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Ali NH, Al-Kuraishy HM, Al-Gareeb AI, Alnaaim SA, Alexiou A, Papadakis M, Saad HM, Batiha GES. Autophagy and autophagy signaling in Epilepsy: possible role of autophagy activator. Mol Med 2023; 29:142. [PMID: 37880579 PMCID: PMC10598971 DOI: 10.1186/s10020-023-00742-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/26/2023] [Accepted: 10/16/2023] [Indexed: 10/27/2023] Open
Abstract
Autophagy is an explicit cellular process to deliver dissimilar cytoplasmic misfolded proteins, lipids and damaged organelles to the lysosomes for degradation and elimination. The mechanistic target of rapamycin (mTOR) is the main negative regulator of autophagy. The mTOR pathway is involved in regulating neurogenesis, synaptic plasticity, neuronal development and excitability. Exaggerated mTOR activity is associated with the development of temporal lobe epilepsy, genetic and acquired epilepsy, and experimental epilepsy. In particular, mTOR complex 1 (mTORC1) is mainly involved in epileptogenesis. The investigation of autophagy's involvement in epilepsy has recently been conducted, focusing on the critical role of rapamycin, an autophagy inducer, in reducing the severity of induced seizures in animal model studies. The induction of autophagy could be an innovative therapeutic strategy in managing epilepsy. Despite the protective role of autophagy against epileptogenesis and epilepsy, its role in status epilepticus (SE) is perplexing and might be beneficial or detrimental. Therefore, the present review aims to revise the possible role of autophagy in epilepsy.
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Affiliation(s)
- Naif H Ali
- Department of Internal Medicine, Medical College, Najran university, Najran, Saudi Arabia
| | - Hayder M Al-Kuraishy
- Department of Clinical Pharmacology and Medicine, College of Medicine, ALmustansiriyia University, P.O. Box 14132, Baghdad, Iraq
| | - Ali I Al-Gareeb
- Department of Clinical Pharmacology and Medicine, College of Medicine, ALmustansiriyia University, P.O. Box 14132, Baghdad, Iraq
| | - Saud A Alnaaim
- Clinical Neurosciences Department, College of Medicine, King Faisal University, Hofuf, Saudi Arabia
| | - Athanasios Alexiou
- Department of Science and Engineering, Novel Global Community Educational Foundation, Hebersham, NSW, 2770, Australia
- AFNP Med, Wien, 1030, Austria
| | - Marios Papadakis
- Department of Surgery II, University Hospital Witten-Herdecke, University of Witten-Herdecke, Heusnerstrasse 40, 42283, Wuppertal, Germany.
| | - Hebatallah M Saad
- Department of Pathology, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Matrouh University, Matrouh, Matrouh, 51744, Egypt.
| | - Gaber El-Saber Batiha
- Department of Pharmacology and Therapeutics, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Damanhour University, Damanhour, AlBeheira, 22511, Egypt.
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2
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De Filippi P, Errichiello E, Toscano A, Mongini T, Moggio M, Ravaglia S, Filosto M, Servidei S, Musumeci O, Giannini F, Piperno A, Siciliano G, Ricci G, Di Muzio A, Rigoldi M, Tonin P, Croce MG, Pegoraro E, Politano L, Maggi L, Telese R, Lerario A, Sancricca C, Vercelli L, Semplicini C, Pasanisi B, Bembi B, Dardis A, Palmieri I, Cereda C, Valente EM, Danesino C. Distribution of Exonic Variants in Glycogen Synthesis and Catabolism Genes in Late Onset Pompe Disease (LOPD). Curr Issues Mol Biol 2023; 45:2847-2860. [PMID: 37185710 PMCID: PMC10136686 DOI: 10.3390/cimb45040186] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/02/2023] [Revised: 03/20/2023] [Accepted: 03/22/2023] [Indexed: 04/05/2023] Open
Abstract
Pompe disease (PD) is a monogenic autosomal recessive disorder caused by biallelic pathogenic variants of the GAA gene encoding lysosomal alpha-glucosidase; its loss causes glycogen storage in lysosomes, mainly in the muscular tissue. The genotype–phenotype correlation has been extensively discussed, and caution is recommended when interpreting the clinical significance of any mutation in a single patient. As there is no evidence that environmental factors can modulate the phenotype, the observed clinical variability in PD suggests that genetic variants other than pathogenic GAA mutations influence the mechanisms of muscle damage/repair and the overall clinical picture. Genes encoding proteins involved in glycogen synthesis and catabolism may represent excellent candidates as phenotypic modifiers of PD. The genes analyzed for glycogen synthesis included UGP2, glycogenin (GYG1-muscle, GYG2, and other tissues), glycogen synthase (GYS1-muscle and GYS2-liver), GBE1, EPM2A, NHLRC1, GSK3A, and GSK3B. The only enzyme involved in glycogen catabolism in lysosomes is α-glucosidase, which is encoded by GAA, while two cytoplasmic enzymes, phosphorylase (PYGB-brain, PGL-liver, and PYGM-muscle) and glycogen debranching (AGL) are needed to obtain glucose 1-phosphate or free glucose. Here, we report the potentially relevant variants in genes related to glycogen synthesis and catabolism, identified by whole exome sequencing in a group of 30 patients with late-onset Pompe disease (LOPD). In our exploratory analysis, we observed a reduced number of variants in the genes expressed in muscles versus the genes expressed in other tissues, but we did not find a single variant that strongly affected the phenotype. From our work, it also appears that the current clinical scores used in LOPD do not describe muscle impairment with enough qualitative/quantitative details to correlate it with genes that, even with a slightly reduced function due to genetic variants, impact the phenotype.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Edoardo Errichiello
- IRCCS Mondino Foundation, 27100 Pavia, Italy
- Department of Molecular Medicine, University of Pavia, 27100 Pavia, Italy
| | - Antonio Toscano
- ERN-NMD Center of Messina for Neuromuscular Disorders, Department of Clinical and Experimental Medicine, University of Messina, 98125 Messina, Italy
| | - Tiziana Mongini
- Neuromuscular Unit, Department of Neuroscience RLM, University of Torino, 10126 Torino, Italy
| | - Maurizio Moggio
- Neuromuscular and Rare Diseases Unit, BioBank of Skeletal Muscle, Peripheral Nerve, DNA and Dino Ferrari Center, IRCCS Foundation Ca’ Granda Ospedale Maggiore Policlinico, 20100 Milan, Italy
| | | | - Massimiliano Filosto
- Department of Clinical and Experimental Sciences, NeMO-Brescia Clinical Center for Neuromuscular Diseases, University of Brescia, 25121 Brescia, Italy
| | | | - Olimpia Musumeci
- Department of Clinical and Experimental Medicine, University of Messina, 98125 Messina, Italy
| | - Fabio Giannini
- Department of Medical, Surgical and Neurological Sciences, University of Siena, “Le Scotte” Hospital, 53100 Siena, Italy
| | - Alberto Piperno
- Fondazione IRCCS San Gerardo, Centro Ricerca Testamenti, Monza-European Reference Network–MetabERN, 20900 Monza, Italy
| | - Gabriele Siciliano
- Department of Clinical and Experimental Medicine, Neurological Clinics, University of Pisa, 56100 Pisa, Italy
| | - Giulia Ricci
- Department of Clinical and Experimental Medicine, Neurological Clinics, University of Pisa, 56100 Pisa, Italy
| | - Antonio Di Muzio
- Centre for Neuromuscular Disease, CeSI, University “G. d’Annunzio”, 66100 Chieti, Italy
| | - Miriam Rigoldi
- Dipartimento di Ricerca Malattie Rare, Istituto Mario Negri IRCCS, 24020 Ranica, Italy
| | - Paola Tonin
- Department of Neurosciences, Biomedicine and Movement Sciences, Section of Clinical Neurology, University of Verona, 37100 Verona, Italy
| | | | - Elena Pegoraro
- Department of Neurosciences, University of Padova, 35100 Padova, Italy
| | - Luisa Politano
- Cardiomiologia e Genetica Medica, Dipartimento di Medicina Sperimentale, Seconda Università di Napoli, 80100 Napoli, Italy
| | - Lorenzo Maggi
- Neuroimmunology and Neuromuscular Diseases Unit, Fondazione IRCCS Istituto Neurologico Carlo Besta, 20100 Milano, Italy
| | - Roberta Telese
- Centre for Neuromuscular Disease, CeSI, University “G. d’Annunzio”, 66100 Chieti, Italy
| | - Alberto Lerario
- Neuromuscular and Rare Diseases Unit, BioBank of Skeletal Muscle, Peripheral Nerve, DNA and Dino Ferrari Center, IRCCS Foundation Ca’ Granda Ospedale Maggiore Policlinico, 20100 Milan, Italy
| | | | - Liliana Vercelli
- Neuromuscular Unit, Department of Neuroscience RLM, University of Torino, 10126 Torino, Italy
| | | | - Barbara Pasanisi
- Cardiomiologia e Genetica Medica, Dipartimento di Medicina Sperimentale, Seconda Università di Napoli, 80100 Napoli, Italy
| | - Bruno Bembi
- Regional Coordinator Centre for Rare Diseases, University Hospital “Santa Maria della Misericordia”, 33100 Udine, Italy
| | - Andrea Dardis
- Regional Coordinator Centre for Rare Diseases, University Hospital “Santa Maria della Misericordia”, 33100 Udine, Italy
| | - Ilaria Palmieri
- IRCCS Mondino Foundation, 27100 Pavia, Italy
- Department of Molecular Medicine, University of Pavia, 27100 Pavia, Italy
| | - Cristina Cereda
- Center of Functional Genomic and Rare Diseases-Buzzi Children’s Hospital, 20100 Milano, Italy
| | - Enza Maria Valente
- IRCCS Mondino Foundation, 27100 Pavia, Italy
- Department of Molecular Medicine, University of Pavia, 27100 Pavia, Italy
| | - Cesare Danesino
- Department of Molecular Medicine, University of Pavia, 27100 Pavia, Italy
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3
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Mitra S, Chen B, Wang P, Chown EE, Dear M, Guisso DR, Mariam U, Wu J, Gumusgoz E, Minassian BA. Laforin targets malin to glycogen in Lafora progressive myoclonus epilepsy. Dis Model Mech 2023; 16:285942. [PMID: 36511140 PMCID: PMC9844227 DOI: 10.1242/dmm.049802] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/04/2022] [Accepted: 12/01/2022] [Indexed: 12/15/2022] Open
Abstract
Glycogen is the largest cytosolic macromolecule and is kept in solution through a regular system of short branches allowing hydration. This structure was thought to solely require balanced glycogen synthase and branching enzyme activities. Deposition of overlong branched glycogen in the fatal epilepsy Lafora disease (LD) indicated involvement of the LD gene products laforin and the E3 ubiquitin ligase malin in regulating glycogen structure. Laforin binds glycogen, and LD-causing mutations disrupt this binding, laforin-malin interactions and malin's ligase activity, all indicating a critical role for malin. Neither malin's endogenous function nor location had previously been studied due to lack of suitable antibodies. Here, we generated a mouse in which the native malin gene is tagged with the FLAG sequence. We show that the tagged gene expresses physiologically, malin localizes to glycogen, laforin and malin indeed interact, at glycogen, and malin's presence at glycogen depends on laforin. These results, and mice, open the way to understanding unknown mechanisms of glycogen synthesis critical to LD and potentially other much more common diseases due to incompletely understood defects in glycogen metabolism.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sharmistha Mitra
- Division of Neurology, Department of Pediatrics, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, TX 75390, USA,Authors for correspondence (; )
| | - Baozhi Chen
- Division of Neurology, Department of Pediatrics, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, TX 75390, USA
| | - Peixiang Wang
- Program in Genetics and Genome Biology, The Hospital for Sick Children Research Institute, Toronto, ON M5G 0A4, Canada
| | - Erin E. Chown
- Program in Genetics and Genome Biology, The Hospital for Sick Children Research Institute, Toronto, ON M5G 0A4, Canada
| | - Mathew Dear
- Division of Neurology, Department of Pediatrics, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, TX 75390, USA
| | - Dikran R. Guisso
- Division of Neurology, Department of Pediatrics, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, TX 75390, USA
| | - Ummay Mariam
- Division of Neurology, Department of Pediatrics, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, TX 75390, USA
| | - Jun Wu
- Division of Neurology, Department of Pediatrics, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, TX 75390, USA
| | - Emrah Gumusgoz
- Department of Pathology, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, TX 75390, USA
| | - Berge A. Minassian
- Division of Neurology, Department of Pediatrics, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, TX 75390, USA,Authors for correspondence (; )
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4
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Genome-Wide Association Study of Growth Traits in a Four-Way Crossbred Pig Population. Genes (Basel) 2022; 13:genes13111990. [DOI: 10.3390/genes13111990] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/10/2022] [Revised: 10/28/2022] [Accepted: 10/28/2022] [Indexed: 11/04/2022] Open
Abstract
Growth traits are crucial economic traits in the commercial pig industry and have a substantial impact on pig production. However, the genetic mechanism of growth traits is not very clear. In this study, we performed a genome-wide association study (GWAS) based on the specific-locus amplified fragment sequencing (SLAF-seq) to analyze ten growth traits on 223 four-way intercross pigs. A total of 227,921 highly consistent single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) uniformly dispersed throughout the entire genome were used to conduct GWAS. A total of 53 SNPs were identified for ten growth traits using the mixed linear model (MLM), of which 18 SNPs were located in previously reported quantitative trait loci (QTL) regions. Two novel QTLs on SSC4 and SSC7 were related to average daily gain from 30 to 60 kg (ADG30–60) and body length (BL), respectively. Furthermore, 13 candidate genes (ATP5O, GHRHR, TRIM55, EIF2AK1, PLEKHA1, BRAP, COL11A2, HMGA1, NHLRC1, SGSM1, NFATC2, MAML1, and PSD3) were found to be associated with growth traits in pigs. The GWAS findings will enhance our comprehension of the genetic architecture of growth traits. We suggested that these detected SNPs and corresponding candidate genes might provide a biological foundation for improving the growth and production performance of pigs in swine breeding.
