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Edamakanti CR, Mohan V, Opal P. Reactive Bergmann glia play a central role in spinocerebellar ataxia inflammation via the JNK pathway. J Neuroinflammation 2023; 20:126. [PMID: 37237366 DOI: 10.1186/s12974-023-02801-1] [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: 11/21/2022] [Accepted: 05/09/2023] [Indexed: 05/28/2023] Open
Abstract
The spinocerebellar ataxias (SCAs) are devastating neurological diseases characterized by progressive cerebellar incoordination. While neurons bear the brunt of the pathology, a growing body of evidence suggests that glial cells are also affected. It has, however, been difficult to understand the role of glia, given the diversity of subtypes, each with their individual contributions to neuronal health. Using human SCA autopsy samples we have discovered that Bergmann glia-the radial glia of the cerebellum, which form intimate functional connections with cerebellar Purkinje neurons-display inflammatory JNK-dependent c-Jun phosphorylation. This phosphorylation defines a signaling pathway not observed in other activated glial populations, providing an opportunity to isolate the role of Bergmann glia in SCA inflammation. Turning to an SCA1 mouse model as a paradigmatic SCA, we demonstrate that inhibiting the JNK pathway reduces Bergmann glia inflammation accompanied by improvements in the SCA1 phenotype both behaviorally and pathologically. These findings demonstrate the causal role for Bergmann glia inflammation in SCA1 and point to a novel therapeutic strategy that could span several ataxic syndromes where Bergmann glia inflammation is a major feature.
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Affiliation(s)
- Chandrakanth Reddy Edamakanti
- Davee Department of Neurology, Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, Chicago, IL, 60611, USA.
- Department of Neurology, Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, Ward 10-332, 303 E. Chicago Ave, Chicago, IL, 60611, USA.
- Annexon Biosciences, 1400 Sierra Point Parkway Building C, 2nd Floor, Brisbane, CA, 94005, USA.
| | - Vishwa Mohan
- Davee Department of Neurology, Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, Chicago, IL, 60611, USA
| | - Puneet Opal
- Davee Department of Neurology, Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, Chicago, IL, 60611, USA.
- Department of Cell and Molecular Biology, Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, Chicago, IL, 60611, USA.
- Department of Neurology, Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, Ward 10-332, 303 E. Chicago Ave, Chicago, IL, 60611, USA.
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Mohan V, Edamakanti CR, Pathak A. Editorial: Role of extracellular matrix in neurodevelopment and neurodegeneration. Front Cell Neurosci 2023; 17:1135555. [PMID: 36744003 PMCID: PMC9890157 DOI: 10.3389/fncel.2023.1135555] [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] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/01/2023] [Accepted: 01/09/2023] [Indexed: 01/19/2023] Open
Affiliation(s)
- Vishwa Mohan
- Davee Department of Neurology, Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, Chicago, IL, United States,*Correspondence: Vishwa Mohan ✉
| | | | - Amrita Pathak
- Department of Biochemistry, Vanderbilt Brain Institute, Vanderbilt University School of Medicine, Nashville, TN, United States,Amrita Pathak ✉
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Luttik K, Tejwani L, Ju H, Driessen T, Smeets CJLM, Edamakanti CR, Khan A, Yun J, Opal P, Lim J. Differential effects of Wnt-β-catenin signaling in Purkinje cells and Bergmann glia in spinocerebellar ataxia type 1. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2022; 119:e2208513119. [PMID: 35969780 PMCID: PMC9407543 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2208513119] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/23/2022] [Accepted: 06/25/2022] [Indexed: 12/11/2022] Open
Abstract
Spinocerebellar ataxia type 1 (SCA1) is a dominantly inherited neurodegenerative disease characterized by progressive ataxia and degeneration of specific neuronal populations, including Purkinje cells (PCs) in the cerebellum. Previous studies have demonstrated a critical role for various evolutionarily conserved signaling pathways in cerebellar patterning, such as the Wnt-β-catenin pathway; however, the roles of these pathways in adult cerebellar function and cerebellar neurodegeneration are largely unknown. In this study, we found that Wnt-β-catenin signaling activity was progressively enhanced in multiple cell types in the adult SCA1 mouse cerebellum, and that activation of this signaling occurs in an ataxin-1 polyglutamine (polyQ) expansion-dependent manner. Genetic manipulation of the Wnt-β-catenin signaling pathway in specific cerebellar cell populations revealed that activation of Wnt-β-catenin signaling in PCs alone was not sufficient to induce SCA1-like phenotypes, while its activation in astrocytes, including Bergmann glia (BG), resulted in gliosis and disrupted BG localization, which was replicated in SCA1 mouse models. Our studies identify a mechanism in which polyQ-expanded ataxin-1 positively regulates Wnt-β-catenin signaling and demonstrate that different cell types have distinct responses to the enhanced Wnt-β-catenin signaling in the SCA1 cerebellum, underscoring an important role of BG in SCA1 pathogenesis.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kimberly Luttik
