1
|
Burtscher J, Strasser B, Pepe G, Burtscher M, Kopp M, Di Pardo A, Maglione V, Khamoui AV. Brain-Periphery Interactions in Huntington's Disease: Mediators and Lifestyle Interventions. Int J Mol Sci 2024; 25:4696. [PMID: 38731912 PMCID: PMC11083237 DOI: 10.3390/ijms25094696] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/28/2024] [Revised: 04/22/2024] [Accepted: 04/23/2024] [Indexed: 05/13/2024] Open
Abstract
Prominent pathological features of Huntington's disease (HD) are aggregations of mutated Huntingtin protein (mHtt) in the brain and neurodegeneration, which causes characteristic motor (such as chorea and dystonia) and non-motor symptoms. However, the numerous systemic and peripheral deficits in HD have gained increasing attention recently, since those factors likely modulate disease progression, including brain pathology. While whole-body metabolic abnormalities and organ-specific pathologies in HD have been relatively well described, the potential mediators of compromised inter-organ communication in HD have been insufficiently characterized. Therefore, we applied an exploratory literature search to identify such mediators. Unsurprisingly, dysregulation of inflammatory factors, circulating mHtt, and many other messenger molecules (hormones, lipids, RNAs) were found that suggest impaired inter-organ communication, including of the gut-brain and muscle-brain axis. Based on these findings, we aimed to assess the risks and potentials of lifestyle interventions that are thought to improve communication across these axes: dietary strategies and exercise. We conclude that appropriate lifestyle interventions have great potential to reduce symptoms and potentially modify disease progression (possibly via improving inter-organ signaling) in HD. However, impaired systemic metabolism and peripheral symptoms warrant particular care in the design of dietary and exercise programs for people with HD.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Johannes Burtscher
- Institute of Sport Sciences, University of Lausanne, 1015 Lausanne, Switzerland
| | - Barbara Strasser
- Ludwig Boltzmann Institute for Rehabilitation Research, 1100 Vienna, Austria;
- Faculty of Medicine, Sigmund Freud Private University, 1020 Vienna, Austria
| | - Giuseppe Pepe
- IRCCS Neuromed, 86077 Pozzilli, Italy; (G.P.); (A.D.P.); (V.M.)
| | - Martin Burtscher
- Department of Sport Science, University of Innsbruck, 6020 Innsbruck, Austria; (M.B.); (M.K.)
| | - Martin Kopp
- Department of Sport Science, University of Innsbruck, 6020 Innsbruck, Austria; (M.B.); (M.K.)
| | - Alba Di Pardo
- IRCCS Neuromed, 86077 Pozzilli, Italy; (G.P.); (A.D.P.); (V.M.)
| | | | - Andy V. Khamoui
- Department of Exercise Science and Health Promotion, Florida Atlantic University, Boca Raton, FL 33458, USA;
- Institute for Human Health and Disease Intervention, Florida Atlantic University, Jupiter, FL 33458, USA
| |
Collapse
|
2
|
Makwana R, Christ C, Marchi E, Harpell R, Lyon GJ. A Natural History of NAA15-related Neurodevelopmental Disorder Through Adolescence. MEDRXIV : THE PREPRINT SERVER FOR HEALTH SCIENCES 2024:2024.04.20.24306120. [PMID: 38712024 PMCID: PMC11071585 DOI: 10.1101/2024.04.20.24306120] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/08/2024]
Abstract
NAA15 is a member of the NatA N-terminal acetyltransferase complex which acts by interacting with the NAA10 enzymatic sub-unit. Individuals with variants in the NAA15 coding region develop NAA15-related neurodevelopmental syndrome which presents with a wide array of manifestations that affect the heart, brain, musculoskeletal system, and behavioral and cognitive development. We tracked a cohort of 26 participants (8 females and 18 males) over time, each with a pathogenic NAA15 variant, and administered the Vineland-3 assessment to them to assess their adaptive functioning. We found that the cohort performed significantly worse compared to the normalized Vineland values. On average, females performed better than males across all domains. They performed significantly better on the Motor Domain and Fine Motor Sub-Domain portions of the assessment. Over time, females showed a decrease in adaptive functioning with the decline being especially strongly correlated at the Coping subdomain, Domestic sub-domain, and Fine motor sub-domains. It is difficult to determine the strength of these correlations due to limited power. Males (after excluding one outlier) showed a moderate positive correlation between age and ABC standard score. Ultimately, additional longitudinal data should be collected to determine the validity of the between sex-differences and to better understand the change in adaptive behavioral outcomes of individuals with NAA15-neurodevelopmental disorder as they age.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Rikhil Makwana
- Department of Human Genetics, New York State Institute for Basic Research in Developmental Disabilities, Staten Island, New York, United States of America
| | - Carolina Christ
- Department of Human Genetics, New York State Institute for Basic Research in Developmental Disabilities, Staten Island, New York, United States of America
| | - Elaine Marchi
- Department of Human Genetics, New York State Institute for Basic Research in Developmental Disabilities, Staten Island, New York, United States of America
| | - Randie Harpell
- Department of Human Genetics, New York State Institute for Basic Research in Developmental Disabilities, Staten Island, New York, United States of America
| | - Gholson J Lyon
- Department of Human Genetics, New York State Institute for Basic Research in Developmental Disabilities, Staten Island, New York, United States of America