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5
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Ge Q, Li J, Tao J, Gao R, Jin C, Zhou J, Zhang M, Hao Z, Meng J, Liang C. EPM2A acts as a protective factor in prostate cancer, evidence from a real-world patient cohort. Front Pharmacol 2022; 13:946637. [PMID: 36199693 PMCID: PMC9527317 DOI: 10.3389/fphar.2022.946637] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/17/2022] [Accepted: 09/07/2022] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
EPM2A encodes a dual specificity phosphatase and has been proven to be a potential biomarker in several cancers but has not been mentioned in prostate cancer (PCA). We investigated the prognostic and therapeutic value of EPM2A in PCA. The TCGA-PRAD cohort was collected to evaluate the differential expression, prognostic value, immunocyte infiltration and drug sensitivity of EPM2A in PCA. We constructed a nomogram model to predict the recurrence probability for PCA patients. Immunohistochemistry was used to validate the different transcript levels of EPM2A between tumor and normal tissues. A real-world AHMU-PC cohort was employed for validation. The results showed decreased expression of EPM2A in 95.65% of tumor tissues and was related to their prognosis, especially PCA (p = 0.008, HR = 0.57, 95% CI: 0.371–0.863). Further multiple analysis by adjusting clinical features revealed that EPM2A acted as an independent prognostic factor (p = 0.014, HR = 0.589, 95% CI: 0.386–0.898). Pathway enrichment analysis showed variable signaling activation between high EPM2A expression patients (HEXP) and low EPM2A expression patients (LEXP). The HEXP group contained higher infiltration of immunocytes than the LEXP group, as well as high levels of PD-1, PD-L1 and PD-L2, while LEXP patients were more sensitive to cisplatin, paclitaxel and bicalutamide therapy. The nomogram containing the EPM2A group, T stage and Gleason score showed a preferable prognostic value (AUC = 0.755; Hosmer‒Lemeshow, p = 0.486). In validation, we confirmed the lower transcript level of EPM2A in PCA than in normal tissues (120.5 ± 2.159 vs. 138.3 ± 1.83, p = 0.035) and correlated it with the expression level of PD-1 (R = 0.283). Among the 66 patients from the AHMU-PC cohort, we further validated the function of EPM2A in PCA patients. HEXP patients had longer recurrence-free survival times (1207 ± 110 vs. 794.2 ± 97.02, p = 0.0063) and favorable prognoses (HR: 0.417, 95% CI: 0.195–0.894, p = 0.0245). Collectively, we identified the prognostic value of EPM2A in PCa via a bioinformatics method. Patients with higher EPM2A may be more sensitive to immunotherapy, and patients with lower EPM2A were more suitable for bicalutamide, cisplatin and paclitaxel therapy.
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Affiliation(s)
- Qintao Ge
- Department of Urology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Anhui Medical University, Hefei, China
- Institute of Urology, Anhui Medical University, Hefei, China
- Anhui Province Key Laboratory of Genitourinary Diseases, Anhui Medical University, Hefei, China
| | - Jiawei Li
- Department of Urology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Anhui Medical University, Hefei, China
- Institute of Urology, Anhui Medical University, Hefei, China
- Anhui Province Key Laboratory of Genitourinary Diseases, Anhui Medical University, Hefei, China
| | - Junyue Tao
- Department of Urology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Anhui Medical University, Hefei, China
- Institute of Urology, Anhui Medical University, Hefei, China
- Anhui Province Key Laboratory of Genitourinary Diseases, Anhui Medical University, Hefei, China
| | - Rui Gao
- Department of Urology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Anhui Medical University, Hefei, China
- Institute of Urology, Anhui Medical University, Hefei, China
- Anhui Province Key Laboratory of Genitourinary Diseases, Anhui Medical University, Hefei, China
| | - Chen Jin
- Department of Urology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Anhui Medical University, Hefei, China
- Institute of Urology, Anhui Medical University, Hefei, China
- Anhui Province Key Laboratory of Genitourinary Diseases, Anhui Medical University, Hefei, China
| | - Jun Zhou
- Department of Urology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Anhui Medical University, Hefei, China
- Institute of Urology, Anhui Medical University, Hefei, China
- Anhui Province Key Laboratory of Genitourinary Diseases, Anhui Medical University, Hefei, China
| | - Meng Zhang
- Department of Urology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Anhui Medical University, Hefei, China
- Institute of Urology, Anhui Medical University, Hefei, China
- Anhui Province Key Laboratory of Genitourinary Diseases, Anhui Medical University, Hefei, China
| | - Zongyao Hao
- Department of Urology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Anhui Medical University, Hefei, China
- Institute of Urology, Anhui Medical University, Hefei, China
- Anhui Province Key Laboratory of Genitourinary Diseases, Anhui Medical University, Hefei, China
- *Correspondence: Zongyao Hao, ; Jialin Meng, ; Chaozhao Liang,
| | - Jialin Meng
- Department of Urology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Anhui Medical University, Hefei, China
- Institute of Urology, Anhui Medical University, Hefei, China
- Anhui Province Key Laboratory of Genitourinary Diseases, Anhui Medical University, Hefei, China
- *Correspondence: Zongyao Hao, ; Jialin Meng, ; Chaozhao Liang,
| | - Chaozhao Liang
- Department of Urology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Anhui Medical University, Hefei, China
- Institute of Urology, Anhui Medical University, Hefei, China
- Anhui Province Key Laboratory of Genitourinary Diseases, Anhui Medical University, Hefei, China
- *Correspondence: Zongyao Hao, ; Jialin Meng, ; Chaozhao Liang,
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6
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Nitschke S, Sullivan MA, Mitra S, Marchioni C, Lee JP Y, Smith BH, Ahonen S, Wu J, Chown E, Wang P, Petković S, Zhao X, DiGiovanni LF, Perri AM, Israelian L, Grossman TR, Kordasiewicz H, Vilaplana F, Iwai K, Nitschke F, Minassian BA. Glycogen synthase downregulation rescues the amylopectinosis of murine RBCK1 deficiency. Brain 2022; 145:2361-2377. [PMID: 35084461 PMCID: PMC9612801 DOI: 10.1093/brain/awac017] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/29/2021] [Revised: 12/17/2021] [Accepted: 01/09/2022] [Indexed: 12/06/2023] Open
Abstract
Longer glucan chains tend to precipitate. Glycogen, by far the largest mammalian glucan and the largest molecule in the cytosol with up to 55 000 glucoses, does not, due to a highly regularly branched spherical structure that allows it to be perfused with cytosol. Aberrant construction of glycogen leads it to precipitate, accumulate into polyglucosan bodies that resemble plant starch amylopectin and cause disease. This pathology, amylopectinosis, is caused by mutations in a series of single genes whose functions are under active study toward understanding the mechanisms of proper glycogen construction. Concurrently, we are characterizing the physicochemical particularities of glycogen and polyglucosans associated with each gene. These genes include GBE1, EPM2A and EPM2B, which respectively encode the glycogen branching enzyme, the glycogen phosphatase laforin and the laforin-interacting E3 ubiquitin ligase malin, for which an unequivocal function is not yet known. Mutations in GBE1 cause a motor neuron disease (adult polyglucosan body disease), and mutations in EPM2A or EPM2B a fatal progressive myoclonus epilepsy (Lafora disease). RBCK1 deficiency causes an amylopectinosis with fatal skeletal and cardiac myopathy (polyglucosan body myopathy 1, OMIM# 615895). RBCK1 is a component of the linear ubiquitin chain assembly complex, with unique functions including generating linear ubiquitin chains and ubiquitinating hydroxyl (versus canonical amine) residues, including of glycogen. In a mouse model we now show (i) that the amylopectinosis of RBCK1 deficiency, like in adult polyglucosan body disease and Lafora disease, affects the brain; (ii) that RBCK1 deficiency glycogen, like in adult polyglucosan body disease and Lafora disease, has overlong branches; (iii) that unlike adult polyglucosan body disease but like Lafora disease, RBCK1 deficiency glycogen is hyperphosphorylated; and finally (iv) that unlike laforin-deficient Lafora disease but like malin-deficient Lafora disease, RBCK1 deficiency's glycogen hyperphosphorylation is limited to precipitated polyglucosans. In summary, the fundamental glycogen pathology of RBCK1 deficiency recapitulates that of malin-deficient Lafora disease. Additionally, we uncover sex and genetic background effects in RBCK1 deficiency on organ- and brain-region specific amylopectinoses, and in the brain on consequent neuroinflammation and behavioural deficits. Finally, we exploit the portion of the basic glycogen pathology that is common to adult polyglucosan body disease, both forms of Lafora disease and RBCK1 deficiency, namely overlong branches, to show that a unified approach based on downregulating glycogen synthase, the enzyme that elongates glycogen branches, can rescue all four diseases.
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Affiliation(s)
- Silvia Nitschke
- Program in Genetics and Genome Biology, The Hospital for Sick Children Research Institute, Toronto, ON M5G 0A4, Canada
- Division of Neurology, Department of Pediatrics, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, TX 75390, USA
| | - Mitchell A Sullivan
- Program in Genetics and Genome Biology, The Hospital for Sick Children Research Institute, Toronto, ON M5G 0A4, Canada
- Glycation and Diabetes Complications, Mater Research Institute–The University of Queensland, Translational Research Institute, Brisbane, QLD, 4102, Australia
| | - Sharmistha Mitra
- Division of Neurology, Department of Pediatrics, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, TX 75390, USA
| | - Charlotte R Marchioni
- Division of Neurology, Department of Pediatrics, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, TX 75390, USA
| | - Jennifer P Y Lee
- Program in Genetics and Genome Biology, The Hospital for Sick Children Research Institute, Toronto, ON M5G 0A4, Canada
| | - Brandon H Smith
- Division of Neurology, Department of Pediatrics, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, TX 75390, USA
| | - Saija Ahonen
- Program in Genetics and Genome Biology, The Hospital for Sick Children Research Institute, Toronto, ON M5G 0A4, Canada
| | - Jun Wu
- Division of Neurology, Department of Pediatrics, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, TX 75390, USA
| | - Erin E Chown
- Program in Genetics and Genome Biology, The Hospital for Sick Children Research Institute, Toronto, ON M5G 0A4, Canada
| | - Peixiang Wang
- Program in Genetics and Genome Biology, The Hospital for Sick Children Research Institute, Toronto, ON M5G 0A4, Canada
| | - Sara Petković
- Program in Genetics and Genome Biology, The Hospital for Sick Children Research Institute, Toronto, ON M5G 0A4, Canada
| | - Xiaochu Zhao
- Program in Genetics and Genome Biology, The Hospital for Sick Children Research Institute, Toronto, ON M5G 0A4, Canada
| | - Laura F DiGiovanni
- Program in Genetics and Genome Biology, The Hospital for Sick Children Research Institute, Toronto, ON M5G 0A4, Canada
| | - Ami M Perri
- Program in Genetics and Genome Biology, The Hospital for Sick Children Research Institute, Toronto, ON M5G 0A4, Canada
| | - Lori Israelian
- Program in Genetics and Genome Biology, The Hospital for Sick Children Research Institute, Toronto, ON M5G 0A4, Canada
| | - Tamar R Grossman
- Department of Antisense Drug Discovery, Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Carlsbad, California, USA
| | - Holly Kordasiewicz
- Department of Antisense Drug Discovery, Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Carlsbad, California, USA
| | - Francisco Vilaplana
- Division of Glycoscience, Department of Chemistry, KTH Royal Institute of Technology, AlbaNova University Centre, Stockholm 10691, Sweden
| | - Kazuhiro Iwai
- Department of Molecular and Cellular Physiology, Kyoto University School of Medicine, Kyoto 606-8501, Japan
| | - Felix Nitschke
- Division of Neurology, Department of Pediatrics, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, TX 75390, USA
- Department of Biochemistry, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, TX 75390, USA
| | - Berge A Minassian
- Program in Genetics and Genome Biology, The Hospital for Sick Children Research Institute, Toronto, ON M5G 0A4, Canada
- Division of Neurology, Department of Pediatrics, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, TX 75390, USA
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7
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Varea O, Guinovart JJ, Duran J. Malin restoration as proof of concept for gene therapy for Lafora disease. Brain Commun 2022; 4:fcac168. [PMID: 35813879 PMCID: PMC9260307 DOI: 10.1093/braincomms/fcac168] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/22/2021] [Revised: 05/03/2022] [Accepted: 06/21/2022] [Indexed: 11/25/2022] Open
Abstract
Lafora disease is a fatal neurodegenerative childhood dementia caused by loss-of-function mutations in either the laforin or malin gene. The hallmark of the disease is the accumulation of abnormal glycogen aggregates known as Lafora bodies (LBs) in the brain and other tissues. These aggregates are responsible for the pathological features of the disease. As a monogenic disorder, Lafora disease is a good candidate for gene therapy-based approaches. However, most patients are diagnosed after the appearance of the first symptoms and thus when LBs are already present in the brain. In this context, it was not clear whether the restoration of a normal copy of the defective gene (either laforin or malin) would prove effective. Here we evaluated the effect of restoring malin in a malin-deficient mouse model of Lafora disease as a proof of concept for gene replacement therapy. To this end, we generated a malin-deficient mouse in which malin expression can be induced at a certain time. Our results reveal that malin restoration at an advanced stage of the disease arrests the accumulation of LBs in brain and muscle, induces the degradation of laforin and glycogen synthase bound to the aggregates, and ameliorates neuroinflammation. These results identify malin restoration as the first therapeutic strategy to show effectiveness when applied at advanced stages of Lafora disease.
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Affiliation(s)
- Olga Varea
- Institute for Research in Biomedicine (IRB Barcelona), The Barcelona Institute of Science and Technology , Barcelona 08028 , Spain
| | - Joan J Guinovart
- Institute for Research in Biomedicine (IRB Barcelona), The Barcelona Institute of Science and Technology , Barcelona 08028 , Spain
- Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red de Diabetes y Enfermedades Metabólicas Asociadas (CIBERDEM) , Madrid 28029 , Spain
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biomedicine, University of Barcelona , Barcelona 08028 , Spain
| | - Jordi Duran
- Institute for Research in Biomedicine (IRB Barcelona), The Barcelona Institute of Science and Technology , Barcelona 08028 , Spain
- Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red de Diabetes y Enfermedades Metabólicas Asociadas (CIBERDEM) , Madrid 28029 , Spain
- Institut Químic de Sarrià (IQS), Universitat Ramon Llull (URL) , Barcelona 08017 , Spain
- Institute for Bioengineering of Catalonia (IBEC), The Barcelona Institute of Science and Technology , Barcelona 08028 , Spain
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8
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Aourz N, Van Leuven F, Allaoui W, Van Eeckhaut A, De Bundel D, Smolders I. Unraveling the Effects of GSK-3β Isoform Modulation against Limbic Seizures and in the 6 Hz Electrical Kindling Model for Epileptogenesis. ACS Chem Neurosci 2022; 13:796-805. [PMID: 35253420 DOI: 10.1021/acschemneuro.1c00782] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/28/2022] Open
Abstract
Two closely related glycogen synthase kinase-3 (GSK-3) isoforms have been identified in mammals: GSK-3α and GSK-3β. GSK-3β is the most prominent in the central nervous system and was previously shown to control neuronal excitability. We previously demonstrated that indirubin and its structural analogue and the nonselective GSK-3 inhibitor BIO-acetoxime exerted anticonvulsant effects in acute seizure models in zebrafish, mice, and rats. We here examined for the first time the anticonvulsant effect of TCS2002, a specific and potent inhibitor of GSK-3β, in two models for limbic seizures: the pilocarpine rat model for focal seizures and the acute 6 Hz corneal mouse model for refractory seizures. Next, we additionally used the 6 Hz kindling model to establish differences in seizure susceptibility and seizure progression in mice that either overexpress human GSK-3β (GSK-3β OE) or lack GSK-3β (GSK-3β-/-) in neurons. We demonstrate that TCS2002 exerts anticonvulsant actions against pilocarpine- and 6 Hz-evoked seizures. Compared to wild-type littermates, GSK-3β OE mice are less susceptible to seizures but are more rapidly kindled. Interestingly, compared to GSK-3β+/+ mice, neuronal GSK-3β-/- mice show increased susceptibility to 6 Hz-induced seizures. These contrasting observations suggest compensatory neurodevelopmental mechanisms that alter seizure susceptibility in GSK-3β OE and GSK-3β-/- mice. Although the pronounced anticonvulsant effects of selective and acute GSK-3β inhibition in the 6 Hz model identify GSK-3β as a potential drug target for pharmacoresistant seizures, our data on the sustained disruption of GSK-3β activity in the transgenic mice suggest a role for GSK-3 in kindling and warrants further research into the long-term effects of selective pharmacological GSK-3β inhibition.
