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Verma R, Jayakumar J, Folkerth R, Manger PR, Bota M, Majumder M, Pandurangan K, Savoia S, Karthik S, Kumarasami R, Joseph J, Rohini G, Vasudevan S, Srinivasan C, Lata S, Kumar EH, Rangasami R, Kumutha J, Suresh S, Šimić G, Mitra PP, Sivaprakasam M. Histological characterization and development of mesial surface sulci in the human brain at 13-15 gestational weeks through high-resolution histology. J Comp Neurol 2024; 532:e25612. [PMID: 38591638 DOI: 10.1002/cne.25612] [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: 10/06/2023] [Revised: 03/06/2024] [Accepted: 03/24/2024] [Indexed: 04/10/2024]
Abstract
Cellular-level anatomical data from early fetal brain are sparse yet critical to the understanding of neurodevelopmental disorders. We characterize the organization of the human cerebral cortex between 13 and 15 gestational weeks using high-resolution whole-brain histological data sets complimented with multimodal imaging. We observed the heretofore underrecognized, reproducible presence of infolds on the mesial surface of the cerebral hemispheres. Of note at this stage, when most of the cerebrum is occupied by lateral ventricles and the corpus callosum is incompletely developed, we postulate that these mesial infolds represent the primordial stage of cingulate, callosal, and calcarine sulci, features of mesial cortical development. Our observations are based on the multimodal approach and further include histological three-dimensional reconstruction that highlights the importance of the plane of sectioning. We describe the laminar organization of the developing cortical mantle, including these infolds from the marginal to ventricular zone, with Nissl, hematoxylin and eosin, and glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP) immunohistochemistry. Despite the absence of major sulci on the dorsal surface, the boundaries among the orbital, frontal, parietal, and occipital cortex were very well demarcated, primarily by the cytoarchitecture differences in the organization of the subplate (SP) and intermediate zone (IZ) in these locations. The parietal region has the thickest cortical plate (CP), SP, and IZ, whereas the orbital region shows the thinnest CP and reveals an extra cell-sparse layer above the bilaminar SP. The subcortical structures show intensely GFAP-immunolabeled soma, absent in the cerebral mantle. Our findings establish a normative neurodevelopment baseline at the early stage.
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Affiliation(s)
- Richa Verma
- Sudha Gopalakrishnan Brain Centre, Indian Institute of Technology Madras, Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India
| | - Jaikishan Jayakumar
- Sudha Gopalakrishnan Brain Centre, Indian Institute of Technology Madras, Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India
- Center for Computational Brain Research, Indian Institute of Technology Madras, Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India
| | - Rebecca Folkerth
- Department of Forensic Medicine, NYU Grossman School of Medicine, New York, New York, USA
| | - Paul R Manger
- School of Anatomical Sciences, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa
| | - Mihail Bota
- Sudha Gopalakrishnan Brain Centre, Indian Institute of Technology Madras, Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India
| | - Moitrayee Majumder
- Sudha Gopalakrishnan Brain Centre, Indian Institute of Technology Madras, Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India
| | - Karthika Pandurangan
- Sudha Gopalakrishnan Brain Centre, Indian Institute of Technology Madras, Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India
| | | | - Srinivasa Karthik
- Healthcare Technology Innovation Centre, Indian Institute of Technology Madras, Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India
| | - Ramdayalan Kumarasami
- Sudha Gopalakrishnan Brain Centre, Indian Institute of Technology Madras, Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India
- Healthcare Technology Innovation Centre, Indian Institute of Technology Madras, Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India
| | - Jayaraj Joseph
- Sudha Gopalakrishnan Brain Centre, Indian Institute of Technology Madras, Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India
- Healthcare Technology Innovation Centre, Indian Institute of Technology Madras, Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India
- Department of Electrical Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology, Madras, Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India
| | - G Rohini
- Department of Obstetrics & Gynaecology, Saveetha Medical College, Thandalam, Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India
| | - Sudha Vasudevan
- Department of Pathology, Saveetha Medical College, Thandalam, Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India
| | - Chitra Srinivasan
- Department of Pathology, Saveetha Medical College, Thandalam, Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India
| | - S Lata
- Mediscan Systems, Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India
| | | | - Rajeswaran Rangasami
- Department of Radiology, Sri Ramachandra Institute of Higher Education and Research, Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India
| | - Jayaraman Kumutha
- Department of Neonatology, Saveetha Medical College, Thandalam, Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India
| | - S Suresh
- Mediscan Systems, Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India
| | - Goran Šimić
- Department of Neuroscience, Croatian Institute for Brain Research, University of Zagreb Medical School, Zagreb, Hrvatska, Croatia
| | - Partha P Mitra
- Center for Computational Brain Research, Indian Institute of Technology Madras, Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India
- Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, New York, New York, USA
| | - Mohanasankar Sivaprakasam
- Sudha Gopalakrishnan Brain Centre, Indian Institute of Technology Madras, Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India
- Healthcare Technology Innovation Centre, Indian Institute of Technology Madras, Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India
- Department of Electrical Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology, Madras, Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India
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Šimić G, Vukić V, Babić M, Banović M, Berečić I, Španić E, Zubčić K, Golubić AT, Barišić Kutija M, Merkler Šorgić A, Vogrinc Ž, Lehman I, Hof PR, Sertić J, Barišić N. Total tau in cerebrospinal fluid detects treatment responders among spinal muscular atrophy types 1-3 patients treated with nusinersen. CNS Neurosci Ther 2024; 30:e14051. [PMID: 36513962 PMCID: PMC10915981 DOI: 10.1111/cns.14051] [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: 09/26/2022] [Revised: 11/15/2022] [Accepted: 11/21/2022] [Indexed: 12/15/2022] Open
Abstract
AIMS Considering the substantial variability in treatment response across patients with spinal muscular atrophy (SMA), reliable markers for monitoring response to therapy and predicting treatment responders need to be identified. The study aimed to determine if measured concentrations of disease biomarkers (total tau protein, neurofilament light chain, and S100B protein) correlate with the duration of nusinersen treatment and with scores obtained using functional scales for the assessment of motor abilities. METHODS A total of 30 subjects with SMA treated with nusinersen between 2017 and 2021 at the Department of Pediatrics, University Hospital Centre Zagreb, Croatia, were included in this study. Cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) samples were collected by lumbar puncture prior to intrathecal application of nusinersen. Protein concentrations in CSF samples were determined by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay in 26 subjects. The motor functions were assessed using functional motor scales. RESULTS The main finding was significantly decreased total tau correlating with the number of nusinersen doses and motor improvement in the first 18-24 months of treatment (in all SMA patients and SMA type 1 patients). Neurofilament light chain and S100B were not significantly changed after administration of nusinersen. CONCLUSIONS The measurement of total tau concentration in CSF is a reliable index for monitoring the biomarker and clinical response to nusinersen therapy in patients with SMA.
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Affiliation(s)
- Goran Šimić
- Department of Neuroscience, Croatian Institute for Brain ResearchUniversity of Zagreb School of MedicineZagrebCroatia
| | - Vana Vukić
- Department of PediatricsUniversity Hospital Centre ZagrebZagrebCroatia
| | - Marija Babić
- Department of Neuroscience, Croatian Institute for Brain ResearchUniversity of Zagreb School of MedicineZagrebCroatia
| | - Maria Banović
- Department of Neuroscience, Croatian Institute for Brain ResearchUniversity of Zagreb School of MedicineZagrebCroatia
| | - Ivana Berečić
- Department of Neuroscience, Croatian Institute for Brain ResearchUniversity of Zagreb School of MedicineZagrebCroatia
| | - Ena Španić
- Department of Neuroscience, Croatian Institute for Brain ResearchUniversity of Zagreb School of MedicineZagrebCroatia
| | - Klara Zubčić
- Department of Neuroscience, Croatian Institute for Brain ResearchUniversity of Zagreb School of MedicineZagrebCroatia
| | - Anja Tea Golubić
- Department of Nuclear Medicine and Radiation ProtectionUniversity Hospital Centre ZagrebZagrebCroatia
| | | | - Ana Merkler Šorgić
- Department of Laboratory Diagnostics, Laboratory for Molecular DiagnosticsUniversity Hospital Centre ZagrebZagrebCroatia
| | - Željka Vogrinc
- Department of Laboratory DiagnosticsUniversity Hospital Centre ZagrebZagrebCroatia
| | - Ivan Lehman
- Department of PediatricsUniversity Hospital Centre ZagrebZagrebCroatia
| | - Patrick R. Hof
- Nash Family Department of Neuroscience, Friedman Brain Institute, and Ronald M. Loeb Center for Alzheimer's DiseaseIcahn School of Medicine at Mount SinaiNew YorkNew YorkUSA
| | - Jadranka Sertić
- Department of Laboratory DiagnosticsUniversity Hospital Centre ZagrebZagrebCroatia
- Department of Medical Chemistry and BiochemistryUniversity of Zagreb School of MedicineZagrebCroatia
| | - Nina Barišić
- Department of PediatricsUniversity Hospital Centre ZagrebZagrebCroatia
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Mulc D, Smilović D, Krsnik Ž, Junaković-Munjas A, Kopić J, Kostović I, Šimić G, Vukšić M. Fetal development of the human amygdala. J Comp Neurol 2024; 532:e25580. [PMID: 38289194 DOI: 10.1002/cne.25580] [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: 04/30/2023] [Revised: 11/03/2023] [Accepted: 12/31/2023] [Indexed: 02/01/2024]
Abstract
The intricate development of the human amygdala involves a complex interplay of diverse processes, varying in speed and duration. In humans, transient cytoarchitectural structures deliquesce, leading to the formation of functionally distinct nuclei as a result of multiple interdependent developmental events. This study compares the amygdala's cytoarchitectural development in conjunction with specific antibody reactivity for neuronal, glial, neuropil, and radial glial fibers, synaptic, extracellular matrix, and myelin components in 39 fetal human brains. We recognized that the early fetal period, as a continuation of the embryonic period, is still dominated by relatively uniform histogenetic processes. The typical appearance of ovoid cell clusters in the lateral nucleus during midfetal period is most likely associated with the cell migration and axonal growth processes in the developing human brain. Notably, synaptic markers are firstly detected in the corticomedial group of nuclei, while immunoreactivity for the panaxonal neurofilament marker SMI 312 is found dorsally. The late fetal period is characterized by a protracted migration process evidenced by the presence of doublecortin and SOX-2 immunoreactivity ventrally, in the prospective paralaminar nucleus, reinforced by vimentin immunoreactivity in the last remaining radial glial fibers. Nearing the term period, SMI 99 immunoreactivity indicates that perinatal myelination becomes prominent primarily along major axonal pathways, laying the foundation for more pronounced functional maturation. This study comprehensively elucidates the rate and sequence of maturational events in the amygdala, highlighting the key role of prenatal development in its behavioral, autonomic, and endocrine regulation, with subsequent implications for both normal functioning and psychiatric disorders.
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Affiliation(s)
- Damir Mulc
- Croatian Institute for Brain Research, School of Medicine, Scientific Centre of Excellence for Basic, Clinical and Translational Neuroscience, University of Zagreb, Zagreb, Croatia
- Psychiatric Hospital Vrapče, School of Medicine, University of Zagreb, Zagreb, Croatia
| | - Dinko Smilović
- Croatian Institute for Brain Research, School of Medicine, Scientific Centre of Excellence for Basic, Clinical and Translational Neuroscience, University of Zagreb, Zagreb, Croatia
| | - Željka Krsnik
- Croatian Institute for Brain Research, School of Medicine, Scientific Centre of Excellence for Basic, Clinical and Translational Neuroscience, University of Zagreb, Zagreb, Croatia
| | - Alisa Junaković-Munjas
- Croatian Institute for Brain Research, School of Medicine, Scientific Centre of Excellence for Basic, Clinical and Translational Neuroscience, University of Zagreb, Zagreb, Croatia
| | - Janja Kopić
- Croatian Institute for Brain Research, School of Medicine, Scientific Centre of Excellence for Basic, Clinical and Translational Neuroscience, University of Zagreb, Zagreb, Croatia
| | - Ivica Kostović
- Croatian Institute for Brain Research, School of Medicine, Scientific Centre of Excellence for Basic, Clinical and Translational Neuroscience, University of Zagreb, Zagreb, Croatia
| | - Goran Šimić
- Croatian Institute for Brain Research, School of Medicine, Scientific Centre of Excellence for Basic, Clinical and Translational Neuroscience, University of Zagreb, Zagreb, Croatia
| | - Mario Vukšić
- Croatian Institute for Brain Research, School of Medicine, Scientific Centre of Excellence for Basic, Clinical and Translational Neuroscience, University of Zagreb, Zagreb, Croatia
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Babić M, Banović M, Berečić I, Banić T, Babić Leko M, Ulamec M, Junaković A, Kopić J, Sertić J, Barišić N, Šimić G. Molecular Biomarkers for the Diagnosis, Prognosis, and Pharmacodynamics of Spinal Muscular Atrophy. J Clin Med 2023; 12:5060. [PMID: 37568462 PMCID: PMC10419842 DOI: 10.3390/jcm12155060] [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] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/25/2023] [Revised: 07/24/2023] [Accepted: 07/30/2023] [Indexed: 08/13/2023] Open
Abstract
Spinal muscular atrophy (SMA) is a progressive degenerative illness that affects 1 in every 6 to 11,000 live births. This autosomal recessive disorder is caused by homozygous deletion or mutation of the SMN1 gene (survival motor neuron). As a backup, the SMN1 gene has the SMN2 gene, which produces only 10% of the functional SMN protein. Nusinersen and risdiplam, the first FDA-approved medications, act as SMN2 pre-mRNA splicing modifiers and enhance the quantity of SMN protein produced by this gene. The emergence of new therapies for SMA has increased the demand for good prognostic and pharmacodynamic (response) biomarkers in SMA. This article discusses current molecular diagnostic, prognostic, and pharmacodynamic biomarkers that could be assessed in SMA patients' body fluids. Although various proteomic, genetic, and epigenetic biomarkers have been explored in SMA patients, more research is needed to uncover new prognostic and pharmacodynamic biomarkers (or a combination of biomarkers).
