporal lobe and in frontal and parietal cortical regions, which was statistically significant when adjusting for Aβ. This was also observed in individuals with low Aβ load. Tau deposition was negatively associated with cortical volumes and thickness in temporal and parietal regions independently of Aβ. The associations between age and cortical volume or thickness were partially mediated via tau in regions with early Alzheimer's disease pathology, i.e. early tau and/or Aβ pathology (subiculum/Brodmann area 35/precuneus/posterior cingulate). Finally, the associations between age and cognition were partially mediated via tau in Brodmann area 35, even when including Aβ-PET as covariate. Results were validated in the ex vivo cohort showing age-related and Aβ-independent increases in tau aggregates in and outside the medial temporal lobe. Ex vivo age-cognition associations were mediated by medial and inferior temporal tau tangle density, while correcting for Aβ density. Taken together, our study provides support for primary age-related tauopathy even outside the medial temporal lobe in vivo and ex vivo, with downstream effects on structure and cognition. These results have implications for our understanding of the spreading of tau outside the medial temporal lobe, also in the context of Alzheimer's disease. Moreover, this study suggests the potential utility of tau-targeting treatments in primary age-related tauopathy, likely already in preclinical stages in individuals with low Aβ pathology.
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Affiliation(s)
- Anika Wuestefeld
- Clinical Memory Research Unit, Department of Clinical Sciences Malmö, Lund University, SE-222 42 Lund, Sweden
| | - Alexa Pichet Binette
- Clinical Memory Research Unit, Department of Clinical Sciences Malmö, Lund University, SE-222 42 Lund, Sweden
| | - David Berron
- Clinical Memory Research Unit, Department of Clinical Sciences Malmö, Lund University, SE-222 42 Lund, Sweden
- German Center for Neurodegenerative Diseases (DZNE), 39120 Magdeburg, Germany
| | - Nicola Spotorno
- Clinical Memory Research Unit, Department of Clinical Sciences Malmö, Lund University, SE-222 42 Lund, Sweden
| | - Danielle van Westen
- Department of Diagnostic Radiology, Clinical Sciences, Lund University, SE-222 42 Lund, Sweden
- Image and Function, Skåne University Hospital, SE-205 02 Malmö, Sweden
| | - Erik Stomrud
- Clinical Memory Research Unit, Department of Clinical Sciences Malmö, Lund University, SE-222 42 Lund, Sweden
- Memory Clinic, Skåne University Hospital, SE-205 02 Malmö, Sweden
| | - Niklas Mattsson-Carlgren
- Clinical Memory Research Unit, Department of Clinical Sciences Malmö, Lund University, SE-222 42 Lund, Sweden
- Department of Neurology, Skåne University Hospital, SE-205 02 Malmö, Sweden
- Wallenberg Center for Molecular Medicine, Lund University, 221 84 Lund, Sweden
| | - Olof Strandberg
- Clinical Memory Research Unit, Department of Clinical Sciences Malmö, Lund University, SE-222 42 Lund, Sweden
| | - Ruben Smith
- Clinical Memory Research Unit, Department of Clinical Sciences Malmö, Lund University, SE-222 42 Lund, Sweden
- Department of Neurology, Skåne University Hospital, SE-205 02 Malmö, Sweden
| | - Sebastian Palmqvist
- Clinical Memory Research Unit, Department of Clinical Sciences Malmö, Lund University, SE-222 42 Lund, Sweden
- Memory Clinic, Skåne University Hospital, SE-205 02 Malmö, Sweden
| | - Trevor Glenn
- Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD 21287, USA
| | - Svenja Moes
- Roche Pharmaceutical Research and Early Development, Roche Innovation Center Basel, F. Hoffmann-La Roche Ltd, CH-4070 Basel, Switzerland
| | - Michael Honer
- Roche Pharmaceutical Research and Early Development, Roche Innovation Center Basel, F. Hoffmann-La Roche Ltd, CH-4070 Basel, Switzerland
| | - Konstantinos Arfanakis
- Rush Alzheimer’s Disease Center, Rush University Medical Center, Chicago, IL 60612, USA
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, Illinois Institute of Technology, Chicago, IL 60616, USA
| | - Lisa L Barnes
- Rush Alzheimer’s Disease Center, Rush University Medical Center, Chicago, IL 60612, USA
| | - David A Bennett
- Rush Alzheimer’s Disease Center, Rush University Medical Center, Chicago, IL 60612, USA
- Department of Neurological Sciences, Rush University Medical Center, Chicago, IL 60612, USA
| | - Julie A Schneider
- Rush Alzheimer’s Disease Center, Rush University Medical Center, Chicago, IL 60612, USA
- Department of Neurological Sciences, Rush University Medical Center, Chicago, IL 60612, USA
| | - Laura E M Wisse
- Department of Diagnostic Radiology, Clinical Sciences, Lund University, SE-222 42 Lund, Sweden
| | - Oskar Hansson
- Clinical Memory Research Unit, Department of Clinical Sciences Malmö, Lund University, SE-222 42 Lund, Sweden
- Memory Clinic, Skåne University Hospital, SE-205 02 Malmö, Sweden
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16
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Manca M, Standke HG, Browne DF, Huntley ML, Thomas OR, Orrú CD, Hughson AG, Kim Y, Zhang J, Tatsuoka C, Zhu X, Hiniker A, Coughlin DG, Galasko D, Kraus A. Tau seeds occur before earliest Alzheimer's changes and are prevalent across neurodegenerative diseases. Acta Neuropathol 2023; 146:31-50. [PMID: 37154939 PMCID: PMC10261243 DOI: 10.1007/s00401-023-02574-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/01/2022] [Revised: 04/06/2023] [Accepted: 04/07/2023] [Indexed: 05/10/2023]
Abstract
Tau neurofibrillary tangles are a hallmark of Alzheimer's disease neuropathological change. However, it remains largely unclear how distinctive Alzheimer's disease tau seeds (i.e. 3R/4R) correlate with histological indicators of tau accumulation. Furthermore, AD tau co-pathology is thought to influence features and progression of other neurodegenerative diseases including Lewy body disease; yet measurements of different types of tau seeds in the setting of such diseases is an unmet need. Here, we use tau real-time quaking-induced conversion (RT-QuIC) assays to selectively quantitate 3R/4R tau seeds in the frontal lobe which accumulates histologically identifiable tau pathology at late disease stages of AD neuropathologic change. Seed quantitation across a spectrum of neurodegenerative disease cases and controls indicated tau seeding activity can be detected well before accompanying histopathological indication of tau deposits, and even prior to the earliest evidence of Alzheimer's-related tau accumulation anywhere in the brain. In later stages of AD, 3R/4R tau RT-QuIC measures correlated with immunohistochemical tau burden. In addition, Alzheimer's tau seeds occur in the vast majority of cases evaluated here inclusive of primary synucleinopathies, frontotemporal lobar degeneration and even controls albeit at multi-log lower levels than Alzheimer's cases. α-synuclein seeding activity confirmed synucleinopathy cases and further indicated the co-occurrence of α-synuclein seeds in some Alzheimer's disease and primary tauopathy cases. Our analysis indicates that 3R/4R tau seeds in the mid-frontal lobe correlate with the overall Braak stage and Alzheimer's disease neuropathologic change, supporting the quantitative predictive value of tau RT-QuIC assays. Our data also indicate 3R/4R tau seeds are elevated in females compared to males at high (≥ IV) Braak stages. This study suggests 3R/4R tau seeds are widespread even prior to the earliest stages of Alzheimer's disease changes, including in normal, and even young individuals, with prevalence across multiple neurodegenerative diseases to further define disease subtypes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Matteo Manca
- Department of Pathology, Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine, 2103 Cornell Road, Cleveland, OH, 44106, USA
| | - Heidi G Standke
- Department of Pathology, Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine, 2103 Cornell Road, Cleveland, OH, 44106, USA
| | - Danielle F Browne
- Department of Pathology, Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine, 2103 Cornell Road, Cleveland, OH, 44106, USA
| | - Mikayla L Huntley
- Department of Pathology, Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine, 2103 Cornell Road, Cleveland, OH, 44106, USA
| | - Olivia R Thomas
- Department of Pathology, Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine, 2103 Cornell Road, Cleveland, OH, 44106, USA
| | - Christina D Orrú
- Laboratory of Persistent Viral Diseases, Rocky Mountain Laboratories, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, National Institutes of Health, Hamilton, MT, 59840, USA
| | - Andrew G Hughson
- Laboratory of Persistent Viral Diseases, Rocky Mountain Laboratories, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, National Institutes of Health, Hamilton, MT, 59840, USA
| | - Yongya Kim
- Department of Neurosciences, University of California San Diego, San Diego, CA, 92093-0612, USA
| | - Jing Zhang
- Department of Population and Quantitative Health Sciences, Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine, Cleveland, OH, 44106, USA
| | - Curtis Tatsuoka
- Department of Medicine, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, 15232, USA
| | - Xiongwei Zhu
- Department of Pathology, Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine, 2103 Cornell Road, Cleveland, OH, 44106, USA
| | - Annie Hiniker
- Department of Pathology, University of California San Diego, San Diego, CA, 92093-0612, USA
| | - David G Coughlin
- Department of Neurosciences, University of California San Diego, San Diego, CA, 92093-0612, USA
| | - Douglas Galasko
- Department of Neurosciences, University of California San Diego, San Diego, CA, 92093-0612, USA
| | - Allison Kraus
- Department of Pathology, Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine, 2103 Cornell Road, Cleveland, OH, 44106, USA.
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Ramsden CE, Zamora D, Horowitz M, Jahanipour J, Keyes G, Li X, Murray HC, Curtis MA, Faull RM, Sedlock A, Maric D. ApoER2-Dab1 disruption as the origin of pTau-related neurodegeneration in sporadic Alzheimer's disease. RESEARCH SQUARE 2023:rs.3.rs-2968020. [PMID: 37461602 PMCID: PMC10350181 DOI: 10.21203/rs.3.rs-2968020/v1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 07/23/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Sporadic Alzheimer's disease (sAD) is not a global brain disease. Specific regions, layers and neurons degenerate early while others remain untouched even in advanced disease. The prevailing model used to explain this selective neurodegeneration-prion-like Tau spread-has key limitations and is not easily integrated with other defining sAD features. Instead, we propose that in humans Tau hyperphosphorylation occurs locally via disruption in ApoER2-Dab1 signaling and thus the presence of ApoER2 in neuronal membranes confers vulnerability to degeneration. Further, we propose that disruption of the Reelin/ApoE/ApoJ-ApoER2-Dab1-P85α-LIMK1-Tau-PSD95 (RAAAD-P-LTP) pathway induces deficits in memory and cognition by impeding neuronal lipoprotein internalization and destabilizing actin, microtubules, and synapses. This new model is based in part on our recent finding that ApoER2-Dab1 disruption is evident in entorhinal-hippocampal terminal zones in sAD. Here, we hypothesized that neurons that degenerate in the earliest stages of sAD (1) strongly express ApoER2 and (2) show evidence of ApoER2-Dab1 disruption through co-accumulation of multiple RAAAD-P-LTP components. METHODS We applied in situ hybridization and immunohistochemistry to characterize ApoER2 expression and accumulation of RAAAD-P-LTP components in five regions that are prone to early pTau pathology in 64 rapidly autopsied cases spanning the clinicopathological spectrum of sAD. RESULTS We found that: (1) selectively vulnerable neuron populations strongly express ApoER2; (2) numerous RAAAD-P-LTP pathway components accumulate in neuritic plaques and abnormal neurons; and (3) RAAAD-P-LTP components were higher in MCI and sAD cases and correlated with histological progression and cognitive deficits. Multiplex-IHC revealed that Dab1, pP85αTyr607, pLIMK1Thr508, pTau and pPSD95Thr19 accumulated together within dystrophic dendrites and soma of ApoER2-expressing neurons in the vicinity of ApoE/ApoJ-enriched extracellular plaques. These observations provide evidence for molecular derangements that can be traced back to ApoER2-Dab1 disruption, in each of the sampled regions, layers, and neuron populations that are prone to early pTau pathology. CONCLUSION Findings support the RAAAD-P-LTP hypothesis, a unifying model that implicates dendritic ApoER2-Dab1 disruption as the major driver of both pTau accumulation and neurodegeneration in sAD. This model provides a new conceptual framework to explain why specific neurons degenerate and identifies RAAAD-P-LTP pathway components as potential mechanism-based biomarkers and therapeutic targets for sAD.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Daisy Zamora
- National Institute on Aging Laboratory of Clinical Investigation
| | - Mark Horowitz
- National Institute on Aging Intramural Research Program
| | | | - Gregory Keyes
- National Institute on Aging Laboratory of Clinical Investigation
| | - Xiufeng Li
- National Institute on Aging Laboratory of Clinical Investigation
| | - Helen C Murray
- The University of Auckland Faculty of Medical and Health Sciences
| | - Maurice A Curtis
- The University of Auckland Faculty of Medical and Health Sciences
| | - Richard M Faull
- The University of Auckland Faculty of Medical and Health Sciences
| | - Andrea Sedlock
- NINDS: National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke
| | - Dragan Maric
- NINDS: National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke
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18
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Ramsden CE, Zamora D, Horowitz MS, Jahanipour J, Keyes GS, Li X, Murray HC, Curtis MA, Faull RM, Sedlock A, Maric D. ApoER2-Dab1 disruption as the origin of pTau-related neurodegeneration in sporadic Alzheimer's disease. MEDRXIV : THE PREPRINT SERVER FOR HEALTH SCIENCES 2023:2023.05.19.23290250. [PMID: 37333406 PMCID: PMC10274982 DOI: 10.1101/2023.05.19.23290250] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/20/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Sporadic Alzheimer's disease (sAD) is not a global brain disease. Specific regions, layers and neurons degenerate early while others remain untouched even in advanced disease. The prevailing model used to explain this selective neurodegeneration-prion-like Tau spread-has key limitations and is not easily integrated with other defining sAD features. Instead, we propose that in humans Tau hyperphosphorylation occurs locally via disruption in ApoER2-Dab1 signaling and thus the presence of ApoER2 in neuronal membranes confers vulnerability to degeneration. Further, we propose that disruption of the Reelin/ApoE/ApoJ-ApoER2-Dab1-P85α-LIMK1-Tau-PSD95 (RAAAD-P-LTP) pathway induces deficits in memory and cognition by impeding neuronal lipoprotein internalization and destabilizing actin, microtubules, and synapses. This new model is based in part on our recent finding that ApoER2-Dab1 disruption is evident in entorhinal-hippocampal terminal zones in sAD. Here, we hypothesized that neurons that degenerate in the earliest stages of sAD (1) strongly express ApoER2 and (2) show evidence of ApoER2-Dab1 disruption through co-accumulation of multiple RAAAD-P-LTP components. METHODS We applied in situ hybridization and immunohistochemistry to characterize ApoER2 expression and accumulation of RAAAD-P-LTP components in five regions that are prone to early pTau pathology in 64 rapidly autopsied cases spanning the clinicopathological spectrum of sAD. RESULTS We found that: (1) selectively vulnerable neuron populations strongly express ApoER2; (2) numerous RAAAD-P-LTP pathway components accumulate in neuritic plaques and abnormal neurons; and (3) RAAAD-P-LTP components were higher in MCI and sAD cases and correlated with histological progression and cognitive deficits. Multiplex-IHC revealed that Dab1, pP85αTyr607, pLIMK1Thr508, pTau and pPSD95Thr19 accumulated together within dystrophic dendrites and soma of ApoER2-expressing neurons in the vicinity of ApoE/ApoJ-enriched extracellular plaques. These observations provide evidence for molecular derangements that can be traced back to ApoER2-Dab1 disruption, in each of the sampled regions, layers, and neuron populations that are prone to early pTau pathology. CONCLUSION Findings support the RAAAD-P-LTP hypothesis, a unifying model that implicates dendritic ApoER2-Dab1 disruption as the major driver of both pTau accumulation and neurodegeneration in sAD. This model provides a new conceptual framework to explain why specific neurons degenerate and identifies RAAAD-P-LTP pathway components as potential mechanism-based biomarkers and therapeutic targets for sAD.