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Affiliation(s)
- Najat Aourz
- Vrije Universiteit Brussel (VUB), Department of Pharmaceutical Chemistry, Drug Analysis and Drug Information/Center for Neurosciences (C4N), Laarbeeklaan 103, 1090 Brussels, Belgium
| | - Fred Van Leuven
- Experimental Genetics Group (LEGTEGG), Department of Human Genetics, University of Leuven, 3000 Leuven, Belgium
| | - Wissal Allaoui
- Vrije Universiteit Brussel (VUB), Department of Pharmaceutical Chemistry, Drug Analysis and Drug Information/Center for Neurosciences (C4N), Laarbeeklaan 103, 1090 Brussels, Belgium
| | - Ann Van Eeckhaut
- Vrije Universiteit Brussel (VUB), Department of Pharmaceutical Chemistry, Drug Analysis and Drug Information/Center for Neurosciences (C4N), Laarbeeklaan 103, 1090 Brussels, Belgium
| | - Dimitri De Bundel
- Vrije Universiteit Brussel (VUB), Department of Pharmaceutical Chemistry, Drug Analysis and Drug Information/Center for Neurosciences (C4N), Laarbeeklaan 103, 1090 Brussels, Belgium
| | - Ilse Smolders
- Vrije Universiteit Brussel (VUB), Department of Pharmaceutical Chemistry, Drug Analysis and Drug Information/Center for Neurosciences (C4N), Laarbeeklaan 103, 1090 Brussels, Belgium
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9
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An empirical pipeline for personalized diagnosis of Lafora disease mutations. iScience 2021; 24:103276. [PMID: 34755096 PMCID: PMC8564118 DOI: 10.1016/j.isci.2021.103276] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/10/2021] [Revised: 09/14/2021] [Accepted: 10/12/2021] [Indexed: 11/23/2022] Open
Abstract
Lafora disease (LD) is a fatal childhood dementia characterized by progressive myoclonic epilepsy manifesting in the teenage years, rapid neurological decline, and death typically within ten years of onset. Mutations in either EPM2A, encoding the glycogen phosphatase laforin, or EPM2B, encoding the E3 ligase malin, cause LD. Whole exome sequencing has revealed many EPM2A variants associated with late-onset or slower disease progression. We established an empirical pipeline for characterizing the functional consequences of laforin missense mutations in vitro using complementary biochemical approaches. Analysis of 26 mutations revealed distinct functional classes associated with different outcomes that were supported by clinical cases. For example, F321C and G279C mutations have attenuated functional defects and are associated with slow progression. This pipeline enabled rapid characterization and classification of newly identified EPM2A mutations, providing clinicians and researchers genetic information to guide treatment of LD patients. Lafora disease (LD) patients present with varying clinical progression LD missense mutations differentially affect laforin function An empirical in vitro pipeline is used to classify laforin missense mutations Patient progression can be predicted based on mutation class
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10
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Mitra S, Gumusgoz E, Minassian BA. Lafora disease: Current biology and therapeutic approaches. Rev Neurol (Paris) 2021; 178:315-325. [PMID: 34301405 DOI: 10.1016/j.neurol.2021.06.006] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/06/2021] [Revised: 05/21/2021] [Accepted: 06/16/2021] [Indexed: 12/19/2022]
Abstract
The ubiquitin system impacts most cellular processes and is altered in numerous neurodegenerative diseases. However, little is known about its role in neurodegenerative diseases due to disturbances of glycogen metabolism such as Lafora disease (LD). In LD, insufficiently branched and long-chained glycogen forms and precipitates into insoluble polyglucosan bodies (Lafora bodies), which drive neuroinflammation, neurodegeneration and epilepsy. LD is caused by mutations in the gene encoding the glycogen phosphatase laforin or the gene coding for the laforin interacting partner ubiquitin E3 ligase malin. The role of the malin-laforin complex in regulating glycogen structure remains with full of gaps. In this review we bring together the disparate body of data on these two proteins and propose a mechanistic hypothesis of the disease in which malin-laforin's role to monitor and prevent over-elongation of glycogen branch chains, which drive glycogen molecules to precipitate and accumulate into Lafora bodies. We also review proposed connections between Lafora bodies and the ensuing neuroinflammation, neurodegeneration and intractable epilepsy. Finally, we review the exciting activities in developing therapies for Lafora disease based on replacing the missing genes, slowing the enzyme - glycogen synthase - that over-elongates glycogen branches, and introducing enzymes that can digest Lafora bodies. Much more work is needed to fill the gaps in glycogen metabolism in which laforin and malin operate. However, knowledge appears already adequate to advance disease course altering therapies for this catastrophic fatal disease.
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Affiliation(s)
- S Mitra
- Division of Neurology, Department of Pediatrics, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, 5323 Harry Hines Boulevard, Dallas, TX 75390, USA
| | - E Gumusgoz
- Division of Neurology, Department of Pediatrics, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, 5323 Harry Hines Boulevard, Dallas, TX 75390, USA
| | - B A Minassian
- Division of Neurology, Department of Pediatrics, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, 5323 Harry Hines Boulevard, Dallas, TX 75390, USA.
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11
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Mollá B, Heredia M, Sanz P. Modulators of Neuroinflammation Have a Beneficial Effect in a Lafora Disease Mouse Model. Mol Neurobiol 2021; 58:2508-2522. [PMID: 33447969 PMCID: PMC8167455 DOI: 10.1007/s12035-021-02285-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/09/2020] [Accepted: 01/07/2021] [Indexed: 12/22/2022]
Abstract
Lafora disease (LD; OMIM#274780) is a fatal rare neurodegenerative disorder characterized by generalized epileptic seizures and the presence of polyglucosan inclusions (PGs), called Lafora bodies (LBs), typically in the brain. LD is caused by mutations in two genes EPM2A or EPM2B, which encode respectively laforin, a glucan phosphatase, and malin, an E3-ubiquitin ligase. Much remains unknown about the molecular bases of LD and, unfortunately, appropriate treatment is still missing; therefore patients die within 10 years from the onset of the disease. Recently, we have identified neuroinflammation as one of the initial determinants in LD. In this work, we have investigated anti-inflammatory treatments as potential therapies in LD. With this aim, we have performed a preclinical study in an Epm2b-/- mouse model with propranolol, a β-adrenergic antagonist, and epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG), an antioxidant from green tea extract, both of which displaying additional anti-inflammatory properties. In vivo motor and cognitive behavioral tests and ex vivo histopathological brain analyses were used as parameters to assess the therapeutic potential of propranolol and EGCG. After 2 months of treatment, we observed an improvement not only in attention defects but also in neuronal disorganization, astrogliosis, and microgliosis present in the hippocampus of Epm2b-/- mice. In general, propranolol intervention was more effective than EGCG in preventing the appearance of astrocyte and microglia reactivity. In summary, our results confirm the potential therapeutic effectiveness of the modulators of inflammation as novel treatments in Lafora disease.
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Affiliation(s)
- Belén Mollá
- Laboratory of Nutrient Signaling, Institute of Biomedicine of Valencia (CSIC), Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas, Jaime Roig 11, 46010, Valencia, Spain.
- Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red de Enfermedades Raras (CIBERER), 46010, Valencia, Spain.
| | - Miguel Heredia
- Laboratory of Nutrient Signaling, Institute of Biomedicine of Valencia (CSIC), Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas, Jaime Roig 11, 46010, Valencia, Spain
- Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red de Enfermedades Raras (CIBERER), 46010, Valencia, Spain
| | - Pascual Sanz
- Laboratory of Nutrient Signaling, Institute of Biomedicine of Valencia (CSIC), Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas, Jaime Roig 11, 46010, Valencia, Spain
- Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red de Enfermedades Raras (CIBERER), 46010, Valencia, Spain
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12
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Martin JE, English W, Kendall JV, Sheshappanavar V, Peroos S, West M, Cleeve S, Knowles C. Megarectum: systematic histopathological evaluation of 35 patients and new common pathways in chronic rectal dilatation. J Clin Pathol 2021; 75:jclinpath-2021-207413. [PMID: 34035078 PMCID: PMC9510396 DOI: 10.1136/jclinpath-2021-207413] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/13/2021] [Revised: 03/29/2021] [Accepted: 04/24/2021] [Indexed: 11/15/2022]
Abstract
AIMS Megarectum is well described in the surgical literature but few contemporary pathological studies have been undertaken. There is uncertainty whether 'idiopathic' megarectum is a primary neuromuscular disorder or whether chronic dilatation leads to previously reported and unreported pathological changes. We sought to answer this question. METHODS Systematic histopathological evaluation (in accord with international guidance) of 35 consecutive patients undergoing rectal excision surgery for megarectum (primary: n=24) or megarectum following surgical correction of anorectal malformation (secondary: n=11) in a UK university hospital with adult/paediatric surgical and gastrointestinal neuropathology expertise. RESULTS We confirmed some previously reported observations, notably hypertrophy of the muscularis propria (27 of 35, 77.1% of patients) and extensive fibrosis (30 of 35, 85.7% of patients). We also observed unique and previously unreported features including elastosis (19 of 33, 57.6%) and the presence of polyglucosan bodies (15 of 32, 46.9% of patients). In contrast to previous literature, few patients had any strong evidence of specific forms of visceral neuropathy (5 of 35, including 3 plexus duplications) or myopathy (6 of 35, including 3 muscle duplications). All major pathological findings were common to both primary and secondary forms of the disease, implying that these may be a response to chronic rectal distension rather than of primary aetiology. CONCLUSIONS In the largest case series reported to date, we challenge the current perception of idiopathic megarectum as a primary neuromuscular disease and propose a cellular pathway model for the features present. The severe morphological changes account for some of the irreversibility of the condition and reinforce the need to prevent ongoing rectal distension when first identified.
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Affiliation(s)
- Joanne E Martin
- Department of Cellular Pathology, Blizard Institute, Queen Mary University of London, London, UK
- Department of Cellular Pathology, Barts Health NHS Trust, London, UK
| | - William English
- Department of Colorectal Surgery, Barts Health NHS Trust, London, UK
- Department of Colorectal Surgery, Blizard Institute, Queen Mary University of London, London, UK
| | - John V Kendall
- Department of Cellular Pathology, Barts Health NHS Trust, London, UK
| | | | - Sara Peroos
- Department of Cellular Pathology, Blizard Institute, Queen Mary University of London, London, UK
| | - Milly West
- Department of Cellular Pathology, Blizard Institute, Queen Mary University of London, London, UK
| | - Stewart Cleeve
- Department of Paediatric Surgery, Barts Health NHS Trust, London, UK
| | - Charles Knowles
- Department of Colorectal Surgery, Blizard Institute, Queen Mary University of London, London, UK
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13
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TRIM32 and Malin in Neurological and Neuromuscular Rare Diseases. Cells 2021; 10:cells10040820. [PMID: 33917450 PMCID: PMC8067510 DOI: 10.3390/cells10040820] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/18/2021] [Revised: 04/01/2021] [Accepted: 04/04/2021] [Indexed: 12/27/2022] Open
Abstract
Tripartite motif (TRIM) proteins are RING E3 ubiquitin ligases defined by a shared domain structure. Several of them are implicated in rare genetic diseases, and mutations in TRIM32 and TRIM-like malin are associated with Limb-Girdle Muscular Dystrophy R8 and Lafora disease, respectively. These two proteins are evolutionary related, share a common ancestor, and both display NHL repeats at their C-terminus. Here, we revmniew the function of these two related E3 ubiquitin ligases discussing their intrinsic and possible common pathophysiological pathways.
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14
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Toral-Rios D, Pichardo-Rojas PS, Alonso-Vanegas M, Campos-Peña V. GSK3β and Tau Protein in Alzheimer's Disease and Epilepsy. Front Cell Neurosci 2020; 14:19. [PMID: 32256316 PMCID: PMC7089874 DOI: 10.3389/fncel.2020.00019] [Citation(s) in RCA: 67] [Impact Index Per Article: 16.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/17/2019] [Accepted: 01/23/2020] [Indexed: 12/31/2022] Open
Abstract
Alzheimer's disease (AD) is the most common form of dementia present in older adults; its etiology involves genetic and environmental factors. In recent years, epidemiological studies have shown a correlation between AD and chronic epilepsy since a considerable number of patients with AD may present seizures later on. Although the pathophysiology of seizures in AD is not completely understood, it could represent the result of several molecular mechanisms linked to amyloid beta-peptide (Aβ) accumulation and the hyperphosphorylation of tau protein, which may induce an imbalance in the release and recapture of excitatory and inhibitory neurotransmitters, structural alterations of the neuronal cytoskeleton, synaptic loss, and neuroinflammation. These changes could favor the recurrent development of hypersynchronous discharges and epileptogenesis, which, in a chronic state, favor the neurodegenerative process and influence the cognitive decline observed in AD. Supporting this correlation, histopathological studies in the brain tissue of temporal lobe epilepsy (TLE) patients have revealed the presence of Aβ deposits and the accumulation of tau protein in the neurofibrillary tangles (NFTs), accompanied by an increase of glycogen synthase kinase-3 beta (GSK3β) activity that may lead to an imminent alteration in posttranslational modifications of some microtubule-associated proteins (MAPs), mainly tau. The present review is focused on understanding the pathological aspects of GSK3β and tau in the development of TLE and AD.
