Alzheimer’s disease and progressive supranuclear palsy share similar transcriptomic changes in distinct brain regions

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Abstract

Vast numbers of differentially expressed genes and perturbed networks have been identified in Alzheimer’s disease (AD), however neither disease- nor brain region-specificity of these transcriptome alterations have been explored. Using RNA sequencing data from 231 temporal cortex and 224 cerebellum samples of patients with AD and progressive supranuclear palsy (PSP), a tauopathy, we identify a striking correlation in the directionality and magnitude of gene expression changes between these two neurodegenerative proteinopathies. Further, the transcriptome changes in AD and PSP are highly conserved between the temporal and cerebellar cortices, indicating highly similar transcriptional changes occur in pathologically affected and grossly less affected, albeit functionally connected, areas of the brain. Shared up- or down-regulated genes in AD and PSP are enriched in biological pathways. Many of these genes also have concordant protein changes and evidence of epigenetic control. These conserved transcriptomic alterations of two distinct proteinopathies in brain regions with and without significant gross neuropathology have broad implications. AD and other neurodegenerative diseases are likely characterized by common disease or compensatory pathways with widespread perturbations in the whole brain. These findings can be leveraged to develop multifaceted therapies and biomarkers that address these common, complex and ubiquitous molecular alterations in neurodegenerative diseases.

Authors

Xue Wang, Mariet Allen, Özkan İş, Joseph S. Reddy, Frederick Q. Tutor-New, Monica Castanedes Casey, Minerva M. Carrasquillo, Stephanie R. Oatman, Yuhao Min, Yan W. Asmann, Cory Funk, Thuy Nguyen, Charlotte C.G. Ho, Kimberly G. Malphrus, Nicholas T. Seyfried, Allan I. Levey, Steven G. Younkin, Melissa E. Murray, Dennis W. Dickson, Nathan D. Price, Todd E. Golde, Nilufer Ertekin-Taner