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Affiliation(s)
- Christopher E. Ramsden
- Lipid Peroxidation Unit, Laboratory of Clinical Investigation, National Institute on Aging, NIH 251 Bayview Blvd., Baltimore, MD, 21224, USA
- Intramural Program of the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, NIH, Bethesda, MD, 20892, USA
| | - Daisy Zamora
- Lipid Peroxidation Unit, Laboratory of Clinical Investigation, National Institute on Aging, NIH 251 Bayview Blvd., Baltimore, MD, 21224, USA
- Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, School of Medicine, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC, 27599, USA
| | - Mark S. Horowitz
- Lipid Peroxidation Unit, Laboratory of Clinical Investigation, National Institute on Aging, NIH 251 Bayview Blvd., Baltimore, MD, 21224, USA
| | - Jahandar Jahanipour
- Flow and Imaging Cytometry Core Facility, National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, NIH, Bethesda, MD, 20892, USA
| | - Gregory S. Keyes
- Lipid Peroxidation Unit, Laboratory of Clinical Investigation, National Institute on Aging, NIH 251 Bayview Blvd., Baltimore, MD, 21224, USA
| | - Xiufeng Li
- Lipid Peroxidation Unit, Laboratory of Clinical Investigation, National Institute on Aging, NIH 251 Bayview Blvd., Baltimore, MD, 21224, USA
| | - Helen C. Murray
- Department of Anatomy and Medical Imaging and Centre for Brain Research, Faculty of Medical and Health Science, University of Auckland, Private Bag, Auckland, 92019, New Zealand
- Laboratory of Functional and Molecular Imaging, National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, NIH, Bethesda, MD, 20892, USA
| | - Maurice A. Curtis
- Department of Anatomy and Medical Imaging and Centre for Brain Research, Faculty of Medical and Health Science, University of Auckland, Private Bag, Auckland, 92019, New Zealand
| | - Richard M. Faull
- Department of Anatomy and Medical Imaging and Centre for Brain Research, Faculty of Medical and Health Science, University of Auckland, Private Bag, Auckland, 92019, New Zealand
| | - Andrea Sedlock
- Flow and Imaging Cytometry Core Facility, National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, NIH, Bethesda, MD, 20892, USA
| | - Dragan Maric
- Flow and Imaging Cytometry Core Facility, National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, NIH, Bethesda, MD, 20892, USA
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19
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Song Z, Wang KW, Hagar HTC, Chen HR, Kuan CY, Zhang K, Kuo MH. Hyperphosphorylated tau Inflicts Intracellular Stress Responses That Are Mitigated by Apomorphine. BIORXIV : THE PREPRINT SERVER FOR BIOLOGY 2023:2023.05.13.540661. [PMID: 37292976 PMCID: PMC10245566 DOI: 10.1101/2023.05.13.540661] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/10/2023]
Abstract
Background Abnormal phosphorylation of the microtubule-binding protein tau in the brain is a key pathological marker for Alzheimer's disease and additional neurodegenerative tauopathies. However, how hyperphosphorylated tau causes cellular dysfunction or death that underlie neurodegeneration remains an unsolved question critical for the understanding of disease mechanism and the design of efficacious drugs. Methods Using a recombinant hyperphosphorylated tau protein (p-tau) synthesized by the PIMAX approach, we examined how cells responded to the cytotoxic tau and explored means to enhance cellular resistance to tau attack. Results Upon p-tau uptake, the intracellular calcium levels rose promptly. Gene expression analyses revealed that p-tau potently triggered endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress, Unfolded Protein Response (UPR), ER stress-associated apoptosis, and pro-inflammation in cells. Proteomics studies showed that p-tau diminished heme oxygenase-1 (HO-1), an ER stress associated anti-inflammation and anti-oxidative stress regulator, while stimulated the accumulation of MIOS and other proteins. P-tau-induced ER stress-associated apoptosis and pro-inflammation are ameliorated by apomorphine, a brain-permeable prescription drug widely used to treat Parkinson's disease symptoms, and by overexpression of HO-1. Conclusion Our results reveal probable cellular functions targeted by hyperphosphorylated tau. Some of these dysfunctions and stress responses have been linked to neurodegeneration in Alzheimer's disease. The observations that the ill effects of p-tau can be mitigated by a small compound and by overexpressing HO-1 that is otherwise diminished in the treated cells inform new directions of Alzheimer's disease drug discovery.
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20
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Abbate C. The Adult Neurogenesis Theory of Alzheimer's Disease. J Alzheimers Dis 2023:JAD221279. [PMID: 37182879 DOI: 10.3233/jad-221279] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/16/2023]
Abstract
Alzheimer's disease starts in neural stem cells (NSCs) in the niches of adult neurogenesis. All primary factors responsible for pathological tau hyperphosphorylation are inherent to adult neurogenesis and migration. However, when amyloid pathology is present, it strongly amplifies tau pathogenesis. Indeed, the progressive accumulation of extracellular amyloid-β deposits in the brain triggers a state of chronic inflammation by microglia. Microglial activation has a significant pro-neurogenic effect that fosters the process of adult neurogenesis and supports neuronal migration. Unfortunately, this "reactive" pro-neurogenic activity ultimately perturbs homeostatic equilibrium in the niches of adult neurogenesis by amplifying tau pathogenesis in AD. This scenario involves NSCs in the subgranular zone of the hippocampal dentate gyrus in late-onset AD (LOAD) and NSCs in the ventricular-subventricular zone along the lateral ventricles in early-onset AD (EOAD), including familial AD (FAD). Neuroblasts carrying the initial seed of tau pathology travel throughout the brain via neuronal migration driven by complex signals and convey the disease from the niches of adult neurogenesis to near (LOAD) or distant (EOAD) brain regions. In these locations, or in close proximity, a focus of degeneration begins to develop. Then, tau pathology spreads from the initial foci to large neuronal networks along neural connections through neuron-to-neuron transmission.
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Affiliation(s)
- Carlo Abbate
- IRCCS Fondazione Don Carlo Gnocchi ONLUS, Milan, Italy
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21
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Liu F, Wu R, Jin N, Chu D, Gu J, Tung YC, Hu Z, Gong CX, Iqbal K. Two simple assays for assessing the seeding activity of proteopathic tau. Front Aging Neurosci 2023; 15:1073774. [PMID: 37091523 PMCID: PMC10117769 DOI: 10.3389/fnagi.2023.1073774] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/18/2022] [Accepted: 03/17/2023] [Indexed: 04/08/2023] Open
Abstract
The regional distribution of neurofibrillary tangles of hyperphosphorylated tau aggregates is associated with the progression of Alzheimer’s disease (AD). Misfolded proteopathic tau recruits naïve tau and templates its misfolding and aggregation in a prion-like fashion, which is believed to be the molecular basis of propagation of tau pathology. A practical way to assess tau seeding activity is to measure its ability to recruit/bind other tau molecules and to induce tau aggregation. Based on the properties of proteopathic tau, here we report the development of two simple assays to assess tau seeding activity ----- capture assay in vitro and seeded-tau aggregation assay in cultured cells. In the capture assay, proteopathic tau was applied onto a nitrocellulose membrane and the membrane was incubated with cell lysate containing HA-tagged tau151-391 (HA-tau151-391). The captured tau on the membrane was determined by immuno-blots developed with anti-HA. For the seeded-tau aggregation assay, HEK-293FT cells transiently expressing HA-tau151-391 were treated with proteopathic tau in the presence of Lipofectamine 2000 and then lysed with RIPA buffer. RIPA-insoluble fraction containing aggregated tau was obtained by ultracentrifugation and analyzed by immuno-blot developed with anti-HA. To validate these two assays, we assessed the seeding activity of tau in the middle frontal gyrus, middle temporal gyrus and basal forebrain of AD and control brains and found that AD, but not control, brain extracts effectively captured and seeded tau151-391 aggregation. Basal forebrain contained less phospho-tau and tau seeding activity. The levels of captured tau or seeded-tau aggregates were positively correlated to the levels of phospho-tau, Braak stages and tangle sores. These two assays are specific and sensitive and can be carried out in a regular biomedical laboratory setting by using routine biochemical techniques.
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Affiliation(s)
- Fei Liu
- Department of Neurochemistry, Inge Grundke-Iqbal Research Floor, New York State Institute for Basic Research in Developmental Disabilities, New York, NY, United States
- *Correspondence: Fei Liu, ;
| | - Ruozhen Wu
- Department of Neurochemistry, Inge Grundke-Iqbal Research Floor, New York State Institute for Basic Research in Developmental Disabilities, New York, NY, United States
- Key Laboratory of Neuroregeneration of Jiangsu and Ministry of Education of China, Nantong University, Nantong, Jiangsu, China
| | - Nana Jin
- Department of Neurochemistry, Inge Grundke-Iqbal Research Floor, New York State Institute for Basic Research in Developmental Disabilities, New York, NY, United States
- Key Laboratory of Neuroregeneration of Jiangsu and Ministry of Education of China, Nantong University, Nantong, Jiangsu, China
| | - Dandan Chu
- Department of Neurochemistry, Inge Grundke-Iqbal Research Floor, New York State Institute for Basic Research in Developmental Disabilities, New York, NY, United States
- Key Laboratory of Neuroregeneration of Jiangsu and Ministry of Education of China, Nantong University, Nantong, Jiangsu, China
| | - Jianlan Gu
- Department of Neurochemistry, Inge Grundke-Iqbal Research Floor, New York State Institute for Basic Research in Developmental Disabilities, New York, NY, United States
- Key Laboratory of Neuroregeneration of Jiangsu and Ministry of Education of China, Nantong University, Nantong, Jiangsu, China
| | - Yunn Chyn Tung
- Department of Neurochemistry, Inge Grundke-Iqbal Research Floor, New York State Institute for Basic Research in Developmental Disabilities, New York, NY, United States
| | - Zhihao Hu
- Department of Neurochemistry, Inge Grundke-Iqbal Research Floor, New York State Institute for Basic Research in Developmental Disabilities, New York, NY, United States
| | - Cheng-Xin Gong
- Department of Neurochemistry, Inge Grundke-Iqbal Research Floor, New York State Institute for Basic Research in Developmental Disabilities, New York, NY, United States
| | - Khalid Iqbal
- Department of Neurochemistry, Inge Grundke-Iqbal Research Floor, New York State Institute for Basic Research in Developmental Disabilities, New York, NY, United States
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22
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Ayoub CA, Wagner CS, Kuret J. Identification of gene networks mediating regional resistance to tauopathy in late-onset Alzheimer’s disease. PLoS Genet 2023; 19:e1010681. [PMID: 36972319 PMCID: PMC10079065 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pgen.1010681] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/18/2022] [Revised: 04/06/2023] [Accepted: 02/24/2023] [Indexed: 03/29/2023] Open
Abstract
Neurofibrillary lesions composed of tau protein aggregates are defining hallmarks of Alzheimer’s Disease. Despite tau filaments appearing to spread between networked brain regions in a prion-like manner, certain areas including cerebellum resist trans-synaptic spread of tauopathy and degeneration of their constituent neuronal cell bodies. To identify molecular correlates of resistance, we derived and implemented a ratio of ratios approach for disaggregating gene expression data on the basis of regional vulnerability to tauopathic neurodegeneration. When applied to vulnerable pre-frontal cortex as an internal reference for resistant cerebellum, the approach segregated adaptive changes in expression into two components. The first was enriched for neuron-derived transcripts associated with proteostasis including specific members of the molecular chaperone family and was unique to resistant cerebellum. When produced as purified proteins, each of the identified chaperones depressed aggregation of 2N4R tau in vitro at sub-stoichiometric concentrations, consistent with the expression polarity deduced from ratio of ratios testing. In contrast, the second component enriched for glia- and microglia-derived transcripts associated with neuroinflammation, segregating these pathways from susceptibility to tauopathy. These data support the utility of ratio of ratios testing for establishing the polarity of gene expression changes with respect to selective vulnerability. The approach has the potential to identify new targets for drug discovery predicated on their ability to promote resistance to disease in vulnerable neuron populations.
