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Hade AC, Philips MA, Promet L, Jagomäe T, Hanumantharaju A, Salumäe L, Reimann E, Plaas M, Vasar E, Väli M. A cost-effective and efficient ex vivo, ex situ human whole brain perfusion protocol for immunohistochemistry. J Neurosci Methods 2024; 404:110059. [PMID: 38218387 DOI: 10.1016/j.jneumeth.2024.110059] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/19/2023] [Revised: 12/18/2023] [Accepted: 01/07/2024] [Indexed: 01/15/2024]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Chemical fixation of the brain can be executed through either the immersion method or the perfusion method. Perfusion fixation allows for better preservation of the brain tissue's ultrastructure, as it provides rapid and uniform delivery of the fixative to the tissue. Still, not all facilities have the expertise to perform perfusion fixation, with initial high cost and complexity of perfusion systems as the main factors limiting its widespread usage. NEW METHOD Here we present our low-cost approach of whole brain ex situ perfusion fixation to overcome the aforementioned limitations. Our self-made perfusion system, constructed utilising commercially accessible and affordable medical resources alongside laboratory and everyday items, demonstrates the capability to generate superior histological stainings of brain tissue. The perfused tissue can be stored prior to proceeding with IHC for at least one year. RESULTS Our method yielded high-quality results in histological stainings using both free-floating cryosections and paraffin-embedded tissue sections. The system is fully reusable and complies with the principles of sustainable management. COMPARISON WITH EXISTING METHODS Our whole brain perfusion system has been assembled from simple components and is able to achieve a linear flow with a pressure of 70 mmHg corresponding to the perfusion pressure of the brain. CONCLUSIONS Our ex situ method can be especially useful in research settings where expensive perfusion systems are not affordable or in any field with high time pressure, making it suitable for the field of forensic medicine or pathology in general.
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Affiliation(s)
- Andreas-Christian Hade
- Department of Pathological Anatomy and Forensic Medicine, University of Tartu, 19 Ravila Street, 50411 Tartu, Estonia; Estonian Forensic Science Institute, Tervise 20, Tallinn, Estonia
| | - Mari-Anne Philips
- Department of Physiology, Institute of Biomedicine and Translational Medicine, University of Tartu, Tartu, Estonia; Centre of Excellence in Genomics and Translational Medicine, University of Tartu, Tartu, Estonia.
| | - Liisi Promet
- International Max Planck Research School for Neurosciences, University of Göttingen, Göttingen, Germany
| | - Toomas Jagomäe
- Department of Physiology, Institute of Biomedicine and Translational Medicine, University of Tartu, Tartu, Estonia; Centre of Excellence in Genomics and Translational Medicine, University of Tartu, Tartu, Estonia
| | - Arpana Hanumantharaju
- Department of Physiology, Institute of Biomedicine and Translational Medicine, University of Tartu, Tartu, Estonia; Centre of Excellence in Genomics and Translational Medicine, University of Tartu, Tartu, Estonia
| | - Liis Salumäe
- Pathology Service, Tartu University Hospital; Tartu, Estonia
| | - Ene Reimann
- Estonian Genome Centre, Institute of Genomics, University of Tartu, Tartu, Estonia
| | - Mario Plaas
- Department of Physiology, Institute of Biomedicine and Translational Medicine, University of Tartu, Tartu, Estonia; Centre of Excellence in Genomics and Translational Medicine, University of Tartu, Tartu, Estonia
| | - Eero Vasar
- Department of Physiology, Institute of Biomedicine and Translational Medicine, University of Tartu, Tartu, Estonia; Centre of Excellence in Genomics and Translational Medicine, University of Tartu, Tartu, Estonia
| | - Marika Väli
- Department of Pathological Anatomy and Forensic Medicine, University of Tartu, 19 Ravila Street, 50411 Tartu, Estonia; Estonian Forensic Science Institute, Tervise 20, Tallinn, Estonia
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Wang X, Wang J, Chen Y, Qian X, Luo S, Wang X, Ma C, Ge W. The aldehyde dehydrogenase 2 rs671 variant enhances amyloid β pathology. Nat Commun 2024; 15:2594. [PMID: 38519490 PMCID: PMC10959958 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-024-46899-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/11/2023] [Accepted: 03/12/2024] [Indexed: 03/25/2024] Open
Abstract
In the ALDH2 rs671 variant, a guanine changes to an adenine, resulting in a dramatic decrease in the catalytic activity of the enzyme. Population-based data are contradictory about whether this variant increases the risk of Alzheimer's disease. In East Asian populations, the prevalence of the ALDH2 rs671 variant is 30-50%, making the National Human Brain Bank for Development and Function (the largest brain bank in East Asia) an important resource to explore the link between the ALDH2 rs671 polymorphism and Alzheimer's disease pathology. Here, using 469 postmortem brains, we find that while the ALDH2 rs671 variant is associated with increased plaque deposits and a higher Aβ40/42 ratio, it is not an independent risk factor for Alzheimer's disease. Mechanistically, we show that lower ALDH2 activity leads to 4-HNE accumulation in the brain. The (R)-4-HNE enantiomer adducts to residue Lys53 of C99, favoring Aβ40 generation in the Golgi apparatus. Decreased ALDH2 activity also lowers inflammatory factor secretion, as well as amyloid β phagocytosis and spread in brains of patients with Alzheimer's disease. We thus define the relationship between the ALDH2 rs671 polymorphism and amyloid β pathology, and find that ALDH2 rs671 is a key regulator of Aβ40 or Aβ42 generation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xia Wang
- Department of Immunology, Institute of Basic Medical Sciences Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, School of Basic Medicine Peking Union Medical College, Beijing, China
| | - Jiayu Wang
- Department of Immunology, Institute of Basic Medical Sciences Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, School of Basic Medicine Peking Union Medical College, Beijing, China
| | - Yashuang Chen
- Department of Immunology, Institute of Basic Medical Sciences Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, School of Basic Medicine Peking Union Medical College, Beijing, China
| | - Xiaojing Qian
- Department of Human Anatomy, Histology and Embryology, Neuroscience Center, National Human Brain Bank for Development and Function, Institute of Basic Medical Sciences Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, School of Basic Medicine Peking Union Medical College, Beijing, China
| | - Shiqi Luo
- Department of Immunology, Institute of Basic Medical Sciences Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, School of Basic Medicine Peking Union Medical College, Beijing, China
| | - Xue Wang
- Department of Human Anatomy, Histology and Embryology, Neuroscience Center, National Human Brain Bank for Development and Function, Institute of Basic Medical Sciences Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, School of Basic Medicine Peking Union Medical College, Beijing, China
| | - Chao Ma
- Department of Human Anatomy, Histology and Embryology, Neuroscience Center, National Human Brain Bank for Development and Function, Institute of Basic Medical Sciences Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, School of Basic Medicine Peking Union Medical College, Beijing, China.
| | - Wei Ge
- Department of Immunology, Institute of Basic Medical Sciences Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, School of Basic Medicine Peking Union Medical College, Beijing, China.
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Peden AH, Libori A, Ritchie DL, Yull H, Smith C, Kanguru L, Molesworth A, Knight R, Barria MA. Enhanced Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease surveillance in the older population: Assessment of a protocol for screening brain tissue donations for prion disease. Brain Pathol 2024; 34:e13214. [PMID: 37771100 PMCID: PMC10901620 DOI: 10.1111/bpa.13214] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/16/2023] [Accepted: 09/18/2023] [Indexed: 09/30/2023] Open
Abstract
Human prion diseases, including Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (CJD), occur in sporadic, genetic, and acquired forms. Variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (vCJD) first reported in 1996 in the United Kingdom (UK), resulted from contamination of food with bovine spongiform encephalopathy. There is a concern that UK national surveillance mechanisms might miss some CJD cases (including vCJD), particularly in the older population where other neurodegenerative disorders are more prevalent. We developed a highly sensitive protocol for analysing autopsy brain tissue for the misfolded prion protein (PrPSc ) associated with prion disease, which could be used to screen for prion disease in the elderly. Brain tissue samples from 331 donors to the Edinburgh Brain and Tissue Bank (EBTB), from 2005 to 2022, were analysed, using immunohistochemical analysis on fixed tissue, and five biochemical tests on frozen specimens from six brain regions, based on different principles for detecting PrPSc . An algorithm was established for classifying the biochemical results. To test the effectiveness of the protocol, several neuropathologically confirmed prion disease controls, including vCJD, were included and blinded in the study cohort. On unblinding, all the positive control cases had been correctly identified. No other cases tested positive; our analysis uncovered no overlooked prion disease cases. Our algorithm for classifying cases was effective for handling anomalous biochemical results. An overall analysis suggested that a reduced biochemical protocol employing only three of the five tests on only two brain tissue regions gave sufficient sensitivity and specificity. We conclude that this protocol may be useful as a UK-wide screening programme for human prion disease in selected brains from autopsies in the elderly. Further improvements to the protocol were suggested by enhancements of the in vitro conversion assays made during the course of this study.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alexander H. Peden
- National CJD Research & Surveillance Unit (NCJDRSU), Centre for Clinical Brain SciencesThe University of EdinburghEdinburghUnited Kingdom
| | - Adriana Libori
- National CJD Research & Surveillance Unit (NCJDRSU), Centre for Clinical Brain SciencesThe University of EdinburghEdinburghUnited Kingdom
| | - Diane L. Ritchie
- National CJD Research & Surveillance Unit (NCJDRSU), Centre for Clinical Brain SciencesThe University of EdinburghEdinburghUnited Kingdom
| | - Helen Yull
- National CJD Research & Surveillance Unit (NCJDRSU), Centre for Clinical Brain SciencesThe University of EdinburghEdinburghUnited Kingdom
| | - Colin Smith
- National CJD Research & Surveillance Unit (NCJDRSU), Centre for Clinical Brain SciencesThe University of EdinburghEdinburghUnited Kingdom
- Edinburgh Brain Bank (EBB), Centre for Clinical Brain SciencesUniversity of EdinburghEdinburghUnited Kingdom
| | - Lovney Kanguru
- National CJD Research & Surveillance Unit (NCJDRSU), Centre for Clinical Brain SciencesThe University of EdinburghEdinburghUnited Kingdom
| | - Anna Molesworth
- National CJD Research & Surveillance Unit (NCJDRSU), Centre for Clinical Brain SciencesThe University of EdinburghEdinburghUnited Kingdom
| | - Richard Knight
- National CJD Research & Surveillance Unit (NCJDRSU), Centre for Clinical Brain SciencesThe University of EdinburghEdinburghUnited Kingdom
| | - Marcelo A. Barria
- National CJD Research & Surveillance Unit (NCJDRSU), Centre for Clinical Brain SciencesThe University of EdinburghEdinburghUnited Kingdom
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Regoni M, Valtorta F, Sassone J. Dopaminergic neuronal death via necroptosis in Parkinson's disease: A review of the literature. Eur J Neurosci 2024; 59:1079-1098. [PMID: 37667848 DOI: 10.1111/ejn.16136] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/28/2023] [Revised: 08/14/2023] [Accepted: 08/17/2023] [Indexed: 09/06/2023]
Abstract
Parkinson's disease (PD) is a neurodegenerative disorder characterized by progressive dysfunction and loss of dopaminergic neurons of the substantia nigra pars compacta (SNc). Several pathways of programmed cell death are likely to play a role in dopaminergic neuron death, such as apoptosis, necrosis, pyroptosis and ferroptosis, as well as cell death associated with proteasomal and mitochondrial dysfunction. A better understanding of the molecular mechanisms underlying dopaminergic neuron death could inform the design of drugs that promote neuron survival. Necroptosis is a recently characterized regulated cell death mechanism that exhibits morphological features common to both apoptosis and necrosis. It requires activation of an intracellular pathway involving receptor-interacting protein 1 kinase (RIP1 kinase, RIPK1), receptor-interacting protein 3 kinase (RIP3 kinase, RIPK3) and mixed lineage kinase domain-like pseudokinase (MLKL). The potential involvement of this programmed cell death pathway in the pathogenesis of PD has been studied by analysing biomarkers for necroptosis, such as the levels and oligomerization of phosphorylated RIPK3 (pRIPK3) and phosphorylated MLKL (pMLKL), in several PD preclinical models and in PD human tissue. Although there is evidence that other types of cell death also have a role in DA neuron death, most studies support the hypothesis that this cell death mechanism is activated in PD tissues. Drugs that prevent or reduce necroptosis may provide neuroprotection for PD. In this review, we summarize the findings from these studies. We also discuss how manipulating necroptosis might open a novel therapeutic approach to reduce neuronal degeneration in PD.
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Affiliation(s)
- Maria Regoni
- Division of Neuroscience, IRCCS San Raffaele Scientific Institute, Milan, Italy
- Vita-Salute San Raffaele University, Milan, Italy
| | - Flavia Valtorta
- Division of Neuroscience, IRCCS San Raffaele Scientific Institute, Milan, Italy
- Vita-Salute San Raffaele University, Milan, Italy
| | - Jenny Sassone
- Division of Neuroscience, IRCCS San Raffaele Scientific Institute, Milan, Italy
- Vita-Salute San Raffaele University, Milan, Italy
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5
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Bettencourt C, Skene N, Bandres-Ciga S, Anderson E, Winchester LM, Foote IF, Schwartzentruber J, Botia JA, Nalls M, Singleton A, Schilder BM, Humphrey J, Marzi SJ, Toomey CE, Kleifat AA, Harshfield EL, Garfield V, Sandor C, Keat S, Tamburin S, Frigerio CS, Lourida I, Ranson JM, Llewellyn DJ. Artificial intelligence for dementia genetics and omics. Alzheimers Dement 2023; 19:5905-5921. [PMID: 37606627 PMCID: PMC10841325 DOI: 10.1002/alz.13427] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/05/2023] [Revised: 07/14/2023] [Accepted: 07/18/2023] [Indexed: 08/23/2023]
Abstract
Genetics and omics studies of Alzheimer's disease and other dementia subtypes enhance our understanding of underlying mechanisms and pathways that can be targeted. We identified key remaining challenges: First, can we enhance genetic studies to address missing heritability? Can we identify reproducible omics signatures that differentiate between dementia subtypes? Can high-dimensional omics data identify improved biomarkers? How can genetics inform our understanding of causal status of dementia risk factors? And which biological processes are altered by dementia-related genetic variation? Artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning approaches give us powerful new tools in helping us to tackle these challenges, and we review possible solutions and examples of best practice. However, their limitations also need to be considered, as well as the need for coordinated multidisciplinary research and diverse deeply phenotyped cohorts. Ultimately AI approaches improve our ability to interrogate genetics and omics data for precision dementia medicine. HIGHLIGHTS: We have identified five key challenges in dementia genetics and omics studies. AI can enable detection of undiscovered patterns in dementia genetics and omics data. Enhanced and more diverse genetics and omics datasets are still needed. Multidisciplinary collaborative efforts using AI can boost dementia research.
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Affiliation(s)
- Conceicao Bettencourt
- Department of Neurodegenerative Disease, UCL Queen Square Institute of Neurology, London, UK
- Queen Square Brain Bank for Neurological Disorders, UCL Queen Square Institute of Neurology, London, UK
| | - Nathan Skene
- UK Dementia Research Institute, Imperial College London, London, UK
- Department of Brain Sciences, Imperial College London, London, UK
| | - Sara Bandres-Ciga
- Center for Alzheimer's and Related Dementias (CARD), National Institute on Aging and National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland, USA
| | - Emma Anderson
- Department of Mental Health of Older People, Division of Psychiatry, University College London, London, UK
| | | | - Isabelle F Foote
- Institute for Behavioral Genetics, University of Colorado Boulder, Boulder, Colorado, USA
| | - Jeremy Schwartzentruber
- Open Targets, Cambridge, UK
- Wellcome Sanger Institute, Cambridge, UK
- Illumina Artificial Intelligence Laboratory, Illumina Inc, Foster City, California, USA
| | - Juan A Botia
- Departamento de Ingeniería de la Información y las Comunicaciones, Universidad de Murcia, Murcia, Spain
| | - Mike Nalls
- Center for Alzheimer's and Related Dementias (CARD), National Institute on Aging and National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland, USA
- Data Tecnica International LLC, Washington, DC, USA
| | - Andrew Singleton
- Center for Alzheimer's and Related Dementias (CARD), National Institute on Aging and National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland, USA
- Laboratory of Neurogenetics, National Institute on Aging, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland, USA
| | - Brian M Schilder
- UK Dementia Research Institute, Imperial College London, London, UK
- Department of Brain Sciences, Imperial College London, London, UK
| | - Jack Humphrey
- Nash Family Department of Neuroscience and Friedman Brain Institute, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, USA
| | - Sarah J Marzi
- UK Dementia Research Institute, Imperial College London, London, UK
- Department of Brain Sciences, Imperial College London, London, UK
| | - Christina E Toomey
- Queen Square Brain Bank for Neurological Disorders, UCL Queen Square Institute of Neurology, London, UK
- Department of Clinical and Movement Neuroscience, UCL Queen Square Institute of Neurology, London, UK
- The Francis Crick Institute, London, UK
| | - Ahmad Al Kleifat
- Department of Basic and Clinical Neuroscience, Maurice Wohl Clinical Neuroscience Institute, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, King's College London, London, UK
| | - Eric L Harshfield
- Stroke Research Group, Department of Clinical Neurosciences, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK
| | - Victoria Garfield
- MRC Unit for Lifelong Health and Ageing, Institute of Cardiovascular Science, University College London, London, UK
| | - Cynthia Sandor
- UK Dementia Research Institute. School of Medicine, Cardiff University, Cardiff, UK
| | - Samuel Keat
- UK Dementia Research Institute. School of Medicine, Cardiff University, Cardiff, UK
| | - Stefano Tamburin
- Department of Neurosciences, Biomedicine and Movement Sciences, Neurology Section, University of Verona, Verona, Italy
| | - Carlo Sala Frigerio
- UK Dementia Research Institute, Queen Square Institute of Neurology, University College London, London, UK
| | | | | | - David J Llewellyn
- University of Exeter Medical School, Exeter, UK
- The Alan Turing Institute, London, UK
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Cattaneo C, Urakcheeva I, Giacomini G, Stazi MA, Lana S, Arnofi A, Salemi M, Toccaceli V. Attitude and concerns of healthy individuals regarding post-mortem brain donation. A qualitative study on a nation-wide sample in Italy. BMC Med Ethics 2023; 24:104. [PMID: 38012766 PMCID: PMC10683267 DOI: 10.1186/s12910-023-00980-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/22/2023] [Accepted: 11/06/2023] [Indexed: 11/29/2023] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Collecting post-mortem brain tissue is essential, especially from healthy "control" individuals, to advance knowledge on increasingly common neurological and mental disorders. Yet, healthy individuals, on which this study is focused, are still understudied. The aim of the study was to explore, among healthy potential brain donors and/or donors' relatives, attitude, concerns and opinion about post-mortem brain donation (PMBD). METHODS A convenience sampling of the general population (twins and their non-twin contacts) was adopted. From June 2018 to February 2019, 12 focus groups were conducted in four Italian cities: Milan, Turin, Rome and Naples, stratified according to twin and non-twin status. A qualitative content analysis was performed with both deductive and inductive approaches. Emotional interactions analysis corroborated results. RESULTS One hundred and three individuals (49-91 yrs of age) participated. Female were 60%. Participants had scarse knowledge regarding PMBD. Factors affecting attitude towards donation were: concerns, emotions, and misconceptions about donation and research. Religion, spirituality and secular attitude were implied, as well as trust towards research and medical institutions and a high degree of uncertainty about brain death ascertainment. Family had a very multifaceted central role in decision making. A previous experience with neurodegenerative diseases seems among factors able to favour brain donation. CONCLUSIONS The study sheds light on healthy individuals' attitudes about PMBD. Brain had a special significance for participants, and the ascertainment of brain death was a source of debate and doubt. Our findings emphasise the importance of targeted communication and thorough information to promote this kind of donation, within an ethical framework of conduct. Trust in research and health professionals emerged as an essential factor for a collaborative attitude towards donation and informed decision making in PMBD.
