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Xu H, Qiu Q, Hu P, Hoxha K, Jang E, O'Reilly M, Kim C, He Z, Marotta N, Changolkar L, Zhang B, Wu H, Schellenberg GD, Kraemer B, Luk KC, Lee EB, Trojanowski JQ, Brunden KR, Lee VMY. MSUT2 regulates tau spreading via adenosinergic signaling mediated ASAP1 pathway in neurons. Acta Neuropathol 2024; 147:55. [PMID: 38472475 PMCID: PMC10933148 DOI: 10.1007/s00401-024-02703-3] [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: 12/06/2023] [Revised: 02/06/2024] [Accepted: 02/07/2024] [Indexed: 03/14/2024]
Abstract
Inclusions comprised of microtubule-associated protein tau (tau) are implicated in a group of neurodegenerative diseases, collectively known as tauopathies, that include Alzheimer's disease (AD). The spreading of misfolded tau "seeds" along neuronal networks is thought to play a crucial role in the progression of tau pathology. Consequently, restricting the release or uptake of tau seeds may inhibit the spread of tau pathology and potentially halt the advancement of the disease. Previous studies have demonstrated that the Mammalian Suppressor of Tauopathy 2 (MSUT2), an RNA binding protein, modulates tau pathogenesis in a transgenic mouse model. In this study, we investigated the impact of MSUT2 on tau pathogenesis using tau seeding models. Our findings indicate that the loss of MSUT2 mitigates human tau seed-induced pathology in neuron cultures and mouse models. In addition, MSUT2 regulates many gene transcripts, including the Adenosine Receptor 1 (A1AR), and we show that down regulation or inhibition of A1AR modulates the activity of the "ArfGAP with SH3 Domain, Ankyrin Repeat, and PH Domain 1 protein" (ASAP1), thereby influencing the internalization of pathogenic tau seeds into neurons resulting in reduction of tau pathology.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hong Xu
- Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, Institute on Aging and Center for Neurodegenerative Disease Research, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA.
| | - Qi Qiu
- Department of Genetics, Penn Epigenetics Institute, Institute of Regenerative Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA
| | - Peng Hu
- Key Laboratory of Exploration and Utilization of Aquatic Genetic Resources (Ministry of Education), Shanghai Ocean University, Shanghai, China
| | - Kevt'her Hoxha
- Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, Institute on Aging and Center for Neurodegenerative Disease Research, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA
| | - Elliot Jang
- Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, Institute on Aging and Center for Neurodegenerative Disease Research, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA
| | - Mia O'Reilly
- Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, Institute on Aging and Center for Neurodegenerative Disease Research, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA
| | - Christopher Kim
- Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, Institute on Aging and Center for Neurodegenerative Disease Research, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA
| | - Zhuohao He
- Interdisciplinary Research Center On Biology and Chemistry, Shanghai Institute of Organic Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai, 201210, China
- University of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100049, China
| | - Nicholas Marotta
- Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, Institute on Aging and Center for Neurodegenerative Disease Research, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA
| | - Lakshmi Changolkar
- Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, Institute on Aging and Center for Neurodegenerative Disease Research, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA
| | - Bin Zhang
- Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, Institute on Aging and Center for Neurodegenerative Disease Research, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA
| | - Hao Wu
- Department of Genetics, Penn Epigenetics Institute, Institute of Regenerative Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA
| | - Gerard D Schellenberg
- Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, Penn Neurodegeneration Genomics Center, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA
| | - Brian Kraemer
- Geriatric Research Education and Clinical Center, Veterans Affairs Puget Sound Health Care System, Seattle, WA, 98108, USA
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, University of Washington School of Medicine, Seattle, WA, 98195, USA
- Division of Gerontology and Geriatric Medicine, Department of Medicine, University of Washington School of Medicine, Seattle, WA, 98104, USA
| | - Kelvin C Luk
- Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, Institute on Aging and Center for Neurodegenerative Disease Research, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA
| | - Edward B Lee
- Translational Neuropathology Research Laboratory, Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA
| | - John Q Trojanowski
- Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, Institute on Aging and Center for Neurodegenerative Disease Research, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA
| | - Kurt R Brunden
- Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, Institute on Aging and Center for Neurodegenerative Disease Research, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA
| | - Virginia M-Y Lee
- Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, Institute on Aging and Center for Neurodegenerative Disease Research, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA.
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Lubben N, Brynildsen JK, Webb CM, Li HL, Leyns CEG, Changolkar L, Zhang B, Meymand ES, O'Reilly M, Madaj Z, DeWeerd D, Fell MJ, Lee VMY, Bassett DS, Henderson MX. LRRK2 kinase inhibition reverses G2019S mutation-dependent effects on tau pathology progression. Transl Neurodegener 2024; 13:13. [PMID: 38438877 PMCID: PMC10910783 DOI: 10.1186/s40035-024-00403-2] [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: 10/09/2023] [Accepted: 02/07/2024] [Indexed: 03/06/2024] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Mutations in leucine-rich repeat kinase 2 (LRRK2) are the most common cause of familial Parkinson's disease (PD). These mutations elevate the LRRK2 kinase activity, making LRRK2 kinase inhibitors an attractive therapeutic. LRRK2 kinase activity has been consistently linked to specific cell signaling pathways, mostly related to organelle trafficking and homeostasis, but its relationship to PD pathogenesis has been more difficult to define. LRRK2-PD patients consistently present with loss of dopaminergic neurons in the substantia nigra but show variable development of Lewy body or tau tangle pathology. Animal models carrying LRRK2 mutations do not develop robust PD-related phenotypes spontaneously, hampering the assessment of the efficacy of LRRK2 inhibitors against disease processes. We hypothesized that mutations in LRRK2 may not be directly related to a single disease pathway, but instead may elevate the susceptibility to multiple disease processes, depending on the disease trigger. To test this hypothesis, we have previously evaluated progression of α-synuclein and tau pathologies following injection of proteopathic seeds. We demonstrated that transgenic mice overexpressing mutant LRRK2 show alterations in the brain-wide progression of pathology, especially at older ages. METHODS Here, we assess tau pathology progression in relation to long-term LRRK2 kinase inhibition. Wild-type or LRRK2G2019S knock-in mice were injected with tau fibrils and treated with control diet or diet containing LRRK2 kinase inhibitor MLi-2 targeting the IC50 or IC90 of LRRK2 for 3-6 months. Mice were evaluated for tau pathology by brain-wide quantitative pathology in 844 brain regions and subsequent linear diffusion modeling of progression. RESULTS Consistent with our previous work, we found systemic alterations in the progression of tau pathology in LRRK2G2019S mice, which were most pronounced at 6 months. Importantly, LRRK2 kinase inhibition reversed these effects in LRRK2G2019S mice, but had minimal effect in wild-type mice, suggesting that LRRK2 kinase inhibition is likely to reverse specific disease processes in G2019S mutation carriers. Additional work may be necessary to determine the potential effect in non-carriers. CONCLUSIONS This work supports a protective role of LRRK2 kinase inhibition in G2019S carriers and provides a rational workflow for systematic evaluation of brain-wide phenotypes in therapeutic development.