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Affiliation(s)
- Danira Toral-Rios
- Departamento de Fisiología Biofísica y Neurociencias, Centro de Investigación y de Estudios Avanzados del IPN, Mexico City, Mexico
| | - Pavel S Pichardo-Rojas
- Facultad de Ciencias de la Salud, Universidad Autónoma de Baja California, Ensenada, Mexico
| | - Mario Alonso-Vanegas
- Centro Internacional de Cirug#x000ED;a de Epilepsia, Instituto Nacional de Neurología y Neurocirugía, HMG, Hospital Coyoacán, Mexico City, Mexico
| | - Victoria Campos-Peña
- Laboratorio Experimental de Enfermedades Neurodegenerativas, Instituto Nacional de Neurología y Neurocirugía, Mexico City, Mexico
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15
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Lahuerta M, Gonzalez D, Aguado C, Fathinajafabadi A, García-Giménez JL, Moreno-Estellés M, Romá-Mateo C, Knecht E, Pallardó FV, Sanz P. Reactive Glia-Derived Neuroinflammation: a Novel Hallmark in Lafora Progressive Myoclonus Epilepsy That Progresses with Age. Mol Neurobiol 2019; 57:1607-1621. [PMID: 31808062 DOI: 10.1007/s12035-019-01842-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 27] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/06/2019] [Accepted: 11/22/2019] [Indexed: 01/31/2023]
Abstract
Lafora disease (LD) is a rare, fatal form of progressive myoclonus epilepsy. The molecular basis of this devastating disease is still poorly understood, and no treatment is available yet, which leads to the death of the patients around 10 years from the onset of the first symptoms. The hallmark of LD is the accumulation of insoluble glycogen-like inclusions in the brain and peripheral tissues, as a consequence of altered glycogen homeostasis. In addition, other determinants in the pathophysiology of LD have been suggested, such as proteostasis impairment, with reduction in autophagy, and oxidative stress, among others. In order to gain a general view of the genes involved in the pathophysiology of LD, in this work, we have performed RNA-Seq transcriptome analyses of whole-brain tissue from two independent mouse models of the disease, namely Epm2a-/- and Epm2b-/- mice, at different times of age. Our results provide strong evidence for three major facts: first, in both models of LD, we found a common set of upregulated genes, most of them encoding mediators of inflammatory response; second, there was a progression with the age in the appearance of these inflammatory markers, starting at 3 months of age; and third, reactive glia was responsible for the expression of these inflammatory genes. These results clearly indicate that neuroinflammation is one of the most important traits to be considered in order to fully understand the pathophysiology of LD, and define reactive glia as novel therapeutic targets in the disease.
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Affiliation(s)
- Marcos Lahuerta
- Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas, Instituto de Biomedicina de Valencia, Jaime Roig 11, 46010, Valencia, Spain
| | - Daymé Gonzalez
- EpiDisease S.L. (Spin-Off from the CIBER-ISCIII), Parc Científic de la Universitat de València, Paterna, Spain
| | - Carmen Aguado
- Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red de Enfermedades Raras (CIBERER), Valencia, Spain.,Centro de Investigación Príncipe Felipe, Valencia, Spain
| | - Alihamze Fathinajafabadi
- Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red de Enfermedades Raras (CIBERER), Valencia, Spain.,Centro de Investigación Príncipe Felipe, Valencia, Spain
| | - José Luis García-Giménez
- EpiDisease S.L. (Spin-Off from the CIBER-ISCIII), Parc Científic de la Universitat de València, Paterna, Spain.,Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red de Enfermedades Raras (CIBERER), Valencia, Spain.,Dept. Fisiología, Facultad de Medicina y Odontología, Universidad de Valencia-INCLIVA, Valencia, Spain
| | - Mireia Moreno-Estellés
- Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas, Instituto de Biomedicina de Valencia, Jaime Roig 11, 46010, Valencia, Spain
| | - Carlos Romá-Mateo
- Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red de Enfermedades Raras (CIBERER), Valencia, Spain.,Dept. Fisiología, Facultad de Medicina y Odontología, Universidad de Valencia-INCLIVA, Valencia, Spain
| | - Erwin Knecht
- Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red de Enfermedades Raras (CIBERER), Valencia, Spain.,Centro de Investigación Príncipe Felipe, Valencia, Spain
| | - Federico V Pallardó
- Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red de Enfermedades Raras (CIBERER), Valencia, Spain.,Dept. Fisiología, Facultad de Medicina y Odontología, Universidad de Valencia-INCLIVA, Valencia, Spain
| | - Pascual Sanz
- Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas, Instituto de Biomedicina de Valencia, Jaime Roig 11, 46010, Valencia, Spain. .,Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red de Enfermedades Raras (CIBERER), Valencia, Spain.
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16
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Li C, Hu Z. Is liver glycogen fragility a possible drug target for diabetes? FASEB J 2019; 34:3-15. [PMID: 31914592 DOI: 10.1096/fj.201901463rr] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/12/2019] [Revised: 10/08/2019] [Accepted: 10/09/2019] [Indexed: 12/14/2022]
Abstract
Liver glycogen α particles are molecularly fragile in diabetic mice, and readily form smaller β particles, which degrade more rapidly to glucose. This effect is well associated with the loss of blood-glucose homeostasis in diabetes. The biological mechanism of such fragility is still unknown; therefore, there are perceived opportunities that could eventually lead to new means to manage type 2 diabetes. The hierarchical structures of glycogen particles are controlled by the underlying biosynthesis/degradation process that involves various enzymes, including, for example, glycogen synthase (GS) and glycogen-branching enzyme (GBE). Recent studies have shown that fragile glycogen α particles in diabetic mice have longer chains and a higher molecular density compared to wild-type mice, indicating an enhanced enzymatic activity ratio of GS to GBE in diabetes. Furthermore, it has been shown that with an improved blood glucose homeostasis, the glycogen fragility in diabetic mice can be restored by treatment with active ingredients from traditional Chinese medicine, yet the underlying mechanism is unknown. In this review, we summarize recent advances in understandings glycogen fragility from the perspectives of glycogen biosynthesis/degradation, glycogen hierarchical structures, and its relation to diabetes. Importantly, we for the first time set GS/GBE activity ratio as the therapeutic target for diabetes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Cheng Li
- Department of Pharmacy, Renmin Hospital of Wuhan University, Wuhan, China.,School of Medical Instrument and Food Engineering, University of Shanghai for Science and Technology, Shanghai, China.,Joint International Research Laboratory of Agriculture and Agri-Product Safety of Ministry of Education of China, Yangzhou University, Yangzhou, China
| | - Zhenxia Hu
- Department of Pharmacy, Renmin Hospital of Wuhan University, Wuhan, China
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17
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Abstract
Lafora disease is a severe, autosomal recessive, progressive myoclonus epilepsy. The disease usually manifests in previously healthy adolescents, and death commonly occurs within 10 years of symptom onset. Lafora disease is caused by loss-of-function mutations in EPM2A or NHLRC1, which encode laforin and malin, respectively. The absence of either protein results in poorly branched, hyperphosphorylated glycogen, which precipitates, aggregates and accumulates into Lafora bodies. Evidence from Lafora disease genetic mouse models indicates that these intracellular inclusions are a principal driver of neurodegeneration and neurological disease. The integration of current knowledge on the function of laforin-malin as an interacting complex suggests that laforin recruits malin to parts of glycogen molecules where overly long glucose chains are forming, so as to counteract further chain extension. In the absence of either laforin or malin function, long glucose chains in specific glycogen molecules extrude water, form double helices and drive precipitation of those molecules, which over time accumulate into Lafora bodies. In this article, we review the genetic, clinical, pathological and molecular aspects of Lafora disease. We also discuss traditional antiseizure treatments for this condition, as well as exciting therapeutic advances based on the downregulation of brain glycogen synthesis and disease gene replacement.
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18
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Aourz N, Serruys ASK, Chabwine JN, Balegamire PB, Afrikanova T, Edrada-Ebel R, Grey AI, Kamuhabwa AR, Walrave L, Esguerra CV, van Leuven F, de Witte PAM, Smolders I, Crawford AD. Identification of GSK-3 as a Potential Therapeutic Entry Point for Epilepsy. ACS Chem Neurosci 2019; 10:1992-2003. [PMID: 30351911 DOI: 10.1021/acschemneuro.8b00281] [Citation(s) in RCA: 28] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/17/2022] Open
Abstract
In view of the clinical need for new antiseizure drugs (ASDs) with novel modes of action, we used a zebrafish seizure model to screen the anticonvulsant activity of medicinal plants used by traditional healers in the Congo for the treatment of epilepsy, and identified a crude plant extract that inhibited pentylenetetrazol (PTZ)-induced seizures in zebrafish larvae. Zebrafish bioassay-guided fractionation of this anticonvulsant Fabaceae species, Indigofera arrecta, identified indirubin, a compound with known inhibitory activity of glycogen synthase kinase (GSK)-3, as the bioactive component. Indirubin, as well as the more potent and selective GSK-3 inhibitor 6-bromoindirubin-3'-oxime (BIO-acetoxime) were tested in zebrafish and rodent seizure assays. Both compounds revealed anticonvulsant activity in PTZ-treated zebrafish larvae, with electroencephalographic recordings revealing reduction of epileptiform discharges. Both indirubin and BIO-acetoxime also showed anticonvulsant activity in the pilocarpine rat model for limbic seizures and in the 6-Hz refractory seizure mouse model. Most interestingly, BIO-acetoxime also exhibited anticonvulsant actions in 6-Hz fully kindled mice. Our findings thus provide the first evidence for anticonvulsant activity of GSK-3 inhibition, thereby implicating GSK-3 as a potential therapeutic entry point for epilepsy. Our results also support the use of zebrafish bioassay-guided fractionation of antiepileptic medicinal plant extracts as an effective strategy for the discovery of new ASDs with novel mechanisms of action.
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Affiliation(s)
- Najat Aourz
- Center for Neurosciences (C4N), Research Group Experimental Pharmacology (EFAR/FASC), Vrije Universiteit Brussel (VUB), Laarbeeklaan 103, 1090 Brussels, Belgium
| | - Ann-Sophie K. Serruys
- Laboratory for Molecular Biodiscovery, Department of Pharmaceutical and Pharmacological Sciences, University of Leuven, Leuven 3000, Belgium
| | - Joëlle N. Chabwine
- Salama Neuroscience Center, Bukavu, South Kivu BP 54, Democratic Republic of the Congo
| | | | - Tatiana Afrikanova
- Laboratory for Molecular Biodiscovery, Department of Pharmaceutical and Pharmacological Sciences, University of Leuven, Leuven 3000, Belgium
| | - RuAngelie Edrada-Ebel
- Strathclyde Institute of Pharmacy & Biomedical Sciences, University of Strathclyde, Glasgow G4 0RE, Scotland, U.K
| | - Alexander I. Grey
- Strathclyde Institute of Pharmacy & Biomedical Sciences, University of Strathclyde, Glasgow G4 0RE, Scotland, U.K
| | - Appolinary R. Kamuhabwa
- Department of Pharmacognosy, Muhimbili University of Health & Allied Sciences, Dar es Salaam 11000, Tanzania
| | - Laura Walrave
- Center for Neurosciences (C4N), Research Group Experimental Pharmacology (EFAR/FASC), Vrije Universiteit Brussel (VUB), Laarbeeklaan 103, 1090 Brussels, Belgium
| | - Camila V. Esguerra
- Laboratory for Molecular Biodiscovery, Department of Pharmaceutical and Pharmacological Sciences, University of Leuven, Leuven 3000, Belgium
| | - Fred van Leuven
- Experimental Genetics Group (LEGTEGG), Department of Human Genetics, University of Leuven, Leuven 3000, Belgium
| | - Peter A. M. de Witte
- Laboratory for Molecular Biodiscovery, Department of Pharmaceutical and Pharmacological Sciences, University of Leuven, Leuven 3000, Belgium
| | - Ilse Smolders
- Center for Neurosciences (C4N), Research Group Experimental Pharmacology (EFAR/FASC), Vrije Universiteit Brussel (VUB), Laarbeeklaan 103, 1090 Brussels, Belgium
| | - Alexander D. Crawford
- Laboratory for Molecular Biodiscovery, Department of Pharmaceutical and Pharmacological Sciences, University of Leuven, Leuven 3000, Belgium
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19
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Brewer MK, Gentry MS. Brain Glycogen Structure and Its Associated Proteins: Past, Present and Future. ADVANCES IN NEUROBIOLOGY 2019; 23:17-81. [PMID: 31667805 PMCID: PMC7239500 DOI: 10.1007/978-3-030-27480-1_2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 21] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/23/2022]
Abstract
This chapter reviews the history of glycogen-related research and discusses in detail the structure, regulation, chemical properties and subcellular distribution of glycogen and its associated proteins, with particular focus on these aspects in brain tissue.
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Affiliation(s)
- M Kathryn Brewer
- Department of Molecular and Cellular Biochemistry, Epilepsy and Brain Metabolism Center, Lafora Epilepsy Cure Initiative, and Center for Structural Biology, University of Kentucky College of Medicine, Lexington, KY, USA
| | - Matthew S Gentry
- Department of Molecular and Cellular Biochemistry, Epilepsy and Brain Metabolism Center, Lafora Epilepsy Cure Initiative, and Center for Structural Biology, University of Kentucky College of Medicine, Lexington, KY, USA.
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20
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Urbanska M, Kazmierska-Grebowska P, Kowalczyk T, Caban B, Nader K, Pijet B, Kalita K, Gozdz A, Devijver H, Lechat B, Jaworski T, Grajkowska W, Sadowski K, Jozwiak S, Kotulska K, Konopacki J, Van Leuven F, van Vliet EA, Aronica E, Jaworski J. GSK3β activity alleviates epileptogenesis and limits GluA1 phosphorylation. EBioMedicine 2018; 39:377-387. [PMID: 30502054 PMCID: PMC6355642 DOI: 10.1016/j.ebiom.2018.11.040] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/29/2018] [Revised: 11/16/2018] [Accepted: 11/16/2018] [Indexed: 12/01/2022] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Glycogen synthase kinase-3β (GSK3β) is a key regulator of cellular homeostasis. In neurons, GSK3β contributes to the control of neuronal transmission and plasticity, but its role in epilepsy remains to be defined. METHODS Biochemical and electrophysiological methods were used to assess the role of GSK3β in regulating neuronal transmission and epileptogenesis. GSK3β activity was increased genetically in GSK3β[S9A] mice. Its effects on neuronal transmission and epileptogenesis induced by kainic acid were assessed by field potential recordings in mice brain slices and video electroencephalography in vivo. The ion channel expression was measured in brain samples from mice and followed by analysis in samples from patients with temporal lobe epilepsy or focal cortical dysplasia in correlation to GSK3β phosphorylation. FINDINGS Higher GSK3β activity decreased the progression of kainic acid induced epileptogenesis. At the biochemical level, higher GSK3β activity increased the expression of hyperpolarization-activated cyclic nucleotide-gated (HCN) channel 4 under basal conditions and in the epileptic mouse brain and decreased phosphorylation of the glutamate α-amino-3-hydroxy-5-methyl-4-isoxazolepropionic acid (AMPA) receptor subunit GluA1 at Serine 831 under basal conditions. Moreover, we found a significant correlation between higher inhibitory GSK3β phosphorylation at Serine 9 and higher activating GluA1 phosphorylation at Serine 845 in brain samples from epileptic patients. INTERPRETATION Our data imply GSK3β activity in the protection of neuronal networks from hyper-activation in response to epileptogenic stimuli and indicate that the anti-epileptogenic function of GSK3β involves modulation of HCN4 level and the synaptic AMPA receptors pool.
