Neuroscience
Abstract
Carrying the ε4 allele of the APOE gene encoding apolipoprotein E (APOE4) markedly increases the risk for late-onset Alzheimer’s disease (AD), in which APOE4 exacerbates the brain accumulation and subsequent deposition of amyloid-β (Aβ) peptides. While the LDL receptor–related protein 1 (LRP1) is a major apoE receptor in the brain, we found that its levels are associated with those of insoluble Aβ depending on APOE genotype status in postmortem AD brains. Thus, to determine the functional interaction of apoE4 and LRP1 in brain Aβ metabolism, we crossed neuronal LRP1-knockout mice with amyloid model APP/PS1 mice and APOE3–targeted replacement (APO3-TR) or APOE4-TR mice. Consistent with previous findings, mice expressing apoE4 had increased Aβ deposition and insoluble amounts of Aβ40 and Aβ42 in the hippocampus of APP/PS1 mice compared with those expressing apoE3. Intriguingly, such effects were reversed in the absence of neuronal LRP1. Neuronal LRP1 deficiency also increased detergent-soluble apoE4 levels, which may contribute to the inhibition of Aβ deposition. Together, our results suggest that apoE4 exacerbates Aβ pathology through a mechanism that depends on neuronal LRP1. A better understanding of apoE isoform–specific interaction with their metabolic receptor LRP1 on Aβ metabolism is crucial for defining APOE4-related risk for AD.
Authors
Masaya Tachibana, Marie-Louise Holm, Chia-Chen Liu, Mitsuru Shinohara, Tomonori Aikawa, Hiroshi Oue, Yu Yamazaki, Yuka A. Martens, Melissa E. Murray, Patrick M. Sullivan, Kathrin Weyer, Simon Glerup, Dennis W. Dickson, Guojun Bu, Takahisa Kanekiyo
Abstract
Septic patients frequently develop cognitive impairment that persists beyond hospital discharge. The impact of sepsis on electrophysiological and molecular determinants of learning is underexplored. We observed that mouse survivors of sepsis or endotoxemia experienced loss of hippocampal long-term potentiation (LTP), a brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF)-mediated process responsible for spatial memory formation. Memory impairment occurred despite preserved hippocampal BDNF content and could be reversed by stimulation of BDNF signaling, suggesting the presence of a local BDNF inhibitor. Sepsis is associated with degradation of the endothelial glycocalyx, releasing heparan sulfate fragments (of sufficient size and sulfation to bind BDNF) into the circulation. Heparan sulfate fragments penetrated the hippocampal blood-brain barrier during sepsis and inhibited BDNF-mediated LTP. Glycoarray approaches demonstrated that heparan sulfate’s avidity for BDNF increased with sulfation at the 2-O-position of iduronic acid and N-position of glucosamine. Circulating heparan sulfate in endotoxemic mice and septic humans was enriched in 2-O- and N-sulfated disaccharides; furthermore, the presence of these sulfation patterns in the plasma of septic patients at intensive care unit (ICU) admission predicted persistent cognitive impairment 14 days after ICU discharge or at hospital discharge. Our findings indicate that circulating 2-O- and N-sulfated heparan sulfate fragments contribute to septic cognitive impairment.
Authors
Joseph A. Hippensteel, Brian J. Anderson, James E. Orfila, Sarah A. McMurtry, Robert M. Dietz, Guowei Su, Joshay A. Ford, Kaori Oshima, Yimu Yang, Fuming Zhang, Xiaorui Han, Yanlei Yu, Jian Liu, Robert J. Linhardt, Nuala J. Meyer, Paco S. Herson, Eric P. Schmidt
Abstract
Post-stroke cognitive impairment is considered one of the main complications during the chronic phase of ischemic stroke. In the adult brain, the hippocampus regulates both encoding and retrieval of new information through adult neurogenesis. Nevertheless, the lack of predictive models and studies based on the forgetting processes hinder the understanding of memory alterations after stroke. Our aim was to explore whether post-stroke neurogenesis participates in the development of long-term memory impairment. Here we show a hippocampal neurogenesis burst that persisted one month after stroke and that correlated with an impaired contextual and spatial memory performance. Furthermore, we demonstrate that the enhancement of hippocampal neurogenesis after stroke by physical activity or memantine treatment weakened existing memories. More importantly, stroke-induced newborn neurons promoted an aberrant hippocampal circuitry remodelling with differential features at ipsi- and contralesional levels. Strikingly, inhibition of stroke-induced hippocampal neurogenesis by temozolomide treatment or using a genetic approach (Nestin-CreERT2/NSE-DTA mice) impeded the forgetting of old memories. These results suggest that hippocampal neurogenesis modulation could be considered as a potential approach for post-stroke cognitive impairment.