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Affiliation(s)
- Noah Lubben
- Department of Neurodegenerative Science, Van Andel Institute, 333 Bostwick Ave NE, Grand Rapids, MI, 49503, USA
- Aligning Science Across Parkinson's (ASAP) Collaborative Research Network, Chevy Chase, MD, 20815, USA
| | - Julia K Brynildsen
- Aligning Science Across Parkinson's (ASAP) Collaborative Research Network, Chevy Chase, MD, 20815, USA
- Department of Bioengineering, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, 19104, USA
| | - Connor M Webb
- Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, Perelman School of Medicine, Institute On Aging and Center for Neurodegenerative Disease Research, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, 19104, USA
| | - Howard L Li
- Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, Perelman School of Medicine, Institute On Aging and Center for Neurodegenerative Disease Research, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, 19104, USA
| | - Cheryl E G Leyns
- Neuroscience Discovery, Merck & Co., Inc., Boston, MA, 02115, USA
| | - Lakshmi Changolkar
- Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, Perelman School of Medicine, Institute On Aging and Center for Neurodegenerative Disease Research, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, 19104, USA
| | - Bin Zhang
- Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, Perelman School of Medicine, Institute On Aging and Center for Neurodegenerative Disease Research, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, 19104, USA
| | - Emily S Meymand
- Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, Perelman School of Medicine, Institute On Aging and Center for Neurodegenerative Disease Research, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, 19104, USA
| | - Mia O'Reilly
- Department of Bioengineering, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, 19104, USA
| | - Zach Madaj
- Bioinformatics and Biostatistics Core, Van Andel Institute, 333 Bostwick Ave., NE, Grand Rapids, MI, 49503, USA
| | - Daniella DeWeerd
- Department of Neurodegenerative Science, Van Andel Institute, 333 Bostwick Ave NE, Grand Rapids, MI, 49503, USA
- Aligning Science Across Parkinson's (ASAP) Collaborative Research Network, Chevy Chase, MD, 20815, USA
| | - Matthew J Fell
- Neuroscience Discovery, Merck & Co., Inc., Boston, MA, 02115, USA
| | - Virginia M Y Lee
- Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, Perelman School of Medicine, Institute On Aging and Center for Neurodegenerative Disease Research, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, 19104, USA
| | - Dani S Bassett
- Aligning Science Across Parkinson's (ASAP) Collaborative Research Network, Chevy Chase, MD, 20815, USA
- Department of Bioengineering, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, 19104, USA
- Department of Electrical and Systems Engineering, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, 19104, USA
- Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, 19104, USA
- Department of Neurology, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, 19104, USA
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, 19104, USA
- Santa Fe Institute, Santa Fe, NM, 87501, USA
| | - Michael X Henderson
- Department of Neurodegenerative Science, Van Andel Institute, 333 Bostwick Ave NE, Grand Rapids, MI, 49503, USA.
- Aligning Science Across Parkinson's (ASAP) Collaborative Research Network, Chevy Chase, MD, 20815, USA.
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Dregni AJ, Duan P, Xu H, Changolkar L, El Mammeri N, Lee VMY, Hong M. Fluent molecular mixing of Tau isoforms in Alzheimer's disease neurofibrillary tangles. Nat Commun 2022; 13:2967. [PMID: 35624093 PMCID: PMC9142584 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-022-30585-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [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: 01/04/2022] [Accepted: 05/04/2022] [Indexed: 12/28/2022] Open
Abstract
Alzheimer's disease (AD) is defined by intracellular neurofibrillary tangles formed by the microtubule-associated protein tau and extracellular plaques formed by the β-amyloid peptide. AD tau tangles contain a mixture of tau isoforms with either four (4R) or three (3R) microtubule-binding repeats. Here we use solid-state NMR to determine how 4R and 3R tau isoforms mix at the molecular level in AD tau aggregates. By seeding differentially isotopically labeled 4R and 3R tau monomers with AD brain-derived tau, we measured intermolecular contacts of the two isoforms. The NMR data indicate that 4R and 3R tau are well mixed in the AD-tau seeded fibrils, with a 60:40 incorporation ratio of 4R to 3R tau and a small homotypic preference. The AD-tau templated 4R tau, 3R tau, and mixed 4R and 3R tau fibrils exhibit no structural differences in the rigid β-sheet core or the mobile domains. Therefore, 4R and 3R tau are fluently recruited into the pathological fold of AD tau aggregates, which may explain the predominance of AD among neurodegenerative disorders.
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Affiliation(s)
- Aurelio J Dregni
- Department of Chemistry, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 170 Albany Street, Cambridge, MA, 02139, USA
| | - Pu Duan
- Department of Chemistry, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 170 Albany Street, Cambridge, MA, 02139, USA
| | - Hong Xu
- Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, Institute on Aging and Center for Neurodegenerative Disease Research, University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, Philadelphia, PA, 19104, USA
| | - Lakshmi Changolkar
- Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, Institute on Aging and Center for Neurodegenerative Disease Research, University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, Philadelphia, PA, 19104, USA
| | - Nadia El Mammeri
- Department of Chemistry, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 170 Albany Street, Cambridge, MA, 02139, USA
| | - Virginia M-Y Lee
- Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, Institute on Aging and Center for Neurodegenerative Disease Research, University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, Philadelphia, PA, 19104, USA
| | - Mei Hong
- Department of Chemistry, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 170 Albany Street, Cambridge, MA, 02139, USA.