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Affiliation(s)
- Chiara Cattaneo
- National Centre for Disease Prevention and Health Promotion, Istituto Superiore di Sanità, Rome, Italy
| | | | - Gianmarco Giacomini
- Centre of Reference for Mental Health and Behavioural Sciences, Istituto Superiore di Sanità, Rome, Italy
- Department of Public Health Sciences, University of Turin, Turin, Italy
| | - Maria Antonietta Stazi
- Centre of Reference for Mental Health and Behavioural Sciences, Istituto Superiore di Sanità, Rome, Italy
| | - Susanna Lana
- National Centre for Disease Prevention and Health Promotion, Istituto Superiore di Sanità, Rome, Italy
| | - Antonio Arnofi
- Centre of Reference for Mental Health and Behavioural Sciences, Istituto Superiore di Sanità, Rome, Italy
| | - Miriam Salemi
- Centre of Reference for Mental Health and Behavioural Sciences, Istituto Superiore di Sanità, Rome, Italy
| | - Virgilia Toccaceli
- Centre of Reference for Mental Health and Behavioural Sciences, Istituto Superiore di Sanità, Rome, Italy.
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Huang Y, Li QX, Cao LX, Wang G, Chan DKY, Bettencourt C, Milward AE. Editorial: Human brain banking - Bridging brain health and precision neurology. Front Neurol 2023; 14:1322200. [PMID: 37965174 PMCID: PMC10641812 DOI: 10.3389/fneur.2023.1322200] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/15/2023] [Accepted: 10/16/2023] [Indexed: 11/16/2023] Open
Affiliation(s)
- Yue Huang
- Human Brain and Tissue Bank, China National Clinical Research Center for Neurological Diseases, Beijing Tiantan Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing, China
- Department of Neurology, Beijing Tiantan Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing, China
- Department of Pharmacology, Faculty of Medicine and Health, School of Biomedical Sciences, UNSW Sydney, Sydney, NSW, Australia
| | - Qiao-Xin Li
- National Dementia Diagnostics Laboratory, The Florey Institute, University of Melbourne, Parkville, VIC, Australia
| | - Ling-Xiao Cao
- Human Brain and Tissue Bank, China National Clinical Research Center for Neurological Diseases, Beijing Tiantan Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing, China
- Department of Neurology, Beijing Tiantan Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing, China
| | - Gang Wang
- School of Medicine, Ruijin Hospital, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai, China
| | - Daniel Kam Yin Chan
- Department of Aged Care and Rehabilitation, Bankstown Hospital, Faculty of Medicine and Health, UNSW Sydney, Sydney, NSW, Australia
| | - Conceicao Bettencourt
- Department of Neurodegenerative Disease and Queen Square Brain Bank, Queen Square Institute of Neurology, University College London, London, United Kingdom
| | - Adrienne E. Milward
- School of Medical, Indigenous and Health Sciences, University of Wollongong, Wollongong, NSW, Australia
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8
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Paff M, Grieco SF, Xu X. Obtaining brain tissue from living patients for psychiatry research: collaboration with patients with epilepsy and neurosurgeons. Lancet Psychiatry 2023; 10:381. [PMID: 37088087 DOI: 10.1016/s2215-0366(23)00142-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/23/2023] [Revised: 03/31/2023] [Accepted: 04/03/2023] [Indexed: 04/25/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- Michelle Paff
- Center for Neural Circuit Mapping, School of Medicine, University of California, Irvine, CA 92697, USA; Department of Neurosurgery, School of Medicine, University of California, Irvine, CA 92697, USA.
| | - Steven F Grieco
- Center for Neural Circuit Mapping, School of Medicine, University of California, Irvine, CA 92697, USA; Department of Anatomy and Neurobiology, School of Medicine, University of California, Irvine, CA 92697, USA
| | - Xiangmin Xu
- Center for Neural Circuit Mapping, School of Medicine, University of California, Irvine, CA 92697, USA; Department of Anatomy and Neurobiology, School of Medicine, University of California, Irvine, CA 92697, USA
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Dohle E, Beardall S, Chang A, Mena KPC, Jovanović L, Nath U, Lee KS, Smith AH, Thirunavukarasu AJ, Touzet AY, Norton EJ, Mowforth OD, Kotter MRN, Davies BM. Human spinal cord tissue is an underutilised resource in degenerative cervical myelopathy: findings from a systematic review of human autopsies. Acta Neurochir (Wien) 2023; 165:1121-1131. [PMID: 36820887 PMCID: PMC10140111 DOI: 10.1007/s00701-023-05526-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/20/2022] [Accepted: 02/06/2023] [Indexed: 02/24/2023]
Abstract
STUDY DESIGN Systematic review. BACKGROUND Although degenerative cervical myelopathy (DCM) is the most prevalent spinal cord condition worldwide, the pathophysiology remains poorly understood. Our objective was to evaluate existing histological findings of DCM on cadaveric human spinal cord tissue and explore their consistency with animal models. METHODS MEDLINE and Embase were systematically searched (CRD42021281462) for primary research reporting on histological findings of DCM in human cadaveric spinal cord tissue. Data was extracted using a piloted proforma. Risk of bias was assessed using Joanna Briggs Institute critical appraisal tools. Findings were compared to a systematic review of animal models (Ahkter et al. 2020 Front Neurosci 14). RESULTS The search yielded 4127 unique records. After abstract and full-text screening, 19 were included in the final analysis, reporting on 150 autopsies (71% male) with an average age at death of 67.3 years. All findings were based on haematoxylin and eosin (H&E) staining. The most commonly reported grey matter findings included neuronal loss and cavity formation. The most commonly reported white matter finding was demyelination. Axon loss, gliosis, necrosis and Schwann cell proliferation were also reported. Findings were consistent amongst cervical spondylotic myelopathy and ossification of the posterior longitudinal ligament. Cavitation was notably more prevalent in human autopsies compared to animal models. CONCLUSION Few human spinal cord tissue studies have been performed. Neuronal loss, demyelination and cavitation were common findings. Investigating the biological basis of DCM is a critical research priority. Human spinal cord specimen may be an underutilised but complimentary approach.
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Affiliation(s)
- Esmee Dohle
- School of Clinical Medicine, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK.
| | - Sophie Beardall
- School of Clinical Medicine, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK
| | - Aina Chang
- School of Clinical Medicine, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK
| | - Karla P Corral Mena
- School of Medical Sciences, Faculty of Biology, Medicine and Health, The University of Manchester, Manchester, UK
| | - Luka Jovanović
- School of Clinical Medicine, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK
| | - Upamanyu Nath
- North Manchester General Hospital, Manchester University NHS Foundation Trust, Manchester, UK
| | - Keng Siang Lee
- Department of Basic and Clinical Neurosciences, Maurice Wohl Clinical Neuroscience Institute, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience (IoPPN), King's College London, London, UK.,Department of Neurosurgery, King's College Hospital, London, UK
| | | | | | - Alvaro Yanez Touzet
- School of Medical Sciences, Faculty of Biology, Medicine and Health, The University of Manchester, Manchester, UK
| | - Emma Jane Norton
- Division of Anaesthesia, Addenbrooke's Hospital, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, CB2 0QH, UK
| | - Oliver D Mowforth
- Department of Clinical Neurosciences, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK
| | - Mark R N Kotter
- Department of Clinical Neurosciences, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK
| | - Benjamin M Davies
- Department of Clinical Neurosciences, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK
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Luo D, Liu H, Liu H, Wu W, Zhu H, Ge W, Ma C. Long RNA Profiles of Human Brain Extracellular Vesicles Provide New Insights into the Pathogenesis of Alzheimer's Disease. Aging Dis 2023; 14:229-244. [PMID: 36818567 PMCID: PMC9937700 DOI: 10.14336/ad.2022.0607] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/01/2022] [Accepted: 06/07/2022] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Alzheimer's disease (AD) is the most common neurodegenerative disorder. Extracellular vesicles (EVs), carriers of nucleic acids, lipids, and proteins, are known to play significant roles in neurodegenerative pathogenesis. Studies have shown that EVs from AD human brain tissue contain toxic proteins that may lead to neuron cell damage and loss. However, the potential contribution of EV long RNAs (exLR) to AD pathobiology is less well known, and their biochemical functions and molecular properties remain obscure. Here, EVs were isolated from the frontal cortex of normal control (NC; N = 10) and AD (N = 8) brain tissue donors. We performed exLR profiling on the isolated EVs followed by pathway analysis and weighted gene co-expression network analysis (WGCNA). A total of 1012 mRNAs, 320 long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs), and 119 circular RNAs (circRNAs) were found to be differentially expressed (DE) in AD-EVs compared with NC-EVs. Functional analysis of the DEmRNAs revealed that metal ion transport, calcium signaling, and various neuronal processes were enriched. To investigate the possible functions of the identified DElncRNAs and DEcircRNAs, competing endogenous RNA (ceRNA) networks were constructed and subjected to WGCNA, in which two gene modules were identified to be significantly correlated with AD. Moreover, we discovered that NC-EVs were more effective than AD-EVs in promoting cytokine expression, phagocytosis, and induction of calcium signaling in microglia. Our study provides an in-depth characterization of brain tissue exLR and identifies several RNAs that correlate with the pathogenesis of AD.
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Affiliation(s)
- Dan Luo
- Institute of Basic Medical Sciences, Department of Human Anatomy, Histology and Embryology, Neuroscience Center, Institute of Basic Medical Sciences, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, Beijing, China.
| | - Haotian Liu
- National Key Laboratory of Medical Molecular Biology & Department of Immunology, Institute of Basic Medical Sciences, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, Beijing, China.
| | - Hanyou Liu
- National Key Laboratory of Medical Molecular Biology & Department of Immunology, Institute of Basic Medical Sciences, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, Beijing, China.
| | - Wei Wu
- Institute of Basic Medical Sciences, Department of Human Anatomy, Histology and Embryology, Neuroscience Center, Institute of Basic Medical Sciences, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, Beijing, China.
| | - Hanyang Zhu
- National Key Laboratory of Medical Molecular Biology & Department of Immunology, Institute of Basic Medical Sciences, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, Beijing, China.
| | - Wei Ge
- National Key Laboratory of Medical Molecular Biology & Department of Immunology, Institute of Basic Medical Sciences, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, Beijing, China.,Correspondence should be addressed to: Dr. Wei Ge () and Dr. Chao Ma (), Institute of Basic Medical Sciences, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, Beijing, China
| | - Chao Ma
- Institute of Basic Medical Sciences, Department of Human Anatomy, Histology and Embryology, Neuroscience Center, Institute of Basic Medical Sciences, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, Beijing, China.,Correspondence should be addressed to: Dr. Wei Ge () and Dr. Chao Ma (), Institute of Basic Medical Sciences, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, Beijing, China
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11
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Mazumder S, Kiernan MC, Halliday GM, Timmins HC, Mahoney CJ. The contribution of brain banks to knowledge discovery in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis: A systematic review. Neuropathol Appl Neurobiol 2022; 48:e12845. [PMID: 35921237 PMCID: PMC9804699 DOI: 10.1111/nan.12845] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/17/2022] [Revised: 06/17/2022] [Accepted: 07/23/2022] [Indexed: 01/09/2023]
Abstract
Over the past decade, considerable efforts have been made to accelerate pathophysiological understanding of fatal neurodegenerative diseases such as amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) with brain banks at the forefront. In addition to exploratory disease mechanisms, brain banks have aided our understanding with regard to clinical diagnosis, genetics and cell biology. Across neurodegenerative disorders, the impact of brain tissue in ALS research has yet to be quantified. This review aims to outline (i) how postmortem tissues from brain banks have influenced our understanding of ALS over the last 15 years, (ii) correlate the location of dedicated brain banks with the geographical prevalence of ALS, (iii) identify the frequency of features reported from postmortem studies and (iv) propose common reporting standards for materials obtained from dedicated brain banks. A systematic review was conducted using PubMed and Web of Science databases using key words. From a total of 1439 articles, 73 articles were included in the final review, following PRISMA guidelines. Following a thematic analysis, articles were categorised into five themes; clinico-pathological (13), genetic (20), transactive response DNA binding protein 43 (TDP-43) pathology (12), non-TDP-43 neuronal pathology (nine) and extraneuronal pathology (19). Research primarily focused on the genetics of ALS, followed by protein pathology. About 63% of the brain banks were in the United States of America and United Kingdom. The location of brain banks overall aligned with the incidence of ALS worldwide with 88% of brain banks situated in Europe and North America. An overwhelming lack of consistency in reporting and replicability was observed, strengthening the need for a standardised reporting system. Overall, postmortem material from brain banks generated substantial new knowledge in areas of genetics and proteomics and supports their ongoing role as an important research tool.
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Affiliation(s)
- Srestha Mazumder
- ForeFront Clinic, Brain and Mind CentreUniversity of SydneySydneyNew South WalesAustralia
| | - Matthew C. Kiernan
- ForeFront Clinic, Brain and Mind CentreUniversity of SydneySydneyNew South WalesAustralia
| | - Glenda M. Halliday
- Frontier, Brain and Mind CentreUniversity of SydneySydneyNew South WalesAustralia
| | - Hannah C. Timmins
- ForeFront Clinic, Brain and Mind CentreUniversity of SydneySydneyNew South WalesAustralia
| | - Colin J. Mahoney
- ForeFront Clinic, Brain and Mind CentreUniversity of SydneySydneyNew South WalesAustralia
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12
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Stevenson AJ, McCartney DL, Gadd DA, Shireby G, Hillary RF, King D, Tzioras M, Wrobel N, McCafferty S, Murphy L, McColl BW, Redmond P, Taylor AM, Harris SE, Russ TC, McIntosh AM, Mill J, Smith C, Deary IJ, Cox SR, Marioni RE, Spires‐Jones TL. A comparison of blood and brain-derived ageing and inflammation-related DNA methylation signatures and their association with microglial burdens. Eur J Neurosci 2022; 56:5637-5649. [PMID: 35362642 PMCID: PMC9525452 DOI: 10.1111/ejn.15661] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/09/2021] [Revised: 03/18/2022] [Accepted: 03/29/2022] [Indexed: 12/31/2022]
Abstract
Inflammation and ageing-related DNA methylation patterns in the blood have been linked to a variety of morbidities, including cognitive decline and neurodegenerative disease. However, it is unclear how these blood-based patterns relate to patterns within the brain and how each associates with central cellular profiles. In this study, we profiled DNA methylation in both the blood and in five post mortem brain regions (BA17, BA20/21, BA24, BA46 and hippocampus) in 14 individuals from the Lothian Birth Cohort 1936. Microglial burdens were additionally quantified in the same brain regions. DNA methylation signatures of five epigenetic ageing biomarkers ('epigenetic clocks'), and two inflammatory biomarkers (methylation proxies for C-reactive protein and interleukin-6) were compared across tissues and regions. Divergent associations between the inflammation and ageing signatures in the blood and brain were identified, depending on region assessed. Four out of the five assessed epigenetic age acceleration measures were found to be highest in the hippocampus (β range = 0.83-1.14, p ≤ 0.02). The inflammation-related DNA methylation signatures showed no clear variation across brain regions. Reactive microglial burdens were found to be highest in the hippocampus (β = 1.32, p = 5 × 10-4 ); however, the only association identified between the blood- and brain-based methylation signatures and microglia was a significant positive association with acceleration of one epigenetic clock (termed DNAm PhenoAge) averaged over all five brain regions (β = 0.40, p = 0.002). This work highlights a potential vulnerability of the hippocampus to epigenetic ageing and provides preliminary evidence of a relationship between DNA methylation signatures in the brain and differences in microglial burdens.
