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Dermentzaki G, Furlan M, Tanaka I, Leonardi T, Rinchetti P, Passos PMS, Bastos A, Ayala YM, Hanna JH, Przedborski S, Bonanomi D, Pelizzola M, Lotti F. Depletion of Mettl3 in cholinergic neurons causes adult-onset neuromuscular degeneration. Cell Rep 2024; 43:113999. [PMID: 38554281 DOI: 10.1016/j.celrep.2024.113999] [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: 05/01/2023] [Revised: 01/25/2024] [Accepted: 03/10/2024] [Indexed: 04/01/2024] Open
Abstract
Motor neuron (MN) demise is a hallmark of several neurodegenerative diseases, including amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). Post-transcriptional gene regulation can control RNA's fate, and defects in RNA processing are critical determinants of MN degeneration. N6-methyladenosine (m6A) is a post-transcriptional RNA modification that controls diverse aspects of RNA metabolism. To assess the m6A requirement in MNs, we depleted the m6A methyltransferase-like 3 (METTL3) in cells and mice. METTL3 depletion in embryonic stem cell-derived MNs has profound and selective effects on survival and neurite outgrowth. Mice with cholinergic neuron-specific METTL3 depletion display a progressive decline in motor behavior, accompanied by MN loss and muscle denervation, culminating in paralysis and death. Reader proteins convey m6A effects, and their silencing phenocopies METTL3 depletion. Among the m6A targets, we identified transactive response DNA-binding protein 43 (TDP-43) and discovered that its expression is under epitranscriptomic control. Thus, impaired m6A signaling disrupts MN homeostasis and triggers neurodegeneration conceivably through TDP-43 deregulation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Georgia Dermentzaki
- Center for Motor Neuron Biology and Disease, Departments of Pathology & Cell Biology and Neurology, Columbia University, New York, NY, USA
| | - Mattia Furlan
- Center for Genomic Science of IIT@SEMM, Fondazione Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia, Milan, Italy
| | - Iris Tanaka
- Center for Genomic Science of IIT@SEMM, Fondazione Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia, Milan, Italy
| | - Tommaso Leonardi
- Center for Genomic Science of IIT@SEMM, Fondazione Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia, Milan, Italy
| | - Paola Rinchetti
- Center for Motor Neuron Biology and Disease, Departments of Pathology & Cell Biology and Neurology, Columbia University, New York, NY, USA
| | - Patricia M S Passos
- Department of Biochemistry & Molecular Biology, St. Louis University School of Medicine, St. Louis, Missouri, USA
| | - Alliny Bastos
- Department of Biochemistry & Molecular Biology, St. Louis University School of Medicine, St. Louis, Missouri, USA
| | - Yuna M Ayala
- Department of Biochemistry & Molecular Biology, St. Louis University School of Medicine, St. Louis, Missouri, USA
| | - Jacob H Hanna
- Department of Molecular Genetics, Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot, Israel
| | - Serge Przedborski
- Center for Motor Neuron Biology and Disease, Departments of Pathology & Cell Biology and Neurology, Columbia University, New York, NY, USA; Department of Neuroscience, Columbia University, New York, NY, USA
| | - Dario Bonanomi
- Division of Neuroscience, IRCCS San Raffaele Scientific Institute, Milan, Italy
| | - Mattia Pelizzola
- Center for Genomic Science of IIT@SEMM, Fondazione Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia, Milan, Italy; Department of Biotechnology and Biosciences, University of Milano-Bicocca, Milan, Italy
| | - Francesco Lotti
- Center for Motor Neuron Biology and Disease, Departments of Pathology & Cell Biology and Neurology, Columbia University, New York, NY, USA.
