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Gittings LM, Alsop EB, Antone J, Singer M, Whitsett TG, Sattler R, Van Keuren-Jensen K. Cryptic exon detection and transcriptomic changes revealed in single-nuclei RNA sequencing of C9ORF72 patients spanning the ALS-FTD spectrum. Acta Neuropathol 2023; 146:433-450. [PMID: 37466726 PMCID: PMC10412668 DOI: 10.1007/s00401-023-02599-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/21/2023] [Revised: 06/09/2023] [Accepted: 06/12/2023] [Indexed: 07/20/2023]
Abstract
The C9ORF72-linked diseases amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) and frontotemporal dementia (FTD) are characterized by the nuclear depletion and cytoplasmic accumulation of TAR DNA-binding protein 43 (TDP-43). Recent studies have shown that the loss of TDP-43 function leads to the inclusion of cryptic exons (CE) in several RNA transcript targets of TDP-43. Here, we show for the first time the detection of CEs in a single-nuclei RNA sequencing (snRNA-seq) dataset obtained from frontal and occipital cortices of C9ORF72 patients that phenotypically span the ALS-FTD disease spectrum. We assessed each cellular cluster for detection of recently described TDP-43-induced CEs. Transcripts containing CEs in the genes STMN2 and KALRN were detected in the frontal cortex of all C9ORF72 disease groups with the highest frequency in excitatory neurons in the C9ORF72-FTD group. Within the excitatory neurons, the cluster with the highest proportion of cells containing a CE had transcriptomic similarities to von Economo neurons, which are known to be vulnerable to TDP-43 pathology and selectively lost in C9ORF72-FTD. Differential gene expression and pathway analysis of CE-containing neurons revealed multiple dysregulated metabolic processes. Our findings reveal novel insights into the transcriptomic changes of neurons vulnerable to TDP-43 pathology.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lauren M Gittings
- Department of Translational Neuroscience, Barrow Neurological Institute, 350 W Thomas Road, Phoenix, AZ, 85013, USA
| | - Eric B Alsop
- Neurogenomics Division, Translational Genomics Research Institute, part of City of Hope, Phoenix, AZ, USA
| | - Jerry Antone
- Neurogenomics Division, Translational Genomics Research Institute, part of City of Hope, Phoenix, AZ, USA
| | - Mo Singer
- Department of Translational Neuroscience, Barrow Neurological Institute, 350 W Thomas Road, Phoenix, AZ, 85013, USA
| | - Timothy G Whitsett
- Neurogenomics Division, Translational Genomics Research Institute, part of City of Hope, Phoenix, AZ, USA
| | - Rita Sattler
- Department of Translational Neuroscience, Barrow Neurological Institute, 350 W Thomas Road, Phoenix, AZ, 85013, USA.
| | - Kendall Van Keuren-Jensen
- Neurogenomics Division, Translational Genomics Research Institute, part of City of Hope, Phoenix, AZ, USA.
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Brasso C, Stanziano M, Bosco FM, Morese R, Valentini MC, Vercelli A, Rocca P. Alteration of the Functional Connectivity of the Cortical Areas Characterized by the Presence of Von Economo Neurons in Schizophrenia, a Pilot Study. J Clin Med 2023; 12:jcm12041377. [PMID: 36835913 PMCID: PMC9962963 DOI: 10.3390/jcm12041377] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/08/2022] [Revised: 02/02/2023] [Accepted: 02/07/2023] [Indexed: 02/12/2023] Open
Abstract
Von Economo neurons (VENs) are rod, stick, or corkscrew cells mostly located in layer V of the frontoinsular and anterior cingulate cortices. VENs are projection neurons related to human-like social cognitive abilities. Post-mortem histological studies found VEN alterations in several neuropsychiatric disorders, including schizophrenia (SZ). This pilot study aimed to evaluate the role of VEN-containing areas in shaping patterns of resting-state brain activation in patients with SZ (n = 20) compared to healthy controls (HCs; n = 20). We performed a functional connectivity analysis seeded in the cortical areas with the highest density of VENs followed by fuzzy clustering. The alterations found in the SZ group were correlated with psychopathological, cognitive, and functioning variables. We found a frontotemporal network that was shared by four clusters overlapping with the salience, superior-frontal, orbitofrontal, and central executive networks. Differences between the HC and SZ groups emerged only in the salience network. The functional connectivity of the right anterior insula and ventral tegmental area within this network were negatively correlated with experiential negative symptoms and positively correlated with functioning. This study provides some evidence to show that in vivo, VEN-enriched cortical areas are associated with an altered resting-state brain activity in people with SZ.
