Eight New articles on ageing and age-related neurodegenerative diseases
In this issue, we will share eight latest articles on ageing and age-related neurodegenerative diseases.
Title: Phenotypic manifestation of α-synuclein strains derived from Parkinson’s disease and multiple system atrophy in human dopaminergic neurons
Authors: Benedict Tanudjojo, Samiha S. Shaikh, Alexis Fenyi, Luc Bousset, Devika Agarwal, Jade Marsh, Christos Zois, Sabrina Heman-Ackah, Roman Fischer, David Sims, Ronald Melki, George K. Tofaris
Type: Article from Nature Communications
Abstract:
α-Synuclein is critical in the pathogenesis of Parkinson’s disease and related disorders, yet it remains unclear how its aggregation causes degeneration of human dopaminergic neurons. In this study, we induced α-synuclein aggregation in human iPSC-derived dopaminergic neurons using fibrils generated de novo or amplified in the presence of brain homogenates from Parkinson’s disease or multiple system atrophy. Increased α-synuclein monomer levels promote seeded aggregation in a dose and time-dependent manner, which is associated with a further increase in α-synuclein gene expression. Progressive neuronal death is observed with brain-amplified fibrils and reversed by reduction of intraneuronal α-synuclein abundance. We identified 56 proteins differentially interacting with aggregates triggered by brain-amplified fibrils, including evasion of Parkinson's disease-associated deglycase DJ-1. Knockout of DJ-1 in iPSC-derived dopaminergic neurons enhance fibril-induced aggregation and neuronal death. Taken together, our results show that the toxicity of α-synuclein strains depends on aggregate burden, which is determined by monomer levels and conformation which dictates differential interactomes. Our study demonstrates how Parkinson’s disease-associated genes influence the phenotypic manifestation of strains in human neurons.
Access this article: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-021-23682-z
Title: APOE4 accelerates advanced-stage vascular and neurodegenerative disorder in old Alzheimer’s mice via cyclophilin A independently of amyloid-β
Authors: Axel Montagne, Angeliki M. Nikolakopoulou, Mikko T. Huuskonen, Abhay P. Sagare, Erica J. Lawson, Divna Lazic, Sanket V. Rege, Alexandra Grond, Edward Zuniga, Samuel R. Barnes, Jacob Prince, Meghana Sagare, Ching-Ju Hsu, Mary J. LaDu, Russell E. Jacobs, Berislav V. Zlokovic
Type: Article from Nature Aging
Abstract:
Apolipoprotein E4 (APOE4), the main susceptibility gene for Alzheimer’s disease (AD), leads to vascular dysfunction, amyloid-β pathology, neurodegeneration and dementia. How these different pathologies contribute to advanced-stage AD remains unclear. Using aged APOE knock-in mice crossed with 5xFAD mice, we show that, compared to APOE3, APOE4 accelerates blood–brain barrier (BBB) breakdown, loss of cerebral blood flow, neuronal loss and behavioral deficits independently of amyloid-β. BBB breakdown was associated with activation of the cyclophilin A-matrix metalloproteinase-9 BBB-degrading pathway in pericytes. Suppression of this pathway improved BBB integrity and prevented further neuronal loss and behavioral deficits in APOE4;5FAD mice while having no effect on amyloid-β pathology. Thus, APOE4 accelerates advanced-stage BBB breakdown and neurodegeneration in Alzheimer’s mice via the cyclophilin A pathway in pericytes independently of amyloid-β, which has implication for the pathogenesis and treatment of vascular and neurodegenerative disorder in AD.
Access this article: https://doi.org/10.1038/s43587-021-00073-z
Title: Plasma biomarkers of Alzheimer’s disease improve prediction of cognitive decline in cognitively unimpaired elderly populations
Authors: Nicholas C. Cullen, Antoine Leuzy, Shorena Janelidze, Sebastian Palmqvist, Anna L. Svenningsson, Erik Stomrud, Jeffrey L. Dage, Niklas Mattsson-Carlgren, Oskar Hansson
Type: Article from Nature Communications
Abstract:
Plasma biomarkers of amyloid, tau, and neurodegeneration (ATN) need to be characterized in cognitively unimpaired (CU) elderly individuals. We therefore tested if plasma measurements of amyloid-β (Aβ)42/40, phospho-tau217 (P-tau217), and neurofilament light (NfL) together predict clinical deterioration in 435 CU individuals followed for an average of 4.8 ± 1.7 years in the BioFINDER study. A combination of all three plasma biomarkers and basic demographics best predicted change in cognition (Pre-Alzheimer’s Clinical Composite; R2 = 0.14, 95% CI [0.12–0.17]; P < 0.0001) and subsequent AD dementia (AUC = 0.82, 95% CI [0.77–0.91], P < 0.0001). In a simulated clinical trial, a screening algorithm combining all three plasma biomarkers would reduce the required sample size by 70% (95% CI [54–81]; P < 0.001) with cognition as trial endpoint, and by 63% (95% CI [53–70], P < 0.001) with subsequent AD dementia as trial endpoint. Plasma ATN biomarkers show usefulness in cognitively unimpaired populations and could make large clinical trials more feasible and cost-effective.