Authors
María Isabel Cuartero, Juan de la Parra, Alberto Pérez-Ruiz, Isabel Bravo-Ferrer, Violeta Durán-Laforet, Alicia García-Culebras, Juan Manuel García-Segura, Jagroop Dhaliwal, Paul W. Frankland, Ignacio Lizasoain, María Àngeles Moro
Abstract
Molecular signaling mechanisms underlying Alzheimer’s disease (AD) remain unclear. Maintenance of memory and synaptic plasticity depend on de novo protein synthesis, dysregulation of which is implicated in AD. Recent studies showed AD-associated hyperphosphorylation of mRNA translation factor eukaryotic elongation factor 2 (eEF2), which results in inhibition of protein synthesis. We tested to determine whether suppression of eEF2 phosphorylation could improve protein synthesis capacity and AD-associated cognitive and synaptic impairments. Genetic reduction of the eEF2 kinase (eEF2K) in 2 AD mouse models suppressed AD-associated eEF2 hyperphosphorylation and improved memory deficits and hippocampal long-term potentiation (LTP) impairments without altering brain amyloid β (Aβ) pathology. Furthermore, eEF2K reduction alleviated AD-associated defects in dendritic spine morphology, postsynaptic density formation, de novo protein synthesis, and dendritic polyribosome assembly. Our results link eEF2K/eEF2 signaling dysregulation to AD pathophysiology and therefore offer a feasible therapeutic target.
Authors
Brenna C. Beckelman, Wenzhong Yang, Nicole P. Kasica, Helena R. Zimmermann, Xueyan Zhou, C. Dirk Keene, Alexey G. Ryazanov, Tao Ma
Abstract
The cytoplasmic aggregation of TDP-43 is a hallmark of degenerating neurons in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) and subsets of frontotemporal dementia (FTD). In order to reduce TDP-43 pathology, we have generated single chain (scFv) antibodies against the RNA recognition motif 1 (RRM1) of TDP-43 which is involved in abnormal protein self-aggregation and interaction with p65 nuclear factor kappa B (NFKB). Viral-mediated delivery into the nervous system of a scFv antibody, named VH7Vk9, reduced microgliosis in a mouse model of acute neuroinflammation and it mitigated cognitive impairment, motor defects, TDP-43 proteinopathy and neuroinflammation in transgenic mice expressing ALS-linked TDP-43 mutations. These results suggest that antibodies targeting the RRM1 domain of TDP-43 might provide new therapeutic avenues for treatment of ALS and FTD.
Authors
Silvia Pozzi, Sai Sampath Thammisetty, Philippe Codron, Reza Rahimian, Karine V. Plourde, Geneviève Soucy, Christine Bareil, Daniel Phaneuf, Jasna Kriz, Claude Gravel, Jean-Pierre Julien
Abstract
Sphingolipid imbalance is the culprit in a variety of neurological diseases, some affecting the myelin sheath. We have used whole exome sequencing in patients with undetermined leukoencephalopathies to uncover the endoplasmic reticulum lipid desaturase DEGS1 as the causative gene in nineteen patients from thirteen unrelated families. Shared features among the cases include severe motor arrest, early nystagmus, dystonia, spasticity and profound failure to thrive. MRI showed hypomyelination, thinning of corpus callosum and progressive thalami and cerebellar atrophy, suggesting a critical role of DEGS1 in myelin development and maintenance. This enzyme converts dihydroceramide (DhCer) into ceramide (Cer) in the final step of the de novo biosynthesis pathway. We detected a marked increase of the substrate DhCer and DhCer/Cer ratios in patient’s fibroblasts and muscle. Further, we used a knockdown approach for disease modelling in Danio rerio, followed by a preclinical test with the first-line treatment for multiple sclerosis, fingolimod (FTY720, Gilenya). The enzymatic inhibition of ceramide synthase, one step prior to DEGS1 in the pathway, by fingolimod, reduced the critical DhCer/Cer imbalance and the severe locomotor disability, increasing the number of myelinating oligodendrocytes in the zebrafish model. These proof-of-concept results pave the way to clinical translation.
