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Tau and IGF1 in Alzheimer’s Disease

Posted in Alzheimer's Disease, Bio Instrumentation in Experimental Life Sciences Research, Biomedical Measurement Science, Curation, Etiology, Neurological Diseases, Neuroscience, tagged , , , on February 6, 2016| Leave a Comment »

Tau and IGF1 in Alzheimer’s Disease

Larry H. Bernstein, MD, FCAP, Curator

LPBI

TAU links growth factor to development of Alzheimer’s disease

https://english.tau.ac.il/sites/default/files/styles/reaserch_main_image_580_x_330/public/alz2580.jpg

 

The mechanisms underlying the stability and plasticity of neural circuits in the hippocampus, the part of the brain responsible for spatial memory and the memory of everyday facts and events, has been a major focus of study in the field of neuroscience. Understanding precisely how a “healthy” brain stores and processes information is crucial to preventing and reversing the memory failures associated with Alzheimer’s disease (AD), the most common form of late-life dementia.

 

Hyperactivity of the hippocampus is known to be associated with conditions that confer risk for AD, including amnestic mild cognitive impairment. A new Tel Aviv University study finds that the insulin-like growth factor 1 receptor (IGF-1R), the “master” lifespan regulator, plays a vital role in directly regulating the transfer and processing of information in hippocampal neural circuits. The research reveals IGF-1R as a differential regulator of two different modes of transmission — spontaneous and evoked — in hippocampal circuits of the brain. The researchers hope their findings can be used to indicate a new direction for therapy used to treat patients in the early stages of Alzheimer’s disease.

 

The study was led by Dr. Inna Slutsky of TAU’s Sagol School of Neuroscience and Sackler School of Medicine and conducted by doctoral student Neta Gazit. It was recently published in the journal Neuron. “People who are at risk for AD show hyperactivity of the hippocampus, and our results suggest that IGF-1R activity may be an important contributor to this abnormality,” Dr. Slutsky concluded.

 

Resolving a controversy

“We know that IGF-1R signaling controls growth, development and lifespan, but its role in AD has remained controversial,” said Dr. Slutsky. “To resolve this controversy, we had to understand how IGF-1R functions physiologically in synaptic transfer and plasticity.”

 

Using brain cultures and slices, the researchers developed an integrated approach characterizing the brain system on different scales — from the level of protein interactions to the level of single synapses, neuronal connections and the entire hippocampal network. The team sought to address two important questions: whether IGF-1Rs are active in synapses and transduce signalling at rest, and how they affect synaptic function.

 

“We used fluorescence resonance energy transfer (FRET) to estimate the receptor activation at the single-synapse level,” said Dr. Slutsky. “We found IGF-1Rs to be fully activated under resting conditions, modulating release of neurotransmitters from synapses.”

 

While acute application of IGF-1 hormone was found to be ineffective, the introduction of various IGF-1R blockers produced robust dual effects — namely, the inhibition of a neurotransmitter release evoked by spikes, electrical pulses in the brain, while enhancement of spontaneous neurotransmitter release.

 

A test for Alzheimer’s?

“When we modified the level of IGF-1R expression, synaptic transmission and plasticity were altered at hippocampal synapses, and an increase in the IGF-1R expression caused an augmented release of glutamate, enhancing the activity of hippocampal neurons,” said Gazit.

 

“We suggest that IGF-1R small inhibitors, which are currently under development for cancer, be tested for reduction aberrant brain activity at early stages of Alzheimer’s disease,” said Dr. Slutsky.

 

The researchers are currently planning to study how IGF-1R signaling controls the stability of neural circuits over an extended timescale.

 

Dr. Irena Vertkin, Dr. Ilana Shapira, Edden Slomowitz, Maayan Sheiba and Yael Mor of Dr. Slutsky’s lab at TAU, and Martin Helm and Prof. Silvio Rizzoli of the University of Göttingen in Germany, contributed to this research.

 

This article was originally published by AFTAU.

 

“We know that IGF-1R signaling controls growth, development and lifespan, but its role in AD has remained controversial,” said Dr. Slutsky. “To resolve this controversy, we had to understand how IGF-1R functions physiologically in synaptic transfer and plasticity.”

Using brain cultures and slices, the researchers developed an integrated approach characterizing the brain system on different scales — from the level of protein interactions to the level of single synapses, neuronal connections and the entire hippocampal network. The team sought to address two important questions: whether IGF-1Rs are active in synapses and transduce signalling at rest, and how they affect synaptic function.

“We used fluorescence resonance energy transfer (FRET) to estimate the receptor activation at the single-synapse level,” said Dr. Slutsky. “We found IGF-1Rs to be fully activated under resting conditions, modulating release of neurotransmitters from synapses.”

While acute application of IGF-1 hormone was found to be ineffective, the introduction of various IGF-1R blockers produced robust dual effects — namely, the inhibition of a neurotransmitter release evoked by spikes, electrical pulses in the brain, while enhancement of spontaneous neurotransmitter release.

A test for Alzheimer’s?

“When we modified the level of IGF-1R expression, synaptic transmission and plasticity were altered at hippocampal synapses, and an increase in the IGF-1R expression caused an augmented release of glutamate, enhancing the activity of hippocampal neurons,” said Gazit.

“We suggest that IGF-1R small inhibitors, which are currently under development for cancer, be tested for reduction aberrant brain activity at early stages of Alzheimer’s disease,” said Dr. Slutsky.

The researchers are currently planning to study how IGF-1R signaling controls the stability of neural circuits over an extended timescale.

 

 

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Amyloid and Alzheimer’s Disease

Posted in Alzheimer's Disease, Curation, Etiology, Neurological Diseases, Neuroscience, tagged , , on January 26, 2016| Leave a Comment »

Amyloid and Alzheimer’s Disease

Larry H. Bernstein, MD, FCAP, Curator

LPBI

 

THE AMYLOID HYPOTHESIS​​

The case for rejecting the amyloid cascade hypothesis

Karl Herrup

Nature Neuroscience 794–799(2015)   http://dx.doi.org:/10.1038/nn.4017

Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is a biologically complex neurodegenerative dementia. Nearly 20 years ago, with the combination of observations from biochemistry, neuropathology and genetics, a compelling hypothesis known as the amyloid cascade hypothesis was formulated. The core of this hypothesis is that it is pathological accumulations of amyloid-β, a peptide fragment of a membrane protein called amyloid precursor protein, that act as the root cause of AD and initiate its pathogenesis. Yet, with the passage of time, growing amounts of data have accumulated that are inconsistent with the basically linear structure of this hypothesis. And while there is fear in the field over the consequences of rejecting it outright, clinging to an inaccurate disease model is the option we should fear most. This Perspective explores the proposition that we are over-reliant on amyloid to define and diagnose AD and that the time has come to face our fears and reject the amyloid cascade hypothesis.

For over 100 years, scientists have recognized a strong correlation between the clinical signs of late-life dementia and the presence in brain of abnormal protein deposits. In AD, these deposits contain aggregated peptide fragments of various proteins, including the amyloid precursor protein (APP), the microtubule-associated protein tau and others. With the discovery that APP mutations can act as fully penetrant AD genes, a compelling hypothesis known as the amyloid cascade hypothesis was put forward. This hypothesis states in essence that the APP fragments themselves are the root cause of AD. This view of the disease has obvious appeal. It suggests a relatively straightforward set of criteria by which the disease can be diagnosed and several equally clear paths by which it might be prevented if not cured. As seductive as this narrative might be, however, the dementing illness that we recognize as AD is associated with a complex biology and biochemistry, as well as a pattern of brain disintegration that cannot easily be explained by a simple linear disease model. Indeed, there are growing amounts of data, including a number of failed clinical trials, suggesting that the model is insufficient at best. While the amyloid cascade hypothesis has been exceptionally useful in galvanizing research in the field, continued acceptance of this disease model has led us to be over-reliant on amyloid to define and diagnose AD, as well as to measure the effectiveness of any potential new treatment. This Perspective explores the proposition that the time has come to formally reject the amyloid cascade hypothesis.

Alzheimer’s disease: an overview

By all measures AD is an enormous public health problem that will only grow in severity as the population of the world ages. Oft-cited figures suggest that an individual’s risk of developing AD doubles every 5 years after the age of 65 (ref. 1). More recent estimates of prevalence2 are slightly lower, but they still point to a twenty-first-century demographic where one person in nine over the age of 65, and about one in three over the age of 85, will have AD. The most prominent AD symptoms include difficulty remembering names and recent events as well as loss of executive functioning. There are also behavioral symptoms such as apathy and depression that form an integral part of the disease process. At later stages motor signs appear such as difficulty speaking, swallowing and walking3. Although the disease is widely viewed as originating in limbic regions, in particular entorhinal cortex4, at autopsy an affected brain shows a dramatic shrinkage in virtually all neocortical areas, with thinning of the mantle and expansion of the ventricles. Subcortical structures are lost as well, including 75% or more of the cells of the basal nucleus of Meynert, the dorsal raphe and the locus coeruleus5, 6, 7; other regions, such as the substantia nigra, are largely spared. On the basis of the pattern of phosphorylated tau deposits, it has recently been argued that AD pathology may actually originate in the brain stem8. In addition to the deposits of amyloid and tau, there are early signs of synaptic loss extending to a loss of spine density and dendritic complexity. A compelling case can and has been made that AD begins at the synapse9, 10, 11, 12,13, 14. By any measure, therefore, AD is a widespread neurodegenerative disease.

The genetics and biochemistry of Alzheimer’s disease

AD is fundamentally a disease of old age: well over 90% of all cases are first diagnosed after age 65. Earlier ages of onset are rare and are usually associated with a dominant genetic mutation. These mutations have identified the misprocessing of the type I membrane protein APP (amyloid precursor protein) as a potential driver of early onset AD15, 16, 17. Normally, APP is cleaved close to the membrane by an extracellular protease known as the α-secretase. This liberates a soluble extracellular fragment, sAPPα. A second cut is made within the membrane by a complex of proteins known as the γ-secretase. The catalytic subunit of this secretase is one of the presenilin proteins, encoded by either the PSEN1 or PSEN2 gene. This second cut liberates an intracellular peptide known as AICD (amyloid intracellular domain) and a small residual peptide between the α– and γ-secretase cuts. The pathway initiated by the α-secretase is apparently benign. In other situations, however, a pathogenic variation of this sequence occurs. The extracellular cut in APP is made farther from the membrane by a separate enzyme, an aspartyl protease known as the β-secretase, followed once again by γ-secretase cleavage. The 40- to 42-amino-acid fragment remaining between the β and γ cleavage sites is the amyloid-β (Aβ) peptide. It is this small fragment that aggregates to form oligomers and ultimately the macroscopic plaques that form one of the hallmarks of AD pathology. Much has been written on this topic, and the interested reader can consult any of a number of excellent reviews1, 15, 17, 18, 19, 20.

Note that three of the players in this sequence—APP, PSEN1 and PSEN2—are encoded by the only three identified genes leading to the early onset, familial form of AD (fAD). The congruence of AD genetics and APP processing forms a powerful argument in favor of the idea that Aβ is the cause of fAD. More evidence in favor of a direct role for Aβ is found in the observation that the fAD mutations in each of these three genes all tend to favor the increased production of the aggregation-prone 42-amino-acid form of Aβ (Aβ42) both in vivo and in vitro. This connection extends to the recent discovery of an APP mutation (A673T, an alanine-to-threonine mutation very near the β-secretase cleavage site) that significantly lowers Aβ production and is protective against AD as well as against cognitive decline in the non-AD population21. And yet, I would argue that the genetics by itself points only to the involvement of APP and its processing by presenilin. It does not directly address the question of whether the Aβ fragment itself contributes to fAD. Further, if Aβ were the direct link between the fAD mutations and disease symptoms, it is at least odd that no mutation or variant in either the β- or α-secretase has been found that either leads to fAD or protects against it. As will be discussed below, the linkage between Aβ and AD is probably indirect.

In contrast to the rarity of fAD, the sporadic form of AD (sAD) is quite prevalent. Sporadic AD first appears clinically after the age of 65. Over a dozen genes have been found to increase lifetime AD risk (a list is maintained at the Alzforum web site, http://www.alzgene.org/). The most important of these is the gene for apolipoprotein E (APOE)15, 16, 22. A pair of polymorphisms that leads to a two-amino-acid switch in the normal amino acid sequence produces the APOE4 variant of the protein. This variant has subtly altered lipid-binding properties and, when heterozygous, is associated with a fourfold increased risk of AD. Individuals homozygous for APOE4 have an approximately eightfold elevation in risk. The prototypical function of APOE is to transport lipids in the body; but it is known to transport Aβ as well. The other AD risk factor genes that have been identified in addition to APOE all have quantitative effects that are considerably less than that ofAPOE. Curiously, given the data supporting a role for APP and Aβ in fAD, nonfamilial forms of AD do not appear to involve genes for either APP or its processing genes (secretases) as risk factors.

Despite these promising insights into both fAD and sAD and evidence for the central role of APP and the γ-secretase in fAD, it is safe to say that we still have an incomplete picture of the biology underlying the devastating loss of brain mass and function that accompanies AD. This lack of precision begins with the diagnosis, the criteria for which have been recently laid out by McKhannet al.23. As they point out, “AD dementia is part of a continuum of clinical and biological phenomena … [and is] … fundamentally a clinical diagnosis.” And while they support the use of biomarkers, including amyloid detected either in cerebrospinal fluid or through positron emission tomography (PET), they state that “to make a diagnosis of AD dementia with biomarker support, the core clinical diagnosis of AD dementia must first be satisfied.” They go on to say that one might imagine that AD starts with Aβ pathophysiology initiating a hierarchical sequence in which other biomarkers are essentially downstream. But they urge caution for diagnostic purposes and assert quite directly that “the reliability of such a hierarchical scheme has not been sufficiently well established for use in AD dementia.”23

The amyloid cascade hypothesis

The hierarchical scheme that McKhann et al.23 refer to is known as the amyloid cascade hypothesis. The idea that amyloid deposits are the driving force in both familial and sporadic AD was proposed in the early 1990s (ref. 24). Since then the details have evolved25, 26, 27 but the core elements of the hypothesis have remained fairly constant. In a recent description28, it was summarized in the following way. “Over time, an imbalance in Aβ production and/or clearance leads to gradual accumulation and aggregation of the peptide in the brain, initiating a neurodegenerative cascade that involves amyloid deposition, inflammation, oxidative stress, and neuronal injury and loss. … Oligomeric and fibrillar forms of Aβ cause long-term potentiation impairment and synaptic dysfunction, and accelerate the formation of neurofibrillary tangles that eventually cause synaptic failure and neuronal death.” These and other restatements of the amyloid cascade hypothesis are more nuanced than the original, yet the basic structure of the hypothesis remains unchanged: a linear pathway that begins with Aβ formation and ends with the dementia we know as AD.

Testing the hypothesis

The amyloid cascade hypothesis, like all good hypotheses, makes clear, testable predictions. As it is currently stated, there are two basic types of experiments that should be done to test its validity. The first type would involve taking healthy people and adding amyloid to their brains. According to the hypothesis, they should get AD. The second test would be to take people who already have AD and remove the amyloid from their brains. According to the hypothesis, they should get better; or at least they should not get any worse.

The first test has been done in humans and in mice. Although the full interpretation of the findings in human brain is still being discussed29, there is evidence from autopsy studies and from live imaging using PET ligands such as PiB (the 11C-labeled Pittsburgh compound B)30 or its 18F-labeled cousins, florbetapir, flutemetamol, florbetaben and others31. These studies are all in substantial agreement with one another: individuals can present with few if any clinical symptoms of dementia and yet carry substantial amyloid burdens in their brains32, 33. That is basically an experiment of nature that fulfills the first test—adding amyloid to healthy people’s brains. They should have Alzheimer’s dementia, but they do not. Such individuals are not rare; rather, they account for a quarter to a third of all older individuals with normal or near-normal cognitive function. Having a detectable amyloid burden by PET scanning increases the risk that a healthy individual or a person with mild cognitive impairment will progress to AD by about fourfold34. But data are still accumulating on the question of how long amyloid deposits can persist without major cognitive illness. It is already clear, however, that the time will be measured in years, not in weeks35.

The existence of this group of individuals (healthy, but amyloid positive) is a substantial challenge to the amyloid cascade hypothesis. It is clearly possible to have amyloid deposits without dementia; therefore amyloid is not sufficient to cause disease. And since the deposits are the macroscopic result of a process that starts with smaller oligomeric aggregates, we may speculate that these plaque-positive individuals have been oligomer-positive for even longer periods of time; they should thus be well along the disease pathway. Yet the absence of any overt signs of dementia in 25% to 30% of such individuals suggests that they are not.

The situation in the mouse is even more dramatic. A variety of human APP constructs have been introduced into the mouse genome, with or without second or third AD-associated transgenes36, 37,38, 39, 40, 41. These lines of mice produce substantial deposits of amyloid in their brains beginning as early as 4 months of age. They tend to do poorly on the Morris water maze test of spatial memory and to show other modest cognitive symptoms; but most of the classic AD-associated pathologies never develop. No neurofibrillary tangles appear, and while there is synaptic loss, there is little or no neurodegeneration. Indeed, mice can live three-quarters of their lives with dense deposits of amyloid, yet while they suffer from behavioral symptoms , these symptoms bear little resemblance to those of people with even mild dementia. Indeed, recent evidence suggests that in transgenic mice that express the Aβ peptide only, in the absence of APP overexpression, plaques develop but virtually no cognitive deficits appear42. This finding resonates with the concerns raised above about the human genetics of AD and the extent to which they implicate APP processing or Aβ itself.

To be sure, the mice are only models of human fAD; tellingly, mice do not naturally develop any significant late-life Alzheimer-related pathology. While we can acknowledge these caveats, the mouse and human data validate each other. Simply stated, you cannot produce an Alzheimer’s-like dementia by exposing a mammalian brain to amyloid deposits. Note that this interpretation of the data does not imply that Aβ is not neurotoxic; it is43, 44, 45. But the data offer the strong suggestion that Aβ is not sufficient to cause the complex symptomatology of AD and that there is more to the AD story than Aβ alone.

The second test of the amyloid cascade hypothesis has also been done: amyloid has been removed from the brains of individuals with AD and from mice with engineered familial forms of the disease. Here the tests have been less definitive and the evidence is mixed. In mouse models of AD, a variety of different techniques have proven effective in preventing amyloid deposits, and in many situations macroscopic plaques can be removed after they have formed. Active and passive immunization against the Aβ peptide, as well as strategies that enhance Aβ clearance and treatments that reduce inflammation, have all been shown to be effective means of clearing plaques from the mouse brain46, 47. And in these cases, the behavior of the mice improves, most often to levels of performance approaching those of wild-type animals. The data, therefore, are consistent with the amyloid cascade hypothesis: remove amyloid from their brains and mice get better.

A closer look at the mouse data, however, raises questions of interpretation. Consider that while the plaque burdens in the mice were high, in study after study, the improvements that are seen after amyloid clearance approach 100%. Thus, in stark contrast to the human trials, the condition in the mouse can be fully cured. This reminds us that while our AD mice may have problems in their neural networks, their problems are reversible; none of the models involves appreciable (irreversible) neurodegeneration. They have behavioral abnormalities, but the rapid46, 48 and nearly complete46, 48, 49, 50 restoration of normal behavior makes it likely that there is little or no permanent damage associated with their conditions. These models may reproduce some of the early stages of AD, but they do not capture the full range of brain damage that occurs during the course of the human disease.

This second type of test has also been done in humans, where the results are not promising. On the basis of the success of the immunization protocols developed in mice, analogous studies were initiated in humans with early sAD. Unfortunately, adverse events required the termination of the initial trial51. Even with an abbreviated immunization schedule, however, several of the participants were found to have generated anti-amyloid antibodies. Follow-up studies in these ‘responders’ have shown that they reacted just as the mice did: their plaque burdens were substantially reduced52. Cognitive testing conducted over many years, however, now suggests that, despite a greatly reduced plaque load, their dementia has not improved and most likely is continuing to worsen53. Two recent reports of human trials using anti-amyloid antibody therapy also failed to meet their stated endpoints even after 80 weeks of therapy54, 55. These examples join a discouraging list of failures of advanced stage clinical trials based on the premises of the amyloid cascade hypothesis56. Thus in humans, removing plaques from the brain does not cure AD and may not prevent its continued advance. It is perhaps simplistic to characterize these findings as a definitive test. Nonetheless, at first pass the data are inconsistent with the amyloid cascade hypothesis: remove amyloid from their brains and people still have AD.

These findings deserve consideration beyond the question of whether they prove or disprove the amyloid cascade hypothesis. The individuals who entered into the vaccine trials were diagnosed with AD, and most would agree that even now, years after their immunization, they still have AD. But their plaque burden has been dramatically reduced. In this case, we know that their loss of Aβ was induced by the immunotherapy, but it is not impossible to imagine that a natural process (such as autoimmunity or exaggerated clearance) could spontaneously occur in the brain of someone with AD and also remove their plaques. The success of the human trials in reducing amyloid burden forces us to confront the fact that when we see an individual with dementia but no plaques, he or she might very well have AD. The implication is that just as there can be plaques without AD, there can also be AD without plaques.

Rejecting the amyloid cascade hypothesis

Note that none of these data argue that Aβ is not involved in AD. Along with APP and the secretases, it can and should remain a central part of our thinking on the pathophysiology of the disease. Further, even if Aβ proves to be correlated with AD and nothing more, the correlation is still robust. Its presence is pervasive in aging and in AD brains, and there are powerful genetic data arguing for its connection to some of the core mechanisms of fAD. Further, the amyloid cascade hypothesis continues to have many strengths as well as weaknesses (Table 1); thus, Aβ and APP should be included in any revised hypothesis of the origins of AD. Yet the weight of the evidence from sAD is fairly compelling that amyloid at any stage of aggregation is not by itself sufficient to cause AD. At this juncture, therefore, it would make sense to propose that it is time to reject the amyloid cascade hypothesis and search for alternative explanations for the cause(s) of human AD. I would emphasize that in proposing this rejection I am arguing only that a simple linear pathway tracing disease progression from Aβ to AD is inadequate as a formal hypothesis and that thus this specific disease model should be rejected.

Instead of rejecting the hypothesis, however, the field has essentially redefined the disease. The result is a dangerous circular logic that is holding back the field. It has been proposed that if people have plaques in their brain but are cognitively normal, they nonetheless have an early, ‘preclinical’ stage of AD57. Since amyloid deposits are integral to defining AD, and since we can detect amyloid before the onset of overt cognitive decline, the argument is that the amyloid pathophysiology must precede the clinical symptoms and therefore defines an early disease stage. This argument only makes sense, however, if we have complete confidence that Aβ directly causes AD. The evidence above argues that such confidence is not justified. The concept of a preclinical stage of AD is a useful one; but, as with the diagnosis of AD itself, to list amyloid deposits as a required part of the definition of its existence is supported neither by the data nor by the clinical experience. It is the equivalent of saying that once plaques are found in the coronary arteries, a person is having a heart attack and, if there are no plaques in the arteries, no myocardial event can be defined as a heart attack. This is not a useful concept. Rather, in both heart and brain, the plaques define risk, not disease. This is not merely a semantic point. If we use the deposits to define the disease but there can be plaques without AD, then we will include individuals in our clinical studies even if they are healthy in reality. Equally problematic, if there can be AD without plaques, we will exclude people from our studies (or include them as controls) erroneously.

Where to next? Alternative models of the disease process

Our goal for moving forward should not be to eliminate the various APP breakdown products from our thinking, but we do need to reposition them in our schema. I have argued before58 that since age is the single most accepted and most powerful risk factor of AD, it makes sense to start with age and keep it central to any hypothesis of AD pathogenesis. While age must be at the foundation of any theory of AD, a review of the literature suggests that there are a number of alternative ways of viewing the disease59. The dementia we know as AD evolves from a progressive loss of integrity in the brain’s neuronal networks, a gradual decrease in synaptic density, an increasing neuritic atrophy and eventually a widely dispersed cell loss. But what causes these degenerative changes? Without question, AD can be viewed as a disease of amyloid. Yet AD can also be viewed as a tauopathy. There is evidence supporting the view that AD represents a failure of autophagy60and/or lysosomal function61. A good argument can also be made that a loss of Ca2+ homeostasis, due perhaps to excitotoxic activity, lies at the heart of AD62, 63, 64, 65, 66, 67, 68. Several researchers have suggested that AD represents a failure of neuronal cell cycle control69, 70, 71, 72,73, 74, 75, 76, 77, 78. A strong case can be made for the central role of neuroinflammation79, 80, 81,82, 83, and this argument has been expanded58 to propose that AD requires three steps: (i) an injury that initiates a disease process distinct from normal aging, (ii) the establishment of a chronic inflammatory state and (iii) a cellular change of state that permanently alters the biology of the cells. A genetic etiology is plausible as well. For fAD, the situation is already clear, but perhaps the right combination of risk factor genes is all we need to establish sAD. Progressive oxidative damage84 that accumulates with age85 or DNA damage73, 86, 87, 88, 89, 90, 91, 92, 93 have both been argued to be root causes of the disease. And it has been proposed that the real problem in AD is a loss of mitochondrial function94, 95, 96, or a complex senescence phenotype97. Or maybe it is all about glucose metabolism98, 99 or a general metabolic compromise100.

I propose that it is the length of this list of alternatives that serves as the best explanation for our hesitancy to reject the amyloid cascade hypothesis—the heart of our fears. Were we to reject it, we would move from simplicity to complexity. We would instantly be faced with a long list of disease-causing options; yet we would have no clear guidance as to how to focus our quest to understand and treat AD. I submit, however, that the true risk lies precisely in not rejecting the hypothesis. The answer to the question of which option shall we choose is probably fairly simple: choose them all (Fig. 1). We can assume that there is a common final path to AD and still entertain the notion that there are many ways to access that path. Amyloid is a frequent contributor to the AD disease process, but the evidence suggests that it is neither necessary nor sufficient. Each of the processes listed above probably contributes in important ways to the development and progression of the disease.

Figure 1: The degenerative events that ultimately produce the clinical symptoms of AD are fed by numerous deficiencies.

The degenerative events that ultimately produce the clinical symptoms of AD are fed by numerous deficiencies.

The symptoms are shown in large bold type at the center, the deficiencies in bold around the periphery. Wedges indicate the paths leading from the deficiencies to the final spiral of degeneration. One of these deficiencies includes the many risk factor genes that have been identified. A partial listing is indicated over the star shape thus labeled. PSEN2, PSEN1 and APP are emphasized to indicate their status as fAD genes. A few of the downstream consequences of the primary degenerative events are also shown. These include the creation of β-amyloid from APP and tangles from tau via phosphorylation (P-tau). The causes of AD can be roughly grouped into three categories (shaded ovals): cellular events (light green), genetic events (blue) and molecular events (dark green). Missing entirely from the diagram are the many ways in which various elements interact with the others. Thus, for example, inflammation can enhance the deposition of Aβ and Aβ in turn can influence the deposition of tau and impair synaptic function, possibly also affecting Ca++ release.

Rejecting the hypothesis is not a defeat or an admission of failure. The biology of AD is perhaps one of the most complex systematic malfunctions of the nervous system that we know. Indeed, for a disease with the prevalence and complexity of AD, the real surprise would be if there were in fact a single, linear pathway that led from healthy brain aging to AD. In truth it is likely that we will need to address all of the listed options if we are to cure AD or completely prevent it. This is a daunting task, but it is likely that each treatment will make a difference, so that our victories will be small and incremental but frequent—a hopeful concept. Removing tau deposits from the brain may help some symptoms; rebalancing Ca2+ homeostasis may help with others. Returning autophagy to normal might add to the therapy and blocking further neuroinflammation or neuronal cell cycle activity might also help. Reducing oxidative or DNA damage might be useful. Removing amyloid will likely make a difference, but the odds are high that this will not be the end of the story. As the vaccine trials have shown, dementia can and does persist even when amyloid plaques are removed from our brain. Our circle of exploration has been focused for too long on a single disease hypothesis. It is time to listen to our own data, reject it and move forward.

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………..   100.

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Three dimensions of the amyloid hypothesis: time, space and ‘wingmen’

Erik S Musiek and David M Holtzman

Nature Neuroscience 800–806(2015)   http://dx.doi.org:/10.1038/nn.4018

The amyloid hypothesis, which has been the predominant framework for research in Alzheimer’s disease (AD), has been the source of considerable controversy. The amyloid hypothesis postulates that amyloid-β peptide (Aβ) is the causative agent in AD. It is strongly supported by data from rare autosomal dominant forms of AD. However, the evidence that Aβ causes or contributes to age-associated sporadic AD is more complex and less clear, prompting criticism of the hypothesis. We provide an overview of the major arguments for and against the amyloid hypothesis. We conclude that Aβ likely is the key initiator of a complex pathogenic cascade that causes AD. However, we argue that Aβ acts primarily as a trigger of other downstream processes, particularly tau aggregation, which mediate neurodegeneration. Aβ appears to be necessary, but not sufficient, to cause AD. Its major pathogenic effects may occur very early in the disease process.

 

In their original edition of the amyloid cascade hypothesis in 1992, Hardy and Higgins postulated that “amyloid-β protein (Aβ)…is the causative agent in Alzheimer’s disease (AD) pathology and that neurofibrillary tangles, cell loss, vascular damage and dementia follow as a direct result of this deposition”1. Although two decades of research have revealed many layers of complexity, we will argue that the bulk of data still supports a role for Aβ as the primary initiator of AD pathogenesis. We will discuss data that support the amyloid hypothesis, address some key arguments against the amyloid hypothesis and present an updated framework for AD pathogenesis that attempts to reconcile the existing data. It has become clear that Aβ does not exert its effects in a vacuum and that a complex network of pathologic processes converge to produce the neuropathologic and clinical syndrome that is AD. However, multiple lines of evidence still support the concept that Aβ aggregation has a unique and critical role as the key initiator of AD pathology. By our interpretation of the existing data, Aβ appears to be necessary, but not sufficient, for AD, although it may be necessary and sufficient for cerebral amyloid angiopathy (CAA). This argument over the role of Aβ has important implications regarding the development of therapies, the allocation of research funding, and the focus of public and private research efforts.

Genetic factors that increase Aβ aggregation cause AD

The strongest data supporting the role of Aβ as disease initiator come from human genetics. Autosomal dominant familial AD (fAD) is caused by mutations in three genes, APP, PSEN1 andPSEN2, which are all integrally involved in Aβ production2. APP encodes the amyloid precursor protein, which is the precursor to Aβ, whereas PSEN1 and PSEN2 encode Presenilin 1 and 2, catalytic subunits of the γ-secretase complex that cleaves APP to generate Aβ. fAD mutations lead to accelerated accumulation of Aβ plaques and cause early-onset dementia, CAA or both2, 3, 4, 5, 6. Duplication of the APP locus on chromosome 21 increases Aβ production through increased gene dosage and causes age-related dementia with brain parenchymal Aβ deposits and CAA7, 8, 9. Down syndrome patients, who have trisomy 21 and thus have an extra copy of APP, develop age-related amyloid plaque deposition and dementia in an APP-dependent manner10. In general, pathogenic mutations in all three genes are specifically clustered in regions that serve to increase the level of amyloidogenic APP cleavage by β- or γ-secretase or increase the relative production of amyloidogenic Aβ1–42 versus shorter Aβ species2, 11, 12, 13. Notably, several APP mutations that reside in the middle of the Aβ coding region have been identified that cause fAD or CAA by increasing the aggregation propensity or inhibiting degradation of the Aβ peptide and do not affect Aβ production5, 6. This suggests that it is Aβ aggregation, rather than some other alteration in APP processing or presenilin function, which instigates fAD. Thus, fAD provides an opportunity to examine a pure Aβ-driven disease in relatively young, often healthy patients. Consistent with the amyloid hypothesis, fAD patients first develop fibrillar amyloid plaques, then subsequently accumulate neurofibrillary tau pathology, neuronal loss and dementia14, 15. Thus, it is relatively easy to argue that the amyloid hypothesis, or a variant of it, is generally true for fAD. Notably, fAD-linked mutations clearly affect age of onset, but do not strongly affect rate of progression of symptomatic disease. Although some of these mutations cause large increases in the production of Aβ, they do not substantially accelerate progression, suggesting that Aβ serves as an initiator of pathology, but not a major mediator of downstream neurodegeneration16.

Fortunately, fAD is extremely rare, and the vast majority of AD cases are considered to be sporadic (sAD). The genetics of sAD are more complex, and the strongest genetic risk factor is APOE. TheAPOE ε4 allele increases risk for AD and CAA, and the ε2 allele decreases risk for AD relative to the ε3 allele17, 18. Approximately 20–25% of the population carries at least one copy of ApoE4, which increases the risk of AD by ~4-fold (as compared to those with the more common ApoE3/E3 genotype), whereas 2% of the population carries two E4 alleles, imparting a ~12-fold increased risk19. Although ApoE4 appears to exert a variety of effects in the brain, it is a strong modulator of Aβ pathology, and knock-in mice expressing human ApoE4 along with FAD-linked APP transgenes have greatly increased Aβ plaque pathology and reduced Aβ clearance19, 20, whereas human ApoE2–expressing mice have decreased Aβ plaque pathology21. Numerous studies have demonstrated accelerated amyloid plaque accumulation in human ApoE4 carriers, and preclinical studies have shown that ApoE influences Aβ metabolism, with ApoE4 promoting amyloid aggregation and deposition20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25. Reducing ApoE levels, either genetically or with antibody therapy, also reduces Aβ plaque burden in mice26, 27, 28, 29. Furthermore, human ApoE4 is associated with pathogenic changes in cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) Aβ42 in cognitively normal subjects, but not changes in tau, again suggesting that ApoE4 exerts its main effects in AD by modulating Aβ upstream of tau23, 30. Thus, the predominant genetic risk factor for sAD clearly exacerbates Aβ aggregation. Recently, a rare protective mutation in the APP gene, which diminishes amyloidogenic Aβ production, has been identified in humans and linked to a decreased risk of developing AD31, providing another strong genetic link between Aβ and sAD.

Tau pathology and neurodegeneration: anatomical discord

One key argument against the amyloid hypothesis is based on the poor correlation, both temporally and anatomically, between Aβ plaque deposition, neuronal death and clinical symptoms in sAD. Neuroanatomically, fibrillar Aβ deposition occurs first and most severely in regions such as the precuneus and frontal lobes, whereas neuronal death begins and occurs most readily in the entorhinal cortex and hippocampus, regions with relatively few Aβ plaques32, 33. Tau pathology correlates much more closely with neuronal loss, both spatially and temporally, than amyloid plaques33, 34, 35, 36. According to the work of Braak and others, Aβ pathology appears to begin in the cortex and spread inward, whereas tau pathology exhibits an opposite progression32, 37. This has prompted critics to suggest that Aβ must not mediate neurodegeneration in AD and is merely a bystander. If this were true, one would expect that, in fAD, in which disease pathogenesis is more clearly driven by Aβ, that there would be a stronger anatomical correlation between plaque deposition and neuronal loss. This is not the case, as fAD pathology closely resembles that of sAD, with Aβ plaques anatomically disconnected from areas of severe neuronal loss14, 15. Thus, genetic data again demonstrate that it is possible for Aβ to drive tau pathology and neuronal loss without inherently obvious anatomic colocalization between plaques and areas of neurodegeneration. This anatomic disconnect between fibrillar Aβ plaques, neurofibrillary tangles and neuronal loss is still not fully explained, but appears to be consistent between fAD and sAD.

In sAD, the relationship between Aβ and tau pathology is complex, but ultimately supportive of the amyloid hypothesis. Aggregated, phosphorylated tau pathology is present in the brainstem and entorhinal cortex of young, normal, asymptomatic people and precedes the onset of amyloid accumulation38. With age, hippocampal neurofibrillary tau pathology is nearly ubiquitous, but remains confined to limbic regions in cognitively normal, amyloid-free individuals39, 40. However, tau appears to spread into neocortical regions almost solely in people with coexistent Aβ pathology39, 41. These individuals generally go on to develop AD dementia. In several studies examining the cognitively normal elderly or patients with mild cognitive impairment or AD, widespread cortical tau pathology (Braak stage ≥3) was commonly observed in patients with concomitant Aβ plaques; it was never observed in those without plaques, suggesting that the presence of Aβ aggregation is required for the appearance of high-grade cortical tau pathology39,41, 42. Furthermore, although hippocampal tau phosphorylation is commonly observed in cognitively normal adults, studies have found no evidence of neuronal loss in these regions with normal aging43, 44. However, neurodegeneration does occur prominently in these regions in AD patients with amyloid plaques43, 44, suggesting that tau-mediated toxicity again requires some trigger from Aβ. Accordingly, ‘neuritic plaques’, which are amyloid plaques with associated neurofibrillary tau pathology, correlate more closely with neuronal loss and dementia in AD than either plaques or tangles alone45. These neuropathologic observations support the idea that while fibrillar Aβ and neurofibrillary tau pathologies are anatomically separated, Aβ aggregation appears to somehow result in accelerated neurofibrillary tau pathology and neuronal toxicity. As noted above, fAD mutations, which directly influence Aβ aggregation, cause tau pathology that is similar to that seen in sAD and correlates closely with neuronal death. However, although mutations in the gene encoding tau (Mapt) cause neurodegenerative disease, they do not induce Aβ pathology46,47. Accordingly, polymorphisms in Mapt are associated with increased CSF phospho-tau levels, but only in patients with CSF evidence of Aβ pathology48. Thus, human neuropathological data supports a key tenet of the amyloid hypothesis: that Aβ triggers or exacerbates downstream tau pathology, although it appears to do so without anatomic colocalization.

Preclinical data from cell culture and animal experiments also support Aβ as the initiator of tau pathology and downstream neuronal injury. Exposure of primary mouse neuronal cultures to aggregated Aβ species, derived either from synthetic Aβ or isolated from human brain, induces tau phosphorylation, neuritic damage and dendritic spine loss49, 50. Notably, tau knockout neurons were resistant to neuritic degeneration induced by synthetic or human-derived Aβ species, whereas tau overexpression exacerbated Aβ-induced damage51, 52. It is notable that a developmental effect of tau deletion cannot be excluded in these and other experiments, as experiments using postnatal tau deletion have not been reported. In human neurons grown in a matrigel culture system, expression of fAD mutation–bearing APP elicited extracellular Aβ aggregation and caused subsequent tau pathology53. This tau pathology could be blocked with β- or γ-secretase inhibitors, illustrating the dependence on APP cleavage. In mice, coexpression of mutant human APP and MAPT caused increased severity and spread of neurofibrillary tau pathology, but did not alter Aβ pathology, again demonstrating that Aβ aggregation appears upstream of tau54, 55. Accordingly, injection of synthetic Aβ fibrils into the brain of mutant human tau–expressing mice led to markedly increased tau pathology56. Aβ also impairs axonal transport in cultured neurons in a tau-dependent manner, whereas behavioral deficits observed in human APP–expressing mice were alleviated by tau deletion. Again, in these experiments, tau had no effect on Aβ pathology57, 58. In total, substantial preclinical data demonstrates that Aβ species can directly trigger tau pathology in cells and mice, whereas human neuropathologic data supports a model in which tau pathology does not spread into the neocortex until after substantial Aβ pathology has developed. Aβ aggregation appears to somehow be triggering an exacerbation of tauopathy, which may in turn cause neuronal dysfunction and death. Although Aβ and tau pathology are anatomically separate in the AD brain, considerable evidence demonstrates that Aβ can still trigger tau pathology and neurodegeneration in regions with minimal fibrillar Aβ pathology.

Induction of toxic protein misfolding by Aβ is not isolated to tau. Many individuals with either fAD or sAD also develop α-synuclein aggregation in limbic and cortical regions, suggesting that Aβ may also accelerate synuclein pathology59, 60. Accordingly, preclinical models demonstrate that Aβ can induce synuclein pathology61, 62. TDP-43 pathology is also commonly seen in AD patients and may contribute to neurodegeneration63. Thus, the ability of Aβ to induce misfolding of other toxic proteins, such as tau, synuclein and TDP-43, may be critical for AD pathogenesis, although the exact contribution of some of these protein aggregates is not fully understood.

Tau pathology and neurodegeneration: temporal discord

Temporal discrepancy between the appearance of amyloid plaques, tau tangles, neuronal loss and clinical dementia is another point of frequent contention with the amyloid hypothesis. Many clinically asymptomatic older individuals are known to have substantial amyloid plaque pathology, either at autopsy or by PET imaging. Critics claim that this shows that Aβ does not cause dementia. Again, it should be noted that fAD patients also develop fibrillar amyloid plaque pathology years before symptom onset, but clearly have Aβ-driven disease15. Large cross-sectional biomarker studies suggest that amyloid plaque pathology is not asymptomatic, but instead represents preclinical AD, although the pathologic ‘incubation time’ between the appearance of plaques and onset of tau pathology can be several years, and the time to onset of clinical dementia can be over a decade64,65, 66, 67, 68. Emerging longitudinal evidence from several groups supports this concept, as asymptomatic individuals with biomarker evidence solely of amyloid plaques (either by CSF or PET amyloid imaging markers, with no tau or other cell injury markers) are ~4-fold more likely than those without plaques to develop clinical dementia within the ensuing 2–7 years, although the length of follow up is likely still too short to fully appreciate this risk66, 67, 68, 69, 70, 71. If amyloid plaques are present and there is biomarker evidence of brain injury (such as decrease glucose uptake, hippocampal atrophy or elevated CSF tau), risk of conversion to clinical dementia is even higher, with relative risks exceeding 10 (refs. 66, 67, 71, 72). People who are ostensibly cognitively normal but have amyloid plaques also exhibit very subtle cognitive deficits on detailed neuropsychometric testing and accelerated hippocampal atrophy when compared with plaque-free controls, suggesting that Aβ deposition may cause a mild, but progressive, pathological state before the onset of more rampant neurodegeneration with tauopathy and synucleinopathy73, 74. Although not conclusive evidence of the central role of Aβ in AD, the bulk of human biomarker data supports the amyloid hypothesis, as Aβ-related changes precede tau biomarker changes and cognitive markers by years, are associated with mild, but progressive, neuropathology, and are predictive of subsequent dementia.