Access this article: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-021-23746-0
Title: Phospholipids of APOE lipoproteins activate microglia in an isoform-specific manner in preclinical models of Alzheimer's disease
Authors: Nicholas F. Fitz, Kyong Nyon Nam, Cody M. Wolfe, Florent Letronne, Brittany E. Playso, Bistra E. Iordanova, Takashi D. Y. Kozai, Richard J. Biedrzycki, Valerian E. Kagan, Yulia Y. Tyurina, Xianlin Han, Iliya Lefterov, Radosveta Koldamova
Type: Article from Nature Communications
Abstract:
APOE and Trem2 are major genetic risk factors for Alzheimer’s disease (AD), but how they affect microglia response to Aβ remains unclear. Here we report an APOE isoform-specific phospholipid signature with correlation between human APOEε3/3 and APOEε4/4 AD brain and lipoproteins from astrocyte conditioned media of APOE3 and APOE4 mice. Using preclinical AD mouse models, we show that APOE3 lipoproteins, unlike APOE4, induce faster microglial migration towards injected Aβ, facilitate Aβ uptake, and ameliorate Aβ effects on cognition. Bulk and single-cell RNA-seq demonstrate that, compared to APOE4, cortical infusion of APOE3 lipoproteins upregulates a higher proportion of genes linked to an activated microglia response, and this trend is augmented by TREM2 deficiency. In vitro, lack of TREM2 decreases Aβ uptake by APOE4-treated microglia only, suggesting TREM2-APOE interaction. Our study elucidates phenotypic and transcriptional differences in microglial response to Aβ mediated by APOE3 or APOE4 lipoproteins in preclinical models of AD.
Access this article: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-021-23762-0
Title: AdipoRon Treatment Induces a Dose-Dependent Response in Adult Hippocampal Neurogenesis
Authors: Thomas H. Lee, Brian R. Christie, Henriette van Praag, Kangguang Lin, Parco Ming-Fai Siu, Aimin Xu, Kwok-Fai So, Suk-yu Yau
Type: Article from International Journal of Molecular Sciences
Abstract:
AdipoRon, an adiponectin receptor agonist, elicits similar antidiabetic, anti-atherogenic, and anti-inflammatory effects on mouse models as adiponectin does. Since AdipoRon can cross the blood-brain barrier, its chronic effects on regulating hippocampal function are yet to be examined. This study investigated whether AdipoRon treatment promotes hippocampal neurogenesis and spatial recognition memory in a dose-dependent manner. Adolescent male C57BL/6J mice received continuous treatment of either 20 mg/kg (low dose) or 50 mg/kg (high dose) AdipoRon or vehicle intraperitoneally for 14 days, followed by the open field test to examine anxiety and locomotor activity, and the Y maze test to examine hippocampal-dependent spatial recognition memory. Immunopositive cell markers of neural progenitor cells, immature neurons, and newborn cells in the hippocampal dentate gyrus were quantified. Immunosorbent assays were used to measure the serum levels of factors that can regulate hippocampal neurogenesis, including adiponectin, brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF), and corticosterone. Our results showed that 20 mg/kg AdipoRon treatment significantly promoted hippocampal cell proliferation and increased serum levels of adiponectin and BDNF, though there were no effects on spatial recognition memory and locomotor activity. On the contrary, 50 mg/kg AdipoRon treatment impaired spatial recognition memory, suppressed cell proliferation, neuronal differentiation, and cell survival associated with reduced serum levels of BDNF and adiponectin. The results suggest that a low-dose AdipoRon treatment promotes hippocampal cell proliferation, while a high-dose AdipoRon treatment is detrimental to the hippocampus function.