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Affiliation(s)
- Christopher A. Ayoub
- Biomedical Sciences Graduate Program, Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio, United States of America
- Medical Scientist Training Program, Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio, United States of America
- * E-mail: (CAA); (JK)
| | - Connor S. Wagner
- Department of Biological Chemistry & Pharmacology, Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio, United States of America
| | - Jeff Kuret
- Department of Biological Chemistry & Pharmacology, Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio, United States of America
- * E-mail: (CAA); (JK)
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Kapoor M, Chinnathambi S. TGF-β1 signalling in Alzheimer's pathology and cytoskeletal reorganization: a specialized Tau perspective. J Neuroinflammation 2023; 20:72. [PMID: 36915196 PMCID: PMC10012507 DOI: 10.1186/s12974-023-02751-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 11.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/13/2022] [Accepted: 02/23/2023] [Indexed: 03/16/2023] Open
Abstract
Microtubule-associated protein, Tau has been implicated in Alzheimer's disease for its detachment from microtubules and formation of insoluble intracellular aggregates within the neurons. Recent findings have suggested the expulsion of Tau seeds in the extracellular domain and their prion-like propagation between neurons. Transforming Growth Factor-β1 (TGF-β1) is a ubiquitously occurring cytokine reported to carry out immunomodulation and neuroprotection in the brain. TGF-β-mediated regulation occurs at the level of neuronal survival and differentiation, glial activation (astrocyte and microglia), amyloid production-distribution-clearance and neurofibrillary tangle formation, all of which contributes to Alzheimer's pathophysiology. Its role in the reorganization of cytoskeletal architecture and remodelling of extracellular matrix to facilitate cellular migration has been well-documented. Microglia are the resident immune sentinels of the brain responsible for surveying the local microenvironment, migrating towards the beacon of pertinent damage and phagocytosing the cellular debris or patho-protein deposits at the site of insult. Channelizing microglia to target extracellular Tau could be a good strategy to combat the prion-like transmission and seeding problem in Alzheimer's disease. The current review focuses on reaffirming the role of TGF-β1 signalling in Alzheimer's pathology and cytoskeletal reorganization and considers utilizing the approach of TGF-β-triggered microglia-mediated targeting of extracellular patho-protein, Tau, as a possible potential strategy to combat Alzheimer's disease.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mahima Kapoor
- Neurobiology Group, Division of Biochemical Sciences, CSIR-National Chemical Laboratory (CSIR-NCL), Dr. Homi Bhabha Road, 411008, Pune, India.,Academy of Scientific and Innovative Research (AcSIR), Ghaziabad, 201002, India
| | - Subashchandrabose Chinnathambi
- Neurobiology Group, Division of Biochemical Sciences, CSIR-National Chemical Laboratory (CSIR-NCL), Dr. Homi Bhabha Road, 411008, Pune, India. .,Academy of Scientific and Innovative Research (AcSIR), Ghaziabad, 201002, India. .,Department of Neurochemistry, National Institute of Mental Health and Neuro Sciences (NIMHANS), Institute of National Importance, Hosur Road, Bangalore, 560029, Karnataka, India.
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24
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I F. The unique neuropathological vulnerability of the human brain to aging. Ageing Res Rev 2023; 87:101916. [PMID: 36990284 DOI: 10.1016/j.arr.2023.101916] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/27/2023] [Revised: 03/19/2023] [Accepted: 03/21/2023] [Indexed: 03/30/2023]
Abstract
Alzheimer's disease (AD)-related neurofibrillary tangles (NFT), argyrophilic grain disease (AGD), aging-related tau astrogliopathy (ARTAG), limbic predominant TDP-43 proteinopathy (LATE), and amygdala-predominant Lewy body disease (LBD) are proteinopathies that, together with hippocampal sclerosis, progressively appear in the elderly affecting from 50% to 99% of individuals aged 80 years, depending on the disease. These disorders usually converge on the same subject and associate with additive cognitive impairment. Abnormal Tau, TDP-43, and α-synuclein pathologies progress following a pattern consistent with an active cell-to-cell transmission and abnormal protein processing in the host cell. However, cell vulnerability and transmission pathways are specific for each disorder, albeit abnormal proteins may co-localize in particular neurons. All these alterations are unique or highly prevalent in humans. They all affect, at first, the archicortex and paleocortex to extend at later stages to the neocortex and other regions of the telencephalon. These observations show that the phylogenetically oldest areas of the human cerebral cortex and amygdala are not designed to cope with the lifespan of actual humans. New strategies aimed at reducing the functional overload of the human telencephalon, including optimization of dream repair mechanisms and implementation of artificial circuit devices to surrogate specific brain functions, appear promising.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ferrer I
- Department of Pathology and Experimental Therapeutics, University of Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain; Emeritus Researcher of the Bellvitge Institute of Biomedical Research (IDIBELL), Barcelona, Spain; Biomedical Research Network of Neurodegenerative Diseases (CIBERNED), Barcelona, Spain; Institute of Neurosciences, University of Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain; Hospitalet de Llobregat, Barcelona, Spain.
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25
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Condello C, Merz GE, Aoyagi A, DeGrado WF, Prusiner SB. Aβ and Tau Prions Causing Alzheimer's Disease. Methods Mol Biol 2023; 2561:293-337. [PMID: 36399277 DOI: 10.1007/978-1-0716-2655-9_16] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/16/2023]
Abstract
Studies show that patients with Alzheimer's disease (AD) have both Aβ and tau prions, and thus, AD is a double-prion disease. AD patients with the greatest longevity exhibited low levels of both Aβ and tau prions; tau prions were nearly absent in the brains of almost half of the patients who lived beyond 80 years of age. Using cellular bioassays for prions in postmortem samples, we found that both Aβ and tau proteins misfold into prions leading to AD, which is either a sporadic or familial dementing disorder. Although AD is transmissible experimentally, there is no evidence that AD is either communicable or contagious. Since the progression of AD correlates poorly with insoluble Aβ in the central nervous system (CNS), it was difficult to distinguish between inert amyloids and Aβ prions. To measure the progression of AD, we devised rapid bioassays to measure the abundance of isoform-specific Aβ prions in the brains of transgenic (Tg) mice and in postmortem human CNS samples from AD victims and people who died of other neurodegenerative diseases (NDs). We found significant correlations between the longevity of individuals with AD, sex, and genetic background, despite the fact that all postmortem brain tissue had essentially the same confirmed neuropathology.Although brains from all AD patients had measurable levels of Aβ prions at death, the oldest individuals had lower Aβ prion levels than the younger ones. Additionally, the long-lived individuals had low tau prion levels that correlated with the extent of phosphorylated tau (p-tau). Unexpectedly, a longevity-dependent decrease in tau prions was found in spite of increasing amounts of total insoluble tau. When corrected for the abundance of insoluble tau, the tau prion levels decreased exponentially with respect to the age at death with a half-time of approximately one decade, and this correlated with the abundance of phosphorylated tau.Even though our findings with tau prions were not unexpected, they were counterintuitive; thus, tau phosphorylation and tau prion activity decreased exponentially with longevity in patients with AD ranging from ages 37 to 99 years. Our findings demonstrated an inverse correlation between longevity in AD patients and the abundance of neurotoxic tau prions. Moreover, our discovery may have profound implications for the selection of phenotypically distinct patient populations and the development of diagnostics and effective therapeutics for AD.
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Affiliation(s)
- Carlo Condello
- Institute for Neurodegenerative Diseases, Weill Institute for Neurosciences, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA.
- Department of Neurology, Weill Institute for Neurosciences, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA.
| | - Gregory E Merz
- Institute for Neurodegenerative Diseases, Weill Institute for Neurosciences, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA
| | - Atsushi Aoyagi
- Institute for Neurodegenerative Diseases, Weill Institute for Neurosciences, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA
- Daiichi Sankyo Co., Ltd., Tokyo, Japan
| | - William F DeGrado
- Institute for Neurodegenerative Diseases, Weill Institute for Neurosciences, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA
- Department of Pharmaceutical Chemistry, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA
| | - Stanley B Prusiner
- Institute for Neurodegenerative Diseases, Weill Institute for Neurosciences, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA.
- Department of Neurology, Weill Institute for Neurosciences, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA.
- Department of Biochemistry and Biophysics, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA.
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26
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Tzioras M, McGeachan RI, Durrant CS, Spires-Jones TL. Synaptic degeneration in Alzheimer disease. Nat Rev Neurol 2023; 19:19-38. [PMID: 36513730 DOI: 10.1038/s41582-022-00749-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 90] [Impact Index Per Article: 90.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 11/04/2022] [Indexed: 12/15/2022]
Abstract
Alzheimer disease (AD) is characterized by progressive cognitive decline in older individuals accompanied by the presence of two pathological protein aggregates - amyloid-β and phosphorylated tau - in the brain. The disease results in brain atrophy caused by neuronal loss and synapse degeneration. Synaptic loss strongly correlates with cognitive decline in both humans and animal models of AD. Indeed, evidence suggests that soluble forms of amyloid-β and tau can cause synaptotoxicity and spread through neural circuits. These pathological changes are accompanied by an altered phenotype in the glial cells of the brain - one hypothesis is that glia excessively ingest synapses and modulate the trans-synaptic spread of pathology. To date, effective therapies for the treatment or prevention of AD are lacking, but understanding how synaptic degeneration occurs will be essential for the development of new interventions. Here, we highlight the mechanisms through which synapses degenerate in the AD brain, and discuss key questions that still need to be answered. We also cover the ways in which our understanding of the mechanisms of synaptic degeneration is leading to new therapeutic approaches for AD.
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Affiliation(s)
- Makis Tzioras
- Centre for Discovery Brain Sciences, The University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, UK.,UK Dementia Research Institute, The University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, UK
| | - Robert I McGeachan
- Centre for Discovery Brain Sciences, The University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, UK.,UK Dementia Research Institute, The University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, UK.,The Hospital for Small Animals, Royal (Dick) School of Veterinary Studies, The University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, UK
| | - Claire S Durrant
- Centre for Discovery Brain Sciences, The University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, UK.,UK Dementia Research Institute, The University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, UK
| | - Tara L Spires-Jones
- Centre for Discovery Brain Sciences, The University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, UK. .,UK Dementia Research Institute, The University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, UK.
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27
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Hossain I, Blennow K, Posti JP, Zetterberg H. Tau as a fluid biomarker of concussion and neurodegeneration. CONCUSSION (LONDON, ENGLAND) 2022; 7:CNC98. [PMID: 36687115 PMCID: PMC9841393 DOI: 10.2217/cnc-2022-0004] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/08/2022] [Accepted: 11/16/2022] [Indexed: 12/12/2022]
Abstract
Concussion is predominant among the vast number of traumatic brain injuries that occur worldwide. Difficulties in timely identification, whether concussion led to neuronal injury or not, diagnosis and the lack of prognostic tools for adequate management could lead this type of brain injury to progressive neurodegenerative diseases. Tau has been extensively studied in recent years, particularly in repetitive mild traumatic brain injuries and sports-related concussions. Tauopathies, the group of neurodegenerative diseases, have also been studied with advanced functional imaging. Nevertheless, neurodegenerative diseases, such as chronic traumatic encephalopathy, are still conclusively diagnosed at autopsy. Here, we discuss the diagnostic dilemma and the relationship between concussion and neurodegenerative diseases and review the literature on tau as a promising biomarker for concussion.
