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Deehan MA, Kothuis JM, Sapp E, Chase K, Ke Y, Seeley C, Iuliano M, Kim E, Kennington L, Miller R, Boudi A, Shing K, Li X, Pfister E, Anaclet C, Brodsky M, Kegel-Gleason K, Aronin N, DiFiglia M. Nacc1 Mutation in Mice Models Rare Neurodevelopmental Disorder with Underlying Synaptic Dysfunction. J Neurosci 2024; 44:e1610232024. [PMID: 38388424 PMCID: PMC10993038 DOI: 10.1523/jneurosci.1610-23.2024] [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] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/24/2023] [Revised: 01/05/2024] [Accepted: 02/03/2024] [Indexed: 02/24/2024] Open
Abstract
A missense mutation in the transcription repressor Nucleus accumbens-associated 1 (NACC1) gene at c.892C>T (p.Arg298Trp) on chromosome 19 causes severe neurodevelopmental delay ( Schoch et al., 2017). To model this disorder, we engineered the first mouse model with the homologous mutation (Nacc1+/R284W ) and examined mice from E17.5 to 8 months. Both genders had delayed weight gain, epileptiform discharges and altered power spectral distribution in cortical electroencephalogram, behavioral seizures, and marked hindlimb clasping; females displayed thigmotaxis in an open field. In the cortex, NACC1 long isoform, which harbors the mutation, increased from 3 to 6 months, whereas the short isoform, which is not present in humans and lacks aaR284 in mice, rose steadily from postnatal day (P) 7. Nuclear NACC1 immunoreactivity increased in cortical pyramidal neurons and parvalbumin containing interneurons but not in nuclei of astrocytes or oligodendroglia. Glial fibrillary acidic protein staining in astrocytic processes was diminished. RNA-seq of P14 mutant mice cortex revealed over 1,000 differentially expressed genes (DEGs). Glial transcripts were downregulated and synaptic genes upregulated. Top gene ontology terms from upregulated DEGs relate to postsynapse and ion channel function, while downregulated DEGs enriched for terms relating to metabolic function, mitochondria, and ribosomes. Levels of synaptic proteins were changed, but number and length of synaptic contacts were unaltered at 3 months. Homozygosity worsened some phenotypes including postnatal survival, weight gain delay, and increase in nuclear NACC1. This mouse model simulates a rare form of autism and will be indispensable for assessing pathophysiology and targets for therapeutic intervention.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mark A Deehan
- Department of Neurology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Charlestown, Massachusetts 02129
| | - Josine M Kothuis
- Department of Neurology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Charlestown, Massachusetts 02129
| | - Ellen Sapp
- Department of Neurology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Charlestown, Massachusetts 02129
| | - Kathryn Chase
- Department of Medicine, UMass Chan Medical School, Worcester, Massachusetts 01655
| | - Yuting Ke
- Department of Neurology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Charlestown, Massachusetts 02129
- Department of Biological Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02139
| | - Connor Seeley
- Department of Neurology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Charlestown, Massachusetts 02129
| | - Maria Iuliano
- Department of Neurology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Charlestown, Massachusetts 02129
| | - Emily Kim
- Department of Neurology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Charlestown, Massachusetts 02129
| | - Lori Kennington
- Department of Medicine, UMass Chan Medical School, Worcester, Massachusetts 01655
| | - Rachael Miller
- Department of Medicine, UMass Chan Medical School, Worcester, Massachusetts 01655
| | - Adel Boudi
- Department of Neurology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Charlestown, Massachusetts 02129
| | - Kai Shing
- Department of Neurology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Charlestown, Massachusetts 02129
| | - Xueyi Li
- Department of Neurology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Charlestown, Massachusetts 02129
| | - Edith Pfister
- Department of Medicine, UMass Chan Medical School, Worcester, Massachusetts 01655
- Program in Bioinformatics and Integrative Biology, UMass Chan Medical School, Worcester, Massachusetts 01655
| | - Christelle Anaclet
- Department of Neurological Surgery, University of California Davis School of Medicine, Davis, California 95817
| | - Michael Brodsky
- Department of Molecular, Cell and Cancer Biology, UMass Chan Medical School, Worcester, Massachusetts 01655
| | - Kimberly Kegel-Gleason
- Department of Neurology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Charlestown, Massachusetts 02129
| | - Neil Aronin
- Department of Medicine, UMass Chan Medical School, Worcester, Massachusetts 01655
| | - Marian DiFiglia
- Department of Neurology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Charlestown, Massachusetts 02129
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Belgrad J, Tang Q, Hildebrand S, Summers A, Sapp E, Echeverria D, O’Reilly D, Luu E, Bramato B, Allen S, Cooper D, Alterman J, Yamada K, Aronin N, DiFiglia M, Khvorova A. A programmable dual-targeting di-valent siRNA scaffold supports potent multi-gene modulation in the central nervous system. bioRxiv 2023:2023.12.19.572404. [PMID: 38187561 PMCID: PMC10769306 DOI: 10.1101/2023.12.19.572404] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/09/2024]
Abstract
Di-valent short interfering RNA (siRNA) is a promising therapeutic modality that enables sequence-specific modulation of a single target gene in the central nervous system (CNS). To treat complex neurodegenerative disorders, where pathogenesis is driven by multiple genes or pathways, di-valent siRNA must be able to silence multiple target genes simultaneously. Here we present a framework for designing unimolecular "dual-targeting" di-valent siRNAs capable of co-silencing two genes in the CNS. We reconfigured di-valent siRNA - in which two identical, linked siRNAs are made concurrently - to create linear di-valent siRNA - where two siRNAs are made sequentially attached by a covalent linker. This linear configuration, synthesized using commercially available reagents, enables incorporation of two different siRNAs to silence two different targets. We demonstrate that this dual-targeting di-valent siRNA is fully functional in the CNS of mice, supporting at least two months of maximal target silencing. Dual-targeting di-valent siRNA is highly programmable, enabling simultaneous modulation of two different disease-relevant gene pairs (e.g., Huntington's disease: MSH3 and HTT; Alzheimer's disease: APOE and JAK1) with similar potency to a mixture of single-targeting di-valent siRNAs against each gene. This work potentiates CNS modulation of virtually any pair of disease-related targets using a simple unimolecular siRNA.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jillian Belgrad
- RNA Therapeutics Institute, University of Massachusetts Chan Medical School; Worcester, Massachusetts, USA
| | - Qi Tang
- RNA Therapeutics Institute, University of Massachusetts Chan Medical School; Worcester, Massachusetts, USA
| | - Sam Hildebrand
- RNA Therapeutics Institute, University of Massachusetts Chan Medical School; Worcester, Massachusetts, USA
| | - Ashley Summers
- RNA Therapeutics Institute, University of Massachusetts Chan Medical School; Worcester, Massachusetts, USA
| | - Ellen Sapp
- Department of Neurology, Massachusetts General Hospital; Boston, Massachusetts, USA
| | - Dimas Echeverria
- RNA Therapeutics Institute, University of Massachusetts Chan Medical School; Worcester, Massachusetts, USA
| | - Dan O’Reilly
- RNA Therapeutics Institute, University of Massachusetts Chan Medical School; Worcester, Massachusetts, USA
| | - Eric Luu
- RNA Therapeutics Institute, University of Massachusetts Chan Medical School; Worcester, Massachusetts, USA
| | - Brianna Bramato
- RNA Therapeutics Institute, University of Massachusetts Chan Medical School; Worcester, Massachusetts, USA
| | - Sarah Allen
- RNA Therapeutics Institute, University of Massachusetts Chan Medical School; Worcester, Massachusetts, USA
| | - David Cooper
- RNA Therapeutics Institute, University of Massachusetts Chan Medical School; Worcester, Massachusetts, USA
| | - Julia Alterman
- RNA Therapeutics Institute, University of Massachusetts Chan Medical School; Worcester, Massachusetts, USA
| | - Ken Yamada
- RNA Therapeutics Institute, University of Massachusetts Chan Medical School; Worcester, Massachusetts, USA
| | - Neil Aronin
- RNA Therapeutics Institute, University of Massachusetts Chan Medical School; Worcester, Massachusetts, USA
- Department of Medicine, University of Massachusetts Chan Medical School; Worcester, Massachusetts, USA
| | - Marian DiFiglia
- Department of Neurology, Massachusetts General Hospital; Boston, Massachusetts, USA
| | - Anastasia Khvorova
- RNA Therapeutics Institute, University of Massachusetts Chan Medical School; Worcester, Massachusetts, USA
- Program in Molecular Medicine, University of Massachusetts Chan Medical School; Worcester, Massachusetts, USA
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3
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O’Reilly D, Belgrad J, Ferguson C, Summers A, Sapp E, McHugh C, Mathews E, Boudi A, Buchwald J, Ly S, Moreno D, Furgal R, Luu E, Kennedy Z, Hariharan V, Monopoli K, Yang XW, Carroll J, DiFiglia M, Aronin N, Khvorova A. Di-valent siRNA-mediated silencing of MSH3 blocks somatic repeat expansion in mouse models of Huntington's disease. Mol Ther 2023; 31:3355-3356. [PMID: 37751745 PMCID: PMC10638064 DOI: 10.1016/j.ymthe.2023.09.016] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 09/28/2023] Open
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Shing K, Sapp E, Boudi A, Liu S, Seeley C, Marchionini D, DiFiglia M, Kegel-Gleason KB. Early whole-body mutant huntingtin lowering averts changes in proteins and lipids important for synapse function and white matter maintenance in the LacQ140 mouse model. Neurobiol Dis 2023; 187:106313. [PMID: 37777020 PMCID: PMC10731584 DOI: 10.1016/j.nbd.2023.106313] [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: 08/22/2023] [Revised: 09/25/2023] [Accepted: 09/27/2023] [Indexed: 10/02/2023] Open
Abstract
Expansion of a triplet repeat tract in exon 1 of the HTT gene causes Huntington's disease (HD). The mutant HTT protein (mHTT) has numerous aberrant interactions with diverse, pleiomorphic effects. Lowering mHTT is a promising approach to treat HD, but it is unclear when lowering should be initiated, how much is necessary, and what duration should occur to achieve benefits. Furthermore, the effects of mHTT lowering on brain lipids have not been assessed. Using a mHtt-inducible mouse model, we analyzed mHtt lowering initiated at different ages and sustained for different time-periods. mHTT protein in cytoplasmic and synaptic compartments of the striatum was reduced 38-52%; however, there was minimal lowering of mHTT in nuclear and perinuclear regions where aggregates formed at 12 months of age. Total striatal lipids were reduced in 9-month-old LacQ140 mice and preserved by mHtt lowering. Subclasses important for white matter structure and function including ceramide (Cer), sphingomyelin (SM), and monogalactosyldiacylglycerol (MGDG), contributed to the reduction in total lipids. Phosphatidylinositol (PI), phosphatidylserine (PS), and bismethyl phosphatidic acid (BisMePA) were also changed in LacQ140 mice. Levels of all subclasses except ceramide were preserved by mHtt lowering. mRNA expression profiling indicated that a transcriptional mechanism contributes to changes in myelin lipids, and some but not all changes can be prevented by mHtt lowering. Our findings suggest that early and sustained reduction in mHtt can prevent changes in levels of select striatal proteins and most lipids, but a misfolded, degradation-resistant form of mHTT hampers some benefits in the long term.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kai Shing
- Department of Neurology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Charlestown, MA 02129, USA
| | - Ellen Sapp
- Department of Neurology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Charlestown, MA 02129, USA
| | - Adel Boudi
- Department of Neurology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Charlestown, MA 02129, USA
| | - Sophia Liu
- Department of Neurology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Charlestown, MA 02129, USA
| | - Connor Seeley
- Department of Neurology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Charlestown, MA 02129, USA
| | | | - Marian DiFiglia
- Department of Neurology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Charlestown, MA 02129, USA
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Shing K, Sapp E, Boudi A, Liu S, Seeley C, Marchionini D, DiFiglia M, Kegel-Gleason KB. Early whole-body mutant huntingtin lowering averts changes in proteins and lipids important for synapse function and white matter maintenance in the LacQ140 mouse model. bioRxiv 2023:2023.01.26.525697. [PMID: 36747614 PMCID: PMC9900921 DOI: 10.1101/2023.01.26.525697] [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] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/03/2023]
Abstract
Expansion of a triplet repeat tract in exon1 of the HTT gene causes Huntington's disease (HD). The mutant HTT protein (mHTT) has numerous aberrant interactions with diverse, pleiomorphic effects. No disease modifying treatments exist but lowering mutant huntingtin (mHTT) by gene therapy is a promising approach to treat Huntington's disease (HD). It is not clear when lowering should be initiated, how much lowering is necessary and for what duration lowering should occur to achieve benefits. Furthermore, the effects of mHTT lowering on brain lipids have not been assessed. Using a mHtt-inducible mouse model we analyzed whole body mHtt lowering initiated at different ages and sustained for different time-periods. Subcellular fractionation (density gradient ultracentrifugation), protein chemistry (gel filtration, western blot, and capillary electrophoresis immunoassay), liquid chromatography and mass spectrometry of lipids, and bioinformatic approaches were used to test effects of mHTT transcriptional lowering. mHTT protein in cytoplasmic and synaptic compartments of the caudate putamen, which is most affected in HD, was reduced 38-52%. Little or no lowering of mHTT occurred in nuclear and perinuclear regions where aggregates formed at 12 months of age. mHtt transcript repression partially or fully preserved select striatal proteins (SCN4B, PDE10A). Total lipids in striatum were reduced in LacQ140 mice at 9 months and preserved by early partial mHtt lowering. The reduction in total lipids was due in part to reductions in subclasses of ceramide (Cer), sphingomyelin (SM), and monogalactosyldiacylglycerol (MGDG), which are known to be important for white matter structure and function. Lipid subclasses phosphatidylinositol (PI), phosphatidylserine (PS), and bismethyl phosphatidic acid (BisMePA) were also changed in LacQ140 mice. Levels of all subclasses other than ceramide were preserved by early mHtt lowering. Pathway enrichment analysis of RNAseq data imply a transcriptional mechanism is responsible in part for changes in myelin lipids, and some but not all changes can be rescued by mHTT lowering. Our findings suggest that early and sustained reduction in mHtt can prevent changes in levels of select striatal proteins and most lipids but a misfolded, degradation-resistant form of mHTT hampers some benefits in the long term.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kai Shing
- Department of Neurology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Charlestown, MA 02129
| | - Ellen Sapp
- Department of Neurology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Charlestown, MA 02129
| | - Adel Boudi
- Department of Neurology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Charlestown, MA 02129
| | - Sophia Liu
- Department of Neurology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Charlestown, MA 02129
| | - Connor Seeley
- Department of Neurology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Charlestown, MA 02129
| | | | - Marian DiFiglia
- Department of Neurology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Charlestown, MA 02129
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O'Reilly D, Belgrad J, Ferguson C, Summers A, Sapp E, McHugh C, Mathews E, Boudi A, Buchwald J, Ly S, Moreno D, Furgal R, Luu E, Kennedy Z, Hariharan V, Monopoli K, Yang XW, Carroll J, DiFiglia M, Aronin N, Khvorova A. Di-valent siRNA-mediated silencing of MSH3 blocks somatic repeat expansion in mouse models of Huntington's disease. Mol Ther 2023; 31:1661-1674. [PMID: 37177784 PMCID: PMC10277892 DOI: 10.1016/j.ymthe.2023.05.006] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.0] [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: 10/20/2022] [Revised: 03/10/2023] [Accepted: 05/08/2023] [Indexed: 05/15/2023] Open
Abstract
Huntington's disease (HD) is a severe neurodegenerative disorder caused by the expansion of the CAG trinucleotide repeat tract in the huntingtin gene. Inheritance of expanded CAG repeats is needed for HD manifestation, but further somatic expansion of the repeat tract in non-dividing cells, particularly striatal neurons, hastens disease onset. Called somatic repeat expansion, this process is mediated by the mismatch repair (MMR) pathway. Among MMR components identified as modifiers of HD onset, MutS homolog 3 (MSH3) has emerged as a potentially safe and effective target for therapeutic intervention. Here, we identify a fully chemically modified short interfering RNA (siRNA) that robustly silences Msh3 in vitro and in vivo. When synthesized in a di-valent scaffold, siRNA-mediated silencing of Msh3 effectively blocked CAG-repeat expansion in the striatum of two HD mouse models without affecting tumor-associated microsatellite instability or mRNA expression of other MMR genes. Our findings establish a promising treatment approach for patients with HD and other repeat expansion diseases.
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Affiliation(s)
- Daniel O'Reilly
- RNA Therapeutics Institute, University of Massachusetts Chan Medical School, Worcester, MA 01605, USA
| | - Jillian Belgrad
- RNA Therapeutics Institute, University of Massachusetts Chan Medical School, Worcester, MA 01605, USA
| | - Chantal Ferguson
- RNA Therapeutics Institute, University of Massachusetts Chan Medical School, Worcester, MA 01605, USA
| | - Ashley Summers
- RNA Therapeutics Institute, University of Massachusetts Chan Medical School, Worcester, MA 01605, USA
| | - Ellen Sapp
- Department of Neurology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA 02114, USA
| | - Cassandra McHugh
- Behavioral Neuroscience Program, Psychology Department, Western Washington University, Bellingham, WA 98225, USA
| | - Ella Mathews
- Behavioral Neuroscience Program, Psychology Department, Western Washington University, Bellingham, WA 98225, USA
| | - Adel Boudi
- Department of Neurology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA 02114, USA
| | - Julianna Buchwald
- RNA Therapeutics Institute, University of Massachusetts Chan Medical School, Worcester, MA 01605, USA
| | - Socheata Ly
- RNA Therapeutics Institute, University of Massachusetts Chan Medical School, Worcester, MA 01605, USA
| | - Dimas Moreno
- RNA Therapeutics Institute, University of Massachusetts Chan Medical School, Worcester, MA 01605, USA
| | - Raymond Furgal
- RNA Therapeutics Institute, University of Massachusetts Chan Medical School, Worcester, MA 01605, USA
| | - Eric Luu
- RNA Therapeutics Institute, University of Massachusetts Chan Medical School, Worcester, MA 01605, USA
| | - Zachary Kennedy
- RNA Therapeutics Institute, University of Massachusetts Chan Medical School, Worcester, MA 01605, USA
| | - Vignesh Hariharan
- RNA Therapeutics Institute, University of Massachusetts Chan Medical School, Worcester, MA 01605, USA
| | - Kathryn Monopoli
- RNA Therapeutics Institute, University of Massachusetts Chan Medical School, Worcester, MA 01605, USA
| | - X William Yang
- Center for Neurobehavioral Genetics, Jane and Terry Semel Institute of Neuroscience and Human Behavior, University of California Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA; Department of Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences, David Geffen School of Medicine, University of California Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA
| | - Jeffery Carroll
- Behavioral Neuroscience Program, Psychology Department, Western Washington University, Bellingham, WA 98225, USA; Department of Neurology, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98104-2499, USA
| | - Marian DiFiglia
- Department of Neurology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA 02114, USA
| | - Neil Aronin
- RNA Therapeutics Institute, University of Massachusetts Chan Medical School, Worcester, MA 01605, USA; Department of Medicine, University of Massachusetts Chan Medical School, Worcester, MA 01605, USA
| | - Anastasia Khvorova
- RNA Therapeutics Institute, University of Massachusetts Chan Medical School, Worcester, MA 01605, USA.
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Petrozziello T, Huntress SS, Castillo-Torres AL, Quinn JP, Connors TR, Auger CA, Mills AN, Kim SE, Liu S, Mahmood F, Boudi A, Wu M, Sapp E, Kivisäkk P, Sunderesh SR, Pouladi MA, Arnold SE, Hyman BT, Rosas HD, DiFiglia M, Pinto RM, Kegel-Gleason K, Sadri-Vakili G. Age-dependent increase in tau phosphorylation at serine 396 in Huntington's disease pre-frontal cortex. medRxiv 2023:2023.06.03.23290851. [PMID: 37333415 PMCID: PMC10274990 DOI: 10.1101/2023.06.03.23290851] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/20/2023]
Abstract
Background To date, it is still controversial whether tau phosphorylation plays a role in Huntington's disease (HD), as previous studies demonstrated either no alterations or increases in phosphorylated tau (pTau) in HD post-mortem brain and mouse models. Objectives The goal of this study was to determine whether total tau and pTau levels are altered in HD. Methods Immunohistochemistry, cellular fractionations, and western blots were used to measure tau and pTau levels in a large cohort of HD and control post-mortem prefrontal cortex (PFC). Furthermore, western blots were performed to assess tau, and pTau levels in HD and control isogenic embryonic stem cell (ESC)-derived cortical neurons and neuronal stem cells (NSCs). Similarly, western blots were used to assess tau and pTau in Htt Q111 and transgenic R6/2 mice. Lastly, total tau levels were assessed in HD and healthy control plasma using Quanterix Simoa assay. Results Our results revealed that, while there was no difference in tau or pTau levels in HD PFC compared to controls, tau phosphorylated at S396 levels were increased in PFC samples from HD patients 60 years or older at time of death. Additionally, tau and pTau levels were not changed in HD ESC-derived cortical neurons and NSCs. Similarly, tau or pTau levels were not altered in Htt Q111 and transgenic R6/2 mice compared to wild-type littermates. Lastly, tau levels were not changed in plasma from a small cohort of HD patients compared to controls. Conclusion Together these findings demonstrate that pTau-S396 levels increase significantly with age in HD PFC.