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Affiliation(s)
- Marija Babić
- Department of Neuroscience, Croatian Institute for Brain Research, University of Zagreb School of Medicine, 10000 Zagreb, Croatia
| | - Maria Banović
- Department of Neuroscience, Croatian Institute for Brain Research, University of Zagreb School of Medicine, 10000 Zagreb, Croatia
| | - Ivana Berečić
- Department of Neuroscience, Croatian Institute for Brain Research, University of Zagreb School of Medicine, 10000 Zagreb, Croatia
| | - Tea Banić
- Department of Neuroscience, Croatian Institute for Brain Research, University of Zagreb School of Medicine, 10000 Zagreb, Croatia
| | - Mirjana Babić Leko
- Department of Neuroscience, Croatian Institute for Brain Research, University of Zagreb School of Medicine, 10000 Zagreb, Croatia
| | - Monika Ulamec
- Department of Pathology, University Clinical Hospital Sestre Milosrdnice Zagreb, 10000 Zagreb, Croatia
- Department of Pathology, University of Zagreb School of Medicine, 10000 Zagreb, Croatia
| | - Alisa Junaković
- Department of Neuroscience, Croatian Institute for Brain Research, University of Zagreb School of Medicine, 10000 Zagreb, Croatia
| | - Janja Kopić
- Department of Neuroscience, Croatian Institute for Brain Research, University of Zagreb School of Medicine, 10000 Zagreb, Croatia
| | - Jadranka Sertić
- Department of Medical Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of Zagreb School of Medicine, 10000 Zagreb, Croatia
- Department of Laboratory Diagnostics, University Hospital Centre Zagreb, 10000 Zagreb, Croatia
| | - Nina Barišić
- Department of Pediatrics, University Hospital Centre Zagreb, 10000 Zagreb, Croatia
| | - Goran Šimić
- Department of Neuroscience, Croatian Institute for Brain Research, University of Zagreb School of Medicine, 10000 Zagreb, Croatia
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Španić Popovački E, Babić Leko M, Langer Horvat L, Brgić K, Vogrinc Ž, Boban M, Klepac N, Borovečki F, Šimić G. Soluble TREM2 Concentrations in the Cerebrospinal Fluid Correlate with the Severity of Neurofibrillary Degeneration, Cognitive Impairment, and Inflammasome Activation in Alzheimer's Disease. Neurol Int 2023; 15:842-856. [PMID: 37489359 PMCID: PMC10366813 DOI: 10.3390/neurolint15030053] [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] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/22/2023] [Revised: 06/21/2023] [Accepted: 07/05/2023] [Indexed: 07/26/2023] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Individuals with specific TREM2 gene variants that encode for a Triggering Receptor Expressed on Myeloid cells 2 have a higher prevalence of Alzheimer's disease (AD). By interacting with amyloid and apolipoproteins, the TREM2 receptor regulates the number of myeloid cells, phagocytosis, and the inflammatory response. Higher TREM2 expression has been suggested to protect against AD. However, it is extremely difficult to comprehend TREM2 signaling in the context of AD. Previous results are variable and show distinct effects on diverse pathological changes in AD, differences between soluble and membrane isoform signaling, and inconsistency between animal models and humans. In addition, the relationship between TREM2 and inflammasome activation pathways is not yet entirely understood. OBJECTIVE This study aimed to determine the relationship between soluble TREM2 (sTREM2) levels in cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) and plasma samples and other indicators of AD pathology. METHODS Using the Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay (ELISA), we analyzed 98 samples of AD plasma, 35 samples of plasma from individuals with mild cognitive impairment (MCI), and 11 samples of plasma from healthy controls (HC), as well as 155 samples of AD CSF, 90 samples of MCI CSF, and 50 samples of HC CSF. RESULTS CSF sTREM2 levels were significantly correlated with neurofibrillary degeneration, cognitive decline, and inflammasome activity in AD patients. In contrast to plasma sTREM2, CSF sTREM2 levels in the AD group were higher than those in the MCI and HC groups. Moreover, concentrations of sTREM2 in CSF were substantially higher in the MCI group than in the HC group, indicating that CSF sTREM2 levels could be used not only to distinguish between HC and AD patients but also as a biomarker to detect earlier changes in the MCI stage. CONCLUSIONS The results indicate CSF sTREM2 levels reliably predict neurofibrillary degeneration, cognitive decline, and inflammasome activation, and also have a high diagnostic potential for distinguishing diseased from healthy individuals. To add sTREM2 to the list of required AD biomarkers, future studies will need to include a larger number of patients and utilize a standardized methodology.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ena Španić Popovački
- Department of Neuroscience, Croatian Institute for Brain Research, University of Zagreb School of Medicine, Šalata 12, 10000 Zagreb, Croatia
| | - Mirjana Babić Leko
- Department of Neuroscience, Croatian Institute for Brain Research, University of Zagreb School of Medicine, Šalata 12, 10000 Zagreb, Croatia
| | - Lea Langer Horvat
- Department of Neuroscience, Croatian Institute for Brain Research, University of Zagreb School of Medicine, Šalata 12, 10000 Zagreb, Croatia
| | - Klara Brgić
- Department of Neurosurgery, University Hospital Centre Zagreb, Kišpatićeva 12, 10000 Zagreb, Croatia
| | - Željka Vogrinc
- Laboratory for Neurobiochemistry, Department of Laboratory Diagnostics, University Hospital Centre Zagreb, Kišpatićeva 12, 10000 Zagreb, Croatia
| | - Marina Boban
- Department of Neurology, University Hospital Centre Zagreb, Kišpatićeva 12, 10000 Zagreb, Croatia
- School of Medicine, University of Zagreb, 10000 Zagreb, Croatia
| | - Nataša Klepac
- Department of Neurology, University Hospital Centre Zagreb, Kišpatićeva 12, 10000 Zagreb, Croatia
- School of Medicine, University of Zagreb, 10000 Zagreb, Croatia
| | - Fran Borovečki
- Department of Neurology, University Hospital Centre Zagreb, Kišpatićeva 12, 10000 Zagreb, Croatia
- School of Medicine, University of Zagreb, 10000 Zagreb, Croatia
| | - Goran Šimić
- Department of Neuroscience, Croatian Institute for Brain Research, University of Zagreb School of Medicine, Šalata 12, 10000 Zagreb, Croatia
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Zubčić K, Franić D, Pravica M, Hof PR, Šimić G, Boban M. Effects of heterologous human tau protein expression in yeast models of proteotoxic stress response. CNS Neurosci Ther 2023. [PMID: 37341072 DOI: 10.1111/cns.14304] [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] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/10/2023] [Revised: 05/23/2023] [Accepted: 05/24/2023] [Indexed: 06/22/2023] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND The primary histological characteristic of Alzheimer's disease is the presence of neurofibrillary tangles, which are large aggregates of tau protein. Aging is the primary risk factor for the development of Alzheimer's disease, however, the underlying causes of tau protein aggregation and toxicity are unclear. AIMS Here we investigated tau aggregation and toxicity under the conditions of compromised protein homeostasis. METHODS We used heterologous expression of human tau protein in the unicellular eukaryote yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae with evolutionarily conserved protein quality control pathways and examined tau-dependent toxicity and aggregation using growth assays, fluorescence microscopy, and a split luciferase-based reporter NanoBiT. RESULTS Tau protein expressed in yeast under mild proteotoxic stress, or in mutants with impaired pathways for proteotoxic stress response, did not lead to synthetic toxicity or the formation of obvious aggregates. Chronologically old cells also did not develop observable tau aggregates. Our examination of tau oligomerization in living cells using NanoBiT reporter suggests that tau does not form significant levels of oligomers under basal conditions or under mild proteotoxic stress. CONCLUSION Together our data suggest that human tau protein does not represent a major burden to the protein quality control system in yeast cells.
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Affiliation(s)
- Klara Zubčić
- Croatian Institute for Brain Research, University of Zagreb School of Medicine, Zagreb, Croatia
| | - Dina Franić
- Croatian Institute for Brain Research, University of Zagreb School of Medicine, Zagreb, Croatia
| | - Mihaela Pravica
- Croatian Institute for Brain Research, University of Zagreb School of Medicine, Zagreb, Croatia
| | - Patrick R Hof
- Nash Family Department of Neuroscience, Ronald M. Loeb Center for Alzheimer's Disease, Friedman Brain Institute, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, New York, USA
| | - Goran Šimić
- Croatian Institute for Brain Research, University of Zagreb School of Medicine, Zagreb, Croatia
| | - Mirta Boban
- Croatian Institute for Brain Research, University of Zagreb School of Medicine, Zagreb, Croatia
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Babić Leko M, Langer Horvat L, Španić Popovački E, Zubčić K, Hof PR, Šimić G. Metals in Alzheimer's Disease. Biomedicines 2023; 11:1161. [PMID: 37189779 PMCID: PMC10136077 DOI: 10.3390/biomedicines11041161] [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] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/21/2023] [Revised: 04/07/2023] [Accepted: 04/11/2023] [Indexed: 05/17/2023] Open
Abstract
The role of metals in the pathogenesis of Alzheimer's disease (AD) is still debated. Although previous research has linked changes in essential metal homeostasis and exposure to environmental heavy metals to the pathogenesis of AD, more research is needed to determine the relationship between metals and AD. In this review, we included human studies that (1) compared the metal concentrations between AD patients and healthy controls, (2) correlated concentrations of AD cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) biomarkers with metal concentrations, and (3) used Mendelian randomization (MR) to assess the potential metal contributions to AD risk. Although many studies have examined various metals in dementia patients, understanding the dynamics of metals in these patients remains difficult due to considerable inconsistencies among the results of individual studies. The most consistent findings were for Zn and Cu, with most studies observing a decrease in Zn levels and an increase in Cu levels in AD patients. However, several studies found no such relation. Because few studies have compared metal levels with biomarker levels in the CSF of AD patients, more research of this type is required. Given that MR is revolutionizing epidemiologic research, additional MR studies that include participants from diverse ethnic backgrounds to assess the causal relationship between metals and AD risk are critical.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mirjana Babić Leko
- Department of Neuroscience, Croatian Institute for Brain Research, University of Zagreb School of Medicine, 10000 Zagreb, Croatia
| | - Lea Langer Horvat
- Department of Neuroscience, Croatian Institute for Brain Research, University of Zagreb School of Medicine, 10000 Zagreb, Croatia
| | - Ena Španić Popovački
- Department of Neuroscience, Croatian Institute for Brain Research, University of Zagreb School of Medicine, 10000 Zagreb, Croatia
| | - Klara Zubčić
- Department of Neuroscience, Croatian Institute for Brain Research, University of Zagreb School of Medicine, 10000 Zagreb, Croatia
| | - Patrick R. Hof
- Nash Family Department of Neuroscience, Friedman Brain Institute and Ronald M. Loeb Center for Alzheimer’s Disease, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY 10029, USA
| | - Goran Šimić
- Department of Neuroscience, Croatian Institute for Brain Research, University of Zagreb School of Medicine, 10000 Zagreb, Croatia
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Langer Horvat L, Španić Popovački E, Babić Leko M, Zubčić K, Horvat L, Mustapić M, Hof PR, Šimić G. Anterograde and Retrograde Propagation of Inoculated Human Tau Fibrils and Tau Oligomers in a Non-Transgenic Rat Tauopathy Model. Biomedicines 2023; 11:biomedicines11041004. [PMID: 37189622 DOI: 10.3390/biomedicines11041004] [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] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/15/2023] [Revised: 02/27/2023] [Accepted: 03/07/2023] [Indexed: 05/17/2023] Open
Abstract
The tauopathy of Alzheimer's disease (AD) is first observed in the brainstem and entorhinal cortex, spreading trans-synaptically along specific pathways to other brain regions with recognizable patterns. Tau propagation occurs retrogradely and anterogradely (trans-synaptically) along a given pathway and through exosomes and microglial cells. Some aspects of in vivo tau spreading have been replicated in transgenic mice models expressing a mutated human MAPT (tau) gene and in wild-type mice. In this study, we aimed to characterize the propagation of different forms of tau species in non-transgenic 3-4 months old wild-type rats after a single unilateral injection of human tau oligomers and tau fibrils into the medial entorhinal cortex (mEC). We determined whether different variants of the inoculated human tau protein, tau fibrils, and tau oligomers, would induce similar neurofibrillary changes and propagate in an AD-related pattern, and how tau-related pathological changes would correlate with presumed cognitive impairment. We injected human tau fibrils and tau oligomers stereotaxically into the mEC and examined the distribution of tau-related changes at 3 days and 4, 8, and 11 months post-injection using antibodies AT8 and MC1, which reveal early phosphorylation and aberrant conformation of tau, respectively, HT7, anti-synaptophysin, and the Gallyas silver staining method. Human tau oligomers and tau fibrils exhibited some similarities and some differences in their ability to seed and propagate tau-related changes. Both human tau fibrils and tau oligomers rapidly propagated from the mEC anterogradely into the hippocampus and various parts of the neocortex. However, using a human tau-specific HT7 antibody, 3 days post-injection we found inoculated human tau oligomers in the red nucleus, primary motor, and primary somatosensory cortex, a finding not seen in animals inoculated with human tau fibrils. In animals inoculated with human tau fibrils, 3 days post-injection the HT7 antibody showed fibrils in the pontine reticular nucleus, a finding explained only by uptake of human tau fibrils by incoming presynaptic fibers to the mEC and retrograde transport of inoculated human tau fibrils to the brainstem. Rats inoculated with human tau fibrils showed as early as 4 months after inoculation a spread of phosphorylated tau protein at the AT8 epitopes throughout the brain, dramatically faster propagation of neurofibrillary changes than with human tau oligomers. The overall severity of tau protein changes 4, 8, and 11 months after inoculation of human tau oligomers and tau fibrils correlated well with spatial working memory and cognition impairments, as measured by the T-maze spontaneous alternation, novel object recognition, and object location tests. We concluded that this non-trangenic rat model of tauopathy, especially when using human tau fibrils, demonstrates rapidly developing pathologic alterations in neurons, synapses, and identifiable pathways together with cognitive and behavioral changes, through the anterograde and retrograde spreading of neurofibrillary degeneration. Therefore, it represents a promising model for future experimental studies of primary and secondary tauopathies, especially AD.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lea Langer Horvat
- Department of Neuroscience, Croatian Institute for Brain Research, University of Zagreb School of Medicine, 10000 Zagreb, Croatia
| | - Ena Španić Popovački
- Department of Neuroscience, Croatian Institute for Brain Research, University of Zagreb School of Medicine, 10000 Zagreb, Croatia
| | - Mirjana Babić Leko
- Department of Neuroscience, Croatian Institute for Brain Research, University of Zagreb School of Medicine, 10000 Zagreb, Croatia
| | - Klara Zubčić
- Department of Neuroscience, Croatian Institute for Brain Research, University of Zagreb School of Medicine, 10000 Zagreb, Croatia
| | - Luka Horvat
- Department of Molecular Biology, Faculty of Science, University of Zagreb, 10000 Zagreb, Croatia
| | - Maja Mustapić
- Laboratory of Clinical Investigation, National Institute on Aging Intramural Research Program, National Institutes of Health, Baltimore, MD 21224, USA
| | - Patrick R Hof
- Nash Family Department of Neuroscience, Friedman Brain Institute, and Ronald M. Loeb Center for Alzheimer's Disease, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY 10029, USA
| | - Goran Šimić
- Department of Neuroscience, Croatian Institute for Brain Research, University of Zagreb School of Medicine, 10000 Zagreb, Croatia
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9
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Babić Leko M, Nikolac Perković M, Španić E, Švob Štrac D, Pleić N, Vogrinc Ž, Gunjača I, Bežovan D, Nedić Erjavec G, Klepac N, Borovečki F, Zemunik T, Pivac N, Hof PR, Šimić G. Serotonin Receptor Gene Polymorphisms Are Associated with Cerebrospinal Fluid, Genetic, and Neuropsychological Biomarkers of Alzheimer's Disease. Biomedicines 2022; 10:biomedicines10123118. [PMID: 36551873 PMCID: PMC9775360 DOI: 10.3390/biomedicines10123118] [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] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/08/2022] [Revised: 11/26/2022] [Accepted: 11/30/2022] [Indexed: 12/12/2022] Open
Abstract
A decrease in serotonergic transmission throughout the brain is among the earliest pathological changes in Alzheimer's disease (AD). Serotonergic receptors are also affected in AD. Polymorphisms in genes of serotonin (5HT) receptors have been mostly associated with behavioral and psychological symptoms of dementia (BPSD). In this study, we examined if AD patients carrying different genotypes in 5HTR1B rs13212041, 5HTR2A rs6313 (T102C), 5HTR2C rs3813929 (-759C/T), and 5HTR6 rs1805054 (C267T) polymorphisms have a higher risk of faster disease progression (assessed by neuropsychological testing), are more prone to develop AD-related pathology (reflected by levels of cerebrospinal fluid [CSF] AD biomarkers), or have an association with an apolipoprotein E (APOE) haplotype. This study included 115 patients with AD, 53 patients with mild cognitive impairment (MCI), and 2701 healthy controls. AD biomarkers were determined in the CSF of AD and MCI patients using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays (ELISA), while polymorphisms were determined using either TaqMan SNP Genotyping Assays or Illumina genotyping platforms. We detected a significant decrease in the CSF amyloid β1-42 (Aβ1-42) and an increase in p-tau181/Aβ1-42 ratio in carriers of the T allele in the 5HTR2C rs3813929 (-759C/T) polymorphism. A significantly higher number of APOE ε4 allele carriers was observed among individuals carrying a TT genotype within the 5HTR2A T102C polymorphism, a C allele within the 5HTR1B rs13212041 polymorphism, and a T allele within the 5HTR6 rs1805054 (C267T) polymorphism. Additionally, individuals carrying the C allele within the 5HTR1B rs13212041 polymorphism were significantly more represented among AD patients and had poorer performances on the Rey-Osterrieth test. Carriers of the T allele within the 5HTR6 rs1805054 had poorer performances on the MMSE and ADAS-Cog. As all four analyzed polymorphisms of serotonin receptor genes showed an association with either genetic, CSF, or neuropsychological biomarkers of AD, they deserve further investigation as potential early genetic biomarkers of AD.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mirjana Babić Leko
- Department of Neuroscience, Croatian Institute for Brain Research, University of Zagreb Medical School, 10000 Zagreb, Croatia
- Department of Medical Biology, School of Medicine, University of Split, 21000 Split, Croatia
| | | | - Ena Španić
- Department of Neuroscience, Croatian Institute for Brain Research, University of Zagreb Medical School, 10000 Zagreb, Croatia
| | - Dubravka Švob Štrac
- Department of Molecular Medicine, Institute Ruđer Bošković, 10000 Zagreb, Croatia
| | - Nikolina Pleić
- Department of Medical Biology, School of Medicine, University of Split, 21000 Split, Croatia
| | - Željka Vogrinc
- Laboratory for Neurobiochemistry, Department of Laboratory Diagnostics, University Hospital Centre Zagreb, 10000 Zagreb, Croatia
| | - Ivana Gunjača
- Department of Medical Biology, School of Medicine, University of Split, 21000 Split, Croatia
| | | | | | - Nataša Klepac
- Department of Neurology, University Hospital Centre Zagreb, 10000 Zagreb, Croatia
| | - Fran Borovečki
- Department of Neurology, University Hospital Centre Zagreb, 10000 Zagreb, Croatia
| | - Tatijana Zemunik
- Department of Medical Biology, School of Medicine, University of Split, 21000 Split, Croatia
| | - Nela Pivac
- Department of Molecular Medicine, Institute Ruđer Bošković, 10000 Zagreb, Croatia
| | - Patrick R. Hof
- Nash Family Department of Neuroscience, Friedman Brain Institute, Ronald M. Loeb Center for Alzheimer’s Disease, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY 10029, USA
| | - Goran Šimić
- Department of Neuroscience, Croatian Institute for Brain Research, University of Zagreb Medical School, 10000 Zagreb, Croatia
- Correspondence: ; Tel.: +385-1-459-6807
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Španić E, Langer Horvat L, Ilić K, Hof PR, Šimić G. NLRP1 Inflammasome Activation in the Hippocampal Formation in Alzheimer's Disease: Correlation with Neuropathological Changes and Unbiasedly Estimated Neuronal Loss. Cells 2022; 11:2223. [PMID: 35883667 PMCID: PMC9324749 DOI: 10.3390/cells11142223] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/29/2022] [Revised: 07/12/2022] [Accepted: 07/16/2022] [Indexed: 02/04/2023] Open
Abstract
Neuroinflammation is one of the core pathological features of Alzheimer's disease (AD) as both amyloid β (Aβ) and tau monomers and oligomers can trigger the long-term pro-inflammatory phenotype of microglial cells with consequent overactivation of the inflammasomes. To investigate the NLRP1 inflammasome activation in AD, we analyzed the expression of NLRP1, ASC, cleaved gasdermin (cGSDMD), and active caspase-6 (CASP-6) proteins in each hippocampal subdivision (hilar part of CA3, CA2/3, CA1, subiculum) of postmortem tissue of 9 cognitively healthy controls (HC) and 11 AD patients whose disease duration varied from 3 to 7 years after the clinical diagnosis. The total number of neurons, along with the total number of neurofibrillary tangles (NFTs), were estimated in Nissl- and adjacent modified Bielschowsky-stained sections, respectively, using the optical disector method. The same 9 HC and 11 AD cases were additionally semiquantitatively analyzed for expression of IBA1, HLA-DR, and CD68 microglial markers. Our results show that the expression of NLRP1, ASC, and CASP-6 is present in a significantly greater number of hippocampal formation neurons in AD brains compared to controls, suggesting that the NLRP1 inflammasome is more active in the AD brain. None of the investigated inflammasome and microglial markers were found to correlate with the age of the subjects or the duration of AD. However, besides positive correlations with microglial IBA1 expression in the subiculum and with microglial CD68 expression in the CA1 field and subiculum in the AD group, the overall NLRP1 expression in the hippocampal formation was positively correlated with the number of NFTs, thus providing a causal link between neuroinflammation and neurofibrillary degeneration. The accumulation of AT8-immunoreactive phosphorylated tau proteins that we observed at nuclear pores of large pyramidal neurons of the Ammon's horn further supports their role in the extent of neuronal dysfunction and degeneration in AD. This is important because unlike fibrillar amyloid-β deposits that are not related to dementia severity, total NFTs and neuron numbers in the hippocampal formation, especially in the CA1 field, are the best correlates of cognitive deterioration in both human brain aging and AD. Our findings also support the notion that the CA2 field vulnerability is strongly linked to specific susceptibilities to different tauopathies, including primary age-related tauopathy. Altogether, these findings contrast with reports of nonsignificant microglial activation in aged nonhuman primates and indicate that susceptibility to inflammasome activation may render the human brain comparatively more vulnerable to neurodegenerative changes and AD. In conclusion, our results confirm a key role of NLRP1 inflammasome in AD pathogenesis and suggest NLRP1 as a potential diagnostic marker and therapeutic target to slow or prevent AD progression.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ena Španić
- Department of Neuroscience, Croatian Institute for Brain Research, University of Zagreb School of Medicine, Šalata 12, 10000 Zagreb, Croatia; (E.Š.); (L.L.H.); (K.I.)