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Affiliation(s)
- Iftakher Hossain
- Department of Neurosurgery, Neurocenter, Turku University Hospital, Finland,Turku Brain Injury Center, Turku University Hospital, Finland,Department of Clinical Neurosciences, University of Turku, Finland,Department of Clinical Neurosciences, Neurosurgery Unit, University of Cambridge, Addenbrooke's Hospital, Cambridge, UK,Author for correspondence: Tel.: +358 2 313 0282;
| | - Kaj Blennow
- Institute of Neuroscience & Physiology, Department of Psychiatry & Neurochemistry, The Sahlgrenska Academy at the University of Gothenburg, Mölndal, Sweden,Clinical Neurochemistry Laboratory, Sahlgrenska University Hospital, Mölndal, Sweden
| | - Jussi P Posti
- Department of Neurosurgery, Neurocenter, Turku University Hospital, Finland,Turku Brain Injury Center, Turku University Hospital, Finland,Department of Clinical Neurosciences, University of Turku, Finland
| | - Henrik Zetterberg
- Institute of Neuroscience & Physiology, Department of Psychiatry & Neurochemistry, The Sahlgrenska Academy at the University of Gothenburg, Mölndal, Sweden,Clinical Neurochemistry Laboratory, Sahlgrenska University Hospital, Mölndal, Sweden,Department of Neurodegenerative Disease, UCL Institute of Neurology, Queen Square, London, UK,UK Dementia Research Institute at UCL, University College London, London, UK,Hong Kong Center for Neurodegenerative Diseases, Hong Kong, China
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Hromadkova L, Siddiqi MK, Liu H, Safar JG. Populations of Tau Conformers Drive Prion-like Strain Effects in Alzheimer's Disease and Related Dementias. Cells 2022; 11:2997. [PMID: 36230957 PMCID: PMC9562632 DOI: 10.3390/cells11192997] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/19/2022] [Revised: 09/13/2022] [Accepted: 09/23/2022] [Indexed: 11/16/2022] Open
Abstract
Recent findings of diverse populations of prion-like conformers of misfolded tau protein expand the prion concept to Alzheimer's disease (AD) and monogenic frontotemporal lobar degeneration (FTLD)-MAPT P301L, and suggest that distinct strains of misfolded proteins drive the phenotypes and progression rates in many neurodegenerative diseases. Notable progress in the previous decades has generated many lines of proof arguing that yeast, fungal, and mammalian prions determine heritable as well as infectious traits. The extraordinary phenotypic diversity of human prion diseases arises from structurally distinct prion strains that target, at different progression speeds, variable brain structures and cells. Although human prion research presents beneficial lessons and methods to study the mechanism of strain diversity of protein-only pathogens, the fundamental molecular mechanism by which tau conformers are formed and replicate in diverse tauopathies is still poorly understood. In this review, we summarize up to date advances in identification of diverse tau conformers through biophysical and cellular experimental paradigms, and the impact of heterogeneity of pathological tau strains on personalized structure- and strain-specific therapeutic approaches in major tauopathies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lenka Hromadkova
- Department of Pathology, Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine, Cleveland, OH 44106, USA
| | | | - He Liu
- Department of Nutrition, Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine, Cleveland, OH 44106, USA
| | - Jiri G. Safar
- Department of Pathology, Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine, Cleveland, OH 44106, USA
- Department of Neurology, Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine, Cleveland, OH 44106, USA
- Department of Neuroscience, Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine, Cleveland, OH 44106, USA
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29
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Jin N, Gu J, Wu R, Chu D, Tung YC, Wegiel J, Wisniewski T, Gong CX, Iqbal K, Liu F. Tau seeding activity in various regions of down syndrome brain assessed by two novel assays. Acta Neuropathol Commun 2022; 10:132. [PMID: 36064460 PMCID: PMC9446852 DOI: 10.1186/s40478-022-01436-2] [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: 06/22/2022] [Accepted: 08/23/2022] [Indexed: 11/24/2022] Open
Abstract
Propagation of tau pathology via the seeding of naive tau aggregation underlies the progression of Alzheimer's disease (AD) and related tauopathies. Individuals with Down syndrome (DS) develop tau pathology at the fourth decade of life, but tau seeding activity in DS brain has not yet been determined. To measure tau seeding activity, we developed capture assay and seeded-tau aggregation assay with truncated tau151-391. By using brain extracts from AD and related tauopathies, we validated these two methods and found that the brain extracts from AD and related tauopathies, but not from controls and the diseases in which tau was not hyperphosphorylated, captured in vitro and seeded 3R-tau151-391 and 4R-tau151-391 to aggregate in cultured cells similarly. Captured tau151-391 levels were strongly correlated with the seeded-tau151-391 aggregation. Employing these two newly developed assays, we analyzed tau seeding activity in the temporal (TC), frontal (FC), and occipital cortex (OC); corpus callosum (CC); and cerebellar cortex (CBC) of DS and control brains. We found that the extracts of TC, FC, or OC, but not the CC or CBC of DS or the corresponding brain regions of control cases, captured tau151-391. Levels of the captured tau151-391 by brain extracts were positively correlated with their levels of phosphorylated tau. Extracts of cerebral cortex and CC, but not CBC of DS with a similar tau level, induced more tau151-391 aggregation than did the corresponding samples from the control cases. Thus, higher tau seeding activity associated with tau hyperphosphorylation was found in the TC, FC, and OC of DS compared with the corresponding control regions as well as with the CBC and CC of DS. Of note, these two assays are sensitive, specific, and repeatable at a low cost and provide a platform for measuring tau seeding activity and for drug screening that targets tau propagation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nana Jin
- Department of Neurochemistry, Inge Grundke-Iqbal Research Floor, New York State Institute for Basic Research in Developmental Disabilities, Staten Island, NY, 10314, USA
- Key Laboratory of Neuroregeneration of Jiangsu and Ministry of Education of China, Nantong University, Nantong, Jiangsu, 226001, China
| | - Jianlan Gu
- Department of Neurochemistry, Inge Grundke-Iqbal Research Floor, New York State Institute for Basic Research in Developmental Disabilities, Staten Island, NY, 10314, USA
- Key Laboratory of Neuroregeneration of Jiangsu and Ministry of Education of China, Nantong University, Nantong, Jiangsu, 226001, China
| | - Ruozhen Wu
- Department of Neurochemistry, Inge Grundke-Iqbal Research Floor, New York State Institute for Basic Research in Developmental Disabilities, Staten Island, NY, 10314, USA
- Key Laboratory of Neuroregeneration of Jiangsu and Ministry of Education of China, Nantong University, Nantong, Jiangsu, 226001, China
| | - Dandan Chu
- Key Laboratory of Neuroregeneration of Jiangsu and Ministry of Education of China, Nantong University, Nantong, Jiangsu, 226001, China
| | - Yunn Chyn Tung
- Department of Neurochemistry, Inge Grundke-Iqbal Research Floor, New York State Institute for Basic Research in Developmental Disabilities, Staten Island, NY, 10314, USA
| | - Jerzy Wegiel
- Department of Developmental Neurobiology, New York State Institute for Basic Research in Developmental Disabilities, Staten Island, NY, 10314, USA
| | - Thomas Wisniewski
- Center for Cognitive Neurology, Departments of Neurology, Pathology, and Psychiatry, NYU Grossman School of Medicine, New York, NY, 10016, USA
| | - Cheng-Xin Gong
- Department of Neurochemistry, Inge Grundke-Iqbal Research Floor, New York State Institute for Basic Research in Developmental Disabilities, Staten Island, NY, 10314, USA
| | - Khalid Iqbal
- Department of Neurochemistry, Inge Grundke-Iqbal Research Floor, New York State Institute for Basic Research in Developmental Disabilities, Staten Island, NY, 10314, USA
| | - Fei Liu
- Department of Neurochemistry, Inge Grundke-Iqbal Research Floor, New York State Institute for Basic Research in Developmental Disabilities, Staten Island, NY, 10314, USA.
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30
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Mandino F, Yeow LY, Bi R, Sejin L, Bae HG, Baek SH, Lee CY, Mohammad H, Horien C, Teoh CL, Lee JH, Lai MK, Jung S, Fu Y, Olivo M, Gigg J, Grandjean J. The lateral entorhinal cortex is a hub for local and global dysfunction in early Alzheimer's disease states. J Cereb Blood Flow Metab 2022; 42:1616-1631. [PMID: 35466772 PMCID: PMC9441719 DOI: 10.1177/0271678x221082016] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/03/2022]
Abstract
Functional network activity alterations are one of the earliest hallmarks of Alzheimer's disease (AD), detected prior to amyloidosis and tauopathy. Better understanding the neuronal underpinnings of such network alterations could offer mechanistic insight into AD progression. Here, we examined a mouse model (3xTgAD mice) recapitulating this early AD stage. We found resting functional connectivity loss within ventral networks, including the entorhinal cortex, aligning with the spatial distribution of tauopathy reported in humans. Unexpectedly, in contrast to decreased connectivity at rest, 3xTgAD mice show enhanced fMRI signal within several projection areas following optogenetic activation of the entorhinal cortex. We corroborate this finding by demonstrating neuronal facilitation within ventral networks and synaptic hyperexcitability in projection targets. 3xTgAD mice, thus, reveal a dichotomic hypo-connected:resting versus hyper-responsive:active phenotype. This strong homotopy between the areas affected supports the translatability of this pathophysiological model to tau-related, early-AD deficits in humans.
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Affiliation(s)
- Francesca Mandino
- Singapore Bioimaging Consortium, Agency for Science, Technology and Research, Singapore.,Faculty of Biology, Medicine and Health, The University of Manchester, Manchester, UK.,Department of Radiology and Bioimaging Sciences, Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, USA
| | - Ling Yun Yeow
- Singapore Bioimaging Consortium, Agency for Science, Technology and Research, Singapore
| | - Renzhe Bi
- Singapore Bioimaging Consortium, Agency for Science, Technology and Research, Singapore
| | - Lee Sejin
- Singapore Bioimaging Consortium, Agency for Science, Technology and Research, Singapore
| | - Han Gyu Bae
- Singapore Bioimaging Consortium, Agency for Science, Technology and Research, Singapore.,Department of Life Sciences, Yeungnam University, Gyeongsan, South Korea
| | - Seung Hyun Baek
- Singapore Bioimaging Consortium, Agency for Science, Technology and Research, Singapore
| | - Chun-Yao Lee
- Singapore Bioimaging Consortium, Agency for Science, Technology and Research, Singapore
| | - Hasan Mohammad
- Singapore Bioimaging Consortium, Agency for Science, Technology and Research, Singapore
| | - Corey Horien
- Department of Radiology and Bioimaging Sciences, Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, USA
| | - Chai Lean Teoh
- Singapore Bioimaging Consortium, Agency for Science, Technology and Research, Singapore
| | - Jasinda H Lee
- Department of Pharmacology, Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine, National University of Singapore, Singapore
| | - Mitchell Kp Lai
- Department of Pharmacology, Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine, National University of Singapore, Singapore
| | - Sangyong Jung
- Singapore Bioimaging Consortium, Agency for Science, Technology and Research, Singapore
| | - Yu Fu
- Singapore Bioimaging Consortium, Agency for Science, Technology and Research, Singapore
| | - Malini Olivo
- Singapore Bioimaging Consortium, Agency for Science, Technology and Research, Singapore
| | - John Gigg
- Faculty of Biology, Medicine and Health, The University of Manchester, Manchester, UK
| | - Joanes Grandjean
- Singapore Bioimaging Consortium, Agency for Science, Technology and Research, Singapore.,Department of Radiology and Nuclear Medicine & Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition, and Behaviour, Donders Institute, Radboud University Medical Centre, The Netherlands
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31
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Zeng Z, Fichou Y, Vigers M, Tsay K, Han S. Illuminating the Structural Basis of Tau Aggregation by Intramolecular Distance Tracking: A Perspective on Methods. J Phys Chem B 2022; 126:6384-6395. [PMID: 35994024 DOI: 10.1021/acs.jpcb.2c02022] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Abstract
The aggregation of the tau protein is central to several neurodegenerative diseases, collectively known as tauopathies. High-resolution views of tau tangles accumulated under pathological conditions in post-mortem brains have been revealed recently by cryogenic electron microscopy. One of the striking discoveries was that fibril folds are unique to and homogeneous within one disease family, but typically different between different tauopathies. It is widely believed that seeded aggregation can achieve structural propagation of tau fibrils and generate pathological fibril structures. However, direct molecular level measurement of structural evolution during aggregation is missing. Here, we discuss our perspective on the biophysical approaches that can contribute to the ongoing debate regarding the prion-like propagation of tau and the role of cofactors. We discuss the unique potential of double electron-electron resonance (DEER)-based intramolecular distance measurement, sensitive to two to several nanometers distances. DEER can track the structural evolution of tau along the course of aggregation from the completely disordered state, to partially ordered and highly ordered fibril states, and has the potential to be a key tool to elucidate the disease-specific tau aggregation pathways.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zhikai Zeng
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of California Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara, California 93106, United States
| | - Yann Fichou
- CNRS, Chemistry and Biology of Membranes and Nanoobjects (CBMN) UMR 5348, Institut Europeen de Chimie et Biologie (IECB), University of Bordeaux, 33600 Pessac, France
| | - Michael Vigers
- Department of Chemical Engineering, University of California Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara, California 93106, United States
| | - Karen Tsay
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of California Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara, California 93106, United States
| | - Songi Han
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of California Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara, California 93106, United States.,Department of Chemical Engineering, University of California Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara, California 93106, United States
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32
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Trans-channel fluorescence learning improves high-content screening for Alzheimer’s disease therapeutics. NAT MACH INTELL 2022; 4:583-595. [DOI: 10.1038/s42256-022-00490-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/07/2023]
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Song L, Oseid DE, Wells EA, Coaston T, Robinson AS. Heparan Sulfate Proteoglycans (HSPGs) Serve as the Mediator Between Monomeric Tau and Its Subsequent Intracellular ERK1/2 Pathway Activation. J Mol Neurosci 2022; 72:772-791. [PMID: 35040015 PMCID: PMC8763444 DOI: 10.1007/s12031-021-01943-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [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: 06/21/2021] [Accepted: 11/06/2021] [Indexed: 12/15/2022]
Abstract
The conversion of soluble tau protein to insoluble, hyperphosphorylated neurofibrillary tangles (NFTs) is a major hallmark leading to neuronal death observed in neurodegenerative tauopathies. Unlike NFTs, the involvement of monomeric tau in the progression of tau pathology has been less investigated. Using live-cell confocal microscopy and flow cytometry, we demonstrate that soluble 0N4R monomers were rapidly endocytosed by SH-SY5Y and C6 glioma cells via actin-dependent macropinocytosis. Further, cellular endocytosis of monomeric tau has been demonstrated to be HSPG-dependent, as shown in C6 glial cells with genetic knockouts of xylosyltransferase-1—a key enzyme in HSPG synthesis—with a reduced level of tau uptake. Tau internalization subsequently triggers ERK1/2 activation and therefore, the upregulation of IL-6 and IL-1β. The role of ERK1/2 in regulating the levels of pro-inflammatory gene transcripts was confirmed by inhibiting the MEK-ERK1/2 signaling pathway, which led to the attenuated IL-6 and IL-1β expressions but not that of TNF-α. Moreover, as a key regulator of tau internalization, LRP1 (low-density lipoprotein receptor-related protein 1) levels were downregulated in response to monomeric tau added to C6 cells, while it was upregulated in HSPG-deficient cells, suggesting that the involvement of LRP1 in tau uptake depends on the presence of HSPGs on the cell surface. The subsequent LRP1 knockdown experiment we performed shows that LRP1 deficiency leads to an attenuated propensity for tau uptake and further elevated IL-6 gene expression. Collectively, our data suggest that tau has multiple extracellular binding partners that mediate its internalization through distinct mechanisms. Additionally, this study demonstrates the important role of both HSPGs and LRP1 in regulating cellular immune responses to tau protein monomers, providing a novel target for alleviating the neuroinflammatory environment before the formation of neurofibrillary tangles.