- Interdepartmental Neuroscience Program, Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, CT 06510
- Department of Neuroscience, Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, CT 06510
| | - Leon Tejwani
- Interdepartmental Neuroscience Program, Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, CT 06510
- Department of Neuroscience, Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, CT 06510
| | - Hyoungseok Ju
- Department of Genetics, Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, CT 06510
| | - Terri Driessen
- Department of Genetics, Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, CT 06510
| | | | | | | | - Joy Yun
- Yale College, New Haven, CT 06510
| | - Puneet Opal
- Department of Neurology, Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, Chicago, IL 60611
| | - Janghoo Lim
- Interdepartmental Neuroscience Program, Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, CT 06510
- Department of Neuroscience, Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, CT 06510
- Department of Genetics, Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, CT 06510
- Program in Cellular Neuroscience, Neurodegeneration, and Repair, Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, CT 06510
- Yale Stem Cell Center, Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, CT 06510
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Brooker SM, Edamakanti CR, Akasha SM, Kuo SH, Opal P. Spinocerebellar ataxia clinical trials: opportunities and challenges. Ann Clin Transl Neurol 2021; 8:1543-1556. [PMID: 34019331 PMCID: PMC8283160 DOI: 10.1002/acn3.51370] [Citation(s) in RCA: 21] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/19/2021] [Revised: 04/02/2021] [Accepted: 04/05/2021] [Indexed: 12/14/2022] Open
Abstract
The spinocerebellar ataxias (SCAs) are a group of dominantly inherited diseases that share the defining feature of progressive cerebellar ataxia. The disease process, however, is not confined to the cerebellum; other areas of the brain, in particular, the brainstem, are also affected, resulting in a high burden of morbidity and mortality. Currently, there are no disease‐modifying treatments for the SCAs, but preclinical research has led to the development of therapeutic agents ripe for testing in patients. Unfortunately, due to the rarity of these diseases and their slow and variable progression, there are substantial hurdles to overcome in conducting clinical trials. While the epidemiological features of the SCAs are immutable, the feasibility of conducting clinical trials is being addressed through a combination of strategies. These include improvements in clinical outcome measures, the identification of imaging and fluid biomarkers, and innovations in clinical trial design. In this review, we highlight current challenges in initiating clinical trials for the SCAs and also discuss pathways for researchers and clinicians to mitigate these challenges and harness opportunities for clinical trial development.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sarah M Brooker
- Department of Neurology, Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, Chicago, Illinois, USA
| | | | - Sara M Akasha
- Department of Neurology, Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, Chicago, Illinois, USA
| | - Sheng-Han Kuo
- Department of Neurology, Columbia University, New York, New York, USA.,Initiative for Columbia Ataxia and Tremor, Columbia University, New York, New York, USA
| | - Puneet Opal
- Department of Neurology, Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, Chicago, Illinois, USA
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Edamakanti CR, Opal P. Developmental Alterations in Adult-Onset Neurodegenerative Disorders: Lessons from Polyglutamine Diseases. Mov Disord 2021; 36:1548-1552. [PMID: 34014004 DOI: 10.1002/mds.28657] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/24/2021] [Revised: 04/26/2021] [Accepted: 04/30/2021] [Indexed: 01/22/2023] Open
Affiliation(s)
| | - Puneet Opal
- Davee Department of Neurology, Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine Chicago, Chicago, IL, USA
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Edamakanti CR, Opal P. Purification of Prominin-1+ Stem Cells from Postnatal Mouse Cerebellum. J Vis Exp 2020. [PMID: 32338650 DOI: 10.3791/60554] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/31/2022] Open
Abstract
