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Bretou M, Sannerud R, Escamilla-Ayala A, Leroy T, Vrancx C, Van Acker ZP, Perdok A, Vermeire W, Vorsters I, Van Keymolen S, Maxson M, Pavie B, Wierda K, Eskelinen EL, Annaert W. Accumulation of APP C-terminal fragments causes endolysosomal dysfunction through the dysregulation of late endosome to lysosome-ER contact sites. Dev Cell 2024:S1534-5807(24)00199-0. [PMID: 38626765 DOI: 10.1016/j.devcel.2024.03.030] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/18/2021] [Revised: 11/02/2023] [Accepted: 03/20/2024] [Indexed: 04/18/2024]
Abstract
Neuronal endosomal and lysosomal abnormalities are among the early changes observed in Alzheimer's disease (AD) before plaques appear. However, it is unclear whether distinct endolysosomal defects are temporally organized and how altered γ-secretase function or amyloid precursor protein (APP) metabolism contribute to these changes. Inhibiting γ-secretase chronically, in mouse embryonic fibroblast and hippocampal neurons, led to a gradual endolysosomal collapse initiated by decreased lysosomal calcium and increased cholesterol, causing downstream defects in endosomal recycling and maturation. This endolysosomal demise is γ-secretase dependent, requires membrane-tethered APP cytoplasmic domains, and is rescued by APP depletion. APP C-terminal fragments (CTFs) localized to late endosome/lysosome-endoplasmic reticulum contacts; an excess of APP-CTFs herein reduced lysosomal Ca2+ refilling from the endoplasmic reticulum, promoting cholesterol accretion. Tonic regulation by APP-CTFs provides a mechanistic explanation for their cellular toxicity: failure to timely degrade APP-CTFs sustains downstream signaling, instigating lysosomal dyshomeostasis, as observed in prodromal AD. This is the opposite of substrates such as Notch, which require intramembrane proteolysis to initiate signaling.
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Affiliation(s)
- Marine Bretou
- Laboratory for Membrane Trafficking, VIB-Center for Brain and Disease Research, Leuven, Belgium; Department of Neurosciences, KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium
| | - Ragna Sannerud
- Laboratory for Membrane Trafficking, VIB-Center for Brain and Disease Research, Leuven, Belgium; Department of Neurosciences, KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium
| | | | - Tom Leroy
- Laboratory for Membrane Trafficking, VIB-Center for Brain and Disease Research, Leuven, Belgium; Department of Neurosciences, KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium
| | - Céline Vrancx
- Laboratory for Membrane Trafficking, VIB-Center for Brain and Disease Research, Leuven, Belgium; Department of Neurosciences, KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium
| | - Zoë P Van Acker
- Laboratory for Membrane Trafficking, VIB-Center for Brain and Disease Research, Leuven, Belgium; Department of Neurosciences, KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium
| | - Anika Perdok
- Laboratory for Membrane Trafficking, VIB-Center for Brain and Disease Research, Leuven, Belgium; Department of Neurosciences, KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium
| | - Wendy Vermeire
- Laboratory for Membrane Trafficking, VIB-Center for Brain and Disease Research, Leuven, Belgium; Department of Neurosciences, KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium
| | - Inge Vorsters
- Laboratory for Membrane Trafficking, VIB-Center for Brain and Disease Research, Leuven, Belgium; Department of Neurosciences, KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium
| | - Sophie Van Keymolen
- Laboratory for Membrane Trafficking, VIB-Center for Brain and Disease Research, Leuven, Belgium; Department of Neurosciences, KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium
| | - Michelle Maxson
- Cell Biology Program, The Hospital for Sick Children, Department of Biochemistry, University of Toronto, Toronto, Canada
| | - Benjamin Pavie
- VIB-BioImaging Core, VIB-Center for Brain and Disease Research, Leuven, Belgium
| | - Keimpe Wierda
- Electrophysiology Expertise Unit, VIB-Center for Brain and Disease Research, Leuven, Belgium
| | | | - Wim Annaert
- Laboratory for Membrane Trafficking, VIB-Center for Brain and Disease Research, Leuven, Belgium; Department of Neurosciences, KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium.
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Morgan DG, Lamb BT. Transgenic amyloid precursor protein mouse models of amyloidosis. Incomplete models for Alzheimer's disease but effective predictors of anti-amyloid therapies. Alzheimers Dement 2024; 20:1459-1464. [PMID: 38085800 PMCID: PMC10916971 DOI: 10.1002/alz.13566] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/05/2023] [Revised: 11/03/2023] [Accepted: 11/06/2023] [Indexed: 02/22/2024]
Abstract
INTRODUCTION Amyloid precursor protein (APP) transgenic mice are models of Alzheimer's disease (AD) amyloidosis, not all of AD. Diffuse, compacted, and vascular deposits in APP mice mimic those found in AD cases. METHODS Most interventional studies in APP mice start treatment early in the process of amyloid deposition, consistent with a prevention treatment regimen. Most clinical trials treat patients with established amyloid deposits in a therapeutic treatment regimen. RESULTS The first treatment to reduce amyloid and cognitive impairment in mice was immunotherapy. The APP mouse models not only predicted efficacy, but presaged the vascular leakage called ARIA. The recent immunotherapy clinical trials that removed amyloid and slowed cognitive decline confirms the utility of these early APP models when used in therapeutic designs. DISCUSSION New mouse models of AD pathologies will add to the research armamentarium, but the early models have accurately predicted responses to amyloid therapies in humans.