How does Aβ initiate AD pathology?

So how do we reconcile this anatomic and temporal discordance between fibrillar Aβ pathology, tau aggregation and neurodegeneration in both fAD and sAD? One explanation is that in addition to fibrillar plaques, oligomeric forms of Aβ may mediate further pathology in AD. Indeed, a variety of cytotoxic oligomeric Aβ species have been identified in AD brain lysates which can exert a wide variety of pathogenic effects in vitro and in the mouse brain75, 76, 77. These oligomeric Aβ species do not necessarily correlate temporally or spatially with plaques, and can be purified from brain regions which are subject to intense neuronal loss, such as the hippocampus78, 79, 80. Indeed, there is some evidence that the presence of Aβ oligomers predicts the presence of dementia more accurately than plaque burden78, 80. In humans, Aβ oligomers appear to accumulate with age, and are correlated with the appearance of tau pathology81, 82. Mice which accumulate Aβ oligomers but not fibrillar plaques also develop synaptic damage, inflammation and cognitive impairment83, 84However, it is difficult to rectify the oligomer hypothesis with the long prodromal phase of human AD during which plaques are evident but significant neurodegeneration is not, or to explain why oligomers would not lead to more significant neuronal loss in animal models of Aβ deposition. Furthermore, the specific species of Aβ which mediate downstream pathology remain an open question75, 85. While the direct neurotoxicity of Aβ oligomers in vivo is unclear, these species have been shown to directly initiate tau phosphorylation both in vitro and in vivo52, 83, 86. At a molecular level, oligomeric Aβ may initiate tauopathy through specific signaling events in neurons, such as activation of the Src kinase Fyn58, 87, 88, inducing proteases which modify tau89, or activating specific tau-targeting kinases90, though none of these have been adequately demonstrated in humans.

Given increasing evidence that Aβ, tau and α-synuclein aggregates all have prion-like properties and can potentially seed normal forms of these proteins and spread through the brain, it may also be important to investigate the ability of Aβ species to exacerbate the prion-like spread of tau and synuclein91, 92, 93, 94, 95, 96. Finally, Aβ could cause large-scale alterations in the brain’s ability to maintain proper protein quality control (proteostasis), eventually prompting aggregation of tau, synuclein and other intracellular proteins and causing toxicity97, 98, 99. Proteostatic failure could explain α-synuclein in the brains of fAD patients, many of whom are too young to have accumulated such deposits as a function of age, or coexistent α-synuclein and TDP-43 aggregates in sAD patients63. Aβ-induced aggregation and subsequent propagation and cross-templating of other toxic proteins could overwhelm proteostatic mechanisms. As many cytoprotective and proteostatic systems in neurons and glial decline with age, aging might thus set the stage for disseminated Aβ toxicity100, 101. Other age-related effects or comorbid pathologies (such as diabetes, head trauma, oxidative stress, inflammation, vascular factors, or even sleep deprivation) might influence the rate of Aβ aggregation and accumulation, accelerate the rate at which Aβ triggers downstream pathology, or directly exacerbate downstream pathology, thereby modulating the onset of dementia.

Aβ does not operate in a vacuum

A shortcoming of the initial amyloid hypothesis is the suggestion that Aβ itself could directly cause the panoply of pathologic changes observed in AD. Aβ critics have frequently and correctly pointed out the many other destructive phenomena, from oxidative stress to impaired autophagy, that occur in AD brain. Certainly when one uses the clinical endpoint of cognitive impairment, many factors appear to accelerate AD, cerebrovascular disease being foremost among them. The relationship between these factors, Aβ and neurodegeneration is unclear. Mice harboring fAD mutations develop neuroinflammation, oxidative stress, mitochondrial dysfunction and other pathologic alterations that appear to be downstream changes that indicate Aβ-induced neuronal or glial injury, although some of these markers appear before substantial plaque deposition102, 103,104. However, preclinical data suggest that neuronal stressors, such as oxidative and nitrative stress105, 106, mitochondrial dysfunction107 and inflammation108, can also directly influence APP metabolism and Aβ accumulation, indicating the existence of a possible feedforward mechanism by which Aβ-induced injury can facilitate Aβ production, or by which other stressors, such as ischemia or trauma, might exacerbate Aβ production and toxicity.

Although it may be tempting to implicate these other processes as the causative factors in AD, it is important to consider that Aβ plaque pathology is uniquely indicative of the clinical syndrome of AD, whereas oxidative damage, inflammation, mitochondrial dysfunction and other pathogenic markers are observed in many neurologic diseases. Furthermore, there is no strong evidence from humans that genetic mutations that increase oxidative stress, inflammation, mitochondrial dysfunction or inhibit autophagy lead to Aβ pathology in the brain. Risk factors such as smoking can have Aβ-dependent and Aβ-independent effects on AD pathogenesis, as smoking causes systemic oxidative stress, vascular injury and may increase Aβ accumulation109, 110. Similarly, polymorphisms in TREM2 affect microglial activation and increase the risk of AD, yet TREM2hemizygous mice have no increase in Aβ plaques, suggesting that microglial dysfunction could influence AD pathogenesis independently of the amount of Aβ accumulation111. In both cases, it is likely that these risk factors influence pathogenic mechanism downstream of Aβ and are not unique to AD. Accordingly, smoking increases the risk of many diseases of the brain, including vascular dementia, whereas TREM2 likely does the same (it has recently been linked to increased risk of ALS, frontotemporal dementia and Parkinson disease)112, 113. It would be foolish to argue that these many processes are not important in AD, as they clearly contribute to disease pathogenesis and might provide excellent therapeutic targets. But the existence of these other mechanisms of neural injury in AD does not mean that they are causative, nor does it negate the central importance of Aβ.

Another alternative concept of AD pathogenesis suggests that APP cleavage is indeed critical to AD, but that APP fragments other than Aβ are the pathogenic species. Mice with inducible expression of APP develop Aβ plaques and cognitive impairment. The cognitive impairment resolved in part when the APP transgene expression was turned off, despite persisting Aβ plaques114. Conversely, mice that express Aβ from a truncated transgene (and not full-length APP) accumulate multiple Aβ species as well as plaques, but do not develop cognitive impairment115. Several studies have implicated the APP β-C-terminal fragment (β-CTF) as a possible mediator of cognitive impairment in APP-overexpressing mice116, 117. However, it should be noted that antibodies targeting Aβ reduce plaque burden and rescue cognition in APP transgenic mice without eliminating plaques118. Moreover, as mentioned earlier, APP mutations in the Aβ coding region that enhance Aβ aggregation without influencing APP cleavage still cause human fAD5, 6. Thus, the data implicating alternative APP fragments in AD is intriguing, but it is still largely restricted to mouse models and does not discount the contribution of Aβ.

APP is a complex molecule with a variety of neurobiological functions119. Thus, it is important to note that cognitive and behavioral changes in APP-overexpressing mice are not fully correlated with Aβ pathology and are likely to be greatly influenced by both the APP transgene and marked overexpression from the promoter used. Cognitive impairment in APP mice can appear before, after or without substantial Aβ deposition, and is generally reversible85, 118. In human AD, however, cognitive decline is notable years or even decades after extensive plaque pathology accumulates, is almost always associated with the onset of tau pathology and neurodegeneration, and has not been shown to be reversible. Thus, the nature of cognitive impairment in mouse APP models and humans may be fundamentally different, and mouse results should be interpreted carefully.

What initiates Aβ aggregation?

If Aβ is the initiator of AD pathology, what initially triggers the aggregation and accumulation of Aβ in sAD? How is this related to age? Currently, we have no iron-clad explanation for why Aβ initially accumulates and forms plaques in sAD or why this pathology occurs late in life. Aβ might accumulate in a concentration-dependent manner throughout life, with increased neuronal activity in certain brain regions leading to excessive Aβ production, ultimately causing aggregation and seed formation that then propagates91, 120. Factors that enhance Aβ production or aggregation or that suppress Aβ clearance could contribute to this over a lifetime. Impaired sleep-wake cycle, for example, could contribute to gradual Aβ accumulation by promoting a higher level of neuronal Aβ release and by disrupting normal diurnal oscillations in extracellular Aβ levels121. Sleep deprivation could also impair the clearance of Aβ from the brain by bulk fluid movement, or ‘glymphatic’ flow122. As another example, age-related oxidative and nitrative stress could also exert a gradual influence on Aβ production by altering secretase function105, 106 and by promoting Aβ aggregation through oxidative modification of the peptide123, 124. Another possibility is that age-related decline in the clearance of Aβ causes initial Aβ accumulation. Glial uptake of Aβ, as well as the aforementioned glymphatic bulk-flow removal of proteins from the brain, both decline with age125,126. Studies in humans have shown diminished Aβ clearance in AD patients127, although this has not yet been demonstrated to precede plaque deposition. Age-related disturbances in proteostasis and neuronal stress response signaling might also shift the balance of Aβ metabolism toward aggregation100, 101, 128.

We propose a model in which Aβ serves as the primary initiator of AD pathogenesis (Fig. 1). In our model, Aβ levels exist in a carefully orchestrated homeostasis throughout life, and factors during middle age that disturb that balance facilitate Aβ aggregation. These factors include increased synaptic activity and sleep disruption, which lead to increased Aβ release, psychological stress (which can increase Aβ production via different mechanisms), the function or genotype of proteins (for example, ApoE, Lrp1 and SorL1) that regulate Aβ trafficking and clearance, age-related declines in Aβ clearance mechanisms, and cellular stressors such as reactive oxygen species and ischemia that might facilitate Aβ production or aggregation. As Aβ homeostasis is lost, oligomeric and fibrillar Aβ species begin to accumulate, and the first plaques appear, providing the first biomarker evidence of AD in humans, although the patient remains clinically asymptomatic. After several years of Aβ aggregation, Aβ somehow triggers the acceleration of AD-type tau pathology, as neurofibrillary tangles begin to spread outside the limbic system and into the neocortex, prompting increases in neurodegeneration that are reflected as an increase in CSF tau and p-tau levels as well as other neuronal markers (for example, VILIP-1)72. This ‘tau trigger’ event is still poorly understood and may be mediated by the appearance of particular toxic Aβ species, the activation of an intermediary signaling process or kinase cascade, or changes in the innate immune system. These events may lead to a breaking point at which the proteostatic capacity of the brain has been overwhelmed, facilitating tau aggregation and spreading. Aggregation of other toxic proteins such as synuclein and TDP-43 may also begin at this stage. At this point, the cascade is set in full motion, as neuronal loss, oxidative damage, inflammation and clinical symptoms become evident, and neutralizing or removing Aβ is less likely to have a major effect. Age-related factors and comorbid pathologies likely contribute to the occurrence of AD by injuring neurons in parallel with Aβ and tau, thereby accelerating the appearance of symptoms, although some such factors may directly regulate Aβ levels or affect the Aβ-tau interaction. Thus, preventative strategies for AD would focus on treatment of conditions that promote Aβ accumulation in middle age (for example, sleep disorders). Anti-Aβ therapies would need to be delivered as early in the process as possible, whereas the appearance of positive Aβ biomarkers would be most helpful for timing the initiation of therapies targeting downstream pathologies, such as anti-tau agents.

Figure 1: An updated framework of the amyloid hypothesis.
An updated framework of the amyloid hypothesis.

The black arrows illustrate the processing of APP by β- and γ-secretases to yield Aβ species, which subsequently aggregate, ultimately triggering tau aggregation and downstream toxicity. Blue text and arrows illustrate proposed modifiers of the Aβ cascade, and red text and arrows show the influence of aging and comorbid pathologies. Note that several feedforward cycles are hypothesized, including one involving disturbed sleep promoting Aβ production (and perhaps Aβ clearance, although not depicted), whereas Aβ aggregation in turn disrupts sleep cycles. Multiple factors, from aging to oxidative stress, contribute to proteostatic failure, which in turn promotes aggregation of Aβ, tau and likely other toxic proteins. Many of the Aβ-modifying factors interact with each other (such as ApoE modulating inflammation), although this is not depicted. IDE, insulin-degrading enzyme; ROS, reactive oxygen species; TBI, traumatic brain injury.

Has the amyloid hypothesis been tested pharmacologically?

Mention of AD therapeutics elicits one of the more recent arguments against the amyloid hypothesis: the failure of clinical trials targeting Aβ. The possibility that Aβ initiates pathology very early in the disease suggests that only early anti-Aβ therapy is likely to be effective, and, to date, no completed trials have attempted therapy early in the Aβ cascade. Furthermore, Aβ target engagement has not yet been adequate to truly test the amyloid hypothesis. The Elan AN1792 active Aβ immunization study (which was halted as a result of several cases of meningoencephalitis) is often cited as an indictment of the amyloid hypothesis, as several remaining patients were followed after immunization and failed to show any clinical benefit despite evidence of reduced plaque burden at autopsy129. However, these patients were immunized late in the course of disease, well after dementia was clinically apparent, and the small sample size in a phase I trial primarily assessing safety that was aborted after only a few vaccinations at most makes it difficult to draw any firm conclusions from this work. If one insists on considering this data, it should be noted that analysis of this same cohort did show a modest decrease in tau pathology, while surviving immunized participants had a slight improvement in functional outcomes, despite late treatment initiation130, 131, 132. Ongoing studies, however, may put the amyloid hypothesis to a much more rigorous test. The Dominantly Inherited Alzheimer Network (DIAN) treatment trial and Alzheimer’s Prevention Initiative (API) should address the role of Aβ in fAD most directly, as both are designed to test if anti-amyloid therapy in primarily presymptomatic fAD patients can prevent pathologic changes and dementia133, 134. This represents the earliest therapy that is currently possible and employs a patient population with more ‘pure’ Aβ-driven disease. However, one concerning possibility that arises from the Aβ as initiator hypothesis is that the appearance of fibrillar Aβ pathology could represent a point in the pathogenic cascade that is already too late for effective anti-Aβ therapy. Ultimately, prior prevention of Aβ deposition could prove to be the most effective treatment to target Aβ, but whether such an approach will be tested is unclear. These studies, along with similar trials in sAD, such as the A4 trial, may dictate, in part, the future of Aβ-targeted therapies.

There are also several ongoing trials in very mild and mild dementia resulting from AD using either BACE inhibition or anti-Aβ antibodies that will also be very important to evaluate. Considering the therapeutic regimens employed in diseases such as diabetes, coronary atherosclerosis and cancer, it seems reasonable that a multi-target therapeutic approach will be needed for AD, with the selection of targets dictated by the stage of the pathology. Thus, regardless of the accuracy of the amyloid hypothesis, target elucidation and therapy development for a variety of pathogenic processes in AD, from tau aggregation to microglial activation to mitochondrial dysfunction, is critical.

Conclusions

In the past 22 years, it has become clear that the idea that Aβ causes AD via a simple, linear model of toxicity is very likely incorrect. Our interpretation of the data places Aβ not as the primary direct neurotoxin that itself alone causes AD, but rather as the initiator of a complex network of pathologic changes in the brain, many of them tau-dependent, that culminates years later in neurodegeneration. To successfully forestall the progression of this cascade, multiple therapies targeting several nodes of the neurodegenerative network may be needed, and the timing of these therapies in the disease progression will likely be critical. Many important questions remain to be answered.

What instigates Aβ aggregation in sAD? Are there earlier precipitating events that precede Aβ aggregation and are related to age or other disease processes? How can we prevent this?

How does Aβ aggregation trigger spread of tau and synuclein pathology in the human brain? Are there specific therapeutic targets to prevent this process?

At what point in the cascade is it too late to intervene by targeting Aβ? Once Aβ plaques are apparent by imaging or CSF studies, has Aβ already triggered the critical downstream cascades?

Which downstream pathologies are legitimate therapeutic targets and which are epiphenomena? Post-mortem AD brain tissue reveals a dizzying array of cellular and biochemical alterations, but which can be successfully targeted to mitigate disease?

What is the pathogenesis of AD-like dementias without amyloid plaques (such as suspected non-amyloid pathology, SNAP), or ‘tangle-predominant AD’? Are these new subtypes of dementia that appear clinically similar to AD or biologically separate entities that will require unique therapeutic approaches? If there are no plaques, should we still call it AD?

The answers to these questions, as well the outcomes of the many anti-Aβ therapeutic trials currently in progress, should bring us closer to a comprehensive understanding of the role and therapeutic potential of Aβ in AD, and guide the development of the next generation of AD therapeutic regimens.

References

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  2. Bettens, K., Sleegers, K. & Van Broeckhoven, C. Genetic insights in Alzheimer’s disease.Lancet Neurol. 12, 92–104 (2013).
  3. Levy, E. et al. Mutation of the Alzheimer’s disease amyloid gene in hereditary cerebral hemorrhage, Dutch type. Science 248, 1124–1126 (1990).
  4. Goate, A. et al. Segregation of a missense mutation in the amyloid precursor protein gene with familial Alzheimer’s disease. Nature 349, 704–706 (1991).
  5. Tsubuki, S., Takaki, Y. & Saido, T.C. Dutch, Flemish, Italian, and Arctic mutations of APP and resistance of Abeta to physiologically relevant proteolytic degradation. Lancet 361,1957–1958 (2003).
  6. Tomiyama, T. et al. A new amyloid beta variant favoring oligomerization in Alzheimer’s-type dementia. Ann. Neurol. 63, 377–387 (2008).
  7. Rovelet-Lecrux, A. et al. APP locus duplication causes autosomal dominant early-onset Alzheimer disease with cerebral amyloid angiopathy. Nat. Genet. 38, 24–26 (2006).
  8. Sleegers, K. et al. APP duplication is sufficient to cause early onset Alzheimer’s dementia with cerebral amyloid angiopathy. Brain 129, 2977–2983 (2006).
  9. Cabrejo, L. et al. Phenotype associated with APP duplication in five families. Brain 129,2966–2976 (2006).
  10. Prasher, V.P. et al. Molecular mapping of Alzheimer-type dementia in Down’s syndrome.Ann. Neurol. 43, 380–383 (1998).
  11. Citron, M. et al. Mutation of the beta-amyloid precursor protein in familial Alzheimer’s disease increases beta-protein production. Nature 360, 672–674 (1992).
  12. Eckman, C.B. et al. A new pathogenic mutation in the APP gene (I716V) increases the relative proportion of A beta 42(43). Hum. Mol. Genet. 6, 2087–2089 (1997).
  13. Chávez-Gutiérrez, L. et al. The mechanism of gamma-Secretase dysfunction in familial Alzheimer disease. EMBO J. 31, 2261–2274 (2012).
  14. Shepherd, C., McCann, H. & Halliday, G.M. Variations in the neuropathology of familial Alzheimer’s disease. Acta Neuropathol. 118, 37–52 (2009).
  15. Bateman, R.J. et al. Clinical and biomarker changes in dominantly inherited Alzheimer’s disease. N. Engl. J. Med. 367, 795–804 (2012).

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Affiliations   

Department of Neurology, Knight Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center, and Hope Center for Neurological Disorders, Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, St. Louis, Missouri, USA.

Erik S Musiek & David M Holtzman

 

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Retromer in neurological disorders

Posted in Alzheimer's Disease, Etiology, Neurodegenerative Diseases, Neurological Diseases, Neuroscience, Pharmaceutical Analytics, Pharmaceutical Drug Discovery, Pharmaceutical Industry Competitive Intelligence, Pharmaceutical R&D Investment, Proteins, Proteomics, tagged , , , on November 28, 2015| Leave a Comment »

Retromer in neurological disorders

Larry H. Bernstein, MD, FCAP, Curator

LPBI

 

 

Retromer in Alzheimer disease, Parkinson disease and other neurological disorders.

Scott A. Small and Gregory A. Petsko
Nature Reviews Neuroscience 16; 126–132 (2015)      http://dx.doi.org:/10.1038/nrn3896

 

As discussed in the forum (see video here), there are many cellular pathways which are believed to be perturbed in Alzheimer’s Disease. Recent work has suggested that deficits in retromer complex function may underlie impairment of endosomal trafficking in neurons and may contribute to AD pathogenesis. This recent review illustrates the function of the retromer complex and discusses how its dysfunction may contribute to neurodegeneration.

By Tim Spencer on 24 Nov, 2015

 

Retromer is a protein assembly that has a central role in endosomal trafficking, and retromer dysfunction has been linked to a growing number of neurological disorders. First linked to Alzheimer disease, retromer dysfunction causes a range of pathophysiological consequences that have been shown to contribute to the core pathological features of the disease. Genetic studies have established that retromer dysfunction is also pathogenically linked to Parkinson disease, although the biological mechanisms that mediate this link are only now being elucidated. Most recently, studies have shown that retromer is a tractable target in drug discovery for these and other disorders of the nervous system.

 

Yeast has proved to be an informative model organism in cell biology and has provided early insight into much of the molecular machinery that mediates the intracellular transport of proteins1,2. Indeed, the term ‘retromer’ was first introduced in a yeast study in 1998 (Ref. 3). In this study, retromer was referred to as a complex of proteins that was dedicated to transporting cargo in a retrograde direction, from the yeast endosome back to the Golgi.

By 2004, a handful of studies had identified the molecular4 and the functional5, 6 homologies of the mammalian retromer, and in 2005 retromer was linked to its first human disorder, Alzheimer disease (AD)7. At the time, the available evidence suggested that the mammalian retromer might match the simplicity of its yeast homologue. Since then, a dramatic and exponential rise in research focusing on retromer has led to more than 300 publications. These studies have revealed the complexity of the mammalian retromer and its functional diversity in endosomal transport, and have implicated retromer in a growing number of neurological disorders.

New evidence indicates that retromer is a ‘master conductor’ of endosomal sorting and trafficking8. Synaptic function heavily depends on endosomal trafficking, as it contributes to the presynaptic release of neurotransmitters and regulates receptor density in the postsynaptic membrane, a process that is crucial for neuronal plasticity9. Therefore, it is not surprising that a growing number of studies are showing that retromer has an important role in synaptic biology10, 11, 12, 13. These observations may account for why the nervous system seems particularly sensitive to genetic and other defects in retromer. In this Progress article, we briefly review the molecular organization and the functional role of retromer, before discussing studies that have linked retromer dysfunction to several neurological diseases — notably, AD and Parkinson disease (PD).

 

The endosome is considered a hub for intracellular transport. From the endosome, transmembrane proteins can be actively sorted and trafficked to various intracellular sites via distinct transport routes (Fig. 1a). Studies have shown that the mammalian retromer mediates two of the three transport routes out of endosomes. First, retromer is involved in the retrieval of cargos from endosomes and in their delivery, in a retrograde direction, to the trans-Golgi network (TGN)5,6. Retrograde transport has many cellular functions but, as we describe, it is particularly important for the normal delivery of hydrolases and proteases to the endosomal–lysosomal system. The second transport route in which retromer functions is the recycling of cargos from endosomes back to the cell surface14, 15 (Fig. 1a). It is this transport route that is particularly important for neurons, as it mediates the normal delivery of glutamate and other receptors to the plasma membrane during synaptic remodelling and plasticity10, 11, 12, 13.

Figure 1: Retromer’s endosomal transport function and molecular organization.
Retromer's endosomal transport function and molecular organization.

a | Retromer mediates two transport routes out of endosomes via tubules that extend out of endosomal membranes. The first is the retrograde pathway in which cargo is retrieved from the endosome and trafficked to the trans-Golgi network (TGN). The second is the recycling pathway in which cargo is trafficked back from the endosome to the cell surface. The degradation pathway, which is not mediated by retromer, involves the trafficking of cargo from endosomes to lysosomes for degradation. b | The retromer assembly of proteins can be organized into distinct functional modules, all of which work together as part of retromer’s transport role. The ‘cargo-recognition core’ is the central module of the retromer assembly and comprises a trimer of proteins, in which vacuolar protein sorting-associated protein 26 (VPS26) and VPS29 bind VPS35. The ‘tubulation’ module includes protein complexes that bind the cargo-recognition core and aid in the formation and stabilization of tubules that extend out of endosomes, directing the transport of cargos towards their final destinations. The ‘membrane-recruiting’ proteins recruit the cargo-recognition core to the endosomal membrane. The WAS protein family homologue (WASH) complex of proteins also binds the cargo-recognition core and is involved in endosomal ‘actin remodelling’ to form actin patches, which are important for directing cargos towards retromer’s transport pathways. Retromer cargos includes a range of receptors — which bind the cargo-recognition core — and their ligands. PtdIns3P, phosphatidylinositol-3-phosphate.

As well as extending the endosomal transport routes, recent studies have considerably expanded the number of molecular constituents and what is known about the functional organization of the mammalian retromer. Following this expansion in knowledge of the molecular diversity and organizational complexity, retromer might be best described as a multimodular protein assembly. The protein or group of proteins that make up each module can vary, but each module is defined by its distinct function, and the modules work in unison in support of retromer’s transport role.

Two modules are considered central to the retromer assembly. First and foremost is a trimeric complex that functions as a ‘cargo-recognition core’, which selects and binds to the transmembrane proteins that need to be transported and that reside in endosomal membranes5, 6. This trimeric core comprises vacuolar protein sorting-associated protein 26 (VPS26), VPS29 and VPS35; VPS35 functions as the core’s backbone to which the other two proteins bind16. VPS26 is the only member of the core that has been found to have two paralogues, VPS26a and VPS26b17,18, and studies suggest that VPS26b might be differentially expressed in the brain19, 20. Some studies suggest that VPS26a and VPS26b are functionally redundant21, whereas others suggest that they might form distinct cargo-recognition cores20, 22.

The second central module of the retromer assembly is the ‘tubulation’ module, which is made up of proteins that work together in the formation and the stabilization of tubules that extend out of endosomes and that direct the transport of cargo towards its final destination (Fig. 1b). The proteins in this module, which directly binds the cargo-recognition core, are members of the subgroup of the sorting nexin (SNX) family that are characterized by the inclusion of a carboxy-terminal BIN–amphiphysin–RVS (BAR) domain23. These members include SNX1, SNX2, SNX5 and SNX6 (Refs 24,25). As part of the tubulation module, these SNX-BAR proteins exist in different dimeric combinations, but typically SNX1 interacts with SNX5 or SNX6, and SNX2 interacts with SNX5 or SNX6 (Refs 26,27). The EPS15-homology domain 1 (EHD1) protein can be included in this module, as it is involved in stabilizing the tubules formed by the SNX-BAR proteins28.

A third module of the retromer assembly functions to recruit the cargo-recognition core to endosomal membranes and to stabilize the core once it is there (Fig. 1b). Proteins that are part of this ‘membrane-recruiting’ module include SNX3 (Ref. 29), the RAS-related protein RAB7A30, 31,32 and TBC1 domain family member 5 (TBC1D5), which is a member of the TRE2–BUB2–CDC16 (TBC) family of RAB GTPase-activating proteins (GAPs)28. In addition, the lipid phosphatidylinositol-3-phosphate (PtdIns3P), which is found on endosomal membranes, contributes to recruiting most of the retromer-related SNXs through their phox homology domains33. Interestingly, another SNX with a phox homology domain, SNX27, was recently linked to retromer and its function15, 34. SNX27 functions as an adaptor for binding to PDZ ligand-containing cargos that are destined for transport to the cell surface via the recycling pathway. Thus, according to the functional organization of the retromer assembly, SNX27 belongs to the module that engages in cargo recognition and selection.

Recent studies have identified a fourth module of the retromer assembly. The five proteins in this module — WAS protein family homologue 1 (WASH1), FAM21, strumpellin, coiled-coil domain-containing protein 53 (CCDC53) and KIAA1033 (also known as WASH complex subunit 7) — form the WASH complex and function as an ‘actin-remodelling’ module28, 35, 36 (Fig. 1b). Specifically, the WASH complex functions in the rapid polymerization of actin to create patches of actin filaments on endosomal membranes. The complex is recruited to endosomal membranes by binding VPS35 (Ref. 28), and together they divert cargo towards retromer transport pathways and away from the degradation pathway.

The cargos that are transported by retromer include the receptors that directly bind the cargo-recognition core and the ligands of these receptors that are co-transported with the receptors. The receptors that are transported by retromer that have so far been identified to be the most relevant to neurological diseases are the family of VPS10 domain-containing receptors (including sortilin-related receptor 1 (SORL1; also known as SORLA), sortilin, and SORCS1, SORCS2 and SORCS3)7; the cation-independent mannose-6-phosphate receptor (CIM6PR)6, 5; glutamate receptors10; and phagocytic receptors that mediate the clearing function of microglia37. The most disease-relevant ligand to be identified that is trafficked as retromer cargo is the β-amyloid precursor protein (APP)7, 38, 39, 40, 41, which binds SORL1 and perhaps other VPS10 domain-containing receptors42 at the endosomal membrane.

Retromer dysfunction

Guided by retromer’s established function, and on the basis of empirical evidence, there are three well-defined pathophysiological consequences of retromer dysfunction that have proven to be relevant to AD and nervous system disorders. First, retromer dysfunction can cause cargos that typically transit rapidly through the endosome to reside in the endosome for longer than normal durations, such that they can be pathogenically processed into neurotoxic fragments (for example, APP, when stalled in the endosome, is more likely to be processed into amyloid-β, which is implicated in AD43 (Fig. 2a)). Second, by reducing endosomal outflow via impairment of the recycling pathway, retromer dysfunction can lead to a reduction in the number of cell surface receptors that are important for brain health (for example, microglia phagocytic receptors37 (Fig. 2b)).

Figure 2: The pathophysiology of retromer dysfunction.
The pathophysiology of retromer dysfunction.

Retromer dysfunction has three established pathophysiological consequences. In the examples shown, the left graphic represents a cell with normal retromer function and the right graphic represents a cell with a deficit in retromer function. a | Retromer dysfunction causes increased levels of cargo to reside in endosomes. For example, in primary neurons, retromer transports the β-amyloid precursor protein (APP) out of endosomes. Accordingly, retromer dysfunction increases APP levels in endosomes, leading to accelerated APP processing, resulting in an accumulation of neurotoxic fragments of APP (namely, β-carboxy-terminal fragment (βCTF) and amyloid-β) that are pathogenic in Alzheimer disease. b | Retromer dysfunction causes decreased cargo levels at the cell surface. For example, in microglia, retromer mediates the transport of phagocytic receptors to the cell surface and retromer dysfunction results in a decrease in the delivery of these receptors. Studies suggest that this cellular phenotype might have a pathogenic role in Alzheimer disease. c | Retromer dysfunction causes decreased delivery of proteases to the endosome. Retromer is required for the normal retrograde transport of the cation-independent mannose-6-phosphate receptor (CIM6PR) from the endosome back to the trans-Golgi network (TGN). It is in the TGN that this receptor binds cathepsin D and other proteases, and transports them to the endosome, to support the normal function of the endosomal–lysosomal system. By impairing the retrograde transport of the receptor, retromer dysfunction ultimately leads to reduced delivery of cathepsin D to this system. Cathepsin D deficiency has been shown to disrupt the endosomal–lysosomal system and to trigger tau pathology either within endosomes or secondarily in the cytosol.

The third consequence (Fig. 2c) is a result of the established role that retromer has in the retrograde transport of receptors, such as CIM6PR5, 6 or sortilin44, after these receptors transport proteases from the TGN to the endosome. Once at the endosome, the proteases disengage from the receptors, are released into endosomes and migrate to lysosomes. These proteases function in the endosomal–lysosomal system to degrade proteins, protein oligomers and aggregates45. Retromer functions to transfer the ‘naked’ receptor from the endosome back to the TGN via the retrograde pathway5, 6, allowing the receptors to continue in additional rounds of protease delivery. Accordingly, by reducing the normal retrograde transport of these receptors, retromer dysfunction has been shown to reduce the proper delivery of proteases to the endosomal–lysosomal system5,6, which, as discussed below, is a pathophysiological state linked to several brain disorders.

Although requiring further validation, recent studies suggest that retromer dysfunction might be involved in two other mechanisms that have a role in neurological disease. One study suggested that retromer might be involved in trafficking the transmembrane protein autophagy-related protein 9A (ATG9A) to recycling endosomes, from where it can then be trafficked to autophagosome precursors — a trafficking step that is crucial in the formation and the function of autophagosomes46. Autophagy is an important mechanism by which neurons clear neurotoxic aggregates that accumulate in numerous neurodegenerative diseases47. A second study has suggested that retromer dysfunction might enhance the seeding and the cell-to-cell spread of intracellular neurotoxic aggregates48, which have emerged as novel pathophysiological mechanisms that are relevant to AD49, PD50 and other neurodegenerative diseases.

Alzheimer disease

Retromer was first implicated in AD in a molecular profiling study that relied on functional imaging observations in patients and animal models to guide its molecular analysis7. Collectively, neuroimaging studies confirmed that the entorhinal cortex is the region of the hippocampal circuit that is affected first in AD, even in preclinical stages, and suggested that this effect was independent of ageing (as reviewed in Ref. 51). At the same time, neuroimaging studies identified a neighbouring hippocampal region, the dentate gyrus, that is relatively unaffected in AD52. Guided by this information, a study was carried out in which the two regions of the brain were harvested post mortem from patients with AD and from healthy individuals, intentionally covering a broad range of ages. A statistical analysis was applied to the determined molecular profiles of the regions that was designed to address the following question: among the thousands of profiled molecules, which are the ones that are differentially affected in the entorhinal cortex versus the dentate gyrus, in patients versus controls, but that are not affected by age? The final results led to the determination that the brains of patients with AD are deficient in two core retromer proteins — VPS26 and VPS35 (Ref. 7).

Little was known about the receptors of the neuronal retromer, so to understand how retromer deficiency might be mechanistically linked to AD, an analysis was carried out on the molecular data set that looked for transmembrane molecules for which expression levels correlated with VPS35 expression. The top ‘hit’ was the transcript encoding the transmembrane protein SORL1 (Ref. 43). As SORL1 belongs to the family of VPS10-containing receptors and as VPS10 is the main retromer receptor in yeast3, it was postulated that SORL1 and the family of other VPS10-containing proteins (sortillin, SORCS1, SORCS2 and SORCS3) might function as retromer receptors in neurons7. In addition, SORL1 had recently been reported to bind APP53, so if SORL1 was assumed to be a receptor that is trafficked by retromer, then APP might be the cargo that is co-trafficked by retromer. This led to a model in which retromer traffics APP out of endosomes7, which are the organelles in which APP is most likely to be cleaved by βAPP-cleaving enzyme 1 (BACE1; also known as β-secretase 1)43; this is the initial enzymatic step in the pathogenic processing of APP.

Subsequent studies were required to further establish the pathogenic link between retromer and AD, and to test the proposed model. The pathogenic link was further supported by human genetic studies. First, a genetic study investigating the association between AD, the genes encoding the components of the retromer cargo-recognition core and the family of VPS10-containing receptors found that variants of SORL1 increase the risk of developing AD38. This finding was confirmed by numerous studies, including a recent large-scale AD genome-wide association study54. Other genetic studies identified AD-associated variants in genes encoding proteins that are linked to nearly all modules of the retromer assembly55, including genes encoding proteins of the retromer tubulation module (SNX1), genes encoding proteins of the retromer membrane-recruiting module (SNX3 and RAB7A) and genes encoding proteins of the retromer actin-remodelling module (KIAA1033). In addition, nearly all of the genes encoding the family of VPS10-containing retromer receptors have been found to have variants that associate with AD56. Finally, a study found that brain regions that are differentially affected in AD are deficient in PtdIns3P, which is the phospholipid required for recruiting many sorting nexins to endosomal membranes57. Thus, together with the observation that the brains of patients with AD are deficient in VPS26a and VPS35 (Refs 7,37), all modules in the retromer assembly are implicated in AD.

Studies in mice39, 58, 59, flies39 and cells in culture34, 40, 41, 60, 61 have investigated how retromer dysfunction leads to the pathogenic processing of APP. Although rare discrepancies have been observed among these studies62, when viewed in total, the most consistent findings are that retromer dysfunction causes increased pathogenic processing of APP by increasing the time that APP resides in endosomes. Moreover, these studies have confirmed that SORL1 and other VPS10-containing proteins function as APP receptors that mediate APP trafficking out of endosomes.

Retromer has unexpectedly been linked to microglial abnormalities37 — another core feature of AD — which, on the basis of recent genetic findings, seem to have an upstream role in disease pathogenesis54, 63. A recent study found that microglia harvested from the brains of individuals with AD are deficient in VPS35 and provided evidence suggesting that retromer’s recycling pathway regulates the normal delivery of various phagocytic receptors to the cell surface of microglia37, including the phagocytic receptor triggering receptor expressed on myeloid cells 2 (TREM2) (Fig. 2b). Mutations in TREM2 have been linked to AD63, and a recent study indicates that these mutations cause a reduction in its cell surface delivery and accelerate TREM2 degradation, which suggests that the mutations are linked to a recycling defect64. While they are located at the microglial cell surface, these phagocytic receptors function in the clearance of extracellular proteins and other molecules from the extracellular space65. Taken together, these recent studies suggest that defects in the retromer’s recycling pathway can, at least in part, account for the microglial defects observed in the disease.

The microtubule-associated protein tau is the key element of neurofibrillary tangles, which are the other hallmark histological features of AD. Although a firm link between retromer dysfunction and tau toxicity remains to be established, recent insight into tau biology suggests several plausible mechanisms that are worth considering. Tau is a cytosolic protein, but nonetheless, through mechanisms that are still undetermined, it is released into the extracellular space from where it gains access to neuronal endosomes via endocytosis66, 67. In fact, recent studies suggest that the pathogenic processing of tau is triggered after it is endocytosed into neurons and while it resides in endosomes67. Of note, it still remains unknown which specific tau processing step — its phosphorylation, cleavage or aggregation — is an obligate step towards tau-related neurotoxicity. Accordingly, if defects in microglia or in other phagocytic cells reduce their capacity to clear extracellular tau, this would accelerate tau endocytosis in neurons and its pathogenic processing.

A second possibility comes from the established role retromer has in the proper delivery of cathepsin D and other proteases to the endosomal–lysosomal system via CIM6PR or sortilin (Fig. 2c). Studies in sheep, mice and flies68 have shown that cathepsin D deficiency can enhance tau toxicity and that this is mediated by a defective endosomal–lysosomal system68. Whether this mechanism leads to abnormal processing of tau within endosomes or in the cytosol via caspase activation68 remains unclear. As discussed above, retromer dysfunction will lead to a decrease in the normal delivery of cathepsin D to the endosome and will result in endosomal–lysosomal system defects. Retromer dysfunction can therefore be considered as a functional phenocopy of cathepsin D deficiency, which suggests a plausible link between retromer dysfunction and tau toxicity. Nevertheless, although these recent insights establish plausibility and support further investigation into the link between retromer and tau toxicity, whether this link exists and how it may be mediated remain open and outstanding questions.

Parkinson disease

The pathogenic link between retromer and PD is singular and straightforward: exome sequencing has identified autosomal-dominant mutations in VPS35 that cause late-onset PD69, 70, one of a handful of genetic causes of late-onset disease. However, the precise mechanism by which these mutations cause the disease is less clear.

Among a group of recent studies, all46, 48, 71, 72, 73, 74, 75, 76 but one77 strongly suggest that these mutations cause a loss of retromer function. At the molecular level, the mutations do not seem to disrupt mutant VPS35 from interacting normally with VPS26 and VPS29, and from forming the cargo-recognition core. Rather, two studies suggest that the mutations have a restricted effect on the retromer assembly but reduce the ability of VPS35 to associate with the WASH complex46, 75. Studies disagree about the pathophysiological consequences of the mutations. Four studies suggest that the mutations affect the normal retrograde transport of CIM6PR71, 73, 75, 76 from the endosome back to the TGN (Fig. 2c). In this scenario, the normal delivery of cathepsin D to the endosomal–lysosomal system should be reduced and this has been empirically shown73. Cathepsin D has been shown to be the dominant endosomal–lysosomal protease for the normal processing of α-synuclein76, and mutations could therefore lead to abnormal α-synuclein processing and to the formation of α-synuclein aggregates, which are thought to have a key pathogenic role in PD.

A separate study suggested that the mutation might cause a mistrafficking of ATG9, and thereby, as discussed above, reduce the formation and the function of autophagosomes46. Autophagosomes have also been implicated as an intracellular site in which α-synuclein aggregates are cleared. Thus, although future studies are needed to resolve these discrepant findings (which may in fact not be mutually exclusive), these studies are generally in agreement that retromer defects will probably increase the neurotoxic levels of α-synuclein aggregates48.

Several studies in flies71, 74 and in rat neuronal cultures71 provide strong evidence that increasing retromer function by overexpressing VPS35 rescues the neurotoxic effects of the most common PD-causing mutations in leucine-rich repeat kinase 2 (LRRK2). Moreover, a separate study has shown that increasing retromer levels rescues the neurotoxic effect of α-synuclein aggregates in a mouse model48. These findings have immediate therapeutic implications for drugs that increase VPS35 and retromer function, as discussed in the next section, but they also offer mechanistic insight. LRRK2 mutations were found to phenocopy the transport defects caused either by theVPS35 mutations or by knocking down VPS35 (Ref. 71). Together, this and other studies78suggest that LRRK2 might have a role in retromer-dependent transport, but future studies are required to clarify this role.