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Griffioen G. Calcium Dyshomeostasis Drives Pathophysiology and Neuronal Demise in Age-Related Neurodegenerative Diseases. Int J Mol Sci 2023; 24:13243. [PMID: 37686048 PMCID: PMC10487569 DOI: 10.3390/ijms241713243] [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] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/09/2023] [Revised: 08/21/2023] [Accepted: 08/23/2023] [Indexed: 09/10/2023] Open
Abstract
This review postulates that age-related neurodegeneration entails inappropriate activation of intrinsic pathways to enable brain plasticity through deregulated calcium (Ca2+) signalling. Ca2+ in the cytosol comprises a versatile signal controlling neuronal cell physiology to accommodate adaptive structural and functional changes of neuronal networks (neuronal plasticity) and, as such, is essential for brain function. Although disease risk factors selectively affect different neuronal cell types across age-related neurodegenerative diseases (NDDs), these appear to have in common the ability to impair the specificity of the Ca2+ signal. As a result, non-specific Ca2+ signalling facilitates the development of intraneuronal pathophysiology shared by age-related NDDs, including mitochondrial dysfunction, elevated reactive oxygen species (ROS) levels, impaired proteostasis, and decreased axonal transport, leading to even more Ca2+ dyshomeostasis. These core pathophysiological processes and elevated cytosolic Ca2+ levels comprise a self-enforcing feedforward cycle inevitably spiralling toward high levels of cytosolic Ca2+. The resultant elevated cytosolic Ca2+ levels ultimately gear otherwise physiological effector pathways underlying plasticity toward neuronal demise. Ageing impacts mitochondrial function indiscriminately of the neuronal cell type and, therefore, contributes to the feedforward cycle of pathophysiology development seen in all age-related NDDs. From this perspective, therapeutic interventions to safely restore Ca2+ homeostasis would mitigate the excessive activation of neuronal destruction pathways and, therefore, are expected to have promising neuroprotective potential.
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Philbert SA, Xu J, Scholefield M, Patassini S, Church SJ, Unwin RD, Roncaroli F, Cooper GJS. Extensive multiregional urea elevations in a case-control study of vascular dementia point toward a novel shared mechanism of disease amongst the age-related dementias. Front Mol Neurosci 2023; 16:1215637. [PMID: 37520429 PMCID: PMC10372345 DOI: 10.3389/fnmol.2023.1215637] [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] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/02/2023] [Accepted: 06/26/2023] [Indexed: 08/01/2023] Open
Abstract
Introduction Vascular dementia (VaD) is one of the most common causes of dementia among the elderly. Despite this, the molecular basis of VaD remains poorly characterized when compared to other age-related dementias. Pervasive cerebral elevations of urea have recently been reported in several dementias; however, a similar analysis was not yet available for VaD. Methods Here, we utilized ultra-high-performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (UHPLC-MS/MS) to measure urea levels from seven brain regions in post-mortem tissue from cases of VaD (n = 10) and controls (n = 8/9). Brain-urea measurements from our previous investigations of several dementias were also used to generate comparisons with VaD. Results Elevated urea levels ranging from 2.2- to 2.4-fold-change in VaD cases were identified in six out of the seven regions analysed, which are similar in magnitude to those observed in uremic encephalopathy. Fold-elevation of urea was highest in the basal ganglia and hippocampus (2.4-fold-change), consistent with the observation that these regions are severely affected in VaD. Discussion Taken together, these data not only describe a multiregional elevation of brain-urea levels in VaD but also imply the existence of a common urea-mediated disease mechanism that is now known to be present in at least four of the main age-related dementias.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sasha A. Philbert
- Division of Cardiovascular Sciences, Faculty of Biology, Medicine and Health, School of Medical Sciences, Centre for Advanced Discovery and Experimental Therapeutics, The University of Manchester, Manchester Academic Health Science Centre, Manchester, United Kingdom
| | - Jingshu Xu
- Division of Cardiovascular Sciences, Faculty of Biology, Medicine and Health, School of Medical Sciences, Centre for Advanced Discovery and Experimental Therapeutics, The University of Manchester, Manchester Academic Health Science Centre, Manchester, United Kingdom
| | - Melissa Scholefield
- Division of Cardiovascular Sciences, Faculty of Biology, Medicine and Health, School of Medical Sciences, Centre for Advanced Discovery and Experimental Therapeutics, The University of Manchester, Manchester Academic Health Science Centre, Manchester, United Kingdom
| | - Stefano Patassini
- Faculty of Science, School of Biological Sciences, The University of Auckland, Auckland, New Zealand
| | - Stephanie J. Church
- Division of Cardiovascular Sciences, Faculty of Biology, Medicine and Health, School of Medical Sciences, Centre for Advanced Discovery and Experimental Therapeutics, The University of Manchester, Manchester Academic Health Science Centre, Manchester, United Kingdom