| | - Lea Langer Horvat
- Department of Neuroscience, Croatian Institute for Brain Research, University of Zagreb School of Medicine, Šalata 12, 10000 Zagreb, Croatia; (E.Š.); (L.L.H.); (K.I.)
| | - Katarina Ilić
- Department of Neuroscience, Croatian Institute for Brain Research, University of Zagreb School of Medicine, Šalata 12, 10000 Zagreb, Croatia; (E.Š.); (L.L.H.); (K.I.)
- BRAIN Centre, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology, and Neuroscience, King’s College London, London WC2R 2LS, UK
| | - Patrick R. Hof
- Nash Family Department of Neuroscience, Friedman Brain Institute, and Ronald M. Loeb Center for Alzheimer’s Disease, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY 10029, USA;
| | - Goran Šimić
- Department of Neuroscience, Croatian Institute for Brain Research, University of Zagreb School of Medicine, Šalata 12, 10000 Zagreb, Croatia; (E.Š.); (L.L.H.); (K.I.)
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11
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Šimić G, Krsnik Ž, Knezović V, Kelović Z, Mathiasen ML, Junaković A, Radoš M, Mulc D, Španić E, Quattrocolo G, Hall VJ, Zaborszky L, Vukšić M, Olucha Bordonau F, Kostović I, Witter MP, Hof PR. Prenatal development of the human entorhinal cortex. J Comp Neurol 2022; 530:2711-2748. [DOI: 10.1002/cne.25344] [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] [Received: 11/16/2021] [Revised: 04/30/2022] [Accepted: 05/02/2022] [Indexed: 11/11/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Goran Šimić
- Department of Neuroscience Croatian Institute for Brain Research University of Zagreb Medical School, Zagreb, HR Croatia
| | - Željka Krsnik
- Department of Neuroscience Croatian Institute for Brain Research University of Zagreb Medical School, Zagreb, HR Croatia
| | - Vinka Knezović
- Department of Neuroscience Croatian Institute for Brain Research University of Zagreb Medical School, Zagreb, HR Croatia
| | - Zlatko Kelović
- Department of Anatomy University of Zagreb Medical School, Zagreb, HR Croatia
| | - Mathias Lysholt Mathiasen
- Department of Veterinary and Animal Sciences Faculty of Health Sciences University of Copenhagen, Frederiksberg C, DK Denmark
| | - Alisa Junaković
- Department of Neuroscience Croatian Institute for Brain Research University of Zagreb Medical School, Zagreb, HR Croatia
| | - Milan Radoš
- Department of Neuroscience Croatian Institute for Brain Research University of Zagreb Medical School, Zagreb, HR Croatia
| | - Damir Mulc
- Psychiatric Hospital Vrapče University of Zagreb Medical School, Zagreb, HR Croatia
| | - Ena Španić
- Department of Neuroscience Croatian Institute for Brain Research University of Zagreb Medical School, Zagreb, HR Croatia
| | - Giulia Quattrocolo
- Kavli Institute for Systems Neuroscience and Centre for Neural Computation Norwegian University of Science and Technology Trondheim NO Norway
| | - Vanessa Jane Hall
- Department of Veterinary and Animal Sciences Faculty of Health Sciences University of Copenhagen, Frederiksberg C, DK Denmark
| | - Laszlo Zaborszky
- Center for Molecular and Behavioral Neuroscience Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey Newark New Jersey USA
| | - Mario Vukšić
- Department of Neuroscience Croatian Institute for Brain Research University of Zagreb Medical School, Zagreb, HR Croatia
| | - Francisco Olucha Bordonau
- Department of Medicine School of Medical Sciences Universitat Jaume I Castellón de la Plana ES Spain
| | - Ivica Kostović
- Department of Neuroscience Croatian Institute for Brain Research University of Zagreb Medical School, Zagreb, HR Croatia
| | - Menno P. Witter
- Kavli Institute for Systems Neuroscience and Centre for Neural Computation Norwegian University of Science and Technology Trondheim NO Norway
| | - Patrick R. Hof
- Nash Family Department of Neuroscience and Friedman Brain Institute Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai New York New York USA
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12
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Alić I, Goh PA, Murray A, Portelius E, Gkanatsiou E, Gough G, Mok KY, Koschut D, Brunmeir R, Yeap YJ, O'Brien NL, Groet J, Shao X, Havlicek S, Dunn NR, Kvartsberg H, Brinkmalm G, Hithersay R, Startin C, Hamburg S, Phillips M, Pervushin K, Turmaine M, Wallon D, Rovelet-Lecrux A, Soininen H, Volpi E, Martin JE, Foo JN, Becker DL, Rostagno A, Ghiso J, Krsnik Ž, Šimić G, Kostović I, Mitrečić D, Francis PT, Blennow K, Strydom A, Hardy J, Zetterberg H, Nižetić D. Patient-specific Alzheimer-like pathology in trisomy 21 cerebral organoids reveals BACE2 as a gene dose-sensitive AD suppressor in human brain. Mol Psychiatry 2021; 26:5766-5788. [PMID: 32647257 PMCID: PMC8190957 DOI: 10.1038/s41380-020-0806-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 53] [Impact Index Per Article: 17.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/29/2020] [Revised: 05/18/2020] [Accepted: 05/29/2020] [Indexed: 11/15/2022]
Abstract
A population of more than six million people worldwide at high risk of Alzheimer's disease (AD) are those with Down Syndrome (DS, caused by trisomy 21 (T21)), 70% of whom develop dementia during lifetime, caused by an extra copy of β-amyloid-(Aβ)-precursor-protein gene. We report AD-like pathology in cerebral organoids grown in vitro from non-invasively sampled strands of hair from 71% of DS donors. The pathology consisted of extracellular diffuse and fibrillar Aβ deposits, hyperphosphorylated/pathologically conformed Tau, and premature neuronal loss. Presence/absence of AD-like pathology was donor-specific (reproducible between individual organoids/iPSC lines/experiments). Pathology could be triggered in pathology-negative T21 organoids by CRISPR/Cas9-mediated elimination of the third copy of chromosome 21 gene BACE2, but prevented by combined chemical β and γ-secretase inhibition. We found that T21 organoids secrete increased proportions of Aβ-preventing (Aβ1-19) and Aβ-degradation products (Aβ1-20 and Aβ1-34). We show these profiles mirror in cerebrospinal fluid of people with DS. We demonstrate that this protective mechanism is mediated by BACE2-trisomy and cross-inhibited by clinically trialled BACE1 inhibitors. Combined, our data prove the physiological role of BACE2 as a dose-sensitive AD-suppressor gene, potentially explaining the dementia delay in ~30% of people with DS. We also show that DS cerebral organoids could be explored as pre-morbid AD-risk population detector and a system for hypothesis-free drug screens as well as identification of natural suppressor genes for neurodegenerative diseases.
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Grants
- MR/S011277/1 Medical Research Council
- MR/L501542/1 Medical Research Council
- G-0907 Parkinson's UK
- MR/N026004/1 Medical Research Council
- MR/R024901/1 Medical Research Council
- Wellcome Trust
- 217199 Wellcome Trust
- G0901254 Medical Research Council
- MR/T002581/1 Medical Research Council
- RF1 AG059695 NIA NIH HHS
- G0701075 Medical Research Council
- 098330 Wellcome Trust
- William Harvey Academy Fellowship, co-funded by the People Programme (Marie Curie Actions) of the European Union’s Seventh Framework Programme (FP7/2007-2013) under REA grant agreement n° 608765
- Fondation pour la Recherche Médicale (Foundation for Medical Research in France)
- National Research Foundation Singapore (National Research Foundation-Prime Minister’s office, Republic of Singapore)
- BrightFocus Foundation (BrightFocus)
- Foundation for the National Institutes of Health (Foundation for the National Institutes of Health, Inc.)
- Svenska Forskningsrådet Formas (Swedish Research Council Formas)
- KB holds the Torsten Söderberg Professorship in Medicine at the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences, and is supported by the Swedish Alzheimer Foundation (#AF-742881), Hjärnfonden, Sweden (#FO2017-0243), and the Swedish State Support for Clinical Research (#ALFGBG-715986).
- Wellcome Trust (Wellcome)
- JH received funding from the Dementia Research Institute, an anonymous foundation and the Dolby foundation
- HZ is a Wallenberg Academy Fellow supported by grants from the Swedish Research Council, the European Research Council, Swedish State Support for Clinical Research (ALFGBG-720931) the UK Dementia Research Institute at UCL
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Affiliation(s)
- Ivan Alić
- Lee Kong Chian School of Medicine, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore, 308232, Singapore
- The Blizard Institute, Barts & The London School of Medicine, Queen Mary University of London, London, E1 2AT, UK
- Department of Anatomy, Histology and Embryology, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Zagreb, 10000, Zagreb, Croatia
| | - Pollyanna A Goh
- The Blizard Institute, Barts & The London School of Medicine, Queen Mary University of London, London, E1 2AT, UK
- LonDownS Consortium, London, UK
| | - Aoife Murray
- Lee Kong Chian School of Medicine, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore, 308232, Singapore
| | - Erik Portelius
- Department of Psychiatry and Neurochemistry, Institute of Neuroscience and Physiology, The Sahlgrenska Academy at the University of Gothenburg, Gothenburg, S-405 30, Sweden
| | - Eleni Gkanatsiou
- Department of Psychiatry and Neurochemistry, Institute of Neuroscience and Physiology, The Sahlgrenska Academy at the University of Gothenburg, Gothenburg, S-405 30, Sweden
| | - Gillian Gough
- Lee Kong Chian School of Medicine, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore, 308232, Singapore
| | - Kin Y Mok
- LonDownS Consortium, London, UK
- Dementia Research Institute & Reta Lila Weston Institute, Institute of Neurology, University College London, London, WC1N 3BG, UK
| | - David Koschut
- Lee Kong Chian School of Medicine, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore, 308232, Singapore
| | - Reinhard Brunmeir
- Lee Kong Chian School of Medicine, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore, 308232, Singapore
| | - Yee Jie Yeap
- Lee Kong Chian School of Medicine, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore, 308232, Singapore
| | - Niamh L O'Brien
- The Blizard Institute, Barts & The London School of Medicine, Queen Mary University of London, London, E1 2AT, UK
- LonDownS Consortium, London, UK
| | - Jürgen Groet
- The Blizard Institute, Barts & The London School of Medicine, Queen Mary University of London, London, E1 2AT, UK
- LonDownS Consortium, London, UK
| | - Xiaowei Shao
- Lee Kong Chian School of Medicine, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore, 308232, Singapore
| | - Steven Havlicek
- Genome Institute of Singapore, Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR), Singapore, 138672, Singapore
| | - N Ray Dunn
- Lee Kong Chian School of Medicine, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore, 308232, Singapore
- Institute of Medical Biology, Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR), Singapore, 138648, Singapore
| | - Hlin Kvartsberg
- Department of Psychiatry and Neurochemistry, Institute of Neuroscience and Physiology, The Sahlgrenska Academy at the University of Gothenburg, Gothenburg, S-405 30, Sweden
| | - Gunnar Brinkmalm
- Department of Psychiatry and Neurochemistry, Institute of Neuroscience and Physiology, The Sahlgrenska Academy at the University of Gothenburg, Gothenburg, S-405 30, Sweden
| | - Rosalyn Hithersay
- LonDownS Consortium, London, UK
- Division of Psychiatry, University College London, London, WC1E 6BT, UK
- Department of Forensic and Neurodevelopmental Sciences, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience, King's College London, London, SE5 8AF, UK
| | - Carla Startin
- LonDownS Consortium, London, UK
- Division of Psychiatry, University College London, London, WC1E 6BT, UK
| | - Sarah Hamburg
- LonDownS Consortium, London, UK
- Division of Psychiatry, University College London, London, WC1E 6BT, UK
| | - Margaret Phillips
- School of Biological Sciences, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore, 639798, Singapore
| | - Konstantin Pervushin
- School of Biological Sciences, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore, 639798, Singapore
| | - Mark Turmaine
- Division of Biosciences, University College London, Gower Street, London, WC1E 6BT, UK
| | - David Wallon
- Normandie Univ, UNIROUEN, Inserm U1245 and Rouen University Hospital, Department of Neurology and CNR-MAJ, F 76000, Normandy Center for Genomic and Personalized Medicine, Rouen, France
| | - Anne Rovelet-Lecrux
- Normandie Univ, UNIROUEN, Inserm U1245 and Rouen University Hospital, Department of Neurology and CNR-MAJ, F 76000, Normandy Center for Genomic and Personalized Medicine, Rouen, France
| | - Hilkka Soininen
- University of Eastern Finland, Institute of Clinical Medicine/Neurology, Kuopio, FI-70211, Finland
| | - Emanuela Volpi
- School of Life Sciences, University of Westminster, London, W1W 6UW, UK
| | - Joanne E Martin
- The Blizard Institute, Barts & The London School of Medicine, Queen Mary University of London, London, E1 2AT, UK
| | - Jia Nee Foo
- Lee Kong Chian School of Medicine, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore, 308232, Singapore
- Genome Institute of Singapore, Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR), Singapore, 138672, Singapore
| | - David L Becker
- Lee Kong Chian School of Medicine, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore, 308232, Singapore
| | - Agueda Rostagno
- Department of Pathology & Department of Psychiatry, New York University School of Medicine, New York, NY, 10016, USA
| | - Jorge Ghiso
- Department of Pathology & Department of Psychiatry, New York University School of Medicine, New York, NY, 10016, USA
| | - Željka Krsnik
- Croatian Institute for Brain Research, School of Medicine, University of Zagreb, 10000, Zagreb, Croatia
| | - Goran Šimić
- Croatian Institute for Brain Research, School of Medicine, University of Zagreb, 10000, Zagreb, Croatia
| | - Ivica Kostović
- Croatian Institute for Brain Research, School of Medicine, University of Zagreb, 10000, Zagreb, Croatia
| | - Dinko Mitrečić
- Croatian Institute for Brain Research, School of Medicine, University of Zagreb, 10000, Zagreb, Croatia
| | - Paul T Francis
- Wolfson Centre for Age-Related Diseases, King's College London, London, SE1 1UL, UK
| | - Kaj Blennow
- Department of Psychiatry and Neurochemistry, Institute of Neuroscience and Physiology, The Sahlgrenska Academy at the University of Gothenburg, Gothenburg, S-405 30, Sweden
| | - Andre Strydom
- LonDownS Consortium, London, UK
- Division of Psychiatry, University College London, London, WC1E 6BT, UK
- Department of Forensic and Neurodevelopmental Sciences, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience, King's College London, London, SE5 8AF, UK
| | - John Hardy
- LonDownS Consortium, London, UK
- Dementia Research Institute & Reta Lila Weston Institute, Institute of Neurology, University College London, London, WC1N 3BG, UK
| | - Henrik Zetterberg
- Department of Psychiatry and Neurochemistry, Institute of Neuroscience and Physiology, The Sahlgrenska Academy at the University of Gothenburg, Gothenburg, S-405 30, Sweden
- Dementia Research Institute & Reta Lila Weston Institute, Institute of Neurology, University College London, London, WC1N 3BG, UK
| | - Dean Nižetić
- Lee Kong Chian School of Medicine, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore, 308232, Singapore.
