Modelling TDP-43 proteinopathy in Drosophila uncovers shared and neuron-specific targets across ALS and FTD relevant circuits

Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) and frontotemporal dementia (FTD) comprise a spectrum of neurodegenerative diseases linked to TDP-43 proteinopathy, which at the cellular level, is characterized by loss of nuclear TDP-43 and accumulation of cytoplasmic TDP-43 inclusions that ultimately cause RNA processing defects including dysregulation of splicing, mRNA transport and translation. Complementing our previous work in motor neurons, here we report a novel model of TDP-43 proteinopathy based on overexpression of TDP-43 in a subset of Drosophila Kenyon cells of the mushroom body (MB), a circuit with structural characteristics reminiscent of vertebrate cortical networks. This model recapitulates several aspects of dementia-relevant pathological features including age-dependent neuronal loss, nuclear depletion and cytoplasmic accumulation of TDP-43, and behavioral deficits in working memory and sleep that occur prior to axonal degeneration. RNA immunoprecipitations identify several candidate mRNA targets of TDP-43 in MBs, some of which are unique to the MB circuit and others that are shared with motor neurons. Among the latter is the glypican Dally-like-protein (Dlp), which exhibits significant TDP-43 associated reduction in expression during aging. Using genetic interactions we show that overexpression of Dlp in MBs mitigates TDP-43 dependent working memory deficits, conistent with Dlp acting as a mediator of TDP-43 toxicity. Substantiating our findings in the fly model, we find that the expression of GPC6 mRNA, a human ortholog of dlp, is specifically altered in neurons exhibiting the molecular signature of TDP-43 pathology in FTD patient brains. These findings suggest that circuit-specific Drosophila models provide a platform for uncovering shared or disease-specific molecular mechanisms and vulnerabilities across the spectrum of TDP-43 proteinopathies.

Cryptic exon detection and transcriptomic changes revealed in single-nuclei RNA sequencing of C9ORF72 patients spanning the ALS-FTD spectrum

The C9ORF72-linked diseases amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) and frontotemporal dementia (FTD) are characterized by the nuclear depletion and cytoplasmic accumulation of TAR DNA-binding protein 43 (TDP-43). Recent studies have shown that the loss of TDP-43 function leads to the inclusion of cryptic exons (CE) in several RNA transcript targets of TDP-43. Here, we show for the first time the detection of CEs in a single-nuclei RNA sequencing (snRNA-seq) dataset obtained from frontal and occipital cortices of C9ORF72 patients that phenotypically span the ALS-FTD disease spectrum. We assessed each cellular cluster for detection of recently described TDP-43-induced CEs. Transcripts containing CEs in the genes STMN2 and KALRN were detected in the frontal cortex of all C9ORF72 disease groups with the highest frequency in excitatory neurons in the C9ORF72-FTD group. Within the excitatory neurons, the cluster with the highest proportion of cells containing a CE had transcriptomic similarities to von Economo neurons, which are known to be vulnerable to TDP-43 pathology and selectively lost in C9ORF72-FTD. Differential gene expression and pathway analysis of CE-containing neurons revealed multiple dysregulated metabolic processes. Our findings reveal novel insights into the transcriptomic changes of neurons vulnerable to TDP-43 pathology.

Moderate intrinsic phenotypic alterations in C9orf72 ALS/FTD iPSC-microglia despite the presence of C9orf72 pathological features

While motor and cortical neurons are affected in C9orf72 amyotrophic lateral sclerosis and frontotemporal dementia (ALS/FTD), it remains largely unknown if and how non-neuronal cells induce or exacerbate neuronal damage. We differentiated C9orf72 ALS/FTD patient-derived induced pluripotent stem cells into microglia (iPSC-MG) and examined their intrinsic phenotypes. Similar to iPSC motor neurons, C9orf72 ALS/FTD iPSC-MG mono-cultures form G4C2 repeat RNA foci, exhibit reduced C9orf72 protein levels, and generate dipeptide repeat proteins. Healthy control and C9orf72 ALS/FTD iPSC-MG equally express microglial specific genes and perform microglial functions, including inflammatory cytokine release and phagocytosis of extracellular cargos, such as synthetic amyloid beta peptides and healthy human brain synaptoneurosomes. RNA sequencing analysis revealed select transcriptional changes of genes associated with neuroinflammation or neurodegeneration in diseased microglia yet no significant differentially expressed microglial-enriched genes. Moderate molecular and functional differences were observed in C9orf72 iPSC-MG mono-cultures despite the presence of C9orf72 pathological features suggesting that a diseased microenvironment may be required to induce phenotypic changes in microglial cells and the associated neuronal dysfunction seen in C9orf72 ALS/FTD neurodegeneration.