Most cerebellar neurons arise from two embryonic stem niches: a rhombic lip niche, which generates all the cerebellar excitatory glutamatergic neurons, and a ventricular zone niche, which generates the inhibitory GABAergic Purkinje cells, which are neurons that constitute the deep cerebellar nuclei and Bergman glia. Recently, a third stem cell niche has been described that arises as a secondary germinal zone from the ventricular zone niche. The cells of this niche are defined by the cell surface marker prominin-1 and are localized to the developing white matter of the postnatal cerebellum. This niche accounts for the late born molecular layer GABAergic interneurons along with postnatally generated cerebellar astrocytes. In addition to their developmental role, this niche is gaining translational importance in regards to its involvement in neurodegeneration and tumorigenesis. The biology of these cells has been difficult to decipher because of a lack of efficient techniques for their purification. Demonstrated here are efficient methods to purify, culture, and differentiate these postnatal cerebellar stem cells.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Puneet Opal
- Davee Department of Neurology, Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine Chicago; Department of Cell and Molecular Biology, Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine Chicago;
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Hu YS, Do J, Edamakanti CR, Kini AR, Martina M, Stupp SI, Opal P. Self-assembling vascular endothelial growth factor nanoparticles improve function in spinocerebellar ataxia type 1. Brain 2019; 142:312-321. [PMID: 30649233 DOI: 10.1093/brain/awy328] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/27/2018] [Accepted: 10/21/2018] [Indexed: 12/17/2022] Open
Abstract
There is increasing appreciation for the role of the neurovascular unit in neurodegenerative diseases. We showed previously that the angiogenic and neurotrophic cytokine, vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), is suppressed to abnormally low levels in spinocerebellar ataxia type 1 (SCA1), and that replenishing VEGF reverses the cerebellar pathology in SCA1 mice. In that study, however, we used a recombinant VEGF, which is extremely costly to manufacture and biologically unstable as well as immunogenic. To develop a more viable therapy, here we test a synthetic VEGF peptide amphiphile that self-assembles into nanoparticles. We show that this nano-VEGF has potent neurotrophic and angiogenic properties, is well-tolerated, and leads to functional improvement in SCA1 mice even when administered at advanced stages of the disease. This approach can be generalized to other neurotrophic factors or molecules that act in a paracrine manner, offering a novel therapeutic strategy for neurodegenerative conditions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yuan-Shih Hu
- Davee Department of Neurology, Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, Chicago, Illinois, USA
| | - Jeehaeh Do
- Department of Physiology, Feinberg School of Medicine, Northwestern University, Chicago, Illinois, USA
| | | | - Ameet R Kini
- Department of Pathology, Loyola University Chicago Stritch School of Medicine, Maywood, Illinois, USA
| | - Marco Martina
- Department of Physiology, Feinberg School of Medicine, Northwestern University, Chicago, Illinois, USA
| | - Samuel I Stupp
- Departments of Materials and Science and Engineering, Chemistry, Medicine, and Biomedical Engineering, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL USA.,Simpson Querrey Institute for BioNanotechnology, Northwestern University, Chicago, Illinois, USA
| | - Puneet Opal
- Davee Department of Neurology, Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, Chicago, Illinois, USA.,Department of Cell and Molecular Biology, Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine Chicago, Illinois, USA
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Abstract
Spinocerebellar ataxia type 1 (SCA1) is an adult-onset neurodegenerative disease caused by a polyglutamine expansion in the protein ATXN1, which is involved in transcriptional regulation. Although symptoms appear relatively late in life, primarily from cerebellar dysfunction, pathogenesis begins early, with transcriptional changes detectable as early as a week after birth in SCA1-knockin mice. Given the importance of this postnatal period for cerebellar development, we asked whether this region might be developmentally altered by mutant ATXN1. We found that expanded ATXN1 stimulates the proliferation of postnatal cerebellar stem cells in SCA1 mice. These hyperproliferating stem cells tended to differentiate into GABAergic inhibitory interneurons rather than astrocytes; this significantly increased the GABAergic inhibitory interneuron synaptic connections, disrupting cerebellar Purkinje cell function in a non-cell autonomous manner. We confirmed the increased basket cell-Purkinje cell connectivity in human SCA1 patients. Mutant ATXN1 thus alters the neural circuitry of the developing cerebellum, setting the stage for the later vulnerability of Purkinje cells to SCA1. We propose that other late-onset degenerative diseases may also be rooted in subtle developmental derailments.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Jeehaeh Do
- Department of Physiology, Feinberg School of Medicine, Northwestern University, Chicago, Illinois, USA
| | | | - Marco Martina
- Department of Physiology, Feinberg School of Medicine, Northwestern University, Chicago, Illinois, USA
| | - Puneet Opal
- Davee Department of Neurology, and.,Department of Cell and Molecular Biology, Feinberg School of Medicine, Northwestern University, Chicago, Illinois, USA
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