- The Blizard Institute, Barts & The London School of Medicine, Queen Mary University of London, London, E1 2AT, UK.
- LonDownS Consortium, London, UK.
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13
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Babić Leko M, Nikolac Perković M, Nedić Erjavec G, Klepac N, Švob Štrac DK, Borovečki F, Pivac N, Hof PR, Šimić G. Association of the MAOB rs1799836 Single Nucleotide Polymorphism and APOE ɛ4 Allele in Alzheimer's Disease. Curr Alzheimer Res 2021; 18:585-594. [PMID: 34533445 DOI: 10.2174/1567205018666210917162843] [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] [Received: 05/20/2020] [Revised: 07/01/2021] [Accepted: 08/22/2021] [Indexed: 11/22/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND The dopaminergic system is functionally compromised in Alzheimer's dis-ease (AD). The activity of monoamine oxidase B (MAOB), the enzyme involved in the degradation of dopamine, is increased during AD. Also, increased expression of MAOB occurs in the post-mortem hippocampus and neocortex of patients with AD. The MAOB rs1799836 polymorphism modulates MAOB transcription, consequently influencing protein translation and MAOB activity. We recently showed that cerebrospinal fluid levels of amyloid β1-42 are decreased in patients carry- ing the A allele in MAOB rs1799836 polymorphism. OBJECTIVE The present study compares MAOB rs1799836 polymorphism and APOE, the only con- firmed genetic risk factor for sporadic AD. METHOD We included 253 participants, 127 of whom had AD, 57 had mild cognitive impairment, 11 were healthy controls, and 58 suffered from other primary causes of dementia. MAOB and APOE polymorphisms were determined using TaqMan SNP Genotyping Assays. RESULTS We observed that the frequency of APOE ɛ4/ɛ4 homozygotes and APOE ɛ4 carriers is sig- nificantly increased among patients carrying the AA MAOB rs1799836 genotype. CONCLUSION These results indicate that the MAOB rs1799836 polymorphism is a potential genetic biomarker of AD and a potential target for the treatment of decreased dopaminergic transmission and cognitive deterioration in AD.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mirjana Babić Leko
- Department of Neuroscience, Croatian Institute for Brain Research, University of Zagreb Medical School, Zagreb, Croatia
| | | | | | - Nataša Klepac
- Department of Neurology, University Hospital Centre Zagreb, Zagreb, Croatia
| | | | - Fran Borovečki
- Department of Neurology, University Hospital Centre Zagreb, Zagreb, Croatia
| | - Nela Pivac
- Department of Molecular Medicine, Institute Ruđer Bošković, Zagreb, Croatia
| | - Patrick R Hof
- Nash Family Department of Neuroscience, Friedman Brain Institute, and Ronald M. Loeb Center for Alzheimer's Disease, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, United States
| | - Goran Šimić
- Department of Neuroscience, Croatian Institute for Brain Research, University of Zagreb Medical School, Zagreb, Croatia
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14
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Babić Leko M, Jurasović J, Nikolac Perković M, Španić E, Sekovanić A, Orct T, Lukinović Škudar V, Bačić Baronica K, Kiđemet-Piskač S, Vogrinc Ž, Pivac N, Borovečki F, Hof PR, Šimić G. The Association of Essential Metals with APOE Genotype in Alzheimer's Disease. J Alzheimers Dis 2021; 82:661-672. [PMID: 34057084 DOI: 10.3233/jad-210158] [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] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/15/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND The major confirmed genetic risk factor for late-onset, sporadic Alzheimer's disease (AD) is variant ɛ4 of apolipoprotein E gene (APOE). It is proposed that ApoE, a protein involved in transport of cholesterol to neurons can cause neurodegeneration in AD through interaction with metals. Previous studies mostly associated copper, iron, zinc, and calcium with ApoE4-mediated toxicity. OBJECTIVE To test the association of essential metals with APOE genotype. METHODS We compared plasma and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) levels of copper, zinc, iron, sodium, magnesium, calcium, cobalt, molybdenum, manganese, boron, and chromium, and CSF ferritin levels among AD, mild cognitive impairment (MCI) patients, and healthy controls (HC) with different APOE genotype. RESULTS Sodium, copper, and magnesium levels were increased in carriers of ɛ4 allele. Additionally, the increase in sodium, calcium and cobalt plasma levels was observed in carriers of ɛ4/ɛx genotype. The decrease in boron plasma levels was observed in carriers of ɛ4 allele and ɛ4/ɛ4 genotype. Additionally, CSF zinc levels as well as plasma sodium levels were increased in AD patients compared to HC. CONCLUSION These results indicate that the molecular underpinnings of association of essential metals and metalloids with APOE should be further tested and clarified in vivo and in vitro.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mirjana Babić Leko
- Department of Neuroscience, Croatian Institute for Brain Research, University of Zagreb School of Medicine, Zagreb, Croatia
| | - Jasna Jurasović
- Analytical Toxicology and Mineral Metabolism Unit, Institute for Medical Research and Occupational Health, Zagreb, Croatia
| | | | - Ena Španić
- Department of Neuroscience, Croatian Institute for Brain Research, University of Zagreb School of Medicine, Zagreb, Croatia
| | - Ankica Sekovanić
- Analytical Toxicology and Mineral Metabolism Unit, Institute for Medical Research and Occupational Health, Zagreb, Croatia
| | - Tatjana Orct
- Analytical Toxicology and Mineral Metabolism Unit, Institute for Medical Research and Occupational Health, Zagreb, Croatia
| | - Vesna Lukinović Škudar
- Department of Physiology and Croatian Institute for Brain Research, University of Zagreb School of Medicine, Zagreb, Croatia
| | - Koraljka Bačić Baronica
- University Department of Neurology, Clinical Hospital "Sveti Duh", Zagreb, Croatia and Neurology Clinic, Faculty of Medicine, Josip Juraj Strossmayer University of Osijek, Osijek, Croatia
| | | | - Željka Vogrinc
- Laboratory for Neurobiochemistry, Department of Laboratory Diagnostics, University Hospital Centre Zagreb, Zagreb, Croatia
| | - Nela Pivac
- Ruđer Bošković Institute, Division of Molecular Medicine, Zagreb, Croatia
| | - Fran Borovečki
- Department for Functional Genomics, Center for Translational and Clinical Research, University of Zagreb Medical School, University Hospital Center Zagreb, Zagreb, Croatia
| | - Patrick R Hof
- Nash Family Department of Neuroscience, Friedman Brain Institute, and Ronald M. Loeb Center for Alzheimer's disease, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY, USA
| | - Goran Šimić
- Department of Neuroscience, Croatian Institute for Brain Research, University of Zagreb School of Medicine, Zagreb, Croatia
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Šimić G, Tkalčić M, Vukić V, Mulc D, Španić E, Šagud M, Olucha-Bordonau FE, Vukšić M, R. Hof P. Understanding Emotions: Origins and Roles of the Amygdala. Biomolecules 2021; 11:biom11060823. [PMID: 34072960 PMCID: PMC8228195 DOI: 10.3390/biom11060823] [Citation(s) in RCA: 65] [Impact Index Per Article: 21.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/25/2021] [Revised: 05/24/2021] [Accepted: 05/26/2021] [Indexed: 12/11/2022] Open
Abstract
Emotions arise from activations of specialized neuronal populations in several parts of the cerebral cortex, notably the anterior cingulate, insula, ventromedial prefrontal, and subcortical structures, such as the amygdala, ventral striatum, putamen, caudate nucleus, and ventral tegmental area. Feelings are conscious, emotional experiences of these activations that contribute to neuronal networks mediating thoughts, language, and behavior, thus enhancing the ability to predict, learn, and reappraise stimuli and situations in the environment based on previous experiences. Contemporary theories of emotion converge around the key role of the amygdala as the central subcortical emotional brain structure that constantly evaluates and integrates a variety of sensory information from the surroundings and assigns them appropriate values of emotional dimensions, such as valence, intensity, and approachability. The amygdala participates in the regulation of autonomic and endocrine functions, decision-making and adaptations of instinctive and motivational behaviors to changes in the environment through implicit associative learning, changes in short- and long-term synaptic plasticity, and activation of the fight-or-flight response via efferent projections from its central nucleus to cortical and subcortical structures.
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Affiliation(s)
- Goran Šimić
- Department of Neuroscience, Croatian Institute for Brain Research, University of Zagreb Medical School, 10000 Zagreb, Croatia; (V.V.); (E.Š.); (M.V.)
- Correspondence:
| | - Mladenka Tkalčić
- Department of Psychology, Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences, University of Rijeka, 51000 Rijeka, Croatia;
| | - Vana Vukić
- Department of Neuroscience, Croatian Institute for Brain Research, University of Zagreb Medical School, 10000 Zagreb, Croatia; (V.V.); (E.Š.); (M.V.)
| | - Damir Mulc
- University Psychiatric Hospital Vrapče, 10090 Zagreb, Croatia;
| | - Ena Španić
- Department of Neuroscience, Croatian Institute for Brain Research, University of Zagreb Medical School, 10000 Zagreb, Croatia; (V.V.); (E.Š.); (M.V.)
| | - Marina Šagud
- Department of Psychiatry, Clinical Hospital Center Zagreb and University of Zagreb School of Medicine, 10000 Zagreb, Croatia;
| | | | - Mario Vukšić
- Department of Neuroscience, Croatian Institute for Brain Research, University of Zagreb Medical School, 10000 Zagreb, Croatia; (V.V.); (E.Š.); (M.V.)
| | - Patrick R. Hof
- Nash Family Department of Neuroscience and Friedman Brain Institute, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY 07305, USA;
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Žigman T, Petković Ramadža D, Šimić G, Barić I. Inborn Errors of Metabolism Associated With Autism Spectrum Disorders: Approaches to Intervention. Front Neurosci 2021; 15:673600. [PMID: 34121999 PMCID: PMC8193223 DOI: 10.3389/fnins.2021.673600] [Citation(s) in RCA: 25] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.3] [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: 02/27/2021] [Accepted: 05/03/2021] [Indexed: 12/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Increasing evidence suggests that the autism spectrum disorder (ASD) may be associated with inborn errors of metabolism, such as disorders of amino acid metabolism and transport [phenylketonuria, homocystinuria, S-adenosylhomocysteine hydrolase deficiency, branched-chain α-keto acid dehydrogenase kinase deficiency, urea cycle disorders (UCD), Hartnup disease], organic acidurias (propionic aciduria, L-2 hydroxyglutaric aciduria), cholesterol biosynthesis defects (Smith-Lemli-Opitz syndrome), mitochondrial disorders (mitochondrial encephalomyopathy, lactic acidosis, and stroke-like episodes-MELAS syndrome), neurotransmitter disorders (succinic semialdehyde dehydrogenase deficiency), disorders of purine metabolism [adenylosuccinate lyase (ADSL) deficiency, Lesch-Nyhan syndrome], cerebral creatine deficiency syndromes (CCDSs), disorders of folate transport and metabolism (cerebral folate deficiency, methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase deficiency), lysosomal storage disorders [Sanfilippo syndrome, neuronal ceroid lipofuscinoses (NCL), Niemann-Pick disease type C], cerebrotendinous xanthomatosis (CTX), disorders of copper metabolism (Wilson disease), disorders of haem biosynthesis [acute intermittent porphyria (AIP)] and brain iron accumulation diseases. In this review, we briefly describe etiology, clinical presentation, and therapeutic principles, if they exist, for these conditions. Additionally, we suggest the primary and elective laboratory work-up for their successful early diagnosis.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tamara Žigman
- Department of Paediatrics, University Hospital Center Zagreb and University of Zagreb School of Medicine, Zagreb, Croatia
| | - Danijela Petković Ramadža
- Department of Paediatrics, University Hospital Center Zagreb and University of Zagreb School of Medicine, Zagreb, Croatia
| | - Goran Šimić
- Department of Neuroscience, Croatian Institute for Brain Research, University of Zagreb School of Medicine, Zagreb, Croatia
| | - Ivo Barić
- Department of Paediatrics, University Hospital Center Zagreb and University of Zagreb School of Medicine, Zagreb, Croatia
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17
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Babić Leko M, Nikolac Perković M, Klepac N, Štrac DŠ, Borovečki F, Pivac N, Hof PR, Šimić G. IL-1β, IL-6, IL-10, and TNFα Single Nucleotide Polymorphisms in Human Influence the Susceptibility to Alzheimer's Disease Pathology. J Alzheimers Dis 2021; 75:1029-1047. [PMID: 32390629 DOI: 10.3233/jad-200056] [Citation(s) in RCA: 31] [Impact Index Per Article: 10.3] [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: 12/21/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Neuroinflammation plays an important role in Alzheimer's disease (AD). During this process, activated microglia release pro-inflammatory cytokines such as interleukin (IL)-1α, IL-1β, IL-6, and tumor necrosis factor α (TNFα) that participate in neuron damage, but also anti-inflammatory cytokines (such as IL-10), which maintain homeostasis of immune response. Previous studies showed the association of IL-1α -889C/T (rs1800587), IL-1β-1473G/C (rs1143623), IL-6 -174C/G (rs1800795), IL-10 -1082G/A (rs1800896), and TNFα -308A/G (rs1800629) polymorphisms with AD. OBJECTIVE We aimed to investigate whether people with certain IL-1α, IL-1β, IL-6, IL-10, and TNFα genotypes in these polymorphisms are more prone to develop AD-related pathology, reflected by pathological levels of cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) AD biomarkers including amyloid-β1-42, total tau (t-tau), tau phosphorylated at Thr 181 (p-tau181), Ser 199 (p-tau199), and Thr 231 (p-tau231), and visinin-like protein 1 (VILIP-1). METHODS The study included 115 AD patients, 53 patients with mild cognitive impairment, and 11 healthy controls. The polymorphisms were determined using real-time polymerase chain reaction. Levels of CSF biomarkers were determined by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. RESULTS A significant increase in p-tau CSF levels was found in patients with the AA IL-10 -1082G/A and GG TNFα -308A/G genotypes, and in carriers of a G allele in IL-1β -1473C/G and IL-6 -174C/G polymorphisms. t-tau levels were increased in carriers of a G allele in IL-1β -1473C/G polymorphism. An increase in VILIP-1 levels was observed in patients with CG and GG IL-1β -1473C/G, GC IL-6 -174C/G, and GG TNFα -308A/G genotype. CONCLUSION These results suggest that persons carrying certain genotypes in IL10 (-1082G/A), IL1β (1473C/G), IL6 (-174C/G), and TNFIα (-308A/G) could be more vulnerable to development of neuroinflammation, and consequently of AD.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mirjana Babić Leko
- Department of Neuroscience, Croatian Institute for Brain Research, University of Zagreb Medical School, Zagreb, Croatia
| | | | - Nataša Klepac
- Department of Neurology, University Hospital Centre Zagreb, Zagreb, Croatia
| | | | - Fran Borovečki
- Department of Neurology, University Hospital Centre Zagreb, Zagreb, Croatia
| | - Nela Pivac
- Department of Molecular Medicine, Institute Ruđer Bošković, Zagreb, Croatia
| | - Patrick R Hof
- Nash Family Department of Neuroscience, Friedman Brain Institute, and Ronald M. Loeb Center for Alzheimer's Disease, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY, USA
| | - Goran Šimić
- Department of Neuroscience, Croatian Institute for Brain Research, University of Zagreb Medical School, Zagreb, Croatia
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18
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Babić Leko M, Nikolac Perković M, Klepac N, Švob Štrac D, Borovečki F, Pivac N, Hof PR, Šimić G. Relationships of Cerebrospinal Fluid Alzheimer's Disease Biomarkers and COMT, DBH, and MAOB Single Nucleotide Polymorphisms. J Alzheimers Dis 2021; 73:135-145. [PMID: 31771069 PMCID: PMC7029364 DOI: 10.3233/jad-190991] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [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] [Indexed: 01/10/2023]
Abstract
The noradrenergic and dopaminergic systems are affected in Alzheimer’s disease (AD). Polymorphisms in genes encoding enzymes and proteins that are components of these systems can affect products of transcription and translation and lead to altered enzymatic activity and alterations in overall dopamine and noradrenaline levels. Catechol-O-methyltransferase (COMT) and monoamine oxidase B (MAOB) are the enzymes that regulate degradation of dopamine, while dopamine β-hydroxylase (DBH) is involved in synthesis of noradrenaline. COMT Val158Met (rs4680), DBH rs1611115 (also called –1021C/T or –970C/T), and MAOB rs1799836 (also called A644G) polymorphisms have been previously associated with AD. We assessed whether these polymorphisms are associated with cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) AD biomarkers including total tau (t-tau), phosphorylated tau proteins (p-tau181, p-tau199, and p-tau231), amyloid-β42 (Aβ42), and visinin-like protein 1 (VILIP-1) to test possible relationships of specific genotypes and pathological levels of CSF AD biomarkers. The study included 233 subjects: 115 AD, 53 mild cognitive impairment, 54 subjects with other primary causes of dementia, and 11 healthy controls. Significant decrease in Aβ42 levels was found in patients with GG compared to AG COMT Val158Met genotype, while t-tau and p-tau181 levels were increased in patients with AA compared to AG COMT Val158Met genotype. Aβ42 levels were also decreased in carriers of A allele in MAO-B rs1799836 polymorphism, while p-tau181 levels were increased in carriers of T allele in DBH rs1611115 polymorphism. These results indicate that COMT Val158Met, DBH rs1611115, and MAOB rs1799836 polymorphisms deserve further investigation as genetic markers of AD.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mirjana Babić Leko
- Department of Neuroscience, Croatian Institute for Brain Research, University of Zagreb Medical School, Zagreb, Croatia
| | | | - Nataša Klepac
- Department of Neurology, University Hospital Centre Zagreb, Zagreb, Croatia
| | | | - Fran Borovečki
- Department of Neurology, University Hospital Centre Zagreb, Zagreb, Croatia
| | - Nela Pivac
- Department of Molecular Medicine, Institute Ruđer Bošković, Zagreb, Croatia
| | - Patrick R Hof
- Nash Family Department of Neuroscience, Friedman Brain Institute, and Ronald M. Loeb Center for Alzheimer's Disease, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY, USA
| | - Goran Šimić
- Department of Neuroscience, Croatian Institute for Brain Research, University of Zagreb Medical School, Zagreb, Croatia
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19
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Abstract
The pathogenesis of Alzheimer's disease (AD) is not fully understood. Here we summarize current knowledge on the involvement of the serotonergic, noradrenergic, dopaminergic, cholinergic, and opioid systems in AD, emphasizing the importance of interactions between the serotonergic and the other subcortical modulatory systems during the progression of AD. In physiological conditions, all neurotransmitter systems function in concert and are interdependent at both the neuroanatomical and molecular levels. Through their early involvement in AD, cognitive and behavioral abilities that rely on their interactions also become disrupted. Considering that serotonin (5HT) regulates the release of noradrenaline (NA), dopamine (DA) and acetylcholine (ACh), any alteration in 5HT levels leads to disturbance of NA, DA, and ACh homeostasis in the brain. One of the earliest pathological changes during the prodromal phase of AD is a decrease of serotonergic transmission throughout the brain, with serotonergic receptors being also affected. Additionally, serotonergic and noradrenergic as well as serotonergic and dopaminergic nuclei are reciprocally interconnected. As the serotonergic dorsal raphe nucleus (DRN) is affected by pathological changes early in AD, and the noradrenergic locus coeruleus (LC) and dopaminergic ventral tegmental area (VTA) exhibit AD-related pathological changes, their connectivity also becomes altered in AD. Such disrupted interactions among neurotransmitter systems in AD can be used in the development of multi-target drugs. Some of the potential AD therapeutics (such as ASS234, RS67333, tropisetron) target multiple neurotransmitter systems to achieve the best possible improvement of cognitive and behavioral deficits observed in AD. Here, we review how serotonergic system interacts with other subcortical modulatory systems (noradrenergic, dopaminergic, cholinergic, and opioid systems) during AD.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mirjana Babić Leko
- Department for Neuroscience, Croatian Institute for Brain Research, University of Zagreb Medical School, Zagreb, Croatia
| | - Patrick R Hof
- Nash Family Department of Neuroscience, Friedman Brain Institute, and Ronald M. Loeb Center for Alzheimer's Disease, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY, United States
| | - Goran Šimić
- Department for Neuroscience, Croatian Institute for Brain Research, University of Zagreb Medical School, Zagreb, Croatia.