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Affiliation(s)
- Malgorzata Urbanska
- Laboratory of Molecular and Cellular Neurobiology, International Institute of Molecular and Cell Biology, Warsaw 02-109, Poland; Department of Neurology and Epileptology, Children's Memorial Health Institute, Warsaw 04-730, Poland.
| | - Paulina Kazmierska-Grebowska
- Department of Neurobiology, Faculty of Biology and Environmental Protection, University of Lodz, Lodz 90-236, Poland
| | - Tomasz Kowalczyk
- Department of Neurobiology, Faculty of Biology and Environmental Protection, University of Lodz, Lodz 90-236, Poland
| | - Bartosz Caban
- Department of Neurobiology, Faculty of Biology and Environmental Protection, University of Lodz, Lodz 90-236, Poland
| | - Karolina Nader
- Laboratory of Molecular Neurobiology, Nencki Institute of Experimental Biology, Polish Academy of Science, Warsaw 02-093, Poland
| | - Barbara Pijet
- Laboratory of Molecular Neurobiology, Nencki Institute of Experimental Biology, Polish Academy of Science, Warsaw 02-093, Poland
| | - Katarzyna Kalita
- Laboratory of Molecular Neurobiology, Nencki Institute of Experimental Biology, Polish Academy of Science, Warsaw 02-093, Poland
| | - Agata Gozdz
- Laboratory of Molecular and Cellular Neurobiology, International Institute of Molecular and Cell Biology, Warsaw 02-109, Poland
| | - Herman Devijver
- Experimental Genetics Group - LEGTEGG, Department of Human Genetics, KULeuven, Leuven 3000, Belgium
| | - Benoit Lechat
- Experimental Genetics Group - LEGTEGG, Department of Human Genetics, KULeuven, Leuven 3000, Belgium
| | - Tomasz Jaworski
- Laboratory of Molecular Neurobiology, Nencki Institute of Experimental Biology, Polish Academy of Science, Warsaw 02-093, Poland
| | - Wieslawa Grajkowska
- Department of Pathology, Children's Memorial Health Institute, Warsaw 04-730, Poland
| | - Krzysztof Sadowski
- Department of Neurology and Epileptology, Children's Memorial Health Institute, Warsaw 04-730, Poland
| | - Sergiusz Jozwiak
- Department of Neurology and Epileptology, Children's Memorial Health Institute, Warsaw 04-730, Poland; Department of Child Neurology, Medical University of Warsaw, Warsaw 02-091, Poland
| | - Katarzyna Kotulska
- Department of Neurology and Epileptology, Children's Memorial Health Institute, Warsaw 04-730, Poland
| | - Jan Konopacki
- Department of Neurobiology, Faculty of Biology and Environmental Protection, University of Lodz, Lodz 90-236, Poland
| | - Fred Van Leuven
- Experimental Genetics Group - LEGTEGG, Department of Human Genetics, KULeuven, Leuven 3000, Belgium
| | - Erwin A van Vliet
- Amsterdam UMC, University of Amsterdam, Department of (Neuro) Pathology, Amsterdam Neuroscience, Amsterdam, the Netherlands; Swammerdam Institute for Life Sciences, Center for Neuroscience, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, 1098 XH, the Netherlands
| | - Eleonora Aronica
- Amsterdam UMC, University of Amsterdam, Department of (Neuro) Pathology, Amsterdam Neuroscience, Amsterdam, the Netherlands; Stichting Epilepsie Instellingen Nederland (SEIN), Heemstede, the Netherlands
| | - Jacek Jaworski
- Laboratory of Molecular and Cellular Neurobiology, International Institute of Molecular and Cell Biology, Warsaw 02-109, Poland.
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Engel T, Gómez-Sintes R, Alves M, Jimenez-Mateos EM, Fernández-Nogales M, Sanz-Rodriguez A, Morgan J, Beamer E, Rodríguez-Matellán A, Dunleavy M, Sano T, Avila J, Medina M, Hernandez F, Lucas JJ, Henshall DC. Bi-directional genetic modulation of GSK-3β exacerbates hippocampal neuropathology in experimental status epilepticus. Cell Death Dis 2018; 9:969. [PMID: 30237424 PMCID: PMC6147910 DOI: 10.1038/s41419-018-0963-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 22] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/16/2018] [Revised: 07/20/2018] [Accepted: 07/25/2018] [Indexed: 12/31/2022]
Abstract
Glycogen synthase kinase-3 (GSK-3) is ubiquitously expressed throughout the brain and involved in vital molecular pathways such as cell survival and synaptic reorganization and has emerged as a potential drug target for brain diseases. A causal role for GSK-3, in particular the brain-enriched GSK-3β isoform, has been demonstrated in neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer’s and Huntington’s, and in psychiatric diseases. Recent studies have also linked GSK-3 dysregulation to neuropathological outcomes in epilepsy. To date, however, there has been no genetic evidence for the involvement of GSK-3 in seizure-induced pathology. Status epilepticus (prolonged, damaging seizure) was induced via a microinjection of kainic acid into the amygdala of mice. Studies were conducted using two transgenic mouse lines: a neuron-specific GSK-3β overexpression and a neuron-specific dominant-negative GSK-3β (GSK-3β-DN) expression in order to determine the effects of increased or decreased GSK-3β activity, respectively, on seizures and attendant pathological changes in the hippocampus. GSK-3 inhibitors were also employed to support the genetic approach. Status epilepticus resulted in a spatiotemporal regulation of GSK-3 expression and activity in the hippocampus, with decreased GSK-3 activity evident in non-damaged hippocampal areas. Consistent with this, overexpression of GSK-3β exacerbated status epilepticus-induced neurodegeneration in mice. Surprisingly, decreasing GSK-3 activity, either via overexpression of GSK-3β-DN or through the use of specific GSK-3 inhibitors, also exacerbated hippocampal damage and increased seizure severity during status epilepticus. In conclusion, our results demonstrate that the brain has limited tolerance for modulation of GSK-3 activity in the setting of epileptic brain injury. These findings caution against targeting GSK-3 as a treatment strategy for epilepsy or other neurologic disorders where neuronal hyperexcitability is an underlying pathomechanism.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tobias Engel
- Department of Physiology and Medical Physics, Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland, Dublin 2, Ireland.
| | - Raquel Gómez-Sintes
- Department of Molecular Neuropathology, Centro de Biología Molecular "Severo Ochoa" (CBMSO), Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (CSIC)/Universidad Autónoma de Madrid (UAM) and Centro Investigación Biomédica en Red Enfermedades Neurodegenerativas (CIBERNED), Madrid, Spain.,Department of Cellular and Molecular Biology, Centro de Investigaciones Biológicas, CIB-CSIC, C/Ramiro de Maeztu 9, 28040, Madrid, Spain
| | - Mariana Alves
- Department of Physiology and Medical Physics, Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland, Dublin 2, Ireland
| | - Eva M Jimenez-Mateos
- Department of Physiology and Medical Physics, Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland, Dublin 2, Ireland
| | - Marta Fernández-Nogales
- Department of Molecular Neuropathology, Centro de Biología Molecular "Severo Ochoa" (CBMSO), Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (CSIC)/Universidad Autónoma de Madrid (UAM) and Centro Investigación Biomédica en Red Enfermedades Neurodegenerativas (CIBERNED), Madrid, Spain
| | - Amaya Sanz-Rodriguez
- Department of Physiology and Medical Physics, Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland, Dublin 2, Ireland
| | - James Morgan
- Department of Physiology and Medical Physics, Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland, Dublin 2, Ireland
| | - Edward Beamer
- Department of Physiology and Medical Physics, Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland, Dublin 2, Ireland
| | - Alberto Rodríguez-Matellán
- Department of Molecular Neuropathology, Centro de Biología Molecular "Severo Ochoa" (CBMSO), Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (CSIC)/Universidad Autónoma de Madrid (UAM) and Centro Investigación Biomédica en Red Enfermedades Neurodegenerativas (CIBERNED), Madrid, Spain
| | - Mark Dunleavy
- Department of Physiology and Medical Physics, Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland, Dublin 2, Ireland
| | - Takanori Sano
- Department of Physiology and Medical Physics, Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland, Dublin 2, Ireland
| | - Jesus Avila
- Department of Molecular Neuropathology, Centro de Biología Molecular "Severo Ochoa" (CBMSO), Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (CSIC)/Universidad Autónoma de Madrid (UAM) and Centro Investigación Biomédica en Red Enfermedades Neurodegenerativas (CIBERNED), Madrid, Spain
| | - Miguel Medina
- CIEN Foundation-Queen Sofia Foundation Alzheimer Center and CIBERNED, Instituto de Salud Carlos III Madrid, Madrid, Spain
| | - Felix Hernandez
- Department of Molecular Neuropathology, Centro de Biología Molecular "Severo Ochoa" (CBMSO), Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (CSIC)/Universidad Autónoma de Madrid (UAM) and Centro Investigación Biomédica en Red Enfermedades Neurodegenerativas (CIBERNED), Madrid, Spain
| | - José J Lucas
- Department of Molecular Neuropathology, Centro de Biología Molecular "Severo Ochoa" (CBMSO), Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (CSIC)/Universidad Autónoma de Madrid (UAM) and Centro Investigación Biomédica en Red Enfermedades Neurodegenerativas (CIBERNED), Madrid, Spain
| | - David C Henshall
- Department of Physiology and Medical Physics, Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland, Dublin 2, Ireland.,FutureNeuro Research Centre, Dublin 2, Ireland
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Lafora Disease: A Ubiquitination-Related Pathology. Cells 2018; 7:cells7080087. [PMID: 30050012 PMCID: PMC6116066 DOI: 10.3390/cells7080087] [Citation(s) in RCA: 24] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/03/2018] [Revised: 07/23/2018] [Accepted: 07/24/2018] [Indexed: 11/17/2022] Open
Abstract
Lafora disease (LD, OMIM254780) is a rare and fatal form of progressive myoclonus epilepsy (PME). Among PMEs, LD is unique because of the rapid neurological deterioration of the patients and the appearance in brain and peripheral tissues of insoluble glycogen-like (polyglucosan) inclusions, named Lafora bodies (LBs). LD is caused by mutations in the EPM2A gene, encoding the dual phosphatase laforin, or the EPM2B gene, encoding the E3-ubiquitin ligase malin. Laforin and malin form a functional complex that is involved in the regulation of glycogen synthesis. Thus, in the absence of a functional complex glycogen accumulates in LBs. In addition, it has been suggested that the laforin-malin complex participates in alternative physiological pathways, such as intracellular protein degradation, oxidative stress, and the endoplasmic reticulum unfolded protein response. In this work we review the possible cellular functions of laforin and malin with a special focus on their role in the ubiquitination of specific substrates. We also discuss here the pathological consequences of defects in laforin or malin functions, as well as the therapeutic strategies that are being explored for LD.
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23
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Garcia-Gimeno MA, Rodilla-Ramirez PN, Viana R, Salas-Puig X, Brewer MK, Gentry MS, Sanz P. A novel EPM2A mutation yields a slow progression form of Lafora disease. Epilepsy Res 2018; 145:169-177. [PMID: 30041081 DOI: 10.1016/j.eplepsyres.2018.07.003] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/01/2018] [Revised: 07/11/2018] [Accepted: 07/13/2018] [Indexed: 12/19/2022]
Abstract
Lafora disease (LD, OMIM 254780) is a rare disorder characterized by epilepsy and neurodegeneration leading patients to a vegetative state and death, usually within the first decade from the onset of the first symptoms. In the vast majority of cases LD is related to mutations in either the EPM2A gene (encoding the glucan phosphatase laforin) or the EPM2B gene (encoding the E3-ubiquitin ligase malin). In this work, we characterize the mutations present in the EPM2A gene in a patient displaying a slow progression form of the disease. The patient is compound heterozygous with Y112X and N163D mutations in the corresponding alleles. In primary fibroblasts obtained from the patient, we analyzed the expression of the mutated alleles by quantitative real time PCR and found slightly lower levels of expression of the EPM2A gene respect to control cells. However, by Western blotting we were unable to detect endogenous levels of the protein in crude extracts from patient fibroblasts. The Y112X mutation would render a truncated protein lacking the phosphatase domain and likely degraded. Since minute amounts of laforin-N163D might still play a role in cell physiology, we analyzed the biochemical characteristics of the N163D mutation. We found that recombinant laforin N163D protein was as stable as wild type and exhibited near wild type phosphatase activity towards biologically relevant substrates. On the contrary, it showed a severe impairment in the interaction profile with previously identified laforin binding partners. These results lead us to conclude that the slow progression of the disease present in this patient could be either due to the specific biochemical properties of laforin N163D or to the presence of alternative genetic modifying factors separate from pathogenicity.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | - Rosa Viana
- IBV-CSIC. Instituto de Biomedicina de Valencia, Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas, Valencia, Spain
| | - Xavier Salas-Puig
- Epilepsy Unit, Neurology Dept., Hospital Vall Hebron, Barcelona, Spain
| | - M Kathryn Brewer
- Department of Molecular and Cellular Biochemistry, College of Medicine, University of Kentucky, USA
| | - Matthew S Gentry
- Department of Molecular and Cellular Biochemistry, College of Medicine, University of Kentucky, USA; Lafora Epilepsy Cure Initiative, USA
| | - Pascual Sanz
- IBV-CSIC. Instituto de Biomedicina de Valencia, Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas, Valencia, Spain; CIBERER. Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red de Enfermedades Raras, Valencia, Spain; Lafora Epilepsy Cure Initiative, USA.
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24
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25
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Nitschke F, Sullivan MA, Wang P, Zhao X, Chown EE, Perri AM, Israelian L, Juana-López L, Bovolenta P, Rodríguez de Córdoba S, Steup M, Minassian BA. Abnormal glycogen chain length pattern, not hyperphosphorylation, is critical in Lafora disease. EMBO Mol Med 2018; 9:906-917. [PMID: 28536304 PMCID: PMC5494504 DOI: 10.15252/emmm.201707608] [Citation(s) in RCA: 50] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/25/2023] Open
Abstract
Lafora disease (LD) is a fatal progressive epilepsy essentially caused by loss-of-function mutations in the glycogen phosphatase laforin or the ubiquitin E3 ligase malin. Glycogen in LD is hyperphosphorylated and poorly hydrosoluble. It precipitates and accumulates into neurotoxic Lafora bodies (LBs). The leading LD hypothesis that hyperphosphorylation causes the insolubility was recently challenged by the observation that phosphatase-inactive laforin rescues the laforin-deficient LD mouse model, apparently through correction of a general autophagy impairment. We were for the first time able to quantify brain glycogen phosphate. We also measured glycogen content and chain lengths, LBs, and autophagy markers in several laforin- or malin-deficient mouse lines expressing phosphatase-inactive laforin. We find that: (i) in laforin-deficient mice, phosphatase-inactive laforin corrects glycogen chain lengths, and not hyperphosphorylation, which leads to correction of glycogen amounts and prevention of LBs; (ii) in malin-deficient mice, phosphatase-inactive laforin confers no correction; (iii) general impairment of autophagy is not necessary in LD We conclude that laforin's principle function is to control glycogen chain lengths, in a malin-dependent fashion, and that loss of this control underlies LD.