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Affiliation(s)
- Anna J. Stevenson
- Centre for Genomic and Experimental Medicine, Institute of Genetics and Molecular MedicineUniversity of EdinburghEdinburghUK
- Centre for Discovery Brain SciencesUniversity of EdinburghEdinburghUK
| | - Daniel L. McCartney
- Centre for Genomic and Experimental Medicine, Institute of Genetics and Molecular MedicineUniversity of EdinburghEdinburghUK
| | - Danni A. Gadd
- Centre for Genomic and Experimental Medicine, Institute of Genetics and Molecular MedicineUniversity of EdinburghEdinburghUK
| | - Gemma Shireby
- University of Exeter Medical SchoolUniversity of ExeterExeterUK
| | - Robert F. Hillary
- Centre for Genomic and Experimental Medicine, Institute of Genetics and Molecular MedicineUniversity of EdinburghEdinburghUK
| | - Declan King
- Centre for Discovery Brain SciencesUniversity of EdinburghEdinburghUK
- UK Dementia Research InstituteUniversity of EdinburghEdinburghUK
| | - Makis Tzioras
- Centre for Discovery Brain SciencesUniversity of EdinburghEdinburghUK
- UK Dementia Research InstituteUniversity of EdinburghEdinburghUK
| | - Nicola Wrobel
- Edinburgh Clinical Research FacilityWestern General HospitalEdinburghUK
| | - Sarah McCafferty
- Edinburgh Clinical Research FacilityWestern General HospitalEdinburghUK
| | - Lee Murphy
- Edinburgh Clinical Research FacilityWestern General HospitalEdinburghUK
| | - Barry W. McColl
- Centre for Discovery Brain SciencesUniversity of EdinburghEdinburghUK
- UK Dementia Research InstituteUniversity of EdinburghEdinburghUK
| | - Paul Redmond
- Lothian Birth CohortsUniversity of EdinburghEdinburghUK
| | | | - Sarah E. Harris
- Lothian Birth CohortsUniversity of EdinburghEdinburghUK
- Department of PsychologyUniversity of EdinburghEdinburghUK
| | - Tom C. Russ
- Lothian Birth CohortsUniversity of EdinburghEdinburghUK
- Alzheimer Scotland Dementia Research Centre, 7 George SquareUniversity of EdinburghEdinburghUK
- Division of PsychiatryUniversity of Edinburgh, Royal Edinburgh HospitalEdinburghUK
| | - Andrew M. McIntosh
- Division of PsychiatryUniversity of Edinburgh, Royal Edinburgh HospitalEdinburghUK
| | - Jonathan Mill
- University of Exeter Medical SchoolUniversity of ExeterExeterUK
| | - Colin Smith
- Centre for Clinical Brain SciencesUniversity of EdinburghEdinburghUK
| | - Ian J. Deary
- Lothian Birth CohortsUniversity of EdinburghEdinburghUK
- Department of PsychologyUniversity of EdinburghEdinburghUK
| | - Simon R. Cox
- Lothian Birth CohortsUniversity of EdinburghEdinburghUK
- Department of PsychologyUniversity of EdinburghEdinburghUK
| | - Riccardo E. Marioni
- Centre for Genomic and Experimental Medicine, Institute of Genetics and Molecular MedicineUniversity of EdinburghEdinburghUK
- Lothian Birth CohortsUniversity of EdinburghEdinburghUK
| | - Tara L. Spires‐Jones
- Centre for Discovery Brain SciencesUniversity of EdinburghEdinburghUK
- UK Dementia Research InstituteUniversity of EdinburghEdinburghUK
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13
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Huang K, Wang Z, He Z, Li Y, Li S, Shen K, Zhu G, Liu Z, Lv S, Zhang C, Yang H, Yang X, Liu S. Downregulated formyl peptide receptor 2 expression in the epileptogenic foci of patients with focal cortical dysplasia type IIb and tuberous sclerosis complex. Immun Inflamm Dis 2022; 10:e706. [PMID: 36301030 PMCID: PMC9597500 DOI: 10.1002/iid3.706] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/11/2022] [Revised: 08/30/2022] [Accepted: 09/01/2022] [Indexed: 11/07/2022] Open
Abstract
Background Focal cortical dysplasia type IIb (FCDIIb) and tuberous sclerosis complex (TSC) show persistent neuroinflammation, which promotes epileptogenesis and epilepsy progression, suggesting that endogenous resolution of inflammation is inadequate to relieve neuronal network hyperexcitability. To explore the potential roles of formyl peptide receptor 2 (FPR2), which is a key regulator of inflammation resolution, in epilepsy caused by FCDIIb and TSC, we examined the expression and cellular distribution of FPR2. Method The expression of FPR2 and nuclear factor‐κB (NF‐κB) signaling pathway was examined by real‐time PCR, western blots, and analyzed via one‐way analysis of variance. The distribution of FPR2 was detected using immunostaining. The expression of resolvin D1 (RvD1, the endogenous ligand of FPR2) was observed via enzyme‐linked immunosorbent assay. Pearson's correlation test was used to evaluate the correlation between the expression levels of FPR2 and RvD1 and the clinical variants. Results The expression of FPR2 was significantly lower in FCDIIb (p = .0146) and TSC (p = .0006) cortical lesions than in controls, as was the expression of RvD1 (FCDIIb: p = .00431; TSC: p = .0439). Weak FPR2 immunoreactivity was observed in dysmorphic neurons (DNs), balloon cells (BCs), and giant cells (GCs) in FCDIIb and TSC tissues. Moreover, FPR2 was mainly distributed in dysplastic neurons; it was sparse in microglia and nearly absent in astrocytes. The NF‐κB pathway was significantly activated in patients with FCDIIb and TSC, and the protein level of NF‐κB was negatively correlated with the protein level of FPR2 (FCDIIb: p = .00395; TSC: p = .0399). In addition, the protein level of FPR2 was negatively correlated with seizure frequency in FCDIIb (p = .0434) and TSC (p = .0351) patients. Conclusion In summary, these results showed that the expression and specific distribution of FPR2 may be involved in epilepsy caused by FCDIIb and TSC, indicating that downregulation of FPR2 mediated the dysfunction of neuroinflammation resolution in FCDIIb and TSC.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kaixuan Huang
- Department of Neurosurgery, Epilepsy Research Center of PLA, Xinqiao HospitalArmy Medical University (Third Military Medical University)ChongqingChina
| | - Zhongke Wang
- Department of NeurosurgeryArmed Police Hospital of ChongqingChongqingChina
| | - Zeng He
- Department of Neurosurgery, Epilepsy Research Center of PLA, Xinqiao HospitalArmy Medical University (Third Military Medical University)ChongqingChina
| | - Yang Li
- Department of Neurosurgery, Epilepsy Research Center of PLA, Xinqiao HospitalArmy Medical University (Third Military Medical University)ChongqingChina
| | - Shujing Li
- Department of Neurosurgery, Epilepsy Research Center of PLA, Xinqiao HospitalArmy Medical University (Third Military Medical University)ChongqingChina
| | - Kaifeng Shen
- Department of Neurosurgery, Epilepsy Research Center of PLA, Xinqiao HospitalArmy Medical University (Third Military Medical University)ChongqingChina
| | - Gang Zhu
- Department of Neurosurgery, Epilepsy Research Center of PLA, Xinqiao HospitalArmy Medical University (Third Military Medical University)ChongqingChina
| | - Zhonghong Liu
- Department of NeurosurgeryArmed Police Hospital of ChongqingChongqingChina
| | - Shengqing Lv
- Department of Neurosurgery, Epilepsy Research Center of PLA, Xinqiao HospitalArmy Medical University (Third Military Medical University)ChongqingChina
| | - Chunqing Zhang
- Department of Neurosurgery, Epilepsy Research Center of PLA, Xinqiao HospitalArmy Medical University (Third Military Medical University)ChongqingChina
| | - Hui Yang
- Department of Neurosurgery, Epilepsy Research Center of PLA, Xinqiao HospitalArmy Medical University (Third Military Medical University)ChongqingChina
| | - Xiaolin Yang
- Department of Neurosurgery, Epilepsy Research Center of PLA, Xinqiao HospitalArmy Medical University (Third Military Medical University)ChongqingChina
| | - Shiyong Liu
- Department of Neurosurgery, Epilepsy Research Center of PLA, Xinqiao HospitalArmy Medical University (Third Military Medical University)ChongqingChina
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14
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Cardy TJA, Jewth‐Ahuja D, Crawford AH. Perceptions and attitudes towards companion animal brain banking in pet owners: A UK pilot study. Vet Rec Open 2022; 9:e36. [PMID: 35663272 PMCID: PMC9142818 DOI: 10.1002/vro2.36] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/06/2022] [Revised: 03/29/2022] [Accepted: 04/25/2022] [Indexed: 11/08/2022] Open
Abstract
Background Detailed analysis of archived brain tissue is fundamental to advancing the understanding of neurological disease. The development of the UK Brain Bank Network (UBBN) has provided an invaluable resource to facilitate such research in the human medical field. Similar resources are needed in veterinary medicine. However, collection and archiving of companion animal brain tissue is a potentially sensitive area for pet owners and veterinary professionals. Methods Using an online survey, we aimed to study pet owners’ perceptions of brain banking. The survey included information on respondents, their views on organ donation, the UBBN and the Royal Veterinary College's Companion Animal Brain Bank (RVC CABB). Results In total 185 respondents were included. The use of brain tissue from pets for research was supported by 87% of respondents, and 66% of respondents felt that they were highly likely or likely to donate their pet's brain tissue to a CABB. Furthermore, 94% felt that more information on tissue banking in companion animals should be readily available. Conclusions We found that the perceptions of companion animal brain banking were positive in our respondents. Open dialogue and clear information provision on the process and benefits of the CABB could enhance awareness and thus facilitate brain donation for translational research.
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Affiliation(s)
- Thomas J. A. Cardy
- Cave Veterinary Specialists, George's Farm West Buckland Wellington UK
- Clinical Science and Services Royal Veterinary College AL9 7TA, North Mymms, Hatfield Herts UK
| | - Daniel Jewth‐Ahuja
- Clinical Science and Services Royal Veterinary College AL9 7TA, North Mymms, Hatfield Herts UK
| | - Abbe H. Crawford
- Clinical Science and Services Royal Veterinary College AL9 7TA, North Mymms, Hatfield Herts UK
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15
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Padoan CS, Garcia LF, Crespo KC, Longaray VK, Martini M, Contessa JC, Kapczinski F, de Oliveira FH, Goldim JR, Vs Magalhães P. A qualitative study exploring the process of postmortem brain tissue donation after suicide. Sci Rep 2022; 12:4710. [PMID: 35304551 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-022-08729-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/10/2021] [Accepted: 03/08/2022] [Indexed: 11/30/2022] Open
Abstract
Access to postmortem brain tissue can be valuable in refining knowledge on the pathophysiology and genetics of neuropsychiatric disorders. Obtaining postmortem consent for the donation after death by suicide can be difficult, as families may be overwhelmed by a violent and unexpected death. Examining the process of brain donation can inform on how the request can best be conducted. This is a qualitative study with in-depth interviews with forty-one people that were asked to consider brain donation—32 who had consented to donation and 9 who refused it. Data collection and analyses were carried out according to grounded theory. Five key themes emerged from data analysis: the context of the families, the invitation to talk to the research team, the experience with the request protocol, the participants’ assessment of the experience, and their participation in the study as an opportunity to heal. The participants indicated that a brain donation request that is respectful and tactful can be made without adding to the family distress brought on by suicide and pondering brain donation was seen as an opportunity to transform the meaning of the death and invest it with a modicum of solace for being able to contribute to research.
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16
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Zarekiani P, Nogueira Pinto H, Hol EM, Bugiani M, de Vries HE. The neurovascular unit in leukodystrophies: towards solving the puzzle. Fluids Barriers CNS 2022; 19:18. [PMID: 35227276 PMCID: PMC8887016 DOI: 10.1186/s12987-022-00316-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/22/2021] [Accepted: 02/11/2022] [Indexed: 12/11/2022] Open
Abstract
The neurovascular unit (NVU) is a highly organized multicellular system localized in the brain, formed by neuronal, glial (astrocytes, oligodendrocytes, and microglia) and vascular (endothelial cells and pericytes) cells. The blood-brain barrier, a complex and dynamic endothelial cell barrier in the brain microvasculature that separates the blood from the brain parenchyma, is a component of the NVU. In a variety of neurological disorders, including Alzheimer's disease, multiple sclerosis, and stroke, dysfunctions of the NVU occurs. There is, however, a lack of knowledge regarding the NVU function in leukodystrophies, which are rare monogenic disorders that primarily affect the white matter. Since leukodystrophies are rare diseases, human brain tissue availability is scarce and representative animal models that significantly recapitulate the disease are difficult to develop. The introduction of human induced pluripotent stem cells (hiPSC) now makes it possible to surpass these limitations while maintaining the ability to work in a biologically relevant human context and safeguarding the genetic background of the patient. This review aims to provide further insights into the NVU functioning in leukodystrophies, with a special focus on iPSC-derived models that can be used to dissect neurovascular pathophysiology in these diseases.
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Affiliation(s)
- Parand Zarekiani
- Department of Pathology, Amsterdam Neuroscience, Amsterdam UMC, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, de Boelelaan 1117, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
- Amsterdam Leukodystrophy Center, Amsterdam UMC, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
- Department of Molecular Cell Biology and Immunology, Amsterdam Neuroscience, Amsterdam UMC, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, De Boelelaan 1117, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
| | - Henrique Nogueira Pinto
- Department of Molecular Cell Biology and Immunology, Amsterdam Neuroscience, Amsterdam UMC, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, De Boelelaan 1117, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
- Department of Translational Neuroscience, University Medical Center Utrecht Brain Center, Utrecht University, Utrecht, The Netherlands
| | - Elly M Hol
- Department of Translational Neuroscience, University Medical Center Utrecht Brain Center, Utrecht University, Utrecht, The Netherlands
| | - Marianna Bugiani
- Department of Pathology, Amsterdam Neuroscience, Amsterdam UMC, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, de Boelelaan 1117, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
- Amsterdam Leukodystrophy Center, Amsterdam UMC, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
| | - Helga E de Vries
- Department of Molecular Cell Biology and Immunology, Amsterdam Neuroscience, Amsterdam UMC, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, De Boelelaan 1117, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
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17
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Gao Y, Liu J, Wang J, Liu Y, Zeng LH, Ge W, Ma C. Proteomic analysis of human hippocampal subfields provides new insights into the pathogenesis of Alzheimer's disease and the role of glial cells. Brain Pathol 2022; 32:e13047. [PMID: 35016256 PMCID: PMC9245939 DOI: 10.1111/bpa.13047] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/25/2021] [Revised: 11/30/2021] [Accepted: 12/09/2021] [Indexed: 01/23/2023] Open
Abstract
The hippocampus and entorhinal cortex (EC), the earliest affected areas, are considered relative to early memory loss in Alzheimer's disease (AD). The hippocampus is composed of heterogeneous subfields that are affected in a different order and varying degrees during AD pathogenesis. In this study, we conducted a comprehensive proteomic analysis of the hippocampal subfields and EC region in human postmortem specimens obtained from the Chinese human brain bank. Bioinformatics analysis identified region‐consistent differentially expressed proteins (DEPs) which associated with astrocytes, and region‐specific DEPs which associated with oligodendrocytes and the myelin sheath. Further analysis illuminated that the region‐consistent DEPs functioned as connection of region‐specific DEPs. Moreover, in region‐consistent DEPs, the expression level of S100A10, a marker of protective astrocytes, was increased in both aging and AD patients. Immunohistochemical analysis confirmed an increase in the number of S100A10‐positive astrocytes in all hippocampal subfields and the EC region of AD patients. Dual immunofluorescence results further showed that S100A10‐positive astrocytes contained apoptotic neuron debris in AD patients, suggesting that S100A10‐positive astrocytes may protect brain through phagocytosis of apoptotic neurons. In region‐specific DEPs, the proteome showed a specific reduction of oligodendrocytes and myelin markers in CA1, CA3, and EC regions of AD patients. Immunohistochemical analysis confirmed the loss of myelin in EC region. Above all, these results highlight the role of the glial cells in AD and provide new insights into the pathogenesis of AD and potential therapeutic strategies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yanpan Gao
- School of Medicine, Zhejiang University City College, Hangzhou, China.,State Key Laboratory of Medical Molecular Biology, Department of Immunology, Institute of Basic Medical Sciences Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, School of Basic Medicine Peking Union Medical College, Beijing, China
| | - Jiaqi Liu
- Department of Human Anatomy, Histology and Embryology, Neuroscience Center, National Human Brain Bank for Development and Function, Institute of Basic Medical Sciences Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, School of Basic Medicine Peking Union Medical College, Beijing, China
| | - Jiayu Wang
- Department of Human Anatomy, Histology and Embryology, Neuroscience Center, National Human Brain Bank for Development and Function, Institute of Basic Medical Sciences Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, School of Basic Medicine Peking Union Medical College, Beijing, China.,Department of Histology and Embryology, Basic Medical College, China Medical University, Shenyang, China
| | - Yifan Liu
- Department of Neurosurgery, Peking Union Medical College Hospital, Peking Union Medical College and Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, Beijing, China
| | - Ling-Hui Zeng
- School of Medicine, Zhejiang University City College, Hangzhou, China
| | - Wei Ge
- State Key Laboratory of Medical Molecular Biology, Department of Immunology, Institute of Basic Medical Sciences Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, School of Basic Medicine Peking Union Medical College, Beijing, China.,Hebei Key Laboratory of Chronic Kidney Diseases and Bone Metabolism, Affiliated Hospital of Hebei University, Baoding, China
| | - Chao Ma
- Department of Human Anatomy, Histology and Embryology, Neuroscience Center, National Human Brain Bank for Development and Function, Institute of Basic Medical Sciences Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, School of Basic Medicine Peking Union Medical College, Beijing, China
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18
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Mayà G, Sarto J, Compta Y, Balasa M, Ximelis T, Aldecoa I, Gelpi E, Sánchez-Valle R, Molina-Porcel L. Assessment of Cognitive Symptoms in Brain Bank-Registered Control Subjects: Feasibility and Utility of a Telephone-Based Screening. J Alzheimers Dis 2021; 85:1107-1113. [DOI: 10.3233/jad-215444] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/15/2022]
Abstract
Background: For neuroscience research, the study of brain tissue of neurologically unimpaired subjects is crucial to interpret findings in neurodegenerative diseases. Sub-optimal neurological follow-up and the presence of neuropathological lesions in supposedly asymptomatic subjects casts doubt as to whether these subjects present an undetected underlying neurodegenerative disease or are resilient to neurodegeneration. Objective: We aimed to assess whether the control donors registered in the Neurological Tissue Bank-Hospital Clínic-IDIBAPS (NTB-HCI) are still free of cognitive symptoms at follow-up and to evaluate the feasibility and utility of a telephone-based screening. Methods: All control subjects older than 65 years registered at the NTB-HCI database were selected for the study. After a structured telephone interview, those subjects already diagnosed with a neurological disease were excluded. Then, a cognitive screening was performed, including the telephone version of the Mini-Mental State Examination (t-MMSE) and the eight-item interview (AD-8) to the subject and to one informant. Results: In total, 73.8% of the registered donors collaborated in the study. Only 21.4% had at least one of the three cognitive screening tools impaired, and 2.7% had a profile highly suggestive of cognitive impairment. AD-8i correlated moderately with t-MMSE. Conclusion: Telephone-based neurologic screening in control donors is feasible and was within the normal range in most of the subjects in our cohort. Albeit, the involvement of neurologists and periodic neurological screenings are desirable in a control subjects brain donor program, AD8-i could be used to screen the control’s neurological status in the absence of accurate clinical data at the time of the death.
