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Huntingtin Co-Isolates with Small Extracellular Vesicles from Blood Plasma of TgHD and KI-HD Pig Models of Huntington's Disease and Human Blood Plasma. Int J Mol Sci 2022; 23:ijms23105598. [PMID: 35628406 PMCID: PMC9147436 DOI: 10.3390/ijms23105598] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/19/2022] [Revised: 05/12/2022] [Accepted: 05/15/2022] [Indexed: 12/16/2022] Open
Abstract
(1) Background: Huntington’s disease (HD) is rare incurable hereditary neurodegenerative disorder caused by CAG repeat expansion in the gene coding for the protein huntingtin (HTT). Mutated huntingtin (mHTT) undergoes fragmentation and accumulation, affecting cellular functions and leading to neuronal cell death. Porcine models of HD are used in preclinical testing of currently emerging disease modifying therapies. Such therapies are aimed at reducing mHTT expression, postpone the disease onset, slow down the progression, and point out the need of biomarkers to monitor disease development and therapy efficacy. Recently, extracellular vesicles (EVs), particularly exosomes, gained attention as possible carriers of disease biomarkers. We aimed to characterize HTT and mHTT forms/fragments in blood plasma derived EVs in transgenic (TgHD) and knock-in (KI-HD) porcine models, as well as in HD patients’ plasma. (2) Methods: Small EVs were isolated by ultracentrifugation and HTT forms were visualized by western blotting. (3) Results: The full length 360 kDa HTT co-isolated with EVs from both the pig model and HD patient plasma. In addition, a ~70 kDa mutant HTT fragment was specific for TgHD pigs. Elevated total huntingtin levels in EVs from plasma of HD groups compared to controls were observed in both pig models and HD patients, however only in TgHD were they significant (p = 0.02). (4) Conclusions: Our study represents a valuable initial step towards the characterization of EV content in the search for HD biomarkers.
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Howland D, Ellederova Z, Aronin N, Fernau D, Gallagher J, Taylor A, Hennebold J, Weiss AR, Gray-Edwards H, McBride J. Large Animal Models of Huntington's Disease: What We Have Learned and Where We Need to Go Next. J Huntingtons Dis 2021; 9:201-216. [PMID: 32925082 PMCID: PMC7597371 DOI: 10.3233/jhd-200425] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/15/2022]
Abstract
Genetically modified rodent models of Huntington’s disease (HD) have been especially valuable to our understanding of HD pathology and the mechanisms by which the mutant HTT gene alters physiology. However, due to inherent differences in genetics, neuroanatomy, neurocircuitry and neurophysiology, animal models do not always faithfully or fully recapitulate human disease features or adequately predict a clinical response to treatment. Therefore, conducting translational studies of candidate HD therapeutics only in a single species (i.e. mouse disease models) may not be sufficient. Large animal models of HD have been shown to be valuable to the HD research community and the expectation is that the need for translational studies that span rodent and large animal models will grow. Here, we review the large animal models of HD that have been created to date, with specific commentary on differences between the models, the strengths and disadvantages of each, and how we can advance useful models to study disease pathophysiology, biomarker development and evaluation of promising therapeutics.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Zdenka Ellederova
- Institute of Animal Physiology and Genetics, Libechov, Czech Republic
| | - Neil Aronin
- Horae Gene Therapy Center and RNA Therapeutics Institute at The University of Massachusetts Medical School, Worcester, MA, USA
| | - Deborah Fernau
- Horae Gene Therapy Center and RNA Therapeutics Institute at The University of Massachusetts Medical School, Worcester, MA, USA
| | - Jill Gallagher
- Horae Gene Therapy Center and RNA Therapeutics Institute at The University of Massachusetts Medical School, Worcester, MA, USA
| | - Amanda Taylor
- Diplomate, MedVet, American College of Veterinary Internal Medicine - Neurology, Columbus, OH, USA
| | - Jon Hennebold
- Oregon National Primate Research Center at The Oregon Health and Science University, Portland, OR, USA
| | - Alison R Weiss
- Oregon National Primate Research Center at The Oregon Health and Science University, Portland, OR, USA
| | - Heather Gray-Edwards
- Horae Gene Therapy Center and RNA Therapeutics Institute at The University of Massachusetts Medical School, Worcester, MA, USA
| | - Jodi McBride
- Oregon National Primate Research Center at The Oregon Health and Science University, Portland, OR, USA