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8
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Hariharan VN, Caiazzi J, Miller R, Ferguson C, Sapp E, Fakih H, Tang Q, Yamada N, Furgal R, Paquette J, Bramato B, McHugh N, Summers A, Lochmann C, Godinho B, Hildebrand S, Echeverria D, Hassler M, Alterman J, DiFiglia M, Aronin N, Khvorova A, Yamada K. Extended Nucleic Acid (exNA): A Novel, Biologically Compatible Backbone that Significantly Enhances Oligonucleotide Efficacy in vivo. Res Sq 2023:rs.3.rs-2987323. [PMID: 37398145 PMCID: PMC10312934 DOI: 10.21203/rs.3.rs-2987323/v1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 07/04/2023]
Abstract
Metabolic stabilization of therapeutic oligonucleotides requires both sugar and backbone modifications, where phosphorothioate (PS) is the only backbone chemistry used in the clinic. Here, we describe the discovery, synthesis, and characterization of a novel biologically compatible backbone, extended nucleic acid (exNA). Upon exNA precursor scale up, exNA incorporation is fully compatible with common nucleic acid synthetic protocols. The novel backbone is orthogonal to PS and shows profound stabilization against 3'- and 5'-exonucleases. Using small interfering RNAs (siRNAs) as an example, we show exNA is tolerated at most nucleotide positions and profoundly improves in vivo efficacy. A combined exNA-PS backbone enhances siRNA resistance to serum 3'-exonuclease by ~ 32-fold over PS backbone and > 1000-fold over the natural phosphodiester backbone, thereby enhancing tissue exposure (~ 6-fold), tissues accumulation (4- to 20-fold), and potency both systemically and in brain. The improved potency and durability imparted by exNA opens more tissues and indications to oligonucleotide-driven therapeutic interventions.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | | | - Chantal Ferguson
- RNA Therapeutics Institute, University of Massachusetts Medical School
| | | | | | - Qi Tang
- University of Massachusetts Chan Medical School
| | | | | | | | | | - Nicholas McHugh
- RNA Therapeutics Institute, University of Massachusetts Medical School
| | | | | | - Bruno Godinho
- RNA Therapeutics Institute, University of Massachusetts Medical School
| | - Samuel Hildebrand
- RNA Therapeutics Institute, University of Massachusetts Medical School
| | - Dimas Echeverria
- RNA Therapeutics Institute, University of Massachusetts Medical School
| | | | | | | | - Neil Aronin
- University of Massachusetts Worcester Campus
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9
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Yamada K, Hariharan VN, Caiazzi J, Miller R, Furguson C, Sapp E, Fakih H, Tan Q, Yamada N, Furgal RC, Paquette J, Bramato B, McHugh N, Summers A, Lochmann C, Godinho BM, Hildebrand S, Echeverria D, Hassler MR, Alterman JF, DiFiglia M, Aronin N, Khvorova A. Extended Nucleic Acid (exNA): A Novel, Biologically Compatible Backbone that Significantly Enhances Oligonucleotide Efficacy in vivo. bioRxiv 2023:2023.05.26.542506. [PMID: 37292886 PMCID: PMC10245983 DOI: 10.1101/2023.05.26.542506] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/10/2023]
Abstract
Metabolic stabilization of therapeutic oligonucleotides requires both sugar and backbone modifications, where phosphorothioate (PS) is the only backbone chemistry used in the clinic. Here, we describe the discovery, synthesis, and characterization of a novel biologically compatible backbone, extended nucleic acid (exNA). Upon exNA precursor scale up, exNA incorporation is fully compatible with common nucleic acid synthetic protocols. The novel backbone is orthogonal to PS and shows profound stabilization against 3'- and 5'-exonucleases. Using small interfering RNAs (siRNAs) as an example, we show exNA is tolerated at most nucleotide positions and profoundly improves in vivo efficacy. A combined exNA-PS backbone enhances siRNA resistance to serum 3'-exonuclease by ~32-fold over PS backbone and >1000-fold over the natural phosphodiester backbone, thereby enhancing tissue exposure (~6-fold), tissues accumulation (4- to 20-fold), and potency both systemically and in brain. The improved potency and durability imparted by exNA opens more tissues and indications to oligonucleotide-driven therapeutic interventions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ken Yamada
- RNA Therapeutics Institute, University of Massachusetts Chan Medical School, 368 Plantation Street, Worcester, Massachusetts 01605, United States
| | - Vignesh Narayan Hariharan
- RNA Therapeutics Institute, University of Massachusetts Chan Medical School, 368 Plantation Street, Worcester, Massachusetts 01605, United States
| | - Jillian Caiazzi
- RNA Therapeutics Institute, University of Massachusetts Chan Medical School, 368 Plantation Street, Worcester, Massachusetts 01605, United States
| | - Rachael Miller
- RNA Therapeutics Institute, University of Massachusetts Chan Medical School, 368 Plantation Street, Worcester, Massachusetts 01605, United States
- Department of Medicine, University of Massachusetts Chan Medical School; Charlestown, Massachusetts, United State
| | - Chantal Furguson
- RNA Therapeutics Institute, University of Massachusetts Chan Medical School, 368 Plantation Street, Worcester, Massachusetts 01605, United States
- Department of Medicine, University of Massachusetts Chan Medical School; Charlestown, Massachusetts, United State
| | - Ellen Sapp
- Department of Neurology, Harvard Medical School and Mass General Institute for Neurodegenerative Disease, Charlestown, Massachusetts, United State
| | - Hassan Fakih
- RNA Therapeutics Institute, University of Massachusetts Chan Medical School, 368 Plantation Street, Worcester, Massachusetts 01605, United States
| | - Qi Tan
- RNA Therapeutics Institute, University of Massachusetts Chan Medical School, 368 Plantation Street, Worcester, Massachusetts 01605, United States
| | - Nozomi Yamada
- RNA Therapeutics Institute, University of Massachusetts Chan Medical School, 368 Plantation Street, Worcester, Massachusetts 01605, United States
| | - Raymond C. Furgal
- RNA Therapeutics Institute, University of Massachusetts Chan Medical School, 368 Plantation Street, Worcester, Massachusetts 01605, United States
| | - Joseph Paquette
- RNA Therapeutics Institute, University of Massachusetts Chan Medical School, 368 Plantation Street, Worcester, Massachusetts 01605, United States
- Department of Medicine, University of Massachusetts Chan Medical School; Charlestown, Massachusetts, United State
| | - Brianna Bramato
- RNA Therapeutics Institute, University of Massachusetts Chan Medical School, 368 Plantation Street, Worcester, Massachusetts 01605, United States
| | - Nicholas McHugh
- RNA Therapeutics Institute, University of Massachusetts Chan Medical School, 368 Plantation Street, Worcester, Massachusetts 01605, United States
| | - Ashley Summers
- RNA Therapeutics Institute, University of Massachusetts Chan Medical School, 368 Plantation Street, Worcester, Massachusetts 01605, United States
| | - Clemens Lochmann
- RNA Therapeutics Institute, University of Massachusetts Chan Medical School, 368 Plantation Street, Worcester, Massachusetts 01605, United States
| | - Bruno M.D.C. Godinho
- RNA Therapeutics Institute, University of Massachusetts Chan Medical School, 368 Plantation Street, Worcester, Massachusetts 01605, United States
| | - Samuel Hildebrand
- RNA Therapeutics Institute, University of Massachusetts Chan Medical School, 368 Plantation Street, Worcester, Massachusetts 01605, United States
| | - Dimas Echeverria
- RNA Therapeutics Institute, University of Massachusetts Chan Medical School, 368 Plantation Street, Worcester, Massachusetts 01605, United States
| | - Matthew R. Hassler
- RNA Therapeutics Institute, University of Massachusetts Chan Medical School, 368 Plantation Street, Worcester, Massachusetts 01605, United States
| | - Julia F. Alterman
- RNA Therapeutics Institute, University of Massachusetts Chan Medical School, 368 Plantation Street, Worcester, Massachusetts 01605, United States
| | - Marian DiFiglia
- Department of Neurology, Harvard Medical School and Mass General Institute for Neurodegenerative Disease, Charlestown, Massachusetts, United State
| | - Neil Aronin
- RNA Therapeutics Institute, University of Massachusetts Chan Medical School, 368 Plantation Street, Worcester, Massachusetts 01605, United States
- Department of Medicine, University of Massachusetts Chan Medical School; Charlestown, Massachusetts, United State
| | - Anastasia Khvorova
- RNA Therapeutics Institute, University of Massachusetts Chan Medical School, 368 Plantation Street, Worcester, Massachusetts 01605, United States
- Program in Molecular Medicine, University of Massachusetts Chan Medical School; Charlestown, Massachusetts, United State
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10
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Sapp E, Boudi A, Reid SJ, Trombetta BA, Kivisäkk P, Taghian T, Arnold SE, Howland D, Gray-Edwards H, Kegel-Gleason KB, DiFiglia M. Levels of Synaptic Proteins in Brain and Neurofilament Light Chain in Cerebrospinal Fluid and Plasma of OVT73 Huntington's Disease Sheep Support a Prodromal Disease State. J Huntingtons Dis 2023; 12:201-213. [PMID: 37661892 DOI: 10.3233/jhd-230590] [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] [Indexed: 09/05/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Synaptic changes occur early in patients with Huntington's disease (HD) and in mouse models of HD. An analysis of synaptic changes in HD transgenic sheep (OVT73) is fitting since they have been shown to have some phenotypes. They also have larger brains, longer lifespan, and greater motor and cognitive capacities more aligned with humans, and can provide abundant biofluids for in vivo monitoring of therapeutic interventions. OBJECTIVE The objective of this study was to determine if there were differences between 5- and 10-year-old OVT73 and wild-type (WT) sheep in levels of synaptic proteins in brain and in neurofilament light chain (NfL) in cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) and plasma. METHODS Mutant huntingtin (mHTT) and other proteins were measured by western blot assay in synaptosomes prepared from caudate, motor, and piriform cortex in 5-year-old and caudate, putamen, motor; and piriform cortex in 10-year-old WT and OVT73 sheep. Levels of NfL, a biomarker for neuronal damage increased in many neurological disorders including HD, were examined in CSF and plasma samples from 10-year-old WT and OVT73 sheep using the Simoa NfL Advantage kit. RESULTS Western blot analysis showed mHTT protein expression in synaptosomes from OVT73 sheep was 23% of endogenous sheep HTT levels at both ages. Significant changes were detected in brain levels of PDE10A, SCN4B, DARPP32, calmodulin, SNAP25, PSD95, VGLUT 1, VAMP1, and Na+/K+-ATPase, which depended on age and brain region. There was no difference in NfL levels in CSF and plasma in OVT73 sheep compared to age-matched WT sheep. CONCLUSIONS These results show that synaptic changes occur in brain of 5- and 10-year-old OVT73 sheep, but levels of NfL in biofluids are unaffected. Altogether, the data support a prodromal disease state in OVT73 sheep that involves the caudate, putamen and cortex.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ellen Sapp
- Department of Neurology, Mass General Institute for Neurodegenerative Disease, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Adel Boudi
- Department of Neurology, Mass General Institute for Neurodegenerative Disease, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Suzanne J Reid
- Centre for Brain Research, School of Biological Sciences, University of Auckland, Auckland, New Zealand
| | - Bianca A Trombetta
- Department of Neurology, Alzheimer's Clinical and Translational Research Unit, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Pia Kivisäkk
- Department of Neurology, Alzheimer's Clinical and Translational Research Unit, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Toloo Taghian
- Department of Radiology and Horae Gene Therapy Center, University of Massachusetts Chan Medical School, Worcester, MA, USA
| | - Steven E Arnold
- Department of Neurology, Alzheimer's Clinical and Translational Research Unit, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
| | | | - Heather Gray-Edwards
- Department of Radiology and Horae Gene Therapy Center, University of Massachusetts Chan Medical School, Worcester, MA, USA
| | - Kimberly B Kegel-Gleason
- Department of Neurology, Mass General Institute for Neurodegenerative Disease, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Marian DiFiglia
- Department of Neurology, Mass General Institute for Neurodegenerative Disease, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
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11
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Petrozziello T, Huntress SS, Castillo-Torres AL, Quinn JP, Connors TR, Auger CA, Mills AN, Kim SE, Liu S, Mahmood F, Boudi A, Wu M, Sapp E, Kivisäkk P, Sunderesh SR, Pouladi MA, Arnold SE, Hyman BT, Rosas HD, DiFiglia M, Mouro Pinto R, Kegel-Gleason K, Sadri-Vakili G. Age-Dependent Increase in Tau Phosphorylation at Serine 396 in Huntington's Disease Prefrontal Cortex. J Huntingtons Dis 2023; 12:267-281. [PMID: 37694372 DOI: 10.3233/jhd-230588] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [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] [Indexed: 09/12/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND To date, it is still controversial whether tau phosphorylation plays a role in Huntington's disease (HD), as previous studies demonstrated either no alterations or increases in phosphorylated tau (pTau) in HD postmortem brain and mouse models. OBJECTIVE The goal of this study was to determine whether total tau and pTau levels are altered in HD. METHODS Immunohistochemistry, cellular fractionations, and western blots were used to measure total tau and pTau levels in a large cohort of HD and control postmortem prefrontal cortex (PFC). Furthermore, western blots were performed to assess tau, and pTau levels in HD and control isogenic embryonic stem cell (ESC)-derived cortical neurons and neuronal stem cells (NSCs). Similarly, western blots were used to assess tau and pTau levels in HttQ111 and transgenic R6/2 mice. Lastly, total tau levels were assessed in HD and healthy control plasma using Quanterix Simoa assay. RESULTS Our results revealed that, while there was no difference in total tau or pTau levels in HD PFC compared to controls, the levels of tau phosphorylated at S396 were increased in PFC samples from HD patients 60 years or older at time of death. Additionally, tau and pTau levels were not changed in HD ESC-derived cortical neurons and NSCs. Similarly, total tau or pTau levels were not altered in HttQ111 and transgenic R6/2 mice compared to wild-type littermates. Lastly, tau levels were not changed in plasma from a small cohort of HD patients compared to controls. CONCLUSIONS Together these findings demonstrate that pTau-S396 levels increase significantly with age in HD PFC.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tiziana Petrozziello
- Sean M. Healey & AMG Center for ALS at Mass General, MassGeneral Brigham, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Sommer S Huntress
- Sean M. Healey & AMG Center for ALS at Mass General, MassGeneral Brigham, Boston, MA, USA
| | | | - James P Quinn
- Department of Neurology, MassGeneral Brigham, Boston, MA, USA
| | | | - Corinne A Auger
- Department of Neurology, MassGeneral Brigham, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Alexandra N Mills
- Sean M. Healey & AMG Center for ALS at Mass General, MassGeneral Brigham, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Spencer E Kim
- Sean M. Healey & AMG Center for ALS at Mass General, MassGeneral Brigham, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Sophia Liu
- Department of Neurology, MassGeneral Brigham, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Farah Mahmood
- Department of Neurology, MassGeneral Brigham, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Adel Boudi
- Department of Neurology, MassGeneral Brigham, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Muzhou Wu
- Center for Genomic Medicine, MassGeneral Brigham, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Ellen Sapp
- Department of Neurology, MassGeneral Brigham, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Pia Kivisäkk
- Department of Neurology, MassGeneral Brigham, Boston, MA, USA
| | | | - Mahmoud A Pouladi
- Department of Medical Genetics, Centre for Molecular Medicine and Therapeutics, British Columbia Children's Hospital Research Institute, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada
| | - Steven E Arnold
- Department of Neurology, MassGeneral Brigham, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Bradley T Hyman
- Department of Neurology, MassGeneral Brigham, Boston, MA, USA
| | - H Diana Rosas
- Department of Neurology, MassGeneral Brigham, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Marian DiFiglia
- Department of Neurology, MassGeneral Brigham, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Ricardo Mouro Pinto
- Department of Neurology, MassGeneral Brigham, Boston, MA, USA
- Center for Genomic Medicine, MassGeneral Brigham, Boston, MA, USA
- Department of Neurology, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
| | | | - Ghazaleh Sadri-Vakili
- Sean M. Healey & AMG Center for ALS at Mass General, MassGeneral Brigham, Boston, MA, USA
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12
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Chhetri G, Ke Y, Wang P, Usman M, Li Y, Sapp E, Wang J, Ghosh A, Islam MA, Wang X, Boudi A, DiFiglia M, Li X. Impaired XK recycling for importing manganese underlies striatal vulnerability in Huntington's disease. J Cell Biol 2022; 221:213461. [PMID: 36099524 PMCID: PMC9475296 DOI: 10.1083/jcb.202112073] [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] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/14/2021] [Revised: 06/15/2022] [Accepted: 07/29/2022] [Indexed: 02/08/2023] Open
Abstract
Mutant huntingtin, which causes Huntington's disease (HD), is ubiquitously expressed but induces preferential loss of striatal neurons by unclear mechanisms. Rab11 dysfunction mediates homeostatic disturbance of HD neurons. Here, we report that Rab11 dysfunction also underscores the striatal vulnerability in HD. We profiled the proteome of Rab11-positive endosomes of HD-vulnerable striatal cells to look for protein(s) linking Rab11 dysfunction to striatal vulnerability in HD and found XK, which triggers the selective death of striatal neurons in McLeod syndrome. XK was trafficked together with Rab11 and was diminished on the surface of immortalized HD striatal cells and striatal neurons in HD mouse brains. We found that XK participated in transporting manganese, an essential trace metal depleted in HD brains. Introducing dominantly active Rab11 into HD striatal cells improved XK dynamics and increased manganese accumulation in an XK-dependent manner. Our study suggests that impaired Rab11-based recycling of XK onto cell surfaces for importing manganese is a driver of striatal dysfunction in Huntington's disease.
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Affiliation(s)
- Gaurav Chhetri
- School of Pharmacy, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai, China
| | - Yuting Ke
- School of Pharmacy, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai, China.,Department of Neurology, Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Charlestown, MA
| | - Ping Wang
- Department of Neurology, Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Charlestown, MA.,Department of Neurology, The Second Hospital, Cheeloo College of Medicine, Shandong University, Ji'nan, China
| | - Muhammad Usman
- School of Pharmacy, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai, China
| | - Yan Li
- School of Pharmacy, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai, China
| | - Ellen Sapp
- Department of Neurology, Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Charlestown, MA
| | - Jing Wang
- Instrumental Analysis Center, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai, China
| | - Arabinda Ghosh
- Department of Botany, Microbiology Division, Gauhati University, Guwahati, Assam, India
| | - Md Ariful Islam
- School of Pharmacy, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai, China
| | - Xiaolong Wang
- School of Pharmacy, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai, China
| | - Adel Boudi
- Department of Neurology, Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Charlestown, MA
| | - Marian DiFiglia
- Department of Neurology, Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Charlestown, MA
| | - Xueyi Li
- School of Pharmacy, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai, China.,Department of Neurology, Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Charlestown, MA
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13
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Conroy F, Miller R, Alterman JF, Hassler MR, Echeverria D, Godinho BMDC, Knox EG, Sapp E, Sousa J, Yamada K, Mahmood F, Boudi A, Kegel-Gleason K, DiFiglia M, Aronin N, Khvorova A, Pfister EL. Chemical engineering of therapeutic siRNAs for allele-specific gene silencing in Huntington's disease models. Nat Commun 2022; 13:5802. [PMID: 36192390 PMCID: PMC9530163 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-022-33061-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [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: 01/15/2021] [Accepted: 08/31/2022] [Indexed: 11/23/2022] Open
Abstract
Small interfering RNAs are a new class of drugs, exhibiting sequence-driven, potent, and sustained silencing of gene expression in vivo. We recently demonstrated that siRNA chemical architectures can be optimized to provide efficient delivery to the CNS, enabling development of CNS-targeted therapeutics. Many genetically-defined neurodegenerative disorders are dominant, favoring selective silencing of the mutant allele. In some cases, successfully targeting the mutant allele requires targeting single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) heterozygosities. Here, we use Huntington’s disease (HD) as a model. The optimized compound exhibits selective silencing of mutant huntingtin protein in patient-derived cells and throughout the HD mouse brain, demonstrating SNP-based allele-specific RNAi silencing of gene expression in vivo in the CNS. Targeting a disease-causing allele using RNAi-based therapies could be helpful in a range of dominant CNS disorders where maintaining wild-type expression is essential. Chemically modified siRNAs distinguish between mutant and normal huntingtin based on a single nucleotide difference and lower mutant huntingtin specifically in patient derived cells and in a mouse model of Huntington’s disease.