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Marshall CA, McBride JD, Changolkar L, Riddle DM, Trojanowski JQ, Lee VMY. Inhibition of CK2 mitigates Alzheimer's tau pathology by preventing NR2B synaptic mislocalization. Acta Neuropathol Commun 2022; 10:30. [PMID: 35246269 PMCID: PMC8895919 DOI: 10.1186/s40478-022-01331-w] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/09/2022] [Accepted: 02/11/2022] [Indexed: 12/15/2022] Open
Abstract
Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is a neurodegenerative disorder that exhibits pathological changes in both tau and synaptic function. AD patients display increases in hyperphosphorylated tau and synaptic activity. Previous studies have individually identified the role of NR2B subunit-containing NMDA receptors in AD related synaptic dysfunction and aggregated tau without reconciling the conflicting differences and implications of NR2B expression. Inhibition of extrasynaptically located NR2B mitigates tau pathology in AD models, whereas the inhibition of synaptic NR2B replicates tau-associated hyperactivity. This suggests that a simultaneous increase in extrasynaptic NR2B and decrease in synaptic NR2B may be responsible for tau pathology and synaptic dysfunction, respectively. The synaptic location of NR2B is regulated by casein kinase 2 (CK2), which is highly expressed in AD patients. Here, we used patient brains diagnosed with AD, corticobasal degeneration, progressive supranuclear palsy or Pick’s disease to characterize CK2 expression across these diverse tauopathies. Human derived material was also utilized in conjunction with cultured hippocampal neurons in order to investigate AD-induced changes in NR2B location. We further assessed the therapeutic effect of CK2 inhibition on NR2B synaptic distribution and tau pathology. We found that aberrant expression of CK2, and synaptically translocated NR2B, is unique to AD patients compared to other tauopathies. Increased CK2 was also observed in AD-tau treated neurons in addition to the mislocalization of NR2B receptors. Tau burden was alleviated in vitro by correcting synaptic:extrasynaptic NR2B function. Restoring NR2B physiological expression patterns with CK2 inhibition and inhibiting the function of excessive extrasynaptic NR2B with Memantine both mitigated tau accumulation in vitro. However, the combined pharmacological treatment promoted the aggregation of tau. Our data suggests that the synaptic:extrasynaptic balance of NR2B function regulates AD-tau pathogenesis, and that the inhibition of CK2, and concomitant prevention of NR2B mislocalization, may be a useful therapeutic tool for AD patients.
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Cornblath EJ, Li HL, Changolkar L, Zhang B, Brown HJ, Gathagan RJ, Olufemi MF, Trojanowski JQ, Bassett DS, Lee VMY, Henderson MX. Computational modeling of tau pathology spread reveals patterns of regional vulnerability and the impact of a genetic risk factor. Sci Adv 2021; 7:eabg6677. [PMID: 34108219 PMCID: PMC8189700 DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.abg6677] [Citation(s) in RCA: 21] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/20/2021] [Accepted: 04/21/2021] [Indexed: 05/09/2023]
Abstract
Neuropathological staging studies have suggested that tau pathology spreads through the brain in Alzheimer's disease (AD) and other tauopathies, but it is unclear how neuroanatomical connections, spatial proximity, and regional vulnerability contribute. In this study, we seed tau pathology in the brains of nontransgenic mice with AD tau and quantify pathology development over 9 months in 134 brain regions. Network modeling of pathology progression shows that diffusion through the connectome is the best predictor of tau pathology patterns. Further, deviations from pure neuroanatomical spread are used to estimate regional vulnerability to tau pathology and identify related gene expression patterns. Last, we show that pathology spread is altered in mice harboring a mutation in leucine-rich repeat kinase 2. While tau pathology spread is still constrained by anatomical connectivity in these mice, it spreads preferentially in a retrograde direction. This study provides a framework for understanding neuropathological progression in tauopathies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Eli J Cornblath
- Department of Bioengineering, School of Engineering and Applied Science, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA
- Department of Neuroscience, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA
| | - Howard L Li
- Institute on Aging and Center for Neurodegenerative Disease Research, Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA
| | - Lakshmi Changolkar
- Institute on Aging and Center for Neurodegenerative Disease Research, Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA
| | - Bin Zhang
- Institute on Aging and Center for Neurodegenerative Disease Research, Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA
| | - Hannah J Brown
- Institute on Aging and Center for Neurodegenerative Disease Research, Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA
| | - Ronald J Gathagan
- Institute on Aging and Center for Neurodegenerative Disease Research, Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA
| | - Modupe F Olufemi
- Institute on Aging and Center for Neurodegenerative Disease Research, Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA
| | - John Q Trojanowski
- Institute on Aging and Center for Neurodegenerative Disease Research, Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA
| | - Danielle S Bassett
- Department of Bioengineering, School of Engineering and Applied Science, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA
- Department of Electrical and Systems Engineering, School of Engineering and Applied Science, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA
- Department of Physics and Astronomy, College of Arts and Sciences, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA
- Department of Psychiatry, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA
- Department of Neurology, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA
- Santa Fe Institute, Santa Fe, NM 87501, USA
| | - Virginia M Y Lee
- Institute on Aging and Center for Neurodegenerative Disease Research, Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA
| | - Michael X Henderson
- Department of Neurodegenerative Science, Van Andel Institute, Grand Rapids, MI 49503, USA.