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Gatto RG, Weissmann C. Diffusion Tensor Imaging in Preclinical and Human Studies of Huntington's Disease: What Have we Learned so Far? Curr Med Imaging 2020; 15:521-542. [PMID: 32008561 DOI: 10.2174/1573405614666181115113400] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/30/2018] [Revised: 10/23/2018] [Accepted: 10/26/2018] [Indexed: 12/13/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Huntington's Disease is an irreversible neurodegenerative disease characterized by the progressive deterioration of specific brain nerve cells. The current evaluation of cellular and physiological events in patients with HD relies on the development of transgenic animal models. To explore such events in vivo, diffusion tensor imaging has been developed to examine the early macro and microstructural changes in brain tissue. However, the gap in diffusion tensor imaging findings between animal models and clinical studies and the lack of microstructural confirmation by histological methods has questioned the validity of this method. OBJECTIVE This review explores white and grey matter ultrastructural changes associated to diffusion tensor imaging, as well as similarities and differences between preclinical and clinical Huntington's Disease studies. METHODS A comprehensive review of the literature using online-resources was performed (Pub- Med search). RESULTS Similar changes in fractional anisotropy as well as axial, radial and mean diffusivities were observed in white matter tracts across clinical and animal studies. However, comparative diffusion alterations in different grey matter structures were inconsistent between clinical and animal studies. CONCLUSION Diffusion tensor imaging can be related to specific structural anomalies in specific cellular populations. However, some differences between animal and clinical studies could derive from the contrasting neuroanatomy or connectivity across species. Such differences should be considered before generalizing preclinical results into the clinical practice. Moreover, current limitations of this technique to accurately represent complex multicellular events at the single micro scale are real. Future work applying complex diffusion models should be considered.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rodolfo Gabriel Gatto
- Department of Bioengineering, University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, IL, 60607, United States
| | - Carina Weissmann
- Insituto de Fisiología Biologia Molecular y Neurociencias-IFIBYNE-CONICET, University of Buenos Aires, Buenos Aires, Argentina
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Smatlikova P, Juhas S, Juhasova J, Suchy T, Hubalek Kalbacova M, Ellederova Z, Motlik J, Klima J. Adipogenic Differentiation of Bone Marrow-Derived Mesenchymal Stem Cells in Pig Transgenic Model Expressing Human Mutant Huntingtin. J Huntingtons Dis 2018; 8:33-51. [PMID: 30584151 DOI: 10.3233/jhd-180303] [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: 11/15/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Although the highest expression of mutant huntingtin (mtHtt) was observed in the brain, its negative effects were also apparent in other tissues. Specifically, mtHtt impairs metabolic homeostasis and causes transcriptional dysregulation in adipose tissue. Adipogenic differentiation can be induced by the activation of two transcription factors: CCAAT/enhancer-binding protein alpha (CEBPα) and peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor gamma (PPARγ). These same transcription factors were found to be compromised in some tissues of Huntington's disease (HD) mouse models and in lymphocytes of HD patients. OBJECTIVE This study investigated the adipogenic potential of mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) derived from transgenic Huntington's disease (TgHD) minipigs expressing human mtHtt (1-548aa) containing 124 glutamines. Two differentiation conditions were used, employing PPARγ agonist rosiglitazone or indomethacin. METHODS Bone marrow MSCs were isolated from TgHD and WT minipig siblings and compared by their cluster of differentiation using flow cytometry. Their adipogenic potential in vitro was analyzed using quantitative immunofluorescence and western blot analysis of transcription factors and adipogenic markers. RESULTS Flow cytometry analysis did not reveal any significant difference between WT and TgHD MSCs. Nevertheless, following differentiation into adipocytes, the expression of CEBPα nuclear, PPARγ and adipogenic marker FABP4/AP2 were significantly lower in TgHD cells compared to WT cells. In addition, we proved both rosiglitazone and indomethacin to be efficient for adipogenic differentiation of porcine MSCs, with rosiglitazone showing a better adipogenic profile. CONCLUSIONS We demonstrated a negative influence of mtHtt on adipogenic differentiation of porcine MSCs in vitro associated with compromised expression of adipogenic transcription factors.