Access this article: https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms22042068
Title: Integrity of the uncinate fasciculus is associated with the onset of bipolar disorder: a 6-year followed-up study
Authors: Xiaoyue Li, Weicong Lu, Ruoxi Zhang, Wenjin Zou, Yanling Gao, Kun Chen, Suk-Yu Yau, Robin Shao, Roger S. McIntyre, Guiyun Xu, Kwok-Fai So, Kangguang Lin
Type: Article from Translational Psychiatry
Abstract:
Patients with Bipolar Disorder (BD) are associated with aberrant uncinate fasciculus (UF) that connects amygdala-ventral prefrontal cortex (vPFC) system, but the casual relationship is still uncertain. The research aimed to investigate the integrity of UF among offspring of patients with BD and investigate its potential causal association with subsequent declaration of BD. The fractional anisotropy (FA) and mean diffusivity (MD) of UF were compared in asymptomatic offspring (AO, n = 46) and symptomatic offspring (SO, n = 45) with a parent with BD, and age-matched healthy controls (HCs, n = 35). Logistic regressions were performed to assess the predictive effect of UF integrity on the onset of BD. The three groups did not differ at baseline in terms of FA and MD of the UF. Nine out of 45 SO developed BD over a follow-up period of 6 years, and the right UF FA predicted the onset of BD (p = 0.038, OR = 0.212, 95% CI = 0.049–0.917). The ROC curve revealed that the right UF FA predicted BD onset (area-under-curve = 0.859) with sensitivity of 88.9% and specificity of 77.3%. The complementary whole-brain tract-based spatial statistics (TBSS) showed that widespread increases of FA were found in the SO group compared with HCs, but were not associated with the onset of BD. Our data provide evidence supporting the causal relationship between the white matter structural integrity of the amygdala-vPFC system and the onset of BD in genetically at-risk offspring of BD patients.
Access this article: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41398-021-01222-z
Title: Essential role for autophagy protein VMP1 in maintaining neuronal homeostasis and preventing axonal degeneration
Authors: Panpan Wang, Xi Chen, Yuanyuan Wang, Congcong Jia, Xinyao Liu, Ying Wang, Haifeng Wu, Huaibin Cai, Han-Ming Shen, Weidong Le
Type: Article from Cell Death & Disease
Abstract:
Vacuole membrane protein 1 (VMP1), the endoplasmic reticulum (ER)-localized autophagy protein, plays a key role during the autophagy process in mammalian cells. To study the impact of VMP1-deficiency on midbrain dopaminergic (mDAergic) neurons, we selectively deleted VMP1 in the mDAergic neurons of VMP1fl/fl/DATCreERT2 bigenic mice using a tamoxifen-inducible CreERT2/loxp gene targeting system. The VMP1fl/fl/DATCreERT2 mice developed progressive motor deficits, concomitant with a profound loss of mDAergic neurons in the substantia nigra pars compacta (SNc) and a high presynaptic accumulation of α-synuclein (α-syn) in the enlarged terminals. Mechanistic studies showed that VMP1 deficiency in the mDAergic neurons led to the increased number of microtubule-associated protein 1 light chain 3-labeled (LC3) puncta and the accumulation of sequestosome 1/p62 aggregates in the SNc neurons, suggesting the impairment of autophagic flux in these neurons. Furthermore, VMP1 deficiency resulted in multiple cellular abnormalities, including large vacuolar-like structures (LVSs), damaged mitochondria, swollen ER, and the accumulation of ubiquitin+ aggregates. Together, our studies reveal a previously unknown role of VMP1 in modulating neuronal survival and maintaining axonal homeostasis, which suggests that VMP1 deficiency might contribute to mDAergic neurodegeneration via the autophagy pathway.
Access this article: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41419-021-03412-5
Title: Tactile modulation of memory and anxiety requires dentate granule cells along the dorsoventral axis
Authors: Chi Wang, Hui Liu, Kun Li, Zhen-Zhen Wu, Chen Wu, Jing-Ying Yu, Qian Gong, Ping Fang, Xing-Xing Wang, Shu-Min Duan, Hao Wang, Yan Gu, Ji Hu, Bing-Xing Pan, Mathias V. Schmidt, Yi-Jun Liu, Xiao-Dong Wang
Type: Research Articles from Nature Communications
Abstract:
Touch can positively influence cognition and emotion, but the underlying mechanisms remain unclear. Here, we report that tactile experience enrichment improves memory and alleviates anxiety by remodeling neurons along the dorsoventral axis of the dentate gyrus (DG) in adult mice. Tactile enrichment induces differential activation and structural modification of neurons in the dorsal and ventral DG, and increases the presynaptic input from the lateral entorhinal cortex (LEC), which is reciprocally connected with the primary somatosensory cortex (S1), to tactile experience-activated DG neurons. Chemogenetic activation of tactile experience-tagged dorsal and ventral DG neurons enhances memory and reduces anxiety respectively, whereas inactivation of these neurons or S1-innervated LEC neurons abolishes the beneficial effects of tactile enrichment. Moreover, adulthood tactile enrichment attenuates early-life stress-induced memory deficits and anxiety-related behavior. Our findings demonstrate that enriched tactile experience retunes the pathway from S1 to DG and enhances DG neuronal plasticity to modulate cognition and emotion.
Access this article: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-020-19874-8