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20
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Šimić G, Vukić V, Kopić J, Krsnik Ž, Hof PR. Molecules, Mechanisms, and Disorders of Self-Domestication: Keys for Understanding Emotional and Social Communication from an Evolutionary Perspective. Biomolecules 2020; 11:E2. [PMID: 33375093 PMCID: PMC7822183 DOI: 10.3390/biom11010002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/06/2020] [Revised: 12/18/2020] [Accepted: 12/20/2020] [Indexed: 12/16/2022] Open
Abstract
The neural crest hypothesis states that the phenotypic features of the domestication syndrome are due to a reduced number or disruption of neural crest cells (NCCs) migration, as these cells differentiate at their final destinations and proliferate into different tissues whose activity is reduced by domestication. Comparing the phenotypic characteristics of modern and prehistoric man, it is clear that during their recent evolutionary past, humans also went through a process of self-domestication with a simultaneous prolongation of the period of socialization. This has led to the development of social abilities and skills, especially language, as well as neoteny. Disorders of neural crest cell development and migration lead to many different conditions such as Waardenburg syndrome, Hirschsprung disease, fetal alcohol syndrome, DiGeorge and Treacher-Collins syndrome, for which the mechanisms are already relatively well-known. However, for others, such as Williams-Beuren syndrome and schizophrenia that have the characteristics of hyperdomestication, and autism spectrum disorders, and 7dupASD syndrome that have the characteristics of hypodomestication, much less is known. Thus, deciphering the biological determinants of disordered self-domestication has great potential for elucidating the normal and disturbed ontogenesis of humans, as well as for the understanding of evolution of mammals in general.
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Affiliation(s)
- Goran Šimić
- Department of Neuroscience, Croatian Institute for Brain Research, University of Zagreb Medical School, 10000 Zagreb, Croatia; (V.V.); (J.K.); (Ž.K.)
| | - Vana Vukić
- Department of Neuroscience, Croatian Institute for Brain Research, University of Zagreb Medical School, 10000 Zagreb, Croatia; (V.V.); (J.K.); (Ž.K.)
| | - Janja Kopić
- Department of Neuroscience, Croatian Institute for Brain Research, University of Zagreb Medical School, 10000 Zagreb, Croatia; (V.V.); (J.K.); (Ž.K.)
| | - Željka Krsnik
- Department of Neuroscience, Croatian Institute for Brain Research, University of Zagreb Medical School, 10000 Zagreb, Croatia; (V.V.); (J.K.); (Ž.K.)
| | - Patrick R. Hof
- Nash Family Department of Neuroscience, Friedman Brain Institute, and Ronald M. Loeb Center for Alzheimer’s disease, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY 10029, USA;
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Zubčić K, Hof PR, Šimić G, Jazvinšćak Jembrek M. The Role of Copper in Tau-Related Pathology in Alzheimer's Disease. Front Mol Neurosci 2020; 13:572308. [PMID: 33071757 PMCID: PMC7533614 DOI: 10.3389/fnmol.2020.572308] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [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] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/13/2020] [Accepted: 08/19/2020] [Indexed: 12/12/2022] Open
Abstract
All tauopathies, including Alzheimer's disease (AD), are characterized by the intracellular accumulation of abnormal forms of tau protein in neurons and glial cells, which negatively affect microtubule stability. Under physiological conditions, tubulin-associated unit (Tau) protein is intrinsically disordered, almost without secondary structure, and is not prone to aggregation. In AD, it assembles, and forms paired helical filaments (PHFs) that further build-up neurofibrillary tangles (NFTs). Aggregates are composed of hyperphosphorylated tau protein that is more prone to aggregation. The pathology of AD is also linked to disturbed copper homeostasis, which promotes oxidative stress (OS). Copper imbalance is widely observed in AD patients. Deregulated copper ions may initiate and exacerbate tau hyperphosphorylation and formation of β-sheet-rich tau fibrils that ultimately contribute to synaptic failure, neuronal death, and cognitive decline observed in AD patients. The present review summarizes factors affecting the process of tau aggregation, conformational changes of small peptide sequences in the microtubule-binding domain required for these motifs to act as seeding sites in aggregation, and the role of copper in OS induction, tau hyperphosphorylation and tau assembly. A better understanding of the various factors that affect tau aggregation under OS conditions may reveal new targets and novel pharmacological approaches for the therapy of AD.
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Affiliation(s)
- Klara Zubčić
- Laboratory for Developmental Neuropathology, Department for Neuroscience, Croatian Institute for Brain Research, University of Zagreb Medical School, Zagreb, Croatia
| | - Patrick R Hof
- Nash Family Department of Neuroscience, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY, United States.,Ronald M. Loeb Center for Alzheimer's Disease, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY, United States.,Friedman Brain Institute, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY, United States
| | - Goran Šimić
- Laboratory for Developmental Neuropathology, Department for Neuroscience, Croatian Institute for Brain Research, University of Zagreb Medical School, Zagreb, Croatia
| | - Maja Jazvinšćak Jembrek
- Laboratory for Protein Dynamics, Division of Molecular Medicine, Ruđer Bošković Institute, Zagreb, Croatia.,Department of Psychology, Catholic University of Croatia, Zagreb, Croatia
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Zubčić K, Radovanović V, Vlainić J, Hof PR, Oršolić N, Šimić G, Jazvinšćak Jembrek M. PI3K/Akt and ERK1/2 Signalling Are Involved in Quercetin-Mediated Neuroprotection against Copper-Induced Injury. Oxid Med Cell Longev 2020; 2020:9834742. [PMID: 32733640 PMCID: PMC7369662 DOI: 10.1155/2020/9834742] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/26/2020] [Accepted: 06/12/2020] [Indexed: 01/12/2023]
Abstract
Copper, a transition metal with essential cellular functions, exerts neurotoxic effects when present in excess by promoting production of reactive oxygen species (ROS). The aim of the present study was to investigate potential benefits of flavonoid quercetin against copper-induced toxicity. Results obtained with MTT assay indicate that the effects of quercetin are determined by the severity of the toxic insult. In moderately injured P19 neuronal cells, concomitant treatment with 150 μM quercetin improved viability by preventing ROS formation, caspase-3 activation, and chromatin condensation. Western blot analysis revealed that quercetin reduced copper-induced increase in p53 upregulated modulator of apoptosis (PUMA) expression and promoted upregulation of nucleoside diphosphate kinase NME1. Levels of p53 and Bax proteins were not affected by both copper and quercetin. UO126 and wortmannin, inhibitors of ERK1/2 and PI3K/Akt signalling pathways, respectively, prevented neuroprotective effects of quercetin. In severely injured neurons, 30 μM quercetin exerted strong prooxidative action and exacerbated cytotoxic effects of copper, whereas 150 μM quercetin failed to affect neuronal survival. These results demonstrate the dual nature of quercetin action in copper-related neurodegeneration. Hence, they are relevant in the context of considering quercetin as a possible therapeutic for neuroprotection and imply that detailed pharmacological and toxicological studies must be carried out for natural compounds capable of acting both as antioxidants and prooxidants.
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Affiliation(s)
- Klara Zubčić
- Department for Neuroscience, Croatian Institute for Brain Research, University of Zagreb Medical School, 10000 Zagreb, Croatia
| | - Vedrana Radovanović
- Division of Molecular Medicine, Rudjer Boskovic Institute, 10000 Zagreb, Croatia
| | - Josipa Vlainić
- Division of Molecular Medicine, Rudjer Boskovic Institute, 10000 Zagreb, Croatia
| | - Patrick R. Hof
- Nash Family Department of Neuroscience, Friedman Brain Institute, and Ronald M. Loeb Center for Alzheimer's Disease, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY 10029, USA
| | - Nada Oršolić
- Department of Animal Physiology, Faculty of Science, University of Zagreb, 10000 Zagreb, Croatia
| | - Goran Šimić
- Department for Neuroscience, Croatian Institute for Brain Research, University of Zagreb Medical School, 10000 Zagreb, Croatia
| | - Maja Jazvinšćak Jembrek
- Division of Molecular Medicine, Rudjer Boskovic Institute, 10000 Zagreb, Croatia
- Department of Psychology, Catholic University of Croatia, Ilica 242, 10000 Zagreb, Croatia
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Affiliation(s)
- Goran Šimić
- Goran Šimić, Department of Neuroscience, Croatian Institute for Brain Research, University of Zagreb School of Medicine, Zagreb, Croatia,
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24
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Bažadona D, Fabek I, Babić Leko M, Bobić Rasonja M, Kalinić D, Bilić E, Raguž JD, Mimica N, Borovečki F, Hof PR, Šimić G. A non-invasive hidden-goal test for spatial orientation deficit detection in subjects with suspected mild cognitive impairment. J Neurosci Methods 2020; 332:108547. [PMID: 31830545 PMCID: PMC6990141 DOI: 10.1016/j.jneumeth.2019.108547] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [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: 10/29/2019] [Revised: 11/29/2019] [Accepted: 12/07/2019] [Indexed: 01/01/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND There is a need for highly sensitive and specific tests and biomarkers that would allow preclinical diagnosis of mild cognitive impairment (MCI) and Alzheimer's disease (AD), which would also enable timely intervention. NEW METHOD We have developed a new system (ALZENTIA) to help detect early MCI, mainly caused by AD. The system is based on a hidden-goal task (HGT) in which the human subject has to find a target that is not visible; as such, the navigation is based on a previously memorized target position, in relation to the starting position (egocentric variant) and/or other navigational landmarks (allocentric variant of the task). We present our preliminary results obtained in 33 patients with MCI and 91 healthy controls (HC). RESULTS AND COMPARISON WITH EXISTING METHODS Between-group differences in the average error measured in allocentric, egocentric, and combined allocentric-egocentric subtests were statistically significant in MCI compared to HC. The high negative predictive values suggested high discriminative capacity and diagnostic potential for the HGT test as a tool to detect subjects in healthy population who will progress to MCI. Considering the low sensitivity of the Mini-Mental Status Examination and Montreal Cognitive Assessment tests, we believe that HGT can improve early identification of MCI patients who will progress to AD. CONCLUSION The HGT carried out with the ALZENTIA system proved to be a reliable screening test to identify individuals with MCI from an aging cohort.
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Affiliation(s)
- Danira Bažadona
- Croatian Institute for Brain Research, University of Zagreb Medical School, Zagreb, Croatia
| | - Ivan Fabek
- Croatian Institute for Brain Research, University of Zagreb Medical School, Zagreb, Croatia
| | - Mirjana Babić Leko
- Croatian Institute for Brain Research, University of Zagreb Medical School, Zagreb, Croatia
| | - Mihaela Bobić Rasonja
- Croatian Institute for Brain Research, University of Zagreb Medical School, Zagreb, Croatia
| | - Dubravka Kalinić
- Psychiatric Hospital Vrapče, University of Zagreb Medical School, Zagreb, Croatia
| | - Ervina Bilić
- Department of Neurology, University Hospital Centre Zagreb, Zagreb, Croatia
| | - Jakov Domagoj Raguž
- Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience, King's College London, London, UK; Bethlem Royal Hospital, South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust, London, UK
| | - Ninoslav Mimica
- Psychiatric Hospital Vrapče, University of Zagreb Medical School, Zagreb, Croatia
| | - Fran Borovečki
- Department of Neurology, University Hospital Centre Zagreb, Zagreb, Croatia
| | - Patrick R Hof
- Nash Family Department of Neuroscience, Friedman Brain Institute, and Ronald M. Loeb Center for Alzheimer's Disease, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, USA
| | - Goran Šimić
- Croatian Institute for Brain Research, University of Zagreb Medical School, Zagreb, Croatia.
