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Tapella L, Dematteis G, La Vitola P, Leva S, Tonelli E, Raddi M, Delconti M, Dacomo L, La Macchia A, Murari E, Talmon M, Malecka J, Chrostek G, Grilli M, Colombo L, Salmona M, Forloni G, Genazzani AA, Balducci C, Lim D. Genetic deletion of astrocytic calcineurin B1 prevents cognitive impairment and neuropathology development in acute and chronic mouse models of Alzheimer's disease. Glia 2024; 72:899-915. [PMID: 38288580 DOI: 10.1002/glia.24509] [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: 06/21/2023] [Revised: 01/15/2024] [Accepted: 01/18/2024] [Indexed: 03/20/2024]
Abstract
Alzheimer's disease (AD) represents an urgent yet unmet challenge for modern society, calling for exploration of innovative targets and therapeutic approaches. Astrocytes, main homeostatic cells in the CNS, represent promising cell-target. Our aim was to investigate if deletion of the regulatory CaNB1 subunit of calcineurin in astrocytes could mitigate AD-related memory deficits, neuropathology, and neuroinflammation. We have generated two, acute and chronic, AD mouse models with astrocytic CaNB1 ablation (ACN-KO). In the former, we evaluated the ability of β-amyloid oligomers (AβOs) to impair memory and activate glial cells once injected in the cerebral ventricle of conditional ACN-KO mice. Next, we generated a tamoxifen-inducible astrocyte-specific CaNB1 knock-out in 3xTg-AD mice (indACNKO-AD). CaNB1 was deleted, by tamoxifen injection, in 11.7-month-old 3xTg-AD mice for 4.4 months. Spatial memory was evaluated using the Barnes maze; β-amyloid plaques burden, neurofibrillary tangle deposition, reactive gliosis, and neuroinflammation were also assessed. The acute model showed that ICV injected AβOs in 2-month-old wild type mice impaired recognition memory and fostered a pro-inflammatory microglia phenotype, whereas in ACN-KO mice, AβOs were inactive. In indACNKO-AD mice, 4.4 months after CaNB1 depletion, we found preservation of spatial memory and cognitive flexibility, abolishment of amyloidosis, and reduction of neurofibrillary tangles, gliosis, and neuroinflammation. Our results suggest that ACN is crucial for the development of cognitive impairment, AD neuropathology, and neuroinflammation. Astrocyte-specific CaNB1 deletion is beneficial for both the abolishment of AβO-mediated detrimental effects and treatment of ongoing AD-related pathology, hence representing an intriguing target for AD therapy.
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Affiliation(s)
- Laura Tapella
- Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Università del Piemonte Orientale, Novara, Italy
| | - Giulia Dematteis
- Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Università del Piemonte Orientale, Novara, Italy
| | - Pietro La Vitola
- Department of Neuroscience, Istituto di Ricerche Farmacologiche Mario Negri IRCCS, Milano, Italy
| | - Susanna Leva
- Department of Neuroscience, Istituto di Ricerche Farmacologiche Mario Negri IRCCS, Milano, Italy
| | - Elisa Tonelli
- Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Università del Piemonte Orientale, Novara, Italy
| | - Marco Raddi
- Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Università del Piemonte Orientale, Novara, Italy
| | - Marta Delconti
- Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Università del Piemonte Orientale, Novara, Italy
| | - Letizia Dacomo
- Department of Neuroscience, Istituto di Ricerche Farmacologiche Mario Negri IRCCS, Milano, Italy
| | - Alberto La Macchia
- Department of Neuroscience, Istituto di Ricerche Farmacologiche Mario Negri IRCCS, Milano, Italy
| | - Elisa Murari
- Department of Neuroscience, Istituto di Ricerche Farmacologiche Mario Negri IRCCS, Milano, Italy
| | - Maria Talmon
- Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Università del Piemonte Orientale, Novara, Italy
| | - Justyna Malecka
- Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Università del Piemonte Orientale, Novara, Italy
| | - Gabriela Chrostek
- Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Università del Piemonte Orientale, Novara, Italy
| | - Mariagrazia Grilli
- Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Università del Piemonte Orientale, Novara, Italy
| | - Laura Colombo
- Department of Neuroscience, Istituto di Ricerche Farmacologiche Mario Negri IRCCS, Milano, Italy
| | - Mario Salmona
- Department of Neuroscience, Istituto di Ricerche Farmacologiche Mario Negri IRCCS, Milano, Italy
| | - Gianluigi Forloni
- Department of Neuroscience, Istituto di Ricerche Farmacologiche Mario Negri IRCCS, Milano, Italy
| | - Armando A Genazzani
- Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Università del Piemonte Orientale, Novara, Italy
| | - Claudia Balducci
- Department of Neuroscience, Istituto di Ricerche Farmacologiche Mario Negri IRCCS, Milano, Italy
| | - Dmitry Lim
- Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Università del Piemonte Orientale, Novara, Italy
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Lim D, Tapella L, Dematteis G, Talmon M, Genazzani AA. Calcineurin Signalling in Astrocytes: From Pathology to Physiology and Control of Neuronal Functions. Neurochem Res 2023; 48:1077-1090. [PMID: 36083398 PMCID: PMC10030417 DOI: 10.1007/s11064-022-03744-4] [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] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/31/2022] [Revised: 07/31/2022] [Accepted: 08/29/2022] [Indexed: 10/14/2022]
Abstract
Calcineurin (CaN), a Ca2+/calmodulin-activated serine/threonine phosphatase, acts as a Ca2+-sensitive switch regulating cellular functions through protein dephosphorylation and activation of gene transcription. In astrocytes, the principal homeostatic cells in the CNS, over-activation of CaN is known to drive pathological transcriptional remodelling, associated with neuroinflammation in diseases such as Alzheimer's disease, epilepsy and brain trauma. Recent reports suggest that, in physiological conditions, the activity of CaN in astrocytes is transcription-independent and is required for maintenance of basal protein synthesis rate and activation of astrocytic Na+/K+ pump thereby contributing to neuronal functions such as neuronal excitability and memory formation. In this contribution we overview the role of Ca2+ and CaN signalling in astroglial pathophysiology focusing on the emerging physiological role of CaN in astrocytes. We propose a model for the context-dependent switch of CaN activity from the post-transcriptional regulation of cell proteostasis in healthy astrocytes to the CaN-dependent transcriptional activation in neuroinflammation-associated diseases.