Cell type-specific modulation of healthspan by Forkhead family transcription factors in the nervous system

Reduced activity of insulin/insulin-like growth factor signaling (IIS) increases healthy lifespan among diverse animal species. Downstream of IIS, multiple evolutionarily conserved transcription factors (TFs) are required; however, distinct TFs are likely responsible for these effects in different tissues. Here we have asked which TFs can extend healthy lifespan within distinct cell types of the adult nervous system in Drosophila Starting from published single-cell transcriptomic data, we report that forkhead (FKH) is endogenously expressed in neurons, whereas forkhead-box-O (FOXO) is expressed in glial cells. Accordingly, we find that neuronal FKH and glial FOXO exert independent prolongevity effects. We have further explored the role of neuronal FKH in a model of Alzheimer's disease-associated neuronal dysfunction, where we find that increased neuronal FKH preserves behavioral function and reduces ubiquitinated protein aggregation. Finally, using transcriptomic profiling, we identify Atg17, a member of the Atg1 autophagy initiation family, as one FKH-dependent target whose neuronal overexpression is sufficient to extend healthy lifespan. Taken together, our results underscore the importance of cell type-specific mapping of TF activity to preserve healthy function with age.

Recent advances in understanding amyotrophic lateral sclerosis and emerging therapies

Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is a fatal neurodegenerative disease that is characterized by degeneration of both upper and lower motor neurons and subsequent progressive loss of muscle function. Within the last decade, significant progress has been made in the understanding of the etiology and pathobiology of the disease; however, treatment options remain limited and only two drugs, which exert a modest effect on survival, are approved for ALS treatment in the US. Therefore, the search for effective ALS therapies continues, and over 60 clinical trials are in progress for patients with ALS and other therapeutics are at the pre-clinical stage of development. Recent advances in understanding the genetics, pathology, and molecular mechanisms of ALS have led to the identification of novel targets and strategies that are being used in emerging ALS therapeutic interventions. Here, we review the current status and mechanisms of action of a selection of emerging ALS therapies in pre-clinical or early clinical development, including gene therapy, immunotherapy, and strategies that target neuroinflammation, phase separation, and protein clearance.

Heterogeneous nuclear ribonucleoproteins R and Q accumulate in pathological inclusions in FTLD-FUS

Frontotemporal lobar degeneration (FTLD) is pathologically subdivided based on the presence of particular pathological proteins that are identified in inclusion bodies observed post-mortem. The FTLD-FUS subgroup is defined by the presence of the fused in sarcoma protein (FUS) in pathological inclusions. FUS is a heterogeneous nuclear ribonucleoprotein (hnRNP) protein and a member of the FET (FUS, EWS, TAF15) protein family. It shuttles between the nucleus and cytoplasm, and has been implicated in many cellular functions including translation, splicing, and RNA transport. EWS, TAF15 and the nuclear import receptor transportin have been shown to co-accumulate with FUS in neuronal inclusions specifically in FTLD-FUS, with transportin-positive inclusions most frequently observed. Here, we report the identification of hnRNP R and hnRNP Q in neuronal cytoplasmic and intranuclear inclusions in the frontal cortex and hippocampus of FTLD-FUS patients, as frequently as transportin. hnRNP R and hnRNP Q were not found in the characteristic pathological inclusions observed in FTLD-TDP (subtypes A-C). Additionally, we studied the expression of hnRNP R in the frontal and temporal cortices from patients with FTLD and found significantly increased expression of the heterogeneous nuclear ribonucleoprotein R in several FTLD disease groups. Our identification of the frequent presence of hnRNP R and hnRNP Q in FTLD-FUS inclusions suggests a potential role for these hnRNPs in FTLD-FUS pathogenesis and supports the role of dysfunctional RNA metabolism in FTLD.

DNAJ Proteins in neurodegeneration: essential and protective factors

Maintenance of protein homeostasis is vitally important in post-mitotic cells, particularly neurons. Neurodegenerative diseases such as polyglutamine expansion disorders-like Huntington's disease or spinocerebellar ataxia (SCA), Alzheimer's disease, fronto-temporal dementia (FTD), amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) and Parkinson's disease-are often characterized by the presence of inclusions of aggregated protein. Neurons contain complex protein networks dedicated to protein quality control and maintaining protein homeostasis, or proteostasis. Molecular chaperones are a class of proteins with prominent roles in maintaining proteostasis, which act to bind and shield hydrophobic regions of nascent or misfolded proteins while allowing correct folding, conformational changes and enabling quality control. There are many different families of molecular chaperones with multiple functions in proteostasis. The DNAJ family of molecular chaperones is the largest chaperone family and is defined by the J-domain, which regulates the function of HSP70 chaperones. DNAJ proteins can also have multiple other protein domains such as ubiquitin-interacting motifs or clathrin-binding domains leading to diverse and specific roles in the cell, including targeting client proteins for degradation via the proteasome, chaperone-mediated autophagy and uncoating clathrin-coated vesicles. DNAJ proteins can also contain ER-signal peptides or mitochondrial leader sequences, targeting them to specific organelles in the cell. In this review, we discuss the multiple roles of DNAJ proteins and in particular focus on the role of DNAJ proteins in protecting against neurodegenerative diseases caused by misfolded proteins. We also discuss the role of DNAJ proteins as direct causes of inherited neurodegeneration via mutations in DNAJ family genes.This article is part of the theme issue 'Heat shock proteins as modulators and therapeutic targets of chronic disease: an integrated perspective'.