Authors
Devesh C. Pant, Imen Dorboz, Agatha Schlüter, Stéphane Fourcade, Nathalie Launay, Javier Joya, Sergio Aguilera-Albesa, Maria Eugenia Yoldi, Carlos Casasnovas, Mary J. Willis, Montserrat Ruiz, Dorothée Ville, Gaetan Lesca, Karine Siquier-Pernet, Isabelle Desguerre, Huifang Yan, Jinming Wang, Margit Burmeister, Lauren Brady, Mark Tarnopolsky, Carles Cornet, Davide Rubbini, Javier Terriente, Kiely N. James, Damir Musaev, Maha S. Zaki, Marc C. Patterson, Brendan C. Lanpher, Eric W. Klee, Filippo Pinto e Vairo, Elizabeth Wohler, Nara Lygia de M. Sobreira, Julie S. Cohen, Reza Maroofian, Hamid Galehdari, Neda Mazaheri, Gholamreza Shariati, Laurence Colleaux, Diana Rodriguez, Joseph G. Gleeson, Cristina Pujades, Ali Fatemi, Odile Boespflug-Tanguy, Aurora Pujol
Abstract
BACKGROUND. Awake neurosurgery requires patients to converse and respond to visual or verbal prompts to identify and protect brain tissue supporting essential functions such as language, primary sensory modalities, and motor function. These procedures can be poorly tolerated due to patient anxiety, yet acute anxiolytic medications typically cause sedation and impair cortical function. METHODS. In this study, direct electrical stimulation of the left dorsal anterior cingulum bundle was discovered to reliably evoke positive affect and anxiolysis without sedation in an epilepsy patient undergoing research testing during standard, in-patient intracranial electrode monitoring. These effects were quantified using subjective and objective behavioral measures, and stimulation was found to evoke robust changes in local and distant neural activity. RESULTS. The index patient ultimately required an awake craniotomy procedure to confirm safe resection margins in the treatment of her epilepsy. During the procedure, cingulum bundle stimulation enhanced positive affect and reduced the patient’s anxiety to the point that intravenous anesthetic/anxiolytic medications were discontinued and cognitive testing was completed. Behavioral responses were subsequently replicated in two patients with anatomically similar electrode placements localized to an approximately 1cm span along the anterior dorsal cingulum bundle above genu of the corpus callosum. CONCLUSIONS. The current study demonstrates a robust anxiolytic response to cingulum bundle stimulation in three epilepsy patients. TRIAL REGISTRATION. The current study was not affiliated with any formal clinical trial. FUNDING. This project was supported by the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention and the National Institutes of Health.
Authors
Kelly R. Bijanki, Joseph R. Manns, Cory S. Inman, Ki Sueng Choi, Sahar Harati, Nigel P. Pedersen, Daniel L. Drane, Allison C. Waters, Rebecca E. Fasano, Helen S. Mayberg, Jon T. Willie
Abstract
Joint pain is the defining symptom of osteoarthritis (OA) but its origin and mechanisms remain unclear. Here, we investigated an unprecedented role of osteoclast-initiated subchondral bone remodeling in sensory innervation for OA pain. We show that osteoclasts secrete NETRIN1 to induce sensory nerve axonal growth in subchondral bone. Reduction of osteoclast formation by knockout of receptor activator of nuclear factor kappa-B ligand (Rankl) in osteocytes inhibited the growth of sensory nerves into subchondral bone, DRG neuron hyperexcitability, and behavioral measures of pain hypersensitivity in OA mice. Moreover, we demonstrated a possible role for NETRIN1 secreted by osteoclasts during aberrant subchondral bone remodeling in inducing sensory innervation and OA pain through its receptor DCC (deleted in colorectal cancer). Importantly, knockout of Netrin1 in tartrate-resistant acid phosphatase (TRAP) positive osteoclasts or knockdown of Dcc reduces OA pain behavior. In particular, inhibition of osteoclast activity by alendronate modifies aberrant subchondral bone remodeling and reduces innervation and pain behavior at the early stage of OA. These results suggest that intervention of the axonal guidance molecules (e.g. NETRIN1) derived from aberrant subchondral bone remodeling may have therapeutic potential for OA pain.