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Affiliation(s)
- Dmitry Lim
- Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Università del Piemonte Orientale "Amedeo Avogadro", Via Bovio 6, 28100, Novara, Italy.
| | - Laura Tapella
- Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Università del Piemonte Orientale "Amedeo Avogadro", Via Bovio 6, 28100, Novara, Italy
| | - Giulia Dematteis
- Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Università del Piemonte Orientale "Amedeo Avogadro", Via Bovio 6, 28100, Novara, Italy
| | - Maria Talmon
- Department of Health Sciences, School of Medicine, Università del Piemonte Orientale "Amedeo Avogadro", Via Solaroli 17, 28100, Novara, Italy
| | - Armando A Genazzani
- Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Università del Piemonte Orientale "Amedeo Avogadro", Via Bovio 6, 28100, Novara, Italy.
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Foroutan A, Corazzari M, Grolla AA, Colombo G, Travelli C, Genazzani AA, Theeramunkong S, Galli U, Tron GC. Identification of novel aza-analogs of TN-16 as disrupters of microtubule dynamics through a multicomponent reaction. Eur J Med Chem 2022; 245:114895. [DOI: 10.1016/j.ejmech.2022.114895] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/29/2022] [Revised: 10/14/2022] [Accepted: 10/29/2022] [Indexed: 11/06/2022]
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Tapella L, Dematteis G, Moro M, Pistolato B, Tonelli E, Vanella VV, Giustina D, La Forgia A, Restelli E, Barberis E, Cali T, Brini M, Villani S, Del Grosso E, Grilli M, Manfredi M, Corazzari M, Grolla AA, Genazzani AA, Lim D. Protein synthesis inhibition and loss of homeostatic functions in astrocytes from an Alzheimer's disease mouse model: a role for ER-mitochondria interaction. Cell Death Dis 2022; 13:878. [PMID: 36257957 DOI: 10.1038/s41419-022-05324-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [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: 02/22/2022] [Revised: 09/30/2022] [Accepted: 10/05/2022] [Indexed: 11/06/2022]
Abstract
Deregulation of protein synthesis and ER stress/unfolded protein response (ER stress/UPR) have been reported in astrocytes. However, the relationships between protein synthesis deregulation and ER stress/UPR, as well as their role in the altered homeostatic support of Alzheimer's disease (AD) astrocytes remain poorly understood. Previously, we reported that in astrocytic cell lines from 3xTg-AD mice (3Tg-iAstro) protein synthesis was impaired and ER-mitochondria distance was reduced. Here we show that impaired protein synthesis in 3Tg-iAstro is associated with an increase of p-eIF2α and downregulation of GADD34. Although mRNA levels of ER stress/UPR markers were increased two-three-fold, we found neither activation of PERK nor downstream induction of ATF4 protein. Strikingly, the overexpression of a synthetic ER-mitochondrial linker (EML) resulted in a reduced protein synthesis and augmented p-eIF2α without any effect on ER stress/UPR marker genes. In vivo, in hippocampi of 3xTg-AD mice, reduced protein synthesis, increased p-eIF2α and downregulated GADD34 protein were found, while no increase of p-PERK or ATF4 proteins was observed, suggesting that in AD astrocytes, both in vitro and in vivo, phosphorylation of eIF2α and impairment of protein synthesis are PERK-independent. Next, we investigated the ability of 3xTg-AD astrocytes to support metabolism and function of other cells of the central nervous system. Astrocyte-conditioned medium (ACM) from 3Tg-iAstro cells significantly reduced protein synthesis rate in primary hippocampal neurons. When added as a part of pericyte/endothelial cell (EC)/astrocyte 3D co-culture, 3Tg-iAstro, but not WT-iAstro, severely impaired formation and ramification of tubules, the effect, replicated by EML overexpression in WT-iAstro cells. Finally, a chemical chaperone 4-phenylbutyric acid (4-PBA) rescued protein synthesis, p-eIF2α levels in 3Tg-iAstro cells and tubulogenesis in pericyte/EC/3Tg-iAstro co-culture. Collectively, our results suggest that a PERK-independent, p-eIF2α-associated impairment of protein synthesis compromises astrocytic homeostatic functions, and this may be caused by the altered ER-mitochondria interaction.
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