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Affiliation(s)
- Liqing Song
- Department of Chemical Engineering, Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, PA, 15213, USA
| | - Daniel E Oseid
- Tulane Brain Institute, Tulane University, New Orleans, LA, 70118, USA
| | - Evan A Wells
- Department of Chemical Engineering, Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, PA, 15213, USA
| | - Troy Coaston
- Tulane Brain Institute, Tulane University, New Orleans, LA, 70118, USA
| | - Anne S Robinson
- Department of Chemical Engineering, Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, PA, 15213, USA.
- Tulane Brain Institute, Tulane University, New Orleans, LA, 70118, USA.
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Llamas-Rodríguez J, Oltmer J, Greve DN, Williams E, Slepneva N, Wang R, Champion S, Lang-Orsini M, Fischl B, Frosch MP, van der Kouwe AJ, Augustinack JC. Entorhinal Subfield Vulnerability to Neurofibrillary Tangles in Aging and the Preclinical Stage of Alzheimer's Disease. J Alzheimers Dis 2022; 87:1379-1399. [PMID: 35491780 PMCID: PMC9198759 DOI: 10.3233/jad-215567] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 03/25/2022] [Indexed: 12/15/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Neurofibrillary tangle (NFT) accumulation in the entorhinal cortex (EC) precedes the transformation from cognitive controls to mild cognitive impairment and Alzheimer's disease (AD). While tauopathy has been described in the EC before, the order and degree to which the individual subfields within the EC are engulfed by NFTs in aging and the preclinical AD stage is unknown. OBJECTIVE We aimed to investigate substructures within the EC to map the populations of cortical neurons most vulnerable to tau pathology in aging and the preclinical AD stage. METHODS We characterized phosphorylated tau (CP13) in 10 cases at eight well-defined anterior-posterior levels and assessed NFT density within the eight entorhinal subfields (described by Insausti and colleagues) at the preclinical stages of AD. We validated with immunohistochemistry and labeled the NFT density ratings on ex vivo MRIs. We measured subfield cortical thickness and reconstructed the labels as three-dimensional isosurfaces, resulting in anatomically comprehensive, histopathologically validated tau "heat maps." RESULTS We found the lateral EC subfields ELc, ECL, and ECs (lateral portion) to have the highest tau density in semi-quantitative scores and quantitative measurements. We observed significant stepwise higher tau from anterior to posterior levels (p < 0.001). We report an age-dependent anatomically-specific vulnerability, with all cases showing posterior tau pathology, yet older individuals displaying an additional anterior tau burden. Finally, cortical thickness of each subfield negatively correlated with respective tau scores (p < 0.05). CONCLUSION Our findings indicate that posterior-lateral subfields within the EC are the most vulnerable to early NFTs and atrophy in aging and preclinical AD.
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Affiliation(s)
- Josué Llamas-Rodríguez
- Department of Radiology, Athinoula A. Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging, Massachusetts General Hospital, Charlestown, MA, USA
| | - Jan Oltmer
- Department of Radiology, Athinoula A. Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging, Massachusetts General Hospital, Charlestown, MA, USA
| | - Douglas N. Greve
- Department of Radiology, Athinoula A. Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging, Massachusetts General Hospital, Charlestown, MA, USA
| | - Emily Williams
- Department of Radiology, Athinoula A. Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging, Massachusetts General Hospital, Charlestown, MA, USA
| | - Natalya Slepneva
- Department of Radiology, Athinoula A. Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging, Massachusetts General Hospital, Charlestown, MA, USA
| | - Ruopeng Wang
- Department of Radiology, Athinoula A. Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging, Massachusetts General Hospital, Charlestown, MA, USA
| | - Samantha Champion
- Department of Neuropathology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Melanie Lang-Orsini
- Department of Neuropathology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Bruce Fischl
- Department of Radiology, Athinoula A. Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging, Massachusetts General Hospital, Charlestown, MA, USA
- CSAIL/HST, MIT, Cambridge, MA, USA
| | - Matthew P. Frosch
- Department of Neuropathology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA, USA
| | - André J.W. van der Kouwe
- Department of Radiology, Athinoula A. Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging, Massachusetts General Hospital, Charlestown, MA, USA
| | - Jean C. Augustinack
- Department of Radiology, Athinoula A. Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging, Massachusetts General Hospital, Charlestown, MA, USA
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Abstract
In 1959, E. G. Gray described two different types of synapses in the brain for the first time: symmetric and asymmetric. Later on, symmetric synapses were associated with inhibitory terminals, and asymmetric synapses to excitatory signaling. The balance between these two systems is critical to maintain a correct brain function. Likewise, the modulation of both types of synapses is also important to maintain a healthy equilibrium. Cerebral circuitry responds differently depending on the type of damage and the timeline of the injury. For example, promoting symmetric signaling following ischemic damage is beneficial only during the acute phase; afterwards, it further increases the initial damage. Synapses can be also altered by players not directly related to them; the chronic and long-term neurodegeneration mediated by tau proteins primarily targets asymmetric synapses by decreasing neuronal plasticity and functionality. Dopamine represents the main modulating system within the central nervous system. Indeed, the death of midbrain dopaminergic neurons impairs locomotion, underlying the devastating Parkinson’s disease. Herein, we will review studies on symmetric and asymmetric synapses plasticity after three different stressors: symmetric signaling under acute damage—ischemic stroke; asymmetric signaling under chronic and long-term neurodegeneration—Alzheimer’s disease; symmetric and asymmetric synapses without modulation—Parkinson’s disease.
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36
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Tau seeding in chronic traumatic encephalopathy parallels disease severity. Acta Neuropathol 2021; 142:951-960. [PMID: 34626223 DOI: 10.1007/s00401-021-02373-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/17/2021] [Revised: 09/19/2021] [Accepted: 09/20/2021] [Indexed: 12/29/2022]
Abstract
Chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE), a neurodegenerative tauopathy, is associated with behavioral, mood and cognitive impairment, including dementia. Tauopathies are neurodegenerative diseases whose neuropathological phenotypes are characterized by distinct histopathologic features of tau pathology, which progressively deposit throughout the brain. In certain tauopathies, especially Alzheimer's disease (AD), tau deposition appears to follow brain network connections. Experimental evidence suggests that the progression of tau pathology in humans, mouse and cell models could be explained by tau seeds that adopt distinct conformations and serve as templates for their own amplification to mediate transcellular propagation of pathology. Tau seeds are efficiently detected by the induction of aggregation in cell-based "biosensors" that express tau repeat domain (RD) with a disease-associated mutation (P301S) fused to complementary fluorescent protein tags (cyan and yellow fluorescent protein). Biosensors enable quantification of tau seeding in fixed and fresh-frozen brain tissue. Phospho-tau deposition in CTE follows progressive stages (I-IV), but the relationship of seeding to this deposition is unclear. We have used an established biosensor assay to independently quantify tau seeding as compared to AT8 phospho-tau histopathology in thin sections of fixed tissues of 11 brain regions from 27 patients with CTE, 5 with other tauopathies, and 5 negative controls. In contrast to prior studies of AD, we detected tau seeding late in the course of CTE (predominantly stages III and IV). It was less anatomically prevalent than AT8-positive inclusions, which were relatively widespread. We especially observed seeding in the limbic system (amygdala, thalamus, basal ganglia), which may explain the dominant cognitive and behavior impairments that characterize CTE.
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Meisl G, Hidari E, Allinson K, Rittman T, DeVos SL, Sanchez JS, Xu CK, Duff KE, Johnson KA, Rowe JB, Hyman BT, Knowles TPJ, Klenerman D. In vivo rate-determining steps of tau seed accumulation in Alzheimer's disease. SCIENCE ADVANCES 2021; 7:eabh1448. [PMID: 34714685 PMCID: PMC8555892 DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.abh1448] [Citation(s) in RCA: 49] [Impact Index Per Article: 16.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/18/2021] [Accepted: 09/09/2021] [Indexed: 05/21/2023]
Abstract
Both the replication of protein aggregates and their spreading throughout the brain are implicated in the progression of Alzheimer’s disease (AD). However, the rates of these processes are unknown and the identity of the rate-determining process in humans has therefore remained elusive. By bringing together chemical kinetics with measurements of tau seeds and aggregates across brain regions, we can quantify their replication rate in human brains. Notably, we obtain comparable rates in several different datasets, with five different methods of tau quantification, from postmortem seed amplification assays to tau PET studies in living individuals. Our results suggest that from Braak stage III onward, local replication, rather than spreading between brain regions, is the main process controlling the overall rate of accumulation of tau in neocortical regions. The number of seeds doubles only every ∼5 years. Thus, limiting local replication likely constitutes the most promising strategy to control tau accumulation during AD.