| | - Richard D. Unwin
- Division of Cardiovascular Sciences, Faculty of Biology, Medicine and Health, School of Medical Sciences, Centre for Advanced Discovery and Experimental Therapeutics, The University of Manchester, Manchester Academic Health Science Centre, Manchester, United Kingdom
| | - Federico Roncaroli
- Division of Neuroscience and Experimental Psychology, Faculty of Biology, Medicine and Health, School of Biology, Geoffrey Jefferson Brain Research Centre, The University of Manchester, Manchester, United Kingdom
| | - Garth J. S. Cooper
- Division of Cardiovascular Sciences, Faculty of Biology, Medicine and Health, School of Medical Sciences, Centre for Advanced Discovery and Experimental Therapeutics, The University of Manchester, Manchester Academic Health Science Centre, Manchester, United Kingdom
- Faculty of Science, School of Biological Sciences, The University of Auckland, Auckland, New Zealand
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Bharadwaj R, Cimino PJ, Flanagan ME, Latimer CS, Gonzalez-Cuyar LF, Juric-Sekhar G, Montine TJ, Marshall DA, Keene CD. Application of the condensed protocol for the NIA-AA guidelines for the neuropathological assessment of Alzheimer's disease in an academic clinical practice. Histopathology 2017; 72:433-440. [PMID: 28815699 DOI: 10.1111/his.13345] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [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] [Received: 06/27/2017] [Accepted: 08/12/2017] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Abstract
AIMS In response to concerns regarding resource expenditures required to implement fully the 2012 National Institute on Aging and the Alzheimer's Association (NIA-AA) Sponsored Guidelines for the neuropathological assessment of Alzheimer's disease (AD), we previously developed a sensitive and cost-reducing condensed protocol (CP) at the University of Washington (UW) Alzheimer's Disease Research Center (ADRC) that consolidated the recommended NIA-AA protocol into fewer cassettes requiring fewer immunohistochemical stains. The CP was not designed to replace NIA-AA protocols, but instead to make the NIA-AA criteria accessible to clinical and forensic neuropathology practices where resources limit full implementation of NIA-AA guidelines. METHODS AND RESULTS In this regard, we developed practical criteria to instigate CP sampling and immunostaining, and applied these criteria in an academic clinical neuropathological practice. During the course of 1 year, 73 cases were sampled using the CP; of those, 53 (72.6%) contained histological features that prompted CP work-up. We found that the CP resulted in increased identification of AD and Lewy body disease neuropathological changes from what was expected using a clinical history-driven work-up alone, while saving approximately $900 per case. CONCLUSIONS This study demonstrates the feasibility and cost-savings of the CP applied to a clinical autopsy practice, and highlights potentially unrecognised neurodegenerative disease processes in the general ageing community.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Patrick J Cimino
- Department of Pathology, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | - C Dirk Keene
- Department of Pathology, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA
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Abstract
Mutations in several causative genes have been linked to monogenic forms of Alzheimer's disease (AD) or Parkinson's disease (PD). To look for possible common pathogenic mechanisms underlying age-related neurodegeneration in AD and PD, we employed genetic approaches to investigate systematically the roles of these gene products (e.g. presenilins (PS) for AD; Parkin, DJ-1, PINK1 and LRRK2 for PD) in the mouse brain, especially in neural circuits that are particularly vulnerable in AD or PD. Our series of genetic studies revealed that PS play cell type-specific roles in the developing brain with the most prominent function in the maintenance of neural progenitor cells. In the adult cerebral cortex, where the pathogenesis of AD occurs, loss of PS results in progressive memory impairment and age-related neurodegeneration. Specifically, PS are involved in the regulation of long-term potentiation and NMDA receptor functions. Interestingly, our further genetic dissection in the hippocampal Schaeffer collateral pathway highlighted the importance of presynaptic PS in the activity-dependent regulation of glutamate release and long-term potentiation induction via modulation of calcium release from intracellular stores. Intriguingly, our independent genetic analysis of Parkin, DJ-1, PINK1 and LRRK2 showed a common defect in activity-dependent dopamine release caused by PD-linked mutations in these genes. Together, our genetic studies suggest that presynaptic dysfunction might be a converging early pathogenic event before neurodegeneration in AD and PD.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jie Shen
- Center for Neurologic Diseases, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Program in Neuroscience, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA.
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