Other neurological disorders

Besides AD and PD, in which a convergence of findings has established a strong pathogenic link, retromer is being implicated in an increasing number of other neurological disorders. Below, we briefly review three disorders for which the evidence of the involvement of retromer in their pathophysiology is currently the most compelling.

The first of these disorders is Down syndrome (DS), which is caused by an additional copy of chromosome 21. Given the hundreds of genes that are duplicated in DS, it has been difficult to identify which ones drive the intellectual impairments that characterize this condition. A recent elegant study provides strong evidence that a deficiency in the retromer cargo-selection protein SNX27 might be a primary driver for some of these impairments79. This study found that the brains of individuals with DS were deficient in SNX27 and that this deficiency may be caused by an extra copy of a microRNA (miRNA) encoded by human chromosome 21 (the miRNA is produced at elevated levels and thereby decreases SNX27 expression). Consistent with the known role of SNX27 in retromer function, decreased expression of this protein in mice disrupted glutamate receptor recycling in the hippocampus and led to dendritic dysfunction. Importantly, overexpression of SNX27 rescued cognitive and other defects in animal models79, which not only strengthens the causal link between retromer dysfunction and cognitive impairment in DS but also has important therapeutic implications.

Hereditary spastic paraplegia (HSP) is another disorder linked to retromer. HSP is caused by genetic mutations that affect upper motor neurons and is characterized by progressive lower limb spasticity and weakness. Although there are numerous mutations that cause HSP, most are unified by their effects on intracellular transport80. One HSP-associated gene in particular encodes strumpellin81, which is a member of the WASH complex.

The third disorder linked to retromer is neuronal ceroid lipofuscinosis (NCL). NCL is a young-onset neurodegenerative disorder that is part of a larger family of lysosomal storage diseases and is caused by mutations in one of ten identified genes — nine neuronal ceroid lipofuscinosis (CLN) genes and the gene encoding cathepsin D82. Besides cathepsin D, for which the link to retromer has been discussed above, CLN3 seems to function in the normal trafficking of CIM6PR83. However, the most direct link to retromer has been recently described for CLN5, which seems to function, at least in part, as a retromer membrane-recruiting protein84.

Retromer as a therapeutic target

As suggested by the first study implicating retromer in AD7, and in several subsequent studies71,85, increasing the levels of retromer’s cargo-recognition core enhances retromer’s transport function. Motivated by this observation and after a decade-long search86, we identified a novel class of ‘retromer pharmacological chaperones’ that can bind and stabilize retromer’s cargo-recognition core and increase retromer levels in neurons61.

Validating the motivating hypothesis, the chaperones were found to enhance retromer function, as shown by the increased transport of APP out of endosomes and a reduction in the accumulation of APP-derived neurotoxic fragments61. Although there are numerous other pharmacological approaches for enhancing retromer function, this success provides the proof-of-principle that retromer is a tractable therapeutic target.

As retromer functions in all cells, a general concern is whether enhancing its function will have toxic adverse effects. However, studies have found that in stark contrast to even mild retromer deficiencies, increasing retromer levels has no obvious negative consequences in yeast, neuronal cultures, flies or mice40, 48, 61, 71. This might make sense because unlike drugs that, for example, function as inhibitors, simply increasing the normal flow of transport through the endosome might not be cytotoxic.

If retromer drugs are safe and can effectively enhance retromer function in the nervous system — which are still outstanding issues — there are two general indications for considering their clinical application. One rests on the idea that these agents will only be efficacious in patients who have predetermined evidence of retromer dysfunction. The most immediate example is that of individuals with PD that is caused by LRRK2 mutations. As discussed above, several ‘preclinical’ studies in flies and neuronal cultures have already established that increasing retromer levels71, 74can reverse the neurotoxic effects of such mutations and, thus, if this approach is proven to be safe, LRRK2-linked PD might be an appropriate indication for clinical trials.

Alternatively, the pathophysiology of a disease might be such that retromer-enhancing drugs would be efficacious regardless of whether there is documented evidence of retromer dysfunction. AD illustrates this point. As reviewed above, current evidence suggests that retromer-enhancing drugs will, at the very least, decrease pathogenic processing of APP in neurons and enhance microglial function, even if there are no pre-existing defects in retromer.

More generally, histological studies comparing the entorhinal cortex of patients with sporadic AD to age-matched controls have documented that enlarged endosomes are a defining cellular abnormality in AD87, 88. Importantly, enlarged endosomes are uniformly observed in a broad range of patients with sporadic AD, which suggests that enlarged endosomes reflect an intracellular site at which molecular aetiologies converge87. In addition, because they are observed in early stages of the disease in regions of the brain without evidence of amyloid pathology87, enlarged endosomes are thought to be an upstream event. Mechanistically, the most likely cause of enlarged endosomes is either too much cargo flowing into endosomes — as occurs, for example, with apolipoprotein E4 (APOE4), which has been shown to accelerate endocytosis89, 90 — or too little cargo flowing out, as observed in retromer dysfunction40, 61 and related transport defects57. By any mechanism, retromer-enhancing drugs might correct this unifying cellular defect and might be expected to be beneficial regardless of the specific aetiology.

Conclusions

The fact that retromer defects, including those derived from bona fide genetic mutations, seem to differentially target the nervous system suggests that the nervous system is differentially dependent on retromer for its normal function. We think that this reflects the unique cellular properties of neurons and how synaptic biology heavily depends on endosomal transport and trafficking. Although plausible, future studies are required to confirm and to test the details of this hypothesis.

However, currently, it is the clinical rather than the basic neuroscience of retromer that is much better understood, with the established pathophysiological consequences of retromer dysfunction providing a mechanistic link to the disorders in which retromer has been implicated. Nevertheless, many questions remain. The two most interesting questions, which are in fact inversions of each other, relate to regional vulnerability in the nervous system. First, why does retromer dysfunction target specific neuronal populations? Second, how can retromer dysfunction cause diseases that target different regions of the nervous system? Recent evidence hints at answers to both questions, which must somehow be rooted in the functional and molecular diversity of retromer.

The type and the extent of retromer defects linked to different disorders might provide pathophysiological clues as well as reasons for differential vulnerability. As discussed, in AD there seem to be across-the-board defects in retromer, such that each module of the retromer assembly as well as multiple retromer cargos have been pathogenically implicated. By contrast, the profile of retromer defects in PD seems to be more circumscribed, involving selective disruption of the interaction between VPS35 and the WASH complex. These insights might agree with histological87, 88 and large-scale genetic studies54 that suggest that endosomal dysfunction is a unifying focal point in the cellular pathogenesis of AD. In contrast, genetics and other studies91suggest that the cellular pathobiology of PD is more distributed, implicating the endosome but other organelles as well, in particular the mitochondria.

Interestingly, studies suggest that the entorhinal cortex — a region that is differentially vulnerable to AD — has unique dendritic structure and function92, which are highly dependent on endosomal transport. We speculate that it is the unique synaptic biology of the entorhinal cortex that can account for why it might be particularly sensitive to defects in endosomal transport in general and retromer dysfunction in particular, and for why this region is the early site of disease. Future studies are required to investigate this hypothesis, as well as to understand why the substantia nigra or other regions that are differentially vulnerable to PD would be particularly sensitive to the more circumscribed defect in retromer.

Perhaps the most important observation for clinical neuroscience is the now well-established fact that increasing levels of retromer proteins enhances retromer function and has already proved capable of reversing defects associated with AD, PD and DS in either cell culture or in animal models. The relationships between protein levels and function are not always simple, but emerging pharmaceutical technologies that selectively and safely increase protein levels are now a tractable goal in drug discovery93. With the evidence mounting that retromer has a pathogenic role in two of the most common neurodegenerative diseases, we think that targeting retromer to increase its functional activity is an important goal that has strong therapeutic promise.

References

  1. Schekman, R. Charting the secretory pathway in a simple eukaryote. Mol. Biol. Cell 21,3781–3784 (2010).
  2. Henne, W. M., Buchkovich, N. J. & Emr, S. D. The ESCRT pathway. Dev. Cell 21, 77–91(2011).
  3. Seaman, M. N., McCaffery, J. M. & Emr, S. D. A membrane coat complex essential for endosome-to-Golgi retrograde transport in yeast. J. Cell Biol. 142, 665–681 (1998).
  4. Haft, C. R. et al. Human orthologs of yeast vacuolar protein sorting proteins Vps26, 29, and 35: assembly into multimeric complexes. Mol. Biol. Cell 11, 4105–4116 (2000).
  5. Seaman, M. N. Cargo-selective endosomal sorting for retrieval to the Golgi requires retromer. J. Cell Biol. 165, 111–122 (2004).

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Neurovascular pathways to neurodegeneration

Posted in Alzheimer's Disease, Etiology, Neurodegenerative Diseases, Neurological Diseases, Neuroscience, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , on November 28, 2015| Leave a Comment »

Neurovascular pathways to neurodegeneration

Larry H. Bernstein, MD, FCAP, Curator

LPBI

 

 

In addition to the many cellular insults which may contribute to neurodegeneration, there is also a wealth of evidence which suggests that dysfunction of the blood-brain barrier and other CNS vascular insults may also play a key role in Alzheimer’s Disease pathogenesis. This review from Berislav Zlokovic describes much of the recent work into understand how BBB dysfunction contributes to neurodegeneration.    By Tim Spencer on 24 Nov, 2015

 

Neurovascular pathways to neurodegeneration in Alzheimer’s disease and other disorders.

Berislav V. Zlokovic    About the author

Nat Rev Neurosci. 2011 Nov 3;12(12):723-38.        http://dx.doi.org:/10.1038/nrn3114

 

The neurovascular unit (NVU) comprises brain endothelial cells, pericytes or vascular smooth muscle cells, glia and neurons. The NVU controls blood–brain barrier (BBB) permeability and cerebral blood flow, and maintains the chemical composition of the neuronal ‘milieu’, which is required for proper functioning of neuronal circuits. Recent evidence indicates that BBB dysfunction is associated with the accumulation of several vasculotoxic and neurotoxic molecules within brain parenchyma, a reduction in cerebral blood flow, and hypoxia. Together, these vascular-derived insults might initiate and/or contribute to neuronal degeneration. This article examines mechanisms of BBB dysfunction in neurodegenerative disorders, notably Alzheimer’s disease, and highlights therapeutic opportunities relating to these neurovascular deficits.

 

 

Neurons depend on blood vessels for their oxygen and nutrient supplies, and for the removal of carbon dioxide and other potentially toxic metabolites from the brain’s interstitial fluid (ISF). The importance of the circulatory system to the human brain is highlighted by the fact that although the brain comprises ~2% of total body mass, it receives up to 20% of cardiac output and is responsible for ~20% and ~25% of the body’s oxygen consumption and glucose consumption, respectively1. To underline this point, when cerebral blood flow (CBF) stops, brain functions end within seconds and damage to neurons occurs within minutes2.

Neurodegenerative disorders such as Alzheimer’s disease and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) are associated with microvascular dysfunction and/or degeneration in the brain, neurovascular disintegration, defective blood–brain barrier (BBB) function and/or vascular factors1, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12. Microvascular deficits diminish CBF and, consequently, the brain’s supply of oxygen, energy substrates and nutrients. Moreover, such deficits impair the clearance of neurotoxic molecules that accumulate and/or are deposited in the ISF, non-neuronal cells and neurons. Recent evidence suggests that vascular dysfunction leads to neuronal dysfunction and neurodegeneration, and that it might contribute to the development of proteinaceous brain and cerebrovascular ‘storage’ disorders. Such disorders include cerebral β-amyloidosis and cerebral amyloid angiopathy (CAA), which are caused by accumulation of the peptide amyloid-β in the brain and the vessel wall, respectively, and are features of Alzheimer’s disease1.

In this Review, I will discuss neurovascular pathways to neurodegeneration, placing a focus on Alzheimer’s disease because more is known about neurovascular dysfunction in this disease than in other neurodegenerative disorders. The article first examines transport mechanisms for molecules to cross the BBB, before exploring the processes that are involved in BBB breakdown at the molecular and cellular levels, and the consequences of BBB breakdown, hypoperfusion, and hypoxia and endothelial metabolic dysfunction for neuronal function. Next, the article reviews evidence for neurovascular changes during normal ageing and neurovascular BBB dysfunction in various neurodegenerative diseases, including evidence suggesting that vascular defects precede neuronal changes. Finally, the article considers specific mechanisms that are associated with BBB dysfunction in Alzheimer’s disease and ALS, and therapeutic opportunities relating to these neurovascular deficits.

The neurovascular unit

The neurovascular unit (NVU) comprises vascular cells (that is, endothelium, pericytes and vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMCs)), glial cells (that is, astrocytes, microglia and oliogodendroglia) and neurons1, 2, 13 (Fig. 1). In the NVU, the endothelial cells together form a highly specialized membrane around blood vessels. This membrane underlies the BBB and limits the entry of plasma components, red blood cells (RBCs) and leukocytes into the brain. The BBB also regulates the delivery into the CNS of circulating energy metabolites and essential nutrients that are required for proper neuronal and synaptic function. Non-neuronal cells and neurons act in concert to control BBB permeability and CBF. Vascular cells and glia are primarily responsible for maintenance of the constant ‘chemical’ composition of the ISF, and the BBB and the blood–spinal cord barrier (BSCB) work together with pericytes to prevent various potentially neurotoxic and vasculotoxic macromolecules in the blood from entering the CNS, and to promote clearance of these substances from the CNS1.

Figure 1 | Cerebral microcirculation and the neurovascular unit.

Neurovascular pathways to neurodegeneration in Alzheimer's disease and other disorders

In the brain, pial arteries run through the subarachnoid space (SAS), which contains the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF). These vessels give rise to intracerebral arteries, which penetrate into brain parenchyma. Intracerebral arteries are separated from brain parenchyma by a single, interrupted layer of elongated fibroblast-like cells of the pia and the astrocyte-derived glia limitans membrane that forms the outer wall of the perivascular Virchow–Robin space. These arteries branch into smaller arteries and subsequently arterioles, which lose support from the glia limitans and give rise to pre-capillary arterioles and brain capillaries. In an intracerebral artery, the vascular smooth muscle cell (VSMC) layer occupies most of the vessel wall. At the brain capillary level, vascular endothelial cells and pericytes are attached to the basement membrane. Pericyte processes encase most of the capillary wall, and they communicate with endothelial cells directly through synapse-like contacts containing connexins and N-cadherin. Astrocyte end-foot processes encase the capillary wall, which is composed of endothelium and pericytes. Resting microglia have a ‘ramified’ shape and can sense neuronal injury.

Transport across the blood–brain barrier. The endothelial cells that form the BBB are connected by tight and adherens junctions, and it is the tight junctions that confer the low paracellular permeability of the BBB1. Small lipophilic molecules, oxygen and carbon dioxide diffuse freely across the endothelial cells, and hence the BBB, but normal brain endothelium lacks fenestrae and has limited vesicular transport.

The high number of mitochondria in endothelial cells reflects a high energy demand for active ATP-dependent transport, conferred by transporters such as the sodium pump ((Na++K+)ATPase) and the ATP-binding cassette (ABC) efflux transporters. Sodium influx and potassium efflux across the abluminal side of the BBB is controlled by (Na++K+)ATPase (Fig. 2). Changes in sodium and potassium levels in the ISF influence the generation of action potentials in neurons and thus directly affect neuronal and synaptic functions1, 12.

Figure 2 | Blood–brain barrier transport mechanisms.

Neurovascular pathways to neurodegeneration in Alzheimer's disease and other disorders

Small lipophilic drugs, oxygen and carbon dioxide diffuse across the blood–brain barrier (BBB), whereas ions require ATP-dependent transporters such as the (Na++K+)ATPase. Transporters for nutrients include the glucose transporter 1 (GLUT1; also known as solute carrier family 2, facilitated glucose transporter member 1 (SLC2A1)), the lactate transporter monocarboxylate transporter 1 (MCT1) and the L1 and y+ transporters for large neutral and cationic essential amino acids, respectively. These four transporters are expressed at both the luminal and albuminal membranes. Non-essential amino acid transporters (the alanine, serine and cysteine preferring system (ASC), and the alanine preferring system (A)) and excitatory amino acid transporter 1 (EAAT1), EAAT2 and EAAT3 are located at the abluminal side. The ATP-binding cassette (ABC) efflux transporters that are found in the endothelial cells include multidrug resistance protein 1 (ABCB1; also known as ATP-binding cassette subfamily B member 1) and solute carrier organic anion transporter family member 1C1 (OATP1C1). Finally, transporters for peptides or proteins include the endothelial protein C receptor (EPCR) for activated protein C (APC); the insulin receptors (IRs) and the transferrin receptors (TFRs), which are associated with caveolin 1 (CAV1); low-density lipoprotein receptor-related protein 1 (LRP1) for amyloid-β, peptide transport system 1 (PTS1) for encephalins; and the PTS2 and PTS4–vasopressin V1a receptor (V1AR) for arginine vasopressin.

Brain endothelial cells express transporters that facilitate the transport of nutrients down their concentration gradients, as described in detail elsewhere1, 14 (Fig. 2). Glucose transporter 1 (GLUT1; also known as solute carrier family 2, facilitated glucose transporter member 1 (SLC2A1)) — the BBB-specific glucose transporter — is of special importance because glucose is a key energy source for the brain.

Monocarboxylate transporter 1 (MCT1), which transports lactate, and the L1 and y+ amino acid transporters are expressed at the luminal and abluminal membranes12, 14. Sodium-dependent excitatory amino acid transporter 1 (EAAT1), EAAT2 and EAAT3 are expressed at the abluminal side of the BBB15 and enable removal of glutamate, an excitatory neurotransmitter, from the brain (Fig. 2). Glutamate clearance at the BBB is essential for protecting neurons from overstimulation of glutaminergic receptors, which is neurotoxic16.

ABC transporters limit the penetration of many drugs into the brain17. For example, multidrug resistance protein 1 (ABCB1; also known as ATP-binding cassette subfamily B member 1) controls the rapid removal of ingested toxic lipophilic metabolites17 (Fig. 2). Some ABC transporters also mediate the efflux of nutrients from the endothelium into the ISF. For example, solute carrier organic anion transporter family member 1C1 (OATP1C1) transports thyroid hormones into the brain. MCT8 mediates influx of thyroid hormones from blood into the endothelium18 (Fig. 2).

The transport of circulating peptides across the BBB into the brain is restricted or slow compared with the transport of nutrients19. Carrier-mediated transport of neuroactive peptides controls their low levels in the ISF20, 21, 22, 23, 24 (Fig. 2). Some proteins, including transferrin, insulin, insulin-like growth factor 1 (IGF1), leptin25, 26, 27 and activated protein C (APC)28, cross the BBB by receptor-mediated transcytosis (Fig. 2).

Circumventricular organs. Several small neuronal structures that surround brain ventricles lack the BBB and sense chemical changes in blood or the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) directly. These brain areas are known as circumventricular organs (CVOs). CVOs have important roles in multiple endocrine and autonomic functions, including the control of feeding behaviour as well as regulation of water and salt metabolism29. For example, the subfornical organ is one of the CVOs that are capable of sensing extracellular sodium using astrocyte-derived lactate as a signal for local neurons to initiate neural, hormonal and behavioural responses underlying sodium homeostasis30. Excessive sodium accumulation is detrimental, and increases in plasma sodium above a narrow range are incompatible with life, leading to cerebral oedema (swelling), seizures and death29.

Vascular-mediated pathophysiology

The key pathways of vascular dysfunction that are linked to neurodegenerative diseases include BBB breakdown, hypoperfusion–hypoxia and endothelial metabolic dysfunction (Fig. 3). This section examines processes that are involved in BBB breakdown at the molecular and cellular levels, and explores the consequences of all three pathways for neuronal function and viability.

Figure 3 | Vascular-mediated neuronal damage and neurodegeneration.

Neurovascular pathways to neurodegeneration in Alzheimer's disease and other disorders

a | Blood–brain barrier (BBB) breakdown that is caused by pericyte detachment leads to leakage of serum proteins and focal microhaemorrhages, with extravasation of red blood cells (RBCs). RBCs release haemoglobin, which is a source of iron. In turn, this metal catalyses the formation of toxic reactive oxygen species (ROS) that mediate neuronal injury. Albumin promotes the development of vasogenic oedema, contributing to hypoperfusion and hypoxia of the nervous tissue, which aggravates neuronal injury. A defective BBB allows several potentially vasculotoxic and neurotoxic proteins (for example, thrombin, fibrin and plasmin) to enter the brain. b | Progressive reductions in cerebral blood flow (CBF) lead to increasing neuronal dysfunction. Mild hypoperfusion, oligaemia, leads to a decrease in protein synthesis, whereas more-severe reductions in CBF, leading to hypoxia, cause an array of detrimental effects.

 

Blood–brain barrier breakdown. Disruption to tight and adherens junctions, an increase in bulk-flow fluid transcytosis, and/or enzymatic degradation of the capillary basement membrane cause physical breakdown of the BBB.

The levels of many tight junction proteins, their adaptor molecules and adherens junction proteins decrease in Alzheimer’s disease and other diseases that cause dementia1, 9, ALS31, multiple sclerosis32 and various animal models of neurological disease8, 33. These decreases might be partly explained by the fact that vascular-associated matrix metalloproteinase (MMP) activity rises in many neurodegenerative disorders and after ischaemic CNS injury34, 35; tight junction proteins and basement membrane extracellular matrix proteins are substrates for these enzymes34. Lowered expression of messenger RNAs that encode several key tight junction proteins, however, has also been reported in some neurodegenerative disorders, such as ALS31.

Endothelial cell–pericyte interactions are crucial for the formation36, 37 and maintenance of the BBB33, 38. Pericyte deficiency can lead to a reduction in expression of certain tight junction proteins, including occludin, claudin 5 and ZO1 (Ref. 33), and to an increase in bulk-flow transcytosis across the BBB, causing BBB breakdown38. Both processes can lead to extravasation of multiple small and large circulating macromolecules (up to 500 kDa) into the brain parenchyma33, 38. Moreover, in mice, an age-dependent progressive loss of pericytes can lead to BBB disruption and microvasular degeneration and, subsequently, neuronal dysfunction, cognitive decline and neurodegenerative changes33. In their lysosomes, pericytes concentrate and degrade multiple circulating exogenous39and endogenous proteins, including serum immunoglobulins and fibrin33, which amplify BBB breakdown in cases of pericyte deficiency.

BBB breakdown typically leads to an accumulation of various molecules in the brain. The build up of serum proteins such as immunoglobulins and albumin can cause brain oedema and suppression of capillary blood flow8, 33, whereas high concentrations of thrombin lead to neurotoxicity and memory impairment40, and accelerate vascular damage and BBB disruption41. The accumulation of plasmin (derived from circulating plasminogen) can catalyse the degradation of neuronal laminin and, hence, promote neuronal injury42, and high fibrin levels accelerate neurovascular damage6. Finally, an increase in the number of RBCs causes deposition of haemoglobin-derived neurotoxic products including iron, which generates neurotoxic reactive oxygen species (ROS)8, 43 (Fig. 3a). In addition to protein-mediated vasogenic oedema, local tissue ischaemia–hypoxia depletes ATP stores, causing (Na++K+)ATPase pumps and Na+-dependent ion channels to stop working and, consequently, the endothelium and astrocytes to swell (known as cytotoxic oedema)44. Upregulation of aquaporin 4 water channels in response to ischaemia facilitates the development of cytotoxic oedema in astrocytes45.

Hypoperfusion and hypoxia. CBF is regulated by local neuronal activity and metabolism, known as neurovascular coupling46. The pial and intracerebral arteries control the local increase in CBF that occurs during brain activation, which is termed ‘functional hyperaemia’. Neurovascular coupling requires intact pial circulation, and for VSMCs and pericytes to respond normally to vasoactive stimuli33, 46, 47. In addition to VSMC-mediated constriction and vasodilation of cerebral arteries, recent studies have shown that pericytes modulate brain capillary diameter through constriction of the vessel wall47, which obstructs capillary flow during ischaemia48. Astrocytes regulate the contractility of intracerebral arteries49, 50.

Progressive CBF reductions have increasingly serious consequences for neurons (Fig. 3b). Briefly, mild hypoperfusion — termed oligaemia — affects protein synthesis, which is required for the synaptic plasticity mediating learning and memory46. Moderate to severe CBF reductions and hypoxia affect ATP synthesis, diminishing (Na++K+)ATPase activity and the ability of neurons to generate action potentials9. In addition, such reductions can lower or increase pH, and alter electrolyte balances and water gradients, leading to the development of oedema and white matter lesions, and the accumulation of glutamate and proteinaceous toxins (for example, amyloid-β and hyperphopshorylated tau) in the brain. A reduction of greater than 80% in CBF results in neuronal death2.

The effect of CBF reductions has been extensively studied at the molecular and cellular levels in relation to Alzheimer’s disease. Reduced CBF and/or CBF dysregulation occurs in elderly individuals at high risk of Alzheimer’s disease before cognitive decline, brain atrophy and amyloid-β accumulation10, 46, 51, 52, 53, 54. In animal models, hypoperfusion can induce or amplify Alzheimer’s disease-like neuronal dysfunction and/or neuropathological changes. For example, bilateral carotid occlusion in rats causes memory impairment, neuronal dysfunction, synaptic changes and amyloid-β oligomerization55, leading to accumulation of neurotoxic amyloid-β oligomers56. In a mouse model of Alzheimer’s disease, oligaemia increases neuronal amyloid-β levels and neuronal tau phosphophorylation at an epitope that is associated with Alzheimer’s disease-type paired helical filaments57. In rodents, ischaemia leads to the accumulation of hyperphosphorylated tau in neurons and the formation of filaments that resemble those present in human neurodegenerative tauopathies and Alzheimer’s disease58. Mice expressing amyloid-β precursor protein (APP) and transforming growth factor β1 (TGFβ1) develop deficient neurovascular coupling, cholinergic denervation, enhanced cerebral and cerebrovascular amyloid-β deposition, and age-dependent cognitive decline59.

Recent studies have shown that ischaemia–hypoxia influences amyloidogenic APP processing through mechanisms that increase the activity of two key enzymes that are necessary for amyloid-β production; that is, β-secretase and γ-secretase60, 61, 62, 63. Hypoxia-inducible factor 1α (HIF1α) mediates transcriptional increase in β-secretase expression61. Hypoxia also promotes phosphorylation of tau through the mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK; also known as extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK)) pathway64, downregulates neprilysin — an amyloid-β-degrading enzyme65 — and leads to alterations in the expression of vascular-specific genes, including a reduction in the expression of the homeobox protein MOX2 gene mesenchyme homeobox 2 (MEOX2) in brain endothelial cells5 and an increase in the expression of the myocardin gene (MYOCD) in VSMCs66. In patients with Alzheimer’s disease and in models of this disorder, these changes cause vessel regression, hypoperfusion and amyloid-β accumulation resulting from the loss of the key amyloid-β clearance lipoprotein receptor (see below). In addition, hypoxia facilitates alternative splicing of Eaat2 mRNA in Alzheimer’s disease transgenic mice before amyloid-β deposition67 and suppresses glutamate reuptake by astrocytes independently of amyloid formation68, resulting in glutamate-mediated neuronal injury that is independent of amyloid-β.

In response to hypoxia, mitochondria release ROS that mediate oxidative damage to the vascular endothelium and to the selective population of neurons that has high metabolic activity. Such damage has been suggested to occur before neuronal degeneration and amyloid-β deposition in Alzheimer’s disease69, 70. Although the exact triggers of hypoxia-mediated neurodegeneration and the role of HIF1α in neurodegeneration versus preconditioning-mediated neuroprotection remain topics of debate, mitochondria-generated ROS seem to have a primary role in the regulation of the HIF1α-mediated transcriptional switch that can activate an array of responses, ranging from mechanisms that increase cell survival and adaptation to mechanisms inducing cell cycle arrest and death71. Whether inhibition of hypoxia-mediated pathogenic pathways will delay onset and/or control progression in neurodegenerative conditions such as Alzheimer’s disease remains to be determined.

When comparing the contributions of BBB breakdown and hypoperfusion to neuronal injury, it is interesting to consider Meox2+/− mice. Such animals have normal pericyte coverage and an intact BBB but a substantial perfusion deficit5 that is comparable to that found in pericyte-deficient mice that develop BBB breakdown33 Notably, however,Meox2+/− mice show less pronounced neurodegenerative changes than pericyte-deficient mice, indicating that chronic hypoperfusion–hypoxia alone can cause neuronal injury, but not to the same extent as hypoperfusion–hypoxia combined with BBB breakdown.

Endothelial neurotoxic and inflammatory factors. Alterations in cerebrovascular metabolic functions can lead to the secretion of multiple neurotoxic and inflammatory factors72, 73. For example, brain microvessels that have been isolated from individuals with Alzheimer’s disease (but not from neurologically normal age-matched and young individuals) and brain microvessels that have been treated with inflammatory proteins release neurotoxic factors that kill neurons74, 75. These factors include thrombin, the levels of which increase with the onset of Alzheimer’s disease76. Thrombin can injure neurons directly40 and indirectly by activating microglia and astrocytes73. Compared with those from age-matched controls, brain microvessels from individuals with Alzheimer’s disease secrete increased levels of multiple inflammatory mediators, such as nitric oxide, cytokines (for example, tumour necrosis factor (TNF), TGFβ1, interleukin-1β (IL-1β) and IL-6), chemokines (for example, CC-chemokine ligand 2 (CCL2; also known as monocyte chemoattractant protein 1 (MCP1)) and IL-8), prostaglandins, MMPs and leukocyte adhesion molecules73. Endothelium-derived neurotoxic and inflammatory factors together provide a molecular link between vascular metabolic dysfunction, neuronal injury and inflammation in Alzheimer’s disease and, possibly, in other neurodegenerative disorders.

Neurovascular changes

This section examines evidence for neurovascular changes during normal ageing and for neurovascular and/or BBB dysfunction in various neurodegenerative diseases, as well as the possibility that vascular defects can precede neuronal changes.

Age-associated neurovascular changes. Normal ageing diminishes brain circulatory functions, including a detectable decay of CBF in the limbic and association cortices that has been suggested to underlie age-related cognitive changes77. Alterations in the cerebral microvasculature, but not changes in neural activity, have been shown to lead to age-dependent reductions in functional hyperaemia in the visual system in cats78 and in the sensorimotor cortex in pericyte-deficient mice33. Importantly, a recent longitudinal CBF study in neurologically normal individuals revealed that people bearing the apolipoprotein E (APOE) ɛ4 allele — the major genetic risk factor for late-onset Alzheimer’s disease79, 80, 81 — showed greater regional CBF decline in brain regions that are particularly vulnerable to pathological changes in Alzheimer’s disease than did people without this allele82.

A meta-analysis of BBB permeability in 1,953 individuals showed that neurologically healthy humans had an age-dependent increase in vascular permeability83. Moreover, patients with vascular or Alzheimer’s disease-type dementia and leucoaraiosis — a small-vessel disease of the cerebral white matter — had an even greater age-dependent increase in vascular permeability83. Interestingly, an increase in BBB permeability in brain areas with normal white matter in patients with leukoaraiosis has been suggested to play a causal part in disease and the development of lacunar strokes84. Age-related changes in the permeability of the blood–CSF barrier and the choroid plexus have been reported in sheep85.

Vascular pathology. Patients with Alzheimer’s disease or other dementia-causing diseases frequently show focal changes in brain microcirculation. These changes include the appearance of string vessels (collapsed and acellular membrane tubes), a reduction in capillary density, a rise in endothelial pinocytosis, a decrease in mitochondrial content, accumulation of collagen and perlecans in the basement membrane, loss of tight junctions and/or adherens junctions3, 4, 5, 6, 9, 46, 86, and BBB breakdown with leakage of blood-borne molecules4, 6, 7, 9. The time course of these vascular alterations and how they relate to dementia and Alzheimer’s disease pathology remain unclear, as no protocol that allows the development of the diverse brain vascular pathology to be scored, and hence to be tracked with ageing, has so far been developed and widely validated87. Interestingly, a recent study involving 500 individuals who died between the ages of 69 and 103 years showed that small-vessel disease, infarcts and the presence of more than one vascular pathological change were associated with Alzheimer’s disease-type pathological lesions and dementia in people aged 75 years of age87. These associations were, however, less pronounced in individuals aged 95 years of age, mainly because of a marked ageing-related reduction in Alzheimer’s disease neuropathology relative to a moderate but insignificant ageing-related reduction in vascular pathology87.

Accumulation of amyloid-β and amyloid deposition in pial and intracerebral arteries results in CAA, which is present in over 80% of Alzheimer’s disease cases88. In patients who have Alzheimer’s disease with established CAA in small arteries and arterioles, the VSMC layer frequently shows atrophy, which causes a rupture of the vessel wall and intracerebral bleeding in about 30% of these patients89, 90. These intracerebral bleedings contribute to, and aggravate, dementia. Patients with hereditary cerebral β-amyloidosis and CAA of the Dutch, Iowa, Arctic, Flemish, Italian or Piedmont L34V type have accelerated VSMC degeneration resulting in haemorrhagic strokes and dementia91. Duplication of the gene encoding APP causes early-onset Alzheimer’s disease dementia with CAA and intracerebral haemorrhage92.

Early studies of serum immunoglobulin leakage reported that patients with ALS had BSCB breakdown and BBB breakdown in the motor cortex93. Microhaemorrhages and BSCB breakdown have been shown in the spinal cord of transgenic mice expressing mutant variants of human superoxide dismutase 1 (SOD1), which in mice cause an ALS-like disease8, 94, 95. In mice with ALS-like disease and in patients with ALS, BSCB breakdown has been shown to occur before motor neuron degeneration or brain atrophy8, 11, 95.

BBB breakdown in the substantia nigra and the striatum has been detected in murine models of Parkinson’s disease that are induced by administration of 1-methyl-4-phenyl-1,2,3,6-tetrahydropyridine (MPTP)96, 97, 98. However, the temporal relationship between BBB breakdown and neurodegeneration in Parkinson’s disease is currently unknown. Notably, the prevalence of CAA and vascular lesions increases in Parkinson’s disease99,100. Vascular lesions in the striatum and lacunar infarcts can cause vascular parkinsonism syndrome101. A recent study reported BBB breakdown in a rat model of Huntington’s disease that is induced with the toxin 3-nitropropionic acid102.

Several studies have established disruption of BBB with a loss of tight junction proteins during neuroinflammatory conditions such as multiple sclerosis and its murine model, experimental allergic encephalitis. Such disruption facilitates leukocyte infiltration, leading to oliogodendrocyte death, axonal damage, demyelination and lesion development32.

Functional changes in the vasculature. In individuals with Alzheimer’s disease, GLUT1 expression at the BBB decreases103, suggesting a shortage in necessary metabolic substrates. Studies using 18F-fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG) positron emission tomography (PET) have identified reductions in glucose uptake in asymptomatic individuals with a high risk of dementia104, 105. Several studies have suggested that reduced glucose uptake across the BBB, as seen by FDG PET, precedes brain atrophy104, 105, 106, 107, 108.

Amyloid-β constricts cerebral arteries109. In a mouse model of Alzheimer’s disease, impairment of endothelium-dependent regulation of neocortical microcirculation110, 111occurs before amyloid-β accumulation. Recent studies have shown that CD36, a scavenger receptor that binds amyloid-β, is essential for the vascular oxidative stress and diminished functional hyperaemia that occurs in response to amyloid-β exposure112. Neuroimaging studies in patients with Alzheimer’s disease have shown that neurovascular uncoupling occurs before neurodegenerative changes10, 51, 52, 53. Moreover, cognitively normal APOE ɛ4 carriers at risk of Alzheimer’s disease show impaired CBF responses to brain activation in the absence of neurodegenerative changes or amyloid-β accumulation54. Recently, patients with Alzheimer’s disease as well as mouse models of this disease with high cerebrovascular levels of serum response factor (SRF) and MYOCD, the two transcription factors that control VSMC differentiation, have been shown to develop a hypercontractile arterial phenotype resulting in brain hypoperfusion, diminished functional hyperaemia and CAA66, 113. More work is needed to establish the exact role of SRF and MYOCD in the vascular dysfunction that results in the Alzheimer’s disease phenotype and CAA.

PET studies with 11C-verapamil, an ABCB1 substrate, have indicated that the function of ABCB1, which removes multiple drugs and toxins from the brain, decreases with ageing114 and is particularly compromised in the midbrain of patients with Parkinson’s disease, progressive supranuclear palsy or multiple system atrophy115. More work is needed to establish the exact roles of ABC BBB transporters in neurodegeneration and whether their failure precedes the loss of dopaminergic neurons that occurs in Parkinson’s disease.

In mice with ALS-like disease and in patients with ALS, hypoperfusion and/or dysregulated CBF have been shown to occur before motor neuron degeneration or brain atrophy8, 116. Reduced regional CBF in basal ganglia and reduced blood volume have been reported in pre-symptomatic gene-tested individuals at risk for Huntington’s disease117. Patients with Huntington’s disease display a reduction in vasomotor activity in the cerebral anterior artery during motor activation118.

Vascular and neuronal common growth factors. Blood vessels and neurons share common growth factors and molecular pathways that regulate their development and maintenance119, 120. Angioneurins are growth factors that exert both vasculotrophic and neurotrophic activities121. The best studied angioneurin is vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF). VEGF regulates vessel formation, axonal growth and neuronal survival120. Ephrins, semaphorins, slits and netrins are axon guidance factors that also regulate the development of the vascular system121. During embryonic development of the neural tube, blood vessels and choroid plexus secrete IGF2 into the CSF, which regulates the proliferation of neuronal progenitor cells122. Genetic and pharmacological manipulations of angioneurin activity yielded various vascular and cerebral phenotypes121. Given the dual nature of angioneurin action, these studies have not been able to address whether neuronal dysfunction results from a primary insult to neurons and/or whether it is secondary to vascular dysfunction.

Increased levels of VEGF, a hypoxia-inducible angiogenic factor, were found in the walls of intraparenchymal vessels, perivascular deposits, astrocytes and intrathecal space of patients with Alzheimer’s disease, and were consistent with the chronic cerebral hypoperfusion and hypoxia that were observed in these individuals73. In addition to VEGF, brain microvessels in Alzheimer’s disease release several molecules that can influence angiogenesis, including IL-1β, IL-6, IL-8, TNF, TGFβ, MCP1, thrombin, angiopoietin 2, αVβ3 and αVβ5 integrins, and HIF1α73. However, evidence for increased vascularity in Alzheimer’s disease is lacking. On the contrary, several studies have reported that focal vascular regression and diminished microvascular density occur in Alzheimer’s disease4, 5, 73 and in Alzheimer’s disease transgenic mice123. The reason for this discrepancy is not clear. The anti-angiogenic activity of amyloid-β, which accumulates in the brains of individuals with Alzheimer’s disease and Alzheimer’s disease models, may contribute to hypovascularity123. Conversely, genome-wide transcriptional profiling of brain endothelial cells from patients with Alzheimer’s disease revealed that extremely low expression of vascular-restricted MEOX2 mediates aberrant angiogenic responses to VEGF and hypoxia, leading to capillary death5. This finding raises the interesting question of whether capillary degeneration in Alzheimer’s disease results from unsuccessful vascular repair and/or remodelling. Moreover, mice that lack one Meox2allele have been shown to develop a primary cerebral endothelial hypoplasia with chronic brain hypoperfusion5, resulting in secondary neurodegenerative changes33.

Does vascular dysfunction cause neuronal dysfunction? In summary, the evidence that is discussed above clearly indicates that vascular dysfunction is tightly linked to neuronal dysfunction. There are many examples to illustrate that primary vascular deficits lead to secondary neurodegeneration, including CADASIL (cerebral autosomal dominant arteriopathy with subcortical infarcts), an hereditary small-vessel brain disease resulting in multiple small ischaemic lesions, neurodegeneration and dementia124; mutations in SLC2A1 that cause dysfunction of the BBB-specific GLUT1 transporter in humans resulting in seizures; cognitive impairment and microcephaly125; microcephaly and epileptiform discharges in mice with genetic deletion of a single Slc2a1 allele126; and neurodegeneration mediated by a single Meox2 homebox gene deletion restricted to the vascular system33. Patients with hereditary cerebral β-amyloidosis and CAA of the Dutch, Iowa, Arctic, Flemish, Italian or Piedmont L34V type provide another example showing that primary vascular dysfunction — which in this case is caused by deposition of vasculotropic amyloid-β mutants in the arterial vessel wall — leads to dementia and intracerebral bleeding. Moreover, as reviewed in the previous sections, recent evidence suggests that BBB dysfunction and/or breakdown, and CBF reductions and/or dysregulation may occur in sporadic Alzheimer’s disease and experimental models of this disease before cognitive decline, amyloid-β deposition and brain atrophy. In patients with ALS and in some experimental models of ALS, CBF dysregulation, BSCB breakdown and spinal cord hypoperfusion have been reported to occur before motor neuron cell death. Whether neurological changes follow or precede vascular dysfunction in Parkinson’s disease, Huntington’s disease and multiple sclerosis remains less clear. However, there is little doubt that vascular injury mediates, amplifies and/or lowers the threshold for neuronal dysfunction and loss in several neurological disorders.