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Weitzman SA, Narasimhan S, He Z, Changolkar L, McBride JD, Zhang B, Schellenberg GD, Trojanowski JQ, Lee VMY. Insoluble Tau From Human FTDP-17 Cases Exhibit Unique Transmission Properties In Vivo. J Neuropathol Exp Neurol 2021; 79:941-949. [PMID: 32838419 DOI: 10.1093/jnen/nlaa086] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [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: 05/15/2020] [Revised: 07/02/2020] [Accepted: 07/08/2020] [Indexed: 12/22/2022] Open
Abstract
One hallmark of neurodegenerative diseases is the intracellular accumulation of hyperphosphorylated tau protein, a neuronal microtubule-associated protein, into structures known as neurofibrillary tangles. Tauopathies are heterogeneous neurodegenerative diseases caused by the misfolding of the tau protein. It has been previously shown that the tau protein can spread from cell to cell in a prion-like manner. Tauopathies can be sporadic or familial, with the identification of pathogenic mutations in the microtubule-associated protein tau gene on chromosome 17 in the familial cases. Different frontotemporal dementia with parkinsonism-17 (FTDP-17) cases are associated with varying clinical presentations and types of neuropathology. We previously demonstrated that insoluble tau extracted from sporadic tauopathy human brains contain distinct tau strains, which underlie the heterogeneity of these diseases. Furthermore, these tau strains seeded tau aggregates that resemble human tau neuropathology in nontransgenic and 6hTau mice in vivo. Here, we show insoluble tau from human brains of FTDP-17 cases transmit different patterns of neuronal and glial tau pathology in vivo, similar to the sporadic tauopathies. This suggests that each of these tau mutations has unique properties that underlie the heterogeneity of FTDP-17 cases.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sarah A Weitzman
- Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, Institute on Aging and Center for Neurodegenerative Disease Research, University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
| | - Sneha Narasimhan
- Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, Institute on Aging and Center for Neurodegenerative Disease Research, University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
| | - Zhuohao He
- Interdisciplinary Research Center on Biology and Chemistry, Shanghai Institute of Organic Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai, China
| | - Lakshmi Changolkar
- Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, Institute on Aging and Center for Neurodegenerative Disease Research, University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
| | - Jennifer D McBride
- Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, Institute on Aging and Center for Neurodegenerative Disease Research, University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
| | - Bin Zhang
- Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, Institute on Aging and Center for Neurodegenerative Disease Research, University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
| | - Gerard D Schellenberg
- Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, Penn Neurodegeneration Genomics Center, University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
| | - John Q Trojanowski
- Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, Institute on Aging and Center for Neurodegenerative Disease Research, University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
| | - Virginia M Y Lee
- Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, Institute on Aging and Center for Neurodegenerative Disease Research, University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
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Henderson MX, Changolkar L, Trojanowski JQ, Lee VM. LRRK2 Kinase Activity Does Not Alter Cell-Autonomous Tau Pathology Development in Primary Neurons. J Parkinsons Dis 2021; 11:1187-1196. [PMID: 33720852 PMCID: PMC8461695 DOI: 10.3233/jpd-212562] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [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] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 02/23/2021] [Indexed: 12/11/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Mutations in leucine-rich repeat kinase 2 (LRRK2) are the most common cause of familial Parkinson's disease (PD) and are also associated with genetic risk in idiopathic PD. Mutations in LRRK2, including the most common p.G2019S lead to elevated kinase activity, making LRRK2 kinase inhibitors prime targets for therapeutic development. However, the role of LRRK2 kinase activity in PD pathogenesis has remained unclear. While essentially all LRRK2-PD patients exhibit dopaminergic neuron loss, many of these patients do not have α-synuclein Lewy bodies in their brains. So, what is the neuropathological substrate of LRRK2-PD? Tau has emerged as a possible candidate due to the presence of tau pathology in the majority of LRRK2 mutation carriers and reports of hyperphosphorylated tau in LRRK2 animal models. OBJECTIVE In the current study, we aim to address whether a mutation in LRRK2 changes the cell-autonomous seeding of tau pathology in primary neurons. We also aim to assess whether LRRK2 kinase inhibitors are able to modulate tau pathology. METHODS/RESULTS Treatment of primary neurons with LRRK2 kinase inhibitors leads to prolonged kinase inhibition but does not alter tau pathology induction. The lack of an effect of LRRK2 kinase activity was further confirmed in primary neurons expressing LRRK2G2019S and with two different forms of pathogenic tau. In no case was there more than a minor change in tau pathology induction. CONCLUSION Together, our results indicate that LRRK2 kinase activity is not playing a major role in the induction of tau pathology in individual neurons. Understanding the impact of LRRK2 kinase inhibitors on pathology generation is important as kinase inhibitors move forward in clinical trials.
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Affiliation(s)
- Michael X. Henderson
- Department of Neurodegenerative Science, Van Andel Institute, Grand Rapids, MI, USA
| | - Lakshmi Changolkar
- Institute on Aging and Center for Neurodegenerative Disease Research, Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA
| | - John Q. Trojanowski
- Institute on Aging and Center for Neurodegenerative Disease Research, Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA
| | - Virginia M.Y. Lee
- Institute on Aging and Center for Neurodegenerative Disease Research, Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA
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Gibbons GS, Kim SJ, Wu Q, Riddle DM, Leight SN, Changolkar L, Xu H, Meymand ES, O'Reilly M, Zhang B, Brunden KR, Trojanowski JQ, Lee VMY. Conformation-selective tau monoclonal antibodies inhibit tau pathology in primary neurons and a mouse model of Alzheimer's disease. Mol Neurodegener 2020; 15:64. [PMID: 33148293 PMCID: PMC7643305 DOI: 10.1186/s13024-020-00404-5] [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] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/22/2020] [Accepted: 09/16/2020] [Indexed: 12/11/2022] Open
Abstract
Background The spread of tau pathology in Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is mediated by cell-to-cell transmission of pathological tau seeds released from neurons that, upon internalization by recipient neurons, template the misfolding of naïve cellular tau, thereby propagating fibrillization. We hypothesize that anti-tau monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) that selectively bind to pathological tau seeds will inhibit propagation of tau aggregates and reduce the spread of tau pathology in vivo. Methods We inoculated mice with human AD brain-derived extracts containing tau paired helical filaments (AD-tau) and identified two novel mAbs, DMR7 and SKT82, that selectively bind to a misfolded pathological conformation of tau relative to recombinant tau monomer. To evaluate the effects of these mAbs on the spread of pathological tau in vivo, 5xFAD mice harboring significant brain Aβ plaque burden were unilaterally injected with AD-tau in the hippocampus, to initiate the formation of neuritic plaque (NP) tau pathology, and were treated weekly with intraperitoneal (i.p.) injections of DMR7, SKT82, or IgG isotype control mAbs. Results DMR7 and SKT82 bind epitopes comprised of the proline-rich domain and c-terminal region of tau and binding is reduced upon disruption of the pathological conformation of AD-tau by chemical and thermal denaturation. We found that both DMR7 and SKT82 immunoprecipitate pathological tau and significantly reduce the seeding of cellular tau aggregates induced by AD-tau in primary neurons by 60.5 + 13.8% and 82.2 + 8.3%, respectively, compared to IgG control. To investigate the mechanism of mAb inhibition, we generated pH-sensitive fluorophore-labeled recombinant tau fibrils seeded by AD-tau to track internalization of tau seeds and demonstrate that the conformation-selective tau mAbs inhibit the internalization of tau seeds. DMR7 and SKT82 treatment reduced hyperphosphorylated NP tau as measured with AT8 immunohistochemistry (IHC) staining, but did not achieve statistical significance in the contralateral cortex and SKT82 significantly reduced tau pathology in the ipsilateral hippocampus by 24.2%; p = 0.044. Conclusions These findings demonstrate that conformation-selective tau mAbs, DMR7 and SKT82, inhibit tau pathology in primary neurons by preventing the uptake of tau seeds and reduce tau pathology in vivo, providing potential novel therapeutic candidates for the treatment of AD. Supplementary information Supplementary information accompanies this paper at 10.1186/s13024-020-00404-5.
