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Southwell AL, Franciosi S, Villanueva EB, Xie Y, Winter LA, Veeraraghavan J, Jonason A, Felczak B, Zhang W, Kovalik V, Waltl S, Hall G, Pouladi MA, Smith ES, Bowers WJ, Zauderer M, Hayden MR. Anti-semaphorin 4D immunotherapy ameliorates neuropathology and some cognitive impairment in the YAC128 mouse model of Huntington disease. Neurobiol Dis 2015; 76:46-56. [PMID: 25662335 DOI: 10.1016/j.nbd.2015.01.002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 61] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.8] [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: 06/11/2014] [Revised: 12/15/2014] [Accepted: 01/25/2015] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Huntington disease (HD) is an inherited, fatal neurodegenerative disease with no disease-modifying therapy currently available. In addition to characteristic motor deficits and atrophy of the caudate nucleus, signature hallmarks of HD include behavioral abnormalities, immune activation, and cortical and white matter loss. The identification and validation of novel therapeutic targets that contribute to these degenerative cellular processes may lead to new interventions that slow or even halt the course of this insidious disease. Semaphorin 4D (SEMA4D) is a transmembrane signaling molecule that modulates a variety of processes central to neuroinflammation and neurodegeneration including glial cell activation, neuronal growth cone collapse and apoptosis of neural precursors, as well as inhibition of oligodendrocyte migration, differentiation and process formation. Therefore, inhibition of SEMA4D signaling could reduce CNS inflammation, increase neuronal outgrowth and enhance oligodendrocyte maturation, which may be of therapeutic benefit in the treatment of several neurodegenerative diseases, including HD. To that end, we evaluated the preclinical therapeutic efficacy of an anti-SEMA4D monoclonal antibody, which prevents the interaction between SEMA4D and its receptors, in the YAC128 transgenic HD mouse model. Anti-SEMA4D treatment ameliorated neuropathological signatures, including striatal atrophy, cortical atrophy, and corpus callosum atrophy and prevented testicular degeneration in YAC128 mice. In parallel, a subset of behavioral symptoms was improved in anti-SEMA4D treated YAC128 mice, including reduced anxiety-like behavior and rescue of cognitive deficits. There was, however, no discernible effect on motor deficits. The preservation of brain gray and white matter and improvement in behavioral measures in YAC128 mice treated with anti-SEMA4D suggest that this approach could represent a viable therapeutic strategy for the treatment of HD. Importantly, this work provides in vivo demonstration that inhibition of pathways initiated by SEMA4D constitutes a novel approach to moderation of neurodegeneration.
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Affiliation(s)
- Amber L Southwell
- Centre for Molecular Medicine and Therapeutics, Child and Family Research Institute, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC V5Z 4H4, Canada
| | - Sonia Franciosi
- Centre for Molecular Medicine and Therapeutics, Child and Family Research Institute, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC V5Z 4H4, Canada
| | - Erika B Villanueva
- Centre for Molecular Medicine and Therapeutics, Child and Family Research Institute, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC V5Z 4H4, Canada
| | - Yuanyun Xie
- Centre for Molecular Medicine and Therapeutics, Child and Family Research Institute, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC V5Z 4H4, Canada
| | | | | | | | - Boguslaw Felczak
- Centre for Molecular Medicine and Therapeutics, Child and Family Research Institute, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC V5Z 4H4, Canada
| | - Weining Zhang
- Centre for Molecular Medicine and Therapeutics, Child and Family Research Institute, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC V5Z 4H4, Canada
| | - Vlad Kovalik
- Centre for Molecular Medicine and Therapeutics, Child and Family Research Institute, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC V5Z 4H4, Canada
| | - Sabine Waltl
- Centre for Molecular Medicine and Therapeutics, Child and Family Research Institute, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC V5Z 4H4, Canada
| | - George Hall
- Centre for Molecular Medicine and Therapeutics, Child and Family Research Institute, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC V5Z 4H4, Canada
| | - Mahmoud A Pouladi
- Translational Laboratory in Genetic Medicine, Agency for Science, Technology and Research, 138648, Singapore; Department of Medicine, National University of Singapore, Singapore
| | | | | | | | - Michael R Hayden
- Centre for Molecular Medicine and Therapeutics, Child and Family Research Institute, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC V5Z 4H4, Canada.