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Affiliation(s)
- Gerard Mayà
- Neurology Service-ICN, Hospital Clínic de Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain
| | - Jordi Sarto
- Neurology Service-ICN, Hospital Clínic de Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain
- Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red sobre Enfermedades Neurodegenerativas(CIBERNED)
| | - Yaroslau Compta
- Neurology Service-ICN, Hospital Clínic de Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain
| | - Mircea Balasa
- Neurology Service-ICN, Hospital Clínic de Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain
| | - Teresa Ximelis
- Neurological TissueBank of the Biobank-IDIBAPS-Hospital Clínic, Barcelona, Spain
| | - Iban Aldecoa
- Neurological TissueBank of the Biobank-IDIBAPS-Hospital Clínic, Barcelona, Spain
- Pathology Service-CDB, Hospital Clínic de Barcelona, University of Barcelona, Spain
| | - Ellen Gelpi
- Neurological TissueBank of the Biobank-IDIBAPS-Hospital Clínic, Barcelona, Spain
- Department of Neurology, Division of Neuropathology and Neurochemistry, Medical University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria
| | - Raquel Sánchez-Valle
- Neurology Service-ICN, Hospital Clínic de Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain
- Neurological TissueBank of the Biobank-IDIBAPS-Hospital Clínic, Barcelona, Spain
| | - Laura Molina-Porcel
- Neurology Service-ICN, Hospital Clínic de Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain
- Neurological TissueBank of the Biobank-IDIBAPS-Hospital Clínic, Barcelona, Spain
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19
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Cao Y, Ao DH, Ma C, Qiu WY, Zhu YC. Immunoreactivity and a new staining method of monocarboxylate transporter 1 located in endothelial cells of cerebral vessels of human brain in distinguishing cerebral venules from arterioles. Eur J Histochem 2021; 65. [PMID: 34595897 PMCID: PMC8506011 DOI: 10.4081/ejh.2021.3306] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/15/2021] [Accepted: 09/08/2021] [Indexed: 11/23/2022] Open
Abstract
Distinguishing brain venules from arterioles with arteriolosclerosis is less reliable using traditional staining methods. We aimed to immunohistochemically assess the monocarboxylate transporter 1 (MCT1), a specific marker of venous endothelium found in rodent studies, in different caliber vessels in human brains. Both largeand small-caliber cerebral vessels were dissected from four autopsy donors. Immunoreactivity for MCT1 was examined in all autopsied human brain tissues, and then each vessel was identified by neuropathologists using hematoxylin and eosin stain, the Verhoeff's Van Gieson stain, immunohistochemical stain with antibodies for α-smooth muscle actin and MCT1 in sequence. A total of 61 cerebral vessels, including 29 arteries and 32 veins were assessed. Immunoreactivity for MCT1 was observed in the endothelial cells of various caliber veins as well as the capillaries, whereas that was immunenegative in the endothelium of arteries. The different labeling patterns for MCT1 could aid in distinguishing various caliber veins from arteries, whereas assessment using the vessel shape, the internal elastic lamina, and the pattern of smooth muscle fibers failed to make the distinction between small-caliber veins and sclerotic arterioles. In conclusion, MCT1 immunohistochemical staining is a sensitive and reliable method to distinguish cerebral veins from arteries.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yuan Cao
- Department of Neurology, State Key Laboratory of Complex Severe and Rare Diseases, Peking Union Medical College Hospital, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and Peking Union Medical College.
| | - Dong-Hui Ao
- Department of Neurology, State Key Laboratory of Complex Severe and Rare Diseases, Peking Union Medical College Hospital, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and Peking Union Medical College, Beijing.
| | - Chao Ma
- Department of Human Anatomy, Histology and Embryology, Institute of Basic Medical Sciences, Neuroscience Center, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, School of Basic Medicine, Peking Union Medical College.
| | - Wen-Ying Qiu
- Department of Human Anatomy, Histology and Embryology, Institute of Basic Medical Sciences, Neuroscience Center, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, School of Basic Medicine, Peking Union Medical College.
| | - Yi-Cheng Zhu
- Department of Human Anatomy, Histology and Embryology, Institute of Basic Medical Sciences, Neuroscience Center, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, School of Basic Medicine, Peking Union Medical College.
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20
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Curran OE, Qiu Z, Smith C, Grant SGN. A single-synapse resolution survey of PSD95-positive synapses in twenty human brain regions. Eur J Neurosci 2021; 54:6864-6881. [PMID: 32492218 PMCID: PMC7615673 DOI: 10.1111/ejn.14846] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/18/2020] [Revised: 05/20/2020] [Accepted: 05/21/2020] [Indexed: 12/24/2022]
Abstract
Mapping the molecular composition of individual excitatory synapses across the mouse brain reveals high synapse diversity with each brain region showing a distinct composition of synapse types. As a first step towards systematic mapping of synapse diversity across the human brain, we have labelled and imaged synapses expressing the excitatory synapse protein PSD95 in twenty human brain regions, including 13 neocortical, two subcortical, one hippocampal, one cerebellar and three brainstem regions, in four phenotypically normal individuals. We quantified the number, size and intensity of individual synaptic puncta and compared their regional distributions. We found that each region showed a distinct signature of synaptic puncta parameters. Comparison of brain regions showed that cortical and hippocampal structures are similar, and distinct from those of cerebellum and brainstem. Comparison of synapse parameters from human and mouse brain revealed conservation of parameters, hierarchical organization of brain regions and network architecture. This work illustrates the feasibility of generating a systematic single-synapse resolution atlas of the human brain, a potentially significant resource in studies of brain health and disease.
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Affiliation(s)
- Olimpia E Curran
- Centre for Clinical Brain Sciences, Chancellor's Building, Edinburgh BioQuarter, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, UK
| | - Zhen Qiu
- Centre for Clinical Brain Sciences, Chancellor's Building, Edinburgh BioQuarter, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, UK
| | - Colin Smith
- Academic Neuropathology, Chancellor's Building, Edinburgh BioQuarter, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, UK
| | - Seth G N Grant
- Centre for Clinical Brain Sciences, Chancellor's Building, Edinburgh BioQuarter, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, UK
- Simons Initiative for the Developing Brain (SIDB), Centre for Discovery Brain Sciences, University of Edinburgh, Hugh Robson Building, Edinburgh, UK
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21
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Sándor S, Czeibert K, Salamon A, Kubinyi E. Man's best friend in life and death: scientific perspectives and challenges of dog brain banking. GeroScience 2021. [PMID: 33970413 DOI: 10.1007/s11357-021-00373-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/24/2020] [Accepted: 04/19/2021] [Indexed: 12/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Biobanking refers to the systematic collection, storage, and distribution of pre- or post-mortem biological samples derived from volunteer donors. The demand for high-quality human specimens is clearly demonstrated by the number of newly emerging biobanking facilities and large international collaborative networks. Several animal species are relevant today in medical research; therefore, similar initiatives in comparative physiology could be fruitful. Dogs, in particular, are gaining increasing attention in translational research on complex phenomena, like aging, cancer, and neurodegenerative diseases. Therefore, biobanks gathering and storing dog biological materials together with related data could play a vital role in translational and veterinary research projects. To achieve these aims, a canine biobank should meet the same standards in sample quality and data management as human biobanks and should rely on well-designed collaborative networks between different professionals and dog owners. While efforts to create dog biobanks could face similar financial and technical challenges as their human counterparts, they can widen the spectrum of successful collaborative initiatives towards a better picture of dogs’ physiology, disease, evolution, and translational potential. In this review, we provide an overview about the current state of dog biobanking and introduce the “Canine Brain and Tissue Bank” (CBTB)—a new, large-scale collaborative endeavor in the field.
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22
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Gadd DA, Stevenson AJ, Hillary RF, McCartney DL, Wrobel N, McCafferty S, Murphy L, Russ TC, Harris SE, Redmond P, Taylor AM, Smith C, Rose J, Millar T, Spires-Jones TL, Cox SR, Marioni RE. Epigenetic predictors of lifestyle traits applied to the blood and brain. Brain Commun 2021; 3:fcab082. [PMID: 34041477 PMCID: PMC8134833 DOI: 10.1093/braincomms/fcab082] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/27/2020] [Revised: 02/02/2021] [Accepted: 03/04/2021] [Indexed: 11/14/2022] Open
Abstract
Modifiable lifestyle factors influence the risk of developing many neurological diseases. These factors have been extensively linked with blood-based genome-wide DNA methylation, but it is unclear if the signatures from blood translate to the target tissue of interest-the brain. To investigate this, we apply blood-derived epigenetic predictors of four lifestyle traits to genome-wide DNA methylation from five post-mortem brain regions and the last blood sample prior to death in 14 individuals in the Lothian Birth Cohort 1936. Using these matched samples, we found that correlations between blood and brain DNA methylation scores for smoking, high-density lipoprotein cholesterol, alcohol and body mass index were highly variable across brain regions. Smoking scores in the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex had the strongest correlations with smoking scores in blood (r = 0.5, n = 14, P = 0.07) and smoking behaviour (r = 0.56, n = 9, P = 0.12). This was also the brain region which exhibited the largest correlations for DNA methylation at site cg05575921 - the single strongest correlate of smoking in blood-in relation to blood (r = 0.61, n = 14, P = 0.02) and smoking behaviour (r = -0.65, n = 9, P = 0.06). This suggested a particular vulnerability to smoking-related differential methylation in this region. Our work contributes to understanding how lifestyle factors affect the brain and suggest that lifestyle-related DNA methylation is likely to be both brain region dependent and in many cases poorly proxied for by blood. Though these pilot data provide a rarely-available opportunity for the comparison of methylation patterns across multiple brain regions and the blood, due to the limited sample size available our results must be considered as preliminary and should therefore be used as a basis for further investigation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Danni A Gadd
- Centre for Genomic and Experimental Medicine, Institute of Genetics and Cancer, University of Edinburgh 2XU, UK
| | - Anna J Stevenson
- Centre for Genomic and Experimental Medicine, Institute of Genetics and Cancer, University of Edinburgh 2XU, UK
| | - Robert F Hillary
- Centre for Genomic and Experimental Medicine, Institute of Genetics and Cancer, University of Edinburgh 2XU, UK
| | - Daniel L McCartney
- Centre for Genomic and Experimental Medicine, Institute of Genetics and Cancer, University of Edinburgh 2XU, UK
| | - Nicola Wrobel
- Edinburgh Clinical Research Facility, Western General Hospital, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh EH4 2XU, UK
| | - Sarah McCafferty
- Edinburgh Clinical Research Facility, Western General Hospital, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh EH4 2XU, UK
| | - Lee Murphy
- Edinburgh Clinical Research Facility, Western General Hospital, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh EH4 2XU, UK
| | - Tom C Russ
- Alzheimer Scotland Dementia Research Centre, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh EH8 9JZ, UK
- Lothian Birth Cohorts group, Department of Psychology, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh EH8 9JZ, UK
| | - Sarah E Harris
- Lothian Birth Cohorts group, Department of Psychology, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh EH8 9JZ, UK
| | - Paul Redmond
- Lothian Birth Cohorts group, Department of Psychology, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh EH8 9JZ, UK
| | - Adele M Taylor
- Lothian Birth Cohorts group, Department of Psychology, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh EH8 9JZ, UK
| | - Colin Smith
- Centre for Clinical Brain Sciences, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh EH8 9JZ, UK
| | - Jamie Rose
- Centre for Discovery Brain Sciences, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh EH8 9JZ, UK
| | - Tracey Millar
- Centre for Clinical Brain Sciences, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh EH8 9JZ, UK
| | - Tara L Spires-Jones
- Centre for Discovery Brain Sciences, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh EH8 9JZ, UK
| | - Simon R Cox
- Lothian Birth Cohorts group, Department of Psychology, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh EH8 9JZ, UK
| | - Riccardo E Marioni
- Centre for Genomic and Experimental Medicine, Institute of Genetics and Cancer, University of Edinburgh 2XU, UK
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23
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Shireby GL, Davies JP, Francis PT, Burrage J, Walker EM, Neilson GWA, Dahir A, Thomas AJ, Love S, Smith RG, Lunnon K, Kumari M, Schalkwyk LC, Morgan K, Brookes K, Hannon E, Mill J. Recalibrating the epigenetic clock: implications for assessing biological age in the human cortex. Brain 2021; 143:3763-3775. [PMID: 33300551 PMCID: PMC7805794 DOI: 10.1093/brain/awaa334] [Citation(s) in RCA: 72] [Impact Index Per Article: 24.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/28/2020] [Revised: 08/06/2020] [Accepted: 08/07/2020] [Indexed: 12/14/2022] Open
Abstract
Human DNA methylation data have been used to develop biomarkers of ageing, referred to as ‘epigenetic clocks’, which have been widely used to identify differences between chronological age and biological age in health and disease including neurodegeneration, dementia and other brain phenotypes. Existing DNA methylation clocks have been shown to be highly accurate in blood but are less precise when used in older samples or in tissue types not included in training the model, including brain. We aimed to develop a novel epigenetic clock that performs optimally in human cortex tissue and has the potential to identify phenotypes associated with biological ageing in the brain. We generated an extensive dataset of human cortex DNA methylation data spanning the life course (n = 1397, ages = 1 to 108 years). This dataset was split into ‘training’ and ‘testing’ samples (training: n = 1047; testing: n = 350). DNA methylation age estimators were derived using a transformed version of chronological age on DNA methylation at specific sites using elastic net regression, a supervised machine learning method. The cortical clock was subsequently validated in a novel independent human cortex dataset (n = 1221, ages = 41 to 104 years) and tested for specificity in a large whole blood dataset (n = 1175, ages = 28 to 98 years). We identified a set of 347 DNA methylation sites that, in combination, optimally predict age in the human cortex. The sum of DNA methylation levels at these sites weighted by their regression coefficients provide the cortical DNA methylation clock age estimate. The novel clock dramatically outperformed previously reported clocks in additional cortical datasets. Our findings suggest that previous associations between predicted DNA methylation age and neurodegenerative phenotypes might represent false positives resulting from clocks not robustly calibrated to the tissue being tested and for phenotypes that become manifest in older ages. The age distribution and tissue type of samples included in training datasets need to be considered when building and applying epigenetic clock algorithms to human epidemiological or disease cohorts.