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Španić E, Langer Horvat L, Hof PR, Šimić G. Role of Microglial Cells in Alzheimer's Disease Tau Propagation. Front Aging Neurosci 2019; 11:271. [PMID: 31636558 PMCID: PMC6787141 DOI: 10.3389/fnagi.2019.00271] [Citation(s) in RCA: 47] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.4] [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: 06/30/2019] [Accepted: 09/19/2019] [Indexed: 12/30/2022] Open
Abstract
Uncontrolled immune response in the brain contributes to the progression of all neurodegenerative disease, including Alzheimer's disease (AD). Recent investigations have documented the prion-like features of tau protein and the involvement of microglial changes with tau pathology. While it is still unclear what sequence of events is causal, it is likely that tau seeding potential and microglial contribution to tau propagation act together, and are essential for the development and progression of degenerative changes. Based on available evidence, targeting tau seeds and controlling some signaling pathways in a complex inflammation process could represent a possible new therapeutic approach for treating neurodegenerative diseases. Recent findings propose novel diagnostic assays and markers that may be used together with standard methods to complete and improve the diagnosis and classification of these diseases. In conclusion, a novel perspective on microglia-tau relations reveals new issues to investigate and imposes different approaches for developing therapeutic strategies for AD.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ena Španić
- Laboratory for Developmental Neuropathology, Department of Neuroscience, Croatian Institute for Brain Research, University of Zagreb School of Medicine, Zagreb, Croatia
| | - Lea Langer Horvat
- Laboratory for Developmental Neuropathology, Department of Neuroscience, Croatian Institute for Brain Research, University of Zagreb School of Medicine, Zagreb, Croatia
| | - Patrick R. Hof
- Nash Family Department of Neuroscience, Ronald M. Loeb Center for Alzheimer’s Disease, Friedman Brain Institute, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY, United States
| | - Goran Šimić
- Laboratory for Developmental Neuropathology, Department of Neuroscience, Croatian Institute for Brain Research, University of Zagreb School of Medicine, Zagreb, Croatia
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Šimić G. Heines DE. Neuroanatomy Atlas in Clinical Context: Structures, Sections, Systems, and Syndromes10th edition; Baltimore: Wolters Kluwer (Lippincott Williams Wilkins); 2019. 384 pages; ISBN 978-1-975106-68-3, eISBN: 978-1-4963-8416-4. Croat Med J 2019. [PMCID: PMC6734572 DOI: 10.3325/cmj.2019.60.390] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/05/2022] Open
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Šimić G, Španić E, Langer Horvat L, Hof PR. Blood-brain barrier and innate immunity in the pathogenesis of Alzheimer's disease. Prog Mol Biol Transl Sci 2019; 168:99-145. [PMID: 31699331 DOI: 10.1016/bs.pmbts.2019.06.003] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/07/2023]
Abstract
The pathogenesis of Alzheimer's disease (AD) is only partly understood. This is the probable reason why significant efforts to treat or prevent AD have been unsuccessful. In fact, as of April 2019, there have been 2094 studies registered for AD on the clinicaltrials.gov U.S. National Library of Science web page, of which only a few are still ongoing. In AD, abnormal accumulation of amyloid and tau proteins in the brain are thought to begin 10-20 years before the onset of overt symptoms, suggesting that interventions designed to prevent pathological amyloid and tau accumulation may be more effective than attempting to reverse a pathology once it is established. However, to be successful, such early interventions need to be selectively administered to individuals who will likely develop the disease long before the symptoms occur. Therefore, it is critical to identify early biomarkers that are strongly predictive of AD. Currently, patients are diagnosed on the basis of a variety of clinical scales, neuropsychological tests, imaging and laboratory modalities, but definitive diagnosis can be made only by postmortem assessment of underlying neuropathology. People suffering from AD thus may be misdiagnosed clinically with other primary causes of dementia, and vice versa, thereby also reducing the power of clinical trials. The amyloid cascade hypothesis fits well for the familial cases of AD with known mutations, but is not sufficient to explain sporadic, late-onset AD (LOAD) that accounts for over 95% of all cases. Since the earliest descriptions of AD there have been neuropathological features described other than amyloid plaques (AP) and neurofibrillary tangles (NFT), most notably gliosis and neuroinflammation. However, it is only recently that genetic and experimental studies have implicated microglial dysfunction as a causal factor for AD, as opposed to a merely biological response of its accumulation around AP. Additionally, many studies have suggested the importance of changes in blood-brain barrier (BBB) permeability in the pathogenesis of AD. Here we suggest how these less investigated aspects of the disease that have gained increased attention in recent years may contribute mechanistically to the development of lesions and symptoms of AD.
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Affiliation(s)
- Goran Šimić
- Department of Neuroscience, Croatian Institute for Brain Research, University of Zagreb School of Medicine, Zagreb, Croatia.
| | - Ena Španić
- Department of Neuroscience, Croatian Institute for Brain Research, University of Zagreb School of Medicine, Zagreb, Croatia
| | - Lea Langer Horvat
- Department of Neuroscience, Croatian Institute for Brain Research, University of Zagreb School of Medicine, Zagreb, Croatia
| | - Patrick R Hof
- Nash Family Department of Neuroscience, Friedman Brain Institute, Ronald M. Loeb Center for Alzheimer's Disease, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY, United States
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Boban M, Leko MB, Miškić T, Hof PR, Šimić G. Human neuroblastoma SH-SY5Y cells treated with okadaic acid express phosphorylated high molecular weight tau-immunoreactive protein species. J Neurosci Methods 2019; 319:60-68. [PMID: 30278184 PMCID: PMC6440880 DOI: 10.1016/j.jneumeth.2018.09.030] [Citation(s) in RCA: 22] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/21/2018] [Revised: 09/06/2018] [Accepted: 09/27/2018] [Indexed: 01/01/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Early stages of Alzheimer's disease (AD) are characterized by high phosphorylation of microtubule-associated protein tau, which may result from the downregulation of protein phosphatases. NEW METHOD In order to model phosphatase downregulation and analyze its effect on tau aggregation in vitro, we treated neuroblastoma SH-SY5Y cells with okadaic acid (OA), a protein phosphatase inhibitor, and examined high molecular weight phospho-tau species. RESULTS AND COMPARISON WITH EXISTING METHODS OA treatment led to the appearance of heat-stable protein species with apparent molecular weight around 100 kDa, which were immunoreactive to anti-tau antibodies against phosphorylated Ser202 and Ser396. As these high molecular weight tau-immunoreactive proteins (HMW-TIPs) corresponded to the predicted size of two tau monomers, we considered the possibility that they represent phosphorylation-induced tau oligomers. We attempted to dissociate HMW-TIPs by urea and guanidine, as well as by alkaline phosphatase treatment, but HMW-TIPs were stable under all conditions tested. These characteristics resemble properties of certain sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS)-resistant tau oligomers from AD brains. The absence of HMW-TIPs detection by anti-total tau antibodies Tau46, CP27 and Tau13 may be a consequence of epitope masking and protein truncation. Alternatively, HMW-TIPs may represent previously unreported phosphoproteins cross-reacting with tau. CONCLUSIONS Taken together, our data provide a novel characterization of an OA-based cell culture model in which OA induces the appearance of HMW-TIPs. These findings have implications for further studies of tau under the conditions of protein phosphatase downregulation, aiming to explain mechanisms involved in early events leading to AD.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mirta Boban
- Department of Neuroscience, Croatian Institute for Brain Research, University of Zagreb Medical School, Zagreb, Croatia
| | - Mirjana Babić Leko
- Department of Neuroscience, Croatian Institute for Brain Research, University of Zagreb Medical School, Zagreb, Croatia
| | - Terezija Miškić
- Department of Neuroscience, Croatian Institute for Brain Research, University of Zagreb Medical School, Zagreb, Croatia
| | - Patrick R. Hof
- Fishberg Department of Neuroscience, Ronald M. Loeb Center for Alzheimer’s Disease, and Friedman Brain Institute, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY, United States of America
| | - Goran Šimić
- Department of Neuroscience, Croatian Institute for Brain Research, University of Zagreb Medical School, Zagreb, Croatia,corresponding author
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Babić Leko M, Willumsen N, Nikolac Perković M, Klepac N, Borovečki F, Hof PR, Sonicki Z, Pivac N, de Silva R, Šimić G. Association of MAPT haplotype-tagging polymorphisms with cerebrospinal fluid biomarkers of Alzheimer's disease: A preliminary study in a Croatian cohort. Brain Behav 2018; 8:e01128. [PMID: 30329219 PMCID: PMC6236251 DOI: 10.1002/brb3.1128] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/03/2018] [Revised: 08/31/2018] [Accepted: 09/03/2018] [Indexed: 12/12/2022] Open
Abstract
INTRODUCTION Alzheimer's disease (AD) is the world leading cause of dementia. Early detection of AD is essential for faster and more efficacious usage of therapeutics and preventive measures. Even though it is well known that one ε4 allele of apolipoprotein E gene increases the risk for sporadic AD five times, and that two ε4 alleles increase the risk 20 times, reliable genetic markers for AD are not yet available. Previous studies have shown that microtubule-associated protein tau (MAPT) gene polymorphisms could be associated with increased risk for AD. METHODS The present study included 113 AD patients and 53 patients with mild cognitive impairment (MCI), as well as nine healthy controls (HC) and 53 patients with other primary causes of dementia. The study assessed whether six MAPT haplotype-tagging polymorphisms (rs1467967, rs242557, rs3785883, rs2471738, del-In9, and rs7521) and MAPT haplotypes are associated with AD pathology, as measured by cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) AD biomarkers amyloid β1-42 (Aβ1-42 ), total tau (t-tau), tau phosphorylated at epitopes 181 (p-tau181 ), 199 (p-tau199 ), and 231 (p-tau231 ), and visinin-like protein 1 (VILIP-1). RESULTS Significant increases in t-tau and p-tau CSF levels were found in patients with AG and AA MAPT rs1467967 genotype, CC MAPT rs2471738 genotype and in patients with H1H2 or H2H2 MAPT haplotype. CONCLUSIONS These results indicate that MAPT haplotype-tagging polymorphisms and MAPT haplotypes should be further tested as potential genetic biomarkers of AD.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mirjana Babić Leko
- Department for NeuroscienceCroatian Institute for Brain Research, University of Zagreb Medical SchoolZagrebCroatia
| | - Nanet Willumsen
- Reta Lila Weston Institute, UCL Institute of NeurologyLondonUK
- Department of Molecular NeuroscienceUCL Institute of NeurologyLondonUK
| | | | - Nataša Klepac
- Department for Functional Genomics, Center for Translational and Clinical ResearchUniversity of Zagreb Medical School, University Hospital Center ZagrebZagrebCroatia
| | - Fran Borovečki
- Department for Functional Genomics, Center for Translational and Clinical ResearchUniversity of Zagreb Medical School, University Hospital Center ZagrebZagrebCroatia
| | - Patrick R. Hof
- Fishberg Department of NeuroscienceFriedman Brain Institute and Ronald M. Loeb Center for Alzheimer's Disease, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount SinaiNew YorkNew York
| | - Zdenko Sonicki
- Andrija Štampar School of Public HealthUniversity of Zagreb School of MedicineZagrebCroatia
| | - Nela Pivac
- Ruđer Bošković InstituteDivision of Molecular MedicineZagrebCroatia
| | - Rohan de Silva
- Reta Lila Weston Institute, UCL Institute of NeurologyLondonUK
- Department of Molecular NeuroscienceUCL Institute of NeurologyLondonUK
| | - Goran Šimić
- Department for NeuroscienceCroatian Institute for Brain Research, University of Zagreb Medical SchoolZagrebCroatia
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Babić Leko M, Krbot Skorić M, Klepac N, Borovečki F, Langer Horvat L, Vogrinc Ž, Sonicki Z, Hof PR, Šimić G. Event-related Potentials Improve the Efficiency of Cerebrospinal Fluid Biomarkers for Differential Diagnosis of Alzheimer's Disease. Curr Alzheimer Res 2018; 15:1244-1260. [PMID: 30207231 DOI: 10.2174/1567205015666180911151116] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [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: 01/16/2018] [Revised: 07/12/2018] [Accepted: 08/30/2018] [Indexed: 11/22/2022]
Abstract
INTRODUCTION The pathological process of Alzheimer's disease (AD) in the brain likely begins 20-30 years earlier than the emergence of its first clinical symptoms and symptoms of AD often overlap with the symptoms of other primary causes of dementia. Therefore, it is crucially important to improve early and differential diagnosis of the disease. Event-related potentials (ERP) measured non-invasively by electroencephalography have shown diagnostic potential in AD. AIMS The aim of this study was to compare the efficiency of P300 and N200 potentials and reaction time (RT) with commonly used protein biomarkers measured in the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF), including amyloid β peptide (β1-42), total tau (t-tau), tau protein phosphorylated at threonine 181 (p-tau181), tau protein phosphorylated at serine 199 (p-tau199), tau protein phosphorylated at threonine 231 (p-tau231), and visinin-like protein 1 (VILIP-1) in differential diagnosis of AD in mild cognitive impairment (MCI) and AD patients. SUBJECTS The study involved 49 AD patients, 28 patients with MCI, 4 healthy control subjects and 16 patients with other primary causes of dementia. RESULTS ERP (P300RT, N200RT, P300 counting and N200 counting) showed a moderate to strong correlation with protein CSF biomarkers. We confirmed previous observations of moderate to strong correlation between ERP and neuropsychological testing and showed that P300 latency and RT are shortened in AD patients on therapy with acetylcholinesterase inhibitors. Using ERP and RT, a predictive model for determination of AD likelihood in MCI patients was developed, detecting 56.3% of MCI patients with high risk for development of AD in our cohort. MCI patients with pathological levels of Aβ1-42 had prolonged P300 latency, indicating that a combination of ERP and CSF protein biomarkers could improve the differential diagnosis of AD in MCI patients. Additionally, the results suggested the potential of P300 latency in differentiating AD and FTD patients. CONCLUSION Our data provide possible solutions for improvement of differential diagnosis of AD, and reveal that the diagnostic efficiency of CSF protein biomarkers t-tau, p-tau181, p-tau199, p-tau231 and VILIP-1 could be improved by adding ERP in clinical practice.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mirjana Babić Leko
- Department of Neuroscience, Croatian Institute for Brain Research, University of Zagreb School of Medicine, Zagreb, Croatia
| | - Magdalena Krbot Skorić
- Laboratory for Cognitive and Experimental Neurophysiology, University Hospital Centre Zagreb, Zagreb, Croatia
| | - Nataša Klepac
- Department of Neurology, University Hospital Center Zagreb, Zagreb, Croatia
| | - Fran Borovečki
- Department of Neurology, University Hospital Center Zagreb, Zagreb, Croatia.,Department for Functional Genomics, University of Zagreb School of Medicine, Zagreb, Croatia
| | - Lea Langer Horvat
- Department of Neuroscience, Croatian Institute for Brain Research, University of Zagreb School of Medicine, Zagreb, Croatia
| | - Željka Vogrinc
- Laboratory for Neurobiochemistry, Department of Laboratory Diagnostics, University Hospital Centre, Zagreb, Croatia
| | - Zdenko Sonicki
- Andrija Stampar School of Public Health, University of Zagreb School of Medicine, Zagreb, Croatia
| | - Patrick R Hof
- Fishberg Department of Neuroscience, Friedman Brain Institute, and Ronald M. Loeb Center for Alzheimer's Disease, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY, United States
| | - Goran Šimić
- Department of Neuroscience, Croatian Institute for Brain Research, University of Zagreb School of Medicine, Zagreb, Croatia
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Jazvinšćak Jembrek M, Slade N, Hof PR, Šimić G. The interactions of p53 with tau and Aß as potential therapeutic targets for Alzheimer’s disease. Prog Neurobiol 2018; 168:104-127. [DOI: 10.1016/j.pneurobio.2018.05.001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 46] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/18/2017] [Revised: 03/04/2018] [Accepted: 05/01/2018] [Indexed: 12/24/2022]
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Kiđemet‐Piskač S, Babić Leko M, Blažeković A, Langer Horvat L, Klepac N, Sonicki Z, Kolenc D, Hof PR, Boban M, Mimica N, Borovečki F, Šimić G. Evaluation of cerebrospinal fluid phosphorylated tau 231 as a biomarker in the differential diagnosis of Alzheimer's disease and vascular dementia. CNS Neurosci Ther 2018; 24:734-740. [PMID: 29453935 PMCID: PMC6047904 DOI: 10.1111/cns.12814] [Citation(s) in RCA: 22] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.7] [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: 11/20/2017] [Revised: 01/09/2018] [Accepted: 01/10/2018] [Indexed: 01/01/2023] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND The diagnosis of either Alzheimer's disease (AD) or vascular dementia (VaD) is still largely based on clinical guidelines and exclusion of other diseases that may lead to dementia. AIMS In this study, we assessed whether the use of sensitive and specific biomarkers such as phosphorylated tau proteins could contribute to an earlier and more accurate diagnosis of AD and VaD, as well as to their differentiation. MATERIAL AND METHODS A total of 198 patients, of which 152 had AD, 28 VaD, and 18 were healthy controls (HC), were included in the analyses. We analyzed cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) levels of total tau protein (t-tau), tau protein phosphorylated at threonine 231 (p-tau231), and factor score (FS) determined by combination of p-tau231 and Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) in patients with AD and VaD, as well as in HC. We tested the diagnostic accuracy of these biomarkers in the CSF and FS (p-tau231, MMSE) in differentiating AD from VaD and HC. RESULTS Total tau levels were significantly elevated in subjects with AD compared to HC, as well as in VaD subjects compared to HC. DISCUSSION p-tau231 levels were significantly higher in patients with ADvsHC as well in patients with VaD vsHC. p-tau231 levels did not distinguish AD from VaD patients. Importantly, FS(p-tau231 and MMSE) showed statistically significant differences in the distribution of subjects with AD and VaD. CONCLUSION These results indicate that FS (p-tau231 and MMSE) has a strong potential to provide an early distinction between AD and VaD.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Mirjana Babić Leko
- Department of NeuroscienceCroatian Institute for Brain ResearchUniversity of Zagreb School of MedicineZagrebCroatia
| | | | - Lea Langer Horvat
- Department of NeuroscienceCroatian Institute for Brain ResearchUniversity of Zagreb School of MedicineZagrebCroatia
| | - Nataša Klepac
- Department of NeurologyUniversity Hospital Centre “Zagreb”University of Zagreb School of MedicineZagrebCroatia
| | - Zdenko Sonicki
- Department of Medical Statistics, Epidemiology and Medical InformaticsSchool of Public Health “Andrija Štampar”University of Zagreb School of MedicineZagrebCroatia
| | - Danijela Kolenc
- Department of PathologyUniversity of Zagreb School of MedicineZagrebCroatia
| | - Patrick R. Hof
- Fishberg Department of NeuroscienceRonald M. Loeb Center for Alzheimer's Disease, and Friedman Brain InstituteIcahn School of Medicine at Mount SinaiNew YorkNYUSA
| | - Marina Boban
- Department of NeurologyUniversity Hospital Centre “Zagreb”University of Zagreb School of MedicineZagrebCroatia
| | - Ninoslav Mimica
- University Psychiatric Hospital VrapčeUniversity of Zagreb School of MedicineZagrebCroatia
| | - Fran Borovečki
- Department of NeurologyUniversity Hospital Centre “Zagreb”University of Zagreb School of MedicineZagrebCroatia
| | - Goran Šimić
- Department of NeuroscienceCroatian Institute for Brain ResearchUniversity of Zagreb School of MedicineZagrebCroatia
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Charvet CJ, Šimić G, Kostović I, Knezović V, Vukšić M, Babić Leko M, Takahashi E, Sherwood CC, Wolfe MD, Finlay BL. Coevolution in the timing of GABAergic and pyramidal neuron maturation in primates. Proc Biol Sci 2018; 284:rspb.2017.1169. [PMID: 28855363 DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2017.1169] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [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: 05/25/2017] [Accepted: 07/21/2017] [Indexed: 01/12/2023] Open
Abstract
The cortex of primates is relatively expanded compared with many other mammals, yet little is known about what developmental processes account for the expansion of cortical subtype numbers in primates, including humans. We asked whether GABAergic and pyramidal neuron production occurs for longer than expected in primates than in mice in a sample of 86 developing primate and rodent brains. We use high-resolution structural, diffusion MR scans and histological material to compare the timing of the ganglionic eminences (GE) and cortical proliferative pool (CPP) maturation between humans, macaques, rats, and mice. We also compare the timing of post-neurogenetic maturation of GABAergic and pyramidal neurons in primates (i.e. humans, macaques) relative to rats and mice to identify whether delays in neurogenesis are concomitant with delayed post-neurogenetic maturation. We found that the growth of the GE and CPP are both selectively delayed compared with other events in primates. By contrast, the timing of post-neurogenetic GABAergic and pyramidal events (e.g. synaptogenesis) are predictable from the timing of other events in primates and in studied rodents. The extended duration of GABAergic and pyramidal neuron production is associated with the amplification of GABAerigc and pyramidal neuron numbers in the human and non-human primate cortex.