Disease-specific considerations

This section examines how amyloid-β levels are kept low in the brain, a process in which the BBB has a central role, and how faulty BBB-mediated clearance mechanisms go awry in Alzheimer’s disease. On the basis of this evidence and the findings discussed elsewhere in the Review, a new hypothesis for the pathogenesis of Alzheimer’s disease that incorporates the vascular evidence is presented. ALS-specific disease mechanisms relating to the BBB are then examined.

Alzheimer’s disease. Amyloid-β clearance from the brain by the BBB is the best studied example of clearance of a proteinaceous toxin from the CNS. Multiple pathways regulate brain amyloid-β levels, including its production and clearance (Fig. 4). Recent studies127,128, 129 have confirmed earlier findings in multiple rodent and non-human primate models demonstrating that peripheral amyloid-β is an important precursor of brain amyloid-β130, 131, 132, 133, 134, 135, 136. Moreover, peripheral amyloid-β sequestering agents such as soluble LRP1 (ref.137), anti-amyloid-β antibodies138, 139,140, gelsolin and the ganglioside GM1 (Ref. 141), or systemic expression of neprilysin142, 143 have been shown to reduce the amyloid burden in Alzheimer’s disease mice by eliminating contributions of the peripheral amyloid-β pool to the total brain pool of this peptide.

Figure 4 | The role of blood–brain barrier transport in brain homeostasis of amyloid-β.

Neurovascular pathways to neurodegeneration in Alzheimer's disease and other disorders

Amyloid-β (Aβ) is produced from the amyloid-β precursor protein (APP), both in the brain and in peripheral tissues. Clearance of amyloid-β from the brain normally maintains its low levels in the brain. This peptide is cleared across the blood–brain barrier (BBB) by the low-density lipoprotein receptor-related protein 1 (LRP1). LRP1 mediates rapid efflux of a free, unbound form of amyloid-β and of amyloid-β bound to apolipoprotein E2 (APOE2), APOE3 or α2-macroglobulin (not shown) from the brain’s interstitial fluid into the blood, and APOE4 inhibits such transport. LRP2 eliminates amyloid-β that is bound to clusterin (CLU; also known as apolipoprotein J (APOJ)) by transport across the BBB, and shows a preference for the 42-amino-acid form of this peptide. ATP-binding cassette subfamily A member 1 (ABCA1; also known as cholesterol efflux regulatory protein) mediates amyloid-β efflux from the brain endothelium to blood across the luminal side of the BBB (not shown). Cerebral endothelial cells, pericytes, vascular smooth muscle cells, astrocytes, microglia and neurons express different amyloid-β-degrading enzymes, including neprilysin (NEP), insulin-degrading enzyme (IDE), tissue plasminogen activator (tPA) and matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs), which contribute to amyloid-β clearance. In the circulation, amyloid-β is bound mainly to soluble LRP1 (sLRP1), which normally prevents its entry into the brain. Systemic clearance of amyloid-β is mediated by its removal by the liver and kidneys. The receptor for advanced glycation end products (RAGE) provides the key mechanism for influx of peripheral amyloid-β into the brain across the BBB either as a free, unbound plasma-derived peptide and/or by amyloid-β-laden monocytes. Faulty vascular clearance of amyloid-β from the brain and/or an increased re-entry of peripheral amyloid-β across the blood vessels into the brain can elevate amyloid-β levels in the brain parenchyma and around cerebral blood vessels. At pathophysiological concentrations, amyloid-β forms neurotoxic oligomers and also self-aggregates, which leads to the development of cerebral β-amyloidosis and cerebral amyloid angiopathy.

The receptor for advanced glycation end products (RAGE) mediates amyloid-β transport in brain and the propagation of its toxicity. RAGE expression in brain endothelium provides a mechanism for influx of amyloid-β144, 145 and amyloid-β-laden monocytes146 across the BBB, as shown in Alzheimer’s disease models (Fig. 4). The amyloid-β-rich environment in Alzheimer’s disease and models of this disorder increases RAGE expression at the BBB and in neurons147, 148, amplifying amyloid-β-mediated pathogenic responses. Blockade of amyloid-β–RAGE signalling in Alzheimer’s disease is a promising strategy to control self-propagation of amyloid-β-mediated injury.

Several studies in animal models of Alzheimer’s disease and, more recently, in patients with this disorder149 have shown that diminished amyloid-β clearance occurs in brain tissue in this disease. LRP1 plays an important part in the three-step serial clearance of this peptide from brain and the rest of the body150 (Fig. 4). In step one, LRP1 in brain endothelium binds brain-derived amyloid-β at the abluminal side of the BBB, initiating its clearance to blood, as shown in many animal models151, 152, 153, 154, 155, 156 and BBB models in vitro151, 157, 158. The vasculotropic mutants of amyloid-β that have low binding affinity for LRP1 are poorly cleared from the brain or CSF151, 159, 160. APOE4, but not APOE3 or APOE2, blocks LRP1-mediated amyloid-β clearance from the brain and, hence, promotes its retention161, whereas clusterin (also known as apolipoprotein J (APOJ)) mediates amyloid-β clearance across the BBB via LRP2 (Ref. 153). APOE and clusterin influence amyloid-β aggregation162, 163. Reduced LRP1 levels in brain microvessels, perhaps in addition to altered levels of ABCB1, are associated with amyloid-β cerebrovascular and brain accumulation during ageing in rodents, non-human primates, humans, Alzheimer’s disease mice and patients with Alzheimer’s disease66,151, 152, 164, 165, 166. Moreover, recent work has shown that brain LRP1 is oxidized in Alzheimer’s disease167, and may contribute to amyloid-β retention in brain because the oxidized form cannot bind and/or transport amyloid-β137. LRP1 also mediates the removal of amyloid-β from the choroid plexus168.

In step two, circulating soluble LRP1 binds more than 70% of plasma amyloid-β in neurologically normal humans137. In patients with Alzheimer’s disease or mild cognitive impairment (MCI), and in Alzheimer’s disease mice, amyloid-β binding to soluble LRP1 is compromised due to oxidative changes137, 169, resulting in elevated plasma levels of free amyloid-β isoforms comprising 40 or 42 amino acids (amyloid-β1–40 and amyloid-β1–42). These peptides can then re-enter the brain, as has been shown in a mouse model of Alzheimer’s disease137. Rapid systemic removal of amyloid-β by the liver is also mediated by LRP1 and comprises step three of the clearance process170.

In brain, amyloid-β is enzymatically degraded by neprilysin171, insulin-degrading enzyme172, tissue plasminogen activator173 and MMPs173, 174 in various cell types, including endothelial cells, pericytes, astrocytes, neurons and microglia. Cellular clearance of this peptide by astrocytes and VSMCs is mediated by LRP1 and/or another lipoprotein receptor66, 175. Clearance of amyloid-β aggregates by microglia has an important role in amyloid-β-directed immunotherapy176 and reduction of the amyloid load in brain177. Passive ISF–CSF bulk flow and subsequent clearance through the CSF might contribute to 10–15% of total amyloid-β removal152, 153, 178. In the injured human brain, increasing soluble amyloid-β concentrations in the ISF correlated with improvements in neurological status, suggesting that neuronal activity might regulate extracellular amyloid-β levels179.

The role of BBB dysfunction in amyloid-β accumulation, as discussed above, underlies the contribution of vascular dysfunction to Alzheimer’s disease (see Fig. 5 for a model of vascular damage in Alzheimer’s disease). The amyloid hypothesis for the pathogenesis of Alzheimer’s disease maintains that this peptide initiates a cascade of events leading to neuronal injury and loss and, eventually, dementia180, 181. Here, I present an alternative hypothesis — the two-hit vascular hypothesis of Alzheimer’s disease — that incorporates the vascular contribution to this disease, as discussed in this Review (Box 1). This hypothesis states that primary damage to brain microcirculation (hit one) initiates a non-amyloidogenic pathway of vascular-mediated neuronal dysfunction and injury, which is mediated by BBB dysfunction and is associated with leakage and secretion of multiple neurotoxic molecules and/or diminished brain capillary flow that causes multiple focal ischaemic or hypoxic microinjuries. BBB dysfunction also leads to impairment of amyloid-β clearance, and oligaemia leads to increased amyloid-β generation. Both processes contribute to accumulation of amyloid-β species in the brain (hit two), where these peptides exert vasculotoxic and neurotoxic effects. According to the two-hit vascular hypothesis of Alzheimer’s disease, tau pathology develops secondary to vascular and/or amyloid-β injury.

Figure 5 | A model of vascular damage in Alzheimer’s disease.

Neurovascular pathways to neurodegeneration in Alzheimer's disease and other disorders

a | In the early stages of Alzheimer’s disease, small pial and intracerebral arteries develop a hypercontractile phenotype that underlies dysregulated cerebral blood flow (CBF). This phenotype is accompanied by diminished amyloid-β clearance by the vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMCs). In the later phases of Alzheimer’s disease, amyloid deposition in the walls of intracerebral arteries leads to cerebral amyloid angiopathy (CAA), pronounced reductions in CBF, atrophy of the VSMC layer and rupture of the vessels causing microbleeds. b | At the level of capillaries in the early stages of Alzheimer’s disease, blood–brain barrier (BBB) dysfunction leads to a faulty amyloid-β clearance and accumulation of neurotoxic amyloid-β oligomers in the interstitial fluid (ISF), microhaemorrhages and accumulation of toxic blood-derived molecules (that is, thrombin and fibrin), which affect synaptic and neuronal function. Hyperphosphorylated tau (p-tau) accumulates in neurons in response to hypoperfusion and/or rising amyloid-β levels. At this point, microglia begin to sense neuronal injury. In the later stages of the disease in brain capillaries, microvascular degeneration leads to increased deposition of basement membrane proteins and perivascular amyloid. The deposited proteins and amyloid obstruct capillary blood flow, resulting in failure of the efflux pumps, accumulation of metabolic waste products, changes in pH and electrolyte composition and, subsequently, synaptic and neuronal dysfunction. Neurofibrillary tangles (NFTs) accumulate in response to ischaemic injury and rising amyloid-β levels. Activation of microglia and astrocytes is associated with a pronounced inflammatory response. ROS, reactive oxygen species.

 

Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. The cause of sporadic ALS, a fatal adult-onset motor neuron neurodegenerative disease, is not known182. In a relatively small number of patients with inherited SOD1 mutations, the disease is caused by toxic properties of mutant SOD1 (Ref. 183). Mutations in the genes encoding ataxin 2 and TAR DNA-binding protein 43 (TDP43) that cause these proteins to aggregate have been associated with ALS182, 184. Some studies have suggested that abnormal SOD1 species accumulate in sporadic ALS185. Interestingly, studies in ALS transgenic mice expressing a mutant version of human SOD1 in neurons, and in non-neuronal cells neighbouring these neurons, have shown that deletion of this gene from neurons does not influence disease progression186, whereas deletion of this gene from microglia186 or astrocytes187substantially increases an animal’s lifespan. According to an emerging hypothesis of ALS that is based on studies in SOD1 mutant mice, the toxicity that is derived from non-neuronal neighbouring cells, particularly microglia and astrocytes, contributes to disease progression and motor neuron degeneration186, 187, 188, 189, 190, whereas BBB dysfunction might be critical for disease initiation8, 43, 94, 95. More work is needed to determine whether this concept of disease initiation and progression may also apply to cases of sporadic ALS.

Human data support a role for angiogenic factors and vessels in the pathogenesis of ALS. For example, the presence of VEGF variations (which were identified in large meta-analysis studies) has been linked to ALS191. Angiogenin is another pro-angiogenic gene that is implicated in ALS because heterozygous missense mutations in angiogenin cause familial and sporadic ALS192. Moreover, mice with a mutation that eliminates hypoxia-responsive induction of the Vegf gene (Vegfδ/δ mice) develop late-onset motor neuron degeneration193. Spinal cord ischaemia worsens motor neuron degeneration and functional outcome in Vegfδ/δ mice, whereas the absence of hypoxic induction of VEGF in mice that develop motor neuron disease from expression of ALS-linked mutant SOD1G93A results in substantially reduced survival191.

Therapeutic opportunities

Many investigators believe that primary neuronal dysfunction resulting from an intrinsic neuronal disorder is the key underlying event in human neurodegenerative diseases. Thus, most therapeutic efforts for neurodegenerative diseases have so far been directed at the development of so-called ‘single-target, single-action’ agents to target neuronal cells directly and reverse neuronal dysfunction and/or protect neurons from injurious insults. However, most preclinical and clinical studies have shown that such drugs are unable to cure or control human neurological disorders2, 181, 183, 194, 195. For example, although pathological overstimulation of glutaminergic NMDA receptors (NMDARs) has been shown to lead to neuronal injury and death in several disorders, including stroke, Alzheimer’s disease, ALS and Huntington’s disease16, NMDAR antagonists have failed to show a therapeutic benefit in the above-mentioned human neurological disorders.

Recently, my colleagues and I coined the term vasculo-neuronal-inflammatory triad195to indicate that vascular damage, neuronal injury and/or neurodegeneration, and neuroinflammation comprise a common pathological triad that occurs in multiple neurological disorders. In line with this idea, it is conceivable that ‘multiple-target, multiple-action’ agents (that is, drugs that have more than one target and thus have more than one action) will have a better chance of controlling the complex disease mechanisms that mediate neurodegeneration than agents that have only one target (for example, neurons). According to the vasculo-neuronal-inflammatory triad model, in addition to neurons, brain endothelium, VSMCs, pericytes, astrocytes and activated microglia are all important therapeutic targets.

Here, I will briefly discuss a few therapeutic strategies based on the vasculo-neuronal-inflammatory triad model. VEGF and other angioneurins may have multiple targets, and thus multiple actions, in the CNS120. For example, preclinical studies have shown that treatment of SOD1G93A rats with intracerebroventricular VEGF196 or intramuscular administration of a VEGF-expressing lentiviral vector that is transported retrogradely to motor neurons in SOD1G93A mice197 reduced pathology and extended survival, probably by promoting angiogenesis and increasing the blood flow through the spinal cord as well as through direct neuronal protective effects of VEGF on motor neurons. On the basis of these and other studies, a phase I–II clinical trial has been initiated to evaluate the safety of intracerebroventricular infusion of VEGF in patients with ALS198. Treatment with angiogenin also slowed down disease progression in a mouse model of ALS199.

IGF1 delivery has been shown to promote amyloid-β vascular clearance and to improve learning and memory in a mouse model of Alzheimer’s disease200. Local intracerebral implantation of VEGF-secreting cells in a mouse model of Alzheimer’s disease has been shown to enhance vascular repair, reduce amyloid burden and improve learning and memory201. In contrast to VEGF, which can increase BBB permeability, TGFβ, hepatocyte growth factor and fibroblast growth factor 2 promote BBB integrity by upregulating the expression of endothelial junction proteins121 in a similar way to APC43. However, VEGF and most growth factors do not cross the BBB, so the development of delivery strategies such as Trojan horses is required for their systemic use25.

A recent experimental approach with APC provides an example of a neurovascular medicine that has been shown to favourably regulate multiple pathways in non-neuronal cells and neurons, resulting in vasculoprotection, stabilization of the BBB, neuroprotection and anti-inflammation in several acute and chronic models of the CNS disorders195 (Box 2).

Box 2 | A model of multiple-target, multiple-action neurovascular medicine

The recognition of amyloid-β clearance pathways (Fig. 4), as discussed above, opens exciting new therapeutic opportunities for Alzheimer’s disease. Amyloid-β clearance pathways are promising therapeutic targets for the future development of neurovascular medicines because it has been shown both in animal models of Alzheimer’s disease1 and in patients with sporadic Alzheimer’s disease149 that faulty clearance from brain and across the BBB primarily determines amyloid-β retention in brain, causing the formation of neurotoxic amyloid-β oligomers56 and the promotion of brain and cerebrovascular amyloidosis3. The targeting of clearance mechanisms might also be beneficial in other diseases; for example, the clearance of extracellular mutant SOD1 in familial ALS, the prion protein in prion disorders and α-synuclein in Parkinson’s disease might all prove beneficial. However, the clearance mechanisms for these proteins in these diseases are not yet understood.

Conclusions and perspectives

Currently, no effective disease-modifying drugs are available to treat the major neurodegenerative disorders202, 203, 204. This fact leads to a question: are we close to solving the mystery of neurodegeneration? The probable answer is yes, because the field has recently begun to recognize that, first, damage to neuronal cells is not the sole contributor to disease initiation and progression, and that, second, correcting disease pathways in vascular and glial cells may offer an array of new approaches to control neuronal degeneration that do not involve targeting neurons directly. These realizations constitute an important shift in paradigm that should bring us closer to a cure for neurodegenerative diseases. Here, I raise some issues concerning the existing models of neurodegeneration and the new neurovascular paradigm.

The discovery of genetic abnormalities and associations by linkage analysis or DNA sequencing has broadened our understanding of neurodegeneration204. However, insufficient effort has been made to link genetic findings with disease biology. Another concern for neurodegenerative research is how we should interpret findings from animal models202. Genetically engineered models of human neurodegenerative disorders inDrosophila melanogaster and Caenorhabditis elegans have been useful for dissecting basic disease mechanisms and screening compounds. However, in addition to having much simpler nervous systems, insects and avascular species do not have cerebrovascular and immune systems that are comparable to humans and, therefore, are unlikely to replicate the complex disease pathology that is found in people.

For most neurodegenerative disorders, early steps in the disease processes remain unclear, and biomarkers for these stages have yet to be identified. Thus, it is difficult to predict whether mammalian models expressing human genes and proteins that we know are implicated in the intermediate or later stages of disease pathophysiology, such as amyloid-β or tau in Alzheimer’s disease7, 181, will help us to discover therapies for the early stages of disease and for disease prevention, because the exact role of these pathological accumulations during disease onset remains uncertain. According to the two-hit vascular hypothesis of Alzheimer’s disease, incorporating vascular factors that are associated with Alzheimer’s disease into current models of this disease may more faithfully replicate dementia events in humans. Alternatively, by focusing on the comorbidities and the initial cellular and molecular mechanisms underlying early neurovascular dysfunction that are associated with Alzheimer’s disease, new models of dementia and neurodegeneration may be developed that do not require the genetic manipulation of amyloid-β or tau expression.

The proposed neurovascular triad model of neurodegenerative diseases challenges the traditional neurocentric view of such disorders. At the same time, this model raises a set of new important issues that require further study. For example, the molecular basis of the neurovascular link with neurodegenerative disorders is poorly understood, in terms of the adhesion molecules that keep the physical association of various cell types together, the molecular crosstalk between different cell types (including endothelial cells, pericytes and astrocytes) and how these cellular interactions influence neuronal activity. Addressing these issues promises to create new opportunities not only to better understand the molecular basis of the neurovascular link with neurodegeneration but also to develop novel neurovascular-based medicines.

The construction of a human BBB molecular atlas will be an important step towards understanding the role of the BBB and neurovascular interactions in health and disease. Achievement of this goal will require identifying new BBB transporters by using genomic and proteomic tools, and by cloning some of the transporters that are already known. Better knowledge of transporters at the human BBB will help us to better understand their potential as therapeutic targets for disease.

Development of higher-resolution imaging methods to evaluate BBB integrity, key transporters’ functions and CBF responses in the microregions of interest (for example, in the entorhinal region of the hippocampus) will help us to understand how BBB dysfunction correlates with cognitive outcomes and neurodegenerative processes in MCI, Alzheimer’s disease and related disorders.

The question persists: are we missing important therapeutic targets by studying the nervous system in isolation from the influence of the vascular system? The probable answer is yes. However, the current exciting and novel research that is based on the neurovascular model has already begun to change the way that we think about neurodegeneration, and will continue to provide further insights in the future, leading to the development of new neurovascular therapies.

References

  1. Zlokovic, B. V. The blood–brain barrier in health and chronic neurodegenerative disorders. Neuron 57, 178–201 (2008).

  2. Moskowitz, M. A., Lo, E. H. & Iadecola, C. The science of stroke: mechanisms in search of treatments. Neuron 67, 181–198 (2010).
    A comprehensive review describing mechanisms of ischaemic injury to the neurovascular unit.

  3. Zlokovic, B. V. Neurovascular mechanisms of Alzheimer’s neurodegeneration.Trends Neurosci. 28, 202–208 (2005).

  4. Brown, W. R. & Thore, C. R. Review: cerebral microvascular pathology in ageing and neurodegeneration. Neuropathol. Appl. Neurobiol. 37, 56–74 (2011).

  5. Wu, Z. et al. Role of the MEOX2 homeobox gene in neurovascular dysfunction in Alzheimer disease. Nature Med. 11, 959–965 (2005).
    A study demonstrating that low expression of MEOX2 in brain endothelium leads to aberrant angiogenesis and vascular regression in Alzheimer’s disease.

 

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Kurzweill Reports in Medical Science I

Posted in Alzheimer's Disease, Bacterial Resistance, Behavioral Genetics, Cardiac and Cardiovascular Surgical Procedures, Clinical & Translational, Clinical Genomics, Curation, Developmental biology, Embryology, Genetics & Pharmaceutical, Genome Biology, Human aging, Infectious Disease & New Antibiotic Targets, Innovations in Neurophysiology & Neuropsychology, Investment in Technological Breakthrough, Medical Imaging Technology, Microbiologial genetics, Microbiology, Molecular Genetics & Pharmaceutical, Myocardial Ischemia, Neurodegenerative Diseases, Neurological Diseases, Neuroscience, PCI, Pharmacotherapy and Cell Activity, tagged , , , , , , on November 21, 2015| Leave a Comment »

Kurzweill Reports in Medical Science I

Curator: Larry H. Bernstein, MD, FCAP

 

 

 

E-coli bacteria found in some China farms and patients cannot be killed with antiobiotic drug of last resort

“One of the most serious global threats to human health in the 21st century” — could spread around the world, requiring “urgent coordinated global action”
November 20, 2015

http://www.kurzweilai.net/e-coli-bacteria-found-in-some-china-farms-and-patients-cannot-be-killed-with-antiobiotic-drug-of-last-resort

Colistin antibiotic overused in farm animals in China apparently caused E-coli bacteria to become completely resistant to treatment; E-coli strain has already spread to Laos and Malaysia (credit: Yi-Yun Liu et al./Lancet Infect Dis)

Widespread E-coli bacteria that cannot be killed with the antiobiotic drug of last resort — colistin — have been found in samples taken from farm pigs, meat products, and a small number of patients in south China, including bacterial strains with epidemic potential, an international team of scientists revealed in a paper published Thursday Nov. 19 in the journal The Lancet Infectious Diseases.

The scientists in China, England, and the U.S. found a new gene, MCR-1, carried in E-coli bacteria strain SHP45. MCR-1 enables bacteria to be highly resistant to colistin and other polymyxins drugs.

“The emergence of the MCR-1 gene in China heralds a disturbing breach of the last group of antibiotics — polymixins — and an end to our last line of defense against infection,” said Professor Timothy Walsh, from the Cardiff University School of Medicine, who collaborated on this research with scientists from South China Agricultural University.

Walsh, an expert in antibiotic resistance, is best known for his discovery in 2011 of the NDM-1 disease-causing antibiotic-resistant superbug in New Delhi’s drinking water supply. “The rapid spread of similar antibiotic-resistant genes such as NDM-1 suggests that all antibiotics will soon be futile in the face of previously treatable gram-negative bacterial infections such as E.coli and salmonella,” he said.

Likely to spread worldwide; already found in Laos and Malaysia

The MCR-1 gene was found on plasmids — mobile DNA that can be easily copied and transferred between different bacteria, suggesting an alarming potential to spread and diversify between different bacterial populations.

Structure of plasmid pHNSHP45 carrying MCR-1 from Escherichia coli strain SHP45 (credit: Yi-Yun Liu et al./Lancet Infect Dis)

“We now have evidence to suggest that MCR-1-positive E.coli has spread beyond China, to Laos and Malaysia, which is deeply concerning,” said Walsh.  “The potential for MCR-1 to become a global issue will depend on the continued use of polymixin antibiotics, such as colistin, on animals, both in and outside China; the ability of MCR-1 to spread through human strains of E.coli; and the movement of people across China’s borders.”

“MCR-1 is likely to spread to the rest of the world at an alarming rate unless we take a globally coordinated approach to combat it. In the absence of new antibiotics against resistant gram-negative pathogens, the effect on human health posed by this new gene cannot be underestimated.”

“Of the top ten largest producers of colistin for veterinary use, one is Indian, one is Danish, and eight are Chinese,” The Lancet Infectious Diseases notes. “Asia (including China) makes up 73·1% of colistin production with 28·7% for export including to Europe.29 In 2015, the European Union and North America imported 480 tonnes and 700 tonnes, respectively, of colistin from China.”

Urgent need for coordinated global action

“Our findings highlight the urgent need for coordinated global action in the fight against extensively resistant and pan-resistant gram-negative bacteria,” the journal paper concludes.

“The implications of this finding are enormous,” an associated editorial comment to the The Lancet Infectious Diseases paper stated. “We must all reiterate these appeals and take them to the highest levels of government or face increasing numbers of patients for whom we will need to say, ‘Sorry, there is nothing I can do to cure your infection.’”

Margaret Chan, MD, Director-General of the World Health Organization, warned in 2011 that “the world is heading towards a post-antibiotic era, in which many common infections will no longer have a cure and, once again, kill unabated.”

“Although in its 2012 World Health Organization Advisory Group on Integrated Surveillance of Antimicrobial Resistance (AGISAR) report the WHO concluded that colistin should be listed under those antibiotics of critical importance, it is regrettable that in the 2014 Global Report on Surveillance, the WHO did not to list any colistin-resistant bacteria as part of their ‘selected bacteria of international concern,’” The Lancet Infectious Diseases paper says, reflecting WHO’s inaction in Ebola-stricken African countries, as noted last September by the international medical humanitarian organization Médecins Sans Frontières.

Funding for the E-coli bacteria study was provided by the Ministry of Science and Technology of China and National Natural Science Foundation of China.

Abstract of Emergence of plasmid-mediated colistin resistance mechanism MCR-1 in animals and human beings in China: a microbiological and molecular biological study

Until now, polymyxin resistance has involved chromosomal mutations but has never been reported via
horizontal gene transfer. During a routine surveillance project on antimicrobial resistance in commensal Escherichia coli from food animals in China, a major increase of colistin resistance was observed. When an E coli strain, SHP45, possessing colistin resistance that could be transferred to another strain, was isolated from a pig, we conducted further analysis of possible plasmid-mediated polymyxin resistance. Herein, we report the emergence of the first plasmid-mediated polymyxin resistance mechanism, MCR-1, in Enterobacteriaceae.

The mcr-1 gene in E coli strain SHP45 was identified by whole plasmid sequencing and subcloning. MCR-1 mechanistic studies were done with sequence comparisons, homology modelling, and electrospray ionisation mass spectrometry. The prevalence of mcr-1 was investigated in E coli and Klebsiella pneumoniae strains collected from five provinces between April, 2011, and November, 2014. The ability of MCR-1 to confer polymyxin resistance in vivo was examined in a murine thigh model.

Polymyxin resistance was shown to be singularly due to the plasmid-mediated mcr-1 gene. The plasmid carrying mcr-1 was mobilised to an E coli recipient at a frequency of 10−1 to 10−3 cells per recipient cell by conjugation, and maintained in K pneumoniae and Pseudomonas aeruginosa. In an in-vivo model, production of MCR-1 negated the efficacy of colistin. MCR-1 is a member of the phosphoethanolamine transferase enzyme family, with expression in E coli resulting in the addition of phosphoethanolamine to lipid A. We observed mcr-1 carriage in E coli isolates collected from 78 (15%) of 523 samples of raw meat and 166 (21%) of 804 animals during 2011–14, and 16 (1%) of 1322 samples from inpatients with infection.

The emergence of MCR-1 heralds the breach of the last group of antibiotics, polymyxins, by plasmid-mediated resistance. Although currently confined to China, MCR-1 is likely to emulate other global resistance mechanisms such as NDM-1. Our findings emphasise the urgent need for coordinated global action in the fight against pan-drug-resistant Gram-negative bacteria.

references:

 

Researchers discover signaling molecule that helps neurons find their way in the developing brain

November 20, 2015

http://www.kurzweilai.net/researchers-discover-signaling-molecule-that-helps-neurons-find-their-way-in-the-developing-brain

This image shows a section of the spinal cord of a mouse embryo. Neurons appear green. Commissural axons (which connect the two sides of the brain) appear as long, u-shaped threads, and the bottom, yellow segment of the structure represents the midline (between brain hemispheres). (credit: Laboratory of Brain Development and Repair/ The Rockefeller University)

Rockefeller University researchers have discovered a molecule secreted by cells in the spinal cord that helps guide axons (neuron extensions) during a critical stage of central nervous system development in the embryo. The finding helps solve the mystery: how do the billions of neurons in the embryo nimbly reposition themselves within the brain and spinal cord, and connect branches to form neural circuits?

Working in mice, the researchers identified an axon guidance factor, NELL2, and explained how it makes commissural axons (which connect the two sides of the brain).

The findings could help scientists understand what goes wrong in a rare disease called horizontal gaze palsy with progressive scoliosis. People affected by the condition often suffer from abnormal spine curvature, and are unable to move their eyes horizontally from side to side. The study was published Thursday Nov. 19 in the journal Science.

Abstract of Operational redundancy in axon guidance through the multifunctional receptor Robo3 and its ligand NELL2

Axon pathfinding is orchestrated by numerous guidance cues, including Slits and their Robo receptors, but it remains unclear how information from multiple cues is integrated or filtered. Robo3, a Robo family member, allows commissural axons to reach and cross the spinal cord midline by antagonizing Robo1/2–mediated repulsion from midline-expressed Slits and potentiating deleted in colorectal cancer (DCC)–mediated midline attraction to Netrin-1, but without binding either Slits or Netrins. We identified a secreted Robo3 ligand, neural epidermal growth factor-like-like 2 (NELL2), which repels mouse commissural axons through Robo3 and helps steer them to the midline. These findings identify NELL2 as an axon guidance cue and establish Robo3 as a multifunctional regulator of pathfinding that simultaneously mediates NELL2 repulsion, inhibits Slit repulsion, and facilitates Netrin attraction to achieve a common guidance purpose.

references:

Topics: Cognitive Science/Neuroscience

A sensory illusion that makes yeast cells self-destruct

A possible tactic for cancer therapeutics
November 20, 2015

http://www.kurzweilai.net/a-sensory-illusion-that-makes-yeast-cells-self-destruct

 

Effects of osmotic changes on yeast cell growth. (A) Schematic of the flow chamber used to create osmotic level oscillations for different periods of time. (B) Cell growth for these periods. The graphs show the average number of progeny cells (blue) before and after applying stress for different periods (gray shows orginal “no stress” line). The inset shows representative images of cells for two periods. (credit: Amir Mitchell et al./Science)

UC San Francisco researchers have discovered that even brainless single-celled yeast have “sensory biases” that can be hacked by a carefully engineered illusion — a finding that could be used to develop new approaches to fighting diseases such as cancer.

In the new study, published online Thursday November 19 in Science Express, Wendell Lim, PhD, the study’s senior author*, and his team discovered that yeast cells falsely perceive a pattern of osmotic levels (by applying potassium chloride) that alternate in eight minute intervals as massive, continuously increasing stress. In response, the microbes over-respond and kill themselves. (In their natural environment, salt stress normally gradually increases.)

The results, Lim says, suggest a whole new way of looking at the perceptual abilities of simple cells and this power of illusion could even be used to develop new approaches to fighting cancer and other diseases.

“Our results may also be relevant for cellular signaling in disease, as mutations affecting cellular signaling are common in cancer, autoimmune disease, and diabetes,” the researchers conclude in the paper. “These mutations may rewire the native network, and thus could modify its activation and adaptation dynamics. Such network rewiring in disease may lead to changes that can be most clearly revealed by simulation with oscillatory inputs or other ‘non-natural’ patterns.

“The changes in network response behaviors could be exploited for diagnosis and functional profiling of disease cells, or potentially taken advantage of as an Achilles’ heel to selectively target cells bearing the diseased network.”

https://youtu.be/CuDjZrM8xtA
UC San Francisco (UCSF) | Sensory Illusion Causes Cells to Self-Destruct

* Chair of the Department of Cellular and Molecular Pharmacology at UCSF, director of the UCSF Center for Systems and Synthetic Biology, and a Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI) investigator.

** Normally, sensor molecules in a yeast cell detect changes in salt concentration and instruct the cell to respond by producing a protective chemical. The researchers found that the cells were perfectly capable of adapting when they flipped the salt stress on and off every minute or every 32 minutes. But to their surprise, when they tried an eight-minute oscillation of precisely the same salt level the cells quickly stopped growing and began to die off.

Abstract of Oscillatory stress stimulation uncovers an Achilles’ heel of the yeast MAPK signaling network

Cells must interpret environmental information that often changes over time. We systematically monitored growth of yeast cells under various frequencies of oscillating osmotic stress. Growth was severely inhibited at a particular resonance frequency, at which cells show hyperactivated transcriptional stress responses. This behavior represents a sensory misperception—the cells incorrectly interpret oscillations as a staircase of ever-increasing osmolarity. The misperception results from the capacity of the osmolarity-sensing kinase network to retrigger with sequential osmotic stresses. Although this feature is critical for coping with natural challenges—like continually increasing osmolarity—it results in a tradeoff of fragility to non-natural oscillatory inputs that match the retriggering time. These findings demonstrate the value of non-natural dynamic perturbations in exposing hidden sensitivities of cellular regulatory networks.

references:

Topics: Biotech

Google Glass helps cardiologists complete difficult coronary artery blockage surgery

November 20, 2015

http://www.kurzweilai.net/google-glass-helps-cardiologists-in-challenging-coronary-artery-blockage-surgery

 

Google Glass allowed the surgeons to clearly visualize the distal coronary vessel and verify the direction of the guide wire advancement relative to the course of the occluded vessel segment. (credit: Maksymilian P. Opolski et al./Canadian Journal of Cardiology

Cardiologists from the Institute of Cardiology, Warsaw, Poland have used Google Glass in a challenging surgical procedure, successfully clearing a blockage in the right coronary artery of a 49-year-old male patient and restoring blood flow, reports the Canadian Journal of Cardiology.

Chronic total occlusion, a complete blockage of the coronary artery, sometimes referred to as the “final frontier in interventional cardiology,” represents a major challenge for catheter-based percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI), according to the cardiologists.

That’s because of the difficulty of recanalizing (forming new blood vessels through an obstruction) combined with poor visualization of the occluded coronary arteries.

Coronary computed tomography angiography (CTA) is increasingly used to provide physicians with guidance when performing PCI for this procedure. The 3-D CTA data can be projected on monitors, but this technique is expensive and technically difficult, the cardiologists say.

So a team of physicists from the Interdisciplinary Centre for Mathematical and Computational Modelling of theUniversity of Warsaw developed a way to use Google Glass to clearly visualize the distal coronary vessel and verify the direction of the guide-wire advancement relative to the course of the blocked vessel segment.

Three-dimensional reconstructions displayed on Google Glass revealed the exact trajectory of the distal right coronary artery (credit: Maksymilian P. Opolski et al./Canadian Journal of Cardiology)

The procedure was completed successfully, including implantation of two drug-eluting stents.

“This case demonstrates the novel application of wearable devices for display of CTA data sets in the catheterization laboratory that can be used for better planning and guidance of interventional procedures, and provides proof of concept that wearable devices can improve operator comfort and procedure efficiency in interventional cardiology,” said lead investigatorMaksymilian P. Opolski, MD, PhD, of the Department of Interventional Cardiology and Angiology at the Institute of Cardiology, Warsaw, Poland.

“We believe wearable computers have a great potential to optimize percutaneous revascularization, and thus favorably affect interventional cardiologists in their daily clinical activities,” he said. He also advised that “wearable devices might be potentially equipped with filter lenses that provide protection against X-radiation.

Abstract of First-in-Man Computed Tomography-Guided Percutaneous Revascularization of Coronary Chronic Total Occlusion Using a Wearable Computer: Proof of Concept

We report a case of successful computed tomography-guided percutaneous revascularization of a chronically occluded right coronary artery using a wearable, hands-free computer with a head-mounted display worn by interventional cardiologists in the catheterization laboratory. The projection of 3-dimensional computed tomographic reconstructions onto the screen of virtual reality glass allowed the operators to clearly visualize the distal coronary vessel, and verify the direction of the guide wire advancement relative to the course of the occluded vessel segment. This case provides proof of concept that wearable computers can improve operator comfort and procedure efficiency in interventional cardiology.

references:

Topics: Biomed/Longevity | VR/Augmented Reality/Computer Graphics

Modulating brain’s stress circuity might prevent Alzheimer’s disease

Drug significantly prevented onset of cognitive and cellular effects in mice
November 17, 2015

http://www.kurzweilai.net/modulating-brains-stress-circuity-might-prevent-alzheimers-disease

 

Effect of drug treatment on AD mice in control group (left) or drug (right) on Ab plaque load. (credit: Cheng Zhang et al./Alzheimer’s & Dementia: The Journal of the Alzheimer’s Association)

In a novel animal study design that mimicked human clinical trials, researchers at University of California, San Diego School of Medicine report that long-term treatment using a small-molecule drug that reduces activity of  the brain’s stress circuitry significantly reduces Alzheimer’s disease (AD) neuropathology and prevents onset of cognitive impairment in a mouse model of the neurodegenerative condition.

The findings are described in the current online issue of the journal Alzheimer’s & Dementia: The Journal of the Alzheimer’s Association.

Previous research has shown a link between the brain’s stress signaling pathways and AD. Specifically, the release of a stress-coping hormone called corticotropin-releasing factor (CRF), which is widely found in the brain and acts as a neurotransmitter/neuromodulator, is dysregulated in AD and is associated with impaired cognition and with detrimental changes in tau protein and increased production of amyloid-beta protein fragments that clump together and trigger the neurodegeneration characteristic of AD.

“Our work and that of our colleagues on stress and CRF have been mechanistically implicated in Alzheimer’s disease, but agents that impact CRF signaling have not been carefully tested for therapeutic efficacy or long-term safety in animal models,” said the study’s principal investigator and corresponding author Robert Rissman, PhD, assistant professor in the Department of Neurosciences and Biomarker Core Director for the Alzheimer’s Disease Cooperative Study (ADCS).

The researchers determined that modulating the mouse brain’s stress circuitry mitigated generation and accumulation of amyloid plaques widely attributed with causing neuronal damage and death. As a consequence, behavioral indicators of AD were prevented and cellular damage was reduced.  The mice began treatment at 30-days-old — before any pathological or cognitive signs of AD were present — and continued until six months of age.

One particular challenge, Rissman noted, is limiting exposure of the drug to the brain so that it does not impact the body’s ability to respond to stress. “This can be accomplished because one advantage of these types of small molecule drugs is that they readily cross the blood-brain barrier and actually prefer to act in the brain,” Rissman said.

“Rissman’s prior work demonstrated that CRF and its receptors are integrally involved in changes in another AD hallmark, tau phosphorylation,” said William Mobley, MD, PhD, chair of the Department of Neurosciences and interim co-director of the Alzheimer’s Disease Cooperative Study at UC San Diego. “This new study extends those original mechanistic findings to the amyloid pathway and preservation of cellular and synaptic connections.  Work like this is an excellent example of UC San Diego’s bench-to-bedside legacy, whereby we can quickly move our basic science findings into the clinic for testing,” said Mobley.

Rissman said R121919 was well-tolerated by AD mice (no significant adverse effects) and deemed safe, suggesting CRF-antagonism is a viable, disease-modifying therapy for AD. Drugs like R121919 were originally designed to treat generalized anxiety disorder, irritable bowel syndrome and other diseases, but failed to be effective in treating those disorders.

Rissman noted that repurposing R121919 for human use was likely not possible at this point. He and colleagues are collaborating with the Sanford Burnham Prebys Medical Discovery Institute to design new assays to discover the next generation of CRF receptor-1 antagonists for testing in early phase human safety trials.

“More work remains to be done, but this is the kind of basic research that is fundamental to ultimately finding a way to cure — or even prevent —Alzheimer’s disease,” said David Brenner, MD, vice chancellor, UC San Diego Health Sciences and dean of UC San Diego School of Medicine. “These findings by Dr. Rissman and his colleagues at UC San Diego and at collaborating institutions on the Mesa suggest we are on the cusp of creating truly effective therapies.”

Abstract of Corticotropin-releasing factor receptor-1 antagonism mitigates beta amyloid pathology and cognitive and synaptic deficits in a mouse model of Alzheimer’s disease

Introduction: Stress and corticotropin-releasing factor (CRF) have been implicated as mechanistically involved in Alzheimer’s disease (AD), but agents that impact CRF signaling have not been carefully tested for therapeutic efficacy or long-term safety in animal models.

Methods: To test whether antagonism of the type-1 corticotropin-releasing factor receptor (CRFR1) could be used as a disease-modifying treatment for AD, we used a preclinical prevention paradigm and treated 30-day-old AD transgenic mice with the small-molecule, CRFR1-selective antagonist, R121919, for 5 months, and examined AD pathologic and behavioral end points.

Results: R121919 significantly prevented the onset of cognitive impairment in female mice and reduced cellular and synaptic deficits and beta amyloid and C-terminal fragment-β levels in both genders. We observed no tolerability or toxicity issues in mice treated with R121919.