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Affiliation(s)
- Garrett S Gibbons
- Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, Institute on Aging and Center for Neurodegenerative Disease Research, University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, 3600 Spruce St. 3 Maloney, Philadelphia, PA, 19104, USA
| | - Soo-Jung Kim
- Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, Institute on Aging and Center for Neurodegenerative Disease Research, University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, 3600 Spruce St. 3 Maloney, Philadelphia, PA, 19104, USA
| | - Qihui Wu
- Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, Institute on Aging and Center for Neurodegenerative Disease Research, University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, 3600 Spruce St. 3 Maloney, Philadelphia, PA, 19104, USA
| | - Dawn M Riddle
- Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, Institute on Aging and Center for Neurodegenerative Disease Research, University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, 3600 Spruce St. 3 Maloney, Philadelphia, PA, 19104, USA
| | - Susan N Leight
- Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, Institute on Aging and Center for Neurodegenerative Disease Research, University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, 3600 Spruce St. 3 Maloney, Philadelphia, PA, 19104, USA
| | - Lakshmi Changolkar
- Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, Institute on Aging and Center for Neurodegenerative Disease Research, University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, 3600 Spruce St. 3 Maloney, Philadelphia, PA, 19104, USA
| | - Hong Xu
- Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, Institute on Aging and Center for Neurodegenerative Disease Research, University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, 3600 Spruce St. 3 Maloney, Philadelphia, PA, 19104, USA
| | - Emily S Meymand
- Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, Institute on Aging and Center for Neurodegenerative Disease Research, University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, 3600 Spruce St. 3 Maloney, Philadelphia, PA, 19104, USA
| | - Mia O'Reilly
- Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, Institute on Aging and Center for Neurodegenerative Disease Research, University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, 3600 Spruce St. 3 Maloney, Philadelphia, PA, 19104, USA
| | - Bin Zhang
- Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, Institute on Aging and Center for Neurodegenerative Disease Research, University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, 3600 Spruce St. 3 Maloney, Philadelphia, PA, 19104, USA
| | - Kurt R Brunden
- Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, Institute on Aging and Center for Neurodegenerative Disease Research, University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, 3600 Spruce St. 3 Maloney, Philadelphia, PA, 19104, USA
| | - John Q Trojanowski
- Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, Institute on Aging and Center for Neurodegenerative Disease Research, University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, 3600 Spruce St. 3 Maloney, Philadelphia, PA, 19104, USA
| | - Virginia M Y Lee
- Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, Institute on Aging and Center for Neurodegenerative Disease Research, University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, 3600 Spruce St. 3 Maloney, Philadelphia, PA, 19104, USA.
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9
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Darwich NF, Phan JM, Kim B, Suh E, Papatriantafyllou JD, Changolkar L, Nguyen AT, O'Rourke CM, He Z, Porta S, Gibbons GS, Luk KC, Papageorgiou SG, Grossman M, Massimo L, Irwin DJ, McMillan CT, Nasrallah IM, Toro C, Aguirre GK, Van Deerlin VM, Lee EB. Autosomal dominant VCP hypomorph mutation impairs disaggregation of PHF-tau. Science 2020; 370:science.aay8826. [PMID: 33004675 DOI: 10.1126/science.aay8826] [Citation(s) in RCA: 66] [Impact Index Per Article: 16.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/25/2019] [Revised: 07/16/2020] [Accepted: 09/17/2020] [Indexed: 12/15/2022]
Abstract
Neurodegeneration in Alzheimer's disease (AD) is closely associated with the accumulation of pathologic tau aggregates in the form of neurofibrillary tangles. We found that a p.Asp395Gly mutation in VCP (valosin-containing protein) was associated with dementia characterized neuropathologically by neuronal vacuoles and neurofibrillary tangles. Moreover, VCP appeared to exhibit tau disaggregase activity in vitro, which was impaired by the p.Asp395Gly mutation. Additionally, intracerebral microinjection of pathologic tau led to increased tau aggregates in mice in which p.Asp395Gly VCP mice was knocked in, as compared with injected wild-type mice. These findings suggest that p.Asp395Gly VCP is an autosomal-dominant genetic mutation associated with neurofibrillary degeneration in part owing to reduced tau disaggregation, raising the possibility that VCP may represent a therapeutic target for the treatment of AD.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nabil F Darwich
- Translational Neuropathology Research Laboratory, Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania, PA, USA
| | - Jessica M Phan
- Translational Neuropathology Research Laboratory, Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania, PA, USA
| | - Boram Kim
- Translational Neuropathology Research Laboratory, Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania, PA, USA
| | - EunRan Suh
- Center for Neurodegenerative Disease Research, Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania, PA, USA
| | - John D Papatriantafyllou
- Medical Center of Athens, Memory Disorders Clinic and Day Care Center for Third Age "IASIS," Athens, Greece
| | - Lakshmi Changolkar
- Center for Neurodegenerative Disease Research, Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania, PA, USA
| | - Aivi T Nguyen
- Translational Neuropathology Research Laboratory, Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania, PA, USA
| | - Caroline M O'Rourke
- Translational Neuropathology Research Laboratory, Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania, PA, USA
| | - Zhuohao He
- Center for Neurodegenerative Disease Research, Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania, PA, USA
| | - Sílvia Porta
- Center for Neurodegenerative Disease Research, Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania, PA, USA
| | - Garrett S Gibbons
- Center for Neurodegenerative Disease Research, Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania, PA, USA
| | - Kelvin C Luk
- Center for Neurodegenerative Disease Research, Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania, PA, USA
| | - Sokratis G Papageorgiou
- First University Department of Neurology, Eginiteio University Hospital, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Athens, Greece
| | - Murray Grossman
- Department of Neurology, Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania, PA, USA
| | - Lauren Massimo
- Department of Neurology, Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania, PA, USA
| | - David J Irwin
- Department of Neurology, Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania, PA, USA
| | - Corey T McMillan
- Department of Neurology, Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania, PA, USA
| | - Ilya M Nasrallah
- Department of Radiology, Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania, PA, USA
| | - Camilo Toro
- NIH Undiagnosed Diseases Program, National Human Genome Research Institute, MD, USA
| | - Geoffrey K Aguirre
- Department of Neurology, Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania, PA, USA
| | - Vivianna M Van Deerlin
- Center for Neurodegenerative Disease Research, Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania, PA, USA
| | - Edward B Lee
- Translational Neuropathology Research Laboratory, Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania, PA, USA.