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Affiliation(s)
- Gemma L Shireby
- University of Exeter Medical School, University of Exeter, Exeter, UK
| | - Jonathan P Davies
- University of Exeter Medical School, University of Exeter, Exeter, UK
| | - Paul T Francis
- University of Exeter Medical School, University of Exeter, Exeter, UK.,Wolfson Centre for Age-Related Diseases, King's College London, London, UK
| | - Joe Burrage
- University of Exeter Medical School, University of Exeter, Exeter, UK
| | - Emma M Walker
- University of Exeter Medical School, University of Exeter, Exeter, UK
| | - Grant W A Neilson
- University of Exeter Medical School, University of Exeter, Exeter, UK
| | - Aisha Dahir
- University of Exeter Medical School, University of Exeter, Exeter, UK
| | - Alan J Thomas
- Translational and Clinical Research Institute, Newcastle University, Newcastle Upon Tyne, UK
| | - Seth Love
- Dementia Research Group, Institute of Clinical Neurosciences, School of Clinical Sciences, University of Bristol, Bristol, UK
| | - Rebecca G Smith
- University of Exeter Medical School, University of Exeter, Exeter, UK
| | - Katie Lunnon
- University of Exeter Medical School, University of Exeter, Exeter, UK
| | - Meena Kumari
- Institute for Social and Economic Research, University of Essex, Colchester, UK
| | | | - Kevin Morgan
- Human Genetics, School of Life Sciences, University of Nottingham, Nottingham, UK
| | - Keeley Brookes
- School of Science and Technology, Nottingham Trent University, Nottingham, UK
| | - Eilis Hannon
- University of Exeter Medical School, University of Exeter, Exeter, UK
| | - Jonathan Mill
- University of Exeter Medical School, University of Exeter, Exeter, UK
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24
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Siminoff LA, Mash D, Wilson-Genderson M, Gardiner HM, Mosavel M, Barker L. Making a family decision to donate the brain for genomic research: lessons from the genotype-tissue expression project (GTEx). Cell Tissue Bank 2021; 22:431-441. [PMID: 33386465 DOI: 10.1007/s10561-020-09890-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/27/2020] [Accepted: 12/04/2020] [Indexed: 01/15/2023]
Abstract
This study sheds light on the attitudes and circumstances that influence decisions by families to donate the brain of a deceased family member for research. This study, a part of the Genotype-Tissue Expression (GTEx) project, interviewed families of patients who had authorized organ and/or tissue donation for transplantation. A total of 384 family decision makers (FDMs) who decided to donate organs and/or tissues for transplantation were also asked to donate to GTEx. Of these, 297 families were asked to donate their loved one's whole brain and 87 families responded to a hypothetical request for brain donation. The decision to donate the brain to GTEx, actually or hypothetically, was the major outcome measure. The majority of the FDMs would choose to donate the brain, 78%. Unwillingness to donate the brain was associated with four attitudes: (1) the FDM unwillingness to donate their own tissues for research (OR 1.91, 95% CI .67 to 2.96; p = .05), (2) concern with potential for-profit use of tissues (OR 2.12, 95% CI 1.2 to 3.7; p = .008), (3) reported squeamishness about tissue donation (OR 1.34, 95% CI 1.1 to 1.7; p = .006), and (4) belief that FDMs should have a say in how the donated tissues are used (OR 1.36, 95% CI 1.13 to 1.5; p = .01). Organ and tissue donors may present a plenteous source of brains for research. Family concerns about tissue use and collection should be addressed by requesters.
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Affiliation(s)
- Laura A Siminoff
- College of Public Health, Temple University, 1700 N. Broad Street Suite 202 - 2nd Floor, Philadelphia, PA, 19121, USA.
| | - Deborah Mash
- Neurology and Molecular and Cellular Pharmacology, Miller School of Medicine, University of Miami, Miami, USA
| | | | - Heather M Gardiner
- Department of Social and Behavioral Sciences, College of Public Health, Temple University, Philadelphia, USA
| | - Maghboeba Mosavel
- Department of Health Behavior and Policy, Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, USA
| | - Laura Barker
- College of Public Health, Temple University, Philadelphia, USA
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25
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Tang K, Wan M, Zhang H, Zhang Q, Yang Q, Chen K, Wang N, Zhang D, Qiu W, Ma C. The top 100 most-cited articles citing human brain banking from 1970 to 2020: a bibliometric analysis. Cell Tissue Bank 2020; 21:685-697. [PMID: 32761559 DOI: 10.1007/s10561-020-09849-w] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/15/2020] [Accepted: 07/09/2020] [Indexed: 02/08/2023]
Abstract
Many articles involving human brain banks have been published. Bibliometric analysis can determine the history of the development of research and future research trends in a specific field. Three independent researchers retrieved and reviewed articles from the Web of Science database using the following strategy: "TS = (((brain OR cerebral) AND (bank* OR biobank*)) OR brainbank*)." The top 100 most-cited articles were identified and listed in descending order by total citations. Web of Science was used to identify ten recent articles describing bank construction. GeenMedical ( https://www.geenmedical.com/ ) was used to identify ten recent articles from journals with an impact factor (IF) > 20. The top 100 most-cited articles citing human brain banks were published between 1991 and 2017. Fifty-two percent of the articles focused on a specific type of neurodegenerative disease, and 16% discussed the construction and development of human brain banks. Articles using brain tissue had more total and annual citations than those on bank construction. Ten articles with high IFs were published from 2017 to 2019, and they were primarily studies using novel research techniques such RNA sequencing and genome-wide association studies. Most studies were published in journals specializing in neurology or neuroscience such as Movement Disorders (10%), and had been conducted in the United States (52%) by neurologists (62%). The top 100 most-cited articles and recent publications citing human brain banks and their bibliometric characteristics were identified and analyzed, which may serve as a useful reference and pave the way for further research.
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Affiliation(s)
- Keyun Tang
- Department of Human Anatomy, Histology and Embryology, Institute of Basic Medical Sciences, Neuroscience Center, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, Peking Union Medical College, Beijing, China.,Eight-Year MD Program, Peking Union Medical College, Beijing, China
| | - Mengyao Wan
- Department of Human Anatomy, Histology and Embryology, Institute of Basic Medical Sciences, Neuroscience Center, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, Peking Union Medical College, Beijing, China.,Eight-Year MD Program, Peking Union Medical College, Beijing, China
| | - Hanlin Zhang
- Department of Human Anatomy, Histology and Embryology, Institute of Basic Medical Sciences, Neuroscience Center, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, Peking Union Medical College, Beijing, China.,Eight-Year MD Program, Peking Union Medical College, Beijing, China
| | - Qing Zhang
- Department of Human Anatomy, Histology and Embryology, Institute of Basic Medical Sciences, Neuroscience Center, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, Peking Union Medical College, Beijing, China
| | - Qian Yang
- Department of Human Anatomy, Histology and Embryology, Institute of Basic Medical Sciences, Neuroscience Center, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, Peking Union Medical College, Beijing, China
| | - Kang Chen
- Department of Human Anatomy, Histology and Embryology, Institute of Basic Medical Sciences, Neuroscience Center, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, Peking Union Medical College, Beijing, China.,Eight-Year MD Program, Peking Union Medical College, Beijing, China
| | - Naili Wang
- Department of Human Anatomy, Histology and Embryology, Institute of Basic Medical Sciences, Neuroscience Center, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, Peking Union Medical College, Beijing, China.,National Experimental Demonstration Center of Basic Medicine, Peking Union Medical College, Beijing, China
| | - Di Zhang
- Department of Human Anatomy, Histology and Embryology, Institute of Basic Medical Sciences, Neuroscience Center, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, Peking Union Medical College, Beijing, China.,National Experimental Demonstration Center of Basic Medicine, Peking Union Medical College, Beijing, China
| | - Wenying Qiu
- Department of Human Anatomy, Histology and Embryology, Institute of Basic Medical Sciences, Neuroscience Center, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, Peking Union Medical College, Beijing, China.
| | - Chao Ma
- Department of Human Anatomy, Histology and Embryology, Institute of Basic Medical Sciences, Neuroscience Center, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, Peking Union Medical College, Beijing, China. .,Joint Laboratory of Anesthesia and Pain, Peking Union Medical College, Beijing, China.
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26
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Chan RJW, Seah S, Foo JYJ, Yong ACW, Chia NSY, Agustin SJU, Neo SXM, Tay KY, Au WL, Tan LCS, Ng ASL. Patient attitudes towards brain donation across both neurodegenerative and non-neurodegenerative neurological disorders. Cell Tissue Bank 2020; 21:265-277. [PMID: 32140800 DOI: 10.1007/s10561-020-09819-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/19/2019] [Accepted: 02/24/2020] [Indexed: 02/07/2023]
Abstract
Brain donations are imperative for research; understanding possible barriers to entry is required to improve brain donation rates. While a few surveys have studied attitudes towards brain banking in patients with neurodegenerative disorders, none have surveyed patients with chronic neurological disorders but without neurodegeneration. This cross-sectional study was conducted on 187 participants, with both neurodegenerative (n = 122) and non-neurodegenerative disorders (n = 65), to compare their attitudes and preferences towards brain donation. Encouragingly, patients with non-neurodegenerative disorders were just as likely to consider brain donation as those with neurodegenerative diseases. Approximately half of each group were willing to consider brain donation, and majority of participants across both groups would not be offended if asked to participate in brain donation (71%). Across both groups, altruistic reasons such as desire to advance medical knowledge and benefit to other patients were the main motivating factors for brain donation, while perceived stress for family members, fears of body disfigurement and religious reasons were the main reasons against brain donation. Of note, nearly two-thirds of all participants were agreeable to allow their family to decide on their behalf. Overall, participants with non-neurodegenerative disorders appeared equally likely to consider brain donation as participants with neurodegenerative disorders. This is an important finding as they represent a significant population seen in specialist neurology clinics who may be overlooked in brain donor recruitment and awareness efforts. Healthcare professionals involved in brain banking should consider actively approaching these potential donors and involving their family members in these discussions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Reudi J W Chan
- Lee Kong Chian School of Medicine, Nanyang Technological University, 11 Mandalay Road, Singapore, 308232, Singapore
| | - Sherilyn Seah
- Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine, National University of Singapore, 10 Medical Drive, Singapore, 117597, Singapore
| | - Joel Y J Foo
- Department of Research, National Neuroscience Institute, 11 Jalan Tan Tock Seng, Singapore, 308433, Singapore
| | - Alisa C W Yong
- Department of Research, National Neuroscience Institute, 11 Jalan Tan Tock Seng, Singapore, 308433, Singapore
| | - Nicole S Y Chia
- Department of Research, National Neuroscience Institute, 11 Jalan Tan Tock Seng, Singapore, 308433, Singapore
| | - Sherwin J U Agustin
- Department of Research, National Neuroscience Institute, 11 Jalan Tan Tock Seng, Singapore, 308433, Singapore
| | - Shermyn X M Neo
- Department of Neurology, National Neuroscience Institute, 11 Jalan Tan Tock Seng, Singapore, 308433, Singapore
| | - Kay-Yaw Tay
- Department of Neurology, National Neuroscience Institute, 11 Jalan Tan Tock Seng, Singapore, 308433, Singapore
| | - Wing-Lok Au
- Department of Neurology, National Neuroscience Institute, 11 Jalan Tan Tock Seng, Singapore, 308433, Singapore
| | - Louis C S Tan
- Department of Neurology, National Neuroscience Institute, 11 Jalan Tan Tock Seng, Singapore, 308433, Singapore
| | - Adeline S L Ng
- Department of Neurology, National Neuroscience Institute, 11 Jalan Tan Tock Seng, Singapore, 308433, Singapore.
- Neuroscience and Behavioural Disorders Program, Duke-NUS Medical School, 8 College Road, Singapore, 169857, Singapore.
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27
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Zhang W, Zhang Q, Yang Q, Liu P, Sun T, Xu Y, Qian X, Qiu W, Ma C. Contribution of Alzheimer's disease neuropathologic change to the cognitive dysfunction in human brains with Lewy body-related pathology. Neurobiol Aging 2020; 91:56-65. [PMID: 32224069 DOI: 10.1016/j.neurobiolaging.2020.02.022] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/09/2019] [Revised: 02/09/2020] [Accepted: 02/22/2020] [Indexed: 12/31/2022]
Abstract
This study investigated the clinicopathological relationship between cognitive dysfunction and Lewy body-related pathology (LRP), and the role of Alzheimer's disease neuropathologic change (ADNC) in affecting this relationship in the Chinese population. A total of 127 brains with antemortem cognition assessment were collected. The postmortem neuropathological classification of LRP and staging of ADNC were evaluated. Pairwise correlation and ordered logistic regression analysis showed that LRP had a moderate correlation with Global Everyday Cognition scores. The proportion of the people with intermediate and high levels of comorbid ADNC increased with the deterioration of LRP. The fit of the cognition prediction model improved when we incorporated both LRP and ADNC into the model compared with LRP alone. Our study indicated that comorbid ADNC can variably present in patients with Lewy body disease. A combination of LRP and concurrent ADNC improves the prediction of cognitive dysfunction compared with LRP alone. These findings may suggest the potential benefit of combined therapeutic approaches targeting concurrent pathological pathways for the Lewy body diseases in the Chinese population.
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Affiliation(s)
- Wanying Zhang
- Institute of Basic Medical Sciences, Neuroscience Center, National Human Brain Bank for Development and Function, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, Beijing, China; Department of Human Anatomy, Histology and Embryology, School of Basic Medicine, Peking Union Medical College, Beijing, China; Joint Laboratory of Anesthesia and Pain, Peking Union Medical College, Beijing, China; Department of Epidemiology, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, MD, USA
| | - Qing Zhang
- Institute of Basic Medical Sciences, Neuroscience Center, National Human Brain Bank for Development and Function, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, Beijing, China; Department of Human Anatomy, Histology and Embryology, School of Basic Medicine, Peking Union Medical College, Beijing, China
| | - Qian Yang
- Institute of Basic Medical Sciences, Neuroscience Center, National Human Brain Bank for Development and Function, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, Beijing, China; Department of Human Anatomy, Histology and Embryology, School of Basic Medicine, Peking Union Medical College, Beijing, China; Joint Laboratory of Anesthesia and Pain, Peking Union Medical College, Beijing, China
| | - Pan Liu
- Institute of Basic Medical Sciences, Neuroscience Center, National Human Brain Bank for Development and Function, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, Beijing, China; Department of Human Anatomy, Histology and Embryology, School of Basic Medicine, Peking Union Medical College, Beijing, China; Joint Laboratory of Anesthesia and Pain, Peking Union Medical College, Beijing, China
| | - Tianyi Sun
- Institute of Basic Medical Sciences, Neuroscience Center, National Human Brain Bank for Development and Function, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, Beijing, China; Department of Human Anatomy, Histology and Embryology, School of Basic Medicine, Peking Union Medical College, Beijing, China; Joint Laboratory of Anesthesia and Pain, Peking Union Medical College, Beijing, China
| | - Yuanyuan Xu
- National Experimental Teaching Demonstration Center of Basic Medicine, Peking Union Medical College, Beijing, China
| | - Xiaojing Qian
- Institute of Basic Medical Sciences, Neuroscience Center, National Human Brain Bank for Development and Function, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, Beijing, China; Department of Human Anatomy, Histology and Embryology, School of Basic Medicine, Peking Union Medical College, Beijing, China
| | - Wenying Qiu
- Institute of Basic Medical Sciences, Neuroscience Center, National Human Brain Bank for Development and Function, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, Beijing, China; Department of Human Anatomy, Histology and Embryology, School of Basic Medicine, Peking Union Medical College, Beijing, China.
| | - Chao Ma
- Institute of Basic Medical Sciences, Neuroscience Center, National Human Brain Bank for Development and Function, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, Beijing, China; Department of Human Anatomy, Histology and Embryology, School of Basic Medicine, Peking Union Medical College, Beijing, China; Joint Laboratory of Anesthesia and Pain, Peking Union Medical College, Beijing, China.
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Francis PT, Costello H, Hayes GM. Brains for Dementia Research: Evolution in a Longitudinal Brain Donation Cohort to Maximize Current and Future Value. J Alzheimers Dis 2019; 66:1635-1644. [PMID: 30452415 PMCID: PMC6294579 DOI: 10.3233/jad-180699] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Abstract
Brain banking has a long and distinguished past, contributing greatly to our understanding of human neurological and psychiatric conditions. Brain banks have been operationally diverse, collecting primarily end stage disease, with variable quality clinical data available, yet it is now recognized the most informative brain donations are from those in longitudinally studied cohorts. The Brains for Dementia Research (BDR) cohort and program was for planned brain donation across five UK brain banks and one donation point, with standardized operating procedures, following longitudinal clinical and psychometric assessments for people with no cognitive impairment as well as those with dementia. Lay representatives with experience of dementia were involved from inception of BDR and 74.5% of all enquiries about participation came through routes that were directly attributable to or influenced by lay representatives. Ten years after inception, this ongoing project has received over 700 brain donations from the recruited cohort of 3,276 potential brain donors. At cohort census for this paper, 72.2% of the living cohort have no cognitive impairment by assessment, whereas only 28.3% of the donated cohort were without cognitive impairment. It is important that brain banks are agile and reflect the changing needs of the research community, given that ‘big data’, readiness cohorts, and GWAS demand large sample numbers of highly characterized individuals to facilitate new approaches and understanding of pathological processes in dementia.