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Affiliation(s)
- Felix Nitschke
- Program in Genetics and Genome Biology, The Hospital for Sick Children Research Institute, Toronto, ON, Canada
| | - Mitchell A Sullivan
- Program in Genetics and Genome Biology, The Hospital for Sick Children Research Institute, Toronto, ON, Canada.,Glycation and Diabetes, Mater Research Institute, Translational Research Institute, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, Qld, Australia
| | - Peixiang Wang
- Program in Genetics and Genome Biology, The Hospital for Sick Children Research Institute, Toronto, ON, Canada
| | - Xiaochu Zhao
- Program in Genetics and Genome Biology, The Hospital for Sick Children Research Institute, Toronto, ON, Canada
| | - Erin E Chown
- Program in Genetics and Genome Biology, The Hospital for Sick Children Research Institute, Toronto, ON, Canada.,Institute of Medical Science, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada
| | - Ami M Perri
- Program in Genetics and Genome Biology, The Hospital for Sick Children Research Institute, Toronto, ON, Canada
| | - Lori Israelian
- Program in Genetics and Genome Biology, The Hospital for Sick Children Research Institute, Toronto, ON, Canada.,Institute of Medical Science, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada
| | - Lucia Juana-López
- Centro de Investigaciones Biológicas, Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas and Ciber de Enfermedades Raras, Madrid, Spain
| | - Paola Bovolenta
- Centro de Biología Molecular Severo Ochoa, CSIC-UAM and Ciber de Enfermedades Raras, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, Madrid, Spain
| | - Santiago Rodríguez de Córdoba
- Centro de Investigaciones Biológicas, Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas and Ciber de Enfermedades Raras, Madrid, Spain
| | - Martin Steup
- Program in Genetics and Genome Biology, The Hospital for Sick Children Research Institute, Toronto, ON, Canada
| | - Berge A Minassian
- Program in Genetics and Genome Biology, The Hospital for Sick Children Research Institute, Toronto, ON, Canada .,Institute of Medical Science, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada.,Division of Neurology, Department of Pediatrics, University of Texas Southwestern, Dallas, TX, USA
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Pathogenesis of Lafora Disease: Transition of Soluble Glycogen to Insoluble Polyglucosan. Int J Mol Sci 2017; 18:ijms18081743. [PMID: 28800070 PMCID: PMC5578133 DOI: 10.3390/ijms18081743] [Citation(s) in RCA: 46] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/17/2017] [Revised: 08/04/2017] [Accepted: 08/06/2017] [Indexed: 02/07/2023] Open
Abstract
Lafora disease (LD, OMIM #254780) is a rare, recessively inherited neurodegenerative disease with adolescent onset, resulting in progressive myoclonus epilepsy which is fatal usually within ten years of symptom onset. The disease is caused by loss-of-function mutations in either of the two genes EPM2A (laforin) or EPM2B (malin). It characteristically involves the accumulation of insoluble glycogen-derived particles, named Lafora bodies (LBs), which are considered neurotoxic and causative of the disease. The pathogenesis of LD is therefore centred on the question of how insoluble LBs emerge from soluble glycogen. Recent data clearly show that an abnormal glycogen chain length distribution, but neither hyperphosphorylation nor impairment of general autophagy, strictly correlates with glycogen accumulation and the presence of LBs. This review summarizes results obtained with patients, mouse models, and cell lines and consolidates apparent paradoxes in the LD literature. Based on the growing body of evidence, it proposes that LD is predominantly caused by an impairment in chain-length regulation affecting only a small proportion of the cellular glycogen. A better grasp of LD pathogenesis will further develop our understanding of glycogen metabolism and structure. It will also facilitate the development of clinical interventions that appropriately target the underlying cause of LD.
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López-González I, Viana R, Sanz P, Ferrer I. Inflammation in Lafora Disease: Evolution with Disease Progression in Laforin and Malin Knock-out Mouse Models. Mol Neurobiol 2016; 54:3119-3130. [PMID: 27041370 DOI: 10.1007/s12035-016-9884-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 37] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/02/2016] [Accepted: 03/22/2016] [Indexed: 01/09/2023]
Abstract
Lafora progressive myoclonus epilepsy (Lafora disease, LD) is a fatal rare autosomal recessive neurodegenerative disorder characterized by the accumulation of insoluble ubiquitinated polyglucosan inclusions in the cytoplasm of neurons, which is most commonly associated with mutations in two genes: EPM2A, encoding the glucan phosphatase laforin, and EPM2B, encoding the E3-ubiquitin ligase malin. The present study analyzes possible inflammatory responses in the mouse lines Epm2a -/- (laforin knock-out) and Epm2b -/- (malin knock-out) with disease progression. Increased numbers of reactive astrocytes (expressing the GFAP marker) and microglia (expressing the Iba1 marker) together with increased expression of genes encoding cytokines and mediators of the inflammatory response occur in both mouse lines although with marked genotype differences. C3ar1 and CxCl10 messenger RNAs (mRNAs) are significantly increased in Epm2a -/- mice aged 12 months when compared with age-matched controls, whereas C3ar1, C4b, Ccl4, CxCl10, Il1b, Il6, Tnfα, and Il10ra mRNAs are significantly upregulated in Epm2b -/- at the same age. This is accompanied by increased protein levels of IL1-β, IL6, TNFα, and Cox2 particularly in Epm2b -/- mice. The severity of inflammatory changes correlates with more severe clinical symptoms previously described in Epm2b -/- mice. These findings show for the first time increased innate inflammatory responses in a neurodegenerative disease with polyglucosan intraneuronal deposits which increase with disease progression, in a way similar to what is seen in neurodegenerative diseases with abnormal protein aggregates. These findings also point to the possibility of using anti-inflammatory agents to mitigate the degenerative process in LD.
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Affiliation(s)
- Irene López-González
- Institut de Neuropatologia, Servei Anatomia Patologica, Hospital Universitari de Bellvitge, Carrer Feixa Llarga sn, Hospitalet de Llobregat, 08907, Barcelona, Spain
| | - Rosa Viana
- Instituto de Biomedicina de Valencia, Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas, Jaime Roig 11, 46010, Valencia, Spain
| | - Pascual Sanz
- Instituto de Biomedicina de Valencia, Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas, Jaime Roig 11, 46010, Valencia, Spain. .,CIBERER (Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red de Enfermedades Raras), Institute Carlos III, Madrid, Spain.
| | - Isidre Ferrer
- Institut de Neuropatologia, Servei Anatomia Patologica, Hospital Universitari de Bellvitge, Carrer Feixa Llarga sn, Hospitalet de Llobregat, 08907, Barcelona, Spain. .,University of Barcelona, Hospitalet de Llobregat, Barcelona, Spain. .,CIBERNED (Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red de Enfermedades Neurodegenerativas), Ministry of Science and Innovation, Institute Carlos III, Madrid, Spain.
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Sánchez-Martín P, Romá-Mateo C, Viana R, Sanz P. Ubiquitin conjugating enzyme E2-N and sequestosome-1 (p62) are components of the ubiquitination process mediated by the malin–laforin E3-ubiquitin ligase complex. Int J Biochem Cell Biol 2015; 69:204-14. [DOI: 10.1016/j.biocel.2015.10.030] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/27/2015] [Revised: 10/28/2015] [Accepted: 10/30/2015] [Indexed: 11/26/2022]
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Romá-Mateo C, Aguado C, García-Giménez JL, Knecht E, Sanz P, Pallardó FV. Oxidative stress, a new hallmark in the pathophysiology of Lafora progressive myoclonus epilepsy. Free Radic Biol Med 2015; 88:30-41. [PMID: 25680286 DOI: 10.1016/j.freeradbiomed.2015.01.034] [Citation(s) in RCA: 25] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/16/2014] [Revised: 01/16/2015] [Accepted: 01/28/2015] [Indexed: 12/12/2022]
Abstract
Lafora disease (LD; OMIM 254780, ORPHA501) is a devastating neurodegenerative disorder characterized by the presence of glycogen-like intracellular inclusions called Lafora bodies and caused, in most cases, by mutations in either the EPM2A or the EPM2B gene, encoding respectively laforin, a phosphatase with dual specificity that is involved in the dephosphorylation of glycogen, and malin, an E3-ubiquitin ligase involved in the polyubiquitination of proteins related to glycogen metabolism. Thus, it has been reported that laforin and malin form a functional complex that acts as a key regulator of glycogen metabolism and that also plays a crucial role in protein homeostasis (proteostasis). Regarding this last function, it has been shown that cells are more sensitive to ER stress and show defects in proteasome and autophagy activities in the absence of a functional laforin-malin complex. More recently, we have demonstrated that oxidative stress accompanies these proteostasis defects and that various LD models show an increase in reactive oxygen species and oxidative stress products together with a dysregulated antioxidant enzyme expression and activity. In this review we discuss possible connections between the multiple defects in protein homeostasis present in LD and oxidative stress.
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Affiliation(s)
- Carlos Romá-Mateo
- Fundación Investigación Clinico de Valencia, Instituto de Investigación Sanitaria, Valencia, Spain; Department of Physiology, School of Medicine and Dentistry, University of Valencia, E46010 Valencia, Spain
| | - Carmen Aguado
- Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red de Enfermedades Raras, Valencia, Spain; Centro de Investigación Príncipe Felipe, Valencia, Spain
| | - José Luis García-Giménez
- Fundación Investigación Clinico de Valencia, Instituto de Investigación Sanitaria, Valencia, Spain; Department of Physiology, School of Medicine and Dentistry, University of Valencia, E46010 Valencia, Spain; Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red de Enfermedades Raras, Valencia, Spain
| | - Erwin Knecht
- Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red de Enfermedades Raras, Valencia, Spain; Centro de Investigación Príncipe Felipe, Valencia, Spain
| | - Pascual Sanz
- Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red de Enfermedades Raras, Valencia, Spain; Instituto de Biomedicina de Valencia, Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas, Valencia, Spain
| | - Federico V Pallardó
- Fundación Investigación Clinico de Valencia, Instituto de Investigación Sanitaria, Valencia, Spain; Department of Physiology, School of Medicine and Dentistry, University of Valencia, E46010 Valencia, Spain; Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red de Enfermedades Raras, Valencia, Spain.
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Viana R, Lujan P, Sanz P. The laforin/malin E3-ubiquitin ligase complex ubiquitinates pyruvate kinase M1/M2. BMC BIOCHEMISTRY 2015; 16:24. [PMID: 26493215 PMCID: PMC4619252 DOI: 10.1186/s12858-015-0053-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/16/2015] [Accepted: 10/14/2015] [Indexed: 11/13/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Lafora disease (LD, OMIM 254780) is a fatal neurodegenerative disorder produced mainly by mutations in two genes: EPM2A, encoding the dual specificity phosphatase laforin, and EPM2B, encoding the E3-ubiquitin ligase malin. Although it is known that laforin and malin may form a functional complex, the underlying molecular mechanisms of this pathology are still far from being understood. METHODS In order to gain information about the substrates of the laforin/malin complex, we have carried out a yeast substrate-trapping screening, originally designed to identify substrates of protein tyrosine phosphatases. RESULTS Our results identify the two muscular isoforms of pyruvate kinase (PKM1 and PKM2) as novel interaction partners of laforin. CONCLUSIONS We present evidence indicating that the laforin/malin complex is able to interact with and ubiquitinate both PKM1 and PKM2. This post-translational modification, although it does not affect the catalytic activity of PKM1, it impairs the nuclear localization of PKM2.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rosa Viana
- Instituto de Biomedicina de Valencia, CSIC, and Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red de Enfermedades Raras (CIBERER), Jaime Roig 11, 46010, Valencia, Spain.
| | - Pablo Lujan
- Instituto de Biomedicina de Valencia, CSIC, and Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red de Enfermedades Raras (CIBERER), Jaime Roig 11, 46010, Valencia, Spain.
| | - Pascual Sanz
- Instituto de Biomedicina de Valencia, CSIC, and Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red de Enfermedades Raras (CIBERER), Jaime Roig 11, 46010, Valencia, Spain.
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Chandramouli C, Varma U, Stevens EM, Xiao RP, Stapleton DI, Mellor KM, Delbridge LMD. Myocardial glycogen dynamics: New perspectives on disease mechanisms. Clin Exp Pharmacol Physiol 2015; 42:415-25. [DOI: 10.1111/1440-1681.12370] [Citation(s) in RCA: 23] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/13/2014] [Revised: 12/29/2014] [Accepted: 01/06/2015] [Indexed: 11/26/2022]
Affiliation(s)
| | - Upasna Varma
- Department of Physiology; University of Melbourne; Melbourne Vic. Australia
| | - Ellie M Stevens
- Department of Physiology; University of Auckland; Auckland New Zealand
| | - Rui-Ping Xiao
- Institute of Molecular Medicine; Peking University; Beijing China
| | - David I Stapleton
- Department of Physiology; University of Melbourne; Melbourne Vic. Australia
- The Florey Institute of Neuroscience; Melbourne Vic. Australia
| | - Kimberley M Mellor
- Department of Physiology; University of Melbourne; Melbourne Vic. Australia
- Department of Physiology; University of Auckland; Auckland New Zealand
| | - Lea MD Delbridge
- Department of Physiology; University of Melbourne; Melbourne Vic. Australia
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Berthier A, Payá M, García-Cabrero AM, Ballester MI, Heredia M, Serratosa JM, Sánchez MP, Sanz P. Pharmacological Interventions to Ameliorate Neuropathological Symptoms in a Mouse Model of Lafora Disease. Mol Neurobiol 2015; 53:1296-1309. [PMID: 25627694 DOI: 10.1007/s12035-015-9091-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 51] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/17/2014] [Accepted: 01/12/2015] [Indexed: 10/24/2022]
Abstract
Lafora disease (LD, OMIM 254780) is a rare fatal neurodegenerative disorder that usually occurs during childhood with generalized tonic-clonic seizures, myoclonus, absences, drop attacks, or visual seizures. Unfortunately, at present, available treatments are only palliatives and no curative drugs are available yet. The hallmark of the disease is the accumulation of insoluble polyglucosan inclusions, called Lafora bodies (LBs), within the neurons but also in heart, muscle, and liver cells. Mouse models lacking functional EPM2A or EPM2B genes (the two major loci related to the disease) recapitulate the Lafora disease phenotype: they accumulate polyglucosan inclusions, show signs of neurodegeneration, and have a dysregulation of protein clearance and endoplasmic reticulum stress response. In this study, we have subjected a mouse model of LD (Epm2b-/-) to different pharmacological interventions aimed to alleviate protein clearance and endoplasmic reticulum stress. We have used two chemical chaperones, trehalose and 4-phenylbutyric acid. In addition, we have used metformin, an activator of AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK), as it has a recognized neuroprotective role in other neurodegenerative diseases. Here, we show that treatment with 4-phenylbutyric acid or metformin decreases the accumulation of Lafora bodies and polyubiquitin protein aggregates in the brain of treated animals. 4-Phenylbutyric acid and metformin also diminish neurodegeneration (measured in terms of neuronal loss and reactive gliosis) and ameliorate neuropsychological tests of Epm2b-/- mice. As these compounds have good safety records and are already approved for clinical uses on different neurological pathologies, we think that the translation of our results to the clinical practice could be straightforward.