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10
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Narasimhan S, Changolkar L, Riddle DM, Kats A, Stieber A, Weitzman SA, Zhang B, Li Z, Roberson ED, Trojanowski JQ, Lee VMY. Human tau pathology transmits glial tau aggregates in the absence of neuronal tau. J Exp Med 2020; 217:132744. [PMID: 31826239 PMCID: PMC7041709 DOI: 10.1084/jem.20190783] [Citation(s) in RCA: 64] [Impact Index Per Article: 16.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/01/2019] [Revised: 08/09/2019] [Accepted: 10/10/2019] [Indexed: 12/30/2022] Open
Abstract
The pathogenesis of glial tau pathology is unknown. This study shows glial tau pathology can propagate in the absence of neuronal tau. In particular, oligodendrocytes transmit tau pathology via their own processes, independent of neuronal tau. Tauopathies are characterized by abnormal accumulation of tau protein in neurons and glia. In Alzheimer’s disease (AD), tau aggregates in neurons, while in corticobasal degeneration (CBD) and progressive supranuclear palsy (PSP), tau also aggregates in astrocytes and oligodendrocytes. We previously demonstrated that human CBD and PSP tauopathy lysates (CBD-tau and PSP-tau) contain distinct tau strains that propagate neuronal and glial tau aggregates in nontransgenic (nonTg) mouse brain. Yet the mechanism of glial tau transmission is unknown. Here, we developed a novel mouse model to knock down tau in neurons to test for glial tau transmission. While oligodendroglial tau pathology propagated across the mouse brain in the absence of neuronal tau pathology, astrocytic tau pathology did not. Oligodendroglial tau aggregates propagated along white matter tracts independently of neuronal axons, and resulted in oligodendrocyte cell loss. Thus, glial tau pathology has significant functional consequences independent of neuronal tau pathology.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sneha Narasimhan
- Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, Institute on Aging and Center for Neurodegenerative Disease Research, University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, Philadelphia PA
| | - Lakshmi Changolkar
- Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, Institute on Aging and Center for Neurodegenerative Disease Research, University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, Philadelphia PA
| | - Dawn M Riddle
- Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, Institute on Aging and Center for Neurodegenerative Disease Research, University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, Philadelphia PA
| | - Alexandra Kats
- Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, Institute on Aging and Center for Neurodegenerative Disease Research, University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, Philadelphia PA
| | - Anna Stieber
- Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, Institute on Aging and Center for Neurodegenerative Disease Research, University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, Philadelphia PA
| | - Sarah A Weitzman
- Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, Institute on Aging and Center for Neurodegenerative Disease Research, University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, Philadelphia PA
| | - Bin Zhang
- Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, Institute on Aging and Center for Neurodegenerative Disease Research, University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, Philadelphia PA
| | - Zhiyong Li
- Department of Neurology, Center for Neurodegeneration and Experimental Therapeutics, Alzheimer's Disease Center, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, AL
| | - Erik D Roberson
- Department of Neurology, Center for Neurodegeneration and Experimental Therapeutics, Alzheimer's Disease Center, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, AL
| | - John Q Trojanowski
- Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, Institute on Aging and Center for Neurodegenerative Disease Research, University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, Philadelphia PA
| | - Virginia M Y Lee
- Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, Institute on Aging and Center for Neurodegenerative Disease Research, University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, Philadelphia PA
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11
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Prokop S, Miller KR, Labra SR, Pitkin RM, Hoxha K, Narasimhan S, Changolkar L, Rosenbloom A, Lee VMY, Trojanowski JQ. Impact of TREM2 risk variants on brain region-specific immune activation and plaque microenvironment in Alzheimer's disease patient brain samples. Acta Neuropathol 2019; 138:613-630. [PMID: 31350575 PMCID: PMC6939638 DOI: 10.1007/s00401-019-02048-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 56] [Impact Index Per Article: 11.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/24/2019] [Revised: 07/09/2019] [Accepted: 07/18/2019] [Indexed: 12/14/2022]
Abstract
Identification of multiple immune-related genetic risk factors for sporadic AD (sAD) have put the immune system center stage in mechanisms underlying this disorder. Comprehensive analysis of microglia in different stages of AD in human brains revealed microglia activation to follow the progression of AD neuropathological changes and requiring the co-occurrence of beta-Amyloid (Aβ) and tau pathology. Carriers of AD-associated risk variants in TREM2 (Triggering receptor expressed on myeloid cells 2) showed a reduction of plaque-associated microglia and a substantial increase in dystrophic neurites and overall pathological tau compared with age and disease stage matched AD patients without TREM2 risk variants. These findings were substantiated by digital spatial profiling of the plaque microenvironment and targeted gene expression profiling on the NanoString nCounter system, which revealed striking brain region dependent differences in immune response patterns within individual cases. The demonstration of profound brain region and risk-variant specific differences in immune activation in human AD brains impacts the applicability of immune-therapeutic approaches for sAD and related neurodegenerative diseases.
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Affiliation(s)
- Stefan Prokop
- Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, AD Center Core (ADCC), Center for Neurodegenerative Disease Research, University of Pennsylvania (PENN) School of Medicine, Philadelphia, PA, 19104, USA.
- Department of Pathology, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, 32610, USA.
- Center for Translational Research in Neurodegenerative Disease, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, 32610, USA.
- Fixel Institute for Neurological Diseases, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, USA.
| | - Kelly R Miller
- Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, AD Center Core (ADCC), Center for Neurodegenerative Disease Research, University of Pennsylvania (PENN) School of Medicine, Philadelphia, PA, 19104, USA
- NanoString Technologies, Seattle, WA, 98109, USA
| | - Sergio R Labra
- Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, AD Center Core (ADCC), Center for Neurodegenerative Disease Research, University of Pennsylvania (PENN) School of Medicine, Philadelphia, PA, 19104, USA
| | - Rose M Pitkin
- Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, AD Center Core (ADCC), Center for Neurodegenerative Disease Research, University of Pennsylvania (PENN) School of Medicine, Philadelphia, PA, 19104, USA
| | - Kevt'her Hoxha
- Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, AD Center Core (ADCC), Center for Neurodegenerative Disease Research, University of Pennsylvania (PENN) School of Medicine, Philadelphia, PA, 19104, USA
| | - Sneha Narasimhan
- Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, AD Center Core (ADCC), Center for Neurodegenerative Disease Research, University of Pennsylvania (PENN) School of Medicine, Philadelphia, PA, 19104, USA
| | - Lakshmi Changolkar
- Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, AD Center Core (ADCC), Center for Neurodegenerative Disease Research, University of Pennsylvania (PENN) School of Medicine, Philadelphia, PA, 19104, USA
| | | | - Virginia M-Y Lee
- Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, AD Center Core (ADCC), Center for Neurodegenerative Disease Research, University of Pennsylvania (PENN) School of Medicine, Philadelphia, PA, 19104, USA
| | - John Q Trojanowski
- Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, AD Center Core (ADCC), Center for Neurodegenerative Disease Research, University of Pennsylvania (PENN) School of Medicine, Philadelphia, PA, 19104, USA.