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Affiliation(s)
- Faith Conroy
- Department of Medicine, UMass Chan Medical School, Worcester, MA, 01605, USA
| | - Rachael Miller
- Department of Medicine, UMass Chan Medical School, Worcester, MA, 01605, USA
| | - Julia F Alterman
- RNA Therapeutics Institute, UMass Chan Medical School, Worcester, MA, 01605, USA
| | - Matthew R Hassler
- RNA Therapeutics Institute, UMass Chan Medical School, Worcester, MA, 01605, USA
| | - Dimas Echeverria
- RNA Therapeutics Institute, UMass Chan Medical School, Worcester, MA, 01605, USA
| | - Bruno M D C Godinho
- RNA Therapeutics Institute, UMass Chan Medical School, Worcester, MA, 01605, USA
| | - Emily G Knox
- RNA Therapeutics Institute, UMass Chan Medical School, Worcester, MA, 01605, USA
| | - Ellen Sapp
- Department of Neurology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, 02114, USA
| | - Jaquelyn Sousa
- RNA Therapeutics Institute, UMass Chan Medical School, Worcester, MA, 01605, USA
| | - Ken Yamada
- RNA Therapeutics Institute, UMass Chan Medical School, Worcester, MA, 01605, USA
| | - Farah Mahmood
- Department of Neurology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, 02114, USA
| | - Adel Boudi
- Department of Neurology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, 02114, USA
| | - Kimberly Kegel-Gleason
- Department of Neurology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, 02114, USA
| | - Marian DiFiglia
- Department of Neurology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, 02114, USA
| | - Neil Aronin
- Department of Medicine, UMass Chan Medical School, Worcester, MA, 01605, USA.,RNA Therapeutics Institute, UMass Chan Medical School, Worcester, MA, 01605, USA
| | - Anastasia Khvorova
- RNA Therapeutics Institute, UMass Chan Medical School, Worcester, MA, 01605, USA.
| | - Edith L Pfister
- Department of Medicine, UMass Chan Medical School, Worcester, MA, 01605, USA.
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14
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Oikemus SR, Pfister EL, Sapp E, Chase KO, Kennington LA, Hudgens E, Miller R, Zhu LJ, Chaudhary A, Mick EO, Sena-Esteves M, Wolfe SA, DiFiglia M, Aronin N, Brodsky MH. Allele-Specific Knockdown of Mutant Huntingtin Protein via Editing at Coding Region Single Nucleotide Polymorphism Heterozygosities. Hum Gene Ther 2022; 33:25-36. [PMID: 34376056 PMCID: PMC8819514 DOI: 10.1089/hum.2020.323] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/03/2023] Open
Abstract
Huntington's disease (HD) is a devastating, autosomal dominant neurodegenerative disease caused by a trinucleotide repeat expansion in the huntingtin (HTT) gene. Inactivation of the mutant allele by clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats (CRISPR)-Cas9 based gene editing offers a possible therapeutic approach for this disease, but permanent disruption of normal HTT function might compromise adult neuronal function. Here, we use a novel HD mouse model to examine allele-specific editing of mutant HTT (mHTT), with a BAC97 transgene expressing mHTT and a YAC18 transgene expressing normal HTT. We achieve allele-specific inactivation of HTT by targeting a protein coding sequence containing a common, heterozygous single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP). The outcome is a marked and allele-selective reduction of mHTT protein in a mouse model of HD. Expression of a single CRISPR-Cas9 nuclease in neurons generated a high frequency of mutations in the targeted HD allele that included both small insertion/deletion (InDel) mutations and viral vector insertions. Thus, allele-specific targeting of InDel and insertion mutations to heterozygous coding region SNPs provides a feasible approach to inactivate autosomal dominant mutations that cause genetic disease.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sarah R. Oikemus
- Department of Molecular Cell and Cancer Biology, University of Massachusetts Chan Medical School, Worcester, Massachusetts, USA
| | - Edith L. Pfister
- Department of Medicine, University of Massachusetts Chan Medical School, Worcester, Massachusetts, USA
| | - Ellen Sapp
- Department of Neurology, Harvard Medical School and MassGeneral Institute for Neurodegenerative Disease, Charlestown, Massachusetts, USA
| | - Kathryn O. Chase
- Department of Medicine, University of Massachusetts Chan Medical School, Worcester, Massachusetts, USA
| | - Lori A. Kennington
- Department of Medicine, University of Massachusetts Chan Medical School, Worcester, Massachusetts, USA
| | - Edward Hudgens
- Department of Molecular Cell and Cancer Biology, University of Massachusetts Chan Medical School, Worcester, Massachusetts, USA
| | - Rachael Miller
- Department of Medicine, University of Massachusetts Chan Medical School, Worcester, Massachusetts, USA
| | - Lihua Julie Zhu
- Department of Molecular Cell and Cancer Biology, University of Massachusetts Chan Medical School, Worcester, Massachusetts, USA
| | - Akanksh Chaudhary
- Department of Molecular Cell and Cancer Biology, University of Massachusetts Chan Medical School, Worcester, Massachusetts, USA
| | - Eric O. Mick
- Department of Population and Quantitative Health Sciences, University of Massachusetts Chan Medical School, Worcester, Massachusetts, USA
| | - Miguel Sena-Esteves
- Horae Gene Therapy Center, University of Massachusetts Chan Medical School, Worcester, Massachusetts, USA
| | - Scot A. Wolfe
- Department of Molecular Cell and Cancer Biology, University of Massachusetts Chan Medical School, Worcester, Massachusetts, USA,Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Pharmacology, University of Massachusetts Chan Medical School, Worcester, Massachusetts, USA
| | - Marian DiFiglia
- Department of Neurology, Harvard Medical School and MassGeneral Institute for Neurodegenerative Disease, Charlestown, Massachusetts, USA
| | - Neil Aronin
- Department of Medicine, University of Massachusetts Chan Medical School, Worcester, Massachusetts, USA,RNA Therapeutics Institute, University of Massachusetts Chan Medical School, Worcester, Massachusetts, USA.,Dr. Neil Aronin, Department of Medicine, University of Massachusetts Chan Medical School, 55 N. Lake Ave. Worcester, MA 01655, USA.
| | - Michael H. Brodsky
- Department of Molecular Cell and Cancer Biology, University of Massachusetts Chan Medical School, Worcester, Massachusetts, USA,Correspondence: Dr. Michael H. Brodsky, Department of Molecular Cell and Cancer Biology, University of Massachusetts Chan Medical School, Rm 623 LRB, 364 Plantation St Worcester, MA 01605, USA.
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15
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Yamada K, Hildebrand S, Davis SM, Miller R, Conroy F, Sapp E, Caiazzi J, Alterman JF, Roux L, Echeverria D, Hassler MR, Pfister EL, DiFiglia M, Aronin N, Khvorova A. Structurally constrained phosphonate internucleotide linkage impacts oligonucleotide-enzyme interaction, and modulates siRNA activity and allele specificity. Nucleic Acids Res 2021; 49:12069-12088. [PMID: 34850120 PMCID: PMC8643693 DOI: 10.1093/nar/gkab1126] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [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: 10/08/2021] [Revised: 10/09/2021] [Accepted: 10/27/2021] [Indexed: 12/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Oligonucleotides is an emerging class of chemically-distinct therapeutic modalities, where extensive chemical modifications are fundamental for their clinical applications. Inter-nucleotide backbones are critical to the behaviour of therapeutic oligonucleotides, but clinically explored backbone analogues are, effectively, limited to phosphorothioates. Here, we describe the synthesis and bio-functional characterization of an internucleotide (E)-vinylphosphonate (iE-VP) backbone, where bridging oxygen is substituted with carbon in a locked stereo-conformation. After optimizing synthetic pathways for iE-VP-linked dimer phosphoramidites in different sugar contexts, we systematically evaluated the impact of the iE-VP backbone on oligonucleotide interactions with a variety of cellular proteins. Furthermore, we systematically evaluated the impact of iE-VP on RNA-Induced Silencing Complex (RISC) activity, where backbone stereo-constraining has profound position-specific effects. Using Huntingtin (HTT) gene causative of Huntington's disease as an example, iE-VP at position 6 significantly enhanced the single mismatch discrimination ability of the RISC without negative impact on silencing of targeting wild type htt gene. These findings suggest that the iE-VP backbone can be used to modulate the activity and specificity of RISC. Our study provides (i) a new chemical tool to alter oligonucleotide-enzyme interactions and metabolic stability, (ii) insight into RISC dynamics and (iii) a new strategy for highly selective SNP-discriminating siRNAs.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ken Yamada
- RNA Therapeutics Institute, University of Massachusetts Medical School, 368 Plantation Street, Worcester, MA 01605, USA
| | - Samuel Hildebrand
- RNA Therapeutics Institute, University of Massachusetts Medical School, 368 Plantation Street, Worcester, MA 01605, USA
| | - Sarah M Davis
- RNA Therapeutics Institute, University of Massachusetts Medical School, 368 Plantation Street, Worcester, MA 01605, USA
| | - Rachael Miller
- RNA Therapeutics Institute, University of Massachusetts Medical School, 368 Plantation Street, Worcester, MA 01605, USA.,Department of Medicine, University of Massachusetts Medical School, Worcester, MA, USA
| | - Faith Conroy
- RNA Therapeutics Institute, University of Massachusetts Medical School, 368 Plantation Street, Worcester, MA 01605, USA.,Department of Medicine, University of Massachusetts Medical School, Worcester, MA, USA
| | - Ellen Sapp
- Department of Neurology, Harvard Medical School and MassGeneral Institute for Neurodegenerative Disease, Charlestown, MA, USA
| | - Jillian Caiazzi
- RNA Therapeutics Institute, University of Massachusetts Medical School, 368 Plantation Street, Worcester, MA 01605, USA
| | - Julia F Alterman
- RNA Therapeutics Institute, University of Massachusetts Medical School, 368 Plantation Street, Worcester, MA 01605, USA
| | - Loic Roux
- RNA Therapeutics Institute, University of Massachusetts Medical School, 368 Plantation Street, Worcester, MA 01605, USA
| | - Dimas Echeverria
- RNA Therapeutics Institute, University of Massachusetts Medical School, 368 Plantation Street, Worcester, MA 01605, USA
| | - Matthew R Hassler
- RNA Therapeutics Institute, University of Massachusetts Medical School, 368 Plantation Street, Worcester, MA 01605, USA
| | - Edith L Pfister
- Department of Medicine, University of Massachusetts Medical School, Worcester, MA, USA
| | - Marian DiFiglia
- Department of Neurology, Harvard Medical School and MassGeneral Institute for Neurodegenerative Disease, Charlestown, MA, USA
| | - Neil Aronin
- RNA Therapeutics Institute, University of Massachusetts Medical School, 368 Plantation Street, Worcester, MA 01605, USA.,Department of Medicine, University of Massachusetts Medical School, Worcester, MA, USA
| | - Anastasia Khvorova
- RNA Therapeutics Institute, University of Massachusetts Medical School, 368 Plantation Street, Worcester, MA 01605, USA.,Program in Molecular Medicine, University of Massachusetts Medical School, Worcester, MA, USA
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16
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Petrozziello T, Bordt EA, Mills AN, Kim SE, Sapp E, Devlin BA, Obeng-Marnu AA, Farhan SMK, Amaral AC, Dujardin S, Dooley PM, Henstridge C, Oakley DH, Neueder A, Hyman BT, Spires-Jones TL, Bilbo SD, Vakili K, Cudkowicz ME, Berry JD, DiFiglia M, Silva MC, Haggarty SJ, Sadri-Vakili G. Targeting Tau Mitigates Mitochondrial Fragmentation and Oxidative Stress in Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis. Mol Neurobiol 2021; 59:683-702. [PMID: 34757590 DOI: 10.1007/s12035-021-02557-w] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [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: 06/11/2021] [Accepted: 09/09/2021] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Abstract
Understanding the mechanisms underlying amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is crucial for the development of new therapies. Previous studies have demonstrated that mitochondrial dysfunction is a key pathogenetic event in ALS. Interestingly, studies in Alzheimer's disease (AD) post-mortem brain and animal models link alterations in mitochondrial function to interactions between hyperphosphorylated tau and dynamin-related protein 1 (DRP1), the GTPase involved in mitochondrial fission. Recent evidence suggest that tau may be involved in ALS pathogenesis, therefore, we sought to determine whether hyperphosphorylated tau may lead to mitochondrial fragmentation and dysfunction in ALS and whether reducing tau may provide a novel therapeutic approach. Our findings demonstrated that pTau-S396 is mis-localized to synapses in post-mortem motor cortex (mCTX) across ALS subtypes. Additionally, the treatment with ALS synaptoneurosomes (SNs), enriched in pTau-S396, increased oxidative stress, induced mitochondrial fragmentation, and altered mitochondrial connectivity without affecting cell survival in vitro. Furthermore, pTau-S396 interacted with DRP1, and similar to pTau-S396, DRP1 accumulated in SNs across ALS subtypes, suggesting increases in mitochondrial fragmentation in ALS. As previously reported, electron microscopy revealed a significant decrease in mitochondria density and length in ALS mCTX. Lastly, reducing tau levels with QC-01-175, a selective tau degrader, prevented ALS SNs-induced mitochondrial fragmentation and oxidative stress in vitro. Collectively, our findings suggest that increases in pTau-S396 may lead to mitochondrial fragmentation and oxidative stress in ALS and decreasing tau may provide a novel strategy to mitigate mitochondrial dysfunction in ALS. pTau-S396 mis-localizes to synapses in ALS. ALS synaptoneurosomes (SNs), enriched in pTau-S396, increase oxidative stress and induce mitochondrial fragmentation in vitro. pTau-S396 interacts with the pro-fission GTPase DRP1 in ALS. Reducing tau with a selective degrader, QC-01-175, mitigates ALS SNs-induced mitochondrial fragmentation and increases in oxidative stress in vitro.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tiziana Petrozziello
- Sean M. Healey & AMG Center for ALS at Mass General, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA, 02129, USA
| | - Evan A Bordt
- Department of Pediatrics, Lurie Center for Autism, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, 02129, USA
| | - Alexandra N Mills
- Sean M. Healey & AMG Center for ALS at Mass General, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA, 02129, USA
| | - Spencer E Kim
- Sean M. Healey & AMG Center for ALS at Mass General, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA, 02129, USA
| | - Ellen Sapp
- Department of Neurology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Charlestown, MA, 02129, USA
| | - Benjamin A Devlin
- Department of Psychology and Neuroscience, Duke University, Durham, NC, USA
| | - Abigail A Obeng-Marnu
- Department of Pediatrics, Lurie Center for Autism, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, 02129, USA
| | - Sali M K Farhan
- Analytic and Translational Genetics Unit, Department of Medicine, Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, 02114, USA.,Program in Medical and Population Genetics, Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, 7 Cambridge Center, Cambridge, MA, 02142, USA
| | - Ana C Amaral
- Department of Neurology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Charlestown, MA, 02129, USA
| | - Simon Dujardin
- Department of Neurology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Charlestown, MA, 02129, USA
| | - Patrick M Dooley
- Department of Neurology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Charlestown, MA, 02129, USA
| | - Christopher Henstridge
- Centre for Discovery Brain Sciences, UK Dementia Research Institute, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, UK.,Division of Systems Medicine, Neuroscience, Ninewells hospital & Medical School, University of Dundee, Dundee, UK
| | - Derek H Oakley
- Department of Neurology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Charlestown, MA, 02129, USA
| | - Andreas Neueder
- Department of Neurology, Ulm University, 89081, Ulm, Germany
| | - Bradley T Hyman
- Department of Neurology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Charlestown, MA, 02129, USA
| | - Tara L Spires-Jones
- Centre for Discovery Brain Sciences, UK Dementia Research Institute, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, UK
| | - Staci D Bilbo
- Department of Pediatrics, Lurie Center for Autism, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, 02129, USA.,Department of Psychology and Neuroscience, Duke University, Durham, NC, USA
| | - Khashayar Vakili
- Department of Surgery, Boston Children's Hospital, Boston, MA, 02125, USA
| | - Merit E Cudkowicz
- Sean M. Healey & AMG Center for ALS at Mass General, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA, 02129, USA
| | - James D Berry
- Sean M. Healey & AMG Center for ALS at Mass General, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA, 02129, USA
| | - Marian DiFiglia
- Department of Neurology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Charlestown, MA, 02129, USA
| | - M Catarina Silva
- Department of Neurology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Charlestown, MA, 02129, USA.,Chemical Neurobiology Laboratory, Center for Genomic Medicine, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, 02114, USA
| | - Stephen J Haggarty
- Department of Neurology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Charlestown, MA, 02129, USA.,Chemical Neurobiology Laboratory, Center for Genomic Medicine, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, 02114, USA.,Department of Psychiatry, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Charlestown, MA, 02114, USA
| | - Ghazaleh Sadri-Vakili
- Sean M. Healey & AMG Center for ALS at Mass General, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA, 02129, USA. .,MassGeneral Institute for Neurodegenerative Disease, Massachusetts General Hospital, Bldg 114 16th Street, R2200, Charlestown, MA, 02129, USA.
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17
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Iuliano M, Seeley C, Sapp E, Jones EL, Martin C, Li X, DiFiglia M, Kegel-Gleason KB. Disposition of Proteins and Lipids in Synaptic Membrane Compartments Is Altered in Q175/Q7 Huntington's Disease Mouse Striatum. Front Synaptic Neurosci 2021; 13:618391. [PMID: 33815086 PMCID: PMC8013775 DOI: 10.3389/fnsyn.2021.618391] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/16/2020] [Accepted: 02/24/2021] [Indexed: 12/14/2022] Open
Abstract
Dysfunction at synapses is thought to be an early change contributing to cognitive, psychiatric and motor disturbances in Huntington's disease (HD). In neurons, mutant Huntingtin collects in aggregates and distributes to the same sites as wild-type Huntingtin including on membranes and in synapses. In this study, we investigated the biochemical integrity of synapses in HD mouse striatum. We performed subcellular fractionation of striatal tissue from 2 and 6-month old knock-in Q175/Q7 HD and Q7/Q7 mice. Compared to striata of Q7/Q7 mice, proteins including GLUT3, Na+/K+ ATPase, NMDAR 2b, PSD95, and VGLUT1 had altered distribution in Q175/Q7 HD striata of 6-month old mice but not 2-month old mice. These proteins are found on plasma membranes and pre- and postsynaptic membranes supporting hypotheses that functional changes at synapses contribute to cognitive and behavioral symptoms of HD. Lipidomic analysis of mouse fractions indicated that compared to those of wild-type, fractions 1 and 2 of 6 months Q175/Q7 HD had altered levels of two species of PIP2, a phospholipid involved in synaptic signaling, increased levels of cholesterol ester and decreased cardiolipin species. At 2 months, increased levels of species of acylcarnitine, phosphatidic acid and sphingomyelin were measured. EM analysis showed that the contents of fractions 1 and 2 of Q7/Q7 and Q175/Q7 HD striata had a mix of isolated synaptic vesicles, vesicle filled axon terminals singly or in clusters, and ER and endosome-like membranes. However, those of Q175/Q7 striata contained significantly fewer and larger clumps of particles compared to those of Q7/Q7. Human HD postmortem putamen showed differences from control putamen in subcellular distribution of two proteins (Calnexin and GLUT3). Our biochemical, lipidomic and EM analysis show that the presence of the HD mutation conferred age dependent disruption of localization of synaptic proteins and lipids important for synaptic function. Our data demonstrate concrete biochemical changes suggesting altered integrity of synaptic compartments in HD mice that may mirror changes in HD patients and presage cognitive and psychiatric changes that occur in premanifest HD.