Discussion: CRFR1 antagonism presents a viable disease-modifying therapy for AD, recommending its advancement to early-phase human safety trials.

references:

Topics: Cognitive Science/Neuroscience

Allen Institute researchers decode patterns that make our brains human
Conserved gene patterning across human brains provide insights into health and disease
November 17, 2015

http://www.kurzweilai.net/allen-institute-researchers-decode-patterns-that-make-our-brains-human

 

Percentage of known neuron-, astrocyte- and oligodendrocyte-enriched genes in 32 modules, ordered by proportion of neuron-enriched gene membership. (credit: Michael Hawrylycz et al./Nature Neuroscience)

Allen Institute researchers have identified a surprisingly small set of just 32 gene-expression patterns for all 20,000 genes across 132 functionally distinct human brain regions, and these patterns appear to be common to all individuals.

In research published this month in Nature Neuroscience, the researchers used data for six brains from the publicly available Allen Human Brain Atlas. They believe the study is important because it could provide a baseline from which deviations in individuals may be measured and associated with diseases, and could also provide key insights into the core of the genetic code that makes our brains distinctly human.

While many of these patterns were similar in human and mouse, many genes showed different patterns in human. Surprisingly, genes associated with neurons were most conserved (consistent) across species, while those for the supporting glial cells showed larger differences. The most highly stable genes (the genes that were most consistent across all brains) include those associated with diseases and disorders like autism and Alzheimer’s, and these genes include many existing drug targets.

These patterns provide insights into what makes the human brain distinct and raise new opportunities to target therapeutics for treating disease.

The researchers also found that the pattern of gene expression in cerebral cortex is correlated with “functional connectivity” as revealed by neuroimaging data from the Human Connectome Project.

“The human brain is phenomenally complex, so it is quite surprising that a small number of patterns can explain most of the gene variability across the brain,” says Christof Koch, Ph.D., President and Chief Scientific Officer at the Allen Institute for Brain Science. “There could easily have been thousands of patterns, or none at all. This gives us an exciting way to look further at the functional activity that underlies the uniquely human brain.”

Abstract of Canonical genetic signatures of the adult human brain

The structure and function of the human brain are highly stereotyped, implying a conserved molecular program responsible for its development, cellular structure and function. We applied a correlation-based metric called differential stability to assess reproducibility of gene expression patterning across 132 structures in six individual brains, revealing mesoscale genetic organization. The genes with the highest differential stability are highly biologically relevant, with enrichment for brain-related annotations, disease associations, drug targets and literature citations. Using genes with high differential stability, we identified 32 anatomically diverse and reproducible gene expression signatures, which represent distinct cell types, intracellular components and/or associations with neurodevelopmental and neurodegenerative disorders. Genes in neuron-associated compared to non-neuronal networks showed higher preservation between human and mouse; however, many diversely patterned genes displayed marked shifts in regulation between species. Finally, highly consistent transcriptional architecture in neocortex is correlated with resting state functional connectivity, suggesting a link between conserved gene expression and functionally relevant circuitry.

references:

Topics: Biotech

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Studying Alzheimer’s biomarkers in Down syndrome

Posted in Alzheimer's Disease, Behavior, Behavioral Genetics, Biomarkers & Medical Diagnostics, Cerebrovascular and Neurodegenerative Diseases, Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Clinical & Translational, Clinical Diagnostics, Curation, Diagnostics and Lab Tests, Disease Biology, Etiology, Gene Regulation, Genome Biology, Genomic Testing: Methodology for Diagnosis, Human aging, Innovations in Neurophysiology & Neuropsychology, Neurodegenerative Diseases, Neurological Diseases, Nuclear Medicine, tagged , on November 18, 2015| Leave a Comment »

Studying Alzheimer’s biomarkers in Down syndrome

Larry H. Bernstein, MD, FCAP, Curator

LPBI

 

NIH supports new studies to find Alzheimer’s biomarkers in Down syndrome

Groundbreaking initiative will track dementia onset, progress in Down syndrome volunteers

http://www.nih.gov/news-events/news-releases/nih-supports-new-studies-find-alzheimers-biomarkers-down-syndrome

 

The National Institutes of Health has launched a new initiative to identify biomarkers and track the progression of Alzheimer’s in people with Down syndrome. Many people with Down syndrome have Alzheimer’s-related brain changes in their 30s that can lead to dementia in their 50s and 60s. Little is known about how the disease progresses in this vulnerable group. The NIH Biomarkers of Alzheimer’s Disease in Adults with Down Syndrome Initiative will support teams of researchers using brain imaging, as well as fluid and tissue biomarkers in research that may one day lead to effective interventions for all people with dementia.

The studies will be funded by the National Institute on Aging (NIA) and the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD), both part of NIH. The institutes are jointly providing an estimated $37 million over five years to two highly collaborative projects, which enlist a number of leading researchers to the effort. To advance Alzheimer’s research worldwide, the teams will make their data and samples freely available to qualified researchers.

“This is the first large-scale Alzheimer’s biomarker endeavor to focus on this high-risk group,” said Laurie Ryan, Ph.D., chief of the Dementias of Aging Branch in NIA’s Division of Neuroscience, which leads NIH research on Alzheimer’s.  “Much like the long-established Alzheimer’s Disease Neuroimaging Initiative, the goal of this initiative is to develop biomarker measures that signal the onset and progression of Alzheimer’s in people with Down syndrome. Hopefully, one day, we will also use these biomarkers to determine the effectiveness of promising treatments.”

The link between Alzheimer’s and Down syndrome is well-known. People with Down syndrome are born with an extra copy of chromosome 21, which contains the amyloid precursor protein gene. This gene plays a role in the production of harmful amyloid plaque, sticky clumps that build up outside neurons in Alzheimer’s disease. Having three copies of this gene is a known risk factor for early-onset Alzheimer’s that can occur in people in their 30s, 40s and 50s. By middle age, most but not all adults with Down syndrome develop signs of Alzheimer’s, and a high percentage go on to develop symptoms of dementia as they age into their 70s.

The initiative establishes funding for two research teams that will pool data and standardize procedures, increase sample size, and collectively analyze data that will be made widely available to the research community. The teams will employ an array of biomarkers to identify and track Alzheimer’s-related changes in the brain and cognition for over 500 Down syndrome volunteers, aged 25 and older. The measures include:

  • Positron emission tomography (PET) scans that track levels of amyloid and glucose (energy used by brain cells); MRI of brain volume and function; and levels of amyloid and tau in cerebrospinal fluid and blood;
  • Blood tests to identify biomarkers in blood, including proteins, lipids and markers of inflammation;
  • Blood tests to collect DNA for genome-wide association studies that identify the genetic factors that may confer risk, or protect against, developing Alzheimer’s;
  • Evaluations of medical conditions and cognitive and memory tests to determine levels of function and monitor any changes;
  • For the first time in people with Down syndrome, PET brain scans that detect levels of tau, the twisted knots of protein within brain cells that are a hallmark Alzheimer’s disease.

Aside from earlier onset, Alzheimer’s in people with Down syndrome is similar to Alzheimer’s in others. The first symptom may be memory loss, although people with Down syndrome initially tend to show behavior changes and problems with walking.

“Over the past 30 years, the average lifespan of people with Down syndrome has doubled to 60 years—a  bittersweet achievement when faced with the possibility of developing Alzheimer’s,” said Melissa Parisi, M.D., Ph.D., chief of the NICHD Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities Branch, which leads NIH’s Down syndrome research. “There is much to learn about Alzheimer’s in Down syndrome, and we’re hopeful that these new projects will provide some answers. One mystery we hope to solve is whether or not the disease progresses at a faster rate in this group.”

Parisi noted that research into Alzheimer’s in Down syndrome is a key focus of the National Plan to Address Alzheimer’s Disease(link is external), which calls for improved care for specific populations that are unequally burdened by the disease, including people with Down syndrome, and for increased research that may lead to possible Alzheimer’s therapies.

Benjamin Handen, Ph.D., Department of Psychiatry, University of Pittsburgh, heads a team that involves investigators and data from: Banner Alzheimer’s Institute, Phoenix; Cambridge University, England; Alzheimer’s Disease Cooperative Study, San Diego; Laboratory of Neuro Imaging, University of Southern California, Los Angeles. Nicole Schupf, Ph.D., Columbia University Medical Center, New York City, leads a team involving investigators at: University of California, Irvine; Kennedy Krieger Institute/Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore; Massachusetts General Hospital/Harvard University, Boston; and the University of North Texas Health Sciences Center, Fort Worth.

Learn more about this topic at https://www.nia.nih.gov/alzheimers/publication/alzheimers-disease-people-down-syndrome.

About the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD): The NICHD sponsors research on development, before and after birth; maternal, child, and family health; reproductive biology and population issues; and medical rehabilitation. For more information, visit the Institute’s website at http://www.nichd.nih.gov.

About the National Institute on Aging: The NIA leads the federal government effort conducting and supporting research on aging and the health and well-being of older people. It provides information on age-related cognitive change and neurodegenerative disease specifically at its Alzheimer’s Disease Education and Referral (ADEAR) Center at www.nia.nih.gov/alzheimers.

About the National Institutes of Health (NIH): NIH, the nation’s medical research agency, includes 27 Institutes and Centers and is a component of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. NIH is the primary federal agency conducting and supporting basic, clinical, and translational medical research, and is investigating the causes, treatments, and cures for both common and rare diseases. For more information about NIH and its programs, visit www.nih.gov.

 

 

NATIONAL PLAN TO ADDRESS ALZHEIMER’S DISEASE: 2015 UPDATE

pdf-document/national-plan-address-alzheimer%E2%80%99s-disease-2015-update (58 PDF pages)

Introduction

Vision Statement

National Alzheimer’s Project Act

Alzheimer’s Disease and Related Dementias

The Challenges

Framework and Guiding Principles

Goals as Building Blocks for Transformation

2015 Update

 

The Connection between Down Syndrome and Alzheimer’s Disease

Many, but not all, people with Down syndrome develop Alzheimer’s disease when they get older. Alzheimer’s is an irreversible, progressive brain disorder that slowly destroys memory and thinking skills and, eventually, the ability to carry out simple tasks.

Alzheimer’s disease is the most common cause of dementia among older adults. Dementia is the loss of cognitive functioning—thinking, remembering, and reasoning—and behavioral abilities to such an extent that it interferes with a person’s daily life and activities.

People with Down syndrome are born with an extra copy of chromosome 21, which carries the APP gene. This gene produces a specific protein called amyloid precursor protein (APP). Too much APP protein leads to a buildup of protein clumps called beta-amyloid plaques in the brain. By age 40, almost all people with Down syndrome have these plaques, along with other protein deposits, called tau tangles, which cause problems with how brain cells function and increase the risk of developing Alzheimer’s dementia.

However, not all people with these brain plaques will develop the symptoms of Alzheimer’s. Estimates suggest that 50 percent or more of people with Down syndrome will develop dementia due to Alzheimer’s disease as they age into their 70s.

Alzheimer’s Disease Symptoms

Many people with Down syndrome begin to show symptoms of Alzheimer’s disease in their 50s or 60s. But, like in all people with Alzheimer’s, changes in the brain that lead to these symptoms are thought to begin at least 10 years earlier. These brain changes include the buildup of plaques and tangles, the loss of connections between nerve cells, the death of nerve cells, and the shrinking of brain tissue (called atrophy).

The risk for Alzheimer’s disease increases with age, so it’s important to watch for certain changes in behavior, such as:

  • increased confusion
  • short-term memory problems (for example, asking the same questions over and over)
  • reduction in or loss of ability to do everyday activities

Other possible symptoms of Alzheimer’s dementia are:

  • seizures that begin in adulthood
  • problems with coordination and walking
  • reduced ability to pay attention
  • behavior and personality changes, such as wandering and being less social
  • decreased fine motor control
  • difficulty finding one’s way around familiar areas

Currently, Alzheimer’s disease has no cure, and no medications have been approved to treat Alzheimer’s in people with Down syndrome.

Down Syndrome and Alzheimer’s Disease Research

Alzheimer’s can last several years, and symptoms usually get worse over time.  Scientists are working hard to understand why some people with Down syndrome develop dementia while others do not. They want to know how Alzheimer’s disease begins and progresses, so they can develop drugs or other treatments that can stop, delay, or even prevent the disease process.

Research in this area includes:

  • Basic studies to improve our understanding of the genetic and biological causes of brain abnormalities that lead to Alzheimer’s
  • Observational research to measure cognitive changes in people over time
  • Studies of biomarkers (biological signs of disease), brain scans, and other tests that may help diagnose Alzheimer’s—even before symptoms appear—and show brain changes as people with Down syndrome age
  • Clinical trials to test treatments for dementia in adults with Down syndrome. Clinical trials are best the way to find out if a treatment is safe and effective in people.

 

Alzheimers Disease Neuroimaging Initiative (ADNI)

A public-private partnership, the purpose of ADNI is to develop a multisite, longitudinal, prospective, naturalistic study of normal cognitive aging, mild cognitive impairment (MCI), and early Alzheimer’s disease as a public domain research resource to facilitate the scientific evaluation of neuroimaging and other biomarkers for the onset and progression of MCI and Alzheimer’s disease.

Dr. Laurie Ryan of the NIA gives a brief overview of ADNI in this video:

https://youtu.be/0rBVe0Fwnik

Dr. Thomas Obisesan of Howard University, an ADNI study participant, and a study companion describe ADNI and what it’s like to be involved in the study

https://youtu.be/rK1yWvvHHl8

Learn more about this topic at https://www.nia.nih.gov/alzheimers/publication/alzheimers-disease-people-down-syndrome.

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New Alzheimer’s Protein – AICD

Posted in Alzheimer's Disease, Etiology, Innovations, Neurodegenerative Diseases, Neurological Diseases, Neuroscience, Proteins, Proteomics, Stem Cells for Regenerative Medicine, tagged , on November 13, 2015| Leave a Comment »

New Alzheimer’s Protein – AICD

Larry H. Bernstein, MD, FCAP, Curator

LPBI

SfN 2015 Recap: The Role of Synapses, Neural Networks in Alzheimer’s

Stephanie Guzowski, Editor, Drug Discovery & Development

http://www.biosciencetechnology.com/news/2015/11/sfn-2015-recap-role-synapses-neural-networks-alzheimers

Cognition and behavior rely on communication between individual neurons and extensive interactions between neural networks. But when synaptic dysfunction occurs, the results can be dire, leading to neurodegenerative symptoms in Alzheimer’s disease.

“The brain is the seed of our personal identity,” said Valina Dawson, Ph.D., director of neurogeneration and stem cell programs at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, Maryland. “It allows us to interact with our world but when things go wrong in the brain, it’s disastrous for the individual as well as the family.

http://www.biosciencetechnology.com/sites/biosciencetechnology.com/files/bt1511_steph_perineuronal%20nets_SfN.jpg

“Our ability to treat these diseases is limited at the moment. We need new insight into what goes wrong.”

A lesser-known protein

Researchers, for years, have targeted amyloid beta (Aβ) in attempts to halt the progression of Alzheimer’s disease, and have recently, shown increased interest in the protein, tau.

But Paula Pousinha, Ph.D., at the French National Centre for Scientific Research, has focused her research on a lesser-known protein fragment: amyloid precursor protein intracellular domain (AICD). AICD is a fragment of amyloid precursor protein (APP), which is formed at the same time as Aβ in the brain. New evidence suggests that in addition to Aβ, AICD also disrupts communication between neurons during the progression of Alzheimer’s disease. Pousinha presented thesepublished findings at this year’s Society for Neuroscience (SfN) conference, which took place from October 17 to 21 in Chicago.

“Although AICD has been known for more than 10 years, it has been poorly studied,” said Pousinha.
Crtl 1-Venus. Fusion of a fluorescent protein to small link proteins in the PNN allows tracking of PNN dynamics over time. Credit: S.F. Palida et al.

Pousinha’s research team demonstrated that overexpressing AICD levels with AAV vector in rats’ brains “perturbs neuronal communication in the hippocampus,” a key structure necessary in forming memories and an area earliest affected in Alzheimer’s disease.“In normal animals, if we apply to these neurons a high-frequency stimulation, afterward the neurons are stronger,” said Pousinha. “Neurons where we overexpressed AICD failed to have this potentization.”

Pousinha doesn’t negate the importance of Aβ in the development of neurodegenerative diseases. “Our study doesn’t exclude the pathological effects of Aβ,” she said. “We believe that Alzheimer’s disease is much more complex and has more than one candidate that has implications.

“It’s very important for the scientific community to understand the role of all these APP fragments of neuroinflammation — different pieces of the puzzle of how we can stop the disease progression.”

How do memories persist in the brain long term?

New research, also presented at this year’s SfN, has implications for understanding memory to develop treatments for Alzheimer’s disease and dementias. Sakina Palida, a graduate student at the University of California, San Diego found that localized modifications in the perineuronal net (PNN) at synapses could be a mechanism by which information is stably encoded and preserved in the brain over time.

“We still don’t understand how we stably encode and store memories in our brains for up to our entire lifetimes,” said Palida. The prevailing idea on how memories are maintained over time generally focus on postsynaptic proteins, said Palida. “But the problem with looking at intracellular synaptic proteins is that the majority turn over rapidly, of hours to at most a few days. So they’re very unstable.”

So, Palida and her team identified PNN as an ideal substrate for long-term memory. “Kind of like how you carve into stone — stone is a stable substrate — you retain the information regardless of what comes and goes over it.” They demonstrated that individual PNN proteins are highly stable, and that the PNN is locally degraded when synapses are strengthened.

Cord Blood Cells As a Potential Treatment for Alzheimer’s Disease

November 12, 2015 by mburatov

https://beyondthedish.wordpress.com/2015/11/12/cord-blood-cells-as-a-potential-treatment-for-alzheimers-disease/

Jared Ehrhart from the University of South Florida, who also serves as the Director of Research and Development at Saneron CCEL Therapeutics Inc, and his coworkers have shown that cells from umbilical cord blood can not only improve the health of mice that have an experimental form of Alzheimer’s disease (AD), but these can also be administered intravenously, which is safer and easier than other more invasive procedures.

Laboratory mice can be engineered to harbor mutations that can cause a neurodegenerative disease that greatly resembles human AD. One such mouse is the PSAPP mouse that harbors two mutations that are known to cause an inherited, early-onset form of AD in humans. By placing both mutations in the same mouse, the animal forms the characteristic protein plaques more rapidly and shows significant AD symptoms and brain pathology.

Ehrhart used PSAPP mice to test the ability of human umbilical cord blood to ameliorate the symptoms of AD. He injected one million Human Umbilical Cord Blood Cells (HUCBCs) into the tail veins of PSAPP mice and 2.2 million into the tail veins of Sprague-Dawley rats. Then he harvested their tissues at 24 hours, 7 days, and 30 days after injection. Then Ehrhart and his team used a variety of techniques to detect the presence of the HUCBCs.

Interestingly, the HUCBCs were able to cross the blood-brain barrier and take up residence in the brain. The cells remained in the brain and survived there for up to 30 days and did not promote the growth of any tumors.

Several studies have shown that the administration of HUCBCs to mice with a laboratory form of AD can improve the cognitive abilities of those mice (see Darlington D, et al., Cell Transplant. 2015;24(11):2237-50; Banik A, et al., Behav Brain Res. 2015 Sep 15;291:46-59; Darlington D, et al., Stem Cells Dev. 2013 Feb 1;22(3):412-21). However, in such cases it is essential to establish that the administered cells actually found their way to the site of damage and exerted a regenerative response.

Even though Ehrhart and his troop found that the intravenously administered HUCBCs were widely distributed throughout the bodies of the animals, they persisted in the central nervous system for up to one month after they were injected. In the words of this publication, which appeared in Cell Transplantation, the HUCBCs were “broadly detected in both in the brain and several peripheral organs, including the liver, kidneys, and bone marrow.”. The fact that such a minimally invasive procedure like intravenous injection can effectively introduce these cells into the bodies of the PSAPP mice and still produce a significant therapeutic effect is a significant discovery.

Ehrhart and his colleagues concluded that HUCBCs might provide therapeutic effects by modulating the inflammation that tends to accompany the onset of AD. Furthermore, these cells do not need to be delivered by means of an invasive procedure like intracerebroventricular injection. Furthermore, even though HUCBCs were detected in other organs, their numbers in those places was not excessive and the ability of the HUCBCs to cross the blood-brain barrier suggests that these cells might serve as safe, effective therapeutic agents for AD patients some day.
Crtl1-Venus Neurons. Tracking PNN dynamics in live cells, in mouse brain tissue. (Credit: S.F. Palida et al.)

And the team also demonstrated that mice lacking enzymes that degrade the PNN have deficient long-term, but not short-term, memory. “Which is a really exciting new result,” said Palida.

To track the PNN in live animals, Palida and her team fused a fluorescent protein to a small link protein in the PNN to allow tracking of PNN dynamics in real time. They also monitored PNN degradation in live cells after stimulating neurons with brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF), a chemical secreted in the nervous system to enhance signaling — and observed localized degradation of the PNN at some newly formed synapses.

What’s next? “We’re currently making transgenic animals to express this protein, which would allow us to monitor PNN dynamics simultaneously with synaptic dynamics in a live animal brain, and really investigate this hypothesis further,” said Palida.

TOPICS  ANIMAL STUDIES  NEUROSCIENCE  EXCLUSIVE  RESEARCH EXCHANGE

Increased APP intracellular domain (AICD) production perturbs synaptic signal integration via increased NMDAR function

*Paula A Pousinha1 Pubmed Elisabeth Raymond1 Pubmed Xavier Mouska1 Pubmed Michael Willem2 Pubmed Hélène Marie1 Pubmed

http://sfn15.hubbian.com/id_8702

Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is a neurodegenerative disease that begins as mild short-term memory deficits and culminates in total loss of cognition and executive functions. The main culprit of the disease, resulting from Amyloid-Precursor Protein (APP) processing, has been thought to be amyloid-b peptide (Ab). However, despite the genetic and cell biological evidence that supports the amyloid cascade hypothesis, it is becoming clear that AD etiology is complex and that Ab alone is unable to account for all aspects of AD [Pimplikar et al. J Neurosci.30: 14946. 2010]. Gamma-secretase not only liberates Ab, but also its C-terminal intracellular counterpart called APP intracellular domain (AICD) [Passer. et al. JAlzheimers Dis.2: 289-301. 2000], which is known to also accumulate in AD patient’s brain [Ghosal et al. PNAS.106:18367. 2009], but surprisingly little is known about its functions in the hippocampus. To address this crucial issue, we increased AICD production in vivo in adult CA1 pyramidal neurons, mimicking the human pathological condition. Different ex-vivo electrophysiological and pharmacological approaches, including double- patch of neighbor neurons were used. We clearly demonstrate that in vivo AICD production increases synaptic NMDA receptor currents. This causes a frequency-dependent disruption of synaptic signal integration, leading to impaired long-term potentiation, which we were able to rescue by different pharmacological approaches. Our results provide convincing and entirely novel evidence that increased in vivo production of AICD is enough, per se, to cause synaptic dysfunction in CA1 hippocampal neurons.

Multiple low-dose infusions of human umbilical cord blood cells improve cognitive impairments and reduce amyloid-β-associated neuropathology in Alzheimer mice.

Darlington D1, Deng J, Giunta B, Hou H, Sanberg CD, Kuzmin-Nichols N, Zhou HD, Mori T, Ehrhart J, Sanberg PR, Tan J.

Stem Cells Dev. 2013 Feb 1;22(3):412-21. doi: 10.1089/scd.2012.0345. Epub 2012 Sep 5.

Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is the most common progressive age-related dementia in the elderly and the fourth major cause of disability and mortality in that population. The disease is pathologically characterized by deposition of β-amyloid plaques neurofibrillary tangles in the brain. Current strategies for the treatment of AD are symptomatic only. As such, they are less than efficacious in terms of significantly slowing or halting the underlying pathophysiological progression of the disease. Modulation by cell therapy may be new promising disease-modifying therapy. Recently, we showed reduction in amyloid-β (Aβ) levels/β-amyloid plaques and associated astrocytosis following low-dose infusions of mononuclear human umbilical cord blood cells (HUCBCs). Our current study extended our previous findings by examining cognition via (1) the rotarod test, (2) a 2-day version of the radial-arm water maze test, and (3) a subsequent observation in an open pool platform test to characterize the effects of monthly peripheral HUCBC infusion (1×10(6) cells/μL) into the transgenic PSAPP mouse model of cerebral amyloidosis (bearing mutant human APP and presenilin-1 transgenes) from 6 to 12 months of age. We show that HUCBC therapy correlates with decreased (1) cognitive impairment, (2) Aβ levels/β-amyloid plaques, (3) amyloidogenic APP processing, and (4) reactive microgliosis after a treatment of 6 or 10 months. As such, this report lays the groundwork for an HUCBC therapy as potentially novel alternative to oppose AD at the disease-modifying level.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3549624/bin/fig-2.jpg

Alzheimer’s disease (ad) is the most common progressive age-related dementia, and is pathologically characterized by the deposition of amyloid-β peptide (Aβ) as amyloid plaques in the brain parenchyma and neurofibrillary tangles (NFTs) within neurons. As a result of the atrophy that occurs in both cortical and subcortical regions, patients suffer cognitive and emotional dysregulation leading eventually to an inability to perform acts of daily living independently and safely. In fact, AD has emerged as a national and international pandemic. According to the World Alzheimer Report 2010, dementia patients account for 35.6 million in worldwide, and are expected to increase to 65.7 million by 2030 and 115.4 million by 2050. Currently, the number of AD patients is around 1% of the world’s gross domestic product. Therefore, it is becoming increasingly evident that a more effective treatment or prophylaxes are needed in the near future. This is because Aβ plaques are potent activators of both microglia and astrocytes—central nervous system (CNS) resident immuno-competent cells that respond to cerebral amyloidosis by chronic, pro-inflammatory activation, also known as “inflammaging” (see review [1]). While it was once thought that activation of microglia and astrocytes in AD brains was an epiphenomenon and not a pathoetiological contributor to AD, more recent studies implicate this Aβ-mediated inflammatory cascade as an etiological perpetrator of AD. For example, therapeutic strategies aimed at manipulating this inflammatory cascade, including Aβ immunization, non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, and modulation of microglial activation, are all able to reduce AD-like pathology and improve cognitive impairments in AD transgenic mouse models [2] and, in some cases, reduce AD pathology in humans [3].

While it is true that no model fully recapitulates AD, transgenic animal models pose novel insights into the pathophysiology of Aβ toxicity. This is especially so with regards to the effects of various Aβ species and the probable pathogenic role of Aβ oligomers [4]. In the PSAPP mouse model of cerebral amyloidosis (bearing mutant human APPsw and presenilin-1 transgenes), there are large numbers of compact Aβ plaques in the hippocampus and cerebral cortex. These mice demonstrate greatly accelerated β-amyloid deposition compared with Tg APPsw mice that is apparent as early as 16 weeks of age [5]. Concurrently, they show increased levels of both Aβ1–40 and Aβ1–42 in their parenchyma and a reduced performance of spatial working memory in the period preceding overt Aβ deposition [5]. Such findings support a critical role of Aβ1–42 in the pathogenesis of AD and suggest a neurotoxic effect of soluble forms of Aβ as well [6].

Human umbilical cord blood cells (HUCBCs) have a unique immunomodulatory potential. Therapeutic benefits derived from HUCBC treatment have been suggested to arise from modulation of peripheral inflammatory processes, which in turn affects inflammation in the brain parenchyma, and the mobilization of adult stem cells from the bone marrow (BM) [7–11]. Indeed, in the animal model of stroke, HUCBCs have been shown to promote a strong anti-inflammatory T helper 2 (Th2) response [7], as opposed to the deleterious proinflammatory T helper cell type 1 (Th1) response. Interestingly, this observation was seen in conjunction with reduced infarct volume and very importantly with rescue of neurological deficits [7,12–14].

…………

HUCBC studies done in vitro have shown that these cells secrete soluble factors that have salutary effects [16,58]. Cultured HUCBC supernatants, for example, stimulate survival of neural cells and peripheral blood mononuclear cells cultured under conditions designed to induce cell stress and limit protein synthesis [12]. Moreover, HUCBCs have the capacity to stimulate generation of a vast amount of cytokines and neurotrophic factors that modify inflammatory responses, including IL-11, CSF-1, NGF, and thrombopoietin [7,22,23]. It has been reported that HUCBC entry into the brain is not required to promote neuroprotection [59]. According to the report just outlined, recovery following brain injury is mediated through peripheral anti-inflammatory responses resulting in brain recovery [9]. This is in accord with our results that indicated more of a peripheral, HUCBC-mediated CNS affect, since the cells were not detected in the mouse brain for any significant amount of time.

On the other hand, it should be noted that it has been shown that after irradiation, peripheral macrophages are able to penetrate the brain and mitigate cerebral amyloidosis in AD mice, implying that hematogenously derived macrophages are efficient at phagocytosing and clearing Aβ deposits [18]. Nevertheless, earlier reports have shown that Aβ can also be phagocytosed or cleared by brain-resident microglia [58,60,61].

In the current experimental paradigm, we did not detect the presence of brain-infiltrating macrophages. Specifically, we stained for CD45 (a marker for both macrophages and microglia), and observed that in and around Aβ plaques there were process-bearing cells that morphologically resembled microglia. Further, vascular “cuffing” that would suggest the presence of infiltrating macrophages that are frequently observed in other CNS inflammatory conditions, such as experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis [62], was not detected. Also, given the difficulties inherent to distinguishing macrophages from microglia, and the ease of peripheral macrophages to engraft into the brain, as well as changes of microglial phenotype after brain injury [63], it remains possible that peripheral macrophages contribute to decreased cerebral amyloidosis after treatment with HUCBCs.

In this report, we have demonstrated that HUCBC infusion decreases Aβ/β-amyloid pathology in the brain parenchyma, reduces brain inflammation evidenced by reduction of activated microglia, and improves cognitive impairments associated with the AD-like pathology in PSAPP mice. These HUCBC-imparted beneficial effects, which correlate with increased brain-to-blood efflux of Aβ and a shift from proinflammatory Th1 to anti-inflammatory Th2 cytokines both in the brain and in the periphery, are similar to what we observed in previous studies after Aβ immunization [64–66]. When taken together, our results provide the basis for a novel immunomodulatory strategy for AD using HUCBCs. While the exact mechanism of efficacy of multiple low-dose HUCBC infusions in AD patients is currently being elucidated, further studies investigating which HUCBC secreted factors are capable of modulating neuroinflammation, reducing AD-like pathology, and rescuing cognitive impairments will need to be explored.

GEN News Highlights    Nov 13, 2015      Alzheimer’s Drug Candidate Also Reverses Effects of Aging

http://www.genengnews.com/gen-news-highlights/alzheimer-s-drug-candidate-also-reverses-effects-of-aging/81251974/

  • Scientists at the Salk Institute say they have found that an experimental drug candidate aimed at combating Alzheimer’s disease has a host of unexpected anti-aging effects in animals.

    The Salk team expanded upon their previous development of a drug candidate, called J147, which takes a different tack by targeting Alzheimer’s major risk factor: old age. In the new work, the team showed that J147 worked well in a mouse model of aging not typically used in Alzheimer’s research. When these mice were treated with J147, they had better memory and cognition, healthier blood vessels in the brain and other improved physiological features.

    The team’s study (“A comprehensive multiomics approach toward understanding the relationship between aging and dementia”) is published in Aging.

    “Initially, the impetus was to test this drug in a novel animal model that was more similar to 99 percent of Alzheimer’s cases,” says Antonio Currais, Ph.D., the lead author and a member of the Schubert Cellular Neurobiology Laboratory at Salk. “We did not predict we’d see this sort of anti-aging effect, but J147 made old mice look like they were young, based upon a number of physiological parameters.”

    “While most drugs developed in the past 20 years target the amyloid plaque deposits in the brain (which are a hallmark of the disease), none have proven effective in the clinic,” says David Schubert, Ph.D., senior author of the study.

    Several years ago, Dr. Schubert and his colleagues began to approach the treatment of the disease from a new angle. Rather than target amyloid, the lab decided to zero in old age. Using cell-based screens against old age-associated brain toxicities, they synthesized J147.

    Previously, the team found that J147 could prevent and even reverse memory loss and Alzheimer’s pathology in mice that have a version of the inherited form of Alzheimer’s, the most commonly used mouse model. However, this form of the disease comprises only about 1% of Alzheimer’s cases. For everyone else, old age is the primary risk factor, according to Dr. Schubert. The team wanted to explore the effects of the drug candidate on a breed of mice that age rapidly and experience a version of dementia that more closely resembles the age-related human disorder.

    In this latest work, the researchers used a comprehensive set of assays to measure the expression of all genes in the brain, as well as over 500 small molecules involved with metabolism in the brains and blood of three groups of the rapidly aging mice. The three groups of rapidly aging mice included one set that was young, one set that was old, and one set that was old but fed J147 as they aged.

    The old mice that received J147 performed better on memory and other tests for cognition and also displayed more robust motor movements. The mice treated with J147 also had fewer pathological signs of Alzheimer’s in their brains. Importantly, because of the large amount of data collected on the three groups of mice, it was possible to demonstrate that many aspects of gene expression and metabolism in the old mice fed J147 were very similar to those of the young animals. These included markers for increased energy metabolism, reduced brain inflammation and reduced levels of oxidized fatty acids in the brain.

    Another notable effect was that J147 prevented the leakage of blood from the microvessels in the brains of old mice. “Damaged blood vessels are a common feature of aging in general, and in Alzheimer’s, it is frequently much worse,” points out Dr. Currais.

    While these studies represent a new and exciting approach to Alzheimer’s drug discovery and animal testing in the context of aging, the only way to demonstrate the clinical relevance of the work is to move J147 into clinical trials for Alzheimer’s disease, note the researchers.

    “If proven safe and effective for Alzheimer’s, the apparent anti-aging effect of J147 would be a welcome benefit,” adds Dr. Schubert. The team aims to begin human trials next year.

Curry Derivative J147 Beats Aricept for Alzheimer’s

Curry (Photo: Wikimedia)
Salk Institute’s J147 is a derivative of turmeric, a spice used in  curry. It beat Aricept (donepezil) in several memory tests. It may also benefit Parkinson’s, Huntington’s, ALS & vascular dementia. Learn how it quickly reverses memory deficits and slows Alzheimer’s in mice.

LA JOLLA, CA—A drug developed by scientists at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies, known as J147, reverses memory deficits and slows Alzheimer’s disease in aged mice following short-term treatment.

J147 was developed at Salk in the laboratory of David Schubert, a professor in the Cellular Neurobiology Laboratory. He said,

“It’s been known for a long time that people in India don’t get very much Alzheimer’s relative to what happens in the United States and the rest of the world.

“One of the curiosities about the diet in India is that they eat a lot of curry. A major spice in curry is turmeric. A major component of turmeric is curcumin.

“Curcumin has been around for a while. It is an FDA-Approved drug for cancer. A friend of mine in Los Angeles, Greg Cole, found that if you give curcumin to very similar mice to what this study’s author has been using, they get they get a little better, the (Alzheimer’s) plaques go away.

“The problem with curcumin is that it is not a great drug, in the sense that it gets degraded very rapidly. It’s availability is quite low in the bloodstream and the brain.

“We decided to make a better version of this. We did a lot of medicinal chemistry. We came up with J147.”

Lead study author Marguerite Prior, a research associate in Salk’s Cellular Neurobiology Laboratory, added,

“J147 is an exciting new compound because it really has strong potential to be an Alzheimer’s disease therapeutic by slowing disease progression and reversing memory deficits following short-term treatment.”

Because of its broad ability to protect nerve cells, the researchers believe that J147 may also be effective for treating other neurological disorders, such as Parkinson’s disease, Huntington’s disease and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), as well as vascular dementia from stroke, although their study did not directly explore the drug’s efficacy as a therapy for those diseases.

The findings, published in the journal Alzheimer’s Research and Therapy, may pave the way to a new treatment for Alzheimer’s disease in humans.

Despite years of research, scientists are still seeking the first disease-modifying drugs for Alzheimer’s. Current FDA-approved medications, including Aricept®, Razadyne® and Exelon® (generic donepezil, galantamine and rivastigmine), offer only fleeting short-term benefits for Alzheimer’s patients, but they do nothing to slow the steady, irreversible decline of brain function that erases a person’s memory and ability to think clearly.

Professor Schubert and his colleagues bucked the trend within the pharmaceutical industry, which has focused on the biological pathways involved in the formation of amyloid plaques, the dense deposits of protein that characterize the disease. Instead, the Salk team used living neurons grown in laboratory dishes to test whether their new synthetic compounds, which are based upon natural products derived from plants, were effective at protecting brain cells against several pathologies associated with brain aging. From the test results of each chemical iteration of the lead compound, they were able to alter their chemical structures to make them much more potent. Although J147 appears to be safe in mice, the next step will require clinical trials to determine whether the compound will prove safe and effective in humans.

“Alzheimer’s disease research has traditionally focused on a single target, the amyloid pathway,” says Schubert, “but unfortunately drugs that have been developed through this pathway have not been successful in clinical trials. Our approach is based on the pathologies associated with old age-the greatest risk factor for Alzheimer’s and other neurodegenerative diseases-rather than only the specificities of the disease.”

J147
Salk scientists developed J147, a synthetic drug shown to improve memory and prevent brain damage in mice with Alzheimer’s disease.Images: Courtesy of the Salk Institute for Biological Studies

To test the efficacy of J147 in a much more rigorous preclinical Alzheimer’s model, the Salk team treated mice using a therapeutic strategy that they say more accurately reflects the human symptomatic stage of Alzheimer’s. Administered in the food of 20-month-old genetically engineered mice, at a stage when Alzheimer’s pathology is advanced, J147 rescued severe memory loss, reduced soluble levels of amyloid, and increased neurotrophic factors essential for memory, after only three months of treatment.

In a different experiment, the scientists tested J147 directly against Aricept (generic donepezil), the most widely prescribed Alzheimer’s drug, and found that it performed as well or better in several memory tests.

“In addition to yielding an exceptionally promising therapeutic, both the strategy of using mice with existing disease and the drug discovery process based upon aging are what make the study interesting and exciting,” says Schubert, “because it more closely resembles what happens in humans, who have advanced pathology when diagnosis occurs and treatment begins.” Most studies test drugs before pathology is present, which is preventive rather than therapeutic and may be the reason drugs don’t transfer from animal studies to humans.

Prior and her colleagues say that several cellular processes known to be associated with Alzheimer’s pathology are affected by J147, including an increase in a protein called brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF), which protects neurons from toxic insults, helps new neurons grow and connect with other brain cells, and is involved in memory formation. Postmortem studies show lower than normal levels of BDNF in the brains of people with Alzheimer’s.

The Salk researchers say that J147, with its memory enhancing and neuroprotective properties, along with its safety and availability as an oral medication, would make an “ideal candidate” for Alzheimer’s disease clinical trials. They are currently seeking funding for such a trial.

MORE INFORMATION:
Other researchers on the study were Richard Dargusch, Jennifer L. Ehren and Chandra Chiruta, of the Salk Institute.The work was supported by the Alzheimer’s Drug Discovery Foundation, the Bundy Foundation, the Fritz Burns Foundation, the George E. Hewitt Foundation, the Alzheimer’s Association, and the National Institutes of Health.
 Protein Delivery Reagent Assists Neurodegeneration Research

http://www.biosciencetechnology.com/product-releases/2015/11/protein-delivery-reagent-assists-neurodegeneration-research
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http://www.biosciencetechnology.com/sites/biosciencetechnology.com/files/amsbiopr149-lowresimage.jpg

AMSBIO announces that Belgian researchers have cited use of BioPORTER Protein Delivery Reagent to introduce Tau seeds into HEK293 cells. BioPORTER Protein Delivery Reagent is a unique lipid formulation that allows direct translocation of proteins into living cells.

Neurodegenerative tauopathies, including Alzheimer disease and frontotemporal dementias, are characterized by neurofibrillary tangles (NFT) composed of intracellular hyperphosphorylated Tau aggregates. Predominantly expressed in neurons, Tau is a microtubule (MT)-binding protein that stabilizes and promotes the assembly of MTs, and the Tau-MT interactions are negatively regulated by phosphorylation of Tau. A naturally unfolded soluble protein under normal conditions, Tau acquires highly ordered ß-pleated sheet structures as it assembles into insoluble hyperphosphorylated paired helical filaments as well as less frequent straight filaments that constitute NFTs in Alzheimer disease and related tauopathies. Significant correlation of total NFT burden with cognitive decline has been observed in Alzheimer disease patients.

In the Belgian research prion-like seeding and propagation of Tau-pathology was demonstrated experimentally and may underlie the stereotyped progression of neurodegenerative Tauopathies. The researchers analyzed the repercussions of prion-like spreading of Tau-pathology via neuronal connections on neuronal network function in TauP301S transgenic mice.