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Affiliation(s)
- Paul T Francis
- King's College London, Wolfson Centre for Age-Related Diseases, London, UK
| | - Helen Costello
- King's College London, Wolfson Centre for Age-Related Diseases, London, UK
| | - Gillian M Hayes
- King's College London, Wolfson Centre for Age-Related Diseases, London, UK
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Balikov DA, Neal EH, Lippmann ES. Organotypic Neurovascular Models: Past Results and Future Directions. Trends Mol Med 2019; 26:273-284. [PMID: 31699496 DOI: 10.1016/j.molmed.2019.09.010] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/04/2019] [Revised: 09/10/2019] [Accepted: 09/20/2019] [Indexed: 12/15/2022]
Abstract
The high failure rates of clinical trials in neurodegeneration, perhaps most apparent in recent high-profile failures of potential Alzheimer's disease therapies, have partially motivated the development of improved human cell-based models to bridge the gap between well-plate assays and preclinical efficacy studies in mice. Recently, cerebral organoids derived from stem cells have gained significant traction as 3D models of central nervous system (CNS) regions. Although this technology is promising, several limitations still exist; most notably, improper structural organization of neural cells and a lack of functional glia and vasculature. Here, we provide an overview of the cerebral organoid field and speculate how engineering strategies, including biomaterial fabrication and templating, might be used to overcome existing challenges.
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Affiliation(s)
- Daniel A Balikov
- Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN, USA; Department of Internal Medicine, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, USA
| | - Emma H Neal
- Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN, USA
| | - Ethan S Lippmann
- Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN, USA; Department of Biomedical Engineering, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN, USA; Chemical and Physical Biology Program, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN, USA; Vanderbilt Brain Institute, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN, USA; Interdisciplinary Materials Science Program, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN, USA.
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30
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Peden AH, Kanguru L, Ritchie DL, Smith C, Molesworth AM. Study protocol for enhanced CJD surveillance in the 65+ years population group in Scotland: an observational neuropathological screening study of banked brain tissue donations for evidence of prion disease. BMJ Open 2019; 9:e033744. [PMID: 31662408 PMCID: PMC6830687 DOI: 10.1136/bmjopen-2019-033744] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/09/2022] Open
Abstract
INTRODUCTION Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (CJD) is a human prion disease that occurs in sporadic, genetic and acquired forms. Variant CJD (vCJD) is an acquired form first identified in 1996 in the UK. To date, 178 cases of vCJD have been reported in the UK, most of which have been associated with dietary exposure to the bovine spongiform encephalopathy agent. Most vCJD cases have a young age of onset, with a median age at death of 28 years. In the UK, suspected cases of vCJD are reported to the UK National Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease Research & Surveillance Unit (NCJDRSU). There is, however, a concern that the national surveillance system might be missing some cases of vCJD or other forms of human prion disease, particularly in the older population, perhaps because of atypical clinical presentation. This study aims to establish whether there is unrecognised prion disease in people aged 65 years and above in the Scottish population by screening banked brain tissue donated to the Edinburgh Brain Bank (EBB). METHODS Neuropathological screening of prospective and retrospective brain tissue samples is performed. This involves histopathological and immunohistochemical analysis and prion protein biochemical analysis. During the study, descriptive statistics are used to describe the study population, including the demographics and clinical, pathological and referral characteristics. Controlling for confounders, univariate and multivariate analyses will be used to compare select characteristics of newly identified suspect cases with previously confirmed cases referred to the NCJDRSU. ETHICS AND DISSEMINATION Brain tissue donations to EBB are made voluntarily by the relatives of patients, with consent for use in research. The EBB has ethical approval to provide tissue samples to research projects (REC reference 16/ES/0084). The findings of this study will be disseminated in meetings, conferences, workshops and as peer-reviewed publications. TRIAL REGISTRATION NUMBERS 10/S1402/69 and 10/S1402/70.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alexander Howard Peden
- Centre for Clinical Brain Sciences, National CJD Research & Surveillance Unit, Edinburgh, UK
| | - Lovney Kanguru
- Centre for Clinical Brain Sciences, National CJD Research & Surveillance Unit, Edinburgh, UK
| | - Diane L Ritchie
- Centre for Clinical Brain Sciences, National CJD Research & Surveillance Unit, Edinburgh, UK
| | - Colin Smith
- Centre for Clinical Brain Sciences, National CJD Research & Surveillance Unit, Edinburgh, UK
| | - Anna M Molesworth
- Centre for Clinical Brain Sciences, National CJD Research & Surveillance Unit, Edinburgh, UK
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Khan S, Foo JYJ, Chia NSY, Agustin SJU, Neo SXM, Tay KY, Au WL, Ng ASL, Tan LCS. Attitudes of Asian Parkinson patients towards brain donation. Cell Tissue Bank 2019; 20:585-90. [PMID: 31583487 DOI: 10.1007/s10561-019-09788-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/29/2019] [Accepted: 09/24/2019] [Indexed: 10/25/2022]
Abstract
Histopathological examination of brain tissue is required for better understanding of neurodegenerative conditions such as Parkinson's disease and related disorders. However, patient willingness remains the greatest hurdle hampering participation in brain donation for research. While there is extensive research being conducted on the subject in West, to the best of our knowledge, there are no studies done in this regard in Asia. This cross-sectional survey was conducted on 105 Parkinson's disease patients to assess their knowledge, beliefs and attitude towards brain donation in an Asian population. The majority of the participants (78%) acknowledged the importance of donation of brain for research, and 70% believed that their donated brain samples would be handled professionally. Fifty percent participants were willing to consider donating their brain for research. Motivating factors for brain donation included altruism (87%) and contribution to advance medical knowledge (80%). Common reasons for unwillingness towards brain donation were stress for family (30%), disfigurement of body (25%), and having a conservative mindset (23%). About one-third of the participants preferred to be approached for brain donation after their first clinic visit. Most patients preferred either their treating neurologists (66%) or research staff (18%) to discuss brain donation with. Participation for brain donation may be increased further with greater patient and public education to overcome misconceptions and change mindsets.
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32
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Wang L, Xia Y, Chen Y, Dai R, Qiu W, Meng Q, Kuney L, Chen C. Brain Banks Spur New Frontiers in Neuropsychiatric Research and Strategies for Analysis and Validation. Genomics Proteomics Bioinformatics 2019; 17:402-414. [PMID: 31811942 PMCID: PMC6943778 DOI: 10.1016/j.gpb.2019.02.002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/11/2019] [Revised: 02/13/2019] [Accepted: 03/01/2019] [Indexed: 12/27/2022]
Abstract
Neuropsychiatric disorders affect hundreds of millions of patients and families worldwide. To decode the molecular framework of these diseases, many studies use human postmortem brain samples. These studies reveal brain-specific genetic and epigenetic patterns via high-throughput sequencing technologies. Identifying best practices for the collection of postmortem brain samples, analyzing such large amounts of sequencing data, and interpreting these results are critical to advance neuropsychiatry. We provide an overview of human brain banks worldwide, including progress in China, highlighting some well-known projects using human postmortem brain samples to understand molecular regulation in both normal brains and those with neuropsychiatric disorders. Finally, we discuss future research strategies, as well as state-of-the-art statistical and experimental methods that are drawn upon brain bank resources to improve our understanding of the agents of neuropsychiatric disorders.
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Affiliation(s)
- Le Wang
- Center for Medical Genetics & Hunan Key Laboratory of Medical Genetics, School of Life Sciences, Central South University, Changsha 410078, China; Child Health Institute of New Jersey, Department of Neuroscience, Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School, New Brunswick, NJ 08901, USA
| | - Yan Xia
- Center for Medical Genetics & Hunan Key Laboratory of Medical Genetics, School of Life Sciences, Central South University, Changsha 410078, China; Psychiatry Department, SUNY Upstate Medical University, Syracuse, NY 13210, USA
| | - Yu Chen
- Center for Medical Genetics & Hunan Key Laboratory of Medical Genetics, School of Life Sciences, Central South University, Changsha 410078, China
| | - Rujia Dai
- Center for Medical Genetics & Hunan Key Laboratory of Medical Genetics, School of Life Sciences, Central South University, Changsha 410078, China; Psychiatry Department, SUNY Upstate Medical University, Syracuse, NY 13210, USA
| | - Wenying Qiu
- Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and Peking Union Medical College, Beijing 100101, China
| | - Qingtuan Meng
- Center for Medical Genetics & Hunan Key Laboratory of Medical Genetics, School of Life Sciences, Central South University, Changsha 410078, China; Affiliated Hospital of Guilin Medical University, Guilin 541000, China
| | - Liz Kuney
- Psychiatry Department, SUNY Upstate Medical University, Syracuse, NY 13210, USA
| | - Chao Chen
- Center for Medical Genetics & Hunan Key Laboratory of Medical Genetics, School of Life Sciences, Central South University, Changsha 410078, China; National Clinical Research Centre for Geriatric Disorders, Xiangya Hospital, Central South University, Changsha 410000, China.
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Zhang Q, Zhang H, Liu F, Yang Q, Chen K, Liu P, Sun T, Ma C, Qiu W, Qian X. Comparison of Reference Genes for Transcriptional Studies in Postmortem Human Brain Tissue Under Different Conditions. Neurosci Bull 2019; 35:225-228. [PMID: 30406345 PMCID: PMC6426908 DOI: 10.1007/s12264-018-0309-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/18/2018] [Accepted: 08/28/2018] [Indexed: 11/30/2022] Open
Affiliation(s)
- Qing Zhang
- Department of Human Anatomy, Histology and Embryology, School of Basic Medicine, Peking Union Medical College, Institute of Basic Medical Sciences, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, Beijing, 100005, China
- Joint Laboratory of Anesthesia and Pain, Peking Union Medical College, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, Beijing, 100005, China
| | - Hanlin Zhang
- Joint Laboratory of Anesthesia and Pain, Peking Union Medical College, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, Beijing, 100005, China
- Eight-Year MD Program, Peking Union Medical College, Beijing, 100730, China
| | - Fan Liu
- Department of Human Anatomy, Histology and Embryology, School of Basic Medicine, Peking Union Medical College, Institute of Basic Medical Sciences, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, Beijing, 100005, China
- Joint Laboratory of Anesthesia and Pain, Peking Union Medical College, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, Beijing, 100005, China
| | - Qian Yang
- Department of Human Anatomy, Histology and Embryology, School of Basic Medicine, Peking Union Medical College, Institute of Basic Medical Sciences, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, Beijing, 100005, China
- Joint Laboratory of Anesthesia and Pain, Peking Union Medical College, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, Beijing, 100005, China
| | - Kang Chen
- Joint Laboratory of Anesthesia and Pain, Peking Union Medical College, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, Beijing, 100005, China
- Eight-Year MD Program, Peking Union Medical College, Beijing, 100730, China
| | - Pan Liu
- Department of Human Anatomy, Histology and Embryology, School of Basic Medicine, Peking Union Medical College, Institute of Basic Medical Sciences, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, Beijing, 100005, China
- Joint Laboratory of Anesthesia and Pain, Peking Union Medical College, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, Beijing, 100005, China
| | - Tianyi Sun
- Department of Human Anatomy, Histology and Embryology, School of Basic Medicine, Peking Union Medical College, Institute of Basic Medical Sciences, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, Beijing, 100005, China
- Joint Laboratory of Anesthesia and Pain, Peking Union Medical College, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, Beijing, 100005, China
| | - Chao Ma
- Department of Human Anatomy, Histology and Embryology, School of Basic Medicine, Peking Union Medical College, Institute of Basic Medical Sciences, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, Beijing, 100005, China
- Joint Laboratory of Anesthesia and Pain, Peking Union Medical College, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, Beijing, 100005, China
| | - Wenying Qiu
- Department of Human Anatomy, Histology and Embryology, School of Basic Medicine, Peking Union Medical College, Institute of Basic Medical Sciences, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, Beijing, 100005, China
| | - Xiaojing Qian
- Department of Human Anatomy, Histology and Embryology, School of Basic Medicine, Peking Union Medical College, Institute of Basic Medical Sciences, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, Beijing, 100005, China.
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Affiliation(s)
- Chao Ma
- Institute of Basic Medical Sciences, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, Department of Human Anatomy, Histology and Embryology, Neuroscience Center; Joint Laboratory of Anesthesia and Pain, School of Basic Medicine, Peking Union Medical College, Beijing, 100005, China.
| | - Ai-Min Bao
- Department of Neurobiology, and Department of Neurology of the Second Affiliated Hospital; Institute of Neuroscience, NHC and CAMS Key Laboratory of Medical Neurobiology, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Hangzhou, 310058, China
| | - Xiao-Xin Yan
- Department of Anatomy and Neurobiology, Central South University School of Basic Medical Science, Changsha, 410013, China
| | - Dick F Swaab
- Department Neuropsychiatric Disorders, Netherlands Institute for Neuroscience, an Institute of the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
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35
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Jonkman LE, Kenkhuis B, Geurts JJG, van de Berg WDJ. Post-Mortem MRI and Histopathology in Neurologic Disease: A Translational Approach. Neurosci Bull 2019; 35:229-243. [PMID: 30790214 DOI: 10.1007/s12264-019-00342-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/27/2018] [Accepted: 10/29/2018] [Indexed: 01/28/2023] Open
Abstract
In this review, combined post-mortem brain magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and histology studies are highlighted, illustrating the relevance of translational approaches to define novel MRI signatures of neuropathological lesions in neuroinflammatory and neurodegenerative disorders. Initial studies combining post-mortem MRI and histology have validated various MRI sequences, assessing their sensitivity and specificity as diagnostic biomarkers in neurologic disease. More recent studies have focused on defining new radiological (bio)markers and implementing them in the clinical (research) setting. By combining neurological and neuroanatomical expertise with radiological development and pathological validation, a cycle emerges that allows for the discovery of novel MRI biomarkers to be implemented in vivo. Examples of this cycle are presented for multiple sclerosis, Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease, and traumatic brain injury. Some applications have been shown to be successful, while others require further validation. In conclusion, there is much to explore with post-mortem MRI and histology studies, which can eventually be of high relevance for clinical practice.
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Affiliation(s)
- Laura E Jonkman
- Department of Anatomy and Neurosciences, Amsterdam Neuroscience, Amsterdam UMC, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, De Boelelaan 1117, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
| | - Boyd Kenkhuis
- Department of Human Genetics, Leiden University Medical Center, Leiden, The Netherlands
- Department of Radiology, Leiden University Medical Center, Leiden, The Netherlands
| | - Jeroen J G Geurts
- Department of Anatomy and Neurosciences, Amsterdam Neuroscience, Amsterdam UMC, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, De Boelelaan 1117, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
| | - Wilma D J van de Berg
- Department of Anatomy and Neurosciences, Amsterdam Neuroscience, Amsterdam UMC, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, De Boelelaan 1117, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
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Yang Q, Chen K, Zhang H, Zhang W, Gong C, Zhang Q, Liu P, Sun T, Xu Y, Qian X, Qiu W, Ma C. Correlations Between Single Nucleotide Polymorphisms, Cognitive Dysfunction, and Postmortem Brain Pathology in Alzheimer's Disease Among Han Chinese. Neurosci Bull 2019; 35:193-204. [PMID: 30783964 DOI: 10.1007/s12264-019-00343-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/03/2018] [Accepted: 11/01/2018] [Indexed: 12/14/2022] Open
Abstract
In this study, the distribution of five Alzheimer's disease (AD)-related single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in the Han population was examined in combination with the evaluation of clinical cognition and brain pathological analysis. The associations among SNPs, clinical daily cognitive states, and postmortem neuropathological changes were analyzed in 110 human brains from the Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences/Peking Union Medical College (CAMS/PUMC) Human Brain Bank. APOE ε4 (OR = 4.482, P = 0.004), the RS2305421 GG genotype (adjusted OR = 4.397, P = 0.015), and the RS10498633 GT genotype (adjusted OR = 2.375, P = 0.028) were associated with a higher score on the ABC (Aβ plaque score, Braak NFT stage, and CERAD neuritic plaque score) dementia scale. These results advance our understanding of the pathogenesis of AD, the relationship between pathological diagnosis and clinical diagnosis, and the SNPs in the Han population for future research.
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Affiliation(s)
- Qian Yang
- Institute of Basic Medical Sciences, Department of Human Anatomy, Histology and Embryology, Neuroscience Center, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, School of Basic Medicine, Peking Union Medical College, Beijing, 100005, China.,Joint Laboratory of Anesthesia and Pain, Peking Union Medical College, Beijing, 100005, China
| | - Kang Chen
- Joint Laboratory of Anesthesia and Pain, Peking Union Medical College, Beijing, 100005, China.,Eight-Year MD Program, Peking Union Medical College, Beijing, 100730, China
| | - Hanlin Zhang
- Joint Laboratory of Anesthesia and Pain, Peking Union Medical College, Beijing, 100005, China.,Eight-Year MD Program, Peking Union Medical College, Beijing, 100730, China
| | - Wanying Zhang
- Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, MD, 21205, USA
| | - Changlin Gong
- Joint Laboratory of Anesthesia and Pain, Peking Union Medical College, Beijing, 100005, China.,Eight-Year MD Program, Peking Union Medical College, Beijing, 100730, China
| | - Qing Zhang
- Institute of Basic Medical Sciences, Department of Human Anatomy, Histology and Embryology, Neuroscience Center, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, School of Basic Medicine, Peking Union Medical College, Beijing, 100005, China.,Joint Laboratory of Anesthesia and Pain, Peking Union Medical College, Beijing, 100005, China
| | - Pan Liu
- Institute of Basic Medical Sciences, Department of Human Anatomy, Histology and Embryology, Neuroscience Center, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, School of Basic Medicine, Peking Union Medical College, Beijing, 100005, China.,Joint Laboratory of Anesthesia and Pain, Peking Union Medical College, Beijing, 100005, China
| | - Tianyi Sun
- Institute of Basic Medical Sciences, Department of Human Anatomy, Histology and Embryology, Neuroscience Center, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, School of Basic Medicine, Peking Union Medical College, Beijing, 100005, China.,Joint Laboratory of Anesthesia and Pain, Peking Union Medical College, Beijing, 100005, China
| | - Yuanyuan Xu
- National Experimental Teaching Demonstration Center of Basic Medicine, Peking Union Medical College, Beijing, 100005, China
| | - Xiaojing Qian
- Institute of Basic Medical Sciences, Department of Human Anatomy, Histology and Embryology, Neuroscience Center, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, School of Basic Medicine, Peking Union Medical College, Beijing, 100005, China
| | - Wenying Qiu
- Institute of Basic Medical Sciences, Department of Human Anatomy, Histology and Embryology, Neuroscience Center, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, School of Basic Medicine, Peking Union Medical College, Beijing, 100005, China.
| | - Chao Ma
- Institute of Basic Medical Sciences, Department of Human Anatomy, Histology and Embryology, Neuroscience Center, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, School of Basic Medicine, Peking Union Medical College, Beijing, 100005, China.