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18
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Fernandez-Cerado C, Legarda GP, Velasco-Andrada MS, Aguil A, Ganza-Bautista NG, Lagarde JBB, Soria J, Jamora RDG, Acuña PJ, Vanderburg C, Sapp E, DiFiglia M, Murcar MG, Campion L, Ozelius LJ, Alessi AK, Singh-Bains MK, Waldvogel HJ, Faull RLM, Macalintal-Canlas R, Muñoz EL, Penney EB, Ang MA, Diesta CCE, Bragg DC, Acuña-Sunshine G. Promise and challenges of dystonia brain banking: establishing a human tissue repository for studies of X-Linked Dystonia-Parkinsonism. J Neural Transm (Vienna) 2021; 128:575-587. [PMID: 33439365 PMCID: PMC8099813 DOI: 10.1007/s00702-020-02286-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/24/2020] [Accepted: 12/01/2020] [Indexed: 01/20/2023]
Abstract
X-Linked Dystonia-Parkinsonism (XDP) is a neurodegenerative disease affecting individuals with ancestry to the island of Panay in the Philippines. In recent years there has been considerable progress at elucidating the genetic basis of XDP and candidate disease mechanisms in patient-derived cellular models, but the neural substrates that give rise to XDP in vivo are still poorly understood. Previous studies of limited XDP postmortem brain samples have reported a selective dropout of medium spiny neurons within the striatum, although neuroimaging of XDP patients has detected additional abnormalities in multiple brain regions beyond the basal ganglia. Given the need to fully define the CNS structures that are affected in this disease, we created a brain bank in Panay to serve as a tissue resource for detailed studies of XDP-related neuropathology. Here we describe this platform, from donor recruitment and consent to tissue collection, processing, and storage, that was assembled within a predominantly rural region of the Philippines with limited access to medical and laboratory facilities. Thirty-six brains from XDP individuals have been collected over an initial 4 years period. Tissue quality was assessed based on histologic staining of cortex, RNA integrity scores, detection of neuronal transcripts in situ by fluorescent hybridization chain reaction, and western blotting of neuronal and glial proteins. The results indicate that this pipeline preserves tissue integrity to an extent compatible with a range of morphologic, molecular, and biochemical analyses. Thus the algorithms that we developed for working in rural communities may serve as a guide for establishing similar brain banks for other rare diseases in indigenous populations.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - G Paul Legarda
- Sunshine Care Foundation, 5800, Roxas City, Capiz, Philippines
| | | | - Abegail Aguil
- Sunshine Care Foundation, 5800, Roxas City, Capiz, Philippines
| | | | | | - Jasmin Soria
- Sunshine Care Foundation, 5800, Roxas City, Capiz, Philippines
| | - Roland Dominic G Jamora
- Department of Neurosciences, College of Medicine-Philippine General Hospital, University of the Philippines Manila, Manila, Philippines
| | - Patrick J Acuña
- Sunshine Care Foundation, 5800, Roxas City, Capiz, Philippines.,Department of Neurology, The Collaborative Center for X-linked Dystonia-Parkinsonism, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA, 02129, USA
| | - Charles Vanderburg
- Stanley Center for Psychiatric Research, Broad Institute, Cambridge, MA, 02142, USA
| | - Ellen Sapp
- Department of Neurology, The Collaborative Center for X-linked Dystonia-Parkinsonism, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA, 02129, USA
| | - Marian DiFiglia
- Department of Neurology, The Collaborative Center for X-linked Dystonia-Parkinsonism, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA, 02129, USA
| | - Micaela G Murcar
- Department of Neurology, The Collaborative Center for X-linked Dystonia-Parkinsonism, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA, 02129, USA
| | - Lindsey Campion
- Department of Neurology, The Collaborative Center for X-linked Dystonia-Parkinsonism, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA, 02129, USA
| | - Laurie J Ozelius
- Department of Neurology, The Collaborative Center for X-linked Dystonia-Parkinsonism, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA, 02129, USA
| | - Amy K Alessi
- Department of Neurology, The Collaborative Center for X-linked Dystonia-Parkinsonism, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA, 02129, USA
| | - Malvindar K Singh-Bains
- Department of Anatomy with Medical Imaging, Centre for Brain Research, University of Auckland, Auckland, New Zealand
| | - Henry J Waldvogel
- Department of Anatomy with Medical Imaging, Centre for Brain Research, University of Auckland, Auckland, New Zealand
| | - Richard L M Faull
- Department of Anatomy with Medical Imaging, Centre for Brain Research, University of Auckland, Auckland, New Zealand
| | | | - Edwin L Muñoz
- Department of Pathology, College of Medicine, University of the Philippines, Manila, Philippines
| | - Ellen B Penney
- Department of Neurology, The Collaborative Center for X-linked Dystonia-Parkinsonism, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA, 02129, USA
| | - Mark A Ang
- Department of Pathology, College of Medicine, University of the Philippines, Manila, Philippines
| | | | - D Cristopher Bragg
- Department of Neurology, The Collaborative Center for X-linked Dystonia-Parkinsonism, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA, 02129, USA.
| | - Geraldine Acuña-Sunshine
- Sunshine Care Foundation, 5800, Roxas City, Capiz, Philippines. .,Department of Neurology, The Collaborative Center for X-linked Dystonia-Parkinsonism, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA, 02129, USA.
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19
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Wang X, Weng M, Ke Y, Sapp E, DiFiglia M, Li X. Kalirin Interacts with TRAPP and Regulates Rab11 and Endosomal Recycling. Cells 2020; 9:cells9051132. [PMID: 32375403 PMCID: PMC7291072 DOI: 10.3390/cells9051132] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/01/2020] [Revised: 04/24/2020] [Accepted: 05/01/2020] [Indexed: 12/21/2022] Open
Abstract
Coordinated actions of Rab and Rho are necessary for numerous essential cellular processes ranging from vesicle budding to whole cell movement. How Rab and Rho are choreographed is poorly understood. Here, we report a protein complex comprised of kalirin, a Rho guanine nucleotide exchange factor (GEF) activating Rac1, and RabGEF transport protein particle (TRAPP). Kalirin was identified in a mass spectrometry analysis of proteins precipitated by trappc4 and detected on membranous organelles containing trappc4. Acute knockdown of kalirin did not affect trappc4, but significantly reduced overall and membrane-bound levels of trappc9, which specifies TRAPP toward activating Rab11. Trappc9 deficiency led to elevated expression of kalirin in neurons. Co-localization of kalirin and Rab11 occurred at a low frequency in NRK cells under steady state and was enhanced upon expressing an inactive Rab11 mutant to prohibit the dissociation of Rab11 from the kalirin-TRAPP complex. The small RNA-mediated depletion of kalirin diminished activities in cellular membranes for activating Rab11 and resulted in a shift in size of Rab11 positive structures from small to larger ones and tubulation of recycling endosomes. Our study suggests that kalirin and TRAPP form a dual GEF complex to choreograph actions of Rab11 and Rac1 at recycling endosomes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xiaolong Wang
- School of Pharmacy, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai 200240, China; (X.W.); (Y.K.)
| | - Meiqian Weng
- Mucosal Immunology Lab combined program in Pediatric Gastroenterology and Nutrition, Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Charlestown, MA 02129, USA;
| | - Yuting Ke
- School of Pharmacy, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai 200240, China; (X.W.); (Y.K.)
- Department of Neurology, Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Charlestown, MA 02129, USA; (E.S.); (M.D.)
| | - Ellen Sapp
- Department of Neurology, Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Charlestown, MA 02129, USA; (E.S.); (M.D.)
| | - Marian DiFiglia
- Department of Neurology, Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Charlestown, MA 02129, USA; (E.S.); (M.D.)
| | - Xueyi Li
- School of Pharmacy, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai 200240, China; (X.W.); (Y.K.)
- Department of Neurology, Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Charlestown, MA 02129, USA; (E.S.); (M.D.)
- Correspondence: or ; Tel.: +86-21-34204737
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20
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Tousley A, Iuliano M, Weisman E, Sapp E, Zhang N, Vodicka P, Alexander J, Aviolat H, Gatune L, Reeves P, Li X, Khvorova A, Ellerby LM, Aronin N, DiFiglia M, Kegel-Gleason KB. Rac1 Activity Is Modulated by Huntingtin and Dysregulated in Models of Huntington's Disease. J Huntingtons Dis 2020; 8:53-69. [PMID: 30594931 PMCID: PMC6398565 DOI: 10.3233/jhd-180311] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/20/2023]
Abstract
Background: Previous studies suggest that Huntingtin, the protein mutated in Huntington’s disease (HD), is required for actin based changes in cell morphology, and undergoes stimulus induced targeting to plasma membranes where it interacts with phospholipids involved in cell signaling. The small GTPase Rac1 is a downstream target of growth factor stimulation and PI 3-kinase activity and is critical for actin dependent membrane remodeling. Objective: To determine if Rac1 activity is impaired in HD or regulated by normal Huntingtin. Methods: Analyses were performed in differentiated control and HD human stem cells and HD Q140/Q140 knock-in mice. Biochemical methods included SDS-PAGE, western blot, immunoprecipitation, affinity chromatography, and ELISA based Rac activity assays. Results: Basal Rac1 activity increased following depletion of Huntingtin with Huntingtin specific siRNA in human primary fibroblasts and in human control neuron cultures. Human cells (fibroblasts, neural stem cells, and neurons) with the HD mutation failed to increase Rac1 activity in response to growth factors. Rac1 activity levels were elevated in striatum of 1.5-month-old HD Q140/Q140 mice and in primary embryonic cortical neurons from HD mice. Affinity chromatography analysis of striatal lysates showed that Huntingtin is in a complex with Rac1, p85α subunit of PI 3-kinase, and the actin bundling protein α-actinin and interacts preferentially with the GTP bound form of Rac1. The HD mutation reduced Huntingtin interaction with p85α. Conclusions: These findings suggest that Huntingtin regulates Rac1 activity as part of a coordinated response to growth factor signaling and this function is impaired early in HD.
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Affiliation(s)
- Adelaide Tousley
- Department of Neurology, Laboratory of Cellular Neurobiology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Charlestown, MA, USA
| | - Maria Iuliano
- Department of Neurology, Laboratory of Cellular Neurobiology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Charlestown, MA, USA
| | - Elizabeth Weisman
- Department of Neurology, Laboratory of Cellular Neurobiology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Charlestown, MA, USA
| | - Ellen Sapp
- Department of Neurology, Laboratory of Cellular Neurobiology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Charlestown, MA, USA
| | - Ningzhe Zhang
- Buck Institute for Research on Aging, Novato, CA, USA
| | - Petr Vodicka
- Department of Neurology, Laboratory of Cellular Neurobiology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Charlestown, MA, USA
| | - Jonathan Alexander
- Department of Neurology, Laboratory of Cellular Neurobiology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Charlestown, MA, USA
| | - Hubert Aviolat
- Department of Neurology, Laboratory of Cellular Neurobiology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Charlestown, MA, USA
| | - Leah Gatune
- Department of Neurology, Laboratory of Cellular Neurobiology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Charlestown, MA, USA
| | - Patrick Reeves
- Department of Neurology, Laboratory of Cellular Neurobiology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Charlestown, MA, USA
| | - Xueyi Li
- Department of Neurology, Laboratory of Cellular Neurobiology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Charlestown, MA, USA
| | - Anastasia Khvorova
- RNA Therapeutics Institute, University of Massachusetts Medical School, Worcester, MA, USA
| | | | - Neil Aronin
- RNA Therapeutics Institute, University of Massachusetts Medical School, Worcester, MA, USA.,Department of Medicine and Cell Biology, University of Massachusetts Medical School, Worcester, MA, USA
| | - Marian DiFiglia
- Department of Neurology, Laboratory of Cellular Neurobiology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Charlestown, MA, USA
| | - Kimberly B Kegel-Gleason
- Department of Neurology, Laboratory of Cellular Neurobiology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Charlestown, MA, USA
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21
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Mondo E, Moser R, Gao G, Mueller C, Sena-Esteves M, Sapp E, Pfister E, O'Connell D, Takle K, Erger KE, Liu W, Conlon TJ, DiFiglia M, Gounis MJ, Aronin N. Selective Neuronal Uptake and Distribution of AAVrh8, AAV9, and AAVrh10 in Sheep After Intra-Striatal Administration. J Huntingtons Dis 2019; 7:309-319. [PMID: 30320596 DOI: 10.3233/jhd-180302] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/04/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Transgenic sheep are currently the only large animal model of Huntington's disease expressing full-length mutant human huntingtin. These transgenic sheep provide an opportunity to test adeno associated virus (AAV) therapies directly targeting the huntingtin gene. A recent study demonstrated that self-complementary (sc) AAV with artificial miRNA against human huntingtin reduced mutant human huntingtin in caudate and putamen after a single injection near the internal capsule. OBJECTIVE To identify an AAV serotype among AAVrh8, AAV9 and AAVrh10 with the highest neuronal uptake and distribution, with no obvious cell loss in the neostriatum of the sheep. METHODS We tested AAVrh8, AAV9 and AAVrh10 by stereotactic direct unilateral injection into the neostriatum of sheep, near the internal capsule. Four weeks after administration, we examined the viral spread and neuronal uptake of each serotype of AAV containing GFP. We compared single stranded (ss) and scAAVs. Further, we measured the distribution of AAVrh8 and AAV9 to a variety of tissues outside the brain. RESULTS Sc AAV9 had the best combination of neuronal uptake and distribution throughout the neostriatum. scAAVrh10 demonstrated good spread, but was not taken up by neurons. scAAVrh8 demonstrated good spread, but had less neuronal uptake than AAV9. Six hours after convection-enhanced administration to the neostriatum, both AAVrh8 and AAV9 viral genomes were detected in blood, saliva, urine, feces and wool. By four weeks, viral genomes were detected in wool only. Administration of AAVrh8, AAV9 and AAVrh10 was not associated with loss of neostriatal, medium spiny neuron number as measured by DARPP32 immunohistochemistry. CONCLUSIONS Altogether, we found scAAV9 had the best neuronal uptake and spread, showed no loss of neurons at one-month post-injection, and was not measurable in body fluids one month after injection. This information will guide future clinical experiments requiring brain injection of AAV for therapeutics for gene or miRNA deliveries in sheep transgenic for the human huntingtin gene.
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Affiliation(s)
- Erica Mondo
- Department of Medicine and RNA Therapeutics Institute, University of Massachusetts Medical School, Worcester, MA, USA
| | - Richard Moser
- Department of Neurosurgery, University of Massachusetts Medical School, Worcester, MA, USA
| | - Guangping Gao
- Department of Microbiology and Physiological Systems and Gene Therapy Center, University of Massachusetts Medical School, Worcester, MA, USA
| | - Christian Mueller
- Departments of Pediatrics and Gene Therapy Center, University of Massachusetts Medical School, Worcester, MA, USA
| | - Miguel Sena-Esteves
- Departments of Neurology and Gene Therapy Center, University of Massachusetts Medical School, Worcester, MA, USA
| | - Ellen Sapp
- Massachusetts General Hospital, Charlestown, MA, USA
| | - Edith Pfister
- Department of Medicine and RNA Therapeutics Institute, University of Massachusetts Medical School, Worcester, MA, USA
| | - Denice O'Connell
- Department of Animal Medicine, University of Massachusetts Medical School, Worcester, MA, USA
| | - Kendra Takle
- Department of Medicine and RNA Therapeutics Institute, University of Massachusetts Medical School, Worcester, MA, USA
| | - Kirsten E Erger
- Department of Pediatrics and Powell Gene Therapy Center, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, USA
| | - Wanglin Liu
- Department of Medicine and RNA Therapeutics Institute, University of Massachusetts Medical School, Worcester, MA, USA
| | - Thomas J Conlon
- Department of Pediatrics and Powell Gene Therapy Center, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, USA
| | | | - Matthew J Gounis
- Department of Radiology, University of Massachusetts Medical School, Worcester, MA, USA
| | - Neil Aronin
- Department of Medicine and RNA Therapeutics Institute, University of Massachusetts Medical School, Worcester, MA, USA
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22
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Kovalenko M, Milnerwood A, Giordano J, St Claire J, Guide JR, Stromberg M, Gillis T, Sapp E, DiFiglia M, MacDonald ME, Carroll JB, Lee JM, Tappan S, Raymond L, Wheeler VC. HttQ111/+ Huntington's Disease Knock-in Mice Exhibit Brain Region-Specific Morphological Changes and Synaptic Dysfunction. J Huntingtons Dis 2019; 7:17-33. [PMID: 29480209 PMCID: PMC5869998 DOI: 10.3233/jhd-170282] [Citation(s) in RCA: 23] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/17/2023]
Abstract
Background: Successful disease-modifying therapy for Huntington’s disease (HD) will require therapeutic intervention early in the pathogenic process. Achieving this goal requires identifying phenotypes that are proximal to the HTT CAG repeat expansion. Objective: To use Htt CAG knock-in mice, precise genetic replicas of the HTT mutation in patients, as models to study proximal disease events. Methods: Using cohorts of B6J.HttQ111/+ mice from 2 to 18 months of age, we analyzed pathological markers, including immunohistochemistry, brain regional volumes and cortical thickness, CAG instability, electron microscopy of striatal synapses, and acute slice electrophysiology to record glutamatergic transmission at striatal synapses. We also incorporated a diet perturbation paradigm for some of these analyses. Results: B6J.HttQ111/+ mice did not exhibit significant neurodegeneration or gliosis but revealed decreased striatal DARPP-32 as well as subtle but regional-specific changes in brain volumes and cortical thickness that parallel those in HD patients. Ultrastructural analyses of the striatum showed reduced synapse density, increased postsynaptic density thickness and increased synaptic cleft width. Acute slice electrophysiology showed alterations in spontaneous AMPA receptor-mediated postsynaptic currents, evoked NMDA receptor-mediated excitatory postsynaptic currents, and elevated extrasynaptic NMDA currents. Diet influenced cortical thickness, but did not impact somatic CAG expansion, nor did it show any significant interaction with genotype on immunohistochemical, brain volume or cortical thickness measures. Conclusions: These data show that a single HttQ111 allele is sufficient to elicit brain region-specific morphological changes and early neuronal dysfunction, highlighting an insidious disease process already apparent in the first few months of life.
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Affiliation(s)
- Marina Kovalenko
- Center for Genomic Medicine, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA.,Department of Neurology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Austen Milnerwood
- Department of Neurology & Neurosurgery, Montreal Neurological Institute, McGill University, Montréal, Quebec, Canada
| | - James Giordano
- Center for Genomic Medicine, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA.,Department of Neurology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Jason St Claire
- Center for Genomic Medicine, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA.,Department of Neurology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Jolene R Guide
- Center for Genomic Medicine, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA.,Department of Neurology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Mary Stromberg
- Center for Genomic Medicine, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA.,Department of Neurology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Tammy Gillis
- Center for Genomic Medicine, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA.,Department of Neurology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Ellen Sapp
- Department of Neurology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Marian DiFiglia
- Department of Neurology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Marcy E MacDonald
- Center for Genomic Medicine, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA.,Department of Neurology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Jeffrey B Carroll
- Department of Psychology, Behavioral Neuroscience Program, Western Washington University, Bellingham, WA, USA
| | - Jong-Min Lee
- Center for Genomic Medicine, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA.,Department of Neurology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
| | | | - Lynn Raymond
- Department of Psychiatry, Djavad Mowafaghian Centre for Brain Health, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada
| | - Vanessa C Wheeler
- Center for Genomic Medicine, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA.,Department of Neurology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
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23
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Tousley A, Iuliano M, Weisman E, Sapp E, Richardson H, Vodicka P, Alexander J, Aronin N, DiFiglia M, Kegel-Gleason KB. Huntingtin associates with the actin cytoskeleton and α-actinin isoforms to influence stimulus dependent morphology changes. PLoS One 2019; 14:e0212337. [PMID: 30768638 PMCID: PMC6377189 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0212337] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/15/2018] [Accepted: 01/31/2019] [Indexed: 01/09/2023] Open
Abstract
One response of cells to growth factor stimulus involves changes in morphology driven by the actin cytoskeleton and actin associated proteins which regulate functions such as cell adhesion, motility and in neurons, synaptic plasticity. Previous studies suggest that Huntingtin may be involved in regulating morphology however, there has been limited evidence linking endogenous Huntingtin localization or function with cytoplasmic actin in cells. We found that depletion of Huntingtin in human fibroblasts reduced adhesion and altered morphology and these phenotypes were made worse with growth factor stimulation, whereas the presence of the Huntington's Disease mutation inhibited growth factor induced changes in morphology and increased numbers of vinculin-positive focal adhesions. Huntingtin immunoreactivity localized to actin stress fibers, vinculin-positive adhesion contacts and membrane ruffles in fibroblasts. Interactome data from others has shown that Huntingtin can associate with α-actinin isoforms which bind actin filaments. Mapping studies using a cDNA encoding α-actinin-2 showed that it interacts within Huntingtin aa 399-969. Double-label immunofluorescence showed Huntingtin and α-actinin-1 co-localized to stress fibers, membrane ruffles and lamellar protrusions in fibroblasts. Proximity ligation assays confirmed a close molecular interaction between Huntingtin and α-actinin-1 in human fibroblasts and neurons. Huntingtin silencing with siRNA in fibroblasts blocked the recruitment of α-actinin-1 to membrane foci. These studies support the idea that Huntingtin is involved in regulating adhesion and actin dependent functions including those involving α-actinin.