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Affiliation(s)
- Claudio Brasso
- Department of Neuroscience “Rita Levi Montalcini”, University of Turin, 10126 Turin, Italy
- Struttura Complessa di Psichiatria Universitaria, Dipartimento di Neuroscienze e Salute Mentale, Azienda Ospedaliero-Universitaria “Città della Salute e della Scienza di Torino”, 10126 Turin, Italy
- Correspondence: ; Tel.: +39-011-670-7720
| | - Mario Stanziano
- Department of Neuroscience “Rita Levi Montalcini”, University of Turin, 10126 Turin, Italy
- Neuroradiology Unit, Fondazione IRCCS Istituto Neurologico “Carlo Besta”, 20133 Milan, Italy
| | - Francesca Marina Bosco
- Research Group on Inferential Processes in Social Interaction (GIPSI), Department of Psychology, University of Turin, 10124 Turin, Italy
| | - Rosalba Morese
- Faculty of Communication Sciences, Università della Svizzera Italiana, 6900 Lugano, Switzerland
- Faculty of Biomedical Sciences, Università della Svizzera Italiana, 6900 Lugano, Switzerland
| | - Maria Consuelo Valentini
- Struttura Complessa di Neuroradiologia, Dipartimento Diagnostica per Immagini e Radiologia Interventistica, Azienda Ospedaliero-Universitaria “Città della Salute e della Scienza di Torino”, 10126 Turin, Italy
| | - Alessandro Vercelli
- Department of Neuroscience “Rita Levi Montalcini”, University of Turin, 10126 Turin, Italy
- Neuroscience Institute Cavalieri Ottolenghi (NICO), 10043 Orbassano, Italy
| | - Paola Rocca
- Department of Neuroscience “Rita Levi Montalcini”, University of Turin, 10126 Turin, Italy
- Struttura Complessa di Psichiatria Universitaria, Dipartimento di Neuroscienze e Salute Mentale, Azienda Ospedaliero-Universitaria “Città della Salute e della Scienza di Torino”, 10126 Turin, Italy
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López-Ojeda W, Hurley RA. Von Economo Neuron Involvement in Social Cognitive and Emotional Impairments in Neuropsychiatric Disorders. J Neuropsychiatry Clin Neurosci 2022; 34:302-306. [PMID: 36239479 DOI: 10.1176/appi.neuropsych.20220136] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/06/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Wilfredo López-Ojeda
- Veterans Affairs Mid-Atlantic Mental Illness Research, Education and Clinical Center (MIRECC) and Research and Academic Affairs Service Line, W. G. Hefner Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Salisbury, N.C. (López-Ojeda, Hurley); Departments of Psychiatry and Behavioral Medicine (López-Ojeda, Hurley) and Radiology (Hurley), Wake Forest School of Medicine, Winston-Salem, N.C.; Menninger Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston (Hurley)
| | - Robin A Hurley
- Veterans Affairs Mid-Atlantic Mental Illness Research, Education and Clinical Center (MIRECC) and Research and Academic Affairs Service Line, W. G. Hefner Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Salisbury, N.C. (López-Ojeda, Hurley); Departments of Psychiatry and Behavioral Medicine (López-Ojeda, Hurley) and Radiology (Hurley), Wake Forest School of Medicine, Winston-Salem, N.C.; Menninger Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston (Hurley)
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