- George A. Jervis Clinic, New York State Institute for Basic Research in Developmental Disabilities, Staten Island, New York, United States of America
- Biology PhD Program, The Graduate Center, The City University of New York, New York, United States of America
| |
Collapse
|
3
|
Ekwudo MN, Gubert C, Hannan AJ. The microbiota-gut-brain axis in Huntington's disease: pathogenic mechanisms and therapeutic targets. FEBS J 2024. [PMID: 38426291 DOI: 10.1111/febs.17102] [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: 10/13/2023] [Revised: 01/08/2024] [Accepted: 02/14/2024] [Indexed: 03/02/2024]
Abstract
Huntington's disease (HD) is a currently incurable neurogenerative disorder and is typically characterized by progressive movement disorder (including chorea), cognitive deficits (culminating in dementia), psychiatric abnormalities (the most common of which is depression), and peripheral symptoms (including gastrointestinal dysfunction). There are currently no approved disease-modifying therapies available for HD, with death usually occurring approximately 10-25 years after onset, but some therapies hold promising potential. HD subjects are often burdened by chronic diarrhea, constipation, esophageal and gastric inflammation, and a susceptibility to diabetes. Our understanding of the microbiota-gut-brain axis in HD is in its infancy and growing evidence from preclinical and clinical studies suggests a role of gut microbial population imbalance (gut dysbiosis) in HD pathophysiology. The gut and the brain can communicate through the enteric nervous system, immune system, vagus nerve, and microbiota-derived-metabolites including short-chain fatty acids, bile acids, and branched-chain amino acids. This review summarizes supporting evidence demonstrating the alterations in bacterial and fungal composition that may be associated with HD. We focus on mechanisms through which gut dysbiosis may compromise brain and gut health, thus triggering neuroinflammatory responses, and further highlight outcomes of attempts to modulate the gut microbiota as promising therapeutic strategies for HD. Ultimately, we discuss the dearth of data and the need for more longitudinal and translational studies in this nascent field. We suggest future directions to improve our understanding of the association between gut microbes and the pathogenesis of HD, and other 'brain and body disorders'.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Millicent N Ekwudo
- Florey Institute of Neuroscience and Mental Health, University of Melbourne, Parkville, Australia
| | - Carolina Gubert
- Florey Institute of Neuroscience and Mental Health, University of Melbourne, Parkville, Australia
| | - Anthony J Hannan
- Florey Institute of Neuroscience and Mental Health, University of Melbourne, Parkville, Australia
- Department of Anatomy and Physiology, University of Melbourne, Parkville, Australia
| |
Collapse
|
4
|
Akyol S, Ashrafi N, Yilmaz A, Turkoglu O, Graham SF. Metabolomics: An Emerging "Omics" Platform for Systems Biology and Its Implications for Huntington Disease Research. Metabolites 2023; 13:1203. [PMID: 38132886 PMCID: PMC10744751 DOI: 10.3390/metabo13121203] [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: 11/01/2023] [Revised: 11/29/2023] [Accepted: 12/02/2023] [Indexed: 12/23/2023] Open
Abstract
Huntington's disease (HD) is a progressive, fatal neurodegenerative disease characterized by motor, cognitive, and psychiatric symptoms. The precise mechanisms of HD progression are poorly understood; however, it is known that there is an expansion of the trinucleotide cytosine-adenine-guanine (CAG) repeat in the Huntingtin gene. Important new strategies are of paramount importance to identify early biomarkers with predictive value for intervening in disease progression at a stage when cellular dysfunction has not progressed irreversibly. Metabolomics is the study of global metabolite profiles in a system (cell, tissue, or organism) under certain conditions and is becoming an essential tool for the systemic characterization of metabolites to provide a snapshot of the functional and pathophysiological states of an organism and support disease diagnosis and biomarker discovery. This review briefly highlights the historical progress of metabolomic methodologies, followed by a more detailed review of the use of metabolomics in HD research to enable a greater understanding of the pathogenesis, its early prediction, and finally the main technical platforms in the field of metabolomics.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Sumeyya Akyol
- NX Prenatal Inc., 4350 Brownsboro Road, Louisville KY 40207, USA;
| | - Nadia Ashrafi
- Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Oakland University-William Beaumont School of Medicine, 318 Meadow Brook Road, Rochester, MI 48309, USA; (N.A.); (A.Y.); (O.T.)
| | - Ali Yilmaz
- Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Oakland University-William Beaumont School of Medicine, 318 Meadow Brook Road, Rochester, MI 48309, USA; (N.A.); (A.Y.); (O.T.)
- Metabolomics Division, Beaumont Research Institute, 3811 W. 13 Mile Road, Royal Oak, MI 48073, USA
| | - Onur Turkoglu
- Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Oakland University-William Beaumont School of Medicine, 318 Meadow Brook Road, Rochester, MI 48309, USA; (N.A.); (A.Y.); (O.T.)
| | - Stewart F. Graham
- Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Oakland University-William Beaumont School of Medicine, 318 Meadow Brook Road, Rochester, MI 48309, USA; (N.A.); (A.Y.); (O.T.)
- Metabolomics Division, Beaumont Research Institute, 3811 W. 13 Mile Road, Royal Oak, MI 48073, USA
| |
Collapse
|