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Carlos AF, Poloni TE, Medici V, Chikhladze M, Guaita A, Ceroni M. From brain collections to modern brain banks: A historical perspective. Alzheimers Dement (N Y) 2019; 5:52-60. [PMID: 30775417 PMCID: PMC6365388 DOI: 10.1016/j.trci.2018.12.002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/29/2023]
Abstract
Our current knowledge of the structure, function, and diseases of the brain comes from direct examination of its substance. In the last centuries, only a few elite had managed to retrieve, gather, and preserve the elusive brain for their own research. The resulting brain collections, stored in formalin-filled jars or dried up in cabinets, served anatomical, neuropathological, anthropometric, ideological, and diagnostic purposes. In the 1960s, the first modern brain banks actively collecting and strategically preserving both diseased and healthy brains to be consequently distributed to the scientific community were instituted. In an era where state-of-the-art biochemical “Omic” studies and advanced metabolic and molecular neuroimaging exist, it is now, more than ever, that postmortem brain investigations must be performed. Only through the comparison and integration of postmortem neuropathological and biochemical findings and antemortem data from clinical, neuropsychological neuroimaging, and other biomarker examinations can we truly understand neurological disease mechanisms. Brain banks supplying brain specimens, antemortem information, and postmortem diagnosis are a major benefactor of brain research.
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Affiliation(s)
- Arenn Faye Carlos
- Neuropathology Department, Abbiategrasso Brain Bank, Golgi-Cenci Foundation Abbiategrasso, Milan, Italy
- University of Pavia, Pavia, Italy
- Corresponding author. Tel.: +39 34 41255806; Fax: +39 02 94608148.
| | - Tino Emanuele Poloni
- Neuropathology Department, Abbiategrasso Brain Bank, Golgi-Cenci Foundation Abbiategrasso, Milan, Italy
- Rehabilitation and Neurological Department, Geriatric Institute ASP Golgi-Radaelli, Abbiategrasso, Milan, Italy
| | - Valentina Medici
- Neuropathology Department, Abbiategrasso Brain Bank, Golgi-Cenci Foundation Abbiategrasso, Milan, Italy
| | - Maia Chikhladze
- Neuropathology Department, Abbiategrasso Brain Bank, Golgi-Cenci Foundation Abbiategrasso, Milan, Italy
| | - Antonio Guaita
- Neuropathology Department, Abbiategrasso Brain Bank, Golgi-Cenci Foundation Abbiategrasso, Milan, Italy
| | - Mauro Ceroni
- University of Pavia, Pavia, Italy
- IRCCS C. Mondino National Institute of Neurology, Pavia, Pavia, Italy
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Striley CW, Milani SA, Kwiatkowski E, DeKosky ST, Cottler LB. Community perceptions related to brain donation: Evidence for intervention. Alzheimers Dement 2019; 15:267-272. [PMID: 30365929 PMCID: PMC7224447 DOI: 10.1016/j.jalz.2018.09.005] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/06/2018] [Revised: 09/01/2018] [Accepted: 09/15/2018] [Indexed: 10/28/2022]
Abstract
INTRODUCTION Research progress on neurocognitive disorders requires donation of both healthy and diseased brains. Here, we describe attitudes toward brain donation among a large community sample in Florida. METHODS HealthStreet, a community engagement program at the University of Florida, used community health workers to assess community attitudes toward research participation, including brain donation. RESULTS Over 60% of people, primarily Caucasian and employed, indicated that they would be likely or somewhat likely to donate their brain for research. Those who would be willing to donate were also more likely to be willing to participate in other research studies and to have participated in research. DISCUSSION Brain donation will add to the science of disorders of aging, including accurate diagnoses and validation of in vivo biomarkers. Increasing willingness to donate is a first step toward donation. Community populations are willing; community health workers can educate others about the need for this initiative in communities.
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Jonkman LE, Graaf YGD, Bulk M, Kaaij E, Pouwels PJW, Barkhof F, Rozemuller AJM, van der Weerd L, Geurts JJG, van de Berg WDJ. Normal Aging Brain Collection Amsterdam (NABCA): A comprehensive collection of postmortem high-field imaging, neuropathological and morphometric datasets of non-neurological controls. Neuroimage Clin 2019; 22:101698. [PMID: 30711684 PMCID: PMC6360607 DOI: 10.1016/j.nicl.2019.101698] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/03/2018] [Revised: 01/21/2019] [Accepted: 01/27/2019] [Indexed: 12/18/2022]
Abstract
Well-characterized, high-quality brain tissue of non-neurological control subjects is a prerequisite to study the healthy aging brain, and can serve as a control for the study of neurological disorders. The Normal Aging Brain Collection Amsterdam (NABCA) provides a comprehensive collection of post-mortem (ultra-)high-field MRI (3Tesla and 7 Tesla) and neuropathological datasets of non-neurological controls. By providing MRI within the pipeline, NABCA uniquely stimulates translational neurosciences; from molecular and morphometric tissue studies to the clinical setting. We describe our pipeline, including a description of our on-call autopsy team, donor selection, in situ and ex vivo post-mortem MRI protocols, brain dissection and neuropathological diagnosis. A demographic, radiological and pathological overview of five selected cases on all these aspects is provided. Additionally, information is given on data management, data and tissue application procedures, including review by a scientific advisory board, and setting up a material transfer agreement before distribution of tissue. Finally, we focus on future prospects, which includes laying the foundation for a unique platform for neuroanatomical, histopathological and neuro-radiological education, of professionals, students and the general (lay) audience. NABCA provides a collection of correlative post-mortem MRI and pathological datasets. Non-neurological control brains for studies on aging and neurological disorders. Stimulating micro- to macroscale structural exploration within same patient Post-mortem MRI data and tissue available for integrated advanced data analytics
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Affiliation(s)
- Laura E Jonkman
- Department of Anatomy and Neurosciences, Amsterdam Neuroscience, Amsterdam UMC, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, Amsterdam, the Netherlands.
| | - Yvon Galis-de Graaf
- Department of Anatomy and Neurosciences, Amsterdam Neuroscience, Amsterdam UMC, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, Amsterdam, the Netherlands
| | - Marjolein Bulk
- Department of Radiology, Leiden University Medical Centre, Leiden, the Netherlands; Department of Human Genetics, Leiden University Medical Centre, Leiden, the Netherlands
| | - Eliane Kaaij
- Department of Anatomy and Neurosciences, Amsterdam Neuroscience, Amsterdam UMC, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, Amsterdam, the Netherlands
| | - Petra J W Pouwels
- Department of radiology and nuclear medicine, Amsterdam Neuroscience, Amsterdam UMC, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, Amsterdam, the Netherlands
| | - Frederik Barkhof
- Department of radiology and nuclear medicine, Amsterdam Neuroscience, Amsterdam UMC, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, Amsterdam, the Netherlands; Institutes of neurology and healthcare engineering, University College London, London, United Kingdom
| | - Annemieke J M Rozemuller
- Department of pathology, Amsterdam Neuroscience, Amsterdam UMC, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, Amsterdam, the Netherlands
| | - Louise van der Weerd
- Department of Radiology, Leiden University Medical Centre, Leiden, the Netherlands; Department of Human Genetics, Leiden University Medical Centre, Leiden, the Netherlands
| | - Jeroen J G Geurts
- Department of Anatomy and Neurosciences, Amsterdam Neuroscience, Amsterdam UMC, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, Amsterdam, the Netherlands
| | - Wilma D J van de Berg
- Department of Anatomy and Neurosciences, Amsterdam Neuroscience, Amsterdam UMC, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, Amsterdam, the Netherlands
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Francis PT, Hayes GM, Costello H, Whitfield DR. Brains for Dementia Research: The Importance of Cohorts in Brain Banking. Neurosci Bull 2019; 35:289-294. [PMID: 30604278 DOI: 10.1007/s12264-018-0327-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/21/2018] [Accepted: 09/19/2018] [Indexed: 02/04/2023] Open
Affiliation(s)
- Paul T Francis
- Wolfson Centre for Age-Related Diseases, King's College London, London, SE1 1UL, UK.
| | - Gillian M Hayes
- Wolfson Centre for Age-Related Diseases, King's College London, London, SE1 1UL, UK
| | - Helen Costello
- Wolfson Centre for Age-Related Diseases, King's College London, London, SE1 1UL, UK
| | - David R Whitfield
- Wolfson Centre for Age-Related Diseases, King's College London, London, SE1 1UL, UK
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Qi XR, Verwer RWH, Bao AM, Balesar RA, Luchetti S, Zhou JN, Swaab DF. Human Brain Slice Culture: A Useful Tool to Study Brain Disorders and Potential Therapeutic Compounds. Neurosci Bull 2019; 35:244-252. [PMID: 30604279 DOI: 10.1007/s12264-018-0328-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/29/2018] [Accepted: 11/19/2018] [Indexed: 01/07/2023] Open
Abstract
Investigating the pathophysiological mechanisms underlying brain disorders is a priority if novel therapeutic strategies are to be developed. In vivo studies of animal models and in vitro studies of cell lines/primary cell cultures may provide useful tools to study certain aspects of brain disorders. However, discrepancies among these studies or unsuccessful translation from animal/cell studies to human/clinical studies often occur, because these models generally represent only some symptoms of a neuropsychiatric disorder rather than the complete disorder. Human brain slice cultures from postmortem tissue or resected tissue from operations have shown that, in vitro, neurons and glia can stay alive for long periods of time, while their morphological and physiological characteristics, and their ability to respond to experimental manipulations are maintained. Human brain slices can thus provide a close representation of neuronal networks in vivo, be a valuable tool for investigation of the basis of neuropsychiatric disorders, and provide a platform for the evaluation of novel pharmacological treatments of human brain diseases. A brain bank needs to provide the necessary infrastructure to bring together donors, hospitals, and researchers who want to investigate human brain slices in cultures of clinically and neuropathologically well-documented material.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xin-Rui Qi
- Center for Translational Neurodegeneration and Regenerative Therapy, Shanghai Tenth People's Hospital Affiliated to Tongji University School of Medicine, Shanghai, 200072, China. .,Department of Neuropsychiatric Disorders, Netherlands Institute for Neuroscience, An Institute of the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences, Amsterdam, 1105BA, The Netherlands.
| | - Ronald W H Verwer
- Department of Neuropsychiatric Disorders, Netherlands Institute for Neuroscience, An Institute of the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences, Amsterdam, 1105BA, The Netherlands
| | - Ai-Min Bao
- Department of Neurobiology, Institute of Neuroscience, NHC and CAMS Key Laboratory of Medical Neurobiology, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Hangzhou, 310058, China
| | - Rawien A Balesar
- Department of Neuropsychiatric Disorders, Netherlands Institute for Neuroscience, An Institute of the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences, Amsterdam, 1105BA, The Netherlands
| | - Sabina Luchetti
- Department of Neuropsychiatric Disorders, Netherlands Institute for Neuroscience, An Institute of the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences, Amsterdam, 1105BA, The Netherlands
| | - Jiang-Ning Zhou
- Key Laboratory of Brain Function and Diseases, School of Life Sciences, University of Science and Technology of China, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Hefei, 230026, China
| | - Dick F Swaab
- Department of Neuropsychiatric Disorders, Netherlands Institute for Neuroscience, An Institute of the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences, Amsterdam, 1105BA, The Netherlands
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Heithoff AJ, Totusek SA, Le D, Barwick L, Gensler G, Franklin DR, Dye AC, Pandey S, Sherman S, Guda C, Fox HS. The integrated National NeuroAIDS Tissue Consortium database: a rich platform for neuroHIV research. Database (Oxford) 2019; 2019:5277250. [PMID: 30624650 PMCID: PMC6323298 DOI: 10.1093/database/bay134] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/12/2018] [Accepted: 11/29/2018] [Indexed: 01/22/2023]
Abstract
Herein we present major updates to the National NeuroAIDS Tissue Consortium (NNTC) database. The NNTC's ongoing multisite clinical research study was established to facilitate access to ante-mortem and post-mortem data, tissues and biofluids for the neurohuman immunodeficiency virus (HIV) research community. Recently, the NNTC has expanded to include data from the central nervous system HIV Antiretroviral Therapy Effects Research (CHARTER) study. The data and biospecimens from CHARTER and NNTC cohorts are available to qualified researchers upon request. Data generated by requestors using NNTC biospecimens and tissues are returned to the NNTC upon the conclusion of requestors' work, and this external, experimental data are annotated and curated in the publically accessible NNTC database, thereby extending the utility of each case. A flexible and extensible database ontology allows the integration of disparate data sets, including external experimental data, clinical neuropsychological and neuromedical testing data, tissue pathology and neuroimaging data.
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Affiliation(s)
- Abigail J Heithoff
- Department of Pharmacology and Experimental Neuroscience, College of Medicine, University of Nebraska Medical Center, Omaha, NE, USA
| | - Steven A Totusek
- Department of Pharmacology and Experimental Neuroscience, College of Medicine, University of Nebraska Medical Center, Omaha, NE, USA
| | - Duc Le
- Bioinformatics and Systems Biology Core, University of Nebraska Medical Center, Omaha, NE, USA
| | | | | | - Donald R Franklin
- Department of Medicine, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, CA, USA
| | - Allison C Dye
- Department of Pharmacology and Experimental Neuroscience, College of Medicine, University of Nebraska Medical Center, Omaha, NE, USA
| | - Sanjit Pandey
- Bioinformatics and Systems Biology Core, University of Nebraska Medical Center, Omaha, NE, USA
| | | | - Chittibabu Guda
- Bioinformatics and Systems Biology Core, University of Nebraska Medical Center, Omaha, NE, USA.,Department of Genetics, Cell Biology and Anatomy, University of Nebraska Medical Center, Omaha, NE, USA
| | - Howard S Fox
- Department of Pharmacology and Experimental Neuroscience, College of Medicine, University of Nebraska Medical Center, Omaha, NE, USA
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Zhang H, Chen K, Wang N, Zhang D, Yang Q, Zhang Q, Liu P, Wan M, Gong C, Hong X, Qiu W, Qian X, Chen Y, Ma C. Analysis of Brain Donors’ Demographic and Medical Characteristics to Facilitate the Construction of a Human Brain Bank in China. J Alzheimers Dis 2018; 66:1245-1254. [DOI: 10.3233/jad-180779] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/15/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Hanlin Zhang
- Department of Human Anatomy, Institute of Basic Medical Sciences, Histology and Embryology, Neuroscience Center, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, School of Basic Medicine, Peking Union Medical College, Beijing, China
- Eight-year MD Program, Peking Union Medical College, Beijing, China
| | - Kang Chen
- Department of Human Anatomy, Institute of Basic Medical Sciences, Histology and Embryology, Neuroscience Center, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, School of Basic Medicine, Peking Union Medical College, Beijing, China
- Eight-year MD Program, Peking Union Medical College, Beijing, China
| | - Naili Wang
- Department of Human Anatomy, Institute of Basic Medical Sciences, Histology and Embryology, Neuroscience Center, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, School of Basic Medicine, Peking Union Medical College, Beijing, China
- National Experimental Demonstration Center of Basic Medicine, Peking Union Medical College, Beijing, China
| | - Di Zhang
- Department of Human Anatomy, Institute of Basic Medical Sciences, Histology and Embryology, Neuroscience Center, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, School of Basic Medicine, Peking Union Medical College, Beijing, China
- National Experimental Demonstration Center of Basic Medicine, Peking Union Medical College, Beijing, China
| | - Qian Yang
- Department of Human Anatomy, Institute of Basic Medical Sciences, Histology and Embryology, Neuroscience Center, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, School of Basic Medicine, Peking Union Medical College, Beijing, China
- Joint Laboratory of Anesthesia and Pain, Peking Union Medical College, Beijing, China
| | - Qing Zhang
- Department of Human Anatomy, Institute of Basic Medical Sciences, Histology and Embryology, Neuroscience Center, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, School of Basic Medicine, Peking Union Medical College, Beijing, China
- Joint Laboratory of Anesthesia and Pain, Peking Union Medical College, Beijing, China
| | - Pan Liu
- Department of Human Anatomy, Institute of Basic Medical Sciences, Histology and Embryology, Neuroscience Center, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, School of Basic Medicine, Peking Union Medical College, Beijing, China
- Joint Laboratory of Anesthesia and Pain, Peking Union Medical College, Beijing, China
| | - Mengyao Wan
- Eight-year MD Program, Peking Union Medical College, Beijing, China
| | - Changlin Gong
- Eight-year MD Program, Peking Union Medical College, Beijing, China
| | - Xinyu Hong
- Eight-year MD Program, Peking Union Medical College, Beijing, China
| | - Wenying Qiu
- Department of Human Anatomy, Institute of Basic Medical Sciences, Histology and Embryology, Neuroscience Center, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, School of Basic Medicine, Peking Union Medical College, Beijing, China
| | - Xiaojing Qian
- Department of Human Anatomy, Institute of Basic Medical Sciences, Histology and Embryology, Neuroscience Center, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, School of Basic Medicine, Peking Union Medical College, Beijing, China
| | - Yongmei Chen
- Department of Human Anatomy, Institute of Basic Medical Sciences, Histology and Embryology, Neuroscience Center, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, School of Basic Medicine, Peking Union Medical College, Beijing, China
| | - Chao Ma
- Department of Human Anatomy, Institute of Basic Medical Sciences, Histology and Embryology, Neuroscience Center, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, School of Basic Medicine, Peking Union Medical College, Beijing, China
- Joint Laboratory of Anesthesia and Pain, Peking Union Medical College, Beijing, China
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Qiu W, Zhang H, Bao A, Zhu K, Huang Y, Yan X, Zhang J, Zhong C, Shen Y, Zhou J, Zheng X, Zhang L, Shu Y, Tang B, Zhang Z, Wang G, Zhou R, Sun B, Gong C, Duan S, Ma C. Standardized Operational Protocol for Human Brain Banking in China. Neurosci Bull 2019; 35:270-6. [PMID: 30411305 DOI: 10.1007/s12264-018-0306-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 26] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/03/2018] [Accepted: 08/24/2018] [Indexed: 01/08/2023] Open
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45
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Affiliation(s)
- Inge Huitinga
- Netherlands Brain Bank, Netherlands Institute for Neuroscience, Netherlands Royal Academy of Arts and Sciences, Amsterdam, Netherlands.