BioPORTER Protein Delivery Reagent provided the researchers with a quick and easy method to study protein function without the need for cloning and DNA transfection. The  reagent lipid captures proteins and transports them inside the target cells. The delivered proteins retain their structure and function while leaving the transduced cells unharmed. The reagent is especially useful when studying protein function in cells that are difficult to transfect using traditional DNA transfection reagents. http://www.amsbio.com/BioPORTER-protein-delivery-transfectiom-reagent.aspx

AMSBIO LLC, (617) 945-5033, http://www.amsbio.com

Brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF)
By 26 Jun, 2010 Neurotrophic Factors

Neurotrophic factors are a family of proteins that are responsible for the growth and survival of nerve cells during development, and for the maintenance of adult nerve cells. Animal studies and test tube (in vitro Latin phrase for ‘in glass’; in a test tube or other artificial environment, as opposed to inside a living organism.”>in vitro)models

Organisms that scientists use to reproduce features of a disease of interest in an organism and then study it. For example, inserting the gene for HD into a mouse means that it will produce the altered HD protein in the brain. This creates an HD mouse model. The consistent use of these models allows researchers to test ideas about biology in a reproducible way, without the expense and ethical problems of performing these tests in humans.”>models have shown that certain neurotrophic factors are capable of making damaged nerve cells regenerate. Because of this capability, these factors represent exciting possibilities for reversing a number of devastating brain disorders, including Alzheimer’s disease

A neurodegenerative disease that causes progressive memory loss and severe dementia in advanced cases. Alzheimer’s disease is associated with certain abnormalities in brain tissue, involving a particular protein, beta-amyloid.”>Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease

A neurodegenerative disorder that primarily affects one’s ability to perform smooth movements. The disease is associated with a loss of dopamine-producing nerve cells in the substantia nigra region of the brain.”>Parkinson’s disease, Lou Gehrig’s disease, and Huntington’s disease

A hereditary neurological disorder characterized by movement, cognitive, and psychiatric symptoms.”>Huntington’s Disease (HD). (For more information on how HD relates to Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s, click here.) Currently, scientists are looking for ways to harness neurotrophic factors and somehow induce the damaged nerve cells to regenerate in order to improve the symptoms

Changes in the body or its functions, experienced by the patient and indicative of disease.”>symptoms of people with neurological having to do with nerve cells and/or the nervous system, particularly the brain”>neurological disorders.

One neurotrophic factor is a protein in the nervous system that promotes the growth of nerve cells.”>neurotrophic factor that is particularly relevant to HD is brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF)

A protein that causes certain types of nerve cells to survive and grow. BDNF is primarily located in the central nervous system, where it acts on cells in the brain and the eye. In the peripheral nervous system, BDNF promotes the growth of sensory and motor neurons.”>Brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF)

.BDNF

An abbreviation of brain-derived neurotrophic factor, which is a protein that causes certain types of nerve cells to survive and grow. BDNF is primarily located in the central nervous system, where it acts on cells in the brain and the eye. In the peripheral nervous system, BDNF promotes the growth of sensory and motor neurons.”>BDNF levels are decreased in the brains of HD patients, which might be partly responsible for the degenerative when a part of the body stops working well, and begins to decline in function”>degenerative processes of HD. Researchers have recently discovered a link between BDNF An abbreviation of brain-derived neurotrophic factor, which is a protein that causes certain types of nerve cells to survive and grow. BDNF is primarily located in the central nervous system, where it acts on cells in the brain and the eye. In the peripheral nervous system, BDNF promotes the growth of sensory and motor neurons.”>BDNF , mutant huntingtin

The altered form of the huntingtin protein caused by having the HD gene.”>mutant huntingtin , and excitotoxicity

Excessive stimulation of a nerve cell by a neurotransmitter, which poisons the nerve cell and degrades it.”>excitotoxicity, a process by which brain cells die after stimulation. The mutant huntingtin protein A key protein in Huntington’s disease. It exists in all humans but has a chemically different form in people with HD. Please note that although Huntingt<strong>o</strong>n’s disease is spelled with an o, the correct spelling of the protein involved is huntingt<strong>i</strong>n with an i.”>huntingtin protein invariably leads to the death of nerve cells in the striatum part of the brain that is involved in controlling movement. It is made up of the caudate and the putamen. Also referred to as the corpus striatum.”>striatum, the region of the brain needed for movements; however, how mutant huntingtin the altered form of the huntingtin protein caused by having the HD gene.”>mutant huntingtin does this damage is unclear. One possibility is that mutant huntingtin

The altered form of the huntingtin protein caused by having the HD gene.”>mutant huntingtin lowers levels of BDNF

An abbreviation of brain-derived neurotrophic factor, which is a protein that causes certain types of nerve cells to survive and grow. BDNF is primarily located in the central nervous system, where it acts on cells in the brain and the eye. In the peripheral nervous system, BDNF promotes the growth of sensory and motor neurons.”>BDNF, making nerve cells more susceptible to injury and death. Therefore, therapeutic approaches aimed at increasing BDNF

An abbreviation of brain-derived neurotrophic factor, which is a protein that causes certain types of nerve cells to survive and grow. BDNF is primarily located in the central nervous system, where it acts on cells in the brain and the eye. In the peripheral nervous system, BDNF promotes the growth of sensory and motor neurons.”>BDNF production may be able to counteract the effects ofmutant huntingtin

The altered form of the huntingtin protein caused by having the HD gene.”>mutant huntingtin and prevent a significant amount of the neurodegeneration

The deterioration or loss of function of nerve cells. Neurodegenerative diseases include HD, Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s and many more. <em>Adj.</em>neurodegenerative.”>neurodegeneration that would otherwise occur in HD. (For more information on huntingtin protein

A key protein in Huntington’s disease. It exists in all humans but has a chemically different form in people with HD. Please note that although Huntingt<strong>o</strong>n’s disease is spelled with an o, the correct spelling of the protein involved is huntingt<strong>i</strong>n with an i.”>huntingtin protein

, click here.)

http://ghr.nlm.nih.gov/gene/BDNF

What is the official name of the BDNF gene?

The official name of this gene is “brain-derived neurotrophic factor.”

BDNF is the gene’s official symbol. The BDNF gene is also known by other names, listed below.

Read more about gene names and symbols on the About page.

What is the normal function of the BDNF gene?

The BDNF gene provides instructions for making a protein found in the brain and spinal cord called brain-derived neurotrophic factor. This protein promotes the survival of nerve cells (neurons) by playing a role in the growth, maturation (differentiation), and maintenance of these cells. In the brain, the BDNF protein is active at the connections between nerve cells (synapses), where cell-to-cell communication occurs. The synapses can change and adapt over time in response to experience, a characteristic called synaptic plasticity. The BDNF protein helps regulate synaptic plasticity, which is important for learning and memory.

The BDNF protein is found in regions of the brain that control eating, drinking, and body weight; the protein likely contributes to the management of these functions.

Does the BDNF gene share characteristics with other genes?

The BDNF gene belongs to a family of genes called endogenous ligands (endogenous ligands).

A gene family is a group of genes that share important characteristics. Classifying individual genes into families helps researchers describe how genes are related to each other. For more information, see What are gene families? in the Handbook.

Brain-derived Neurotrophic Factor      

DEVIN K. BINDERa,* and HELEN E. SCHARFMANb

Growth Factors. 2004 Sep; 22(3): 123–131.     doi:  10.1080/08977190410001723308
Nerve growth factor (NGF) was discovered in the early 1950s due to its trophic (survival- and growth-promoting) effects on sensory and sympathetic neurons (Levi-Montalcini and Hamburger, 1951), In 1982, brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF), the second member of the “neurotrophic” family of neurotrophic factors, was shown to promote survival of a subpopulation of dorsal root ganglion neurons, and subsequently purified from pig brain (Barde et al., 1982). Since then, other members of the neurotrophin family such as neurotrophin-3 (NT-3) (Maisonpierre et al., 1990) and neurotrophin-4/5 (NT-4/5) (Hallbook et al., 1991; Ipet al., 1992) have been described, each with a distinct profile of trophic effects on subpopulations of neurons in the peripheral and central nervous systems.

The BDNF gene (in humans mapped to chromosome 11p) has four 5′ exons (exons I-IV) that are associated with distinct promoters, and one 3′ exon (exon V) that encodes the mature BDNF protein (Metsis et al., 1993; Timmusk et al., 1993). Eight distinct mRNAs are transcribed, with transcripts containing exons I-III expressed predominantly in brain and exon IV found in lung and heart (Timmusk et al., 1993).

BDNF shares about 50% amino acid identity with NGF, NT-3 and NT-4/5. Each neurotrophin consists of a noncovalently-1 linked homodimer and contains (1) a signal peptide following the initiation codon; and (2) a pro-region containing an N-linked glycosylation site. Initially produced as proneurotrophins, prohormone convertases such as furin cleave the proneurotrophins (M.W. ~30kDa) to the mature neurotrophin (M.W. ~14kDa) (Chao and Bothwell, 2002). Proneurotrophins have altered binding characteristics and distinct biologic activity in comparison with mature neurotrophins (Lee et al., 2001a,b). Neurotrophins also share a distinctive three-dimensional structure containing two pairs of antiparallel β-strands and cysteine residues in a cystine knot motif.

Each neurotrophin binds one or more of the tropomyosin-related kinase (trk) receptors, members of the family of receptor tyrosine kinases (Patapoutian and Reichardt, 2001). Ligand-induced receptor dimerization results in kinase activation; subsequent receptor autophosphorylation on multiple tyrosine residues creates specific binding sites for intracellular target proteins, which bind to the activated receptor via SH2 domains (Barbacid, 1994; Patapoutian and Reichardt, 2001). These include PLC-γ1 (phospholipase C), p85 (the noncatalytic subunit of PI-3 kinase) and Shc (SH2-containing sequence); activation of these target proteins can then lead to a variety of intracellular signalling cascades such as the Ras-MAP (mitogen-activated protein) kinase cascade and phosphorylation of cyclic AMP-response element binding protein (CREB) (Patapoutian and Reichardt, 2001; Segal, 2003).

TrkA binds NGF (with low-affinity binding by NT-3 in some systems); trkB binds BDNF and NT-4/5 with lower-affinity binding by NT-3; and trkC binds NT-3 (Barbacid, 1994). Trk receptors exist in both a full-length (trkB.FL) form as well as truncated (trkB.T1. trkB.T2) forms lacking the kinase domain (Eide et al., 1996; Fryer et al., 1997). Although most functions attributed to BDNF are associated with full-length trkB, several roles have been suggested for truncated receptors, including growth and development (Fryer et al., 1997; Yacoubian and Lo, 2000; Luikart et al., 2003) and negative modulation of trkB receptor expression and function (Eide et al., 1996; Haapasalo et al., 2001; Haapasalo et al., 2002). Expression of truncated trk receptors on astrocytes is upregulated following injury (Frisen et al.,1993) and may modulate neuronal vulnerability (Saarelainen et al., 2000a,b) and sequestration of BDNF in astrocytes (Biffo et al., 1995;Roback et al., 1995; Alderson et al., 2000). Recent studies have shown that BDNF activates glial calcium signalling by truncated trk receptors (Climent et al., 2000: Rose et al., 2003).

In addition, all of the neurotrophins bind to the p75 receptor, designated p75NTR. p75NTR, related to proteins of the tumor necrosis factor (TNFR) superfamily, has a glycosylated extracellular region involved in ligand binding, a transmembrane region, and a short cytoplasmic sequence lacking intrinsic catalytic activity (Chao and Hempstead, 1995; Dechant and Barde, 2002). Neurotrophin binding to p75NTR is linked to several intracellular signal transduction pathways, including nuclear factor-κB (NF-κB), Jun kinase and sphingo-myelin hydrolysis (Dechant and Barde, 2002). P75NTR signalling mediates biologic actions distinct from those of the trk receptors, notably the initiation of programmed cell death (apoptosis) (Casaccia-Bonnefil et al., 1996; Frade et al., 1996; Roux et al., 1999; Dechant and Barde, 2002). It has also been suggested that p75 may serve to determine neurotrophin binding specificity (Esposito et al., 2001; Lee et al., 2001a,b;Zaccaro et al., 2001).

BDNF GENE REGULATION

A multitude of stimuli have been described that alter BDNF gene expression in both physiologic and pathologic states (Lindholm et al., 1994). For example, light stimulation increases BDNF mRNA in visual cortex (Castrén et al., 1992), osmotic stimulation increases BDNF mRNA in the hypothalamus (Castrén et al., 1995; Dias et al., 2003), and whisker stimulation increases BDNF mRNA expression in somatosensory barrel cortex (Rocamora et al., 1996). Electrical stimuli that induce long-term potentiation (LTP) in the hippocampus, a cellular model of learning and memory, increase BDNF and NGF expression (Patterson et al., 1992; Castrén et al., 1993; Bramham et al., 1996). Even physical exercise has been shown to increase NGF and BDNF expression in hippocampus (Neeper et al., 1995). Interestingly, BDNF levels vary across the estrous cycle, which correlate with its effects on neural excitability (Scharfman et al., 2003).

Distinct BDNF 5′ exons are differentially regulated by stimuli such as neural activity. For example, exons I-III, but not exon IV, increase after kainic acid-induced seizures (Timmusk et al., 1993) or other stimuli that increase activity (Lauterborn et al., 1996; Tao et al., 2002). Protein synthesis is required for the effects of activity on exons I and II, but not III and IV, raising the possibility that the latter act as immediate early genes (Lauterborn et al., 1996; Castrén et al., 1998). The transcription factor CaRF activates transcription of exon III under the control of a calcium response element. CaRE1 (Tao et al., 2002). CREB, which can be stimulated by diverse stimuli ranging from activity to chronic antidepressant treatment (Nibuya et al., 1995,1996; Shieh et al., 1998; Tao et al., 1998; Shieh and Ghosh, 1999), also modulates exon III transcription. Recent evidence also indicates that neural activity triggers calcium-dependent phosphorylation and release of methyl-CpG binding protein 2 (MeCP2) from BDNF promoter III to derepress transcription (Chen et al., 2003).

LOCALIZATION, TRANSPORT AND RELEASE

BDNF and trkB mRNA have a widespread distribution in the central nervous system (Merlio et al., 1993;Conner et al., 1997). BDNF and trkB protein immunoreactivity is also widespread (Conner et al., 1997; Yanet al., 1997a,b; Drake et al., 1999), Like BDNF mRNA, constitutive BDNF protein expression is particularly high in the hippocampus, where the mossy fibre axons of dentate granule cells display BDNF immunoreactivity (Conner et al., 1997).

Unlike the classical target-derived trophic factor model in which neurotrophins—such as NGF—are retrogradely transported, there is now abundant evidence that BDNF is also anterogradely transported in brain. First, BDNF protein is localized to nerve terminals (Conner et al., 1997), and pathway transection or axonal transport inhibition abrogates this terminal expression (Altar et al., 1997; Conner et al., 1997; Altar and DiStefano, 1998). Second, higher-resolution studies have shown that BDNF is associated with dense-core vesicles (Fawcett et al., 1997; Altar and DiStefano, 1998), which are the primary site for neuropeptide storage and release from nerve terminals. Third, further functional studies have supported the anterograde transport hypothesis (Fawcett et al., 1998, 2000). Fourth, pro-BDNF is shuttled from the trans-Golgi network into secretory granules, where it is cleaved by prohormone convertase 1 (PC1) (Farhadi et al., 2000).

In addition, emerging evidence suggests that both BDNF and trk receptors may undergo regulated intracellular transport. For example, seizures lead to redistribution of BDNF mRNA from hippocampal CA3 cell bodies to their apical dendrites (Bregola et al., 2000; Simonato et al., 2002). Trk signalling is now thought to include retrograde transport of intact neurotrophin-trk complexes to the neuronal cell body (Miller and Kaplan, 2001; Ginty and Segal, 2002).

Recent evidence indicates that neurotrophins are released acutely following neuronal depolarization (Griesbeck et al., 1999; Mowla et al., 1999; Goggi et al., 2003). In fact, direct activity-dependent pre- to post-synaptic transneuronal transfer of BDNF has recently been demonstrated using fluorescently-labelled BDNF (Kohara et al., 2001). The released form of BDNF is thought to be proBDNF (Mowla et al., 2001), raising the possibility of postsecretory proteolytic processing by membrane-associated or extracellular proteases in the modulation of BDNF action (Lee et al., 2001a,b).

….. more

Experimental Drug Targeting Alzheimer’s Disease Shows Anti-aging Effects

http://www.biosciencetechnology.com/news/2015/11/experimental-drug-targeting-alzheimers-disease-shows-anti-aging-effects

Salk scientists Antonio Currais, David Schubert and team found a molecule that slows the clock on key aspects of aging in animals. Credit: Salk Institute

Salk scientists Antonio Currais, David Schubert and team found a molecule that slows the clock on key aspects of aging in animals. Credit: Salk Institute

Salk Institute researchers have found that an experimental drug candidate aimed at combating Alzheimer’s disease has a host of unexpected anti-aging effects in animals.

The Salk team expanded upon their previous development of a drug candidate, called J147, which takes a different tack by targeting Alzheimer’s major risk factor–old age. In the new work, the team showed that the drug candidate worked well in a mouse model of aging not typically used in Alzheimer’s research. When these mice were treated with J147, they had better memory and cognition, healthier blood vessels in the brain and other improved physiological features, as detailed November 12, 2015 in the journal Aging.

“Initially, the impetus was to test this drug in a novel animal model that was more similar to 99 percent of Alzheimer’s cases,” said Antonio Currais, the lead author and a member of Professor David Schubert’s Cellular Neurobiology Laboratory at Salk. “We did not predict we’d see this sort of anti-aging effect, but J147 made old mice look like they were young, based upon a number of physiological parameters.”

Alzheimer’s disease is a progressive brain disorder, recently ranked as the third leading cause of death in the United States and affecting more than five million Americans. It is also the most common cause of dementia in older adults, according to the National Institutes of Health.

“While most drugs developed in the past 20 years target the amyloid plaque deposits in the brain (which are a hallmark of the disease), none have proven effective in the clinic,” said Schubert, senior author of the study.

Several years ago, Schubert and his colleagues began to approach the treatment of the disease from a new angle. Rather than target amyloid, the lab decided to zero in on the major risk factor for the disease–old age. Using cell-based screens against old age-associated brain toxicities, they synthesized J147.

Previously, the team found that J147 could prevent and even reverse memory loss and Alzheimer’s pathology in mice that have a version of the inherited form of Alzheimer’s, the most commonly used mouse model. However, this form of the disease comprises only about 1 percent of Alzheimer’s cases. For everyone else, old age is the primary risk factor, said Schubert. The team wanted to explore the effects of the drug candidate on a breed of mice that age rapidly and experience a version of dementia that more closely resembles the age-related human disorder.

In this latest work, the researchers used a comprehensive set of assaid to measure the expression of all genes in the brain, as well as over 500 small molecules involved with metabolism in the brains and blood of three groups of the rapidly aging mice. The three groups of rapidly aging mice included one set that was young, one set that was old and one set that was old but fed J147 as they aged.

The old mice that received J147 performed better on memory and other tests for cognition and also displayed more robust motor movements. The mice treated with J147 also had fewer pathological signs of Alzheimer’s in their brains. Importantly, because of the large amount of data collected on the three groups of mice, it was possible to demonstrate that many aspects of gene expression and metabolism in the old mice fed J147 were very similar to those of the young animals. These included markers for increased energy metabolism, reduced brain inflammation and reduced levels of oxidized fatty acids in the brain.

Another notable effect was that J147 prevented the leakage of blood from the microvessels in the brains of old mice. “Damaged blood vessels are a common feature of aging in general, and in Alzheimer’s, it is frequently much worse,” said Currais.

Currais and Schubert note that while these studies represent a new and exciting approach to Alzheimer’s drug discovery and animal testing in the context of aging, the only way to demonstrate the clinical relevance of the work is to move J147 into human clinical trials for Alzheimer’s disease.

“If proven safe and effective for Alzheimer’s, the apparent anti-aging effect of J147 would be a welcome benefit,” adds Schubert. The team aims to begin human trials next year.

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Amyloid-Targeting Immunotherapy

Posted in Alzheimer's Disease, Cerebrovascular and Neurodegenerative Diseases, Chemical Biology and its relations to Metabolic Disease, Clinical & Translational, Cognition, Curation, Disease Biology, Drug Toxicity, FDA Regulatory Affairs, Gene Regulation, Human aging, Immunotherapy, Monoclonal antibody therapy, Neurodegenerative Diseases, Pharmacotherapy and Cell Activity, tagged , , on November 11, 2015| Leave a Comment »

Amyloid-Targeting Immunotherapy

Curator: Larry H. Bernstein, MD, FCAP

Possible Reasons Found for Failure of Alzheimer’s Treatment

By Staff Editor

http://www.healthnewsdigest.com/news/Alzheimer_Issues_680/Possible-Reasons-Found-for-Failure-of-Alzheimer-s-Treatment.shtml

(HealthNewsDigest.com) – Agglutinated proteins in the brain, known as amyloid-β plaques, are a key characteristic of Alzheimer’s. One treatment option uses special antibodies to break down these plaques. This approach yielded good results in the animal model, but for reasons that are not yet clear, it has so far been unsuccessful in patient studies. Scientists at the Technical University of Munich (TUM) have now discovered one possible cause: they noticed that, in mice that received one antibody treatment, nerve cell disorders did not improve and were even exacerbated.

Immunotherapies with antibodies that target amyloid-β were long considered promising for treating Alzheimer’s. Experiments with animals showed that they reduced plaques and reversed memory loss. In clinical studies on patients, however, it has not yet been possible to confirm these results. A team of researchers working with Dr. Dr. Marc Aurel Busche, a scientist at the TUM hospital Klinikum rechts der Isar Klinik und Poliklinik für Psychiatrie und Psychotherapie and at the TUM Institute of Neuroscience, and Prof. Arthur Konnerth from the Institute of Neuroscience has now clarified one possible reason for this. The findings were published in Nature Neuroscience.

Immunotherapy Increases Number of Hyperactive Nerve Cells

The researchers used Alzheimer’s mice models for their study. These animals carry a transgene for the amyloid-β precursor protein, which, as in humans, leads to the formation of amyloid-β plaques in the brain and causes memory disorders. The scientists treated the animals with immunotherapy antibodies and then analyzed nerve cell activity using high-resolution two-photon microscopy. They found that, while the plaques disappeared, the number of abnormally hyperactive neurons rose sharply.

“Hyperactive neurons can no longer perform their normal functions and, after some time, wear themselves out. They then fall silent and, later, possibly die off,” says Busche, explaining the significance of their discovery. “This could explain why patients who received the immunotherapy experienced no real improvement in their condition despite the decrease in plaques,” he adds.

Released Oligomers Potential Reason for Hyperactivity

Even in young Alzheimer’s mice, when no plaques were yet detectable in the brain, the antibody treatment led to increased development of hyperactive nerve cells. “Looking at these findings, even using the examined immunotherapies at an early stage, before the plaques appear, would offer little chance of success. As the scientist explains, the treatment already exhibits these side effects here, too.

“We suspect that the mechanism is as follows: The antibodies used in treatment release increasing numbers of soluble oligomers. These are precursors of the plaques and have been considered problematic for some time now. This could cause the increase in hyperactivity,” says Busche.

The work was funded by an Advanced ERC grant to Prof. Arthur Konnerth, the EU FP7 program (Project Corticonic) and the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (IRTG 1373 and SFB870). Marc Aurel Busche was supported by the Hans und Klementia Langmatz Stiftung.

Publication
Marc Aurel Busche, Christine Grienberger, Aylin D. Keskin, Beomjong Song, Ulf Neumann, Matthias Staufenbiel, Hans Förstl and Arthur Konnerth, Decreased amyloid-β and increased neuronal hyperactivity by immunotherapy in Alzheimer’s models, Nature Neuroscience, November 9, 2015.
DOI: 10.1038/nn.4163
http://www.nature.com/neuro/journal/vaop/ncurrent/full/nn.4163.html

Amyloid-Targeting Immunotherapy Disrupts Neuronal Function

Some antibodies designed to eliminate the plaques prominent in Alzheimer’s disease can aggravate neuronal hyperactivity in mice.

By Karen Zusi | November 9, 2015  http://www.the-scientist.com//?articles.view/articleNo/44435/title/Amyloid-Targeting-Immunotherapy-Disrupts-Neuronal-Function/

http://www.the-scientist.com/images/News/November2015/10_alzheimerbrain_b.jpg

Removing built-up plaques of amyloid-β in the brain is a long-sought therapy for patients with Alzheimer’s disease, but for a variety of reasons, few treatments have succeeded in alleviating symptoms once they reach clinical trials. In a study published today (November 9) in Nature Neuroscience, an international team examined the effects of two amyloid-β antibodies on neuronal activity in a mouse model, finding that the antibodies in fact led to an increase in neuronal dysfunction.

Decreased amyloid-β and increased neuronal hyperactivity by immunotherapy in Alzheimer’s models

Marc Aurel Busche, Christine Grienberger, Aylin D Keskin, Beomjong Song, Ulf Neumann, Matthias Staufenbiel, Hans Förstl & Arthur Konnerth
Nature Neuroscience (2015)    http://dx.doi.org:/10.1038/nn.4163

Among the most promising approaches for treating Alzheimer´s disease is immunotherapy with amyloid-β (Aβ)-targeting antibodies. Using in vivo two-photon imaging in mouse models, we found that two different antibodies to Aβ used for treatment were ineffective at repairing neuronal dysfunction and caused an increase in cortical hyperactivity. This unexpected finding provides a possible cellular explanation for the lack of cognitive improvement by immunotherapy in human studies.

Marc Busche, a psychiatrist at Technical University of Munich in Germany, and others had previously found that neuronal hyperactivity is common in mouse models of Alzheimer’s disease. The chronically rapid-firing neurons can interfere with normal brain function in mice. “There’s evidence from human fMRI [functional magnetic resonance imaging] studies that humans will show hyperactivation early in the disease, followed by hypoactivation later on,” Busche told The Scientist. “It’s an early stage of neuronal dysfunction that can later turn into neural silencing.”

To investigate whether certain antibodies would alleviate this Alzheimer’s disease-associated phenotype, Busche and his colleagues first turned to bapineuzumab—a human monoclonal antibody that initially showed promise in treating mice modeling Alzheimer’s disease, but failed in human clinical trials. The dominant hypothesis for bapineuzumab’s failure is that it was administered too late in the disease progression, said Busche. “But it’s still a hypothesis,” he added. “There’s no real explanation for why these antibodies failed.”

The team’s latest experimenters used mice with a genetic mutation that caused them to overexpress the human amyloid-β protein; these engineered mice also displayed neuronal hyperactivity. The researchers injected 3D6, the mouse version of bapineuzumab, into the engineered mice, as well as into wild-type mice that had normal expression levels of the mouse amyloid-β protein. The team observed the effects using two-photon calcium imaging in a blinded study.

As expected, 3D6 decreased the amount of amyloid-β plaques in the engineered mice, while the control mice displayed no reaction to the injected antibodies. However, the mice engineered to overexpress human amyloid-β showed increased neuronal hyperactivity in response to the antibody, regardless of what stage of plaque development they were in. Even mice too young to have developed plaques showed aggravated hyperactive neurons. The team observed the same phenomenon when it tested a second antibody, β1, which went through early stages of drug development but was never used in human clinical trials.

As expected, 3D6 decreased the amount of amyloid-β plaques in the engineered mice, while the control mice displayed no reaction to the injected antibodies. However, the mice engineered to overexpress human amyloid-β showed increased neuronal hyperactivity in response to the antibody, regardless of what stage of plaque development they were in. Even mice too young to have developed plaques showed aggravated hyperactive neurons. The team observed the same phenomenon when it tested a second antibody, β1, which went through early stages of drug development but was never used in human clinical trials.

The results surprised Busche. “When it turned out that the antibody group was worse than the control group, it was unbelievable. But we checked many times and there was no mistake,” he said. “We don’t see this effect in wild-type mice so it must be dependent on the interaction between the antibody and amyloid-β.”

Busche was quick to point out that the mouse model is not the same as a human Alzheimer’s patient. However, he said, “it gives a sense that we don’t understand the antibody’s action, and this might go on in the human brain as well.”

“I fully believe in their results, but I have some hesitation in saying that this result explains the failed clinical trials for amyloid-β immunotherapy,” said Cynthia Lemere, a neurologist and Alzheimer’s disease researcher at the Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston. “I think the major reason for clinical trials failing for immunotherapy is that up until now, they’ve been done in people with moderate-to-severe Alzheimer’s disease, and then mild-to-moderate. Now the studies are going further to include people with very early stages of clinical symptoms—and to my knowledge, they haven’t been stopped because patients are getting worse.”

Thomas Wisniewski, a cognitive neurologist at New York University, voiced a similar perspective. “I don’t think this is an explanation for why immunotherapy isn’t working—I think there are other more plausible reasons for that,” he said, citing clinical trials that treated patients during later stages of Alzheimer’s disease progression, as well as those that haven’t addressed tau-related pathologies, or didn’t target the key types of amyloid-β. “[The neuronal hyperactivity] is an interesting phenomenon to be studied,” he added, “but I think it’s a separate issue.”

M.A. Busche et al., “Decreased amyloid-β and increased neuronal hyperactivity by immunotherapy in Alzheimer’s models,” Nature Neuroscience, doi:10.1038/nn.4163, 2015.

Tags

neurons, monoclonal antibodies, memory, clinical trials and Alzheimer’s Disease

Figure 1: Anti-Aβ antibody 3D6 reduces amyloid pathology but aggravates neuronal dysfunction.

Anti-A[beta] antibody 3D6 reduces amyloid pathology but aggravates neuronal dysfunction.

(a) Amyloid burden was markedly reduced in 3D6-treated (green) compared with isotype-treated control (black) PDAPP mice. Each dot represents an individual animal, the horizontal bar represents the mean and the error bars represent ±s.e…

http://www.nature.com/neuro/journal/vaop/ncurrent/carousel/nn.4163-F1.jpg

Figure 2: Worsening of neuronal dysfunction by anti-Aβ antibodies can occur independently of the effects on Aβ pathology.

Worsening of neuronal dysfunction by anti-A[beta] antibodies can occur independently of the effects on A[beta] pathology.

(a) Top, representative in vivo activity maps in WT (left) as well as isotype-treated (middle) and β1-treated (right) Tg2576 mice. Bottom, Ca2+ transients of neurons indicated above. The further aggravation of neuronal hyperactivity (mi…

http://www.nature.com/neuro/journal/vaop/ncurrent/carousel/nn.4163-F2.jpg

Anti-Aβ treatment aggravates abnormal brain activity in a mouse model of Alzheimer’s disease

Nature Neuroscience   Nov 10, 2015

http://www.natureasia.com/en/research/highlight/10316

Therapies that reduce deposits of amyloid-β (Aβ) in the brain are ineffective at repairing neuronal impairment in mice and actually increase it, finds a study published online in Nature Neuroscience. Aβ deposits aggregate into clumps in the brain which are a pathological hallmark of Alzheimer’s disease.

Expression of mutant human amyloid protein in animals results in deposits of Aβ plaques that induce abnormal increases in neuronal activity and impair the normal function of neuronal circuits.

Arthur Konnerth, Marc Busche and colleagues explored whether they could reverse these impairments by treating mice that overexpress the human mutant amyloid precursor protein with either of two different antibodies targeting Aβ (14 mice) or a control antibody (19 mice). They found that, although treatment with the Aβ targeting antibodies reduced the amount of plaques in the animals’ brains, it also increased the amount of hyperactive neurons.

This was true whether the treatment was given to older mice (14 treated, 19 control) or younger mice in which the accumulation of Aβ had yet to occur (10 treated, 13 control). The same therapies had no effect on neuronal activity in a group of normal mice (5 treated, 3 control), suggesting that the observed exacerbation in mutant mice is dependent on the presence of Aβ and cannot be explained by incidental effects of inflammation in response to the antibodies.

The authors note that, although other research has shown that anti-Aβ treatment can prevent the weakening of neuronal connections and memory impairments in animal models of Alzheimer’s disease, these benefits are not enough to repair neuronal dysfunction.

They suggest that their findings provide a cellular mechanism that may explain, in part, why treatments targeting Aβ in human clinical trials have failed to improve cognitive deficits. However, the authors point out that future studies are needed to determine whether the increase in abnormal neural activity seen in their animal models is related to the poor efficacy of Aβ therapy in patients.

 

ANAVEX™ 2-73

ANAVEX™ 2-73 is an orally available drug candidate developed to potentially modify Alzheimer’s disease rather than temporarily address its symptoms. It has a clean Phase 1 data profile and shows reversal of memory loss (anti-amnesic properties) and neuroprotection in several models of Alzheimer’s disease.

Successful Phase 1 Clinical Trial

A Phase 1 single ascending dose human clinical trial of ANAVEX 2-73 was successfully completed in healthy human volunteers. It was a randomized, placebo-controlled study. Healthy male volunteers aged 18 to 55 received single, ascending oral doses over the course of the trial. The trial objectives were to define the maximum tolerated dose, assess pharmacokinetics (PK), clinical and lab safety.

Results:

  • Dosing from 1-60 mg.
  • Maximum tolerated dose 55-60 mg; above the equivalent dose shown to have positive effects in mouse models of Alzheimer’s disease.
  • Well tolerated below the 55-60 mg dose with only mild adverse events in some volunteers.
  • Observed adverse events at doses above the maximum tolerated single dose included headache and dizziness, which were moderate in severity and reversible. These side effects are often seen with drugs that target central nervous system (CNS) conditions, including Alzheimer’s disease.
  • No significant changes in blood safety measurements.
  • No changes in ECG.
  • Favorable PK profile.
    • Rapid absorption into blood.
    • Dose proportional kinetics.

The trial was conducted in Germany by ABX-CRO in collaboration with the Technical University of Dresden. ABX-CRO and the Technical University of Dresden are well regarded for their experience with clinical trials and CNS compounds.

 

ANAVEX 2-73,

Clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company Anavex Life Sciences Corp. is working on an investigational oral treatment for Alzheimer’s disease called ANAVEX 2-73, with full PART A data and preliminary PART B data from its ongoing Phase 2a clinical trial to be presented during the Clinical Trials on Alzheimer’s Disease (CTAD) conference, November 5 and 7 in Barcelona, Spain.

The trial’s Principal Investigator, Stephen Macfarlane, who also serves as director and associate professor at Aged Psychiatry, Caulfield Hospital in Melbourne, Australia, will represent the company and host a late-breaking oral session entitled “New Exploratory Alzheimer’s Drug ANAVEX 2-73: Assessment of Safety and Cognitive Performance in a Phase 2a Study in mild-to-moderate Alzheimer’s Patients.” During the presentation, which will take place Saturday, November 7, at 9:45 a.m. CET, at the Gran Hotel Princesa Sofia, in Barcelona, Macfarlane will focus on the the multicenter Phase 2a clinical trial of ANAVEX 2-73. The study includes two separate phases and includes 32 mild-to-moderate Alzheimer’s patients. While PART A is a simple randomized, open-label, two-period, cross-over, adaptive trial of up to 36 days, PART B is an open-label extension trial for an additional 52 weeks.

The research intends to assess the maximum dose of treatment tolerated by patients, and to explore cognitive efficacy using mini-mental state examination score (MMSE), dose response, bioavailability, Cogstate and electroencephalographic (EEG) activity, including event-related potentials (EEG/ERP), as well as the preformance of ANAVEX 2-73 as an add-on therapy to donepezil (Aricept).

ANAVEX 2-73 is Anavex’s lead investigational treatment for Alzheimer’s disease, in line with the company’s goal of finding effective therapies for Alzheimer’s disease, other central nervous system (CNS) diseases, pain, and various types of cancer. The novel drug targets sigma-1 and muscarinic receptors, which are thought to decrease the amount of protein misfolding, beta amyloid tau and inflammation through upstream actions.

Last November, the biopharmaceutical company presented encouraging results from their phase 1 clinical trial for Anavex 2-73, during the CNS Summit 2014 in Boca Raton, Florida. The phase 1 study demonstrated that the treatment is safe and well tolerated, suggesting a favorable pharmacokinetics profile. During the randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study no severe adverse events were registered, while the adverse events reported included moderate and reversible headache and dizziness, which are common symptoms associated with drugs that target central nervous system (CNS) conditions, such as Alzheimer’s.

New Exploratory Alzheimer’s Drug ANAVEX 2-73: Assessment of Safety and Cognitive Performance in a Phase 2a Study in mild-to-moderate Alzheimer’s Patients

Steve Macfarlane, MD1 , Paul Maruff, PhD2 , Marco Cecchi, PhD3 , Dennis Moore, PhD3 , Anastasios Zografidis, PhD4 , Christopher Missling, PhD4 (1)

Caulfield Hospital, Melbourne, Australia (2), Cogstate, Melbourne, Australia (3), Neuronetrix, KY, USA (4), Anavex Life Sciences, Corp., New York, NY, USA

Background: Despite major efforts aimed at finding a treatment for Alzheimer’s disease (AD), progress in developing compounds that can relieve cognitive deficits associated with the disease has been slow. ANAVEX 2-73 is a sigma-1 and muscarinic receptor agonist that in preclinical studies has shown memory-preserving and neuroprotective effects. In our ongoing phase 2a clinical study we are assessing ANAVEX 2-73 safety in subjects with mild-to-moderated AD, and measuring drug effects on MMSE, EEG and Event Related Potentials (ERP) cognitive measures, and Cogstate test batteries to optimize dosing.

Methods: Thirty-two subjects that meet NINCDS-ADRDA criteria for probable AD are being recruited at up to seven clinical sites in Melbourne, Australia. Subjects are between 55 and 85 years of age, and have an MMSE of 16 to 28. In PART A of the study, participants are administered ANAVEX 2-73 orally and IV in an open-label, 2-period, cross-over trial with adaptive study design lasting up to 36 days for each participant. In PART B of the study, all participants are administered ANAVEX 2-73 daily orally. MMSE, EEG/ERP (P300) and Cogstate tests are performed at baseline and subsequently at weeks 12, 26, 38 and 52 of the PART B open label extension.

Results: The primary outcome of the study is safety, and ANAVEX 2-73 was well tolerated. In the secondary outcome endpoints preliminary analysis of data from subjects shows an average improvement of the MMSE score at week 5. A majority of all patients tested so far improved their respective MMSE score. The average EEG/ERP (P300 amplitude) signal also improved and also the average Cogstate test improved across the test batteries.

Conclusions: Data collected so far indicate that ANAVEX 2-73 is safe and well tolerated. Interim results also show improved cognitive performance after drug administration in subjects with mild-to-moderate AD. The current results seem to justify a prospective comparison with current standard of care in a larger clinical trial study. A more complete set of results will be available at the time of the conference.

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Nutrition and Aging

Posted in Biochemical pathways, Cognition, Curation, Metabolism, Metabolomics, Neurodegenerative Diseases, Neurological Diseases, Neuroscience, Nutrition, Nutrition and Phytochemistry, Population Health Management, tagged , , , , , on October 25, 2015| Leave a Comment »

Nutrition and Aging

Curator: Larry H Bernstein, MD, FCAP

 

UPDATED 10/26/2015

Hospital Malnutrition: Prevalence, Identification and Impact on Patients and the Healthcare System

Lisa A. Barker,1,* Belinda S. Gout,1 and Timothy C. Crowe2

Author information ► Article notes ► Copyright and License information ►

Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2011 Feb; 8(2): 514–527.

Published online 2011 Feb 16. doi:  10.3390/ijerph8020514

This article has been cited by other articles in PMC.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3084475/

Malnutrition is a debilitating and highly prevalent condition in the acute hospital setting, with Australian and international studies reporting rates of approximately 40%. Malnutrition is associated with many adverse outcomes including depression of the immune system, impaired wound healing, muscle wasting, longer lengths of hospital stay, higher treatment costs and increased mortality. Referral rates for dietetic assessment and treatment of malnourished patients have proven to be suboptimal, thereby increasing the likelihood of developing such aforementioned complications. Nutrition risk screening using a validated tool is a simple technique to rapidly identify patients at risk of malnutrition, and provides a basis for prompt dietetic referrals. In Australia, nutrition screening upon hospital admission is not mandatory, which is of concern knowing that malnutrition remains under-reported and often poorly documented. Unidentified malnutrition not only heightens the risk of adverse complications for patients, but can potentially result in foregone reimbursements to the hospital through casemix-based funding schemes. It is strongly recommended that mandatory nutrition screening be widely adopted in line with published best-practice guidelines to effectively target and reduce the incidence of hospital malnutrition.

Keywords: diagnosis-related groups, economics, hospital, malnutrition, nutrition assessment, screening

What Is Malnutrition?

Malnutrition is a broad term that can be used to describe any imbalance in nutrition; from over-nutrition often seen in the developed world, to under-nutrition seen in many developing countries, but also in hospitals and residential care facilities in developed nations. Malnutrition can develop as a consequence of deficiency in dietary intake, increased requirements associated with a disease state, from complications of an underlying illness such as poor absorption and excessive nutrient losses, or from a combination of these aforementioned factors [1,2]. Malnutrition is associated with negative outcomes for patients, including higher infection and complication rates [3–6], increased muscle loss [6–8], impaired wound healing [4,9], longer length of hospital stay [10–12] and increased morbidity and mortality [13–17].

Recently, the definition of malnutrition has been clarified by the European Society of Parenteral and Enteral Nutrition (ESPEN) to highlight the differences between cachexia, sarcopenia (loss of muscle mass and function) and malnutrition [18]. Cachexia can be defined as a “multifactorial syndrome characterized by severe body weight, fat and muscle loss and increased protein catabolism due to underlying disease(s)” [18]. Therefore, malnutrition seen in hospitalised patients is often a combination of cachexia (disease-related) and malnutrition (inadequate consumption of nutrients) as opposed to malnutrition alone. Within the context of this review, the definition of malnutrition adopted refers to the complex interplay between underlying disease, disease-related metabolic alterations and the reduced availability of nutrients (because of reduced intake, impaired absorption and/or increased losses or a combination of these) which is a combination of cachexia and malnutrition [18].