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12
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Gibbons GS, Banks RA, Kim B, Changolkar L, Riddle DM, Leight SN, Irwin DJ, Trojanowski JQ, Lee VMY. Detection of Alzheimer Disease (AD)-Specific Tau Pathology in AD and NonAD Tauopathies by Immunohistochemistry With Novel Conformation-Selective Tau Antibodies. J Neuropathol Exp Neurol 2019; 77:216-228. [PMID: 29415231 DOI: 10.1093/jnen/nly010] [Citation(s) in RCA: 57] [Impact Index Per Article: 11.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/11/2022] Open
Abstract
Aggregation of tau into fibrillar structures within the CNS is a pathological hallmark of a clinically heterogeneous set of neurodegenerative diseases termed tauopathies. Unique misfolded conformations of tau, referred to as strains, are hypothesized to underlie the distinct neuroanatomical and cellular distribution of pathological tau aggregates. Here, we report the identification of novel tau monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) that selectively bind to an Alzheimer disease (AD)-specific conformation of pathological tau. Immunohistochemical analysis of tissue from various AD and nonAD tauopathies demonstrate selective binding of mAbs GT-7 and GT-38 to AD tau pathologies and absence of immunoreactivity for tau aggregates that are diagnostic of corticobasal degenerations (CBD), progressive supranuclear palsy (PSP), and Pick's disease (PiD). In cases with co-occurring AD tauopathy, GT-7 and GT-38 distinguish comorbid AD tau from pathological tau in frontotemporal lobar degeneration characterized by tau inclusions (FTLD-Tau), as confirmed by the presence of both 3 versus 4 microtubule-binding repeat isoforms (3R and 4R tau isoforms, respectively), in AD neurofibrillary tangles but not in the tau aggregates of CBD, PSP, or PiD. These findings support the concept of an AD-specific tau strain. The mAbs described here enable the selective detection of AD tau pathology in nonAD tauopathies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Garrett S Gibbons
- Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, Institute on Aging and Center for Neurodegenerative Disease Research, University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
| | - Rachel A Banks
- Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, Institute on Aging and Center for Neurodegenerative Disease Research, University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
| | - Bumjin Kim
- Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, Institute on Aging and Center for Neurodegenerative Disease Research, University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
| | - Lakshmi Changolkar
- Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, Institute on Aging and Center for Neurodegenerative Disease Research, University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
| | - Dawn M Riddle
- Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, Institute on Aging and Center for Neurodegenerative Disease Research, University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
| | - Susan N Leight
- Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, Institute on Aging and Center for Neurodegenerative Disease Research, University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
| | - David J Irwin
- Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, Institute on Aging and Center for Neurodegenerative Disease Research, University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
| | - John Q Trojanowski
- Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, Institute on Aging and Center for Neurodegenerative Disease Research, University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
| | - Virginia M Y Lee
- Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, Institute on Aging and Center for Neurodegenerative Disease Research, University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
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13
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Gibbons GS, Kim SJ, Robinson JL, Changolkar L, Irwin DJ, Shaw LM, Lee VMY, Trojanowski JQ. Detection of Alzheimer's disease (AD) specific tau pathology with conformation-selective anti-tau monoclonal antibody in co-morbid frontotemporal lobar degeneration-tau (FTLD-tau). Acta Neuropathol Commun 2019; 7:34. [PMID: 30832741 PMCID: PMC6399892 DOI: 10.1186/s40478-019-0687-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 21] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/22/2019] [Accepted: 02/23/2019] [Indexed: 12/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Pathological tau aggregates in Alzheimer’s disease (AD) and frontotemporal lobar degeneration-tau (FTLD-tau) adopt distinct conformations differentiated by the AD-tau specific monoclonal antibody (mAb) GT-38 that are not readily visualized using phosphorylation-specific anti-tau mAbs. To determine the extent of co-morbid AD-tau pathology in FTLD-tau, we performed immunohistochemical (IHC) staining with GT-38 and assigned Braak stages of AD-tau in a cohort 180 FTLD-tau cases consisting of corticobasal degeneration (CBD; n = 49), progressive supranuclear palsy (PSP; n = 109), and Pick’s disease (PiD; n = 22). Nearly two-thirds of patients (n = 115 of 180, 63.8%) with FTLD-tau had some degree of comorbid AD-tau pathology and 20.5% of the FTLD-tau cohort had Braak stage ≥B2, consistent with medium-to-high-level AD neuropathological change (ADNPC). The PSP group had the highest frequency of medium-high AD-tau pathology compared to other tauopathies (PSP = 31/109, 28.4%; Picks = 2/22, 9.1%, CBD = 4/49, 8.2%) but neuropathological diagnosis was not found to be a significant independent predictor of medium-high AD Braak stage in a multivariate model after accounting for age at death (OR = 1.09; 95% CI = 1.03–1.15; p = 0.002) and CERAD plaque scores (OR = 3.75, 95% CI = 1.58–8.89; p = 0.003), suggesting there is no predilection for a specific FTLD tauopathy to develop AD-tau co-pathology after accounting for age. Patients with FTLD-tau who had, clinically significant, medium-high AD-tau pathology had significantly higher antemortem CSF levels of both total-tau (t-tau; mean = 89.98 pg/ml, SD = 36.70 pg/ml) and phosphorylated-tau (p-tau; mean = 20.45 pg/ml, SD = 9.31 pg/ml) compared to patients with negligible-low AD-tau, t-tau (mean = 43.04 pg/ml, SD = 25.40 pg/ml) and p-tau (mean = 11.90 pg/ml, SD = 4.48 pg/ml) (p ≤ 0.001 both). Finally, in an exploratory analysis in our largest pathology group (PSP) we find an association of GT-38 AD-tau Braak stage with lower baseline MMSE (p = 0.03). Together, these finding validate the use of GT-38 to selectively detect AD-tau pathology in the context of FTLD-tau and provides a novel tool to investigate associations of clinical phenotypes amongst co-morbid tauopathies.