| | - Mignon de Goeij
- Netherlands Brain Bank, Netherlands Institute for Neuroscience, Netherlands Royal Academy of Arts and Sciences, Amsterdam, Netherlands
| | - Natasja Klioueva
- Netherlands Brain Bank, Netherlands Institute for Neuroscience, Netherlands Royal Academy of Arts and Sciences, Amsterdam, Netherlands
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46
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Trujillo Diaz D, Hernandez NC, Cortes EP, Faust PL, Vonsattel JPG, Louis ED. Banking brains: a pre-mortem "how to" guide to successful donation. Cell Tissue Bank 2018; 19:473-488. [PMID: 30220002 DOI: 10.1007/s10561-018-9720-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/07/2018] [Accepted: 08/13/2018] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Abstract
A review of the brain banking literature reveals a primary focus either on the factors that influence the decision to become a future donor or on the brain tissue processing that takes place after the individual has died (i.e., the front-end or back-end processes). What has not been sufficiently detailed, however, is the complex and involved process that takes place after this decision to become a future donor is made yet before post-mortem processing occurs (i.e., the large middle-ground). This generally represents a period of many years during which the brain bank is actively engaged with donors to ensure that valuable clinical information is prospectively collected and that their donation is eventually completed. For the past 15 years, the Essential Tremor Centralized Brain Repository has been actively involved in brain banking, and our experience has provided us valuable insights that may be useful for researchers interested in establishing their own brain banking efforts. In this piece, we fill a gap in the literature by detailing the processes of enrolling participants, creating individualized brain donation plans, collecting clinical information and regularly following-up with donors to update that information, and efficiently coordinating the brain harvest when death finally arrives.
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Affiliation(s)
- Daniel Trujillo Diaz
- Division of Movement Disorders, Department of Neurology, Yale School of Medicine, Yale University, New Haven, CT, USA
| | - Nora C Hernandez
- Division of Movement Disorders, Department of Neurology, Yale School of Medicine, Yale University, New Haven, CT, USA
| | - Etty P Cortes
- Department of Pathology and Cell Biology, Columbia University Medical Center and the New York Presbyterian Hospital, New York, NY, USA.,Taub Institute for Research on Alzheimer's Disease and the Aging Brain, Columbia University, New York, NY, USA
| | - Phyllis L Faust
- Department of Pathology and Cell Biology, Columbia University Medical Center and the New York Presbyterian Hospital, New York, NY, USA
| | - Jean Paul G Vonsattel
- Department of Pathology and Cell Biology, Columbia University Medical Center and the New York Presbyterian Hospital, New York, NY, USA.,Taub Institute for Research on Alzheimer's Disease and the Aging Brain, Columbia University, New York, NY, USA
| | - Elan D Louis
- Division of Movement Disorders, Department of Neurology, Yale School of Medicine, Yale University, New Haven, CT, USA. .,Center for Neuroepidemiology and Clinical Neurological Research, Yale School of Medicine, Yale University, New Haven, CT, USA. .,Department of Chronic Disease Epidemiology, Yale School of Public Health, Yale University, New Haven, CT, USA.
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47
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Rodrigues MA, Samarasekera N, Lerpiniere C, Humphreys C, McCarron MO, White PM, Nicoll JAR, Sudlow CLM, Cordonnier C, Wardlaw JM, Smith C, Al-Shahi Salman R. The Edinburgh CT and genetic diagnostic criteria for lobar intracerebral haemorrhage associated with cerebral amyloid angiopathy: model development and diagnostic test accuracy study. Lancet Neurol 2018; 17:232-240. [PMID: 29331631 PMCID: PMC5818029 DOI: 10.1016/s1474-4422(18)30006-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 156] [Impact Index Per Article: 26.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/04/2017] [Revised: 11/10/2017] [Accepted: 11/20/2017] [Indexed: 12/13/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Identification of lobar spontaneous intracerebral haemorrhage associated with cerebral amyloid angiopathy (CAA) is important because it is associated with a higher risk of recurrent intracerebral haemorrhage than arteriolosclerosis-associated intracerebral haemorrhage. We aimed to develop a prediction model for the identification of CAA-associated lobar intracerebral haemorrhage using CT features and genotype. METHODS We identified adults with first-ever intracerebral haemorrhage diagnosed by CT, who died and underwent research autopsy as part of the Lothian IntraCerebral Haemorrhage, Pathology, Imaging and Neurological Outcome (LINCHPIN) study, a prospective, population-based, inception cohort. We determined APOE genotype and radiologists rated CT imaging appearances. Radiologists were not aware of clinical, genetic, and histopathological features. A neuropathologist rated brain tissue for small vessel diseases, including CAA, and was masked to clinical, radiographic, and genetic features. We used CT and APOE genotype data in a logistic regression model, which we internally validated using bootstrapping, to predict the risk of CAA-associated lobar intracerebral haemorrhage, derive diagnostic criteria, and estimate diagnostic accuracy. FINDINGS Among 110 adults (median age 83 years [IQR 76-87], 49 [45%] men) included in the LINCHPIN study between June 1, 2010 and Feb 10, 2016, intracerebral haemorrhage was lobar in 62 (56%) participants, deep in 41 (37%), and infratentorial in seven (6%). Of the 62 participants with lobar intracerebral haemorrhage, 36 (58%) were associated with moderate or severe CAA compared with 26 (42%) that were associated with absent or mild CAA, and were independently associated with subarachnoid haemorrhage (32 [89%] of 36 vs 11 [42%] of 26; p=0·014), intracerebral haemorrhage with finger-like projections (14 [39%] of 36 vs 0; p=0·043), and APOE ɛ4 possession (18 [50%] of 36 vs 2 [8%] of 26; p=0·0020). A prediction model for CAA-associated lobar intracerebral haemorrhage using these three variables had excellent discrimination (c statistic 0·92, 95% CI 0·86-0·98), confirmed by internal validation. For the rule-out criteria, neither subarachnoid haemorrhage nor APOE ɛ4 possession had 100% sensitivity (95% CI 88-100). For the rule-in criteria, subarachnoid haemorrhage and either APOE ɛ4 possession or finger-like projections had 96% specificity (95% CI 78-100). INTERPRETATION The CT and APOE genotype prediction model for CAA-associated lobar intracerebral haemorrhage shows excellent discrimination in this cohort, but requires external validation. The Edinburgh rule-in and rule-out diagnostic criteria might inform prognostic and therapeutic decisions that depend on identification of CAA-associated lobar intracerebral haemorrhage. FUNDING UK Medical Research Council, The Stroke Association, and The Wellcome Trust.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mark A Rodrigues
- Centre for Clinical Brain Sciences, The University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, UK
| | | | | | - Catherine Humphreys
- Centre for Clinical Brain Sciences, The University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, UK
| | - Mark O McCarron
- Department of Neurology, Altnagelvin Hospital, Londonderry, UK
| | - Philip M White
- Institute of Neuroscience and Institute for Ageing, Newcastle University, Newcastle-upon-Tyne, UK; Newcastle upon Tyne Hospitals National Health Services Foundation Trust, Newcastle-upon-Tyne, UK
| | - James A R Nicoll
- Clinical Neurosciences, Clinical and Experimental Sciences, University of Southampton, Southampton, UK
| | - Cathie L M Sudlow
- Centre for Clinical Brain Sciences, The University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, UK; Usher Institute of Population Health Sciences and Informatics, The University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, UK
| | - Charlotte Cordonnier
- Université Lille, Inserm U1171, Degenerative and Vascular Cognitive Disorders, CHU Lille, Department of Neurology, Lille, France
| | - Joanna M Wardlaw
- Centre for Clinical Brain Sciences, The University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, UK; UK Dementia Research Institute at The University of Edinburgh, The University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, UK; Row Fogo Centre for Research into Ageing and the Brain, The University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, UK
| | - Colin Smith
- Centre for Clinical Brain Sciences, The University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, UK
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48
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Fan J, Khanin R, Sakamoto H, Zhong Y, Michael C, Pena D, Javier B, Wood LD, Iacobuzio-Donahue CA. Quantification of nucleic acid quality in postmortem tissues from a cancer research autopsy program. Oncotarget 2018; 7:66906-66921. [PMID: 27602498 PMCID: PMC5341846 DOI: 10.18632/oncotarget.11836] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/22/2016] [Accepted: 08/31/2016] [Indexed: 12/18/2022] Open
Abstract
The last decade has seen a marked rise in the use of cancer tissues obtained from research autopsies. Such resources have been invaluable for studying cancer evolution or the mechanisms of therapeutic resistance to targeted therapies. Degradation of biomolecules is a potential challenge to usage of cancer tissues obtained in the post-mortem setting and remains incompletely studied. We analysed the nucleic acid quality in 371 different frozen tissue samples collected from 80 patients who underwent a research autopsy, including eight normal tissue types, primary and metastatic tumors. Our results indicate that RNA integrity number (RIN) of normal tissues decline with the elongation of post-mortem interval (PMI) in a tissue-type specific manner. Unlike normal tissues, the RNA quality of cancer tissues is highly variable with respect to post-mortem interval. The kinetics of DNA damage also has tissue type-specific features. Moreover, while DNA degradation is an indicator of low RNA quality, the converse is not true. Finally, we show that despite RIN values as low as 5.0, robust data can be obtained by RNA sequencing that reliably discriminates expression signatures.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jun Fan
- Sloan Kettering Institute, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York, NY, 10065, USA
| | - Raya Khanin
- Bioinformatics Core, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York, NY, 10065, USA
| | - Hitomi Sakamoto
- Sloan Kettering Institute, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York, NY, 10065, USA
| | - Yi Zhong
- Sloan Kettering Institute, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York, NY, 10065, USA
| | - Chelsea Michael
- Department of Pathology, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York, NY, 10065, USA
| | - Derwin Pena
- Department of Pathology, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York, NY, 10065, USA
| | - Breanna Javier
- Sloan Kettering Institute, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York, NY, 10065, USA
| | - Laura D Wood
- Department of Pathology, Sol Goldman Pancreatic Cancer Research Center, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, 21231, USA
| | - Christine A Iacobuzio-Donahue
- Department of Pathology, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York, NY, 10065, USA.,Human Oncology and Pathogenesis Program, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York, NY, 10065, USA.,David M. Rubenstein Center for Pancreatic Cancer Research, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York, NY, 10065, USA
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Henstridge CM, Sideris DI, Carroll E, Rotariu S, Salomonsson S, Tzioras M, McKenzie CA, Smith C, von Arnim CAF, Ludolph AC, Lulé D, Leighton D, Warner J, Cleary E, Newton J, Swingler R, Chandran S, Gillingwater TH, Abrahams S, Spires-Jones TL. Synapse loss in the prefrontal cortex is associated with cognitive decline in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. Acta Neuropathol 2018; 135:213-26. [PMID: 29273900 DOI: 10.1007/s00401-017-1797-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 76] [Impact Index Per Article: 12.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/16/2017] [Revised: 12/14/2017] [Accepted: 12/15/2017] [Indexed: 11/23/2022]
Abstract
In addition to motor neurone degeneration, up to 50% of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) patients present with cognitive decline. Understanding the neurobiological changes underlying these cognitive deficits is critical, as cognitively impaired patients exhibit a shorter survival time from symptom onset. Given the pathogenic role of synapse loss in other neurodegenerative diseases in which cognitive decline is apparent, such as Alzheimer’s disease, we aimed to assess synaptic integrity in the ALS brain. Here, we have applied a unique combination of high-resolution imaging of post-mortem tissue with neuropathology, genetic screening and cognitive profiling of ALS cases. Analyses of more than 1 million synapses using two complimentary high-resolution techniques (electron microscopy and array tomography) revealed a loss of synapses from the prefrontal cortex of ALS patients. Importantly, synapse loss was significantly greater in cognitively impaired cases and was not due to cortical atrophy, nor associated with dementia-associated neuropathology. Interestingly, we found a trend between pTDP-43 pathology and synapse loss in the frontal cortex and discovered pTDP-43 puncta at a subset of synapses in the ALS brains. From these data, we postulate that synapse loss in the prefrontal cortex represents an underlying neurobiological substrate of cognitive decline in ALS.
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50
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Patel T, Brookes KJ, Turton J, Chaudhury S, Guetta-Baranes T, Guerreiro R, Bras J, Hernandez D, Singleton A, Francis PT, Hardy J, Morgan K. Whole-exome sequencing of the BDR cohort: evidence to support the role of the PILRA gene in Alzheimer's disease. Neuropathol Appl Neurobiol 2018; 44:506-521. [PMID: 29181857 DOI: 10.1111/nan.12452] [Citation(s) in RCA: 30] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/29/2017] [Accepted: 11/22/2017] [Indexed: 02/03/2023]
Abstract
AIM Late-onset Alzheimer's disease (LOAD) accounts for 95% of all Alzheimer's cases and is genetically complex in nature. Overlapping clinical and neuropathological features between AD, FTD and Parkinson's disease highlight the potential role of genetic pleiotropy across diseases. Recent genome-wide association studies (GWASs) have uncovered 20 new loci for AD risk; however, these exhibit small effect sizes. Using NGS, here we perform association analyses using exome-wide and candidate-gene-driven approaches. METHODS Whole-exome sequencing was performed on 132 AD cases and 53 control samples. Exome-wide single-variant association and gene burden tests were performed for 76 640 nonsingleton variants. Samples were also screened for known causative mutations in familial genes in AD and other dementias. Single-variant association and burden analysis was also carried out on variants in known AD and other neurological dementia genes. RESULTS Tentative single-variant and burden associations were seen in several genes with kinase and protease activity. Exome-wide burden analysis also revealed significant burden of variants in PILRA (P = 3.4 × 10-5 ), which has previously been linked to AD via GWAS, hit ZCWPW1. Screening for causative mutations in familial AD and other dementia genes revealed no pathogenic variants. Variants identified in ABCA7, SLC24A4, CD33 and LRRK2 were nominally associated with disease (P < 0.05) but did not withstand correction for multiple testing. APOE (P = 0.02) and CLU (P = 0.04) variants showed significant burden on AD. CONCLUSIONS In addition, polygenic risk scores (PRS) were able to distinguish between cases and controls with 83.8% accuracy using 3268 variants, sex, age at death and APOE ε4 and ε2 status as predictors.
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Affiliation(s)
- T Patel
- Human Genetics Group, University of Nottingham, Nottingham, UK
| | - K J Brookes
- Human Genetics Group, University of Nottingham, Nottingham, UK
| | - J Turton
- Human Genetics Group, University of Nottingham, Nottingham, UK
| | - S Chaudhury
- Human Genetics Group, University of Nottingham, Nottingham, UK
| | | | - R Guerreiro
- Department of Molecular Neuroscience, Institute of Neurology, University College London, London, UK.,UK Dementia Research Institute at UCL (UK DRI), London, UK.,Department of Medical Sciences, Institute of Biomedicine-iBiMED, University of Aveiro, Aveiro, Portugal
| | - J Bras
- Department of Molecular Neuroscience, Institute of Neurology, University College London, London, UK.,UK Dementia Research Institute at UCL (UK DRI), London, UK.,Department of Medical Sciences, Institute of Biomedicine-iBiMED, University of Aveiro, Aveiro, Portugal
| | - D Hernandez
- Laboratory of Neurogenetics, National Institute of Aging, National Institute of Health, Bethesda, MD, USA
| | - A Singleton
- Laboratory of Neurogenetics, National Institute of Aging, National Institute of Health, Bethesda, MD, USA
| | - P T Francis
- Brains for Dementia Research Resource, Wolfson Centre for Age Related Diseases, King's College London, London, UK
| | - J Hardy
- Department of Molecular Neuroscience, Institute of Neurology, University College London, London, UK.,UK Dementia Research Institute at UCL (UK DRI), London, UK
| | - K Morgan
- Human Genetics Group, University of Nottingham, Nottingham, UK
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