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Affiliation(s)
- Adelaide Tousley
- Laboratory of Cellular Neurobiology, Department of Neurology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Charlestown, Massachusetts, United States of America
| | - Maria Iuliano
- Laboratory of Cellular Neurobiology, Department of Neurology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Charlestown, Massachusetts, United States of America
| | - Elizabeth Weisman
- Laboratory of Cellular Neurobiology, Department of Neurology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Charlestown, Massachusetts, United States of America
| | - Ellen Sapp
- Laboratory of Cellular Neurobiology, Department of Neurology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Charlestown, Massachusetts, United States of America
| | - Heather Richardson
- Laboratory of Cellular Neurobiology, Department of Neurology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Charlestown, Massachusetts, United States of America
| | - Petr Vodicka
- Laboratory of Cellular Neurobiology, Department of Neurology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Charlestown, Massachusetts, United States of America
| | - Jonathan Alexander
- Laboratory of Cellular Neurobiology, Department of Neurology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Charlestown, Massachusetts, United States of America
| | - Neil Aronin
- Department of Medicine and Cell Biology, University of Massachusetts Medical School, Worcester, Massachusetts, United States of America
| | - Marian DiFiglia
- Laboratory of Cellular Neurobiology, Department of Neurology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Charlestown, Massachusetts, United States of America
| | - Kimberly B. Kegel-Gleason
- Laboratory of Cellular Neurobiology, Department of Neurology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Charlestown, Massachusetts, United States of America
- * E-mail:
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24
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Haraszti RA, Miller R, Stoppato M, Sere YY, Coles A, Didiot MC, Wollacott R, Sapp E, Dubuke ML, Li X, Shaffer SA, DiFiglia M, Wang Y, Aronin N, Khvorova A. Exosomes Produced from 3D Cultures of MSCs by Tangential Flow Filtration Show Higher Yield and Improved Activity. Mol Ther 2018; 26:2838-2847. [PMID: 30341012 PMCID: PMC6277553 DOI: 10.1016/j.ymthe.2018.09.015] [Citation(s) in RCA: 265] [Impact Index Per Article: 44.2] [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: 02/25/2018] [Revised: 09/10/2018] [Accepted: 09/20/2018] [Indexed: 02/07/2023] Open
Abstract
Exosomes can deliver therapeutic RNAs to neurons. The composition and the safety profile of exosomes depend on the type of the exosome-producing cell. Mesenchymal stem cells are considered to be an attractive cell type for therapeutic exosome production. However, scalable methods to isolate and manufacture exosomes from mesenchymal stem cells are lacking, a limitation to the clinical translation of exosome technology. We evaluate mesenchymal stem cells from different sources and find that umbilical cord-derived mesenchymal stem cells produce the highest exosome yield. To optimize exosome production, we cultivate umbilical cord-derived mesenchymal stem cells in scalable microcarrier-based three-dimensional (3D) cultures. In combination with the conventional differential ultracentrifugation, 3D culture yields 20-fold more exosomes (3D-UC-exosomes) than two-dimensional cultures (2D-UC-exosomes). Tangential flow filtration (TFF) in combination with 3D mesenchymal stem cell cultures further improves the yield of exosomes (3D-TFF-exosomes) 7-fold over 3D-UC-exosomes. 3D-TFF-exosomes are seven times more potent in small interfering RNA (siRNA) transfer to neurons compared with 2D-UC-exosomes. Microcarrier-based 3D culture and TFF allow scalable production of biologically active exosomes from mesenchymal stem cells. These findings lift a major roadblock for the clinical utility of mesenchymal stem cell exosomes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Reka Agnes Haraszti
- RNA Therapeutics Institute, University of Massachusetts Medical School, Worcester, MA, USA
| | - Rachael Miller
- Department of Medicine, University of Massachusetts Medical School, Worcester, MA, USA
| | | | | | - Andrew Coles
- RNA Therapeutics Institute, University of Massachusetts Medical School, Worcester, MA, USA
| | - Marie-Cecile Didiot
- RNA Therapeutics Institute, University of Massachusetts Medical School, Worcester, MA, USA
| | | | - Ellen Sapp
- Mass General Institute for Neurodegenerative Disease, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Michelle L Dubuke
- Mass Spectrometry Facility, University of Massachusetts Medical School, Shrewsbury, MA, USA
| | - Xuni Li
- Mass Spectrometry Facility, University of Massachusetts Medical School, Shrewsbury, MA, USA
| | - Scott A Shaffer
- Mass Spectrometry Facility, University of Massachusetts Medical School, Shrewsbury, MA, USA
| | - Marian DiFiglia
- Mass General Institute for Neurodegenerative Disease, Boston, MA, USA
| | | | - Neil Aronin
- Department of Medicine, University of Massachusetts Medical School, Worcester, MA, USA.
| | - Anastasia Khvorova
- RNA Therapeutics Institute, University of Massachusetts Medical School, Worcester, MA, USA; Program in Molecular Medicine, University of Massachusetts Medical School, Worcester, MA, USA.
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25
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Godinho BMDC, Henninger N, Bouley J, Alterman JF, Haraszti RA, Gilbert JW, Sapp E, Coles AH, Biscans A, Nikan M, Echeverria D, DiFiglia M, Aronin N, Khvorova A. Transvascular Delivery of Hydrophobically Modified siRNAs: Gene Silencing in the Rat Brain upon Disruption of the Blood-Brain Barrier. Mol Ther 2018; 26:2580-2591. [PMID: 30143435 PMCID: PMC6225091 DOI: 10.1016/j.ymthe.2018.08.005] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.7] [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: 03/05/2018] [Revised: 08/01/2018] [Accepted: 08/03/2018] [Indexed: 12/19/2022] Open
Abstract
Effective transvascular delivery of therapeutic oligonucleotides to the brain presents a major hurdle to the development of gene silencing technologies for treatment of genetically defined neurological disorders. Distribution to the brain after systemic administrations is hampered by the low permeability of the blood-brain barrier (BBB) and the rapid clearance kinetics of these drugs from the blood. Here we show that transient osmotic disruption of the BBB enables transvascular delivery of hydrophobically modified small interfering RNA (hsiRNA) to the rat brain. Intracarotid administration of 25% mannitol and hsiRNA conjugated to phosphocholine-docosahexanoic acid (PC-DHA) resulted in broad ipsilateral distribution of PC-DHA-hsiRNAs in the brain. PC-DHA conjugation enables hsiRNA retention in the parenchyma proximal to the brain vasculature and enabled active internalization by neurons and astrocytes. Moreover, transvascular delivery of PC-DHA-hsiRNAs effected Htt mRNA silencing in the striatum (55%), hippocampus (51%), somatosensory cortex (52%), motor cortex (37%), and thalamus (33%) 1 week after administration. Aside from mild gliosis induced by osmotic disruption of the BBB, transvascular delivery of PC-DHA-hsiRNAs was not associated with neurotoxicity. Together, these findings provide proof-of-concept that temporary disruption of the BBB is an effective strategy for the delivery of therapeutic oligonucleotides to the brain.
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Affiliation(s)
- Bruno M D C Godinho
- RNA Therapeutics Institute, University of Massachusetts Medical School, Worcester, MA 01605, USA; Department of Molecular Medicine, University of Massachusetts Medical School, Worcester, MA 01605, USA.
| | - Nils Henninger
- Department of Neurology, University of Massachusetts Medical School, Worcester, MA 01605, USA; Department of Psychiatry, University of Massachusetts Medical School, Worcester, MA 01605, USA
| | - James Bouley
- Department of Neurology, University of Massachusetts Medical School, Worcester, MA 01605, USA
| | - Julia F Alterman
- RNA Therapeutics Institute, University of Massachusetts Medical School, Worcester, MA 01605, USA; Department of Molecular Medicine, University of Massachusetts Medical School, Worcester, MA 01605, USA
| | - Reka A Haraszti
- RNA Therapeutics Institute, University of Massachusetts Medical School, Worcester, MA 01605, USA; Department of Molecular Medicine, University of Massachusetts Medical School, Worcester, MA 01605, USA
| | - James W Gilbert
- RNA Therapeutics Institute, University of Massachusetts Medical School, Worcester, MA 01605, USA; Department of Molecular Medicine, University of Massachusetts Medical School, Worcester, MA 01605, USA
| | - Ellen Sapp
- Department of Neurology, Mass General Institute for Neurodegenerative Disease, Charlestown, MA 02129, USA
| | - Andrew H Coles
- RNA Therapeutics Institute, University of Massachusetts Medical School, Worcester, MA 01605, USA; Department of Molecular Medicine, University of Massachusetts Medical School, Worcester, MA 01605, USA
| | - Annabelle Biscans
- RNA Therapeutics Institute, University of Massachusetts Medical School, Worcester, MA 01605, USA; Department of Molecular Medicine, University of Massachusetts Medical School, Worcester, MA 01605, USA
| | - Mehran Nikan
- RNA Therapeutics Institute, University of Massachusetts Medical School, Worcester, MA 01605, USA; Department of Molecular Medicine, University of Massachusetts Medical School, Worcester, MA 01605, USA
| | - Dimas Echeverria
- RNA Therapeutics Institute, University of Massachusetts Medical School, Worcester, MA 01605, USA; Department of Molecular Medicine, University of Massachusetts Medical School, Worcester, MA 01605, USA
| | - Marian DiFiglia
- Department of Neurology, Mass General Institute for Neurodegenerative Disease, Charlestown, MA 02129, USA
| | - Neil Aronin
- RNA Therapeutics Institute, University of Massachusetts Medical School, Worcester, MA 01605, USA; Department of Medicine, University of Massachusetts Medical School, Worcester, MA 01605, USA
| | - Anastasia Khvorova
- RNA Therapeutics Institute, University of Massachusetts Medical School, Worcester, MA 01605, USA; Department of Molecular Medicine, University of Massachusetts Medical School, Worcester, MA 01605, USA.
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26
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Haraszti RA, Miller R, Didiot MC, Biscans A, Alterman JF, Hassler MR, Roux L, Echeverria D, Sapp E, DiFiglia M, Aronin N, Khvorova A. Optimized Cholesterol-siRNA Chemistry Improves Productive Loading onto Extracellular Vesicles. Mol Ther 2018; 26:1973-1982. [PMID: 29937418 DOI: 10.1016/j.ymthe.2018.05.024] [Citation(s) in RCA: 41] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.8] [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: 05/18/2018] [Revised: 05/27/2018] [Accepted: 05/30/2018] [Indexed: 01/01/2023] Open
Abstract
Extracellular vesicles are promising delivery vesicles for therapeutic RNAs. Small interfering RNA (siRNA) conjugation to cholesterol enables efficient and reproducible loading of extracellular vesicles with the therapeutic cargo. siRNAs are typically chemically modified to fit an application. However, siRNA chemical modification pattern has not been specifically optimized for extracellular vesicle-mediated delivery. Here we used cholesterol-conjugated, hydrophobically modified asymmetric siRNAs (hsiRNAs) to evaluate the effect of backbone, 5'-phosphate, and linker chemical modifications on productive hsiRNA loading onto extracellular vesicles. hsiRNAs with a combination of 5'-(E)-vinylphosphonate and alternating 2'-fluoro and 2'-O-methyl backbone modifications outperformed previously used partially modified siRNAs in extracellular vesicle-mediated Huntingtin silencing in neurons. Between two commercially available linkers (triethyl glycol [TEG] and 2-aminobutyl-1-3-propanediol [C7]) widely used to attach cholesterol to siRNAs, TEG is preferred compared to C7 for productive exosomal loading. Destabilization of the linker completely abolished silencing activity of loaded extracellular vesicles. The loading of cholesterol-conjugated siRNAs was saturated at ∼3,000 siRNA copies per extracellular vesicle. Overloading impaired the silencing activity of extracellular vesicles. The data reported here provide an optimization scheme for the successful use of hydrophobic modification as a strategy for productive loading of RNA cargo onto extracellular vesicles.
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Affiliation(s)
- Reka Agnes Haraszti
- RNA Therapeutics Institute, University of Massachusetts Medical School, Worcester, MA, USA; Program in Molecular Medicine, University of Massachusetts Medical School, Worcester, MA, USA
| | - Rachael Miller
- RNA Therapeutics Institute, University of Massachusetts Medical School, Worcester, MA, USA; Department of Medicine, University of Massachusetts Medical School, Worcester, MA, USA
| | - Marie-Cecile Didiot
- RNA Therapeutics Institute, University of Massachusetts Medical School, Worcester, MA, USA; Program in Molecular Medicine, University of Massachusetts Medical School, Worcester, MA, USA
| | - Annabelle Biscans
- RNA Therapeutics Institute, University of Massachusetts Medical School, Worcester, MA, USA; Program in Molecular Medicine, University of Massachusetts Medical School, Worcester, MA, USA
| | - Julia F Alterman
- RNA Therapeutics Institute, University of Massachusetts Medical School, Worcester, MA, USA; Program in Molecular Medicine, University of Massachusetts Medical School, Worcester, MA, USA
| | - Matthew R Hassler
- RNA Therapeutics Institute, University of Massachusetts Medical School, Worcester, MA, USA; Program in Molecular Medicine, University of Massachusetts Medical School, Worcester, MA, USA
| | - Loic Roux
- RNA Therapeutics Institute, University of Massachusetts Medical School, Worcester, MA, USA; Program in Molecular Medicine, University of Massachusetts Medical School, Worcester, MA, USA
| | - Dimas Echeverria
- RNA Therapeutics Institute, University of Massachusetts Medical School, Worcester, MA, USA; Program in Molecular Medicine, University of Massachusetts Medical School, Worcester, MA, USA
| | - Ellen Sapp
- Mass General Institute for Neurodegenerative Disease, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Marian DiFiglia
- Mass General Institute for Neurodegenerative Disease, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Neil Aronin
- RNA Therapeutics Institute, University of Massachusetts Medical School, Worcester, MA, USA; Department of Medicine, University of Massachusetts Medical School, Worcester, MA, USA.
| | - Anastasia Khvorova
- RNA Therapeutics Institute, University of Massachusetts Medical School, Worcester, MA, USA; Program in Molecular Medicine, University of Massachusetts Medical School, Worcester, MA, USA.
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27
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McClory H, Wang X, Sapp E, Gatune LW, Iuliano M, Wu CY, Nathwani G, Kegel-Gleason KB, DiFiglia M, Li X. The COOH-terminal domain of huntingtin interacts with RhoGEF kalirin and modulates cell survival. Sci Rep 2018; 8:8000. [PMID: 29789657 PMCID: PMC5964228 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-018-26255-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/20/2017] [Accepted: 05/01/2018] [Indexed: 12/14/2022] Open
Abstract
Human huntingtin (Htt) contains 3144 amino acids and has an expanded polyglutamine region near the NH2-terminus in patients with Huntington's disease. While numerous binding partners have been identified to NH2-terminal Htt, fewer proteins are known to interact with C-terminal domains of Htt. Here we report that kalirin, a Rac1 activator, is a binding partner to C-terminal Htt. Kalirin and Htt co-precipitated from mouse brain endosomes and co-localized at puncta in NRK and immortalized striatal cells and primary cortical neurons. We mapped the interaction domains to kalirin674-1272 and Htt2568-3144 and determined that the interaction between kalirin and Htt was independent of HAP1, a known interactor for Htt and kalirin. Kalirin precipitated with mutant Htt was more abundant than with wild-type Htt and had a reduced capacity to activate Rac1 when mutant Htt was present. Expression of Htt2568-3144 caused cytotoxicity, partially rescued by co-expressing kalirin674-1272 but not other regions of kalirin. Our study suggests that the interaction of kalirin with the C-terminal region of Htt influences the function of kalirin and modulates the cytotoxicity induced by C-terminal Htt.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hollis McClory
- Laboratory of Cellular Neurobiology and Department of Neurology, Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Charlestown, MA, 02129, USA
| | - Xiaolong Wang
- School of Pharmacy, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Minhang District, Shanghai, China
| | - Ellen Sapp
- Laboratory of Cellular Neurobiology and Department of Neurology, Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Charlestown, MA, 02129, USA
| | - Leah W Gatune
- Laboratory of Cellular Neurobiology and Department of Neurology, Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Charlestown, MA, 02129, USA
| | - Maria Iuliano
- Laboratory of Cellular Neurobiology and Department of Neurology, Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Charlestown, MA, 02129, USA
| | - Chiu-Yi Wu
- Laboratory of Cellular Neurobiology and Department of Neurology, Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Charlestown, MA, 02129, USA
| | - Gina Nathwani
- Laboratory of Cellular Neurobiology and Department of Neurology, Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Charlestown, MA, 02129, USA
| | - Kimberly B Kegel-Gleason
- Laboratory of Cellular Neurobiology and Department of Neurology, Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Charlestown, MA, 02129, USA
| | - Marian DiFiglia
- Laboratory of Cellular Neurobiology and Department of Neurology, Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Charlestown, MA, 02129, USA
| | - Xueyi Li
- Laboratory of Cellular Neurobiology and Department of Neurology, Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Charlestown, MA, 02129, USA.
- School of Pharmacy, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Minhang District, Shanghai, China.
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28
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Pfister EL, DiNardo N, Mondo E, Borel F, Conroy F, Fraser C, Gernoux G, Han X, Hu D, Johnson E, Kennington L, Liu P, Reid SJ, Sapp E, Vodicka P, Kuchel T, Morton AJ, Howland D, Moser R, Sena-Esteves M, Gao G, Mueller C, DiFiglia M, Aronin N. Artificial miRNAs Reduce Human Mutant Huntingtin Throughout the Striatum in a Transgenic Sheep Model of Huntington's Disease. Hum Gene Ther 2018; 29:663-673. [PMID: 29207890 DOI: 10.1089/hum.2017.199] [Citation(s) in RCA: 65] [Impact Index Per Article: 10.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/05/2023] Open
Abstract
Huntington's disease (HD) is a fatal neurodegenerative disease caused by a genetic expansion of the CAG repeat region in the huntingtin (HTT) gene. Studies in HD mouse models have shown that artificial miRNAs can reduce mutant HTT, but evidence for their effectiveness and safety in larger animals is lacking. HD transgenic sheep express the full-length human HTT with 73 CAG repeats. AAV9 was used to deliver unilaterally to HD sheep striatum an artificial miRNA targeting exon 48 of the human HTT mRNA under control of two alternative promoters: U6 or CβA. The treatment reduced human mutant (m) HTT mRNA and protein 50-80% in the striatum at 1 and 6 months post injection. Silencing was detectable in both the caudate and putamen. Levels of endogenous sheep HTT protein were not affected. There was no significant loss of neurons labeled by DARPP32 or NeuN at 6 months after treatment, and Iba1-positive microglia were detected at control levels. It is concluded that safe and effective silencing of human mHTT protein can be achieved and sustained in a large-animal brain by direct delivery of an AAV carrying an artificial miRNA.