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Affiliation(s)
- Georg Meisl
- Yusuf Hamied Department of Chemistry, University of Cambridge, Lensfield Road, Cambridge CB2 1EW, UK
| | - Eric Hidari
- Yusuf Hamied Department of Chemistry, University of Cambridge, Lensfield Road, Cambridge CB2 1EW, UK
- Department of Clinical Neurosciences, University of Cambridge, Biomedical Campus, Cambridge CB2 0QQ, UK
| | - Kieren Allinson
- Department of Clinical Neurosciences, University of Cambridge, Biomedical Campus, Cambridge CB2 0QQ, UK
| | - Timothy Rittman
- Department of Clinical Neurosciences, University of Cambridge, Biomedical Campus, Cambridge CB2 0QQ, UK
| | - Sarah L. DeVos
- Department of Neurology, Harvard Medical School, MassGeneral Institute for Neuro-degenerative Disease, Massachusetts General Hospital, Charlestown, MA 02114, USA
- Denali Therapeutics Inc., South San Francisco, CA 94080, USA
| | - Justin S. Sanchez
- Department of Neurology, Harvard Medical School, MassGeneral Institute for Neuro-degenerative Disease, Massachusetts General Hospital, Charlestown, MA 02114, USA
| | - Catherine K. Xu
- Yusuf Hamied Department of Chemistry, University of Cambridge, Lensfield Road, Cambridge CB2 1EW, UK
| | - Karen E. Duff
- Dementia Research Institute, University College London, London W1T 7NF, UK
| | - Keith A. Johnson
- Department of Neurology, Harvard Medical School, MassGeneral Institute for Neuro-degenerative Disease, Massachusetts General Hospital, Charlestown, MA 02114, USA
| | - James B. Rowe
- Department of Clinical Neurosciences, University of Cambridge, Biomedical Campus, Cambridge CB2 0QQ, UK
- Medical Research Council Cognition and Brain Sciences Unit, Cambridge CB2 7EF, UK
- Cambridge University Hospitals NHS Trust, Cambridge CB2 0SZ, UK
| | - Bradley T. Hyman
- Department of Neurology, Harvard Medical School, MassGeneral Institute for Neuro-degenerative Disease, Massachusetts General Hospital, Charlestown, MA 02114, USA
| | - Tuomas P. J. Knowles
- Yusuf Hamied Department of Chemistry, University of Cambridge, Lensfield Road, Cambridge CB2 1EW, UK
- Cavendish Laboratory, University of Cambridge, 19 JJ Thomson Avenue, Cambridge CB3 0HE, UK
| | - David Klenerman
- Yusuf Hamied Department of Chemistry, University of Cambridge, Lensfield Road, Cambridge CB2 1EW, UK
- UK Dementia Research Institute, University of Cambridge, Cambridge CB2 0XY, UK
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Stopschinski BE, Del Tredici K, Estill-Terpack SJ, Ghebremedhin E, Yu FF, Braak H, Diamond MI. Anatomic survey of seeding in Alzheimer's disease brains reveals unexpected patterns. Acta Neuropathol Commun 2021; 9:164. [PMID: 34635189 PMCID: PMC8507321 DOI: 10.1186/s40478-021-01255-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/03/2021] [Accepted: 09/03/2021] [Indexed: 12/31/2022] Open
Abstract
Tauopathies are heterogeneous neurodegenerative diseases defined by progressive brain accumulation of tau aggregates. The most common tauopathy, sporadic Alzheimer's disease (AD), involves progressive tau deposition that can be divided into specific stages of neurofibrillary tangle pathology. This classification is consistent with experimental data which suggests that network-based propagation is mediated by cell-cell transfer of tau "seeds", or assemblies, that serve as templates for their own replication. Until now, seeding assays of AD brain have largely been limited to areas previously defined by NFT pathology. We now expand this work to additional regions. We selected 20 individuals with AD pathology of NFT stages I, III, and V. We stained and classified 25 brain regions in each using the anti-phospho-tau monoclonal antibody AT8. We measured tau seeding in each of the 500 samples using a cell-based tau "biosensor" assay in which induction of intracellular tau aggregation is mediated by exogenous tau assemblies. We observed a progressive increase in tau seeding according to NFT stage. Seeding frequently preceded NFT pathology, e.g., in the basolateral subnucleus of the amygdala and the substantia nigra, pars compacta. We observed seeding in brain regions not previously known to develop tau pathology, e.g., the globus pallidus and internal capsule, where AT8 staining revealed mainly axonal accumulation of tau. AT8 staining in brain regions identified because of tau seeding also revealed pathology in a previously undescribed cell type: Bergmann glia of the cerebellar cortex. We also detected tau seeding in brain regions not previously examined, e.g., the intermediate reticular zone, dorsal raphe nucleus, amygdala, basal nucleus of Meynert, and olfactory bulb. In conclusion, tau histopathology and seeding are complementary analytical tools. Tau seeding assays reveal pathology in the absence of AT8 signal in some instances, and previously unrecognized sites of tau deposition. The variation in sites of seeding between individuals could underlie differences in the clinical presentation and course of AD.
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Affiliation(s)
- Barbara E Stopschinski
- Center for Alzheimer's and Neurodegenerative Diseases, Peter O'Donnell Jr. Brain Institute, NL10.120, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, 6000 Harry Hines Blvd., Dallas, TX, 75390, USA
| | - Kelly Del Tredici
- Clinical Neuroanatomy Section/Department of Neurology, Center for Biomedical Research, University of Ulm, Ulm, Germany
| | - Sandi-Jo Estill-Terpack
- Center for Alzheimer's and Neurodegenerative Diseases, Peter O'Donnell Jr. Brain Institute, NL10.120, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, 6000 Harry Hines Blvd., Dallas, TX, 75390, USA
| | | | - Fang F Yu
- Department for Radiology, Neuroradiology Division, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, TX, USA
| | - Heiko Braak
- Clinical Neuroanatomy Section/Department of Neurology, Center for Biomedical Research, University of Ulm, Ulm, Germany
| | - Marc I Diamond
- Center for Alzheimer's and Neurodegenerative Diseases, Peter O'Donnell Jr. Brain Institute, NL10.120, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, 6000 Harry Hines Blvd., Dallas, TX, 75390, USA.
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39
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Sexton C, Snyder H, Beher D, Boxer AL, Brannelly P, Brion JP, Buée L, Cacace AM, Chételat G, Citron M, DeVos SL, Diaz K, Feldman HH, Frost B, Goate AM, Gold M, Hyman B, Johnson K, Karch CM, Kerwin DR, Koroshetz WJ, Litvan I, Morris HR, Mummery CJ, Mutamba J, Patterson MC, Quiroz YT, Rabinovici GD, Rommel A, Shulman MB, Toledo-Sherman LM, Weninger S, Wildsmith KR, Worley SL, Carrillo MC. Current directions in tau research: Highlights from Tau 2020. Alzheimers Dement 2021; 18:988-1007. [PMID: 34581500 DOI: 10.1002/alz.12452] [Citation(s) in RCA: 35] [Impact Index Per Article: 11.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/13/2021] [Revised: 07/07/2021] [Accepted: 07/22/2021] [Indexed: 11/07/2022]
Abstract
Studies supporting a strong association between tau deposition and neuronal loss, neurodegeneration, and cognitive decline have heightened the allure of tau and tau-related mechanisms as therapeutic targets. In February 2020, leading tau experts from around the world convened for the first-ever Tau2020 Global Conference in Washington, DC, co-organized and cosponsored by the Rainwater Charitable Foundation, the Alzheimer's Association, and CurePSP. Representing academia, industry, government, and the philanthropic sector, presenters and attendees discussed recent advances and current directions in tau research. The meeting provided a unique opportunity to move tau research forward by fostering global partnerships among academia, industry, and other stakeholders and by providing support for new drug discovery programs, groundbreaking research, and emerging tau researchers. The meeting also provided an opportunity for experts to present critical research-advancing tools and insights that are now rapidly accelerating the pace of tau research.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | | | - Adam L Boxer
- Memory and Aging Center, Department of Neurology, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, California, USA
| | - Pat Brannelly
- Alzheimer's Disease Data Initiative, Kirkland, WI, USA
| | - Jean-Pierre Brion
- Laboratory of Histology, Neuroanatomy and Neuropathology, Faculty of Medicine, Université Libre de Bruxelles, Brussels, Belgium
| | - Luc Buée
- Univ Lille, Inserm, CHU-Lille, Lille Neuroscience and Cognition, Place de Verdun, Lille, France
| | | | - Gaël Chételat
- Normandie Univ, UNICAEN, INSERM, U1237, PhIND "Physiopathology and Imaging of Neurological Disorders", Institut Blood and Brain @ Caen-Normandie, Cyceron, Caen, France
| | - Martin Citron
- Neuroscience TA, Braine l'Alleud, UCB Biopharma, Brussels, Belgium
| | - Sarah L DeVos
- Translational Sciences, Denali Therapeutics, San Francisco, California, USA
| | | | - Howard H Feldman
- Alzheimer's Disease Cooperative Study, Department of Neurosciences, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, California, USA
| | - Bess Frost
- Sam & Ann Barshop Institute for Longevity and Aging Studies, Glenn Biggs Institute for Alzheimer's & Neurodegenerative Disorders, Department of Cell Systems & Anatomy, University of Texas Health San Antonio, San Antonio, Texas, USA
| | - Alison M Goate
- Ronald M. Loeb Center for Alzheimer's Disease, Department of Neuroscience, Department of Genetics and Genomic Sciences, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, New York, USA
| | - Michael Gold
- AbbVie, Neurosciences Development, North Chicago, Illinois, USA
| | - Bradley Hyman
- Department of Neurology, Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts, USA
| | - Keith Johnson
- Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts, USA
| | - Celeste M Karch
- Department of Psychiatry, Washington University in St. Louis, St. Louis, Missouri, USA
| | - Diana R Kerwin
- Kerwin Medical Center, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, Texas, USA
| | - Walter J Koroshetz
- National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, Bethesda, Maryland, USA
| | - Irene Litvan
- Parkinson and Other Movement Disorders Center, Department of Neurosciences, University of California San Diego, San Diego, California, USA
| | - Huw R Morris
- Department of Clinical and Movement Neuroscience, UCL Queen Square Institute of Neurology, London, UK
| | - Catherine J Mummery
- Dementia Research Centre, National Hospital for Neurology and Neurosurgery, University College London, London, UK
| | | | - Marc C Patterson
- Departments of Neurology, Pediatrics and Medical Genetics, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minnesota, USA
| | - Yakeel T Quiroz
- Departments of Neurology and Psychiatry, Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts, USA
| | - Gil D Rabinovici
- Memory & Aging Center, Departments of Neurology, Radiology & Biomedical Imaging, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, California, USA
| | - Amy Rommel
- Tau Consortium, Rainwater Charitable Foundation, Fort Worth, Texas, USA
| | - Melanie B Shulman
- Neurodegeneration Development Unit, Biogen, Boston, Massachusetts, USA
| | | | | | - Kristin R Wildsmith
- Department of Biomarker Development, Genentech, South San Francisco, California, USA
| | - Susan L Worley
- Independent science writer, Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania, USA
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40
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Zhao Y, Tan SW, Huang ZZ, Shan FB, Li P, Ning YL, Ye SY, Zhao ZA, Du H, Xiong RP, Yang N, Peng Y, Chen X, Zhou YG. NLRP3 Inflammasome-Dependent Increases in High Mobility Group Box 1 Involved in the Cognitive Dysfunction Caused by Tau-Overexpression. Front Aging Neurosci 2021; 13:721474. [PMID: 34539383 PMCID: PMC8446370 DOI: 10.3389/fnagi.2021.721474] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/07/2021] [Accepted: 08/10/2021] [Indexed: 11/29/2022] Open
Abstract
Tau hyperphosphorylation is a characteristic alteration present in a range of neurological conditions, such as traumatic brain injury (TBI) and neurodegenerative diseases. Treatments targeting high-mobility group box protein 1 (HMGB1) induce neuroprotective effects in these neuropathologic conditions. However, little is known about the interactions between hyperphosphorylated tau and HMGB1 in neuroinflammation. We established a model of TBI with controlled cortical impacts (CCIs) and a tau hyperphosphorylation model by injecting the virus encoding human P301S tau in mice, and immunofluorescence, western blotting analysis, and behavioral tests were performed to clarify the interaction between phosphorylated tau (p-tau) and HMGB1 levels. We demonstrated that p-tau and HMGB1 were elevated in the spatial memory-related brain regions in mice with TBI and tau-overexpression. Animals with tau-overexpression also had significantly increased nucleotide-binding oligomerization domain-like receptor pyrin domain-containing protein 3 (NLRP3) inflammasome activation, which manifested as increases in apoptosis-associated speck-like protein containing a caspase recruitment domain (ASC), activating caspase-1 and interleukin 1 beta (IL-1β) levels. In addition, NLRP3–/– mice and the HMGB1 inhibitor, glycyrrhizin, were used to explore therapeutic strategies for diseases with p-tau overexpression. Compared with wild-type (WT) mice with tau-overexpression, downregulation of p-tau and HMGB1 was observed in NLRP3–/– mice, indicating that HMGB1 alterations were NLRP3-dependent. Moreover, treatment with glycyrrhizin at a late stage markedly reduced p-tau levels and improved performance in the Y- and T-mazes and the ability of tau-overexpressing mice to build nests, which revealed improvements in spatial memory and advanced hippocampal function. The findings identified that p-tau has a triggering role in the modulation of neuroinflammation and spatial memory in an NLRP3-dependent manner, and suggest that treatment with HMGB1 inhibitors may be a better therapeutic strategy for tauopathies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yan Zhao
- Department of Army Occupational Disease, State Key Laboratory of Trauma, Burns and Combined Injury, Research Institute of Surgery, Daping Hospital, Army Medical University, Chongqing, China.,Institute of Brain and Intelligence, Army Medical University, Chongqing, China
| | - Si-Wei Tan
- Department of Army Occupational Disease, State Key Laboratory of Trauma, Burns and Combined Injury, Research Institute of Surgery, Daping Hospital, Army Medical University, Chongqing, China
| | - Zhi-Zhong Huang
- Department of Army Occupational Disease, State Key Laboratory of Trauma, Burns and Combined Injury, Research Institute of Surgery, Daping Hospital, Army Medical University, Chongqing, China
| | - Fa-Bo Shan
- Department of Army Occupational Disease, State Key Laboratory of Trauma, Burns and Combined Injury, Research Institute of Surgery, Daping Hospital, Army Medical University, Chongqing, China
| | - Ping Li
- Department of Army Occupational Disease, State Key Laboratory of Trauma, Burns and Combined Injury, Research Institute of Surgery, Daping Hospital, Army Medical University, Chongqing, China.,Institute of Brain and Intelligence, Army Medical University, Chongqing, China
| | - Ya-Lei Ning
- Department of Army Occupational Disease, State Key Laboratory of Trauma, Burns and Combined Injury, Research Institute of Surgery, Daping Hospital, Army Medical University, Chongqing, China.,Institute of Brain and Intelligence, Army Medical University, Chongqing, China
| | - Shi-Yang Ye
- Department of Army Occupational Disease, State Key Laboratory of Trauma, Burns and Combined Injury, Research Institute of Surgery, Daping Hospital, Army Medical University, Chongqing, China
| | - Zi-Ai Zhao
- Department of Neurology, General Hospital of Northern Theater Command, Shenyang, China
| | - Hao Du