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Affiliation(s)
- Petra Smatlikova
- PIGMOD Centre, Laboratory of Cell Regeneration and Plasticity, Institute of Animal Physiology and Genetics of the Czech Academy of Sciences, Libechov, Czech Republic.,Department of Cell Biology, Faculty of Science, Charles University in Prague, Czech Republic
| | - Stefan Juhas
- PIGMOD Centre, Laboratory of Cell Regeneration and Plasticity, Institute of Animal Physiology and Genetics of the Czech Academy of Sciences, Libechov, Czech Republic
| | - Jana Juhasova
- PIGMOD Centre, Laboratory of Cell Regeneration and Plasticity, Institute of Animal Physiology and Genetics of the Czech Academy of Sciences, Libechov, Czech Republic
| | - Tomas Suchy
- Department of Composites and Carbon Materials, Institute of Rock Structure and Mechanics, Czech Academy of Sciences, Prague, Czech Republic; Faculty of Mechanical Engineering, Czech Technical University in Prague, Prague, Czech Republic
| | - Marie Hubalek Kalbacova
- Biomedical Centre, Faculty of Medicine in Pilsen, Charles University in Prague, Pilsen, Czech Republic; Institute of Pathological Physiology, 1st Faculty of Medicine, Charles University in Prague, Prague, Czech Republic
| | - Zdenka Ellederova
- PIGMOD Centre, Laboratory of Cell Regeneration and Plasticity, Institute of Animal Physiology and Genetics of the Czech Academy of Sciences, Libechov, Czech Republic
| | - Jan Motlik
- PIGMOD Centre, Laboratory of Cell Regeneration and Plasticity, Institute of Animal Physiology and Genetics of the Czech Academy of Sciences, Libechov, Czech Republic
| | - Jiri Klima
- PIGMOD Centre, Laboratory of Cell Regeneration and Plasticity, Institute of Animal Physiology and Genetics of the Czech Academy of Sciences, Libechov, Czech Republic
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Askeland G, Rodinova M, Štufková H, Dosoudilova Z, Baxa M, Smatlikova P, Bohuslavova B, Klempir J, Nguyen TD, Kuśnierczyk A, Bjørås M, Klungland A, Hansikova H, Ellederova Z, Eide L. A transgenic minipig model of Huntington's disease shows early signs of behavioral and molecular pathologies. Dis Model Mech 2018; 11:dmm.035949. [PMID: 30254085 PMCID: PMC6215428 DOI: 10.1242/dmm.035949] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/31/2018] [Accepted: 09/12/2018] [Indexed: 12/11/2022] Open
Abstract
Huntington's disease (HD) is a monogenic, progressive, neurodegenerative disorder with currently no available treatment. The Libechov transgenic minipig model for HD (TgHD) displays neuroanatomical similarities to humans and exhibits slow disease progression, and is therefore more powerful than available mouse models for the development of therapy. The phenotypic characterization of this model is still ongoing, and it is essential to validate biomarkers to monitor disease progression and intervention. In this study, the behavioral phenotype (cognitive, motor and behavior) of the TgHD model was assessed, along with biomarkers for mitochondrial capacity, oxidative stress, DNA integrity and DNA repair at different ages (24, 36 and 48 months), and compared with age-matched controls. The TgHD minipigs showed progressive accumulation of the mutant huntingtin (mHTT) fragment in brain tissue and exhibited locomotor functional decline at 48 months. Interestingly, this neuropathology progressed without any significant age-dependent changes in any of the other biomarkers assessed. Rather, we observed genotype-specific effects on mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) damage, mtDNA copy number, 8-oxoguanine DNA glycosylase activity and global level of the epigenetic marker 5-methylcytosine that we believe is indicative of a metabolic alteration that manifests in progressive neuropathology. Peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) were relatively spared in the TgHD minipig, probably due to the lack of detectable mHTT. Our data demonstrate that neuropathology in the TgHD model has an age of onset of 48 months, and that oxidative damage and electron transport chain impairment represent later states of the disease that are not optimal for assessing interventions. This article has an associated First Person interview with the first author of the paper. Summary: Here, we show that a minipig model of Huntington's disease mimics human neurodegeneration and holds promise for future intervention studies. However, minipig peripheral blood mononuclear cells express no detectable mutant huntingtin, eliminating their use as monitoring tools.