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Affiliation(s)
- David G. Morgan
- Department of Translational Neuroscience, and Alzheimer's AllianceCollege of Human MedicineMichigan State UniversityGrand RapidsMichiganUSA
| | - Bruce T. Lamb
- Department of Medical and Molecular GeneticsStark Neurosciences Research InstituteIndianapolisIndianaUSA
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Abstract
Recent drug development efforts targeting Alzheimer's disease (AD) have failed to produce effective disease-modifying agents for many reasons, including the substantial presymptomatic neuronal damage that is caused by the accumulation of the amyloid β (Aβ) peptide and tau protein abnormalities, deleterious adverse effects of drug candidates, and inadequate design of clinical trials. New molecular targets, biomarkers, and diagnostic techniques, as well as alternative nonpharmacological approaches, are sorely needed to detect and treat early pathological events. This article analyzes the successes and debacles of pharmaceutical endeavors to date, and highlights new technologies that may lead to the more effective diagnosis and treatment of the pathologies that underlie AD. The use of focused ultrasound, deep brain stimulation, stem cell therapy, and gene therapy, in parallel with pharmaceuticals and judicious lifestyle adjustments, holds promise for the deceleration, prevention, or cure of AD and other neurodegenerative disorders.
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Affiliation(s)
- Suren A Tatulian
- Department of Physics, College of Sciences, and Burnett School of Biomedical Sciences, College of Medicine, University of Central Florida, Orlando, FL 32816, USA.
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Abstract
One of the central aims in Alzheimer's disease (AD) research is the identification of clinically relevant drug targets. A plethora of potential molecular targets work very well in preclinical model systems both in vitro and in vivo in AD mouse models. However, the lack of translation into clinical settings in the AD field is a challenging endeavor. Although it is long known that N-terminally truncated and pyroglutamate-modified Abeta (AβpE3) peptides are abundantly present in the brain of AD patients, form stable and soluble low-molecular weight oligomers, and induce neurodegeneration in AD mouse models, their potential as drug target has not been generally accepted in the past. This situation has dramatically changed with the report that passive immunization with donanemab, an AβpE3-specific antibody, cleared aymloid plaques and stabilized cognitive deficits in a group of patients with mild AD in a phase II trial. This review summarizes the current knowledge on the molecular mechanisms of generation of AβpE, its biochemical properties, and the intervention points as a drug target in AD.
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Hartlage-Rübsamen M, Bluhm A, Moceri S, Machner L, Köppen J, Schenk M, Hilbrich I, Holzer M, Weidenfeller M, Richter F, Coras R, Serrano GE, Beach TG, Schilling S, von Hörsten S, Xiang W, Schulze A, Roßner S. A glutaminyl cyclase-catalyzed α-synuclein modification identified in human synucleinopathies. Acta Neuropathol 2021; 142:399-421. [PMID: 34309760 PMCID: PMC8357657 DOI: 10.1007/s00401-021-02349-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/11/2021] [Revised: 07/13/2021] [Accepted: 07/13/2021] [Indexed: 12/22/2022]
Abstract
Parkinson’s disease (PD) is a progressive neurodegenerative disorder that is neuropathologically characterized by degeneration of dopaminergic neurons of the substantia nigra (SN) and formation of Lewy bodies and Lewy neurites composed of aggregated α-synuclein. Proteolysis of α-synuclein by matrix metalloproteinases was shown to facilitate its aggregation and to affect cell viability. One of the proteolysed fragments, Gln79-α-synuclein, possesses a glutamine residue at its N-terminus. We argue that glutaminyl cyclase (QC) may catalyze the pyroglutamate (pGlu)79-α-synuclein formation and, thereby, contribute to enhanced aggregation and compromised degradation of α-synuclein in human synucleinopathies. Here, the kinetic characteristics of Gln79-α-synuclein conversion into the pGlu-form by QC are shown using enzymatic assays and mass spectrometry. Thioflavin T assays and electron microscopy demonstrated a decreased potential of pGlu79-α-synuclein to form fibrils. However, size exclusion chromatography and cell viability assays revealed an increased propensity of pGlu79-α-synuclein to form oligomeric aggregates with high neurotoxicity. In brains of wild-type mice, QC and α-synuclein were co-expressed by dopaminergic SN neurons. Using a specific antibody against the pGlu-modified neo-epitope of α-synuclein, pGlu79-α-synuclein aggregates were detected in association with QC in brains of two transgenic mouse lines with human α-synuclein overexpression. In human brain samples of PD and dementia with Lewy body subjects, pGlu79-α-synuclein was shown to be present in SN neurons, in a number of Lewy bodies and in dystrophic neurites. Importantly, there was a spatial co-occurrence of pGlu79-α-synuclein with the enzyme QC in the human SN complex and a defined association of QC with neuropathological structures. We conclude that QC catalyzes the formation of oligomer-prone pGlu79-α-synuclein in human synucleinopathies, which may—in analogy to pGlu-Aβ peptides in Alzheimer’s disease—act as a seed for pathogenic protein aggregation.
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