- Department of Army Occupational Disease, State Key Laboratory of Trauma, Burns and Combined Injury, Research Institute of Surgery, Daping Hospital, Army Medical University, Chongqing, China
| | - Ren-Ping Xiong
- Department of Army Occupational Disease, State Key Laboratory of Trauma, Burns and Combined Injury, Research Institute of Surgery, Daping Hospital, Army Medical University, Chongqing, China
| | - Nan Yang
- Department of Army Occupational Disease, State Key Laboratory of Trauma, Burns and Combined Injury, Research Institute of Surgery, Daping Hospital, Army Medical University, Chongqing, China
| | - Yan Peng
- Department of Army Occupational Disease, State Key Laboratory of Trauma, Burns and Combined Injury, Research Institute of Surgery, Daping Hospital, Army Medical University, Chongqing, China
| | - Xing Chen
- Department of Army Occupational Disease, State Key Laboratory of Trauma, Burns and Combined Injury, Research Institute of Surgery, Daping Hospital, Army Medical University, Chongqing, China
| | - Yuan-Guo Zhou
- Department of Army Occupational Disease, State Key Laboratory of Trauma, Burns and Combined Injury, Research Institute of Surgery, Daping Hospital, Army Medical University, Chongqing, China.,Institute of Brain and Intelligence, Army Medical University, Chongqing, China
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41
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Small Neuron-Derived Extracellular Vesicles from Individuals with Down Syndrome Propagate Tau Pathology in the Wildtype Mouse Brain. J Clin Med 2021; 10:jcm10173931. [PMID: 34501378 PMCID: PMC8432237 DOI: 10.3390/jcm10173931] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/01/2021] [Revised: 08/24/2021] [Accepted: 08/28/2021] [Indexed: 12/11/2022] Open
Abstract
Individuals with Down syndrome (DS) exhibit Alzheimer's disease (AD) pathology at a young age, including amyloid plaques and neurofibrillary tangles (NFTs). Tau pathology can spread via extracellular vesicles, such as exosomes. The cargo of neuron-derived small extracellular vesicles (NDEVs) from individuals with DS contains p-Tau at an early age. The goal of the study was to investigate whether NDEVs isolated from the blood of individuals with DS can spread Tau pathology in the brain of wildtype mice. We purified NDEVs from the plasma of patients with DS-AD and controls and injected small quantities using stereotaxic surgery into the dorsal hippocampus of adult wildtype mice. Seeding competent Tau conformers were amplified in vitro from DS-AD NDEVs but not NDEVs from controls. One month or 4 months post-injection, we examined Tau pathology in mouse brains. We found abundant p-Tau immunostaining in the hippocampus of the mice injected with DS-AD NDEVs compared to injections of age-matched control NDEVs. Double labeling with neuronal and glial markers showed that p-Tau staining was largely found in neurons and, to a lesser extent, in glial cells and that p-Tau immunostaining was spreading along the corpus callosum and the medio-lateral axis of the hippocampus. These studies demonstrate that NDEVs from DS-AD patients exhibit Tau seeding capacity and give rise to tangle-like intracellular inclusions.
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42
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Huang X, Ying J, Yang D, Fang P, Wang X, Zhou B, Zhang L, Fang Y, Yu W, Liu X, Zhen Q, Hua F. The Mechanisms of Sevoflurane-Induced Neuroinflammation. Front Aging Neurosci 2021; 13:717745. [PMID: 34421578 PMCID: PMC8375153 DOI: 10.3389/fnagi.2021.717745] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/31/2021] [Accepted: 07/13/2021] [Indexed: 12/17/2022] Open
Abstract
Sevoflurane is one of the most commonly used inhaled anesthetics due to its low blood gas coefficient, fast onset, low airway irritation, and aromatic smell. However, recent studies have reported that sevoflurane exposure may have deleterious effects on cognitive function. Although neuroinflammation was most widely mentioned among the established mechanisms of sevoflurane-induced cognitive dysfunction, its upstream mechanisms have yet to be illustrated. Thus, we reviewed the relevant literature and discussed the most mentioned mechanisms, including the modulation of the microglial function, blood–brain barrier (BBB) breakdown, changes in gut microbiota, and ease of cholinergic neurotransmission to help us understand the properties of sevoflurane, providing us new perspectives for the prevention of sevoflurane-induced cognitive impairment.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xiangfei Huang
- Department of Anesthesiology, The Second Affiliated Hospital of Nanchang University, Nanchang, China.,Key Laboratory of Anesthesiology of Jiangxi Province, Nanchang, China
| | - Jun Ying
- Department of Anesthesiology, The Second Affiliated Hospital of Nanchang University, Nanchang, China.,Key Laboratory of Anesthesiology of Jiangxi Province, Nanchang, China
| | - Danying Yang
- Department of Anesthesiology, The Second Affiliated Hospital of Nanchang University, Nanchang, China.,Key Laboratory of Anesthesiology of Jiangxi Province, Nanchang, China
| | - Pu Fang
- Department of Neurology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Nanchang University, Nanchang, China
| | - Xifeng Wang
- Department of Anesthesiology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Nanchang University, Nanchang, China
| | - Bin Zhou
- Department of Anesthesiology, The Second Affiliated Hospital of Nanchang University, Nanchang, China.,Key Laboratory of Anesthesiology of Jiangxi Province, Nanchang, China
| | - Lieliang Zhang
- Department of Anesthesiology, The Second Affiliated Hospital of Nanchang University, Nanchang, China.,Key Laboratory of Anesthesiology of Jiangxi Province, Nanchang, China
| | - Yang Fang
- Department of Anesthesiology, The Second Affiliated Hospital of Nanchang University, Nanchang, China.,Key Laboratory of Anesthesiology of Jiangxi Province, Nanchang, China
| | - Wen Yu
- Department of Anesthesiology, The Second Affiliated Hospital of Nanchang University, Nanchang, China.,Key Laboratory of Anesthesiology of Jiangxi Province, Nanchang, China
| | - Xing Liu
- Department of Anesthesiology, The Second Affiliated Hospital of Nanchang University, Nanchang, China.,Key Laboratory of Anesthesiology of Jiangxi Province, Nanchang, China
| | - Qingcui Zhen
- Department of Anesthesiology, The Second Affiliated Hospital of Nanchang University, Nanchang, China.,Key Laboratory of Anesthesiology of Jiangxi Province, Nanchang, China
| | - Fuzhou Hua
- Department of Anesthesiology, The Second Affiliated Hospital of Nanchang University, Nanchang, China.,Key Laboratory of Anesthesiology of Jiangxi Province, Nanchang, China
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43
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McCann H, Durand B, Shepherd CE. Aging-Related Tau Astrogliopathy in Aging and Neurodegeneration. Brain Sci 2021; 11:brainsci11070927. [PMID: 34356161 PMCID: PMC8306417 DOI: 10.3390/brainsci11070927] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/10/2021] [Revised: 07/06/2021] [Accepted: 07/07/2021] [Indexed: 12/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Astrocytes are of vital importance to neuronal function and the health of the central nervous system (CNS), and astrocytic dysfunction as a primary or secondary event may predispose to neurodegeneration. Until recently, the main astrocytic tauopathies were the frontotemporal lobar degeneration with tau (FTLD-tau) group of disorders; however, aging-related tau astrogliopathy (ARTAG) has now been defined. This condition is a self-describing neuropathology mainly found in individuals over 60 years of age. Astrocytic tau accumulates with a thorny or granular/fuzzy morphology and is commonly found in normal aging as well as coexisting with diverse neurodegenerative disorders. However, there are still many unknown factors associated with ARTAG, including the cause/s, the progression, and the nature of any clinical associations. In addition to FTLD-tau, ARTAG has recently been associated with chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE), where it has been proposed as a potential precursor to these conditions, with the different ARTAG morphological subtypes perhaps having separate etiologies. This is an emerging area of exciting research that encompasses complex neurobiological and clinicopathological investigation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Heather McCann
- Neuroscience Research Australia, Barker Street, Sydney, NSW 2031, Australia; (H.M.); (B.D.)
| | - Briony Durand
- Neuroscience Research Australia, Barker Street, Sydney, NSW 2031, Australia; (H.M.); (B.D.)
| | - Claire E. Shepherd
- Neuroscience Research Australia, Barker Street, Sydney, NSW 2031, Australia; (H.M.); (B.D.)
- Department of Pathology, The University of New South Wales, Kensington, Sydney, NSW 2031, Australia
- Correspondence:
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44
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Schaler AW, Runyan AM, Clelland CL, Sydney EJ, Fowler SL, Figueroa HY, Shioda S, Santa-Maria I, Duff KE, Myeku N. PAC1 receptor-mediated clearance of tau in postsynaptic compartments attenuates tau pathology in mouse brain. Sci Transl Med 2021; 13:13/595/eaba7394. [PMID: 34039738 DOI: 10.1126/scitranslmed.aba7394] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/03/2020] [Revised: 09/22/2020] [Accepted: 01/09/2021] [Indexed: 12/30/2022]
Abstract
Accumulation of pathological tau in synapses has been identified as an early event in Alzheimer's disease (AD) and correlates with cognitive decline in patients with AD. Tau is a cytosolic axonal protein, but under disease conditions, tau accumulates in postsynaptic compartments and presynaptic terminals, due to missorting within neurons, transsynaptic transfer between neurons, or a failure of clearance pathways. Using subcellular fractionation of brain tissue from rTg4510 tau transgenic mice with tauopathy and human postmortem brain tissue from patients with AD, we found accumulation of seed-competent tau predominantly in postsynaptic compartments. Tau-mediated toxicity in postsynaptic compartments was exacerbated by impaired proteasome activity detected by measuring lysine-48 polyubiquitination of proteins targeted for proteasomal degradation. To combat the accumulation of tau and proteasome impairment in the postsynaptic compartments of rTg4510 mouse brain, we stimulated the pituitary adenylate cyclase-activating polypeptide (PACAP) type 1 receptor (PAC1R) with its ligand PACAP administered intracerebroventricularly to rTg4510 mice. We observed enhanced synaptic proteasome activity and reduced total tau in postsynaptic compartments in mouse brain after PACAP treatment. The clearance of tau from postsynaptic compartments correlated with attenuated tauopathy and improved cognitive performance of rTg4510 transgenic mice on two behavioral tests. These results suggest that activating PAC1R could prevent accumulation of aggregate-prone tau and indicate a potential therapeutic approach for AD and other tauopathies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ari W Schaler
- Taub Institute for Research on Alzheimer's Disease and the Aging Brain, Columbia University Irving Medical Center, New York, NY 10032, USA.,Department of Pathology and Cell Biology, Columbia University Irving Medical Center, New York, NY 10032, USA
| | - Avery M Runyan
- Taub Institute for Research on Alzheimer's Disease and the Aging Brain, Columbia University Irving Medical Center, New York, NY 10032, USA.,Department of Pathology and Cell Biology, Columbia University Irving Medical Center, New York, NY 10032, USA
| | - Catherine L Clelland
- Taub Institute for Research on Alzheimer's Disease and the Aging Brain, Columbia University Irving Medical Center, New York, NY 10032, USA.,Department of Pathology and Cell Biology, Columbia University Irving Medical Center, New York, NY 10032, USA
| | - Eric J Sydney
- Taub Institute for Research on Alzheimer's Disease and the Aging Brain, Columbia University Irving Medical Center, New York, NY 10032, USA.,Department of Pathology and Cell Biology, Columbia University Irving Medical Center, New York, NY 10032, USA
| | - Stephanie L Fowler
- U.K. Dementia Research Institute, University College London, London WC1E 6BT, UK
| | - Helen Y Figueroa
- Taub Institute for Research on Alzheimer's Disease and the Aging Brain, Columbia University Irving Medical Center, New York, NY 10032, USA.,Department of Pathology and Cell Biology, Columbia University Irving Medical Center, New York, NY 10032, USA
| | - Seiji Shioda
- Innovative Drug Discovery, Global Research Center for Innovative Life Science, Hoshi University, Tokyo 142-8501, Japan
| | - Ismael Santa-Maria
- Taub Institute for Research on Alzheimer's Disease and the Aging Brain, Columbia University Irving Medical Center, New York, NY 10032, USA.,Department of Pathology and Cell Biology, Columbia University Irving Medical Center, New York, NY 10032, USA
| | - Karen E Duff
- Taub Institute for Research on Alzheimer's Disease and the Aging Brain, Columbia University Irving Medical Center, New York, NY 10032, USA.,Department of Pathology and Cell Biology, Columbia University Irving Medical Center, New York, NY 10032, USA.,U.K. Dementia Research Institute, University College London, London WC1E 6BT, UK
| | - Natura Myeku
- Taub Institute for Research on Alzheimer's Disease and the Aging Brain, Columbia University Irving Medical Center, New York, NY 10032, USA. .,Department of Pathology and Cell Biology, Columbia University Irving Medical Center, New York, NY 10032, USA
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45
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Abstract
Tauopathies consist of over 25 different neurodegenerative diseases that include argyrophilic grain disease (AGD), progressive supranuclear palsy (PSP), corticobasal degeneration (CBD), and Pick’s disease (PiD). Tauopathies are defined by brain accumulation of microtubule-associated protein tau in fibrillar aggregates, whose prevalence strongly correlates with dementia. Dominant mutations in tau cause neurodegenerative diseases, and most increase its aggregation propensity. Pathogenesis of tauopathies may involve pathological tau conformers that serve as templates to recruit native protein into growing assemblies and also move between brain cells to cause disease progression, similar to prions. Prions adopt pathological conformations, termed “strains,” that stably propagate in living systems, and create unique patterns of neuropathology. Data from multiple laboratories now suggest that tau acts as a prion. It propagates unique strains indefinitely in cultured cells, and when these are inoculated into mouse models, they create defined neuropathological patterns, which establish a direct link between conformation and disease. In humans, distinct fibril structures are associated with different diseases, but causality has not been established as in mice. Cryo-EM structures of tau fibrils isolated from tauopathy brains reveal distinct fibril cores across disease. Interestingly, the conformation of the tau monomer unit within different fibril subtypes from the same patient appears relatively preserved. This is consistent with data that the tau monomer samples an ensemble of conformations that act as distinct pathologic templates in the formation of restricted numbers of strains. The propensity of a tau monomer to adopt distinct conformations appears to be linked to defined local motifs that expose different patterns of amyloidogenic amino acid sequences. The prion hypothesis, which predicts that protein structure dictates resultant disease, has proved particularly useful to understand the diversity of human tauopathies. The challenge now is to develop methods to rapidly classify patients according to the structure of the underlying pathological protein assemblies to achieve more accurate diagnosis and effective therapy.