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Affiliation(s)
- Christine J Charvet
- Division of Newborn Medicine, Department of Medicine, Boston Children's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA .,Department of Anthropology and Center for the Advanced Study of Human Paleobiology, The George Washington University, Washington, DC, USA
| | - Goran Šimić
- Department of Neuroscience, Croatian Institute for Brain Research, University of Zagreb School of Medicine, Zagreb, Croatia
| | - Ivica Kostović
- Department of Neuroscience, Croatian Institute for Brain Research, University of Zagreb School of Medicine, Zagreb, Croatia
| | - Vinka Knezović
- Department of Neuroscience, Croatian Institute for Brain Research, University of Zagreb School of Medicine, Zagreb, Croatia
| | - Mario Vukšić
- Department of Neuroscience, Croatian Institute for Brain Research, University of Zagreb School of Medicine, Zagreb, Croatia
| | - Mirjana Babić Leko
- Department of Neuroscience, Croatian Institute for Brain Research, University of Zagreb School of Medicine, Zagreb, Croatia
| | - Emi Takahashi
- Division of Newborn Medicine, Department of Medicine, Boston Children's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA.,Athinoula A. Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Charlestown, MA, USA
| | - Chet C Sherwood
- Department of Anthropology and Center for the Advanced Study of Human Paleobiology, The George Washington University, Washington, DC, USA
| | - Marnin D Wolfe
- School of Integrative Plant Science, Department of Psychology, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY, USA
| | - Barbara L Finlay
- Evolutionary Neuroscience Group, Department of Psychology, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY, USA
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Mihelčić M, Šimić G, Babić Leko M, Lavrač N, Džeroski S, Šmuc T. Using redescription mining to relate clinical and biological characteristics of cognitively impaired and Alzheimer's disease patients. PLoS One 2017; 12:e0187364. [PMID: 29088293 PMCID: PMC5663625 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0187364] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [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: 09/09/2016] [Accepted: 10/18/2017] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Based on a set of subjects and a collection of attributes obtained from the Alzheimer's Disease Neuroimaging Initiative database, we used redescription mining to find interpretable rules revealing associations between those determinants that provide insights about the Alzheimer's disease (AD). We extended the CLUS-RM redescription mining algorithm to a constraint-based redescription mining (CBRM) setting, which enables several modes of targeted exploration of specific, user-constrained associations. Redescription mining enabled finding specific constructs of clinical and biological attributes that describe many groups of subjects of different size, homogeneity and levels of cognitive impairment. We confirmed some previously known findings. However, in some instances, as with the attributes: testosterone, ciliary neurotrophic factor, brain natriuretic peptide, Fas ligand, the imaging attribute Spatial Pattern of Abnormalities for Recognition of Early AD, as well as the levels of leptin and angiopoietin-2 in plasma, we corroborated previously debatable findings or provided additional information about these variables and their association with AD pathogenesis. Moreover, applying redescription mining on ADNI data resulted with the discovery of one largely unknown attribute: the Pregnancy-Associated Protein-A (PAPP-A), which we found highly associated with cognitive impairment in AD. Statistically significant correlations (p ≤ 0.01) were found between PAPP-A and clinical tests: Alzheimer's Disease Assessment Scale, Clinical Dementia Rating Sum of Boxes, Mini Mental State Examination, etc. The high importance of this finding lies in the fact that PAPP-A is a metalloproteinase, known to cleave insulin-like growth factor binding proteins. Since it also shares similar substrates with A Disintegrin and the Metalloproteinase family of enzymes that act as α-secretase to physiologically cleave amyloid precursor protein (APP) in the non-amyloidogenic pathway, it could be directly involved in the metabolism of APP very early during the disease course. Therefore, further studies should investigate the role of PAPP-A in the development of AD more thoroughly.
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Affiliation(s)
- Matej Mihelčić
- Division of Electronics, Ruđer Bošković Institute, Zagreb, Croatia
- Jožef Stefan International Postgraduate School, Ljubljana, Slovenia
| | - Goran Šimić
- Department for Neuroscience, Croatian Institute for Brain Research, University of Zagreb Medical School, Zagreb, Croatia
| | - Mirjana Babić Leko
- Department for Neuroscience, Croatian Institute for Brain Research, University of Zagreb Medical School, Zagreb, Croatia
| | - Nada Lavrač
- Jožef Stefan International Postgraduate School, Ljubljana, Slovenia
- Department of Knowledge Technologies, Jožef Stefan Institute, Ljubljana, Slovenia
| | - Sašo Džeroski
- Jožef Stefan International Postgraduate School, Ljubljana, Slovenia
- Department of Knowledge Technologies, Jožef Stefan Institute, Ljubljana, Slovenia
| | - Tomislav Šmuc
- Division of Electronics, Ruđer Bošković Institute, Zagreb, Croatia
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Markotić V, Zubac D, Miljko M, Šimić G, Zalihić A, Bogdan G, Radančević D, Šimić AD, Mašković J. Level of Education as a Risk Factor for Extensive Prevalence of Cervical Intervertebral Disc Degenerative Changes and Chronic Neck Pain. Cent Eur J Public Health 2017; 25:245-250. [PMID: 29022686 DOI: 10.21101/cejph.a4897] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/08/2016] [Accepted: 11/23/2016] [Indexed: 11/15/2022]
Abstract
OBJECTIVE The aim of this study was to document the prevalence of degenerative intervertebral disc changes in the patients who previously reported symptoms of neck pain and to determine the influence of education level on degenerative intervertebral disc changes and subsequent chronic neck pain. METHODS One hundred and twelve patients were randomly selected from the University Hospital in Mostar, Bosna and Herzegovina, (aged 48.5±12.7 years) and submitted to magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) of the cervical spine. MRI of 3.0 T (Siemens, Skyrim, Erlangen, Germany) was used to obtain cervical spine images. Patients were separated into two groups based on their education level: low education level (LLE) and high education level (HLE). Pfirrmann classification was used to document intervertebral disc degeneration, while self-reported chronic neck pain was evaluated using the previously validated Oswestry questionnaire. RESULTS The entire logistic regression model containing all predictors was statistically significant, (χ2(3)=12.2, p=0.02), and was able to distinguish between respondents who had chronic neck pain and vice versa. The model explained between 10.0% (Cox-Snell R2) and 13.8% (Nagelkerke R2) of common variance with Pfirrmann classification, and it had the strength to discriminate and correctly classify 69.6% of patients. The probability of a patient being classified in the high or low group of degenerative disc changes according to the Pfirrmann scale was associated with the education level (Wald test: 5.5, p=0.02). Based on the Pfirrmann assessment scale, the HLE group was significantly different from the LLE group in the degree of degenerative changes of the cervical intervertebral discs (U=1,077.5, p=0.001). CONCLUSION A moderate level of intervertebral disc degenerative changes (grade II and III) was equally matched among all patients, while the overall results suggest a higher level of education as a risk factor leading to cervical disc degenerative changes, regardless of age differences among respondents.
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Affiliation(s)
- Vedran Markotić
- Department of Clinical Radiology, University Hospital, Mostar, Bosnia and Herzegovina
| | - Damir Zubac
- Science and Research Centre Koper, Institute for Kinesiology Research, Koper, Slovenia
| | - Miro Miljko
- School of Medicine, University Hospital in Mostar, Mostar, Bosnia and Herzegovina
| | - Goran Šimić
- University Hospital, Mostar, Bosnia and Herzegovina
| | - Amra Zalihić
- School of Medicine, University Hospital in Mostar, Mostar, Bosnia and Herzegovina
| | - Gojko Bogdan
- Department of Clinical Radiology, University Hospital, Mostar, Bosnia and Herzegovina
| | - Dorijan Radančević
- Department of Clinical Radiology, University Hospital, Mostar, Bosnia and Herzegovina
| | | | - Josip Mašković
- Department of Clinical Radiology, University Hospital, Mostar, Bosnia and Herzegovina
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Torbica A, Horvat D, Živančev D, Belović M, Šimić G, Magdić D, Đukić N, Dvojković K. Prediction of the genetic similarity of wheat and wheat quality by reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatography and lab-on-chip methods. Acta Alimentaria 2017. [DOI: 10.1556/066.2016.0003] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/19/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- A. Torbica
- Institute of Food Technology, University of Novi Sad, Bulevar cara Lazara 1, 21000 Novi Sad. Serbia
| | - D. Horvat
- Agricultural Institute Osijek, Južno Predgrađe 17, 31000 Osijek, Croatia
| | - D. Živančev
- Institute of Food Technology, University of Novi Sad, Bulevar cara Lazara 1, 21000 Novi Sad. Serbia
| | - M. Belović
- Institute of Food Technology, University of Novi Sad, Bulevar cara Lazara 1, 21000 Novi Sad. Serbia
| | - G. Šimić
- Agricultural Institute Osijek, Južno Predgrađe 17, 31000 Osijek, Croatia
| | - D. Magdić
- Faculty of Food Technology, J.J. Strossmayer University of Osijek, Franje Kuhača 18, 31000 Osijek. Croatia
| | - N. Đukić
- Faculty of Natural Science, University of Kragujevac, Radoja Domanovića 12, 34000 Kragujevac. Serbia
| | - K. Dvojković
- Agricultural Institute Osijek, Južno Predgrađe 17, 31000 Osijek, Croatia
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Šimić G, Babić Leko M, Wray S, Harrington CR, Delalle I, Jovanov-Milošević N, Bažadona D, Buée L, de Silva R, Di Giovanni G, Wischik CM, Hof PR. Monoaminergic neuropathology in Alzheimer's disease. Prog Neurobiol 2017; 151:101-138. [PMID: 27084356 PMCID: PMC5061605 DOI: 10.1016/j.pneurobio.2016.04.001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 184] [Impact Index Per Article: 26.3] [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: 10/20/2015] [Revised: 03/09/2016] [Accepted: 04/05/2016] [Indexed: 01/02/2023]
Abstract
None of the proposed mechanisms of Alzheimer's disease (AD) fully explains the distribution patterns of the neuropathological changes at the cellular and regional levels, and their clinical correlates. One aspect of this problem lies in the complex genetic, epigenetic, and environmental landscape of AD: early-onset AD is often familial with autosomal dominant inheritance, while the vast majority of AD cases are late-onset, with the ε4 variant of the gene encoding apolipoprotein E (APOE) known to confer a 5-20 fold increased risk with partial penetrance. Mechanisms by which genetic variants and environmental factors influence the development of AD pathological changes, especially neurofibrillary degeneration, are not yet known. Here we review current knowledge of the involvement of the monoaminergic systems in AD. The changes in the serotonergic, noradrenergic, dopaminergic, histaminergic, and melatonergic systems in AD are briefly described. We also summarize the possibilities for monoamine-based treatment in AD. Besides neuropathologic AD criteria that include the noradrenergic locus coeruleus (LC), special emphasis is given to the serotonergic dorsal raphe nucleus (DRN). Both of these brainstem nuclei are among the first to be affected by tau protein abnormalities in the course of sporadic AD, causing behavioral and cognitive symptoms of variable severity. The possibility that most of the tangle-bearing neurons of the LC and DRN may release amyloid β as well as soluble monomeric or oligomeric tau protein trans-synaptically by their diffuse projections to the cerebral cortex emphasizes their selective vulnerability and warrants further investigations of the monoaminergic systems in AD.
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Affiliation(s)
- Goran Šimić
- Department of Neuroscience, Croatian Institute for Brain Research, University of Zagreb School of Medicine, Zagreb, Croatia.