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Affiliation(s)
- Arnaud Berthier
- Instituto de Biomedicina de Valencia (CSIC), Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red de Enfermedades Raras (CIBERER), Jaime Roig 11, 46010, Valencia, Spain
| | - Miguel Payá
- Departamento de Farmacología, Facultad de Farmacia, Universidad de Valencia and Centro de Reconocimiento Molecular y Desarrollo Tecnológico (IDM), 46100, Valencia, Spain
| | - Ana M García-Cabrero
- Fundación Jimenez Diaz and Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red de Enfermedades Raras (CIBERER), 28040, Madrid, Spain
| | - Maria Inmaculada Ballester
- Instituto de Biomedicina de Valencia (CSIC), Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red de Enfermedades Raras (CIBERER), Jaime Roig 11, 46010, Valencia, Spain
| | - Miguel Heredia
- Instituto de Biomedicina de Valencia (CSIC), Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red de Enfermedades Raras (CIBERER), Jaime Roig 11, 46010, Valencia, Spain
| | - José M Serratosa
- Fundación Jimenez Diaz and Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red de Enfermedades Raras (CIBERER), 28040, Madrid, Spain
| | - Marina P Sánchez
- Fundación Jimenez Diaz and Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red de Enfermedades Raras (CIBERER), 28040, Madrid, Spain
| | - Pascual Sanz
- Instituto de Biomedicina de Valencia (CSIC), Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red de Enfermedades Raras (CIBERER), Jaime Roig 11, 46010, Valencia, Spain.
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Hobiger K, Friedrich T. Voltage sensitive phosphatases: emerging kinship to protein tyrosine phosphatases from structure-function research. Front Pharmacol 2015; 6:20. [PMID: 25713537 PMCID: PMC4322731 DOI: 10.3389/fphar.2015.00020] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/04/2014] [Accepted: 01/21/2015] [Indexed: 02/03/2023] Open
Abstract
The transmembrane protein Ci-VSP from the ascidian Ciona intestinalis was described as first member of a fascinating family of enzymes, the voltage sensitive phosphatases (VSPs). Ci-VSP and its voltage-activated homologs from other species are stimulated by positive membrane potentials and dephosphorylate the head groups of negatively charged phosphoinositide phosphates (PIPs). In doing so, VSPs act as control centers at the cytosolic membrane surface, because they intervene in signaling cascades that are mediated by PIP lipids. The characteristic motif CX5RT/S in the active site classifies VSPs as members of the huge family of cysteine-based protein tyrosine phosphatases (PTPs). Although PTPs have already been well-characterized regarding both, structure and function, their relationship to VSPs has drawn only limited attention so far. Therefore, the intention of this review is to give a short overview about the extensive knowledge about PTPs in relation to the facts known about VSPs. Here, we concentrate on the structural features of the catalytic domain which are similar between both classes of phosphatases and their consequences for the enzymatic function. By discussing results obtained from crystal structures, molecular dynamics simulations, and mutagenesis studies, a possible mechanism for the catalytic cycle of VSPs is presented based on that one proposed for PTPs. In this way, we want to link the knowledge about the catalytic activity of VSPs and PTPs.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kirstin Hobiger
- Department of Neurophysiology, Institute of Physiology and Pathophysiology, Philipps-Universität Marburg Marburg, Germany
| | - Thomas Friedrich
- Max-Volmer-Laboratory of Biophysical Chemistry, Institute of Chemistry, Technische Universität Berlin Berlin, Germany
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Garyali P, Segvich DM, DePaoli-Roach AA, Roach PJ. Protein degradation and quality control in cells from laforin and malin knockout mice. J Biol Chem 2014; 289:20606-14. [PMID: 24914213 PMCID: PMC4110273 DOI: 10.1074/jbc.m114.580167] [Citation(s) in RCA: 28] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/08/2014] [Revised: 06/03/2014] [Indexed: 12/21/2022] Open
Abstract
Lafora disease is a progressive myoclonus epilepsy caused by mutations in the EPM2A or EPM2B genes that encode a glycogen phosphatase, laforin, and an E3 ubiquitin ligase, malin, respectively. Lafora disease is characterized by accumulation of insoluble, poorly branched, hyperphosphorylated glycogen in brain, muscle, heart, and liver. The laforinmalin complex has been proposed to play a role in the regulation of glycogen metabolism and protein quality control. We evaluated three arms of the protein degradation/ quality control process (the autophago-lysosomal pathway, the ubiquitin-proteasomal pathway, and the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress response) in mouse embryonic fibroblasts from Epm2a(-/-), Epm2b(-/-), and Epm2a(-/-) Epm2b(-/-) mice. The levels of LC3-II, a marker of autophagy, were decreased in all knock-out cells as compared with wild type even though they still showed a slight response to starvation and rapamycin. Furthermore, ribosomal protein S6 kinase and S6 phosphorylation were increased. Under basal conditions there was no effect on the levels of ubiquitinated proteins in the knock-out cells, but ubiquitinated protein degradation was decreased during starvation or stress. Lack of malin (Epm2b(-/-) and Epm2a(-/-) Epm2b(-/-) cells) but not laforin (Epm2a(-/-) cells) decreased LAMP1, a lysosomal marker. CHOP expression was similar in wild type and knock-out cells under basal conditions or with ER stress-inducing agents. In conclusion, both laforin and malin knock-out cells display mTOR-dependent autophagy defects and reduced proteasomal activity but no defects in the ER stress response. We speculate that these defects may be secondary to glycogen overaccumulation. This study also suggests a malin function independent of laforin, possibly in lysosomal biogenesis and/or lysosomal glycogen disposal.
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Affiliation(s)
- Punitee Garyali
- From the Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Indiana University School of Medicine, Indianapolis, Indiana 46202
| | - Dyann M. Segvich
- From the Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Indiana University School of Medicine, Indianapolis, Indiana 46202
| | - Anna A. DePaoli-Roach
- From the Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Indiana University School of Medicine, Indianapolis, Indiana 46202
| | - Peter J. Roach
- From the Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Indiana University School of Medicine, Indianapolis, Indiana 46202
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The carbohydrate-binding domain of overexpressed STBD1 is important for its stability and protein-protein interactions. Biosci Rep 2014; 34:BSR20140053. [PMID: 24837458 PMCID: PMC4076837 DOI: 10.1042/bsr20140053] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/22/2023] Open
Abstract
STBD1 (starch-binding domain-containing protein 1) belongs to the CBM20 (family 20 carbohydrate binding module) group of proteins, and is implicated in glycogen metabolism and autophagy. However, very little is known about its regulation or interacting partners. Here, we show that the CBM20 of STBD1 is crucial for its stability and ability to interact with glycogen-associated proteins. Mutation of a conserved tryptophan residue (W293) in this domain abolished the ability of STBD1 to bind to the carbohydrate amylose. Compared with the WT (wild-type) protein, this mutant exhibited rapid degradation that was rescued upon inhibition of the proteasome. Furthermore, STBD1 undergoes ubiquitination when expressed in COS cells, and requires the N-terminus for this process. In contrast, inhibition of autophagy did not significantly affect protein stability. In overexpression experiments, we discovered that STBD1 interacts with several glycogen-associated proteins, such as GS (glycogen synthase), GDE (glycogen debranching enzyme) and Laforin. Importantly, the W293 mutant of STBD1 was unable to do so, suggesting an additional role for the CBM20 domain in protein–protein interactions. In HepG2 hepatoma cells, overexpressed STBD1 could associate with endogenous GS. This binding increased during glycogenolysis, suggesting that glycogen is not required to bridge this interaction. Taken together, our results have uncovered new insights into the regulation and binding partners of STBD1. STBD1 is a protein with a carbohydrate-binding domain that is implicated in autophagy and glycogen metabolism. Here we show the carbohydrate-binding domain is crucial for its stability and ability to bind to several glycogen-associated proteins.
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36
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Increased Oxidative Stress and Impaired Antioxidant Response in Lafora Disease. Mol Neurobiol 2014; 51:932-46. [DOI: 10.1007/s12035-014-8747-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 23] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/04/2014] [Accepted: 05/07/2014] [Indexed: 10/25/2022]
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Ortolano S, Vieitez I, Agis-Balboa RC, Spuch C. Loss of GABAergic cortical neurons underlies the neuropathology of Lafora disease. Mol Brain 2014; 7:7. [PMID: 24472629 PMCID: PMC3917365 DOI: 10.1186/1756-6606-7-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 34] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/06/2013] [Accepted: 01/23/2014] [Indexed: 01/13/2023] Open
Abstract
Background Lafora disease is an autosomal recessive form of progressive myoclonic epilepsy caused by defects in the EPM2A and EPM2B genes. Primary symptoms of the pathology include seizures, ataxia, myoclonus, and progressive development of severe dementia. Lafora disease can be caused by defects in the EPM2A gene, which encodes the laforin protein phosphatase, or in the NHLRC1 gene (also called EPM2B) codifying the malin E3 ubiquitin ligase. Studies on cellular models showed that laforin and malin interact and operate as a functional complex apparently regulating cellular functions such as glycogen metabolism, cellular stress response, and the proteolytic processes. However, the pathogenesis and the molecular mechanism of the disease, which imply either laforin or malin are poorly understood. Thus, the aim of our study is to elucidate the molecular mechanism of the pathology by characterizing cerebral cortex neurodegeneration in the well accepted murine model of Lafora disease EPM2A-/- mouse. Results In this article, we want to asses the primary cause of the neurodegeneration in Lafora disease by studying GABAergic neurons in the cerebral cortex. We showed that the majority of Lafora bodies are specifically located in GABAergic neurons of the cerebral cortex of 3 months-old EPM2A-/- mice. Moreover, GABAergic neurons in the cerebral cortex of younger mice (1 month-old) are decreased in number and present altered neurotrophins and p75NTR signalling. Conclusions Here, we concluded that there is impairment in GABAergic neurons neurodevelopment in the cerebral cortex, which occurs prior to the formation of Lafora bodies in the cytoplasm. The dysregulation of cerebral cortex development may contribute to Lafora disease pathogenesis.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | | | - Carlos Spuch
- Group of Neurodegenerative Diseases and Psychiatric Disorders, Institute of Biomedical Research of Vigo (IBIV), Xerencia de Xestion Integrada de Vigo, SERGAS, Psychiatric Hospital Rebullón, Puxeiros s/n, Pontevedra 36415 Mos, Spain.
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Gayarre J, Duran-Trío L, Criado Garcia O, Aguado C, Juana-López L, Crespo I, Knecht E, Bovolenta P, Rodríguez de Córdoba S. The phosphatase activity of laforin is dispensable to rescue Epm2a−/− mice from Lafora disease. Brain 2014; 137:806-18. [DOI: 10.1093/brain/awt353] [Citation(s) in RCA: 30] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/20/2022] Open
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Strnad P, Nuraldeen R, Guldiken N, Hartmann D, Mahajan V, Denk H, Haybaeck J. Broad Spectrum of Hepatocyte Inclusions in Humans, Animals, and Experimental Models. Compr Physiol 2013; 3:1393-436. [DOI: 10.1002/cphy.c120032] [Citation(s) in RCA: 33] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/17/2022]
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40
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Laforin-malin complex degrades polyglucosan bodies in concert with glycogen debranching enzyme and brain isoform glycogen phosphorylase. Mol Neurobiol 2013; 49:645-57. [PMID: 24068615 DOI: 10.1007/s12035-013-8546-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/16/2013] [Accepted: 08/27/2013] [Indexed: 10/26/2022]
Abstract
In Lafora disease (LD), the deficiency of either EPM2A or NHLRC1, the genes encoding the phosphatase laforin and E3 ligase, respectively, causes massive accumulation of less-branched glycogen inclusions, known as Lafora bodies, also called polyglucosan bodies (PBs), in several types of cells including neurons. The biochemical mechanism underlying the PB accumulation, however, remains undefined. We recently demonstrated that laforin is a phosphatase of muscle glycogen synthase (GS1) in PBs, and that laforin recruits malin, together reducing PBs. We show here that accomplishment of PB degradation requires a protein assembly consisting of at least four key enzymes: laforin and malin in a complex, and the glycogenolytic enzymes, glycogen debranching enzyme 1 (AGL1) and brain isoform glycogen phosphorylase (GPBB). Once GS1-synthesized polyglucosan accumulates into PBs, laforin recruits malin to the PBs where laforin dephosphorylates, and malin degrades the GS1 in concert with GPBB and AGL1, resulting in a breakdown of polyglucosan. Without fountional laforin-malin complex assembled on PBs, GPBB and AGL1 together are unable to efficiently breakdown polyglucosan. All these events take place on PBs and in cytoplasm. Deficiency of each of the four enzymes causes PB accumulation in the cytoplasm of affected cells. Demonstration of the molecular mechanisms underlying PB degradation lays a substantial biochemical foundation that may lead to understanding how PB metabolizes and why mutations of either EPM2A or NHLRC1 in humans cause LD. Mutations in AGL1 or GPBB may cause diseases related to PB accumulation.
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Wang P, Carrion P, Qiao Y, Tyson C, Hrynchak M, Calli K, Lopez-Rangel E, Andrieux J, Delobel B, Duban-Bedu B, Thuresson AC, Annerén G, Liu X, Rajcan-Separovic E, Suzanne Lewis ME. Genotype-phenotype analysis of 18q12.1-q12.2 copy number variation in autism. Eur J Med Genet 2013; 56:420-5. [PMID: 23727450 DOI: 10.1016/j.ejmg.2013.05.006] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/28/2013] [Accepted: 05/14/2013] [Indexed: 01/18/2023]
Abstract
Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) are complex neurodevelopmental conditions characterized by delays in social interactions and communication as well as displays of restrictive/repetitive interests. DNA copy number variants have been identified as a genomic susceptibility factor in ASDs and imply significant genetic heterogeneity. We report a 7-year-old female with ADOS-G and ADI-R confirmed autistic disorder harbouring a de novo 4 Mb duplication (18q12.1). Our subject displays severely deficient expressive language, stereotypic and repetitive behaviours, mild intellectual disability (ID), focal epilepsy, short stature and absence of significant dysmorphic features. Search of the PubMed literature and DECIPHER database identified 4 additional cases involving 18q12.1 associated with autism and/or ID that overlap our case: one duplication, two deletions and one balanced translocation. Notably, autism and ID are seen with genomic gain or loss at 18q12.1, plus epilepsy and short stature in duplication cases, and hypotonia and tall stature in deletion cases. No consistent dysmorphic features were noted amongst the reviewed cases. We review prospective ASD/ID candidate genes integral to 18q12.1, including those coding for the desmocollin/desmoglein cluster, ring finger proteins 125 and 138, trafficking protein particle complex 8 and dystrobrevin-alpha. The collective clinical and molecular features common to microduplication 18q12.1 suggest that dosage-sensitive, position or contiguous gene effects may be associated in the etiopathogenesis of this autism-ID-epilepsy syndrome.