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46
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Abstract
Pathogenesis of tauopathies involves conversion of tau monomer into pathological tau conformers that serve as templates to recruit native tau into growing assemblies. Small soluble tau seeds have been proposed to drive pathological tau assembly in vitro, in cells and in vivo. We have previously described the isolation of monomeric pathogenic tau seeds derived from recombinant samples and tauopathy tissues but in-depth biophysical characterization of these species has not been done. Here we describe a chromatographic method to isolate recombinant soluble tau seeds derived from heparin treatment. We used biochemical and biophysical approaches to show that the seeds are predominantly monomeric and have the capacity to nucleate aggregation of inert forms of tau in vitro and in cells. Finally, we used crosslinking mass spectrometry to identify the topological changes in tau as it converts from an inert state to a pathogenic seed. Future studies will reveal the relationship between soluble seeds and structural polymorphs derived from tauopathies to help diagnose and develop therapeutics targeting specific tauopathies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zhiqiang Hou
- Center for Alzheimer's and Neurodegenerative Diseases, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, TX, 75390, USA
| | - Dailu Chen
- Center for Alzheimer's and Neurodegenerative Diseases, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, TX, 75390, USA
- Molecular Biophysics Graduate Program, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, TX, 75390, USA
| | - Bryan D Ryder
- Center for Alzheimer's and Neurodegenerative Diseases, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, TX, 75390, USA
- Molecular Biophysics Graduate Program, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, TX, 75390, USA
| | - Lukasz A Joachimiak
- Center for Alzheimer's and Neurodegenerative Diseases, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, TX, 75390, USA.
- Department of Biochemistry, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, TX, 75390, USA.
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47
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Karelina T, Lerner S, Stepanov A, Meerson M, Demin O. Monoclonal antibody therapy efficacy can be boosted by combinations with other treatments: Predictions using an integrated Alzheimer's Disease Platform. CPT Pharmacometrics Syst Pharmacol 2021; 10:543-550. [PMID: 33818905 PMCID: PMC8213414 DOI: 10.1002/psp4.12628] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/28/2020] [Revised: 03/02/2021] [Accepted: 03/04/2021] [Indexed: 12/12/2022] Open
Abstract
For many years, clinical research in Alzheimer's disease (AD) has focused on attempts to identify the most explicit biomarker, namely amyloid beta. Unfortunately, the numerous therapies that have been developed have failed in clinical practice. AD arises as a consequence of multiple factors, and as such it requires a more mechanistic analytical approach than statistical modeling. Quantitative systems pharmacology modeling is a valuable tool for drug development. It utilizes in vitro data for the calibration of parameters, embeds them into physiologically based structures, and explores translation between animals and humans. Such an approach allows for a quantitative study of the dynamics of the interactions between multiple factors or variables. Here, we present an overview of the quantitative translational model in AD, which embraces current preclinical and clinical data. The previously published description of amyloid physiology has been updated and joined with a model for tau pathology and multiple intraneuronal processes responsible for cellular transport, metabolism, or proteostasis. In addition, several hypotheses regarding the best correlates of cognitive deterioration have been validated using clinical data. Here, the amyloid hypothesis was unable to predict the aducanumab clinical trial data, whereas simulations of cognitive impairment coupled with tau seeding or neuronal breakdown (expressed as caspase activity) matched the data. A satisfactory validation of the data from multiple preclinical and clinical studies was followed by an attempt to predict the results of combinatorial treatment with targeted immunotherapy and activation of autophagy using rapamycin. The combination is predicted to yield better efficacy than immunotherapy alone.
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48
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Hitt BD, Vaquer-Alicea J, Manon VA, Beaver JD, Kashmer OM, Garcia JN, Diamond MI. Ultrasensitive tau biosensor cells detect no seeding in Alzheimer's disease CSF. Acta Neuropathol Commun 2021; 9:99. [PMID: 34039426 PMCID: PMC8152020 DOI: 10.1186/s40478-021-01185-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 27] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/15/2021] [Accepted: 04/19/2021] [Indexed: 12/26/2022] Open
Abstract
Tau protein forms self-replicating assemblies (seeds) that may underlie progression of pathology in Alzheimer’s disease (AD) and related tauopathies. Seeding in recombinant protein preparations and brain homogenates has been quantified with “biosensor” cell lines that express tau with a disease-associated mutation (P301S) fused to complementary fluorescent proteins. Quantification of induced aggregation in cells that score positive by fluorescence resonance energy transfer (FRET) is accomplished by cell imaging or flow cytometry. Several groups have reported seeding activity in antemortem cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) using various methods, but these findings are not yet widely replicated. To address this question, we created two improved FRET-based biosensor cell lines based on tau expression, termed version 2 low (v2L) and version 2 high (v2H). We determined that v2H cells are ~ 100-fold more sensitive to AD-derived tau seeds than our original lines, and coupled with immunoprecipitation reliably detect seeding from samples containing as little as 100 attomoles of recombinant tau fibrils or ~ 32 pg of total protein from AD brain homogenate. We tested antemortem CSF from 11 subjects with a clinical diagnosis of AD, 9 confirmed by validated CSF biomarkers. We used immunoprecipitation coupled with seed detection in v2H cells and detected no tau seeding in any sample. Thus we cannot confirm prior reports of tau seeding activity in the CSF of AD patients. This next generation of ultra-sensitive tau biosensors may nonetheless be useful to the research community to quantify tau pathology as sensitively and specifically as possible.
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49
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Kamath TV, Klickstein N, Commins C, Fernandes AR, Oakley DH, Frosch MP, Hyman BT, Dujardin S. Kinetics of tau aggregation reveals patient-specific tau characteristics among Alzheimer's cases. Brain Commun 2021; 3:fcab096. [PMID: 34222869 PMCID: PMC8244646 DOI: 10.1093/braincomms/fcab096] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 03/17/2021] [Indexed: 12/11/2022] Open
Abstract
The accumulation of tau aggregates throughout the human brain is the hallmark of a number of neurodegenerative conditions classified as tauopathies. Increasing evidence shows that tau aggregation occurs in a 'prion-like' manner, in which a small amount of misfolded tau protein can induce other, naïve tau proteins to aggregate. Tau aggregates have been found to differ structurally among different tauopathies. Recently, however, we have suggested that tau oligomeric species may differ biochemically among individual patients with sporadic Alzheimer disease, and have also showed that the bioactivity of the tau species, measured using a cell-based bioassay, also varied among individuals. Here, we adopted a live-cell imaging approach to the standard cell-based bioassay to explore further whether the kinetics of aggregation also differentiated these patients. We found that aggregation can be observed to follow a consistent pattern in all cases, with a lag phase, a growth phase and a plateau phase, which each provide quantitative parameters by which we characterize the aggregation kinetics. The length of the lag phase and magnitude of the plateau phase are both dependent upon the concentration of seeding-competent tau, the relative enrichment of which differs among patients. The slope of the growth phase correlates with morphological differences in the tau aggregates, which may be reflective of underlying structural differences. This kinetic assay confirms and refines the concept of heterogeneity in the characteristics of tau proteopathic seeds among individuals with Alzheimer's disease and is a method by which future studies may characterize longitudinal changes in tau aggregation and the cellular processes which may influence these changes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tarun V Kamath
- Alzheimer Research Unit, Department of Neurology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Charlestown, MA 02129, USA
| | - Naomi Klickstein
- Alzheimer Research Unit, Department of Neurology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Charlestown, MA 02129, USA
| | - Caitlin Commins
- Alzheimer Research Unit, Department of Neurology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Charlestown, MA 02129, USA
| | - Analiese R Fernandes
- Alzheimer Research Unit, Department of Neurology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Charlestown, MA 02129, USA
| | - Derek H Oakley
- Alzheimer Research Unit, Department of Neurology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Charlestown, MA 02129, USA
- Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02115, USA
- C.S. Kubik Laboratory for Neuropathology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA 02129, USA
| | - Matthew P Frosch
- Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02115, USA
- C.S. Kubik Laboratory for Neuropathology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA 02129, USA
| | - Bradley T Hyman
- Alzheimer Research Unit, Department of Neurology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Charlestown, MA 02129, USA
- Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02115, USA
| | - Simon Dujardin
- Alzheimer Research Unit, Department of Neurology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Charlestown, MA 02129, USA
- Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02115, USA
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50
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Continuous Monitoring of Tau-Induced Neurotoxicity in Patient-Derived iPSC-Neurons. J Neurosci 2021; 41:4335-4348. [PMID: 33893219 PMCID: PMC8143197 DOI: 10.1523/jneurosci.2590-20.2021] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/06/2020] [Revised: 02/12/2021] [Accepted: 02/19/2021] [Indexed: 11/28/2022] Open
Abstract
Tau aggregation within neurons is a critical feature of Alzheimer's disease (AD) and related tauopathies. It is believed that soluble pathologic tau species seed the formation of tau aggregates in a prion-like manner and propagate through connected neurons during the progression of disease. Both soluble and aggregated forms of tau are thought to have neurotoxic properties. In addition, different strains of misfolded tau may cause differential neurotoxicity. In this work, we present an accelerated human neuronal model of tau-induced neurotoxicity that incorporates both soluble tau species and tau aggregation. Using patient-derived induced pluripotent stem cell (iPSC) neurons expressing a tau aggregation biosensor, we develop a cell culture system that allows continuous assessment of both induced tau aggregation and neuronal viability at single-cell resolution for periods of >1 week. We show that exogenous tau “seed” uptake, as measured by tau repeat domain (TauRD) reporter aggregation, increases the risk for subsequent neuronal death in vitro. These results are the first to directly visualize neuronal TauRD aggregation and subsequent cell death in single human iPSC neurons. Specific morphologic strains or patterns of TauRD aggregation are then identified and associated with differing neurotoxicity. Furthermore, we demonstrate that familial AD iPSC neurons expressing the PSEN1 L435F mutation exhibit accelerated TauRD aggregation kinetics and a tau strain propagation bias when compared with control iPSC neurons. SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT Neuronal intracellular aggregation of the microtubule binding protein tau occurs in Alzheimer's disease and related neurodegenerative tauopathies. Tau aggregates are believed to spread from neuron to neuron via prion-like misfolded tau seeds. Our work develops a human neuronal live-imaging system to visualize seeded tau aggregation and tau-induced neurotoxicity within single neurons. Using an aggregation-sensing tau reporter, we find that neuronal uptake and propagation of tau seeds reduces subsequent survival. In addition, human induced pluripotent stem cell (iPSC) neurons carrying an Alzheimer's disease-causing mutation in presenilin-1 undergo tau seeding more rapidly than control iPSC neurons. However, they do not show subsequent differences in neuronal survival. Finally, specific morphologies of tau aggregates are associated with increased neurotoxicity.
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