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Wong BKY, Ehrnhoefer DE, Graham RK, Martin DDO, Ladha S, Uribe V, Stanek LM, Franciosi S, Qiu X, Deng Y, Kovalik V, Zhang W, Pouladi MA, Shihabuddin LS, Hayden MR. Partial rescue of some features of Huntington Disease in the genetic absence of caspase-6 in YAC128 mice. Neurobiol Dis 2015; 76:24-36. [PMID: 25583186 DOI: 10.1016/j.nbd.2014.12.030] [Citation(s) in RCA: 43] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/16/2014] [Revised: 12/22/2014] [Accepted: 12/31/2014] [Indexed: 12/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Huntington Disease (HD) is a progressive neurodegenerative disease caused by an elongated CAG repeat in the huntingtin (HTT) gene that encodes a polyglutamine tract in the HTT protein. Proteolysis of the mutant HTT protein (mHTT) has been detected in human and murine HD brains and is implicated in the pathogenesis of HD. Of particular importance is the site at amino acid (aa) 586 that contains a caspase-6 (Casp6) recognition motif. Activation of Casp6 occurs presymptomatically in human HD patients and the inhibition of mHTT proteolysis at aa586 in the YAC128 mouse model results in the full rescue of HD-like phenotypes. Surprisingly, Casp6 ablation in two different HD mouse models did not completely prevent the generation of this fragment, and therapeutic benefits were limited, questioning the role of Casp6 in the disease. We have evaluated the impact of the loss of Casp6 in the YAC128 mouse model of HD. Levels of the mHTT-586 fragment are reduced but not absent in the absence of Casp6 and we identify caspase 8 as an alternate enzyme that can generate this fragment. In vivo, the ablation of Casp6 results in a partial rescue of body weight gain, normalized IGF-1 levels, a reversal of the depression-like phenotype and decreased HTT levels. In the YAC128/Casp6-/- striatum there is a concomitant reduction in p62 levels, a marker of autophagic activity, suggesting increased autophagic clearance. These results implicate the HTT-586 fragment as a key contributor to certain features of HD, irrespective of the enzyme involved in its generation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Bibiana K Y Wong
- Centre for Molecular Medicine and Therapeutics, Child and Family Research Institute, Department of Medical Genetics, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia V5Z 4H4, Canada; Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX 77030, USA
| | - Dagmar E Ehrnhoefer
- Centre for Molecular Medicine and Therapeutics, Child and Family Research Institute, Department of Medical Genetics, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia V5Z 4H4, Canada
| | - Rona K Graham
- Centre for Molecular Medicine and Therapeutics, Child and Family Research Institute, Department of Medical Genetics, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia V5Z 4H4, Canada; Research Center on Aging, Department of Physiology and Biophysics, University of Sherbrooke, Sherbrooke, Quebec J1H 5N4, Canada
| | - Dale D O Martin
- Centre for Molecular Medicine and Therapeutics, Child and Family Research Institute, Department of Medical Genetics, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia V5Z 4H4, Canada
| | - Safia Ladha
- Centre for Molecular Medicine and Therapeutics, Child and Family Research Institute, Department of Medical Genetics, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia V5Z 4H4, Canada
| | - Valeria Uribe
- Centre for Molecular Medicine and Therapeutics, Child and Family Research Institute, Department of Medical Genetics, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia V5Z 4H4, Canada
| | - Lisa M Stanek
- Genzyme, a Sanofi Company, Framingham, MA 01701, USA
| | - Sonia Franciosi
- Centre for Molecular Medicine and Therapeutics, Child and Family Research Institute, Department of Medical Genetics, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia V5Z 4H4, Canada
| | - Xiaofan Qiu
- Centre for Molecular Medicine and Therapeutics, Child and Family Research Institute, Department of Medical Genetics, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia V5Z 4H4, Canada
| | - Yu Deng
- Centre for Molecular Medicine and Therapeutics, Child and Family Research Institute, Department of Medical Genetics, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia V5Z 4H4, Canada
| | - Vlad Kovalik
- Centre for Molecular Medicine and Therapeutics, Child and Family Research Institute, Department of Medical Genetics, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia V5Z 4H4, Canada
| | - Weining Zhang
- Centre for Molecular Medicine and Therapeutics, Child and Family Research Institute, Department of Medical Genetics, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia V5Z 4H4, Canada
| | - Mahmoud A Pouladi
- Centre for Molecular Medicine and Therapeutics, Child and Family Research Institute, Department of Medical Genetics, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia V5Z 4H4, Canada; Translational Laboratory in Genetic Medicine, Agency for Science, Technology and Research, 138648, Singapore; Department of Medicine, Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine, National University of Singapore, 138648, Singapore
| | | | - Michael R Hayden
- Centre for Molecular Medicine and Therapeutics, Child and Family Research Institute, Department of Medical Genetics, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia V5Z 4H4, Canada.