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Affiliation(s)
- Edith L Pfister
- 1 Department of Medicine, University of Massachusetts Medical School , Worcester, Massachusetts
| | - Natalie DiNardo
- 1 Department of Medicine, University of Massachusetts Medical School , Worcester, Massachusetts
| | - Erica Mondo
- 2 Department of Neurobiology, University of Massachusetts Medical School , Worcester, Massachusetts
| | - Florie Borel
- 3 Horae Gene Therapy Center, University of Massachusetts Medical School , Worcester, Massachusetts
| | - Faith Conroy
- 1 Department of Medicine, University of Massachusetts Medical School , Worcester, Massachusetts
| | - Cara Fraser
- 4 Preclinical, Imaging, and Research Laboratories, South Australian Health and Medical Research Institute , Gilles Plains, South Australia
| | - Gwladys Gernoux
- 3 Horae Gene Therapy Center, University of Massachusetts Medical School , Worcester, Massachusetts
| | - Xin Han
- 5 West China School of Medicine, West China Hospital, Sichuan University. Chengdu , China
| | - Danjing Hu
- 5 West China School of Medicine, West China Hospital, Sichuan University. Chengdu , China
| | - Emily Johnson
- 1 Department of Medicine, University of Massachusetts Medical School , Worcester, Massachusetts.,6 Geisel School of Medicine, Dartmouth College , Hanover, New Hampshire
| | - Lori Kennington
- 1 Department of Medicine, University of Massachusetts Medical School , Worcester, Massachusetts
| | - PengPeng Liu
- 5 West China School of Medicine, West China Hospital, Sichuan University. Chengdu , China
| | - Suzanne J Reid
- 7 School of Biological Sciences, University of Auckland , Auckland, New Zealand
| | - Ellen Sapp
- 8 MassGeneral Institute for Neurodegenerative Disease , Charlestown, Massachusetts
| | - Petr Vodicka
- 8 MassGeneral Institute for Neurodegenerative Disease , Charlestown, Massachusetts.,9 Research Center PIGMOD, Institute of Animal Physiology and Genetics of the Czech Academy of Sciences , Libechov, Czech Republic
| | - Tim Kuchel
- 4 Preclinical, Imaging, and Research Laboratories, South Australian Health and Medical Research Institute , Gilles Plains, South Australia
| | - A Jennifer Morton
- 10 Department of Physiology, Development and Neuroscience, University of Cambridge , Cambridge, United Kingdom
| | - David Howland
- 11 CHDI Foundation/CHDI Management, Princeton, New Jersey
| | - Richard Moser
- 12 Department of Neurosurgery, University of Massachusetts Medical School , Worcester, Massachusetts
| | - Miguel Sena-Esteves
- 3 Horae Gene Therapy Center, University of Massachusetts Medical School , Worcester, Massachusetts
| | - Guangping Gao
- 3 Horae Gene Therapy Center, University of Massachusetts Medical School , Worcester, Massachusetts
| | - Christian Mueller
- 3 Horae Gene Therapy Center, University of Massachusetts Medical School , Worcester, Massachusetts.,13 Department of Pediatrics, University of Massachusetts Medical School , Worcester, Massachusetts
| | - Marian DiFiglia
- 8 MassGeneral Institute for Neurodegenerative Disease , Charlestown, Massachusetts
| | - Neil Aronin
- 1 Department of Medicine, University of Massachusetts Medical School , Worcester, Massachusetts.,14 RNA Therapeutics Institute, University of Massachusetts Medical School , Worcester, Massachusetts
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29
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Valencia A, Sapp E, Kimm JS, McClory H, Reeves PB, Alexander J, Ansong KA, Masso N, Frosch MP, Kegel KB, Li X, DiFiglia M. Retracted: Elevated NADPH oxidase activity contributes to oxidative stress and cell death in Huntington's disease. Hum Mol Genet 2017; 26:4314. [PMID: 28973680 DOI: 10.1093/hmg/ddx303] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Affiliation(s)
- Antonio Valencia
- Department of Neurology, Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School, 114, 16th Street, Charlestown, MA 02129, USA
| | - Ellen Sapp
- Department of Neurology, Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School, 114, 16th Street, Charlestown, MA 02129, USA
| | - Jeffrey S Kimm
- Department of Neurology, Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School, 114, 16th Street, Charlestown, MA 02129, USA
| | - Hollis McClory
- Department of Neurology, Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School, 114, 16th Street, Charlestown, MA 02129, USA
| | - Patrick B Reeves
- Department of Neurology, Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School, 114, 16th Street, Charlestown, MA 02129, USA
| | - Jonathan Alexander
- Department of Neurology, Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School, 114, 16th Street, Charlestown, MA 02129, USA
| | - Kwadwo A Ansong
- Department of Neurology, Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School, 114, 16th Street, Charlestown, MA 02129, USA
| | - Nicholas Masso
- Department of Neurology, Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School, 114, 16th Street, Charlestown, MA 02129, USA
| | - Matthew P Frosch
- C.S. Kubik Laboratory for Neuropathology, Pathology Service, Massachusetts
| | - Kimberly B Kegel
- Department of Neurology, Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School, 114, 16th Street, Charlestown, MA 02129, USA
| | - Xueyi Li
- Department of Neurology, Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School, 114, 16th Street, Charlestown, MA 02129, USA
| | - Marian DiFiglia
- Department of Neurology, Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School, 114, 16th Street, Charlestown, MA 02129, USA
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30
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Keeler AM, Sapp E, Chase K, Sottosanti E, Danielson E, Pfister E, Stoica L, DiFiglia M, Aronin N, Sena-Esteves M. Cellular Analysis of Silencing the Huntington's Disease Gene Using AAV9 Mediated Delivery of Artificial Micro RNA into the Striatum of Q140/Q140 Mice. J Huntingtons Dis 2017; 5:239-248. [PMID: 27689620 DOI: 10.3233/jhd-160215] [Citation(s) in RCA: 23] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/01/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND The genetic mutation in Huntington's disease (HD) is a CAG repeat expansion in the coding region of the huntingtin (Htt) gene. RNAi strategies have proven effective in substantially down-regulating Htt mRNA in the striatum through delivery of siRNAs or viral vectors based on whole tissue assays, but the extent of htt mRNA lowering in individual neurons is unknown. OBJECTIVE Here we characterize the effect of an AAV9-GFP-miRHtt vector on Htt mRNA levels in striatal neurons of Q140/Q140 knock-in mice. METHODS HD mice received bilateral striatal injections of AAV9-GFP-miRHtt or AAV9-GFP at 6 or 12 weeks and striata were evaluated at 6 months of age for levels of Htt mRNA and protein and for mRNA signal within striatal neurons using RNAscope multiplex fluorescence in situ hybridization. RESULTS Compared to controls, the striatum of 6-month old mice treated at 6 or 12 weeks of age with AAV9-GFP-miRHtt showed a reduction of 40-50% in Htt mRNA and lowering of 25-40% in protein levels. The number of Htt mRNA foci in medium spiny neurons (MSNs) of untreated Q140/Q140 mice varied widely per cell (0 to 34 per cell), with ∼10% of MSNs devoid of foci. AAV9-GFP-miRHtt treatment shifted the distribution toward lower numbers and the percentage of cells without foci increased to 14-20%. The average number of Htt mRNA foci per MSN was reduced by 43%. CONCLUSIONS The findings here show that intrastriatal infusion of an AAV9-GFP-miRHtt vector lowers mRNA expression of Htt in striatum by ∼50%, through a partial reduction in the number of copies of mutant Htt mRNAs per cell. These findings demonstrate at the neuronal level the variable levels of Htt mRNA expression in MSNs and the neuronal heterogeneity of RNAi dependent Htt mRNA knockdown.
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Affiliation(s)
- Allison M Keeler
- Department of Neurology, University of Massachusetts Medical School, Worcester, MA, USA.,Horae Gene Therapy Center, University of Massachusetts Medical School, Worcester, MA, USA
| | - Ellen Sapp
- Department of Neurology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Charlestown, MA, USA
| | - Kathryn Chase
- Department of Medicine, University of Massachusetts Medical School, Worcester, MA, USA.,RNA Therapeutics Institute, University of Massachusetts Medical School, Worcester, MA, USA
| | - Emily Sottosanti
- Department of Medicine, University of Massachusetts Medical School, Worcester, MA, USA.,RNA Therapeutics Institute, University of Massachusetts Medical School, Worcester, MA, USA
| | - Eric Danielson
- Department of Neurology, University of Massachusetts Medical School, Worcester, MA, USA
| | - Edith Pfister
- Department of Medicine, University of Massachusetts Medical School, Worcester, MA, USA.,RNA Therapeutics Institute, University of Massachusetts Medical School, Worcester, MA, USA
| | - Lorelei Stoica
- Department of Neurology, University of Massachusetts Medical School, Worcester, MA, USA.,Horae Gene Therapy Center, University of Massachusetts Medical School, Worcester, MA, USA
| | - Marian DiFiglia
- Department of Neurology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Charlestown, MA, USA.,Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Neil Aronin
- Department of Medicine, University of Massachusetts Medical School, Worcester, MA, USA.,RNA Therapeutics Institute, University of Massachusetts Medical School, Worcester, MA, USA
| | - Miguel Sena-Esteves
- Department of Neurology, University of Massachusetts Medical School, Worcester, MA, USA.,Horae Gene Therapy Center, University of Massachusetts Medical School, Worcester, MA, USA
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31
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Vodicka P, Chase K, Iuliano M, Tousley A, Valentine DT, Sapp E, Kegel-Gleason KB, Sena-Esteves M, Aronin N, DiFiglia M. Autophagy Activation by Transcription Factor EB (TFEB) in Striatum of HDQ175/Q7 Mice. J Huntingtons Dis 2017; 5:249-260. [PMID: 27689619 PMCID: PMC5088406 DOI: 10.3233/jhd-160211] [Citation(s) in RCA: 25] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/07/2023]
Abstract
Background: Mutant huntingtin (mHTT) is encoded by the Huntington’s disease (HD) gene and its accumulation in the brain contributes to HD pathogenesis. Reducing mHTT levels through activation of the autophagosome-lysosomal pathway may have therapeutic benefit. Transcription factor EB (TFEB) regulates lysosome biogenesis and autophagy. Objective: To examine if increasing TFEB protein levels in HD mouse striatum induces autophagy and influences mHTT levels. Methods: We introduced cDNA encoding TFEB with an HA tag (TFEB-HA) under the control of neuron specific synapsin 1 promoter into the striatum of 3 month old HDQ175/Q7 mice using adeno-associated virus AAV2/9. The levels of exogenous TFEB were analyzed using qPCR and Western blot. Proteins involved in autophagy, levels of huntingtin, and striatal-enriched proteins were examined using biochemical and/or immunohistochemical methods. Results: In HD mice expressing TFEB-HA, HA immunoreactivity distributed throughout the striatum in neuronal cell bodies and processes and preferentially in neuronal nuclei and overlapped with a loss of DARPP32 immunoreactivity. TFEB-HA mRNA and protein were detected in striatal lysates. There were increased levels of proteins involved with autophagosome/lysosome activity including LAMP-2A, LC3II, and cathepsin D and reduced levels of mutant HTT and the striatal enriched proteins DARPP32 and PDE10A. Compared to WT mice, HDQ175/Q7 mice had elevated levels of the ER stress protein GRP78/BiP and with TFEB-HA expression, increased levels of the astrocyte marker GFAP and pro-caspase 3. Conclusion: These results suggest that TFEB expression in the striatum of HDQ175/Q7 mice stimulates autophagy and lysosome activity, and lowers mHTT, but may also increase a neuronal stress response.
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Affiliation(s)
- Petr Vodicka
- Department of Neurology, Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Charlestown, MA, USA
| | - Kathryn Chase
- Departments of Medicine and Cell Biology, University of Massachusetts, Worcester, MA, USA
| | - Maria Iuliano
- Department of Neurology, Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Charlestown, MA, USA
| | - Adelaide Tousley
- Department of Neurology, Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Charlestown, MA, USA
| | - Dana T Valentine
- Department of Neurology, Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Charlestown, MA, USA
| | - Ellen Sapp
- Department of Neurology, Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Charlestown, MA, USA
| | - Kimberly B Kegel-Gleason
- Department of Neurology, Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Charlestown, MA, USA
| | - Miguel Sena-Esteves
- Department of Neurology, Horae Gene Therapy Center, University of Massachusetts Medical School, Albert Sherman Center, Worcester, MA, USA
| | - Neil Aronin
- Departments of Medicine and Cell Biology, University of Massachusetts, Worcester, MA, USA
| | - Marian DiFiglia
- Department of Neurology, Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Charlestown, MA, USA
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32
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Vodicka P, Chase K, Iuliano M, Valentine DT, Sapp E, Lu B, Kegel-Gleason KB, Sena-Esteves M, Aronin N, DiFiglia M. Effects of Exogenous NUB1 Expression in the Striatum of HDQ175/Q7 Mice. J Huntingtons Dis 2017; 5:163-74. [PMID: 27314618 DOI: 10.3233/jhd-160195] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/15/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Reducing mutant huntingtin (mHTT) in neurons may be a therapy for Huntington's disease (HD). Elevating NUB1 protein reduced mHTT levels in cell and fly models of HD through a proteasome dependent mechanism. OBJECTIVE To examine the effects of augmenting NUB1 in HD mouse striatum on mHTT levels. METHODS Striata of HDQ175/Q7 mice were injected at 3 months of age with recombinant AAV2/9 coding for NUB1 or GFP under the control of the neuron specific human synapsin 1 promoter and examined 6 months post-injection for levels of huntingtin, the striatal markers DARPP32 and PDE10A, the astrocyte marker GFAP, and the autophagy and mHTT aggregate marker P62 using immunolabeling of brain sections and Western blot assay of striatal subcellular fractions. RESULTS By Western blot human HD brain had only one of the two variants of NUB1 present in human control brain. In striatum of WT and HD mice NUB1 was localized in medium size neurons and enriched in the nucleus of large neurons. In the striatum of NUB1 injected HD mice, there was widespread neuronal distribution of exogenous NUB1 labeling and protein levels were ∼2.5-fold endogenous levels. DARPP32 and GFAP distribution and levels were unchanged but PDE10A levels were lower in crude homogenates and P62 was increased in nuclear enriched P1 fractions. Elevating NUB1 did not change levels of full-length mHTT or the number and size of mHTT (S830) positive nuclear inclusions. CONCLUSION Findings suggest that increasing NUB1 protein in striatal neurons of HDQ175/Q7 mice in vivo may be relatively safe but is ineffective in reducing mHTT. Increased NUB1 expression in HD striatum alters PDE10A and P62 which are known to be influenced by mHTT.
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Affiliation(s)
- Petr Vodicka
- Department of Neurology, Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Charlestown, MA, USA
| | - Kathryn Chase
- Department of Medicine and The RNA Therapeutics Institute, University of Massachusetts Medical School, Worcester, MA, USA
| | - Maria Iuliano
- Department of Neurology, Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Charlestown, MA, USA
| | - Dana T Valentine
- Department of Neurology, Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Charlestown, MA, USA
| | - Ellen Sapp
- Department of Neurology, Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Charlestown, MA, USA
| | - Boxun Lu
- Department of Neurology, Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Charlestown, MA, USA.,State Key Laboratory of Medical Neurobiology, School of Life Sciences, Fudan University, China
| | - Kimberly B Kegel-Gleason
- Department of Neurology, Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Charlestown, MA, USA
| | - Miguel Sena-Esteves
- Department of Neurology, Gene Therapy Center, University of Massachusetts Medical School, Worcester, MA, USA
| | - Neil Aronin
- Department of Medicine and The RNA Therapeutics Institute, University of Massachusetts Medical School, Worcester, MA, USA
| | - Marian DiFiglia
- Department of Neurology, Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Charlestown, MA, USA
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33
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Nikan M, Osborn MF, Coles AH, Biscans A, Godinho BM, Haraszti RA, Sapp E, Echeverria D, DiFiglia M, Aronin N, Khvorova A. Synthesis and Evaluation of Parenchymal Retention and Efficacy of a Metabolically Stable O-Phosphocholine-N-docosahexaenoyl-l-serine siRNA Conjugate in Mouse Brain. Bioconjug Chem 2017; 28:1758-1766. [PMID: 28462988 PMCID: PMC5578421 DOI: 10.1021/acs.bioconjchem.7b00226] [Citation(s) in RCA: 28] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/15/2022]
Abstract
Ligand-conjugated siRNAs have the potential to achieve targeted delivery and efficient silencing in neurons following local administration in the central nervous system (CNS). We recently described the activity and safety profile of a docosahexaenoic acid (DHA)-conjugated, hydrophobic siRNA (DHA-hsiRNA) targeting Huntingtin (Htt) mRNA in mouse brain. Here, we report the synthesis of an amide-modified, phosphocholine-containing DHA-hsiRNA conjugate (PC-DHA-hsiRNA), which closely resembles the endogenously esterified biological structure of DHA. We hypothesized that this modification may enhance neuronal delivery in vivo. We demonstrate that PC-DHA-hsiRNA silences Htt in mouse primary cortical neurons and astrocytes. After intrastriatal delivery, Htt-targeting PC-DHA-hsiRNA induces ∼80% mRNA silencing and 71% protein silencing after 1 week. However, PC-DHA-hsiRNA did not substantially outperform DHA-hsiRNA under the conditions tested. Moreover, at the highest locally administered dose (4 nmol, 50 μg), we observe evidence of PC-DHA-hsiRNA-mediated reactive astrogliosis. Lipophilic ligand conjugation enables siRNA delivery to neural tissues, but rational design of functional, nontoxic siRNA conjugates for CNS delivery remains challenging.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mehran Nikan
- RNA Therapeutics Institute, University of Massachusetts Medical School, Worcester, MA, USA
- Department of Molecular Medicine, University of Massachusetts Medical School, Worcester, MA, USA
| | - Maire F. Osborn
- RNA Therapeutics Institute, University of Massachusetts Medical School, Worcester, MA, USA
- Department of Molecular Medicine, University of Massachusetts Medical School, Worcester, MA, USA
| | - Andrew H. Coles
- RNA Therapeutics Institute, University of Massachusetts Medical School, Worcester, MA, USA
- Department of Molecular Medicine, University of Massachusetts Medical School, Worcester, MA, USA
| | - Annabelle Biscans
- RNA Therapeutics Institute, University of Massachusetts Medical School, Worcester, MA, USA
- Department of Molecular Medicine, University of Massachusetts Medical School, Worcester, MA, USA
| | - Bruno M.D.C. Godinho
- RNA Therapeutics Institute, University of Massachusetts Medical School, Worcester, MA, USA
- Department of Molecular Medicine, University of Massachusetts Medical School, Worcester, MA, USA
| | - Reka A. Haraszti
- RNA Therapeutics Institute, University of Massachusetts Medical School, Worcester, MA, USA
- Department of Molecular Medicine, University of Massachusetts Medical School, Worcester, MA, USA
| | - Ellen Sapp
- Department of Neurology, Mass General Institute for Neurodegenerative Disease, Charlestown, MA, USA
| | - Dimas Echeverria
- RNA Therapeutics Institute, University of Massachusetts Medical School, Worcester, MA, USA
- Department of Molecular Medicine, University of Massachusetts Medical School, Worcester, MA, USA
| | - Marian DiFiglia
- Department of Neurology, Mass General Institute for Neurodegenerative Disease, Charlestown, MA, USA
| | - Neil Aronin
- RNA Therapeutics Institute, University of Massachusetts Medical School, Worcester, MA, USA
- Department of Medicine, University of Massachusetts Medical School, Worcester, MA, USA
| | - Anastasia Khvorova
- RNA Therapeutics Institute, University of Massachusetts Medical School, Worcester, MA, USA
- Department of Molecular Medicine, University of Massachusetts Medical School, Worcester, MA, USA
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34
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Quinti L, Dayalan Naidu S, Träger U, Chen X, Kegel-Gleason K, Llères D, Connolly C, Chopra V, Low C, Moniot S, Sapp E, Tousley AR, Vodicka P, Van Kanegan MJ, Kaltenbach LS, Crawford LA, Fuszard M, Higgins M, Miller JRC, Farmer RE, Potluri V, Samajdar S, Meisel L, Zhang N, Snyder A, Stein R, Hersch SM, Ellerby LM, Weerapana E, Schwarzschild MA, Steegborn C, Leavitt BR, Degterev A, Tabrizi SJ, Lo DC, DiFiglia M, Thompson LM, Dinkova-Kostova AT, Kazantsev AG. KEAP1-modifying small molecule reveals muted NRF2 signaling responses in neural stem cells from Huntington's disease patients. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2017; 114:E4676-E4685. [PMID: 28533375 PMCID: PMC5468652 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1614943114] [Citation(s) in RCA: 92] [Impact Index Per Article: 13.1] [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] [Indexed: 12/24/2022] Open
Abstract
The activity of the transcription factor nuclear factor-erythroid 2 p45-derived factor 2 (NRF2) is orchestrated and amplified through enhanced transcription of antioxidant and antiinflammatory target genes. The present study has characterized a triazole-containing inducer of NRF2 and elucidated the mechanism by which this molecule activates NRF2 signaling. In a highly selective manner, the compound covalently modifies a critical stress-sensor cysteine (C151) of the E3 ligase substrate adaptor protein Kelch-like ECH-associated protein 1 (KEAP1), the primary negative regulator of NRF2. We further used this inducer to probe the functional consequences of selective activation of NRF2 signaling in Huntington's disease (HD) mouse and human model systems. Surprisingly, we discovered a muted NRF2 activation response in human HD neural stem cells, which was restored by genetic correction of the disease-causing mutation. In contrast, selective activation of NRF2 signaling potently repressed the release of the proinflammatory cytokine IL-6 in primary mouse HD and WT microglia and astrocytes. Moreover, in primary monocytes from HD patients and healthy subjects, NRF2 induction repressed expression of the proinflammatory cytokines IL-1, IL-6, IL-8, and TNFα. Together, our results demonstrate a multifaceted protective potential of NRF2 signaling in key cell types relevant to HD pathology.
