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Welch GM, Boix CA, Schmauch E, Davila-Velderrain J, Victor MB, Dileep V, Bozzelli PL, Su Q, Cheng JD, Lee A, Leary NS, Pfenning AR, Kellis M, Tsai LH. Neurons burdened by DNA double-strand breaks incite microglia activation through antiviral-like signaling in neurodegeneration. Sci Adv 2022; 8:eabo4662. [PMID: 36170369 PMCID: PMC9519048 DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.abo4662] [Citation(s) in RCA: 23] [Impact Index Per Article: 11.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/04/2022] [Accepted: 07/26/2022] [Indexed: 05/13/2023]
Abstract
DNA double-strand breaks (DSBs) are linked to neurodegeneration and senescence. However, it is not clear how DSB-bearing neurons influence neuroinflammation associated with neurodegeneration. Here, we characterize DSB-bearing neurons from the CK-p25 mouse model of neurodegeneration using single-nucleus, bulk, and spatial transcriptomic techniques. DSB-bearing neurons enter a late-stage DNA damage response marked by nuclear factor κB (NFκB)-activated senescent and antiviral immune pathways. In humans, Alzheimer's disease pathology is closely associated with immune activation in excitatory neurons. Spatial transcriptomics reveal that regions of CK-p25 brain tissue dense with DSB-bearing neurons harbor signatures of inflammatory microglia, which is ameliorated by NFκB knockdown in neurons. Inhibition of NFκB in DSB-bearing neurons also reduces microglia activation in organotypic mouse brain slice culture. In conclusion, DSBs activate immune pathways in neurons, which in turn adopt a senescence-associated secretory phenotype to elicit microglia activation. These findings highlight a previously unidentified role for neurons in the mechanism of disease-associated neuroinflammation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Gwyneth M. Welch
- Picower Institute for Learning and Memory, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, USA
- Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, USA
| | - Carles A. Boix
- Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, USA
| | - Eloi Schmauch
- Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, USA
- Broad Institute of Harvard and MIT, Cambridge, MA, USA
- A.I. Virtanen Institute for Molecular Sciences, University of Eastern Finland, Kuopio, Finland
| | - Jose Davila-Velderrain
- Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, USA
| | - Matheus B. Victor
- Picower Institute for Learning and Memory, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, USA
- Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, USA
| | - Vishnu Dileep
- Picower Institute for Learning and Memory, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, USA
- Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, USA
| | - P. Lorenzo Bozzelli
- Picower Institute for Learning and Memory, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, USA
- Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, USA
| | - Qiao Su
- Departments of Computational Biology and Biology and Neuroscience Institute, Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
| | - Jemmie D. Cheng
- Picower Institute for Learning and Memory, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, USA
- Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, USA
| | - Audrey Lee
- Picower Institute for Learning and Memory, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, USA
- Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, USA
| | - Noelle S. Leary
- Picower Institute for Learning and Memory, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, USA
- Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, USA
| | - Andreas R. Pfenning
- Departments of Computational Biology and Biology and Neuroscience Institute, Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
| | - Manolis Kellis
- Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, USA
- Broad Institute of Harvard and MIT, Cambridge, MA, USA
| | - Li-Huei Tsai
- Picower Institute for Learning and Memory, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, USA
- Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, USA
- Broad Institute of Harvard and MIT, Cambridge, MA, USA
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