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Affiliation(s)
- Georgina Askeland
- Department of Medical Biochemistry, Institute of Clinical Medicine, University of Oslo, 0372 Oslo, Norway.,Department of Microbiology, Oslo University Hospital, 0372 Oslo, Norway
| | - Marie Rodinova
- Department of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine, First Faculty of Medicine, Charles University in Prague and General University Hospital in Prague, Prague 12808, Czech Republic
| | - Hana Štufková
- Department of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine, First Faculty of Medicine, Charles University in Prague and General University Hospital in Prague, Prague 12808, Czech Republic
| | - Zaneta Dosoudilova
- Department of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine, First Faculty of Medicine, Charles University in Prague and General University Hospital in Prague, Prague 12808, Czech Republic
| | - Monika Baxa
- Department of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine, First Faculty of Medicine, Charles University in Prague and General University Hospital in Prague, Prague 12808, Czech Republic
| | - Petra Smatlikova
- Laboratory of Cell Regeneration and Plasticity, Institute of Animal Physiology and Genetics, Czech Academy of Science, Libechov 27721, Czech Republic
| | - Bozena Bohuslavova
- Laboratory of Cell Regeneration and Plasticity, Institute of Animal Physiology and Genetics, Czech Academy of Science, Libechov 27721, Czech Republic.,Department of Cell Biology, Faculty of Science, Charles University in Prague, Prague 12843, Czech Republic
| | - Jiri Klempir
- Department of Neurology and Centre of Clinical Neuroscience, First Faculty of Medicine, Charles University in Prague and General University Hospital in Prague, Prague 12821, Czech Republic
| | - The Duong Nguyen
- Laboratory of Cell Regeneration and Plasticity, Institute of Animal Physiology and Genetics, Czech Academy of Science, Libechov 27721, Czech Republic.,Department of Cell Biology, Faculty of Science, Charles University in Prague, Prague 12843, Czech Republic
| | - Anna Kuśnierczyk
- Proteomics and Metabolomics Core Facility, PROMEC, Department of Clinical and Molecular Medicine, Norwegian University of Science and Technology, 7491 Trondheim, Norway
| | - Magnar Bjørås
- Department of Microbiology, Oslo University Hospital, 0372 Oslo, Norway.,Proteomics and Metabolomics Core Facility, PROMEC, Department of Clinical and Molecular Medicine, Norwegian University of Science and Technology, 7491 Trondheim, Norway
| | - Arne Klungland
- Department of Microbiology, Oslo University Hospital, 0372 Oslo, Norway
| | - Hana Hansikova
- Department of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine, First Faculty of Medicine, Charles University in Prague and General University Hospital in Prague, Prague 12808, Czech Republic
| | - Zdenka Ellederova
- Laboratory of Cell Regeneration and Plasticity, Institute of Animal Physiology and Genetics, Czech Academy of Science, Libechov 27721, Czech Republic
| | - Lars Eide
- Department of Medical Biochemistry, Institute of Clinical Medicine, University of Oslo, 0372 Oslo, Norway
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