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Affiliation(s)
- Luisa Quinti
- Department of Neurology, Harvard Medical School and Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA 02114
| | - Sharadha Dayalan Naidu
- Division of Cancer Research, School of Medicine, University of Dundee, Dundee DD1 9SY, Scotland, United Kingdom
| | - Ulrike Träger
- Department of Neurodegenerative Disease, Institute of Neurology, University College London, London WC1N 3BG, United Kingdom
| | - Xiqun Chen
- Department of Neurology, Harvard Medical School and Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA 02114
| | - Kimberly Kegel-Gleason
- Department of Neurology, Harvard Medical School and Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA 02114
| | - David Llères
- Institute of Molecular Genetics of Montpellier, F-34293 Montpellier, France
| | - Colúm Connolly
- Centre for Molecular Medicine and Therapeutics, Department of Medical Genetics, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada V5Z 4H4
| | - Vanita Chopra
- Department of Neurology, Harvard Medical School and Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA 02114
| | - Cho Low
- Department of Developmental, Molecular and Chemical Biology, Tufts University, Boston, MA 02111
| | - Sébastien Moniot
- Department of Biochemistry, University of Bayreuth, 95447 Bayreuth, Germany
| | - Ellen Sapp
- Department of Neurology, Harvard Medical School and Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA 02114
| | - Adelaide R Tousley
- Department of Neurology, Harvard Medical School and Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA 02114
| | - Petr Vodicka
- Department of Neurology, Harvard Medical School and Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA 02114
| | - Michael J Van Kanegan
- Center for Drug Discovery, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, NC 27710
- Department of Neurobiology, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, NC 27710
| | - Linda S Kaltenbach
- Center for Drug Discovery, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, NC 27710
- Department of Neurobiology, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, NC 27710
| | - Lisa A Crawford
- Department of Chemistry, Boston College, Chestnut Hill, MA 02467
| | - Matthew Fuszard
- Department of Biochemistry, University of Bayreuth, 95447 Bayreuth, Germany
| | - Maureen Higgins
- Division of Cancer Research, School of Medicine, University of Dundee, Dundee DD1 9SY, Scotland, United Kingdom
| | - James R C Miller
- Department of Neurodegenerative Disease, Institute of Neurology, University College London, London WC1N 3BG, United Kingdom
| | - Ruth E Farmer
- Department of Medical Statistics, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, London WC1E 7HT, United Kingdom
| | - Vijay Potluri
- Department of Medicinal Chemistry, Aurigene Discovery Technologies Limited, Bangalore 560 100, India
| | - Susanta Samajdar
- Department of Medicinal Chemistry, Aurigene Discovery Technologies Limited, Bangalore 560 100, India
| | - Lisa Meisel
- Department of Biochemistry, University of Bayreuth, 95447 Bayreuth, Germany
| | - Ningzhe Zhang
- Buck Institute for Research on Aging, Novato, CA 94945
| | - Andrew Snyder
- Targanox, Cambridge Research Laboratories, Cambridge, MA 02139
| | - Ross Stein
- Targanox, Cambridge Research Laboratories, Cambridge, MA 02139
| | - Steven M Hersch
- Department of Neurology, Harvard Medical School and Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA 02114
| | | | | | - Michael A Schwarzschild
- Department of Neurology, Harvard Medical School and Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA 02114
| | - Clemens Steegborn
- Department of Biochemistry, University of Bayreuth, 95447 Bayreuth, Germany
| | - Blair R Leavitt
- Centre for Molecular Medicine and Therapeutics, Department of Medical Genetics, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada V5Z 4H4
| | - Alexei Degterev
- Department of Developmental, Molecular and Chemical Biology, Tufts University, Boston, MA 02111
| | - Sarah J Tabrizi
- Department of Neurodegenerative Disease, Institute of Neurology, University College London, London WC1N 3BG, United Kingdom
| | - Donald C Lo
- Center for Drug Discovery, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, NC 27710
- Department of Neurobiology, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, NC 27710
| | - Marian DiFiglia
- Department of Neurology, Harvard Medical School and Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA 02114
| | - Leslie M Thompson
- Department of Biological Chemistry, University of California, Irvine, CA 92697
- Department of Neurobiology and Behavior, University of California, Irvine, CA 92697
- Department of Psychiatry and Human Behavior, University of California, Irvine, CA 92697
| | - Albena T Dinkova-Kostova
- Division of Cancer Research, School of Medicine, University of Dundee, Dundee DD1 9SY, Scotland, United Kingdom
- Department of Medicine, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD 21205
- Department of Pharmacology and Molecular Sciences, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD 21205
| | - Aleksey G Kazantsev
- Department of Neurology, Harvard Medical School and Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA 02114;
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35
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Haraszti RA, Didiot MC, Sapp E, Leszyk J, Shaffer SA, Rockwell HE, Gao F, Narain NR, DiFiglia M, Kiebish MA, Aronin N, Khvorova A. High-resolution proteomic and lipidomic analysis of exosomes and microvesicles from different cell sources. J Extracell Vesicles 2016; 5:32570. [PMID: 27863537 PMCID: PMC5116062 DOI: 10.3402/jev.v5.32570] [Citation(s) in RCA: 434] [Impact Index Per Article: 54.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/13/2016] [Revised: 09/04/2016] [Accepted: 10/02/2016] [Indexed: 12/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Extracellular vesicles (EVs), including exosomes and microvesicles (MVs), are explored for use in diagnostics, therapeutics and drug delivery. However, little is known about the relationship of protein and lipid composition of EVs and their source cells. Here, we report high-resolution lipidomic and proteomic analyses of exosomes and MVs derived by differential ultracentrifugation from 3 different cell types: U87 glioblastoma cells, Huh7 hepatocellular carcinoma cells and human bone marrow-derived mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs). We identified 3,532 proteins and 1,961 lipid species in the screen. Exosomes differed from MVs in several different areas: (a) The protein patterns of exosomes were more likely different from their cells of origin than were the protein patterns of MVs; (b) The proteomes of U87 and Huh7 exosomes were similar to each other but different from the proteomes of MSC exosomes, whereas the lipidomes of Huh7 and MSC exosomes were similar to each other but different from the lipidomes of U87 exosomes; (c) exosomes exhibited proteins of extracellular matrix, heparin-binding, receptors, immune response and cell adhesion functions, whereas MVs were enriched in endoplasmic reticulum, proteasome and mitochondrial proteins. Exosomes and MVs also differed in their types of lipid contents. Enrichment in glycolipids and free fatty acids characterized exosomes, whereas enrichment in ceramides and sphingomyelins characterized MVs. Furthermore, Huh7 and MSC exosomes were specifically enriched in cardiolipins; U87 exosomes were enriched in sphingomyelins. This study comprehensively analyses the protein and lipid composition of exosomes, MVs and source cells in 3 different cell types.
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Affiliation(s)
- Reka A Haraszti
- RNA Therapeutics Institute, University of Massachusetts Medical School, Worcester, MA, USA.,Program in Molecular Medicine, University of Massachusetts Medical School, Worcester, MA, USA
| | - Marie-Cecile Didiot
- RNA Therapeutics Institute, University of Massachusetts Medical School, Worcester, MA, USA.,Program in Molecular Medicine, University of Massachusetts Medical School, Worcester, MA, USA
| | - Ellen Sapp
- MassGeneral Institute for Neurodegenerative Disease, Charlestown, MA, USA
| | - John Leszyk
- Proteomics and Mass Spectrometry Facility, University of Massachusetts Medical School, Worcester, MA, USA
| | - Scott A Shaffer
- Biochemistry and Molecular Pharmacology, University of Massachusetts Medical School, Worcester, MA, USA
| | | | - Fei Gao
- Berg LLC, Framingham, MA, USA
| | | | - Marian DiFiglia
- MassGeneral Institute for Neurodegenerative Disease, Charlestown, MA, USA
| | | | - Neil Aronin
- RNA Therapeutics Institute, University of Massachusetts Medical School, Worcester, MA, USA.,Department of Medicine, University of Massachusetts Medical School, Worcester, MA, USA;
| | - Anastasia Khvorova
- RNA Therapeutics Institute, University of Massachusetts Medical School, Worcester, MA, USA.,Program in Molecular Medicine, University of Massachusetts Medical School, Worcester, MA, USA;
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36
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Didiot MC, Hall LM, Coles AH, Haraszti RA, Godinho BMDC, Chase K, Sapp E, Ly S, Alterman JF, Hassler MR, Echeverria D, Raj L, Morrissey DV, DiFiglia M, Aronin N, Khvorova A. Exosome-mediated Delivery of Hydrophobically Modified siRNA for Huntingtin mRNA Silencing. Mol Ther 2016; 24:1836-1847. [PMID: 27506293 PMCID: PMC5112038 DOI: 10.1038/mt.2016.126] [Citation(s) in RCA: 315] [Impact Index Per Article: 39.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/06/2015] [Accepted: 06/14/2016] [Indexed: 02/07/2023] Open
Abstract
Delivery represents a significant barrier to the clinical advancement of oligonucleotide therapeutics for the treatment of neurological disorders, such as Huntington's disease. Small, endogenous vesicles known as exosomes have the potential to act as oligonucleotide delivery vehicles, but robust and scalable methods for loading RNA therapeutic cargo into exosomes are lacking. Here, we show that hydrophobically modified small interfering RNAs (hsiRNAs) efficiently load into exosomes upon co-incubation, without altering vesicle size distribution or integrity. Exosomes loaded with hsiRNAs targeting Huntingtin mRNA were efficiently internalized by mouse primary cortical neurons and promoted dose-dependent silencing of Huntingtin mRNA and protein. Unilateral infusion of hsiRNA-loaded exosomes, but not hsiRNAs alone, into mouse striatum resulted in bilateral oligonucleotide distribution and statistically significant bilateral silencing of up to 35% of Huntingtin mRNA. The broad distribution and efficacy of hsiRNA-loaded exosomes delivered to brain is expected to advance the development of therapies for the treatment of Huntington's disease and other neurodegenerative disorders.
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Affiliation(s)
- Marie-Cécile Didiot
- RNA Therapeutics Institute,
University of Massachusetts Medical School, Worcester,
Massachusetts, USA
- Department of Molecular Medicine,
University of Massachusetts Medical School, Worcester,
Massachusetts, USA
| | - Lauren M Hall
- RNA Therapeutics Institute,
University of Massachusetts Medical School, Worcester,
Massachusetts, USA
- Department of Medicine, University of
Massachusetts Medical School, Worcester,
Massachusetts, USA
| | - Andrew H Coles
- RNA Therapeutics Institute,
University of Massachusetts Medical School, Worcester,
Massachusetts, USA
- Department of Molecular Medicine,
University of Massachusetts Medical School, Worcester,
Massachusetts, USA
| | - Reka A Haraszti
- RNA Therapeutics Institute,
University of Massachusetts Medical School, Worcester,
Massachusetts, USA
- Department of Molecular Medicine,
University of Massachusetts Medical School, Worcester,
Massachusetts, USA
| | - Bruno MDC Godinho
- RNA Therapeutics Institute,
University of Massachusetts Medical School, Worcester,
Massachusetts, USA
- Department of Molecular Medicine,
University of Massachusetts Medical School, Worcester,
Massachusetts, USA
| | - Kathryn Chase
- RNA Therapeutics Institute,
University of Massachusetts Medical School, Worcester,
Massachusetts, USA
- Department of Medicine, University of
Massachusetts Medical School, Worcester,
Massachusetts, USA
| | - Ellen Sapp
- Institute for Neurodegenerative
Disease, Massachusetts General Hospital, Charlestown,
Massachusetts, USA
| | - Socheata Ly
- RNA Therapeutics Institute,
University of Massachusetts Medical School, Worcester,
Massachusetts, USA
- Department of Molecular Medicine,
University of Massachusetts Medical School, Worcester,
Massachusetts, USA
| | - Julia F Alterman
- RNA Therapeutics Institute,
University of Massachusetts Medical School, Worcester,
Massachusetts, USA
- Department of Molecular Medicine,
University of Massachusetts Medical School, Worcester,
Massachusetts, USA
| | - Matthew R Hassler
- RNA Therapeutics Institute,
University of Massachusetts Medical School, Worcester,
Massachusetts, USA
- Department of Molecular Medicine,
University of Massachusetts Medical School, Worcester,
Massachusetts, USA
| | - Dimas Echeverria
- RNA Therapeutics Institute,
University of Massachusetts Medical School, Worcester,
Massachusetts, USA
- Department of Molecular Medicine,
University of Massachusetts Medical School, Worcester,
Massachusetts, USA
| | - Lakshmi Raj
- Novartis Institutes for Biomedical
Research Inc., Cambridge, Massachusetts,
USA
| | - David V Morrissey
- Novartis Institutes for Biomedical
Research Inc., Cambridge, Massachusetts,
USA
| | - Marian DiFiglia
- Institute for Neurodegenerative
Disease, Massachusetts General Hospital, Charlestown,
Massachusetts, USA
| | - Neil Aronin
- RNA Therapeutics Institute,
University of Massachusetts Medical School, Worcester,
Massachusetts, USA
- Department of Medicine, University of
Massachusetts Medical School, Worcester,
Massachusetts, USA
| | - Anastasia Khvorova
- RNA Therapeutics Institute,
University of Massachusetts Medical School, Worcester,
Massachusetts, USA
- Department of Molecular Medicine,
University of Massachusetts Medical School, Worcester,
Massachusetts, USA
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37
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Johnson E, Chase K, McGowan S, Mondo E, Pfister E, Mick E, Friedline RH, Kim JK, Sapp E, DiFiglia M, Aronin N. Safety of Striatal Infusion of siRNA in a Transgenic Huntington's Disease Mouse Model. J Huntingtons Dis 2016; 4:219-229. [PMID: 26444021 DOI: 10.3233/jhd-150163] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/15/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND The immune system In Huntington's disease (HD) is activated and may overreact to some therapies. RNA interference using siRNA lowers mutant huntingtin (mHTT) protein but could increase immune responses. OBJECTIVE To examine the innate immune response following siRNA infusion into the striatum of wild-type (WT) and HD transgenic (YAC128) mice. METHODS siRNAs (2'-O-methyl phosphorothioated) were infused unilaterally into striatum of four month-old WT and YAC128 mice for 28 days. Microglia number and morphology (resting (normal), activated, dystrophic), cytokine levels, and DARPP32-positive neurons were measured in striatum immediately or 14 days post-infusion. Controls included contralateral untreated striatum, and PBS and sham treated striata. RESULTS The striata of untreated YAC128 mice had significantly fewer resting microglia and more dystrophic microglia than WT mice, but no difference from WT in the proportion of activated microglia or total number of microglia. siRNA infusion increased the total number of microglia in YAC128 mice compared to PBS treated and untreated striata and increased the proportion of activated microglia in WT and YAC128 mice compared to untreated striata and sham treated groups. Cytokine levels were low and siRNA infusion resulted in only modest changes in those levels. siRNA infusion did not change the number of DARPP32-positive neurons. CONCLUSION Findings suggest that siRNA infusion may be a safe method for lowering mHTT levels in the striatum in young animals, since treatment does not produce a robust cytokine response or cause neurotoxicity. The potential long-term effects of a sustained increase in total and activated microglia after siRNA infusion in HD mice need to be explored.
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Affiliation(s)
- Emily Johnson
- Department of Medicine, University of Massachusetts Medical School, Worcester, MA
| | - Kathryn Chase
- Department of Medicine, University of Massachusetts Medical School, Worcester, MA
| | - Sarah McGowan
- Department of Medicine, University of Massachusetts Medical School, Worcester, MA
| | - Erica Mondo
- Department of Medicine, University of Massachusetts Medical School, Worcester, MA
| | - Edith Pfister
- Department of Medicine, University of Massachusetts Medical School, Worcester, MA
| | - Eric Mick
- Department of Quantitative Health Sciences, University of Massachusetts Medical School, Worcester, MA
| | - Randall H Friedline
- Department of Program in Molecular Medicine, University of Massachusetts Medical School, Worcester, MA
| | - Jason K Kim
- Department of Medicine, University of Massachusetts Medical School, Worcester, MA.,Department of Program in Molecular Medicine, University of Massachusetts Medical School, Worcester, MA
| | - Ellen Sapp
- Department of Massachusetts General Hospital, Charlestown, MA
| | - Marian DiFiglia
- Department of Massachusetts General Hospital, Charlestown, MA
| | - Neil Aronin
- Department of Medicine, University of Massachusetts Medical School, Worcester, MA
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38
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Vodicka P, Mo S, Tousley A, Green KM, Sapp E, Iuliano M, Sadri-Vakili G, Shaffer SA, Aronin N, DiFiglia M, Kegel-Gleason KB. Mass Spectrometry Analysis of Wild-Type and Knock-in Q140/Q140 Huntington's Disease Mouse Brains Reveals Changes in Glycerophospholipids Including Alterations in Phosphatidic Acid and Lyso-Phosphatidic Acid. J Huntingtons Dis 2016; 4:187-201. [PMID: 26397899 DOI: 10.3233/jhd-150149] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/22/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Huntington's disease (HD) is a neurodegenerative disease caused by a CAG expansion in the HD gene, which encodes the protein Huntingtin. Huntingtin associates with membranes and can interact directly with glycerophospholipids in membranes. OBJECTIVE We analyzed glycerophospholipid profiles from brains of 11 month old wild-type (WT) and Q140/Q140 HD knock-in mice to assess potential changes in glycerophospholipid metabolism. METHODS Polar lipids from cerebellum, cortex, and striatum were extracted and analyzed by liquid chromatography and negative ion electrospray tandem mass spectrometry analysis (LC-MS/MS). Gene products involved in polar lipid metabolism were studied using western blotting, immuno-electron microscopy and qPCR. RESULTS Significant changes in numerous species of glycerophosphate (phosphatidic acid, PA) were found in striatum, cerebellum and cortex from Q140/Q140 HD mice compared to WT mice at 11 months. Changes in specific species could also be detected for other glycerophospholipids. Increases in species of lyso-PA (LPA) were measured in striatum of Q140/Q140 HD mice compared to WT. Protein levels for c-terminal binding protein 1 (CtBP1), a regulator of PA biosynthesis, were reduced in striatal synaptosomes from HD mice compared to wild-type at 6 and 12 months. Immunoreactivity for CtBP1 was detected on membranes of synaptic vesicles in striatal axon terminals in the globus pallidus. CONCLUSIONS These novel results identify a potential site of molecular pathology caused by mutant Huntingtin that may impart early changes in HD.
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Affiliation(s)
- Petr Vodicka
- Department of Neurology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Charlestown, MA, USA
| | - Shunyan Mo
- Proteomics and Mass Spectrometry Facility and Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Pharmacology, UMASS Medical School, Worcester, MA, USA
| | - Adelaide Tousley
- Department of Neurology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Charlestown, MA, USA
| | - Karin M Green
- Proteomics and Mass Spectrometry Facility and Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Pharmacology, UMASS Medical School, Worcester, MA, USA
| | - Ellen Sapp
- Department of Neurology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Charlestown, MA, USA
| | - Maria Iuliano
- Department of Neurology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Charlestown, MA, USA
| | | | - Scott A Shaffer
- Proteomics and Mass Spectrometry Facility and Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Pharmacology, UMASS Medical School, Worcester, MA, USA
| | - Neil Aronin
- Departments of Medicine and Cell and Developmental Biology, UMASS Medical School, Worcester, MA, USA
| | - Marian DiFiglia
- Department of Neurology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Charlestown, MA, USA
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Sheng R, Zhang TT, Felice VD, Qin T, Qin ZH, Smith CD, Sapp E, Difiglia M, Waeber C. Preconditioning stimuli induce autophagy via sphingosine kinase 2 in mouse cortical neurons. J Biol Chem 2015; 289:20845-57. [PMID: 24928515 DOI: 10.1074/jbc.m114.578120] [Citation(s) in RCA: 36] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/06/2022] Open
Abstract
Sphingosine kinase 2 (SPK2) and autophagy are both involved in brain preconditioning, but whether preconditioning-induced SPK2 up-regulation and autophagy activation are linked mechanistically remains to be elucidated. In this study, we used in vitro and in vivo models to explore the role of SPK2-mediated autophagy in isoflurane and hypoxic preconditioning. In primary mouse cortical neurons, both isoflurane and hypoxic preconditioning induced autophagy. Isoflurane and hypoxic preconditioning protected against subsequent oxygen glucose deprivation or glutamate injury, whereas pretreatment with autophagy inhibitors (3-methyladenine or KU55933) abolished preconditioning-induced tolerance. Pretreatment with SPK2 inhibitors (ABC294640 and SKI-II) or SPK2 knockdown prevented preconditioning-induced autophagy. Isoflurane also induced autophagy in mouse in vivo as shown by Western blots for LC3 and p62, LC3 immunostaining, and electron microscopy. Isoflurane-induced autophagy in mice lacking the SPK1 isoform (SPK1(-/-)), but not in SPK2(-/-)mice. Sphingosine 1-phosphate and the sphingosine 1-phosphate receptor agonist FTY720 did not protect against oxygen glucose deprivation in cultured neurons and did not alter the expression of LC3 and p62, suggesting that SPK2-mediated autophagy and protections are not S1P-dependent. Beclin 1 knockdown abolished preconditioning-induced autophagy, and SPK2 inhibitors abolished isoflurane-induced disruption of the Beclin 1/Bcl-2 association. These results strongly indicate that autophagy is involved in isoflurane preconditioning both in vivo and in vitro and that SPK2 contributes to preconditioning-induced autophagy, possibly by disrupting the Beclin 1/Bcl-2 interaction.
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McClory H, Williams D, Sapp E, Gatune LW, Wang P, DiFiglia M, Li X. Glucose transporter 3 is a rab11-dependent trafficking cargo and its transport to the cell surface is reduced in neurons of CAG140 Huntington's disease mice. Acta Neuropathol Commun 2014; 2:179. [PMID: 25526803 PMCID: PMC4297405 DOI: 10.1186/s40478-014-0178-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 32] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/16/2014] [Accepted: 12/09/2014] [Indexed: 12/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Huntington’s disease (HD) disturbs glucose metabolism in the brain by poorly understood mechanisms. HD neurons have defective glucose uptake, which is attenuated upon enhancing rab11 activity. Rab11 regulates numerous receptors and transporters trafficking onto cell surfaces; its diminished activity in HD cells affects the recycling of transferrin receptor and neuronal glutamate/cysteine transporter EAAC1. Glucose transporter 3 (Glut3) handles most glucose uptake in neurons. Here we investigated rab11 involvement in Glut3 trafficking. Glut3 was localized to rab11 positive puncta in primary neurons and immortalized striatal cells by immunofluorescence labeling and detected in rab11-enriched endosomes immuno-isolated from mouse brain by Western blot. Expression of dominant active and negative rab11 mutants in clonal striatal cells altered the levels of cell surface Glut3 suggesting a regulation by rab11. About 4% of total Glut3 occurred at the cell surface of primary WT neurons. HD140Q/140Q neurons had significantly less cell surface Glut3 than did WT neurons. Western blot analysis revealed comparable levels of Glut3 in the striatum and cortex of WT and HD140Q/140Q mice. However, brain slices immunolabeled with an antibody recognizing an extracellular epitope to Glut3 showed reduced surface expression of Glut3 in the striatum and cortex of HD140Q/140Q mice compared to that of WT mice. Surface labeling of GABAα1 receptor, which is not dependent on rab11, was not different between WT and HD140Q/140Q mouse brain slices. These data define Glut3 to be a rab11-dependent trafficking cargo and suggest that impaired Glut3 trafficking arising from rab11 dysfunction underlies the glucose hypometabolism observed in HD.