Authors
Shouan Zhu, Jianxi Zhu, Gehua Zhen, Yihe Hu, Senbo An, Yusheng Li, Qin Zheng, Zhiyong Chen, Ya Yang, Mei Wan, Richard Leroy Skolasky, Yong Cao, Tianding Wu, Bo Gao, Mi Yang, Manman Gao, Julia Kuliwaba, Shuangfei Ni, Lei Wang, Chuanlong Wu, David Findlay, Holger K. Eltzschig, Hong Wei Ouyang, Janet Crane, Feng-Quan Zhou, Yun Guan, Xinzhong Dong, Xu Cao
Abstract
BACKGROUND. Patients with schizophrenia (SCZ) experience chronic cognitive deficits. Histone deacetylases (HDACs) are enzymes that regulate cognitive circuitry; however, the role of HDACs in cognitive disorders, including SCZ, remains unknown in humans. We previously determined that HDAC2 mRNA levels were lower in dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) tissue from donors with SCZ compared with controls. Here we investigated the relationship between in vivo HDAC expression and cognitive impairment in patients with SCZ and matched healthy controls using [11C]Martinostat positron emission tomography (PET). METHODS. In a case-control study, relative [11C]Martinostat uptake was compared between 14 patients with SCZ or schizoaffective disorder (SCZ/SAD) and 17 controls using hypothesis-driven region-of-interest analysis and unbiased whole brain voxel-wise approaches. Clinical measures, including the MATRICS consensus cognitive battery, were administered. RESULTS. Relative HDAC expression was lower in the DLPFC of patients with SCZ/SAD compared with controls, and HDAC expression positively correlated with cognitive performance scores across groups. Patients with SCZ/SAD also showed lower relative HDAC expression in the dorsomedial prefrontal cortex and orbitofrontal gyrus, and higher relative HDAC expression in the cerebral white matter, pons, and cerebellum compared with controls. CONCLUSIONS. These findings provide in vivo evidence of HDAC dysregulation in patients with SCZ and suggest that altered HDAC expression may impact cognitive function in humans. FUNDING. National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH), Brain and Behavior Foundation, Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH), Athinoula A. Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging, National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering (NIBIB), NIH Shared Instrumentation Grant Program.
Authors
Tonya M. Gilbert, Nicole R. Zürcher, Christine J. Wu, Anisha Bhanot, Baileigh G. Hightower, Minhae Kim, Daniel S. Albrecht, Hsiao-Ying Wey, Frederick A. Schroeder, Anais Rodriguez-Thompson, Thomas M. Morin, Kamber L. Hart, Amelia M. Pellegrini, Misha M. Riley, Changning Wang, Steven M. Stufflebeam, Stephen J. Haggarty, Daphne J. Holt, Marco L. Loggia, Roy H. Perlis, Hannah E. Brown, Joshua L. Roffman, Jacob M. Hooker
Abstract
We investigated how pathological changes in newborn hippocampal dentate granule cells (DGCs) lead to epilepsy. Using a rabies virus–mediated retrograde tracing system and a designer receptors exclusively activated by designer drugs (DREADD) chemogenetic method, we demonstrated that newborn hippocampal DGCs are required for the formation of epileptic neural circuits and the induction of spontaneous recurrent seizures (SRS). A rabies virus–mediated mapping study revealed that aberrant circuit integration of hippocampal newborn DGCs formed excessive de novo excitatory connections as well as recurrent excitatory loops, allowing the hippocampus to produce, amplify, and propagate excessive recurrent excitatory signals. In epileptic mice, DREADD-mediated–specific suppression of hippocampal newborn DGCs dramatically reduced epileptic spikes and SRS in an inducible and reversible manner. Conversely, specific activation of hippocampal newborn DGCs increased both epileptic spikes and SRS. Our study reveals an essential role for hippocampal newborn DGCs in the formation and function of epileptic neural circuits, providing critical insights into DGCs as a potential therapeutic target for treating epilepsy.
Authors
Qi-Gang Zhou, Ashley D. Nemes, Daehoon Lee, Eun Jeoung Ro, Jing Zhang, Amy S. Nowacki, Susan M. Dymecki, Imad M. Najm, Hoonkyo Suh
Copyright © 2019 American Society for Clinical Investigation
ISSN: 0021-9738 (print), 1558-8238 (online)