| | - Mirjana Babić Leko
- Department of Neuroscience, Croatian Institute for Brain Research, University of Zagreb School of Medicine, Zagreb, Croatia
| | - Selina Wray
- Reta Lila Weston Institute and Department of Molecular Neuroscience, UCL Institute of Neurology, London, UK
| | | | - Ivana Delalle
- Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Nataša Jovanov-Milošević
- Department of Neuroscience, Croatian Institute for Brain Research, University of Zagreb School of Medicine, Zagreb, Croatia
| | - Danira Bažadona
- Department of Neurology, University Hospital Center Zagreb, Zagreb, Croatia
| | - Luc Buée
- University of Lille, Inserm, CHU-Lille, UMR-S 1172, Alzheimer & Tauopathies, Lille, France
| | - Rohan de Silva
- Reta Lila Weston Institute and Department of Molecular Neuroscience, UCL Institute of Neurology, London, UK
| | - Giuseppe Di Giovanni
- Department of Physiology and Biochemistry, Faculty of Medicine and Surgery, University of Malta, Msida, Malta
| | - Claude M Wischik
- School of Medicine and Dentistry, University of Aberdeen, Aberdeen, UK
| | - Patrick R Hof
- Fishberg Department of Neuroscience, Ronald M. Loeb Center for Alzheimer's Disease, and Friedman Brain Institute, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY, USA
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Mladinov M, Sedmak G, Fuller HR, Babić Leko M, Mayer D, Kirincich J, Štajduhar A, Borovečki F, Hof PR, Šimić G. Gene expression profiling of the dorsolateral and medial orbitofrontal cortex in schizophrenia. Transl Neurosci 2016; 7:139-150. [PMID: 28123834 PMCID: PMC5234522 DOI: 10.1515/tnsci-2016-0021] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [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] [Received: 09/12/2016] [Accepted: 11/05/2016] [Indexed: 12/29/2022] Open
Abstract
Schizophrenia is a complex polygenic disorder of unknown etiology. Over 3,000 candidate genes associated with schizophrenia have been reported, most of which being mentioned only once. Alterations in cognitive processing - working memory, metacognition and mentalization - represent a core feature of schizophrenia, which indicates the involvement of the prefrontal cortex in the pathophysiology of this disorder. Hence we compared the gene expression in postmortem tissue from the left and right dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC, Brodmann's area 46), and the medial part of the orbitofrontal cortex (MOFC, Brodmann's area 11/12), in six patients with schizophrenia and six control brains. Although in the past decade several studies performed transcriptome profiling in schizophrenia, this is the first study to investigate both hemispheres, providing new knowledge about possible brain asymmetry at the level of gene expression and its relation to schizophrenia. We found that in the left hemisphere, twelve genes from the DLPFC and eight genes from the MOFC were differentially expressed in patients with schizophrenia compared to controls. In the right hemisphere there was only one gene differentially expressed in the MOFC. We reproduce the involvement of previously reported genes TARDBP and HNRNPC in the pathogenesis of schizophrenia, and report seven novel genes: SART1, KAT7, C1D, NPM1, EVI2A, XGY2, and TTTY15. As the differentially expressed genes only partially overlap with previous studies that analyzed other brain regions, our findings indicate the importance of considering prefrontal cortical regions, especially those in the left hemisphere, for obtaining disease-relevant insights.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mihovil Mladinov
- Department of Neuroscience, Croatian Institute for Brain Research, University of Zagreb Medical School, Zagreb, Croatia; Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, University of Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany
| | - Goran Sedmak
- Department of Neuroscience, Croatian Institute for Brain Research, University of Zagreb Medical School, Zagreb, Croatia
| | - Heidi R Fuller
- Wolfson Centre for Inherited Neuromuscular Disease, RJAH Orthopaedic Hospital, Oswestry, SY10 7AG, UK and Institute for Science and Technology in Medicine, Keele University, Staffordshire, ST5 5BG, United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland
| | - Mirjana Babić Leko
- Department of Neuroscience, Croatian Institute for Brain Research, University of Zagreb Medical School, Zagreb, Croatia
| | - Davor Mayer
- Department of Forensic Medicine, University of Zagreb Medical School, Zagreb, Croatia
| | - Jason Kirincich
- Department of Neuroscience, Croatian Institute for Brain Research, University of Zagreb Medical School, Zagreb, Croatia
| | - Andrija Štajduhar
- Department of Neuroscience, Croatian Institute for Brain Research, University of Zagreb Medical School, Zagreb, Croatia
| | - Fran Borovečki
- Department of Neurology, University Clinical Hospital Zagreb, Zagreb, Croatia
| | - Patrick R Hof
- Fishberg Department of Neuroscience, and Friedman Brain Institute, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY, United States of America
| | - Goran Šimić
- Department of Neuroscience, Croatian Institute for Brain Research, University of Zagreb Medical School, Zagreb, Croatia
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Šimić G, Ristanović E, Jeftić Z, Presnall B, Vuruna M. Multichannel learning for training medical staff in Serbian Army Forces. VOJNOSANIT PREGL 2016; 73:480-483. [PMID: 27430114] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [MESH Headings] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/06/2023] Open
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Babić Leko M, Borovečki F, Dejanović N, Hof PR, Šimić G. Predictive Value of Cerebrospinal Fluid Visinin-Like Protein-1 Levels for Alzheimer’s Disease Early Detection and Differential Diagnosis in Patients with Mild Cognitive Impairment. J Alzheimers Dis 2016; 50:765-78. [DOI: 10.3233/jad-150705] [Citation(s) in RCA: 35] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/13/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Mirjana Babić Leko
- Department of Neuroscience, Croatian Institute for Brain Research, University of Zagreb School of Medicine, Zagreb, Croatia
| | - Fran Borovečki
- Department for Functional Genomics, Center for Translational and Clinical Research, University of Zagreb Medical School, University Hospital Center Zagreb, Zagreb, Croatia
| | | | - Patrick R. Hof
- Fishberg Department of Neuroscience and Friedman Brain Institute, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY, USA
| | - Goran Šimić
- Department of Neuroscience, Croatian Institute for Brain Research, University of Zagreb School of Medicine, Zagreb, Croatia
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Šimić G, Babić Leko M, Wray S, Harrington C, Delalle I, Jovanov-Milošević N, Bažadona D, Buée L, de Silva R, Di Giovanni G, Wischik C, Hof PR. Tau Protein Hyperphosphorylation and Aggregation in Alzheimer's Disease and Other Tauopathies, and Possible Neuroprotective Strategies. Biomolecules 2016; 6:6. [PMID: 26751493 PMCID: PMC4808800 DOI: 10.3390/biom6010006] [Citation(s) in RCA: 411] [Impact Index Per Article: 51.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/02/2015] [Revised: 11/28/2015] [Accepted: 12/01/2015] [Indexed: 12/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Abnormal deposition of misprocessed and aggregated proteins is a common final pathway of most neurodegenerative diseases, including Alzheimer's disease (AD). AD is characterized by the extraneuronal deposition of the amyloid β (Aβ) protein in the form of plaques and the intraneuronal aggregation of the microtubule-associated protein tau in the form of filaments. Based on the biochemically diverse range of pathological tau proteins, a number of approaches have been proposed to develop new potential therapeutics. Here we discuss some of the most promising ones: inhibition of tau phosphorylation, proteolysis and aggregation, promotion of intra- and extracellular tau clearance, and stabilization of microtubules. We also emphasize the need to achieve a full understanding of the biological roles and post-translational modifications of normal tau, as well as the molecular events responsible for selective neuronal vulnerability to tau pathology and its propagation. It is concluded that answering key questions on the relationship between Aβ and tau pathology should lead to a better understanding of the nature of secondary tauopathies, especially AD, and open new therapeutic targets and strategies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Goran Šimić
- Department of Neuroscience, Croatian Institute for Brain Research, University of Zagreb School of Medicine, Zagreb 10000, Croatia.
| | - Mirjana Babić Leko
- Department of Neuroscience, Croatian Institute for Brain Research, University of Zagreb School of Medicine, Zagreb 10000, Croatia.
| | - Selina Wray
- Reta Lila Weston Institute and Department of Molecular Neuroscience, UCL Institute of Neurology, London WC1N 3BG, UK.
| | - Charles Harrington
- School of Medicine and Dentistry, University of Aberdeen, Aberdeen AB25 2ZD, UK.
| | - Ivana Delalle
- Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, Boston University School of Medicine, Boston 02118, MA, USA.
| | - Nataša Jovanov-Milošević
- Department of Neuroscience, Croatian Institute for Brain Research, University of Zagreb School of Medicine, Zagreb 10000, Croatia.
| | - Danira Bažadona
- Department of Neurology, University Hospital Center Zagreb, Zagreb 10000, Croatia.
| | - Luc Buée
- Laboratory Alzheimer & Tauopathies, Université Lille and INSERM U1172, Jean-Pierre Aubert Research Centre, Lille 59045, France.
| | - Rohan de Silva
- Reta Lila Weston Institute and Department of Molecular Neuroscience, UCL Institute of Neurology, London WC1N 3BG, UK.
| | - Giuseppe Di Giovanni
- Department of Physiology and Biochemistry, Faculty of Medicine and Surgery, University of Malta, Msida, MSD 2080, Malta.
- School of Biosciences, Cardiff University, Cardiff CF10 3AX, UK.
| | - Claude Wischik
- School of Medicine and Dentistry, University of Aberdeen, Aberdeen AB25 2ZD, UK.
| | - Patrick R Hof
- Fishberg Department of Neuroscience, Ronald M. Loeb Center for Alzheimer's Disease, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY 10029, USA.
- Friedman Brain Institute, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY 10029, USA.
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Mladinov M, Sedmak G, Fuller HR, Babić Leko M, Mayer D, Kirincich J, Štajduhar A, Borovečki F, Hof PR, Šimić G. Gene expression profiling of the dorsolateral and medial orbitofrontal cortex in schizophrenia. Transl Neurosci 2016. [PMID: 28123834 DOI: 10.1515/tnsci-2016-0021/html] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 04/04/2023] Open
Abstract
Schizophrenia is a complex polygenic disorder of unknown etiology. Over 3,000 candidate genes associated with schizophrenia have been reported, most of which being mentioned only once. Alterations in cognitive processing - working memory, metacognition and mentalization - represent a core feature of schizophrenia, which indicates the involvement of the prefrontal cortex in the pathophysiology of this disorder. Hence we compared the gene expression in postmortem tissue from the left and right dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC, Brodmann's area 46), and the medial part of the orbitofrontal cortex (MOFC, Brodmann's area 11/12), in six patients with schizophrenia and six control brains. Although in the past decade several studies performed transcriptome profiling in schizophrenia, this is the first study to investigate both hemispheres, providing new knowledge about possible brain asymmetry at the level of gene expression and its relation to schizophrenia. We found that in the left hemisphere, twelve genes from the DLPFC and eight genes from the MOFC were differentially expressed in patients with schizophrenia compared to controls. In the right hemisphere there was only one gene differentially expressed in the MOFC. We reproduce the involvement of previously reported genes TARDBP and HNRNPC in the pathogenesis of schizophrenia, and report seven novel genes: SART1, KAT7, C1D, NPM1, EVI2A, XGY2, and TTTY15. As the differentially expressed genes only partially overlap with previous studies that analyzed other brain regions, our findings indicate the importance of considering prefrontal cortical regions, especially those in the left hemisphere, for obtaining disease-relevant insights.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mihovil Mladinov
- Department of Neuroscience, Croatian Institute for Brain Research, University of Zagreb Medical School, Zagreb, Croatia; Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, University of Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany
| | - Goran Sedmak
- Department of Neuroscience, Croatian Institute for Brain Research, University of Zagreb Medical School, Zagreb, Croatia
| | - Heidi R Fuller
- Wolfson Centre for Inherited Neuromuscular Disease, RJAH Orthopaedic Hospital, Oswestry, SY10 7AG, UK and Institute for Science and Technology in Medicine, Keele University, Staffordshire, ST5 5BG, United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland
| | - Mirjana Babić Leko
- Department of Neuroscience, Croatian Institute for Brain Research, University of Zagreb Medical School, Zagreb, Croatia
| | - Davor Mayer
- Department of Forensic Medicine, University of Zagreb Medical School, Zagreb, Croatia
| | - Jason Kirincich
- Department of Neuroscience, Croatian Institute for Brain Research, University of Zagreb Medical School, Zagreb, Croatia
| | - Andrija Štajduhar
- Department of Neuroscience, Croatian Institute for Brain Research, University of Zagreb Medical School, Zagreb, Croatia
| | - Fran Borovečki
- Department of Neurology, University Clinical Hospital Zagreb, Zagreb, Croatia
| | - Patrick R Hof
- Fishberg Department of Neuroscience, and Friedman Brain Institute, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY, United States of America
| | - Goran Šimić
- Department of Neuroscience, Croatian Institute for Brain Research, University of Zagreb Medical School, Zagreb, Croatia
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Šimić G, Lalić A, Horvat D, Abičić I, Beraković I. β-glucan content and β-glucanase activity of winter and spring malting barley cultivars. Acta Alimentaria 2015. [DOI: 10.1556/066.2015.44.0026] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/19/2022]
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Fuller HR, Slade R, Jovanov-Milošević N, Babić M, Sedmak G, Šimić G, Fuszard MA, Shirran SL, Botting CH, Gates MA. Stathmin is enriched in the developing corticospinal tract. Mol Cell Neurosci 2015; 69:12-21. [PMID: 26370173 DOI: 10.1016/j.mcn.2015.09.003] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [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: 06/05/2015] [Revised: 09/02/2015] [Accepted: 09/07/2015] [Indexed: 01/28/2023] Open
Abstract
Understanding the intra- and extracellular proteins involved in the development of the corticospinal tract (CST) may offer insights into how the pathway could be regenerated following traumatic spinal cord injury. Currently, however, little is known about the proteome of the developing corticospinal system. The present study, therefore, has used quantitative proteomics and bioinformatics to detail the protein profile of the rat CST during its formation in the spinal cord. This analysis identified increased expression of 65 proteins during the early ingrowth of corticospinal axons into the spinal cord, and 36 proteins at the period of heightened CST growth. A majority of these proteins were involved in cellular assembly and organization, with annotations being most highly associated with cytoskeletal organization, microtubule dynamics, neurite outgrowth, and the formation, polymerization and quantity of microtubules. In addition, 22 proteins were more highly expressed within the developing CST in comparison to other developing white matter tracts of the spinal cord of age-matched animals. Of these differentially expressed proteins, only one, stathmin 1 (a protein known to be involved in microtubule dynamics), was both highly enriched in the developing CST and relatively sparse in other developing descending and ascending spinal tracts. Immunohistochemical analyses of the developing rat spinal cord and fetal human brain stem confirmed the enriched pattern of stathmin expression along the developing CST, and in vitro growth assays of rat corticospinal neurons showed a reduced length of neurite processes in response to pharmacological perturbation of stathmin activity. Combined, these findings suggest that stathmin activity may modulate axonal growth during development of the corticospinal projection, and reinforces the notion that microtubule dynamics could play an important role in the generation and regeneration of the CST.
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Affiliation(s)
- Heidi R Fuller
- Wolfson Centre for Inherited Neuromuscular Disease, RJAH Orthopaedic Hospital, Oswestry SY10 7AG, UK; Institute for Science and Technology in Medicine, Keele University, Keele, Staffordshire ST5 5BG, UK; Postgraduate Medicine, Keele University, Staffordshire ST5 5BG, UK
| | - Robert Slade
- Institute for Science and Technology in Medicine, Keele University, Keele, Staffordshire ST5 5BG, UK; Postgraduate Medicine, Keele University, Staffordshire ST5 5BG, UK
| | | | - Mirjana Babić
- Croatian Institute for Brain Research, Zagreb 10000, Croatia
| | - Goran Sedmak
- Croatian Institute for Brain Research, Zagreb 10000, Croatia
| | - Goran Šimić
- Croatian Institute for Brain Research, Zagreb 10000, Croatia
| | - Matthew A Fuszard
- BSRC Mass Spectrometry and Proteomics Facility, Biomedical Sciences Research Complex, University of St Andrews, North Haugh, St Andrews, Fife KY16 9ST, UK
| | - Sally L Shirran
- BSRC Mass Spectrometry and Proteomics Facility, Biomedical Sciences Research Complex, University of St Andrews, North Haugh, St Andrews, Fife KY16 9ST, UK
| | - Catherine H Botting
- BSRC Mass Spectrometry and Proteomics Facility, Biomedical Sciences Research Complex, University of St Andrews, North Haugh, St Andrews, Fife KY16 9ST, UK
| | - Monte A Gates
- Institute for Science and Technology in Medicine, Keele University, Keele, Staffordshire ST5 5BG, UK.
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Abstract
This review highlights relevant issues about applications and improvements of atomic force microscopy (AFM) toward a better understanding of neurodegenerative changes at the molecular level with the hope of contributing to the development of effective therapeutic strategies for neurodegenerative illnesses. The basic principles of AFM are briefly discussed in terms of evaluation of experimental data, including the newest PeakForce Quantitative Nanomechanical Mapping (QNM) and the evaluation of Young’s modulus as the crucial elasticity parameter. AFM topography, revealed in imaging mode, can be used to monitor changes in live neurons over time, representing a valuable tool for high-resolution detection and monitoring of neuronal morphology. The mechanical properties of living cells can be quantified by force spectroscopy as well as by new AFM. A variety of applications are described, and their relevance for specific research areas discussed. In addition, imaging as well as non-imaging modes can provide specific information, not only about the structural and mechanical properties of neuronal membranes, but also on the cytoplasm, cell nucleus, and particularly cytoskeletal components. Moreover, new AFM is able to provide detailed insight into physical structure and biochemical interactions in both physiological and pathophysiological conditions.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Goran Šimić
- Department for Neuroscience, Croatian Institute for Brain Research, University of Zagreb Medical School, Zagreb, Croatia
| | - Patrick R Hof
- Fishberg Department of Neuroscience and Friedman Brain Institute, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, 10029 New York, USA
| | - Suzana Šegota
- Division for Marine and Environmental Research, Ruđer Bošković Institute, POB 180, Zagreb, Croatia
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Judaš M, Šimić G, Petanjek Z, Jovanov-Milošević N, Pletikos M, Vasung L, Vukšić M, Kostović I. The Zagreb Collection of human brains: a unique, versatile, but underexploited resource for the neuroscience community. Ann N Y Acad Sci 2011; 1225 Suppl 1:E105-30. [PMID: 21599691 DOI: 10.1111/j.1749-6632.2011.05993.x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 38] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/11/2022]
Abstract
The Zagreb Collection of developing and adult human brains was founded in 1974 by Ivica Kostović and consists of 1,278 developing and adult human brains, including 610 fetal, 317 children, and 359 adult brains. It is one of the largest collections of developing human brains. The collection serves as a key resource for many focused research projects and has led to several seminal contributions on mammalian cortical development, such as the discovery of the transient fetal subplate zone and of early bilaminar synaptogenesis in the embryonic and fetal human cerebral cortex, and the first description of growing afferent pathways in the human fetal telencephalon. The Zagreb Collection also serves as a core resource for ever-growing networks of international collaboration and represents the starting point for many young investigators who now pursue independent research careers at leading international institutions. The Zagreb Collection, however, remains underexploited owing to a lack of adequate funding in Croatia. Funding could establish an online catalog of the collection and modern virtual microscopy scanning methods to make the collection internationally more accessible.
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Affiliation(s)
- Miloš Judaš
- University of Zagreb School of Medicine, Croatian Institute for Brain Research, Zagreb, Croatia
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