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14
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He Z, Guo JL, McBride JD, Narasimhan S, Kim H, Changolkar L, Zhang B, Gathagan RJ, Yue C, Dengler C, Stieber A, Nitla M, Coulter DA, Abel T, Brunden KR, Trojanowski JQ, Lee VMY. Amyloid-β plaques enhance Alzheimer's brain tau-seeded pathologies by facilitating neuritic plaque tau aggregation. Nat Med 2018; 24:29-38. [PMID: 29200205 PMCID: PMC5760353 DOI: 10.1038/nm.4443] [Citation(s) in RCA: 382] [Impact Index Per Article: 63.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/21/2017] [Accepted: 10/13/2017] [Indexed: 12/13/2022]
Abstract
Alzheimer's disease (AD) is characterized by extracellular amyloid-β (Aβ) plaques and intracellular tau inclusions. However, the exact mechanistic link between these two AD lesions remains enigmatic. Through injection of human AD-brain-derived pathological tau (AD-tau) into Aβ plaque-bearing mouse models that do not overexpress tau, we recapitulated the formation of three major types of AD-relevant tau pathologies: tau aggregates in dystrophic neurites surrounding Aβ plaques (NP tau), AD-like neurofibrillary tangles (NFTs) and neuropil threads (NTs). These distinct tau pathologies have different temporal onsets and functional consequences on neural activity and behavior. Notably, we found that Aβ plaques created a unique environment that facilitated the rapid amplification of proteopathic AD-tau seeds into large tau aggregates, initially appearing as NP tau, which was followed by the formation and spread of NFTs and NTs, likely through secondary seeding events. Our study provides insights into a new multistep mechanism underlying Aβ plaque-associated tau pathogenesis.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zhuohao He
- Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, Institute on Aging and Center for Neurodegenerative Disease Research, University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA
| | - Jing L Guo
- Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, Institute on Aging and Center for Neurodegenerative Disease Research, University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA
| | - Jennifer D McBride
- Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, Institute on Aging and Center for Neurodegenerative Disease Research, University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA
| | - Sneha Narasimhan
- Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, Institute on Aging and Center for Neurodegenerative Disease Research, University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA
| | - Hyesung Kim
- Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, Institute on Aging and Center for Neurodegenerative Disease Research, University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA
| | - Lakshmi Changolkar
- Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, Institute on Aging and Center for Neurodegenerative Disease Research, University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA
| | - Bin Zhang
- Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, Institute on Aging and Center for Neurodegenerative Disease Research, University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA
| | - Ronald J Gathagan
- Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, Institute on Aging and Center for Neurodegenerative Disease Research, University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA
| | - Cuiyong Yue
- Division of Neurology, The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA
| | - Christopher Dengler
- Division of Neurology, The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA
| | - Anna Stieber
- Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, Institute on Aging and Center for Neurodegenerative Disease Research, University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA
| | - Magdalena Nitla
- Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, Institute on Aging and Center for Neurodegenerative Disease Research, University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA
| | - Douglas A Coulter
- Division of Neurology, The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA
- Departments of Neuroscience and of Pediatrics, University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA
| | - Ted Abel
- Iowa Neuroscience Institute and Department of Molecular Physiology and Biophysics, Carver College of Medicine, University of Iowa, Iowa City, Iowa, USA
| | - Kurt R Brunden
- Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, Institute on Aging and Center for Neurodegenerative Disease Research, University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA
| | - John Q Trojanowski
- Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, Institute on Aging and Center for Neurodegenerative Disease Research, University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA
| | - Virginia M-Y Lee
- Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, Institute on Aging and Center for Neurodegenerative Disease Research, University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA
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15
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Guo JL, Narasimhan S, Changolkar L, He Z, Stieber A, Zhang B, Gathagan RJ, Iba M, McBride JD, Trojanowski JQ, Lee VMY. Unique pathological tau conformers from Alzheimer's brains transmit tau pathology in nontransgenic mice. J Exp Med 2016; 213:2635-2654. [PMID: 27810929 PMCID: PMC5110027 DOI: 10.1084/jem.20160833] [Citation(s) in RCA: 277] [Impact Index Per Article: 34.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/03/2016] [Accepted: 09/16/2016] [Indexed: 01/03/2023] Open
Abstract
Intracerebral inoculation of tau fibrils from AD brains results in the induction and propagation of tau inclusions in WT mice. Filamentous tau aggregates are hallmark lesions in numerous neurodegenerative diseases, including Alzheimer’s disease (AD). Cell culture and animal studies showed that tau fibrils can undergo cell-to-cell transmission and seed aggregation of soluble tau, but this phenomenon was only robustly demonstrated in models overexpressing tau. In this study, we found that intracerebral inoculation of tau fibrils purified from AD brains (AD-tau), but not synthetic tau fibrils, resulted in the formation of abundant tau inclusions in anatomically connected brain regions in nontransgenic mice. Recombinant human tau seeded by AD-tau revealed unique conformational features that are distinct from synthetic tau fibrils, which could underlie the differential potency in seeding physiological levels of tau to aggregate. Therefore, our study establishes a mouse model of sporadic tauopathies and points to important differences between tau fibrils that are generated artificially and authentic ones that develop in AD brains.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jing L Guo
- Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, Institute on Aging and Center for Neurodegenerative Disease Research, University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, Philadelphia, PA 19104
| | - Sneha Narasimhan
- Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, Institute on Aging and Center for Neurodegenerative Disease Research, University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, Philadelphia, PA 19104
| | - Lakshmi Changolkar
- Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, Institute on Aging and Center for Neurodegenerative Disease Research, University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, Philadelphia, PA 19104
| | - Zhuohao He
- Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, Institute on Aging and Center for Neurodegenerative Disease Research, University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, Philadelphia, PA 19104
| | - Anna Stieber
- Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, Institute on Aging and Center for Neurodegenerative Disease Research, University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, Philadelphia, PA 19104
| | - Bin Zhang
- Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, Institute on Aging and Center for Neurodegenerative Disease Research, University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, Philadelphia, PA 19104
| | - Ronald J Gathagan
- Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, Institute on Aging and Center for Neurodegenerative Disease Research, University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, Philadelphia, PA 19104
| | - Michiyo Iba
- Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, Institute on Aging and Center for Neurodegenerative Disease Research, University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, Philadelphia, PA 19104
| | - Jennifer D McBride
- Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, Institute on Aging and Center for Neurodegenerative Disease Research, University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, Philadelphia, PA 19104
| | - John Q Trojanowski
- Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, Institute on Aging and Center for Neurodegenerative Disease Research, University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, Philadelphia, PA 19104
| | - Virginia M Y Lee
- Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, Institute on Aging and Center for Neurodegenerative Disease Research, University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, Philadelphia, PA 19104
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