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Affiliation(s)
- Peter Wang
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada
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Glycogenic activity of R6, a protein phosphatase 1 regulatory subunit, is modulated by the laforin-malin complex. Int J Biochem Cell Biol 2013; 45:1479-88. [PMID: 23624058 DOI: 10.1016/j.biocel.2013.04.019] [Citation(s) in RCA: 33] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/21/2013] [Revised: 04/16/2013] [Accepted: 04/17/2013] [Indexed: 01/17/2023]
Abstract
Protein phosphatase type 1 (PP1) plays a major role in the regulation of glycogen biosynthesis. PP1 is recruited to sites of glycogen formation by its binding to specific targeting subunits. There, it dephosphorylates different enzymes involved in glycogen homeostasis leading to an activation of glycogen biosynthesis. Regulation of these targeting subunits is crucial, as excess of them leads to an enhancement of the action of PP1, which results in glycogen accumulation. In this work we present evidence that PPP1R3D (R6), one of the PP1 glycogenic targeting subunits, interacts physically with laforin, a glucan phosphatase involved in Lafora disease, a fatal type of progressive myoclonus epilepsy. Binding of R6 to laforin allows the ubiquitination of R6 by the E3-ubiquitin ligase malin, what targets R6 for autophagic degradation. As a result of the action of the laforin-malin complex on R6, its glycogenic activity is downregulated. Since R6 is expressed in brain, our results suggest that the laforin-malin complex downregulates the glycogenic activity of R6 present in neuron cells to prevent glycogen accumulation.
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Wang Y, Ma K, Wang P, Baba O, Zhang H, Parent JM, Zheng P, Liu Y, Minassian BA, Liu Y. Laforin prevents stress-induced polyglucosan body formation and Lafora disease progression in neurons. Mol Neurobiol 2013; 48:49-61. [PMID: 23546741 DOI: 10.1007/s12035-013-8438-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/17/2012] [Accepted: 03/04/2013] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Abstract
Glycogen, the largest cytosolic macromolecule, is soluble because of intricate construction generating perfect hydrophilic-surfaced spheres. Little is known about neuronal glycogen function and metabolism, though progress is accruing through the neurodegenerative epilepsy Lafora disease (LD) proteins laforin and malin. Neurons in LD exhibit Lafora bodies (LBs), large accumulations of malconstructed insoluble glycogen (polyglucosans). We demonstrated that the laforin-malin complex reduces LBs and protects neuronal cells against endoplasmic reticulum stress-induced apoptosis. We now show that stress induces polyglucosan formation in normal neurons in culture and in the brain. This is mediated by increased glucose-6-phosphate allosterically hyperactivating muscle glycogen synthase (GS1) and is followed by activation of the glycogen digesting enzyme glycogen phosphorylase. In the absence of laforin, stress-induced polyglucosans are undigested and accumulate into massive LBs, and in laforin-deficient mice, stress drastically accelerates LB accumulation and LD. The mechanism through which laforin-malin mediates polyglucosan degradation remains unclear but involves GS1 dephosphorylation by laforin. Our work uncovers the presence of rapid polyglucosan metabolism as part of the normal physiology of neuroprotection. We propose that deficiency in the degradative phase of this metabolism, leading to LB accumulation and resultant seizure predisposition and neurodegeneration, underlies LD.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yin Wang
- Section of General Surgery, Department of Surgery, University of Michigan Medical Center, Ann Arbor, MI 48109, USA
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Sharma J, Mukherjee D, Rao SNR, Iyengar S, Shankar SK, Satishchandra P, Jana NR. Neuronatin-mediated aberrant calcium signaling and endoplasmic reticulum stress underlie neuropathology in Lafora disease. J Biol Chem 2013; 288:9482-90. [PMID: 23408434 DOI: 10.1074/jbc.m112.416180] [Citation(s) in RCA: 34] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/19/2022] Open
Abstract
Lafora disease (LD) is a teenage-onset inherited progressive myoclonus epilepsy characterized by the accumulations of intracellular inclusions called Lafora bodies and caused by mutations in protein phosphatase laforin or ubiquitin ligase malin. But how the loss of function of either laforin or malin causes disease pathogenesis is poorly understood. Recently, neuronatin was identified as a novel substrate of malin that regulates glycogen synthesis. Here we demonstrate that the level of neuronatin is significantly up-regulated in the skin biopsy sample of LD patients having mutations in both malin and laforin. Neuronatin is highly expressed in human fetal brain with gradual decrease in expression in developing and adult brain. However, in adult brain, neuronatin is predominantly expressed in parvalbumin-positive GABAergic interneurons and localized in their processes. The level of neuronatin is increased and accumulated as insoluble aggregates in the cortical area of LD brain biopsy samples, and there is also a dramatic loss of parvalbumin-positive GABAergic interneurons. Ectopic expression of neuronatin in cultured neuronal cells results in increased intracellular Ca(2+), endoplasmic reticulum stress, proteasomal dysfunction, and cell death that can be partially rescued by malin. These findings suggest that the neuronatin-induced aberrant Ca(2+) signaling and endoplasmic reticulum stress might underlie LD pathogenesis.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jaiprakash Sharma
- Cellular and Molecular Neuroscience, National Brain Research Centre, Manesar, Gurgaon 122 050, India
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Girard JM, Turnbull J, Ramachandran N, Minassian BA. Progressive myoclonus epilepsy. HANDBOOK OF CLINICAL NEUROLOGY 2013; 113:1731-6. [PMID: 23622396 DOI: 10.1016/b978-0-444-59565-2.00043-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 24] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/14/2022]
Abstract
The progressive myoclonus epilepsies (PMEs) consist of a group of diseases with myoclonic seizures and progressive neurodegeneration, with onset in childhood and/or adolescence. Lafora disease is a neuronal glycogenosis in which normal glycogen is transformed into starch-like polyglucosans that accumulate in the neuronal somatodendritic compartment. It is caused by defects of two genes of yet unknown function, one encoding a glycogen phosphatase (laforin) and the other an ubiquitin E3 ligase (malin). Early cognitive deterioration, visual seizures affecting over half, and slowing down of EEG basic activity are three major diagnostic clues. Unverricht-Lundborg disease is presently thought to be due to damage to neurons by lysosomal cathepsins and reactive oxygen species due to absence of cystatin B, a small protein that inactivates cathepsins and, by ways yet unknown, quenches damaging redox compounds. Preserved cognition and background EEG activity, action myoclonus early morning and vertex spikes in REM sleep are the diagnostic clues. Sialidosis, with cherry-red spot, neuronopathic Gaucher disease, with paralysis of verticality, and ataxia-PME, with ataxia at onset in the middle of the first decade, are also lysosomal diseases. How the lysosomal defect culminates in myoclonus and epilepsy in these conditions remains unknown.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jean-Marie Girard
- Division of Neurology, Department of Paediatrics, Hospital for Sick Children and University of Toronto, Toronto, Canada
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Romá-Mateo C, Sanz P, Gentry MS. Deciphering the role of malin in the lafora progressive myoclonus epilepsy. IUBMB Life 2012; 64:801-8. [PMID: 22815132 DOI: 10.1002/iub.1072] [Citation(s) in RCA: 23] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/10/2012] [Accepted: 06/15/2012] [Indexed: 12/21/2022]
Abstract
Lafora disease (LD) is a fatal, autosomal recessive neurodegenerative disorder that results in progressive myoclonus epilepsy. A hallmark of LD is the accumulation of insoluble, aberrant glycogen-like structures called Lafora bodies. LD is caused by mutations in the gene encoding the E3 ubiquitin ligase malin or the glucan phosphatase laforin. Although LD was first described in 1911, its symptoms are still lacking a consistent molecular explanation and, consequently, a cure is far from being achieved. Some data suggest that malin forms a functional complex with laforin. This complex promotes the ubiquitination of proteins involved in glycogen metabolism and misregulation of pathways involved in this process results in Lafora body formation. In addition, recent results obtained from both cell culture and LD mouse models have highlighted a role of the laforin-malin complex in the regulation of endoplasmic reticulum-stress and protein clearance pathways. These results suggest that LD should be considered as a novel member of the group of protein clearance diseases such as Parkinson's, Huntington's, or Alzheimer's, in addition to being a glycogen metabolism disease. Herein, we review the latest results concerning the role of malin in LD and attempt to decipher its function. © 2012 IUBMB IUBMB Life, 64(10): 801-808, 2012.
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Affiliation(s)
- Carlos Romá-Mateo
- Instituto de Biomedicina de Valencia, CSIC and Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red de Enfermedades Raras (CIBERER), Valencia, Spain
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Laforin and malin deletions in mice produce similar neurologic impairments. J Neuropathol Exp Neurol 2012; 71:413-21. [PMID: 22487859 DOI: 10.1097/nen.0b013e318253350f] [Citation(s) in RCA: 37] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/17/2023] Open
Abstract
Lafora disease is a progressive myoclonus epilepsy caused by mutations in the EPM2A gene encoding laforin or in the EPM2B gene encoding malin. It is characterized by the presence of polyglucosan intracellular inclusion bodies (Lafora bodies) in brain and other tissues. Targeted disruption of Epm2a or Epm2b genes in mice produced widespread neuronal degeneration and accumulation of Lafora bodies in neuronal and nonneuronal tissues. Here we analyzed the neurologic alterations produced by disruption of the laforin gene in Epm2a mice and compared them to those in malin-deficient mice. Both Epm2a and Epm2b mice showed altered motor activity, impaired motor coordination, abnormal hind limb clasping, and episodic memory deficits. Epm2a mice also had tonic-clonic seizures, whereas both Epm2a and Epm2b mice had spontaneous single spikes, spike-wave, polyspikes, and polyspike-wave complexes with correlated myoclonic jerks. Neurologic alterations observed in the mutants were comparable and correlated with the accumulation of abundant Lafora bodies in the cerebral cortex, the hippocampus, the basal ganglia, the cerebellum, and the brainstem, suggesting that these inclusions could cause cognitive and behavioral deterioration. Thus, both Epm2a and Epm2b mice exhibit many pathologic aspects seen in patients with Lafora disease and may be valuable for the study of this disorder.
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Zeng L, Wang Y, Baba O, Zheng P, Liu Y, Liu Y. Laforin is required for the functional activation of malin in endoplasmic reticulum stress resistance in neuronal cells. FEBS J 2012; 279:2467-78. [PMID: 22578008 DOI: 10.1111/j.1742-4658.2012.08627.x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/08/2023]
Abstract
Mutations in either EPM2A, the gene encoding a dual-specificity phosphatase named laforin, or NHLRC1, the gene encoding an E3 ubiquitin ligase named malin, cause Lafora disease in humans. Lafora disease is a fatal neurological disorder characterized by progressive myoclonus epilepsy, severe neurological deterioration and accumulation of poorly branched glycogen inclusions, called Lafora bodies or polyglucosan bodies, within the cell cytoplasm. The molecular mechanism underlying the neuropathogenesis of Lafora disease remains unknown. Here, we present data demonstrating that in the cells expressing low levels of laforin protein, overexpressed malin and its Lafora disease-causing missense mutants are stably polyubiquitinated. Malin and malin mutants form ubiquitin-positive aggregates in or around the nuclei of the cells in which they are expressed. Neither wild-type malin nor its mutants elicit endoplasmic reticulum stress, although the mutants exaggerate the response to endoplasmic reticulum stress. Overexpressed laforin impairs the polyubiquitination of malin while it recruits malin to polyglucosan bodies. The recruitment and activities of laforin and malin are both required for the polyglucosan body disruption. Consistently, targeted deletion of laforin in brain cells from Epm2a knockout mice increases polyubiquitinated proteins. Knockdown of Epm2a or Nhlrc1 in neuronal Neuro2a cells shows that they cooperate to allow cells to resist ER stress and apoptosis. These results reveal that a functional laforin-malin complex plays a critical role in disrupting Lafora bodies and relieving ER stress, implying that a causative pathogenic mechanism underlies their deficiency in Lafora disease.
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Affiliation(s)
- Li Zeng
- Department of Surgery, University of Michigan Medical Center, Ann Arbor, MI 48109, USA
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Tiberia E, Turnbull J, Wang T, Ruggieri A, Zhao XC, Pencea N, Israelian J, Wang Y, Ackerley CA, Wang P, Liu Y, Minassian BA. Increased laforin and laforin binding to glycogen underlie Lafora body formation in malin-deficient Lafora disease. J Biol Chem 2012; 287:25650-9. [PMID: 22669944 DOI: 10.1074/jbc.m111.331611] [Citation(s) in RCA: 33] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/06/2022] Open
Abstract
The solubility of glycogen, essential to its metabolism, is a property of its shape, a sphere generated through extensive branching during synthesis. Lafora disease (LD) is a severe teenage-onset neurodegenerative epilepsy and results from multiorgan accumulations, termed Lafora bodies (LB), of abnormally structured aggregation-prone and digestion-resistant glycogen. LD is caused by loss-of-function mutations in the EPM2A or EPM2B gene, encoding the interacting laforin phosphatase and malin E3 ubiquitin ligase enzymes, respectively. The substrate and function of malin are unknown; an early counterintuitive observation in cell culture experiments that it targets laforin to proteasomal degradation was not pursued until now. The substrate and function of laforin have recently been elucidated. Laforin dephosphorylates glycogen during synthesis, without which phosphate ions interfere with and distort glycogen construction, leading to LB. We hypothesized that laforin in excess or not removed following its action on glycogen also interferes with glycogen formation. We show in malin-deficient mice that the absence of malin results in massively increased laforin preceding the appearance of LB and that laforin gradually accumulates in glycogen, which corresponds to progressive LB generation. We show that increasing the amounts of laforin in cell culture causes LB formation and that this occurs only with glycogen binding-competent laforin. In summary, malin deficiency causes increased laforin, increased laforin binding to glycogen, and LB formation. Furthermore, increased levels of laforin, when it can bind glycogen, causes LB. We conclude that malin functions to regulate laforin and that malin deficiency at least in part causes LB and LD through increased laforin binding to glycogen.
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Affiliation(s)
- Erica Tiberia
- Program in Genetics and Genome Biology, The Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto, Ontario M5G 1X8, Canada
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Phenotype variations in Lafora progressive myoclonus epilepsy: possible involvement of genetic modifiers? J Hum Genet 2012; 57:283-5. [PMID: 22456482 DOI: 10.1038/jhg.2012.29] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/23/2022]
Abstract
Lafora progressive myoclonus epilepsy, also known as Lafora disease (LD), is the most severe and fatal form of progressive myoclonus epilepsy with its typical onset during the late childhood or early adolescence. LD is characterized by recurrent epileptic seizures and progressive decline in intellectual function. LD can be caused by defects in any of the two known genes and the clinical features of these two genetic groups are almost identical. The past one decade has witnessed considerable success in identifying the LD genes, their mutations, the cellular functions of gene products and on molecular basis of LD. Here, we briefly review the current literature on the phenotype variations, on possible presence of genetic modifiers, and candidate modifiers as targets for therapeutic interventions in LD.
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