In 1859, Florence Nightingale wrote about hospitalised soldiers during the Crimea war, starving amongst plenty of food [19]. Over 100 years later, beginning from the 1970s, numerous authors have reported malnutrition rates in hospital patients to be approximately 35%, with 30 to 55% of patients entering acute hospitals being at risk of malnutrition [20–24]. Studies have also reported on factors which contribute to malnutrition (see Table 1), consequences of malnutrition and the benefit nutrition support can offer malnourished patients [15,25–27].

Protein-Energy Malnutrition in Elderly Medical Patients

Constans MD†,*, Y. Bacq MD‡, J.-F. Bréchot MD§, J.-L. Guilmot MD‡, P. Choutet MD‡and F. Lamisse MD‡

Journal of the American Geriatrics Society Mar 1992; Volume 40, Issue 3: 263–268

online: 27 APR 2015   http://dx.doi.org:/10.1111/j.1532-5415.1992.tb02080.x

Consecutive sample of 324 hospitalized patients ≥70 years (86.4% of eligible patients). Norms of measurements were obtained from a referred sample of healthy control subjects (26 males and 36 females).

Main Outcome Measures   Mid-arm circumference, triceps skinfold thickness, serum albumin, prealbumin, and retinol-binding protein levels were measured in patients at admission and on the 15th day.

Results   (1) Prevalence of PEM was 30% in male and 41% in female patients. (2) Both mid-arm circumference and serum albumin level decreased over the first 15 days of hospital stay (53 patients, paired t test, P < 0.05). Triceps skinfold thickness did not change. (3) A step-wise discriminant-function analysis determined the utility of the parameters at admission as predictors of in-hospital mortality before the 15th day. Mid-arm circumference, triceps skinfold thickness, albumin, and prealbumin levels, as well as age, are predictors of in-hospital mortality, with 73% sensitivity, 69% specificity, and 70% of correctly classified patients of both sexes.

Conclusions   Parameters used are predictors for short-term in-hospital mortality of elderly patients hospitalized in an acute medical unit. The lean body mass is preferentially mobilized for energy during hospitalization.

Downsizing of Lean Body Mass is a Key Determinant of Alzheimer’s Disease
Yves Ingenbleek,∗ and Larry H. Bernstein

Laboratory of Nutrition, Faculty of Pharmacy, University Louis Pasteur, Strasbourg, France; Laboratory of Clinical Pathology, New York Methodist Hospital, Weill-Cornell University, New York, NY, US
Journal of Alzheimer’s Disease 44 (2015) 745–754     http://dx.doi.org:/10.3233/JAD-141950

Lean body mass (LBM) encompasses all metabolically active organs distributed into visceral and structural tissue compartments and collecting the bulk of N and K stores of the human body. Transthyretin (TTR) is a plasma protein mainly secreted by the liver within a trimolecular TTR-RBP-retinol complex revealing from birth to old age strikingly similar evolutionary patterns with LBM in health and disease. TTR is also synthesized by the choroid plexus along distinct regulatory pathways. Chronic dietary methionine (Met) deprivation or cytokine-induced inflammatory disorders generates LBM downsizing following differentiated physiopathological processes. Met-restricted regimens downregulate the transsulfuration cascade causing upstream elevation of homocysteine (Hcy) safeguarding Met homeostasis and downstream drop of hydrogen sulfide (H2S) impairing anti-oxidative capacities. Elderly persons constitute a vulnerable population group exposed to increasing Hcy burden and declining H2S protection, notably in plant-eating communities or in the course of inflammatory illnesses. Appropriate correction of defective protein status and eradication of inflammatory processes may restore an appropriate LBM size allowing the hepatic production of the retinol circulating complex to resume, in contrast with the refractory choroidal TTR secretory process. As a result of improved health status, augmented concentrations of plasma-derived TTR and retinol may reach the cerebrospinal fluid and dismantle senile amyloid plaques, contributing to the prevention or the delay of the onset of neurodegenerative events in elderly subjects at risk of Alzheimer’s disease.

Plasma transthyretin (TTR) was initially proposed as an index of protein-depleted states following field surveys undertaken in Senegal (West Africa) on children suffering from varying stages of malnutrition ranging from cachectic marasmus to edematous kwashiorkor [1]. The serum analyte is now widely measured in developing areas for the nutritional follow-up of underprivileged populations [2, 3] and in developed countries to screen hospitalized patients who require dietary management [4, 5]. Several neurological investigations have recently reported the innovative observation that the same TTR biomarker impacts on the outcome of Alzheimer’s disease (AD) [6,7], raising the basic premise     that alterations of protein status might be implicated in neurodegenerative disorders. Preliminary studies have indeed suggested that the reliability of the TTR indicator is based on its accurately identifying loss of lean body mass (LBM) [8] effecting metabolically active tissues in health and disease. The below review describes the unrecognized correlations linking LBM entity to TTR fluctuations and the mechanisms whereby LBM downsizing, as determined by declining TTR plasma concentrations, generates significant public health consequences in neurodeteriorating morbidities, taking AD as exemplary.

Plasma   transthyretin   as   biomarker   of   lean   body   mass  and  catabolic  states

Yves  Ingenbleek, 1 MD PhD   &   Larry  H.  Bernstein, 2  MD

3Laboratory of Nutrition, Faculty of Pharmacy, University Louis Pasteur, Strasbourg, France; and 4Laboratory of Clinical Pathology, New York Methodist Hospital, Weill-Cornell University, New York, NY

Adv Nutr 2015; 6:1–9.

Plasma  transthyretin (TTR) is  a  plasma  protein  secreted  by  the  liver which  circulates  bound  to  retinol-binding  protein  (RBP4)  and  its  retinol  ligand.   TTR  is  the  sole  plasma  protein  revealing  from  birth  to  old  age  evolutionary  patterns  closely  superimposable  to  those  of  lean  body  mass  (LBM)  and  working  as  its  best  surrogate  analyte.  Any  alteration  in  energy- to-protein  balance  impairs  the  accretion of LBM  reserves and  causes  early  depression  of  TTR  production.   In  acute  inflammatory  states,  cytokines  induce  urinary  leakage  of  nitrogenous catabolites,  deplete  LBM  stores  and  cause  abrupt  drop  of  TTR-RBP4  values.  As  a  result,  thyroxine  and  retinol  ligands  are  released  in  free  form,  creating  a  second  frontline  strengthening  that  primarily  initiated  by  cytokines.  Malnutrition  and  inflammation  thus  keep  10.  in  check  TTR  and  RBP4  secretion  using   distinct  and  unrelated  physiological  pathways  but  operate  in  concert  to   downregulate  LBM  stores.   The  TTR  biomarker  integrates  these opposite  mechanisms  at  any  time,  constituting  an  ideally  suited  tool  to  grade  residual  LBM  resources  still   available  for  metabolic  responses,  hence  predicting  outcome  of  the  most  interwoven   disease  conditions.

Cognitive Impairments in Elderly Diabetic Patients: Understanding the Risks for Better Management

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Medscape Diabetes & Endocrinology

COMMENTARY

Lyse Bordier, MD

http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/852112

Editor’s Note: The following is an edited, translated transcript of a presentation by Professor Lyse Bordier, a diabetologist at Military Hospital Bégin, Saint-Mandé, France, summarizing her lecture at the European Association for the Study of Diabetes (EASD) 2015 AnnualMeeting in Stockholm, Sweden.

Hello. I am Professor Lyse Bordier. I work at the Bégin Military Hospital, in Saint-Mandé, France, and I had the pleasure of participating in a symposium organized by the EASD 2015 conference in Stockholm on elderly patients, specifically on cognitive impairments.

A Public Health Problem

Dementia and cognitive impairments are a major problem; Alzheimer disease accounts for 70% of all cases of dementia. The other main causes are vascular dementias and mixed dementias. They are a real public health problem; it is estimated that, in the United States, 5.2 million people have this condition, and worldwide, every 7 seconds, a new case of dementia is diagnosed.[1,2] In France, for example, it was estimated in 2010 that 750,000-850,000 people had dementia and that this figure will increase by a factor of 2.4 by the year 2050.

Diabetes is an important contributor to the development of cognitive impairments, all the way up to dementia. In Europe, it is estimated that nearly 25% of people over age 85 years have dementia. Its prevalence and incidence are higher in women than in men.[2] We know that the complications of diabetes have changed over the years and that acute metabolic complications are, in the end, much less important. With the improvement in life expectancy in our diabetic patients, who are now better treated thanks to better therapeutic management, new complications have arisen, such as renal failure, heart failure, and, of course, geriatric complications, which are, in large part, cognitive disorders.[3]

Prevalence Underestimated by Physicians

These cognitive impairments are common and largely underestimated. This was clearly shown in the GERODIAB study,[4] which included a cohort of 987 patients over the age of 70 years. At inclusion, the physicians reported that 11% of their patients had cognitive impairments and that 3% had dementia. In actual fact, 25% of the patients had impaired cognitive functions, with a Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) score under 25. The prevalence is therefore significantly underestimated by physicians.

Cognitive impairments are more prevalent and more severe in diabetics than in nondiabetics. It is estimated that the risk for cognitive impairments and that for dementia are 20% to 70% and 60% higher, respectively, in the presence of diabetes.[5] Furthermore, the risk for Alzheimer dementia is considerable, it being 40% higher in diabetics. As expected (given the combination of the other cardiovascular risk factors), the increase in the risk is even greater for vascular dementia, with an odds ratio of 2.38.[6]

Mechanisms

What are the mechanisms in the development of cognitive impairments and dementia? There are many mechanisms, and they are often poorly understood. Hyperglycemia plays a very important role as a direct result of oxidative stress, of advanced glycation end-products, but also as a result of micro- and macroangiopathy, hypertension, and dyslipidemia.[7,8] Other major factors, such as hypoglycemia,[9-12]play an extremely important role in the development of cognitive impairments. As well, a great deal of literature has been published lately on the role of inflammation[13] and genetic factors. Another widely known aspect is insulin resistance, which increases the risk for dementia at a fairly early stage by 40%[14,15]; this already during the metabolic syndrome, even before the onset of type 2 diabetes.

http://img.medscape.com/article/852/112/852112-Figure1.jpg

Figure. Multiple and poorly understood mechanisms of cognitive impairments and dementia. HTA = arterial hypertension. Adapted from Buysschaert M, et al.[16]

What Are the Consequences of Cognitive Impairments?

Cognitive impairments lead to a number of complications, including a reduction in life expectancy. In the GERODIAB cohort, we found, after 2 years of follow-up, that the mortality rate was twice as high in the patients with an MMSE score <24 compared with those with an MMSE score >24. In this study, the patients with a lower MMSE score had less well-controlled diabetes, were usually treated with insulin, and had heart failure and cerebrovascular complications more often. Very surprisingly, hypoglycemia was not more prevalent in these patients, perhaps because, being less independent, they were better managed by care teams.[17]

Cognitive impairments lead to geriatric complications, such as malnutrition, falls, and a loss of autonomy. They also promote social and family isolation and iatrogenic accidents, as well as depression, which can both mask cognitive impairments and exacerbate an underlying dementia. Another important aspect is that cognitive impairments increase the risk for hypoglycemia. This has been shown very clearly in all of the studies. There is, in fact, a bidirectional link between dementia and hypoglycemia: Hypoglycemia doubles the risk for dementia, and dementia triples the risk for hypoglycemia.[18]

Screening and Management

What do we do when a patient presents with cognitive impairments? First, they should be identified so that they can be managed. We need to be vigilant for certain little signs: changes in the patient’s behavior (eg, a patient who forgets his appointments, whose personal hygiene has declined, who is less diligent in keeping his blood glucose diary, and, lastly, who has an unexplained diabetic imbalance). We should also know how to use simple tests, such as the MMSE, which provides an overall assessment of space-time orientation, cognitive functions, language functions, and calculation, and how to assess the patient’s autonomy and loss of autonomy.[19] Next, we should, as per the recommendations of the American Diabetes Association[20] and the EASD, individualize the glycemic goals, taking into account, in the most fragile, elderly patients, cognitive status, the level of autonomy, depression, nutritional status—in particular, sarcopenia, which can coexist with obesity, and the risk for hypoglycemia.[21]

We should therefore avoid overtreating the most fragile patients (those at greatest risk for hypoglycemia), but neither should we undertreat patients who have a long life expectancy and who could develop micro- and macroangiopathic complications.

One last aspect, which is very important, is the family. Help needs to be provided to prevent the patient’s loss of autonomy.[21] Lastly, I think that cognitive decline should be added to the already long list of degenerative complications of diabetes.

Transthyretin Blocks Retinol Uptake and Cell Signaling by the Holo-Retinol-Binding Protein Receptor STRA6

  1. Daniel C. Berrya,b, Colleen M. Cronigerb, Norbert B. Ghyselinckc and Noa Noya,b

+Author Affiliations

  1. aDepartments of Pharmacology
  2. bNutrition, Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine, Cleveland, Ohio, USA
  3. cInstitut de Génétique et de Biologie Moléculaire et Cellulaire, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (UMR7104), Institut National de la Santé et de la Recherche Médicale U964, Université de Strasbourg, Illkirch, France

Vitamin A is secreted from cellular stores and circulates in blood bound to retinol-binding protein (RBP). In turn, holo-RBP associates in plasma with transthyretin (TTR) to form a ternary RBP-retinol-TTR complex. It is believed that binding to TTR prevents the loss of RBP by filtration in the kidney. At target cells, holo-RBP is recognized by STRA6, a plasma membrane protein that serves a dual role: it mediates uptake of retinol from extracellular RBP into cells, and it functions as a cytokine receptor that, upon binding holo-RBP, triggers a JAK/STAT signaling cascade. We previously showed that STRA6-mediated signaling underlies the ability of RBP to induce insulin resistance. However, the role that TTR, the binding partner of holo-RBP in blood, plays in STRA6-mediated activities remained unknown. Here we show that TTR blocks the ability of holo-RBP to associate with STRA6 and thereby effectively suppresses both STRA6-mediated retinol uptake and STRA6-initiated cell signaling. Consequently, TTR protects mice from RBP-induced insulin resistance, reflected by reduced phosphorylation of insulin receptor and glucose tolerance tests. The data indicate that STRA6 functions only under circumstances where the plasma RBP level exceeds that of TTR and demonstrate that, in addition to preventing the loss of RBP, TTR plays a central role in regulating holo-RBP/STRA6 signaling.

INTRODUCTION

Vitamin A (retinol [ROH]) plays critical roles both in the embryo and in the adult, where it regulates multiple cellular processes and is essential for embryonic development, reproduction, immune function, and vision (29, 32, 33). The vitamin exerts many of its biological activities by giving rise to active metabolites: the visual chromophore 11-cis-retinaldehyde and retinoic acid (RA), which regulates gene transcription by activating specific nuclear receptors (11, 27). ROH is stored in various tissues, including white adipose tissue (WAT), lung, and retinal pigment epithelium in the eye, but its main storage site is the liver. ROH is secreted from storage into the circulation bound to retinol-binding protein (RBP), a 21-kDa polypeptide that contains one binding site for ROH. In most mammals, ROH-bound RBP (holo-RBP) does not circulate alone but is associated with another protein called transthyretin (TTR), a 56-kDa homotetramer that, in addition to associating with RBP, functions as a carrier for thyroid hormones (23, 24). ROH thus reaches target tissues bound in a holo-RBP-TTR complex that, under normal circumstances, displays a 1:1 molar stoichiometry. It is believed that binding of RBP to TTR serves to prevent the loss of the smaller protein from blood by filtration in the glomeruli. The concentration of the holo-RBP-TTR complex in plasma is kept constant at 1 to 2 μM except in extreme cases of vitamin A deficiency or in disease states. Notably, RBP levels are markedly elevated in blood of obese mice and humans, and it was reported that, under these circumstances, the protein induces insulin resistance (35).

Association with the TTR-RBP complex allows the poorly soluble ROH to circulate in blood, but the vitamin dissociates from RBP prior to entering cells. It was proposed that, due to its hydrophobic nature, ROH can readily move from extracellular RBP into cells by diffusion across the plasma membranes at fluxes that are dictated by its extracellular-to-intracellular concentration gradient (10,14, 20, 21). However, it has also been suggested that uptake of ROH from circulating holo-RBP is mediated by a cell surface receptor (13, 28). Indeed, a plasma membrane protein termed STRA6 (stimulated by retinoic acid 6) was found to bind holo-RBP and transport ROH into cells (15). Our recent studies revealed that, in addition to its function as an ROH transporter, STRA6 is a cytokine receptor. We thus found that binding of holo-RBP triggers phosphorylation of a tyrosine residue in the cytosolic domain of STRA6, resulting in recruitment and activation of the Janus kinase JAK2 and, in a cell-dependent manner, the transcription factors STAT3 or STAT5. Holo-RBP thus activates STRA6-mediated signaling that culminates in upregulation of STAT target genes (2, 4). As STAT target genes in white adipose tissue and muscle include Suppressor of cytokine signaling 3 (Socs3), a potent inhibitor of insulin signaling (8), these findings suggested a rationale for understanding how elevated serum levels of RBP in obese animals induce insulin resistance (35). Additional studies showed that activation of STRA6 is triggered not simply by binding of holo-RBP but by a STRA6-mediated translocation of ROH from extracellular holo-RBP to an intracellular acceptor, the retinol-binding protein CRBP-I. Importantly, this movement was found to be critically linked to the intracellular metabolism of ROH (5). The data further established that ROH uptake and signaling by STRA6 are interdependent, i.e., that activation of a JAK2/STAT cascade by the receptor requires ROH uptake and, conversely, that phosphorylation of STRA6 is essential for enabling ROH transport to proceed (5).

While these recent studies provided surprising new insights into the involvement of STRA6 in vitamin A biology, the role that TTR, the binding partner of holo-RBP in blood, may play in STRA6-mediated functions remained unknown. Here, we show that TTR blocks the ability of holo-RBP to associate with STRA6 and thereby effectively suppresses both STRA6-mediated ROH uptake and STRA6-initiated cell signaling. We show further that, consequently, TTR protects mice from RBP-induced insulin resistance. The data indicate that, in addition to preventing the loss of RBP by filtration in the kidney, TTR plays a central role in regulating holo-RBP/STRA6 signaling.

….

TTR inhibits STRA6-mediated uptake of ROH from holo-RBP. In most mammals, holo-RBP circulates in blood in complex with transthyretin (TTR). To begin to examine the effect of TTR on STRA6 function, hepatocarcinoma HepG2 cells, which endogenously express STRA6, were used to compare the cellular uptake of ROH from holo-RBP and from TTR-bound holo-RBP. Recombinant RBP and TTR were expressed in E. coli and purified (see Materials and Methods). HepG2 cells were treated with RBP complexed with [3H]retinol at a 1 μM concentration, similar to the serum RBP level, or with 1 μM [3H]retinol-labeled RBP complexed with TTR at a 1:1 molar stoichiometry, similar to that found in blood (24). Media were removed, cells washed, and organic compounds extracted from the cells into ethanol, and the amount of [3H]retinol taken up within the incubation period was measured by scintillation counting. The rates of uptake of retinol under the assay conditions were constant during the initial 5 min (Fig. 1a), and subsequent experiments were carried out with a single 3-min time point, well within the initial linear rate. The rate of ROH uptake from the holo-RBP-TTR complex was lower than that of the uptake from holo-RBP alone (Fig. 1a). Moreover, increasing the TTR/RBP ratio by increasing the concentration of TTR inhibited ROH uptake in a dose-dependent manner (Fig. 1b). The dose response of the initial rate of ROH transport from holo-RBP showed a two-phase behavior comprised of an initial saturable component, likely attributable to STRA6-mediated uptake, followed by a nonsaturable phase, reflecting passive diffusion of ROH across the plasma membranes (Fig. 1c). In contrast, uptake of ROH from the holo-RBP-TTR complex displayed a single, nonsaturable phase (Fig. 1c). These observations suggest that TTR does not impede the ability of ROH to enter cells by passive diffusion but effectively blocks ROH transport mediated by STRA6. In agreement with this notion, increasing the expression level of STRA6 in HepG2 cells (Fig. 1d) facilitated ROH uptake from holo-RBP in a dose-responsive manner but had no effect on transport of ROH from TTR-bound holo-RBP (Fig. 1e). Also in agreement, decreasing the expression of STRA6 in HepG2 cells (Fig. 1f) or in NIH 3T3-L1 adipocytes (Fig. 1g) reduced the rate of ROH uptake from holo-RBP but did not affect uptake from TTR-bound holo-RBP. The observation that, in both cell lines, rates of uptake from the holo-RBP-TTR complex were similar to those observed in the absence of STRA6 supports the conclusion that TTR specifically inhibits STRA6-mediated transport.

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FIG 1

TTR inhibits STRA6-mediated uptake of ROH from holo-RBP. (a) Uptake of [3H]ROH by HepG2 cells treated with RBP-[3H]ROH or RBP-[3H]ROH-TTR (1 μM) for denoted times. (b) Uptake of [3H]ROH by HepG2 cells treated with the denoted concentrations of RBP-[3H]ROH or RBP-[3H]ROH-TTR for 3 min. (c) Uptake of [3H]ROH by HepG2 cells following a 3-min incubation with 1 μM RBP-[3H]ROH in the presence of denoted concentrations of TTR. (d) Levels of STRA6 mRNA in HepG2 cells transfected with various amounts of STRA6 cDNA. (e) Effect of increasing the expression level of STRA6 in HepG2 cells on uptake of [3H]ROH from RBP-[3H]ROH or RBP-[3H]ROH-TTR (1 μM, 3 min). (f) Top, expression level of STRA6 in HepG2 cells transfected with an empty vector (e.v.) or vector harboring STRA6shRNA. Bottom, effect of decreasing the expression level of STRA6 in HepG2 cells on uptake of [3H]ROH from RBP-[3H]ROH or from RBP-[3H]ROH-TTR (1 μM, 3 min). (g) Top, expression level of STRA6 in NIH 3T3-L1 cells transfected with an empty vector (e.v.) or a vector harboring STRA6shRNA. Bottom, effect of decreasing the expression level of STRA6 in NIH 3T3-L1 adipocytes on uptake of [3H]ROH from RBP-[3H]ROH or from RBP-[3H]ROH-TTR (1 μM, 3 min). (h) Twelve-week-old WT and STRA6-null male mice were injected intraperitoneally with RBP-[3H]ROH (100 μl, 0.1 mCi, 1 μM). Two hours later, tissues were isolated, weighed, and homogenized, and [3H]ROH was quantified. Data are means ± standard errors of the means; *, P < 0.01 for RBP-ROH-treated versus RBP-ROH-TTR-treated groups. All P values were calculated using a two-tailed Student t test.

The effect of TTR on ROH uptake from holo-RBP was then examined in vivo using our newly generated STRA6-null mice (26). Twelve-week-old wild-type (WT) and STRA6-null male mice were injected intraperitoneally with [3H]ROH-labeled holo-RBP or with holo-RBP complexed with TTR, and ROH uptake into tissues was assessed 2 h later. Uptake of ROH into the STRA6-expressing tissues WAT, skeletal muscle, and the eye was modestly but significantly lower in STRA6-null than in WT mice (Fig. 1h), reflecting that the contribution of STRA6 to overall vitamin A uptake by tissues in vivo is small. ROH uptake from TTR-bound holo-RBP was all but identical to that observed in STRA6−/− animals (Fig. 1h). Neither ablation of STRA6 nor the presence of TTR affected ROH uptake by the liver, an organ that does not express STRA6 (Fig. 1h). Hence, TTR specifically inhibits STRA6-mediated uptake of ROH in vivo.

TTR inhibits the association of holo-RBP with STRA6.STRA6 may bind the ternary RBP-ROH-TTR complex or, alternatively, it may recognize only free holo-RBP. To dissect these possibilities, we considered that, unlike in most mammals, holo-RBP in zebrafish (Danio rerio) does not associate with TTR. Thus, presumably, zebrafish STRA6 does not contain a TTR-binding region, and while ROH uptake by the mammalian STRA6 may involve recognition of TTR, ROH uptake by zebrafish STRA6 (dSTRA6) will not. In these experiments, NIH 3T3 fibroblasts, which do not endogenously express STRA6, were used. We previously showed that ROH metabolism is essential both for STRA6-mediated ROH transport and for holo-RBP-induced STRA6 signaling (5). Hence, to enable STRA6 action in these cells, an NIH 3T3 line in which ROH metabolism is enhanced by stably overexpressing lecithin:ROH-acyltransferase (LRAT), which catalyzes ROH esterification, was generated. Ectopic overexpression of either hSTRA6 or dSTRA6 in LRAT-expressing NIH 3T3 fibroblasts enhanced ROH uptake from holo-RBP to a similar extent, and introduction of TTR similarly decreased the rate of uptake (Fig. 2a andb). The similarity of the response of dSTRA6, which is unlikely to contain a TTR-binding capability, to that of hSTRA6 suggests that STRA6 in both species recognizes only free and not TTR-bound holo-RBP.

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FIG 2

STRA6 does not bind the holo-RBP-TTR complex. (a) NIH 3T3 cells stably overexpressing LRAT were transfected with an empty vector (e.v.) or with expression vectors encoding human (hSTRA6) or zebrafish (dSTRA6) STRA6, resulting in similar levels of mRNAs. (b) Uptake of [3H]ROH from RBP-[3H]ROH or RBP-[3H]ROH-TTR (1 μM, 3 min) by cells expressing hSTRA6 or dSTRA6. (c) RBP-ROH (R-R) or RBP-ROH-TTR (R-R + TTR) (1 μM) was incubated with the chemical cross-linker bis(sulfosuccinimidyl) suberate (0.5 mM) for 14 h. Proteins were resolved by SDS-PAGE and visualized by Coomassie blue staining. (d) Cross-linked complexes and additional cross-linker (0.5 mM) were added to HepG2 cells transfected with an e.v. or with a vector encoding histidine-tagged STRA6. Following a 15-min incubation, his-STRA6 was immunoprecipitated using antibodies against the tag, and precipitated RBP and STRA6 were visualized by immunoblotting. (e) Fluorescence titrations of RBP and its F96A/L97A mutant (1 μM) with ROH. Progress of titrations was monitored by following the increase in ROH fluorescence upon binding to the protein (λex = 330 nm; λem = 460 nm). (f) Fluorescence anisotropy titrations of holo-RBP and holo-RBP-F96A/L97A (3 μM) with TTR. Progress of titrations was monitored by measuring the fluorescence anisotropy of bound ROH (λex = 330 nm; λem = 460 nm). (g) Uptake of [3H]ROH from holo-RBP-F96A/L97A (1 μM, 3 min) in the presence or absence of TTR. Data are means ± standard errors of the means (SEM). *, P < 0.01 versus cells transfected with an empty vector; **, P = 0.01 versus cells transfected with an empty vector and treated with RBP-ROH. All Pvalues were calculated using a two-tailed Student t test.

The question of whether STRA6 binds free or TTR-bound holo-RBP was then directly addressed. Recombinant holo-RBP was incubated alone or in the presence of TTR with the chemical cross-linker bis(sulfosuccinimidyl) suberate (0.5 mM, 14 h), resulting in efficient cross-linking of the holo-RBP-TTR complex (Fig. 2c). The mixtures and additional cross-linker were added to NIH 3T3 cells ectopically overexpressing histidine-tagged STRA6. STRA6 was immunoprecipitated, and precipitated proteins were resolved by SDS-PAGE and immunoblotted for RBP-containing complexes (Fig. 2d). Cross-linking of cells with holo-RBP resulted in the appearance of a band with a molecular mass of ∼100 kDa, corresponding to that of an RBP-bound STRA6. No such band was observed in cells cross-linked with the RBP-ROH-TTR complex, and no bands that might correspond to a STRA6-RBP-TTR (∼150 kDa) appeared. The data thus indicate that STRA6 associates only with free holo-RBP and that the presence of TTR prevents the association.

To further examine whether TTR inhibits STRA6-mediated ROH uptake by preventing holo-RBP from binding to the receptor, an RBP mutant defective in its ability to bind TTR was generated. The reported three-dimensional crystal structure of the holo-RBP-TTR complex suggests that the interactions between the two proteins are mediated by several residues, including Phe96 and Leu97 (18). An RBP mutant in which these residues were replaced with alanines (RBP-F96A/L97A) was thus generated. The mutations did not alter the affinity of RBP for retinol (Fig. 2e), indicating that the overall fold of the mutant is intact. As expected, the F96A/L97A mutations disrupted the association of RBP with TTR (Fig. 2f). Measurements of ROH uptake showed that, in contrast with its inhibitory activity on ROH uptake from WT-RBP, TTR had no effect on ROH uptake from RBP-F96A/L97A (Fig. 2g). These observations further establish that TTR inhibits STRA6-mediated ROH uptake by sequestering holo-RBP and not by direct association with the receptor.

TTR inhibits holo-RBP-induced STRA6 signaling.The effect of TTR on RBP-induced STRA6 signaling was then examined using NIH 3T3-L1 adipocytes. We previously showed that in these cells, activation of STRA6 by holo-RBP triggers a JAK2/STAT5 cascade to induce the STAT target genes SOCS3 and PPARγ and inhibit insulin responses (2). Preadipocytes NIH 3T3-L1 cells were grown 2 days past confluence and induced to differentiate using a standard hormone mix (10 μg/ml insulin, 0.5 mM 3-isobutyl-1-methylxanthine [IBMX], 0.25 mM dexamethasone). Three days later, media were replaced and cells grown for 4 days. Differentiation was verified by monitoring lipid accumulation and by examining the expression of the adipocyte marker FABP4 (3). As expected, treatment of differentiated adipocytes with holo-RBP (R-R) increased the phosphorylation levels of JAK2 and STAT5 (Fig. 3a). In contrast, the holo-RBP-TTR complex did not alter the phosphorylation status of these proteins (Fig. 3a). Accordingly, TTR-bound holo-RBP failed to induce the expression of SOCS3 and PPARγ (Fig. 3b). To examine the effect of TTR on the ability of holo-RBP to suppress insulin responses, cells were pretreated with holo-RBP or holo-RBP-TTR for 8 h and treated with insulin for 15 min, and the levels of phosphorylation of the insulin receptor (IR) and its downstream effector AKT were monitored. The data show that inhibition of insulin-induced phosphorylation of IR and AKT by holo-RBP was blunted in the presence of TTR (Fig. 3c). TTR also inhibited the ability of holo-RBP, but not of holo-RBP-F96A/L97A, defective in TTR binding, to trigger STAT5 phosphorylation (Fig. 3d) or to induce the expression of SOCS3 in NIH 3T3-L1 adipocytes (Fig. 3e) or in HepG2 cells (Fig. 3f).

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FIG 3

TTR blocks activation of STRA6 signaling by holo-RBP. (a) NIH 3T3-L1 adipocytes were treated with 1 μM RBP-ROH (R-R), TTR, or RBP-ROH-TTR (R-R-TTR) for 15 min. Cells were lysed, and phosphorylated JAK2 (pJAK2) and STAT5 (pSTAT5) were visualized by immunoblotting. (b) NIH 3T3-L1 adipocytes cells were treated with 1 μM RBP-ROH, TTR, or RBP-ROH-TTR for 4 h, and levels of SOCS3 and PPARγ mRNA were assessed by Q-PCR. Data are means ± SEM. *, P < 0.001 versus nontreated cells. (c) NIH 3T3-L1 adipocytes were pretreated with 1 μM RBP-ROH, TTR, or RBP-ROH-TTR for 8 h and then treated with insulin (25 nM, 15 min.). Phosphorylated IR (pIR) and AKT (pAKT) were visualized by immunoblotting. Bottom, quantitation of band intensities. Means of two independent experiments. (d) NIH 3T3-L1 adipocytes were treated with RBP-ROH or RBP-F96A/L97A-ROH (RBP96/97-R) in the presence or absence of TTR (1 μM each, 15 min). Lysates were immunoblotted for pSTAT5. (e) NIH 3T3-L1 adipocytes were treated with RBP-ROH or RBP-F96A/L97A-ROH in the presence or absence of TTR (1 μM each, 4 h). Levels of SOCS3 mRNA were assessed by Q-PCR. Data are means ± SEM. *, P < 0.001 versus nontreated cells; **, P < 0.001 versus R-R-TTR-treated cells. (f) HepG2 cells were treated with RBP-ROH in the presence or absence of TTR (1 μM each, 4 h). Levels of SOCS3 mRNA were assessed by Q-PCR. Data are means ± SEM. *, P < 0.001 versus nontreated cells. (g) The phosphotyrosine motifs in mouse, human, and zebrafish STRA6 (mSTRA6, hSTRA6, and dSTRA6). (h) NIH 3T3 fibroblasts stably expressing LRAT were transfected with zebrafish and human STRA6 and treated with 1 μM RBP-ROH or RBP-ROH-TTR for 15 min, and lysates were immunoblotted for pSTAT3. (i) NIH 3T3 fibroblasts stably overexpressing LRAT were transfected with dSTRA6 or hSTRA6 and treated with 1 μM RBP-ROH or RBP-ROH-TTR for 4 h. Levels of SOCS3 mRNA were assessed by Q-PCR. Data are means ± SEM. *, P < 0.001 versus nontreated cells. All P values were calculated using a two-tailed student t test.

The effect of TTR on signaling by the zebrafish STRA6 was then examined. Notably, the phosphotyrosine in the cytosolic domain of STRA6, the STAT recruitment site of the receptor, is present in the dSTRA6, suggesting evolutionary conservation of STRA6 signaling (Fig. 3g). In these experiments, NIH 3T3 fibroblasts that ectopically overexpress LRAT were transfected with expression vectors for either hSTRA6 or dSTRA6. Treatment of cells expressing either hSTRA6 or dSTRA6 with holo-RBP induced phosphorylation of STAT3, the preferred STRA6-activated STAT in these cells (Fig. 3h), and upregulation of SOCS3 (Fig. 3i). TTR suppressed the ability of holo-RBP to induce STAT3 phosphorylation and to upregulate SOCS3 expression in cells expressing either hSTRA6 or dSTRA6 (Fig. 3hand i).

TTR inhibits the ability of holo-RBP to suppress insulin responses in vivo.The effect of TTR on the ability of holo-RBP to promote insulin resistance in vivo was then investigated. Eight-week-old mice were injected with recombinant holo-RBP, TTR, or holo-RBP-TTR. Mice were injected three times at 2-h intervals and sacrificed an hour after the last injection. The treatments resulted in respective elevation of serum levels of RBP, TTR, or both (Fig. 4a and b). As expected, treatment of mice with holo-RBP reduced the phosphorylation levels of the insulin receptor and AKT and induced the expression of SOCS3 and PPARγ in WAT (Fig. 4cand f) and skeletal muscle (Fig. 4d and g) but not in liver (Fig. 4e and h). In contrast, treatment with RBP-ROH-TTR did not affect the phosphorylation of IR and AKT or the expression levels of the STAT target genes (Fig. 4c to h).

View larger version:

FIG 4

TTR suppresses activation of STRA6 by holo-RBP in vivo. Mice were injected three times with 0.1 μmol RBP-ROH or 0.1 μmol RBP-ROH complexed with TTR and sacrificed 1 h after the last injection. (a, b) Immunoblots of RBP (a) and TTR (b) in serum following the respective injections. Blots from 2 mice of each group are shown. (c to e) Immunoblots of phosphorylated insulin receptor (pIR), AKT (pAKT), and STAT5 (pSTAT5) in WAT (c), skeletal muscle (d), and liver (e) of mice treated as denoted. Total IR served as a loading control. (f to h) Levels of mRNA of SOCS3 and PPARγ in WAT (f), skeletal muscle (g), and liver (h) of treated mice. Data are means ± SEM. *, P < 0.001 for buffer-treated versus RBP-ROH-treated mice.

The observations that only free and not TTR-bound holo-RBP activates STRA6 suggest that the serum RBP/TTR ratio is crucial for regulating STRA6 signaling. In agreement with the report that expression of RBP in adipose tissue increases in obese rodents and humans, resulting in elevation of serum RBP levels (35), feeding mice a high-fat, high-sucrose (HFHS) diet for 10 weeks resulted in upregulation of the expression of RBP in WAT but not in liver (Fig. 5a). In contrast, TTR expression in these organs was not affected by the diet (Fig. 5b). Accordingly, the serum level of RBP was markedly elevated, while the serum level of TTR remained unchanged in obese mice (Fig. 5c). Hence, the RBP/TTR ratio is significantly higher in blood of obese than of lean mice.

View larger version:

FIG 5

TTR is protective against holo-RBP-induced insulin resistance. (a and b) Levels of mRNA of RBP (a) and TTR (b) in WAT and liver of lean mice and of mice fed an HFHS diet for 10 weeks (obese). (c) Immunoblots of RBP and TTR in serum of mice fed an HFHS diet for 0, 3, 6, and 10 weeks. (d to j) Mice were implanted with an Alzet pump that contained buffer, 0.1 μM holo-RBP, or 0.1 μM holo-RBP complexed with TTR. Implants were replaced once a week for 3 weeks. (d) Immunoblots of RBP (top) and TTR (bottom) in serum following 3 weeks of denoted treatments. (e, f) Immunoblots of pIR and pSTAT5 in WAT (e) and skeletal muscle (f) of mice treated as denoted. (g to i) Levels of SOCS3 mRNA in WAT (g), skeletal muscle (h), and liver (i) of mice treated as denoted. (j) Glucose tolerance tests carried out following 3 weeks of denoted treatments. Data are means ± SEM. *, P < 0.001 for lean versus obese mice; **, P < 0.001 for buffer-treated versus RBP-ROH-treated mice. All P values were calculated using a two-tailed Student ttest.

To directly determine if TTR prevents holo-RBP-induced insulin resistance, mice were treated with holo-RBP or holo-RBP-TTR for 3 weeks prior to the glucose tolerance tests (GTT). Mice were treated by implanting Alzet osmotic pumps containing the appropriate proteins (1 μM), thereby delivering constant amounts of proteins over the 3-week period. Similar to what was seen in the short-term treatments (Fig. 4), 3-week treatment of mice with holo-RBP induced phosphorylation of STAT5, reduced the activation level of IR, and upregulated SOCS3 and PPARγ in WAT (Fig. 5e and g) and muscle (Fig. 5f and h) but not in the liver (Fig. 5i). In contrast, treatment with TTR-bound holo-RBP had no effect on the phosphorylation of STAT5 or IR and did not alter the expression levels of the STAT target genes (Fig. 5e to i). Accordingly, while holo-RBP treatment resulted in a sluggish response in GTT, reflecting the development of insulin resistance, treatment with the holo-RBP-TTR complex did not alter the insulin responses of the mice (Fig. 5j). Hence, association with TTR suppresses the ability of holo-RBP to interfere with insulin signaling.

DISCUSSION

Upon binding of extracellular holo-RBP, STRA6 transports ROH into cells, and it activates a signaling cascade culminating in induction of STAT target genes (4, 5). The observations described here reveal that the binding partner of RBP in blood, TTR, effectively blocks association of holo-RBP with STRA6. Consequently, STRA6 mediates cellular ROH uptake only from free and not from TTR-bound holo-RBP. The data further show that, even in the presence of free holo-RBP, STRA6-mediated ROH uptake by tissues comprises only a small fraction of total uptake by target tissues in vivo (Fig. 1h). The observations thus support the previously proposed model whereby supply of ROH from circulating holo-RBP or holo-RBP-TTR to cells occurs primarily by diffusion through the plasma membranes (10, 14,20, 21). Taken together with the observations that ROH transport by STRA6 is critical for enabling activation of STRA6 signaling (5), the data indicate that, with the exception of the eye (26), the main role of ROH transport by STRA6 is not to provide the vitamin to cells but to couple sensing of circulating free holo-ROH levels to cell signaling. It is worth noting that even in the eye, morphological changes and reduction in visual function in Stra6-null mice are mild, indicating that STRA6 is not the only pathway by which ROH enters the retinal pigment epithelium (26).

The data reveal that, in addition to its function in preventing filtration of the 21-kDa RBP in the kidney, TTR plays an important role in protecting cells from holo-RBP-induced signaling mediated by STRA6. The observations that STRA6 “senses” only free and not TTR-bound RBP establish that the receptor functions only under circumstances in which the serum RBP level exceeds that of TTR. Such circumstances are encountered, for example, in obese animals in which the serum level of RBP is elevated while the TTR level is not (Fig. 5c). The circumstances under which the plasma RBP concentration exceeds that of TTR in healthy lean animals remain to be clarified. In this regard, it is interesting that it has long been known that insulin responsiveness varies in a circadian fashion (17, 31). The molecular basis for these diurnal variations is incompletely understood, but the data presented here raise the intriguing possibility that they may arise from diurnal variations in the plasma RBP/TTR ratio.

The RBP/TTR ratio in blood may be altered by changes in the expression level of RBP, or TTR, or both. TTR is expressed in the central nervous system and in the liver, with the latter serving as the main source for the protein in serum (9). Expression of hepatic TTR is downregulated, and consequently, the serum TTR level dramatically decreases during the acute-phase response (APR), a process characterized by rapid reprogramming of gene expression and metabolism in response to inflammatory cytokine signaling (1, 22). The low serum level of TTR associated with APR may release holo-RBP, thereby activating STRA6. Hence, STRA6 signaling may play a role in APR. It has also been reported that hepatic TTR expression is regulated by sex hormones (12) and is directly controlled by hepatocyte nuclear factor 4α (HNF-4α) (30). The expression of RBP in brown adipose tissue and liver was reported to be regulated by cyclic AMP-mediated pathways and by the nuclear receptors PPARα and PPARγ (6, 25). Whether, by controlling TTR or RBP expression, these factors regulate the RBP-TTR ratio in blood and thus STRA6 signaling remains to be clarified.