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Grishchuk Y, Sri S, Rudinskiy N, Ma W, Stember KG, Cottle MW, Sapp E, Difiglia M, Muzikansky A, Betensky RA, Wong AMS, Bacskai BJ, Hyman BT, Kelleher RJ, Cooper JD, Slaugenhaupt SA. Behavioral deficits, early gliosis, dysmyelination and synaptic dysfunction in a mouse model of mucolipidosis IV. Acta Neuropathol Commun 2014; 2:133. [PMID: 25200117 PMCID: PMC4173007 DOI: 10.1186/s40478-014-0133-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 31] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/26/2014] [Accepted: 08/26/2014] [Indexed: 12/04/2022] Open
Abstract
Mucolipidosis IV (MLIV) is caused by mutations in the gene MCOLN1. Patients with MLIV have severe neurologic deficits and very little is known about the brain pathology in this lysosomal disease. Using an accurate mouse model of mucolipidosis IV, we observed early behavioral deficits which were accompanied by activation of microglia and astrocytes. The glial activation that persisted during the course of disease was not accompanied by neuronal loss even at the late stage. In vivo [Ca2+]-imaging revealed no changes in resting [Ca2+] levels in Mcoln1−/− cortical neurons, implying their physiological health. Despite the absence of neuron loss, we observed alterations in synaptic plasticity, as indicated by elevated paired-pulse facilitation and enhanced long-term potentiation. Myelination deficits and severely dysmorphic corpus callosum were present early and resembled white matter pathology in mucolipidosis IV patients. These results indicate the early involvement of glia, and challenge the traditional view of mucolipidosis IV as an overtly neurodegenerative condition.
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Valencia A, Sapp E, Kimm JS, McClory H, Ansong KA, Yohrling G, Kwak S, Kegel KB, Green KM, Shaffer SA, Aronin N, DiFiglia M. Striatal synaptosomes from Hdh140Q/140Q knock-in mice have altered protein levels, novel sites of methionine oxidation, and excess glutamate release after stimulation. J Huntingtons Dis 2014; 2:459-75. [PMID: 24696705 DOI: 10.3233/jhd-130080] [Citation(s) in RCA: 30] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/03/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Synaptic connections are disrupted in patients with Huntington's disease (HD). Synaptosomes from postmortem brain are ideal for synaptic function studies because they are enriched in pre- and post-synaptic proteins important in vesicle fusion, vesicle release, and neurotransmitter receptor activation. OBJECTIVE To examine striatal synaptosomes from 3, 6 and 12 month old WT and Hdh140Q/140Q knock-in mice for levels of synaptic proteins, methionine oxidation, and glutamate release. METHODS We used Western blot analysis, glutamate release assays, and liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS). RESULTS Striatal synaptosomes of 6 month old Hdh140Q/140Q mice had less DARPP32, syntaxin 1 and calmodulin compared to WT. Striatal synaptosomes of 12 month old Hdh140Q/140Q mice had lower levels of DARPP32, alpha actinin, HAP40, Na+/K+-ATPase, PSD95, SNAP-25, TrkA and VAMP1, VGlut1 and VGlut2, increased levels of VAMP2, and modifications in actin and calmodulin compared to WT. More glutamate released from vesicles of depolarized striatal synaptosomes of 6 month old Hdh140Q/140Q than from age matched WT mice but there was no difference in glutamate release in synaptosomes of 3 and 12 month old WT and Hdh140Q/140Q mice. LC-MS/MS of 6 month old Hdh140Q/140Q mice striatal synaptosomes revealed that about 4% of total proteins detected (>600 detected) had novel sites of methionine oxidation including proteins involved with vesicle fusion, trafficking, and neurotransmitter function (synaptophysin, synapsin 2, syntaxin 1, calmodulin, cytoplasmic actin 2, neurofilament, and tubulin). Altered protein levels and novel methionine oxidations were also seen in cortical synaptosomes of 12 month old Hdh140Q/140Q mice. CONCLUSIONS Findings provide support for early synaptic dysfunction in Hdh140Q/140Q knock-in mice arising from altered protein levels, oxidative damage, and impaired glutamate neurotransmission and suggest that study of synaptosomes could be of value for evaluating HD therapies.
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Valencia A, Sapp E, Kimm JS, McClory H, Reeves PB, Alexander J, Ansong KA, Masso N, Frosch MP, Kegel KB, Li X, DiFiglia M. Elevated NADPH oxidase activity contributes to oxidative stress and cell death in Huntington's disease. Hum Mol Genet 2012; 22:1112-31. [PMID: 23223017 DOI: 10.1093/hmg/dds516] [Citation(s) in RCA: 83] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/18/2023] Open
Abstract
A mutation in the huntingtin (Htt) gene produces mutant Htt and Huntington's disease (HD), a neurodegenerative disorder. HD patients have oxidative damage in the brain, but the causes are unclear. Compared with controls, we found brain levels of NADPH oxidase (NOX) activity, which produces reactive oxygen species (ROS), elevated in human HD postmortem cortex and striatum and highest in striatum of presymptomatic individuals. Synaptosome fractions from cortex and striatum of HD(140Q/140Q) mice had elevated NOX activity at 3 months of age and a further rise at 6 and 12 months compared with synaptosomes of age-matched wild-type (WT) mice. High NOX activity in primary cortical and striatal neurons of HD(140Q/140Q) mice correlated with more ROS and neurite swellings. These features and neuronal cell death were markedly reduced by treatment with NOX inhibitors such as diphenyleneiodonium (DPI), apocynin (APO) and VAS2870. The rise in ROS levels in mitochondria of HD(140Q/140Q) neurons followed the rise in NOX activity and inhibiting only mitochondrial ROS was not neuroprotective. Mutant Htt colocalized at plasma membrane lipid rafts with gp91-phox, a catalytic subunit for the NOX2 isoform. Assembly of NOX2 components at lipid rafts requires activation of Rac1 which was also elevated in HD(140Q/140Q) neurons. HD(140Q/140Q) mice bred to gp91-phox knock-out mice had lower NOX activity in the brain and in primary neurons, and neurons had normal ROS levels and significantly improved survival. These findings suggest that increased NOX2 activity at lipid rafts is an early and major source of oxidative stress and cell death in HD(140Q/140Q) neurons.
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Affiliation(s)
- Antonio Valencia
- Department of Neurology, Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School, 114 16th Street, Charlestown, MA 02129, USA
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Ritch JJ, Valencia A, Alexander J, Sapp E, Gatune L, Sangrey GR, Sinha S, Scherber CM, Zeitlin S, Sadri-Vakili G, Irimia D, Difiglia M, Kegel KB. Multiple phenotypes in Huntington disease mouse neural stem cells. Mol Cell Neurosci 2012; 50:70-81. [PMID: 22508027 DOI: 10.1016/j.mcn.2012.03.011] [Citation(s) in RCA: 38] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/14/2011] [Revised: 03/09/2012] [Accepted: 03/29/2012] [Indexed: 11/25/2022] Open
Abstract
Neural stem (NS) cells are a limitless resource, and thus superior to primary neurons for drug discovery provided they exhibit appropriate disease phenotypes. Here we established NS cells for cellular studies of Huntington's disease (HD). HD is a heritable neurodegenerative disease caused by a mutation resulting in an increased number of glutamines (Q) within a polyglutamine tract in Huntingtin (Htt). NS cells were isolated from embryonic wild-type (Htt(7Q/7Q)) and "knock-in" HD (Htt(140Q/140Q)) mice expressing full-length endogenous normal or mutant Htt. NS cells were also developed from mouse embryonic stem cells that were devoid of Htt (Htt(-/-)), or knock-in cells containing human exon1 with an N-terminal FLAG epitope tag and with 7Q or 140Q inserted into one of the mouse alleles (Htt(F7Q/7Q) and Htt(F140Q/7Q)). Compared to Htt(7Q/7Q) NS cells, HD Htt(140Q/140Q) NS cells showed significantly reduced levels of cholesterol, increased levels of reactive oxygen species (ROS), and impaired motility. The heterozygous Htt(F140Q/7Q) NS cells had increased ROS and decreased motility compared to Htt(F7Q/7Q). These phenotypes of HD NS cells replicate those seen in HD patients or in primary cell or in vivo models of HD. Huntingtin "knock-out" NS cells (Htt(-/-)) also had impaired motility, but in contrast to HD cells had increased cholesterol. In addition, Htt(140Q/140Q) NS cells had higher phospho-AKT/AKT ratios than Htt(7Q/7Q) NS cells in resting conditions and after BDNF stimulation, suggesting mutant htt affects AKT dependent growth factor signaling. Upon differentiation, the Htt(7Q/7Q) and Htt(140Q/140Q) generated numerous Beta(III)-Tubulin- and GABA-positive neurons; however, after 15 days the cellular architecture of the differentiated Htt(140Q/140Q) cultures changed compared to Htt(7Q/7Q) cultures and included a marked increase of GFAP-positive cells. Our findings suggest that NS cells expressing endogenous mutant Htt will be useful for study of mechanisms of HD and drug discovery.
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Affiliation(s)
- James J Ritch
- MassGeneral Institute for Neurodegenerative Disease, Department of Neurology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Charlestown, MA 02129, United States
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Sapp E, Valencia A, Li X, Aronin N, Kegel KB, Vonsattel JP, Young AB, Wexler N, DiFiglia M. Native mutant huntingtin in human brain: evidence for prevalence of full-length monomer. J Biol Chem 2012; 287:13487-99. [PMID: 22375012 DOI: 10.1074/jbc.m111.286609] [Citation(s) in RCA: 21] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/10/2023] Open
Abstract
Huntington disease (HD) is caused by polyglutamine expansion in the N terminus of huntingtin (htt). Analysis of human postmortem brain lysates by SDS-PAGE and Western blot reveals htt as full-length and fragmented. Here we used Blue Native PAGE (BNP) and Western blots to study native htt in human postmortem brain. Antisera against htt detected a single band broadly migrating at 575-850 kDa in control brain and at 650-885 kDa in heterozygous and Venezuelan homozygous HD brains. Anti-polyglutamine antisera detected full-length mutant htt in HD brain. There was little htt cleavage even if lysates were pretreated with trypsin, indicating a property of native htt to resist protease cleavage. A soluble mutant htt fragment of about 180 kDa was detected with anti-htt antibody Ab1 (htt-(1-17)) and increased when lysates were treated with denaturants (SDS, 8 M urea, DTT, or trypsin) before BNP. Wild-type htt was more resistant to denaturants. Based on migration of in vitro translated htt fragments, the 180-kDa segment terminated ≈htt 670-880 amino acids. If second dimension SDS-PAGE followed BNP, the 180-kDa mutant htt was absent, and 43-50 kDa htt fragments appeared. Brain lysates from two HD mouse models expressed native full-length htt; a mutant fragment formed if lysates were pretreated with 8 M urea + DTT. Native full-length mutant htt in embryonic HD(140Q/140Q) mouse primary neurons was intact during cell death and when cell lysates were exposed to denaturants before BNP. Thus, native mutant htt occurs in brain and primary neurons as a soluble full-length monomer.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ellen Sapp
- Department of Neurology, Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Charlestown, Massachusetts 02129, USA
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Fox JH, Connor T, Stiles M, Kama J, Lu Z, Dorsey K, Lieberman G, Sapp E, Cherny RA, Banks M, Volitakis I, DiFiglia M, Berezovska O, Bush AI, Hersch SM. Cysteine oxidation within N-terminal mutant huntingtin promotes oligomerization and delays clearance of soluble protein. J Biol Chem 2011. [DOI: 10.1074/jbc.a110.199448] [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] [Indexed: 11/06/2022] Open
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Fox JH, Connor T, Stiles M, Kama J, Lu Z, Dorsey K, Lieberman G, Liebermann G, Sapp E, Cherny RA, Banks M, Volitakis I, DiFiglia M, Berezovska O, Bush AI, Hersch SM. Cysteine oxidation within N-terminal mutant huntingtin promotes oligomerization and delays clearance of soluble protein. J Biol Chem 2011; 286:18320-30. [PMID: 21454633 PMCID: PMC3093904 DOI: 10.1074/jbc.m110.199448] [Citation(s) in RCA: 46] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.5] [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: 11/01/2010] [Revised: 03/13/2011] [Indexed: 02/01/2023] Open
Abstract
Huntington disease (HD) is a progressive neurodegenerative disorder caused by expression of polyglutamine-expanded mutant huntingtin protein (mhtt). Most evidence indicates that soluble mhtt species, rather than insoluble aggregates, are the important mediators of HD pathogenesis. However, the differential roles of soluble monomeric and oligomeric mhtt species in HD and the mechanisms of oligomer formation are not yet understood. We have shown previously that copper interacts with and oxidizes the polyglutamine-containing N171 fragment of huntingtin. In this study we report that oxidation-dependent oligomers of huntingtin form spontaneously in cell and mouse HD models. Levels of these species are modulated by copper, hydrogen peroxide, and glutathione. Mutagenesis of all cysteine residues within N171 blocks the formation of these oligomers. In cells, levels of oligomerization-blocked mutant N171 were decreased compared with native N171. We further show that a subset of the oligomerization-blocked form of glutamine-expanded N171 huntingtin is rapidly depleted from the soluble pool compared with "native " mutant N171. Taken together, our data indicate that huntingtin is subject to specific oxidations that are involved in the formation of stable oligomers and that also delay removal from the soluble pool. These findings show that inhibiting formation of oxidation-dependent huntingtin oligomers, or promoting their dissolution, may have protective effects in HD by decreasing the burden of soluble mutant huntingtin.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jonathan H Fox
- Department of Veterinary Science and Neuroscience Graduate Program, University of Wyoming, Laramie, Wyoming 82070, USA.
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Kegel KB, Sapp E, Alexander J, Reeves P, Bleckmann D, Sobin L, Masso N, Valencia A, Jeong H, Krainc D, Palacino J, Curtis D, Kuhn R, Betschart C, Sena-Esteves M, Aronin N, Paganetti P, Difiglia M. Huntingtin cleavage product A forms in neurons and is reduced by gamma-secretase inhibitors. Mol Neurodegener 2010; 5:58. [PMID: 21156064 PMCID: PMC3018386 DOI: 10.1186/1750-1326-5-58] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.1] [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: 08/31/2010] [Accepted: 12/14/2010] [Indexed: 12/19/2022] Open
Abstract
Background The mutation in Huntington's disease is a polyglutamine expansion near the N-terminus of huntingtin. Huntingtin expressed in immortalized neurons is cleaved near the N-terminus to form N-terminal polypeptides known as cleavage products A and B (cpA and cpB). CpA and cpB with polyglutamine expansion form inclusions in the nucleus and cytoplasm, respectively. The formation of cpA and cpB in primary neurons has not been established and the proteases involved in the formation of these fragments are unknown. Results Delivery of htt cDNA into the mouse striatum using adeno-associated virus or into primary cortical neurons using lentivirus generated cpA and cpB, indicating that neurons in brain and in vitro can form these fragments. A screen of small molecule protease inhibitors introduced to clonal striatal X57 cells and HeLa cells identified compounds that reduced levels of cpA and are inhibitors of the aspartyl proteases cathepsin D and cathepsin E. The most effective compound, P1-N031, is a transition state mimetic for aspartyl proteases. By western blot analysis, cathepsin D was easily detected in clonal striatal X57 cells, mouse brain and primary neurons, whereas cathepsin E was only detectible in clonal striatal X57 cells. In primary neurons, levels of cleavage product A were not changed by the same compounds that were effective in clonal striatal cells or by mRNA silencing to partially reduce levels of cathepsin D. Instead, treating primary neurons with compounds that are known to inhibit gamma secretase activity either indirectly (Imatinib mesylate, Gleevec) or selectively (LY-411,575 or DAPT) reduced levels of cpA. LY-411,575 or DAPT also increased survival of primary neurons expressing endogenous full-length mutant huntingtin. Conclusion We show that cpA and cpB are produced from a larger huntingtin fragment in vivo in mouse brain and in primary neuron cultures. The aspartyl protease involved in forming cpA has cathepsin-D like properties in immortalized neurons and gamma secretase-like properties in primary neurons, suggesting that cell type may be a critical factor that specifies the aspartyl protease responsible for cpA. Since gamma secretase inhibitors were also protective in primary neurons, further study of the role of gamma-secretase activity in HD neurons is justified.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kimberly B Kegel
- Department of Neurology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Charlestown, MA 02129, USA.
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Legleiter J, Mitchell E, Lotz GP, Sapp E, Ng C, DiFiglia M, Thompson LM, Muchowski PJ. Mutant huntingtin fragments form oligomers in a polyglutamine length-dependent manner in vitro and in vivo. J Biol Chem 2010; 285:14777-90. [PMID: 20220138 PMCID: PMC2863238 DOI: 10.1074/jbc.m109.093708] [Citation(s) in RCA: 157] [Impact Index Per Article: 11.2] [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: 12/09/2009] [Revised: 03/03/2010] [Indexed: 11/06/2022] Open
Abstract
Huntington disease (HD) is caused by an expansion of more than 35-40 polyglutamine (polyQ) repeats in the huntingtin (htt) protein, resulting in accumulation of inclusion bodies containing fibrillar deposits of mutant htt fragments. Intriguingly, polyQ length is directly proportional to the propensity for htt to form fibrils and the severity of HD and is inversely correlated with age of onset. Although the structural basis for htt toxicity is unclear, the formation, abundance, and/or persistence of toxic conformers mediating neuronal dysfunction and degeneration in HD must also depend on polyQ length. Here we used atomic force microscopy to demonstrate mutant htt fragments and synthetic polyQ peptides form oligomers in a polyQ length-dependent manner. By time-lapse atomic force microscopy, oligomers form before fibrils, are transient in nature, and are occasionally direct precursors to fibrils. However, the vast majority of fibrils appear to form by monomer addition coinciding with the disappearance of oligomers. Thus, oligomers must undergo a major structural transition preceding fibril formation. In an immortalized striatal cell line and in brain homogenates from a mouse model of HD, a mutant htt fragment formed oligomers in a polyQ length-dependent manner that were similar in size to those formed in vitro, although these structures accumulated over time in vivo. Finally, using immunoelectron microscopy, we detected oligomeric-like structures in human HD brains. These results demonstrate that oligomer formation by a mutant htt fragment is strongly polyQ length-dependent in vitro and in vivo, consistent with a causative role for these structures, or subsets of these structures, in HD pathogenesis.
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Affiliation(s)
- Justin Legleiter
- From the Gladstone Institute of Neurological Disease and
- Departments of Neurology and
| | - Emily Mitchell
- Departments of Psychiatry and Human Behavior
- Neurobiology and Behavior, and
- Biological Chemistry, University of California, Irvine, California 92697, and
| | - Gregor P. Lotz
- From the Gladstone Institute of Neurological Disease and
- Departments of Neurology and
| | - Ellen Sapp
- the Laboratory of Cellular Neurobiology, Department of Neurology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Charlestown, Massachusetts 02114
| | - Cheping Ng
- From the Gladstone Institute of Neurological Disease and
| | - Marian DiFiglia
- the Laboratory of Cellular Neurobiology, Department of Neurology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Charlestown, Massachusetts 02114
| | - Leslie M. Thompson
- Departments of Psychiatry and Human Behavior
- Neurobiology and Behavior, and
- Biological Chemistry, University of California, Irvine, California 92697, and
| | - Paul J. Muchowski
- From the Gladstone Institute of Neurological Disease and
- Departments of Neurology and
- Biochemistry and Biophysics, University of California, San Francisco, California 94158
- the Taube-Koret Center for Huntington's Disease Research and
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Valencia A, Reeves PB, Sapp E, Li X, Alexander J, Kegel KB, Chase K, Aronin N, DiFiglia M. Mutant huntingtin and glycogen synthase kinase 3-beta accumulate in neuronal lipid rafts of a presymptomatic knock-in mouse model of Huntington's disease. J Neurosci Res 2010; 88:179-90. [PMID: 19642201 DOI: 10.1002/jnr.22184] [Citation(s) in RCA: 70] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/12/2022]
Abstract
Patients with Huntington's disease have an expanded polyglutamine tract in huntingtin and suffer severe brain atrophy and neurodegeneration. Because membrane dysfunction can occur in Huntington's disease, we addressed whether mutant huntingtin in brain and primary neurons is present in lipid rafts, which are cholesterol-enriched membrane domains that mediate growth and survival signals. Biochemical analysis of detergent-resistant membranes from brains and primary neurons of wild-type and presymptomatic Huntington's disease knock-in mice showed that wild-type and mutant huntingtin were recovered in lipid raft-enriched detergent-resistant membranes. The association with lipid rafts was stronger for mutant huntingtin than wild-type huntingtin. Lipid rafts extracted from Huntington's disease mice had normal levels of lipid raft markers (G(alphaq), Ras, and flotillin) but significantly more glycogen synthase kinase 3-beta. Increases in glycogen synthase kinase 3-beta have been associated with apoptotic cell death. Treating Huntington's disease primary neurons with inhibitors of glycogen synthase kinase 3-beta reduced neuronal death. We speculate that accumulation of mutant huntingtin and glycogen synthase kinase 3-beta in lipid rafts of presymptomatic Huntington's disease mouse neurons contributes to neurodegeneration in Huntington's disease.
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Affiliation(s)
- Antonio Valencia
- Department of Neurology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Charlestown, Massachusetts, USA
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