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Sutton LM, Sanders SS, Butland SL, Singaraja RR, Franciosi S, Southwell AL, Doty CN, Schmidt ME, Mui KKN, Kovalik V, Young FB, Zhang W, Hayden MR. Hip14l-deficient mice develop neuropathological and behavioural features of Huntington disease. Hum Mol Genet 2013; 22:452-65. [PMID: 23077216 DOI: 10.1093/hmg/dds441] [Citation(s) in RCA: 53] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.8] [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: 11/15/2022] Open
Abstract
Palmitoylation, the dynamic post-translational addition of the lipid, palmitate, to proteins by Asp-His-His-Cys-containing palmitoyl acyltransferase (PAT) enzymes, modulates protein function and localization and plays a key role in the nervous system. Huntingtin-interacting protein 14 (HIP14), a well-characterized neuronal PAT, has been implicated in the pathogenesis of Huntington disease (HD), a fatal neurodegenerative disease associated with motor, psychiatric and cognitive symptoms, caused by a CAG expansion in the huntingtin gene (HTT). Mice deficient for Hip14 expression develop neuropathological and behavioural features similar to HD, and the catalytic activity of HIP14 is impaired in HD mice, most likely due to the reduced interaction of HIP14 with HTT. Huntingtin-interacting protein 14-like (HIP14L) is a paralog of HIP14, with identical domain structure. Together, HIP14 and HIP14L are the major PATs for HTT. Here, we report the characterization of a Hip14l-deficient mouse model, which develops adult-onset, widespread and progressive neuropathology accompanied by early motor deficits in climbing, impaired motor learning and reduced palmitoylation of a novel HIP14L substrate: SNAP25. Although the phenotype resembles that of the Hip14(-/-) mice, a more progressive phenotype, similar to that of the YAC128 transgenic mouse model of HD, is observed. In addition, HIP14L interacts less with mutant HTT than the wild-type protein, suggesting that reduced HIP14L-dependent palmitoylation of neuronal substrates may contribute to the pathogenesis of HD. Thus, both HIP14 and HIP14L may be dysfunctional in the disease.
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Affiliation(s)
- Liza M Sutton
- Centre for Molecular Medicine and Therapeutics, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia V5Z 4H4, Canada
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Southwell AL, Warby SC, Carroll JB, Doty CN, Skotte NH, Zhang W, Villanueva EB, Kovalik V, Xie Y, Pouladi MA, Collins JA, Yang XW, Franciosi S, Hayden MR. A fully humanized transgenic mouse model of Huntington disease. Hum Mol Genet 2012; 22:18-34. [PMID: 23001568 DOI: 10.1093/hmg/dds397] [Citation(s) in RCA: 73] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/14/2022] Open
Abstract
Silencing the mutant huntingtin gene (muHTT) is a direct and simple therapeutic strategy for the treatment of Huntington disease (HD) in principle. However, targeting the HD mutation presents challenges because it is an expansion of a common genetic element (a CAG tract) that is found throughout the genome. Moreover, the HTT protein is important for neuronal health throughout life, and silencing strategies that also reduce the wild-type HTT allele may not be well tolerated during the long-term treatment of HD. Several HTT silencing strategies are in development that target genetic sites in HTT that are outside of the CAG expansion, including HD mutation-linked single-nucleotide polymorphisms and the HTT promoter. Preclinical testing of these genetic therapies has required the development of a new mouse model of HD that carries these human-specific genetic targets. To generate a fully humanized mouse model of HD, we have cross-bred BACHD and YAC18 on the Hdh(-/-) background. The resulting line, Hu97/18, is the first murine model of HD that fully genetically recapitulates human HD having two human HTT genes, no mouse Hdh genes and heterozygosity of the HD mutation. We find that Hu97/18 mice display many of the behavioral changes associated with HD including motor, psychiatric and cognitive deficits, as well as canonical neuropathological abnormalities. This mouse line will be useful for gaining additional insights into the disease mechanisms of HD as well as for testing genetic therapies targeting human HTT.
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Affiliation(s)
- Amber L Southwell
- Centre for Molecular Medicine and Therapeutics, Child and Family Research Institute, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada V5Z 4H4
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