Notably, as free holo-RBP is rapidly excreted by glomerular filtration, its lifetime in serum is short. Holo-RBP thus functions like a classical cytokine: its availability to its membrane receptor is tightly regulated, and its signaling activities are constrained by a short half-life in the circulation. These characteristics of the signaling activities of holo-RBP strikingly differ from the characteristics of its role as a shuttling protein that mobilizes ROH from liver stores. Unlike in the former capacity, where holo-RBP functions on its own, delivery of ROH to target tissues is mediated by the holo-RBP-TTR complex. The plasma level of this complex is under tight homeostatic control, and it provides ROH to target cells to support tissue requirement for vitamin A without the need for a specialized receptor.

Biochim Biophys Acta. 1996 May 2; 1294(1):48-54.

Retinoid binding to retinol-binding protein and the interference with the interaction with transthyretin.

Malpeli G1, Folli C, Berni R.

The retinol carrier retinol-binding protein (RBP) forms a complex with the thyroid hormone binding protein transthyretin in the plasma of a number of vertebrate species. The interactions of retinoid-RBP complexes, as well as of unliganded RBP, with transthyretin have been investigated by means of fluorescence anisotropy studies. The presence of two independent and equivalent RBP binding sites per transthyretin molecule has been established for proteins purified from species distant in evolution. Although the natural ligand retinol participates in the interaction between retinol-RBP and transthyretin, its binding to RBP is not a prerequisite for protein-protein interaction. The dissociation constants of human transthyretin binding liganded and unliganded forms of human RBP were determined to be: all-trans retinol-RBP, Kd approximately 0.2 microM; apoRBP, Kd approximately 1.2 microM; all-trans retinoic acid-RBP, Kd approximately 0.8 microM; all-trans retinyl methyl ether-RBP, Kd approximately 6 microM. The complex of RBP with the synthetic retinoid fenretinide, which bears the bulky hydroxyphenyl end group, exhibits negligible affinity for transthyretin. The replacement of RBP-bound retinol with synthetic retinoids affects RBP-transthyretin recognition to an extent that appears to be well correlated with the nature and steric hindrance of the groups substituting the retinol hydroxyl group, consistent with their location at the interface between the contact areas of RBP and transthyretin.

Methods Mol Biol. 2010; 652:189-207. doi: 10.1007/978-1-60327-325-1_11.

The interaction between retinol-binding protein and transthyretin analyzed by fluorescence anisotropy.

Folli C1, Favilla R, Berni R.

 

The retinol carrier retinol-binding protein (RBP) forms in blood a complex with the thyroid hormone carrier transthyretin (TTR). The interactions of retinoid-RBP complexes, as well as of unliganded RBP, with TTR can be investigated by means of fluorescence anisotropy. RBP represents the prototypic lipocalin, in the internal cavity of which the retinol molecule is accommodated. Due to the tight binding of retinol within a substantially apolar binding site, an intense fluorescence emission characterizes the RBP-bound vitamin. The addition of TTR to the retinol-RBP complex (holoRBP) causes a marked increase in the fluorescence anisotropy of the RBP-bound retinol within the system, due to the formation of the holoRBP-TTR complex, which allows the interaction between the two proteins to be monitored. The fluorescence anisotropy technique is also suitable to study the interaction of TTR with apoRBP and RBP in complex with non-fluorescent retinoids. In the latter cases, the fluorescence signal is provided by a fluorescent probe covalently linked to TTR rather than by RBP-bound retinol. We report here on the preparation of recombinant human RBP and TTR, the covalent labeling of TTR with the fluorescent dansyl probe, and fluorescence anisotropy titrations for RBP and TTR.

Vitam Horm. 2004; 69:271-95.

Plasma retinol-binding protein: structure and interactions with retinol, retinoids, and transthyretin.

Zanotti G1, Berni R.

Retinol-binding protein (RBP) is the retinol-specific transport protein present in plasma. The available crystal structures of different forms of RBP have provided details of the interactions of this binding protein with retinol, retinoids, and transthyretin (TTR, one of the plasma carriers of thyroid hormones). The core of RBP is a beta-barrel, the cavity of which accommodates retinol, establishing with its buried portions apolar contacts. Instead, the retinol hydroxyl is near the protein surface, in the region of the entrance loops surrounding the opening of the binding cavity, and participates in polar interactions. The stability of the retinol-RBP complex appears to be further enhanced when holo-RBP is bound to TTR. Accordingly, the region of the entrance loops represents the contact area of RBP interacting with the TTR counterpart, such that the hydroxyl of the RBP-bound vitamin becomes fully buried in the holo-RBP-TTR complex. Limited protein conformational changes affecting the entrance loops, which lead to a decrease or loss of the binding affinity of RBP for TTR, have been demonstrated for apo-RBP and RBP in complex with retinoids modified in the area of the retinol hydroxyl. A relatively small number of amino acid residues of RBP, essentially confined to the region of the entrance loops, and of TTR appear to play a critical role in the formation of the RBP-TTR complex, as established by crystallographic studies, mutational analysis, and amino acid sequence analysis of phylogenetically distant RBPs and TTRs. Overall, the available evidence indicates the existence of a high degree of complementarity between RBP and TTR, the contact areas of which are highly sensitive to conformational changes and amino acid replacements.

Biochim Biophys Acta. 2004 Dec 1; 1703(1):1-9.

Interactions amongst plasma retinol-binding protein, transthyretin and their ligands: implications in vitamin A homeostasis and transthyretin amyloidosis.

Raghu P1, Sivakumar B.

Retinol transport complex consisting of retinol-binding protein (RBP) and transthyretin (TTR) is involved in the transport of retinol (vitamin A) and thyroxine (T(4)) in the human plasma. RBP is a 21-kDa single polypeptide chain protein, synthesized in the liver, which binds and transports retinol to the target organs. The circulating RBP binds to another protein called TTR, a 55-kDa homotetrameric T(4) transport protein. Such protein-protein complex formation is thought to prevent glomerular filtration of low molecular mass RBP. Misfolding and aggregation of TTR is implicated in amyloid disorders such as familial amyloid polyneuropathy (FAP) and senile systemic amyloidosis (SSA). Recent observations suggest that both RBP and T(4), the physiological ligands of TTR, prevent its misfolding and amyloid fibril formation, suggesting yet another structure-function relationship to this protein-protein complex. TTR2, a poorly characterized protein, was also found bound to RBP in human and pig plasma but its significance remains to be understood. Furthermore, knockout models of both RBP and TTR unequivocally demonstrated the importance of this protein-protein complex in retinoid transport. Thus, interactions amongst multiple components of retinol transport play critical roles in vitamin A homeostasis and TTR amyloidosis

Retinol Binding Protein and Its Interaction with Transthyretin

Marcia E Newcomer* and David E. Ong

…………..———————–

Protein Sci. 2001 Nov; 10(11): 2301–2316.

doi:  10.1110/ps.22901

PMCID: PMC2374051

Role of conserved residues in structure and stability: Tryptophans of human serum retinol-binding protein, a model for the lipocalin superfamily

Lesley H. Greene,1,3 Evangelia D. Chrysina,2 Laurence I. Irons,2 Anastassios C. Papageorgiou,2,4 K. Ravi Acharya,2and Keith Brew1,

The flexible loop and, in particular, Trp 67 is known to be involved in molecular packing interactions at the interface of the human RBP-TTR (transthyretin) complex (Monaco et al. 1995; Naylor and Newcomer 1999). In the two structures reported for this complex, Trp67 and Trp91 have critical roles in heterodimer stabilization, but a more detailed examination of these particular residues is not possible because of the low resolution (3.1 Å). Thus, when the rRBP67L/91H structure is compared with the structure of RBP in the complex, only gross structural differences can be ideied. The most profound differences between the recombinant apo-RBP and RBP-TTR complex are those around residue 62 and at the C terminus (root mean square, 1.05 Å; Fig. 2 ▶); both regions are implicated in interactions with TTR in the complex. In the rRBP structure, Trp67 is disordered, as are the rest of the residues that form the flexible loop, whereas in the rRBP67L/91H structure, the effect of the sequence substitution at position 67 was not investigated in detail because of the poor electron density in this region.

Trp24 is a component of the first (A) of the strands that form the β-barrel, whereas another highly conserved residue, Arg139, is located at the end of the final H strand. The interactions between these two residues contribute significantly to the formation of the barrel cylinder and closing of its base (Tables 1, 2​2​).).

Retinol-binding studies with selected tryptophan mutants indicated that the mutations did not eliminate the ability of the protein to bind all-trans retinol (data not shown). After folding and purification, the mutants were isolated in yields of ∼20 mg/L, except for those with substitutions for Trp24 or Arg139, in which the yields were 4- to 20-fold lower.

The folding behavior of RBP has a specific biological interest because only the holo form of the protein is secreted after biosynthesis in mammalian and other cells; RBP molecules that do not acquire a retinol ligand within the cell are retained in the endoplasmic reticulum (Melhus et al. 1992) and appear not to be fully folded (Kaji and Lodish 1993). Previously determined structures for human and bovine apo-RBP show close similarity to the holo-protein. These apo-proteins were prepared from natural holo-protein after extraction with ethyl ether to remove the bound ligand (Zanotti et al. 1993a). Here we find that recombinant human apo-RBP produced by in vitro folding of material extracted from inclusion bodies has a structure and spectroscopic properties that are closely similar to those of apo and holo forms of natural human holo-RBP (Cowan et al. 1990), holo and apo bovine RBP (Zanotti et al. 1993a,c), and RBP in complexes with different retinoids (Zanotti et al. 1993b). Because our preparations of apo-rRBP have never bound a retinol ligand, we can conclude that although retinol may enhance folding yields, the ligand is not necessary for an irreversible maturation step in folding. Thus, the degradation of apo-RBP in vivo must be linked to some specific structural feature or property of the apo- versus holo-protein.

The results described here are necessary for the design and interpretation of unfolding and folding kinetics of rRBP because they establish conditions in which the folded and unfolded conformers are most populated. They also allow comparisons of the effects of mutations on the stability of the transition states for folding and unfolding with those of the native and unfolded states. The spectroscopic properties of the mutants indicate signals that provide information about the structure formation in different parts of the RBP molecule during folding processes. A major focus of our work is to determine if there is a relationship between folding and sequence conservation in functionally divergent paralogous proteins. This is a concept that is recently receiving attention from experimentalists (Martinez and Serrano 1999; Hamill et al. 2000; Nishimura et al. 2000; Plaxco et al. 2000). rRBP, as an experimental model for the large lipocalin superfamily, represents an ideal system to further our understanding between evolution and folding. Toward this end, kinetic and additional X-ray crystallographic studies are in progress with recombinant RBP and mutants.


Protein Synthesis at the Blood-Brain Barrier THE MAJOR PROTEIN SECRETED BY AMPHIBIAN CHOROID PLEXUS IS A LIPOCALIN*

Marc G. Achen, Paul J. Harms, Tim Thomas, Samantha J. Richardson, Richard E. H. Wettenhall, and Gerhard SchreiberS

From the Russell Grimwade School of Biochemistry, University of Melbourne, Parkuille, Victoria 3052, Australia

THE JOURNAL  OF BIOLOGICAL CHEMISTRY Nov 15, 1992; 267(32): 23170-23174

Epithelial cells, located at the barriers between extracellular compartments, synthesize and secrete proteins required in these compartments. Examples of such cells are the hepato- cytes providing plasma proteins (for review see Ref. l), the Sertoli cells in the testes synthesizing and secreting cerulo- plasmin (2) and transferrin (3), and the choroid plexus pro- ducing proteins, many of which have transport functions, for the extracellular environment in the brain (Ref. 4, for review see Ref. 1). The epithelial cells of the mammalian (1, 5, 6) and avian (7, 8) choroid plexus, forming the blood-cerebro- spinal fluid barrier, are highly specialized in the synthesis of one particular protein, namely transthyretin. This transthy- retin is secreted exclusively toward the brain (9) and has been proposed to mediate the transport of thyroxine from the bloodstream to the brain (9, 10). Expression of the transthy- retin gene is initiated in the choroid plexus Anlage very early in life (11, 12). Analysis of the proteins synthesized by in vitro incubated choroid plexus from various species showed abundant trans- thyretin synthesis and secretion by choroid plexus from mam- mals, birds, and reptiles (6). The choroid plexus from an amphibian, the cane toad, also synthesized and secreted one predominant polypeptide product (6). However, the size of this product was larger than that of the transthyretin subunit (6). In the following, we describe isolation, properties, cloning, structural analysis of the protein and cDNA, and tissue specificity of expression for the polypeptide most abundantly synthesized and secreted by amphibian choroid plexus. The obtained data also allow a more precise determination of the stage at which the high transthyretin gene expression first occurred in the evolution of the vertebrate brain.

Among the proteins secreted by choroid plexus of vertebrates, one protein is much more abundant than all others. In mammals, birds, and reptiles this protein is transthyretin, a tetramer of identical 15-kDa sub- units. In this study choroid plexus from frogs, tadpoles, and toads incubated in vitro were found to synthesize and secrete one predominant protein. However, this consisted of one single 20-kDa polypeptide chain. It was expressed throughout amphibian metamorphosis. Part of its amino acid sequence was determined and used for construction of oligonucleotides for polymer- ase chain reaction. The amplified DNA was used to screen a toad choroid plexus cDNA library. Full-length cDNA clones were isolated and sequenced. The derived amino acid sequence for the encoded protein was 183 amino acids long, including a 20-amino acid preseg- ment. The calculated molecular weight of the mature protein was 18,500. Sequence comparison with other proteins showed that the protein belonged to the lipo- calin superfamily. Its expression was highest in cho- roid plexus, much lower in other brain areas, and absent from liver. Since no transthyretin was detected in proteins secreted from amphibian choroid plexus, abundant synthesis and secretion of transthyretin in choroid plexus must have evolved only after the stage of the amphibians.

Comparison of the Structure of the Major Protein Synthesized and Secreted by Cane Toad Choroid Plexus with Those of Other Proteins-A protein database search showed that the major amphibian choroid plexus secreted protein belongs to the superfamily of the lipocalins. Lipocalins are small proteins (160-190 residues), most of which are secreted. They possess a common three-dimensional structure (calyx) with a hydro- phobic pocket (25, 26). The binding of small hydrophobic molecules is also a common feature of lipocalins (27). There was variability in the extent of the similarity in amino acid sequence of the cane toad 20-kDa protein with other lipocalins. The most similar was glutathione-independ ent brain prostaglandin D synthetase from humans (28) and rats (29), with this protein from both species exhibiting 41% amino acid identity and 84% similarity for conservative amino acid substitutions to the cane toad 20-kDa protein
FIG. 4. Tissue specificity of the expression of the gene for the major cane toad choroid plexus protein. Northern analysis of mRNAs of different organs. Total cellular RNA from the cane toad, 20 pg from liver, 5 pg from brain without choroid plexus, and 0.1 pg from choroid plexus, was subjected to Northern analysis as describedu nder “Experimental Procedures” using the cDNA de- scribed in Fig. 3 as probe. Autoradiographic exposure was for 48 h at -70 “C. The positions of 28 and 18 S ribosomalR NAb ands are indicated on the right.

However, in contradistinction to the 20-kDa protein described here and to most other lipocalins which are secreted, prostaglandin D synthetase has only been localized intracel- lularly (30). The amino acid sequence identities with some other lipocalins were: rat a2,,-globulin, 32% (31); y component of human complement C8,28% (32); human a,,-globulin, 27% (33); chicken CH21 protein, 25% (34); mouse major urinary protein, 25% (35); and a protein from frog olfactory neuro- epithelium, 25% (36). The sequences for these other lipocalins are not shown in a figure. No other group or single protein, including transthyretins, showed any significant sequence similarity.

Functional and Phylogenetic Implications-The brain possesses its own extracellular environment of specific composition. The blood-brain barrier and the blood-cerebrospinal fluid barrier separate the extracellular spaces of the brain from those in the rest of the body. The cerebrospinal fluid, filling the ventricles and paracerebral spaces in the brain and communicating by bulk-exchange with the fluid in the inter- stitial space of the brain (37), is produced by the choroid plexus, the site of the blood-cerebrospinal fluid barrier. The choroid plexus has been reported to synthesize a number of transport proteins, such as transthyretin (38, 40, 41), trans- ferrin (4, 39, 42), ceruloplasmin (2), and retinol-binding pro- tein (43). Of the proteins synthesized and secreted by the choroid plexus in mammals, birds, and reptiles, transthyretin is by far the most abundant. It is secreted exclusively toward the brain (9) and has been proposed to mediate the transfer of thyroxine to the brain (9, 10).

The data presented in this paper demonstrate that, also in amphibians, the choroid plexus is highly specialized for synthesis and secretion of a specific protein. However, this protein is not transthyretin but is a member of the lipocalin superfamily. Such a lipocalin could possibly have at ransport function across the blood-brain barrier. The absence of transthyretin secretion by the choroid plexus in amphibians, as shown in this paper, suggests that the high expression and secretion of transthyretin, as seen in mammals, birds, and reptiles must have evolved only after the stage of the amphibians. The function in the amphibian brain of the 20-kDa lipocalin abundantly synthesized and secreted by choroid plexus is yet to be elucidated.

Transthyretin and Lean Body Mass in Stable and Stressed State

http://pharmaceuticalintelligence.com/2013/12/01/transthyretin-and-lean-body-mass-in-stable-and-stressed-state/

A Second Look at the Transthyretin Nutrition Inflammatory Conundrum

http://pharmaceuticalintelligence.com/2012/12/03/a-second-look-at-the-transthyretin-nutrition-inflammatory-conundrum/

TTR – amyloidosis

J Neurol Neurosurg Psychiatry 2015;86:159-167 http://dx.doi.org:/10.1136/jnnp-2014-308107

CNS involvement in V30M transthyretin amyloidosis: clinical, neuropathological and biochemical findings

Luís F Maia1,2,3, Rui Magalhães4, Joel Freitas2, Ricardo Taipa5, Manuel Melo Pires5, Hugo Osório6, Daniel Dias7, Helena Pessegueiro8, Manuel Correia2, Teresa Coelho1,9

Correspondence to – Dr Luís F Maia, Serviço de Neurologia, Hospital de Santo António—CHP, Largo Prof. Abel Salazar, Porto 4099-001, Portugal; luis.lf.maia@gmail.com

Online First 4 August 2014

Objectives Since liver transplant (LT) was introduced to treat patients with familial amyloid polyneuropathy carrying the V30M mutation (ATTR-V30M), ocular and cardiac complications have developed. Long-term central nervous system (CNS) involvement was not investigated. Our goals were to: (1) identify and characterise focal neurological episodes (FNEs) due to CNS dysfunction in ATTR-V30M patients; (2) characterise neuropathological features and temporal profile of CNS transthyretin amyloidosis.

Methods We monitored the presence and type of FNEs in 87 consecutive ATTR-V30M and 35 non-ATTR LT patients. FNEs were investigated with CT scan, EEG and extensive neurovascular workup. MRI studies were not performed because all patients had cardiac pacemakers as part of the LT protocol. We characterised transthyretin amyloid deposition in the brains of seven ATTR-V30M patients, dead 3–13 years after polyneuropathy onset.

Results FNEs occurred in 31% (27/87) of ATTR-V30M and in 5.7% (2/35) of the non-ATTR transplanted patients (OR=7.0, 95% CI 1.5 to 33.5). FNEs occurred on average 14.6 years after disease onset (95% CI 13.3 to 16.0) in ATTR-V30M patients, which is beyond the life expectancy of non-transplanted ATTR-V30M patients (10.9, 95% CI 10.5 to 11.3). ATTR-V30M patients with FNEs had longer disease duration (OR=1.24; 95% CI 1.07 to 1.43), renal dysfunction (OR=4.65; 95% CI 1.20 to 18.05) and were men (OR=3.57; 95% CI 1.02 to 12.30). CNS transthyretin amyloidosis was already present 3 years after polyneuropathy onset and progressed from the meninges and its vessels towards meningocortical vessels and the superficial brain parenchyma, as disease duration increased.

Conclusions Our findings indicate that CNS clinical involvement occurs in ATTR-V30M patients regardless of LT. Longer disease duration after LT can provide the necessary time for transthyretin amyloidosis to progress until it becomes clinically relevant. Highly sensitive imaging methods are needed to identify and monitor brain ATTR. Disease modifying therapies should consider brain TTR as a target.

Transthyretin-type cerebral amyloid angiopathy: a serious complication in post-transplant patients with familial amyloid polyneuropathy

Yoshiki Sekijima1,2

1Department of Medicine (Neurology and Rheumatology), Shinshu University School of Medicine, Matsumoto, Japan
2Institute for Biomedical Sciences, Shinshu University, Matsumoto, Japan

J Neurol Neurosurg Psychiatry 2015;86:124 http://dx.doi.org:/10.1136/jnnp-2014-308576

Correspondence to

Dr Yoshiki Sekijima, Department of Medicine (Neurology and Rheumatology), Shinshu University School of Medicine, 3-1-1 Asahi, Matsumoto 390-8621, Japan; sekijima@shinshu-u.ac.jp

Online First 11 August 2014

Liver transplantation is a well-established treatment for transthyretin (TTR)-type familial amyloid polyneuropathy (TTR-FAP).1 According to data in the Familial Amyloidotic Polyneuropathy World Transplant Registry (http://www.fapwtr.org/ram_fap.htm), more than 2000 liver transplantations have been performed to date in 19 countries. Transplantation replaces the variant TTR gene with the wild-type gene in the liver, the main source of serum circulating TTR. The serum concentration of variant TTR decreases rapidly, reaching almost zero after the operation. The effects of liver transplantation on neuropathy are evident as its progression is …

Linköping Studies in Science and technology Dissertation No. 1179

Molecular Aspects of Transthyretin Amyloid Disease

Karin Sörgjerd

Biochemistry Department of Physics, Chemistry and Biology
Linköping University, SE- 58183 Linköping, Sweden Linköping 2008
ISBN 978-91-7393-906-5 http://liu.diva-portal.org/smash/get/diva2:1717/FULLTEXT01.pdf

This thesis was made to get a deeper understanding of how chaperones interact with unstable, aggregation prone, misfolded proteins involved in human disease. Over the last two decades, there has been much focus on misfolding diseases within the fields of biochemistry and molecular biotechnology research. It has become obvious that proteins that misfold (as a consequence of a mutation or outer factors), are the cause of many diseases. Molecular chaperones are proteins that have been defined as agents that help other proteins to fold correctly and to prevent aggregation. Their role in the misfolding disease process has been the subject for this thesis.

Transthyretin (TTR) is a protein found in human plasma and in cerebrospinal fluid. It works as a transport protein, transporting thyroxin and holo-retinol binding protein. The structure of TTR consists of four identical subunits connected through hydrogen bonds and hydrophobic interactions. Over 100 point mutations in the TTR gene are associated with amyloidosis often involving peripheral neurodegeneration (familial amyloidotic polyneuropathy (FAP)). Amyloidosis represents a group of diseases leading to extra cellular deposition of fibrillar protein known as amyloid. We used human SH-SY5Y neuroblastoma cells as a model for neurodegeneration. Various conformers of TTR were incubated with the cells for different amounts of time. The experiments showed that early prefibrillar oligomers of TTR induced apoptosis when neuroblastoma cells were exposed to these species whereas mature fibrils were not cytotoxic. We also found increased expression of the molecular chaperone BiP in cells challenged with TTR oligomers.

Point mutations destabilize TTR and result in monomers that are unstable and prone to aggregate. TTR D18G is naturally occurring and the most destabilized TTR mutant found to date. It leads to central nervous system (CNS) amyloidosis. The CNS phenotype is rare for TTR amyloid disease. Most proteins associated with amyloid disease are secreted proteins and secreted proteins must pass the quality control check within the endoplasmic reticulum (ER). BiP is a Hsp70 molecular chaperone situated in the ER. BiP is one of the most important components of the quality control system in the cell. We have used TTR D18G as a model for understanding how an extremely aggregation prone protein is handled by BiP. We have shown that BiP can selectively capture TTR D18G during co-expression in both E. coli and during over expression in human 293T cells and collects the mutant in oligomeric states. We have also shown that degradation of TTR D18G in human 293T cells occurs slower in presence of BiP, that BiP is present in amyloid deposition in human brain and mitigates cytotoxicity of TTR D18G oligomers.

Included papers

Paper I: Detection and characterization of aggregates, prefibrillar amyloidogenic oligomers, and protofibrils using fluorescence spectroscopy., Lindgren M, Sörgjerd K, Hammarström P., Biophys J. 2005 Jun;88(6):4200-12.

Paper II: Prefibrillar Amyloid Aggregates and Cold Shocked Tetrameric Wild Type Transthyretin are Cytotoxic. Sörgjerd K, Klingstedt T, Lindgren M, Kågedal K, Hammarström P. In manuscript.

Paper III: Retention of misfolded mutant transthyretin by the chaperone BiP/GRP78 mitigates amyloidogenesis., Sörgjerd K, Ghafouri B, Jonsson BH, Kelly JW, Blond SY, Hammarström P., J Mol Biol. 2006 Feb 17;356(2):469-82.

Paper IV: BiP can function as a molecular shepherd that alleviates oligomer toxicity and amass amyloid. Sörgjerd K.,Wiseman R.L, Kågedal K., Berg I., Klingstedt T., Budka H, Nilsson K.P.R., Ron D., Hammarström P. In manuscript.

Abbreviations
ANS 8-anilino-1-naphthalene sulfonic acid
Bis-ANS 4-4-bis-1-phenylamino-8- naphthalene sulfonate
CNS central nervous system
CtD C-terminal domain
DCVJ 4-(dicyanovinyl)-julolidine
ER endoplasmic reticulum
FAP familial amyloidotic polyneuropathy
LCP luminescent conjugated polymer
MTT 3[4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl]-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide
NBC neuroblastoma cells NtD N-terminal domanin
RBP retinol binding protein
SDS-PAGE sodium dodecyl sulphate polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis
SSA senile systemic amyloidosis
ThT thioflavin T
T4 thyroxin
TEM transmission electron microscopy
TTR transthyretin
TTR D18G transthyretin with amino acid substitution from aspartic acid to glycine at position 18
UPR unfolded protein response

Table of contents

1 Introduction
3 Proteins
5 Protein production- the background story
6 Protein folding
8 Genetic mutations
9 Protein misfolding
10 Transthyretin (TTR)
13 The TTR D18G mutation
18 Molecular chaperones
21 BiP
22 Structure and mechanism of BiP
23 A role for BiP during translocation
25 The role of molecular chaperones in misfolding diseases
25 The ER, cellular stress and cell death
27 The unfolded protein response (UPR)
28 Apoptosis
31 Caspases
31 Methods
     33 Cloning, mutagenesis
33 SDS-PAGE and Western blotting
33 Circular Dichroism
33 Fluorescence spectroscopy
34 Chemical cross-linking
35 Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM) 3
35 Affinity chromatography and immunoprecipitation
36 Analytical ultracentrifugation
36 Results

37 Paper I_
     38 Cross-linking to probe formation of aggregates
38 Size and morphology of aggregates and protofibrils
39 Characterization of TTR conformers using molecular probes
40 Different kinetics for different probes 

41 Paper II
42 Early oligomeric species of TTR kill human cells
42 Early oligomeric species of TTR induce ER stress

44 Paper III_
45 BiP selectively binds to destabilized variants of TTR
45 Composition of the BiP- TTR D18G complex
46 The BiP- TTR D18G interaction
46 BiP plays a protective role against the toxic effects of TTR D18G

Paper IV
49 BiP interacts with TTR D18G in the mammalian ER
49 The degradation rate of TTR D18G is slowed down in the presence of BiP
49 The BiP- TTR D18G complex was present in a wide distribution of molecular weights
51 BiP can protect cells from TTR D18G cytotoxicity
52 BiP is found in TTR D18G aggregates in patient tissue

53 Conclusions ________________________________________________________55
55 References ________________________________________________________ 57

This thesis summarizes what I have been working on for the past five years and what conclusions I have made from my findings. My main characters are two proteins called BiP; which is a molecular chaperone believed to play a protective role in cells, and transthyretin (TTR); which is associated with human misfolding disease. It has been known for a long time that TTR misfolding disease starts with TTR denaturation and leads to aggregation and fibrillation of TTR, which accumulates in tissues and organs in patients suffering from the disease. Still, there are no cures for most of these kinds of diseases and the pathogenesis and mechanisms are not fully understood.

The aims with my studies have been to elucidate what role BiP plays in TTR misfolding diseases. I have specifically studied a mutant of TTR called TTR D18G, since that mutant is the most destabilized and most unusual form of TTR. I have also aimed to follow the mechanisms for TTR misfolding and to study the consequences in human cells when exposed to misfolded variants of TTR.

I have included four papers in this thesis. In the first, the aggregation process of transthyretin is described, and the different states in the process are characterized. In the second paper, the effect of different conformational states of aggregated TTR variants on human cells has been studied. In the third paper, the interactions of TTR D18G with BiP are characterized and hypothesizes about what role BiP plays in TTR misfolding diseases have been made. In the fourth paper, the BiP TTR D18G interaction is studied from a mammalian point of view and the effects of BiP and TTR D18G on human cells are elucidated.

Proteins are responsible for most of the reactions occurring in the human body such as transport of nutrients and oxygen, defense against microorganisms, control of gene expression, transmission of signals etc. In all organisms and in each cell, they exist and they work. In the human body, over 30 000 different proteins (and around 30 000 protein coding genes) [1] with almost as many different functions are present, however, most of them still have unknown functions. The building blocks for proteins are called amino acids. There are 20 amino acids used for protein synthesis and 12 of them can be produced by human cells whereas eight need to be supplied with the diet. Thus, a versatile diet is important for the body to work properly with all its > 30 000 different proteins to be properly synthesized. An average protein consists of hundreds of amino acids, linked together in different sequences by the peptide bond, and it is the order of the amino acids that dictate the final shape of the protein. The amino acids, the building blocks in a polypeptide, have different properties; they can be polar, non-polar or charged and the hydrophobic ones are usually buried in the interior of the folded protein. The structures of the proteins, i.e., their conformations, differ due to different types of secondary structures, called α-helices or β-sheet and how these structural elements are arranged. It is the conformation that dictates the protein function. Every single amino acid in the folded protein can contribute to and play a role for protein function. A substitution of one amino acid to another might in some cases lead to re-arrangements of the whole protein structure, and thereby induce a new behavior of the protein (often leading to destabilization and degradation). In other cases, an amino acid substitution does not influence the conformation at all. 6

Figure 1) The primary structure of a protein showing amino acids as a string of pearls. The side chains of the amino acids, denoted with R can be polar, non-polar or charged. When the amino acids are connected to form a poly peptide chain, the COO- group of one amino acid reacts with the NH3 + of another, and a peptide bond is formed with release of a water molecule.

Protein molecules can interact with each other, and protein-protein interactions are necessary for many biological functions. Interactions can be prolonged, when a complex is formed, or transient, i.e. when signals are transferred within or between cells. Interactions can also be non-preferred, such as protein aggregation.

Protein production- the background story All proteins begin as linear sequences of amino acids linked together as a string of pearls (Figure 1). The information about the amino acid sequence of the protein, leading to their different conformations is encoded in the deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA), in the specific genes for the proteins of interest, called the genetic code. When synthesis of a polypeptide begins, the DNA information is transferred to a piece of messenger RNA (mRNA). Formation of RNA from DNA is a process called transcription and occurs with help from an enzyme called RNA polymerase. DNA was identified in 1944 and its double helical conformation was revealed in 1953 [2]. Since DNA is situated in the cell nucleus whereas the protein synthesis occurs in the cytoplasm, an intermediate needs to be involved in the transcription. In the fifties, Primary protein structure Amino acid C COONH3 + R H Primary protein structure Amino acid C COONH3 + R H C COONH3 + R H C COONH3 + R H 7 there were discussions about that intermediate and it was proposed that another nucleic acid, single stranded ribonucleic acid (RNA), would be the intermediate responsible for transferring information from the cell nucleus to the cytoplasm. Later, it was formulated that the genetic information in the DNA is transcribed to RNA and then translated from RNA into a protein. The idea was developed over time and in the sixties, it was proposed that a gene is transcribed into a specific RNA species, called mRNA and that a short-lived, non-ribosomal RNA directs the synthesis of proteins. In 1965, Francois Jacob, Jacques Monod and André Lwoff received the Nobel Prize for their research about mRNA. In the seventies, it became known that mRNA could be spliced after transcription, resulting in that the primary transcript can generate different mRNAs and different proteins. In the 1980s, it was found that small RNA molecules could bind to a complementary sequence in mRNA and inhibit translation [3]. mRNA is single stranded and its sequence is called sence because it results in a protein. The complementary sequence is called antisense. When sence mRNA base pair with anti sence mRNA, translation is blocked. The mechanism has not been fully understood until Craig C. Mello coined the term RNA interference in his work from 1997, published in Cell [4]. In 2006, Andrew Z. Fire and Craig C. Mello received the Nobel Prize for uncovering the mechanism of RNA interference. They discovered that genes could be silenced, i.e. gene activity could be turned off, by double-stranded RNA [5].

Protein production is intitiated by transcription from DNA to mRNA. The transcription starts with binding of RNA polymerase to the DNA which, together with different cofactors, unwinds the DNA. The unwinding helps the RNA polymerase to bind the single stranded DNA template. But there is also need for different transcription factors to make the interaction possible. Once RNA polymerase has bound, the elongation starts, which means that an RNA copy of the DNA template is made as RNA polymerase is traversing along the template strand. The copy (mRNA) is transported to the cytoplasm once it is finished. In the cytoplasm, the sequence is translated into amino acids with help from the ribosome. Ribosomes consist of different subunits that surrounds mRNA and use its sequence as a template for amino acid synthesis where the ribosome is constantly fed with amino acids from transport RNA (tRNA) molecules, each specific for one amino acid (Figure 2). When the amino acid sequence is finished, it is released from the ribosome and folds into a three dimensional structure and is transported to its predestined destination.

Figure 2) From DNA to protein. In the nucleus, mRNA is made, which is a copy of the DNA template containing all the genetic information. Protein synthesis is performed in the cytoplasm by the ribosomes.

Translation
Cytoplasm
Mature protein
Folding
Nucleus
DNA
Transcription to mRNA
Mature mRNA
Transport to cytoplasm
Ribosome
Amino acids

Protein folding The normal protein function does not appear until the polypeptide has developed its final three dimensional conformation, i.e. the protein has been folded. Protein folding involves interactions of the amino acids within the polypeptide to form different kinds of secondary structures; α-helices and β-sheet (Figure 3). The secondary structure elements can arrange into a tertiary structure mediated by side chain interactions. The folding process occurs right after the synthesis of the polypeptide and is normally a relatively fast process. It can even occur on a milli or micro second time scale.

American biochemist Christian Anfinsen was the first to show that the order of amino acids in the primary structure is what dictates the final protein conformation [6]. He also found that if a folded protein was denatured, i.e. the non-covalent native Hbonds, the charge-charge interactions and the hydrophobic interactions were broken and the protein became unfolded, it could again find its folded, native conformation, i.e. refold, under permissive conditions. Anfinsen was awarded the Nobel Prize in 1972. However, for many proteins, the process is not as simple as it was initially described by Anfinsen. Some proteins can fold, unfold and refold spontaneously in vitro (usually the smallest ones) in a one-step process [7], some fold through one or many intermediates and most need assistance to adopt their ultimate conformation. The cells are provided with molecules whose major function is to help proteins to fold correctly, these molecules are also proteins, and are called molecular chaperones.

Genetic mutations …

Figure 3. Illustration of secondary and tertiary structures of a protein. a) α-helix b) β-sheet, within a β-hairpin c) tertiary structure of a folded protein consisting of both α-helices and β-sheets and the spacial orientation of the secondary structure elements are dictated by side chain interactions (www.pdb.org).

Protein misfolding When errors occur in the protein folding machinery, it can result in protein misfolding and misfolding disease. Misfolding diseases are often associated with amyloidosis [8]. The reasons for protein misfolding could be mutations in the genes that code for the proteins that are to be misfolded, or outer factors like stress. For some cases, it is unknown why proteins start to misfold. The consequences could be harmful to the surrounding cells and to the organism in general. Protein misfolding diseases strike many people during their lifetime, and it seems like the phenomenon has become more prevalent during the past years. One early disease of this kind was described in 1906, when the German neurologist Alois Alzheimer found a form of amyloidosis that affects the brain. The disease was later named Alzheimer´s disease (AD). Most AD patients get the disease sporadically, i.e., it is usually not inherited. The symptoms for disease include memory disturbance and loss of other intellectual abilities, the symptoms are also called dementia. To date, more than 20 million people are believed to suffer from dementia [9]. In the fifties, the first form of transmissible human amyloid disesase, named kuru, was found among people practicing cannibalism in Papua New Guinea. Shortly afterwards, a disease with similar pathology was discovered in Europe and United States; transmissible spongiform encephalopathy (TSE), among individuals that had been treated with growth hormones extracted from human cadavers. The TSEs include Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy or Mad Cow Disease (BSE), Creutzfeldt Jakob Disease (vCJD), Gerstmann-Straussler-Scheinker (GSS) disease and fatal familial insomnia (FFI). Certain misfolded proteins, called prions, are implicated in these diseases. The word “prion” stands for “proteinaceous infectious particle”, referring to its pathogenic variants. Stanley B. Pruisiner was the first to identify the molecular mechanisms of prions [10-13] and he was awarded the Nobel Prize in Medicine in 1997 for discovering a new infectious agent- a protein.

All misfolding diseases, whether they are sporadic, inherited or transmissible, are associated with deposition of proteins in different organs, depending on the disease (Table 1). The proteins involved are normally soluble but have become insoluble and aggregated and have developed fibril-like structures. Remarkably, the final fibrils are strikingly similar regardless of the precursor protein, consisting of cross-β-sheet structure with twisted morphology. The mechanisms for developing fibrils are also similar; starting with a conformational change in the protein which becomes a building block for aggregates or clusters that develop long fibril like structures over time and accumulate in tissues or organs in the body with consequences like impaired organ function and cell death [14].

Alzheimer´s, Parkinson´s and Creutzfeldt Jakob disease are examples of notorious misfolding diseases, but there are also less known diseases like Familiar amyloidotic polyneuropathy (FAP) with related pathology (Table 1). The precursor protein for FAP is transthyretin (TTR).

Table 1. A selection of diseases coupled to protein misfolding and amyloidosis and their precursor proteins.

Clinical syndrome                                            Precursor protein 

Alzheimer´s disease                                                Aβ-protein
Primary Systemic Amyloidosis                                 Ig Light Chain
Secondary Systemic Amyloidosis                            Serum Amyloid A
Senile Systemic Amyloidosis (SSA)                         Transthyretin
Familial Amyloid Polyneuropathy (FAP)                  Transthyretin
Finnish Hereditary Systemic Amyloidosis                Gelsolin
Type II Diabetes                                                     Islet Amyloid Peptide
Non-Neuropathic Systemic Amyloidosis                  Lysozyme
Cerebral Amyloid Angiopathy                                  Cystatin C
Atrial Amyloidosis                                                    Atrial Natriuretic Factor
Familial Amyloidosis Type III                                   Apolipoprotein A-1
Hereditary Renal Amyloidosis                                  Fibrinogen

Transthyretin (TTR) Transthyretin (TTR) was discovered in 1942, it became known as prealbumin and was by then detected in the cerebrospinal fluid. In the fifties, prealbumin was identified as a thyroxine (T4) binding protein by Sidney Harold Ingbar, which was published in 1958 in Endocrinology [15]. Kanai et al [16] characterized prealbumin as a retinol binding protein and published their finding in a paper in Journal of Molecular Biology, and prealbumin became Retinol Binding Prealbumin (RBPA). The structure of RBPA was described by Blake and colleagues in 1978 [17] and in 1981, the name transthyretin was accepted [18].

TTR has a molecular weight of 55 kDa and its structure (studied by X-ray crystallography) is a homotetramer with four identical, monomeric subunits, composed of 127 amino acids [19]. Each subunit has a molecular weight of 14 kDa and contains eight β-strands denoted A-H and a helix between strands E and F. The β- strands in each monomer form a β-barrel consisting of two antiparallel four stranded β-sheets containing the DAGH and CBEF strands. Association of two monomers to a dimer forms a β-sandwich stabilized by hydrogen bonds between the H-H (Figure 4) and F-F strands. Association of another dimeric β-sandwich produces the tetrameric conformation. The dimers are connected through hydrophobic interactions between the A-B loop of one monomer and the H-strand of the opposite dimer.

Figure 4. The dimeric form of TTR. The dimer is held together and stabilized by hydrogen bonds between strands H and H and F and F (not shown) in the TTR structure (www.pdb.org, pdb code 1DVQ).

Tetrameric TTR contains two identical T4- binding sites (Figure 5) located in a channel at the center of the molecule [20]. If one of the binding sites is occupied with T4, it becomes harder for the second T4-molecule to bind because of an allosteric effect (negative cooperativity) that takes place in the molecule upon binding of T4. T4 is a thyroid hormone and it plays a role in the metabolism, but is also important for neuronal development [21]. Free T4 is metabolically active. Plasma TTR functions as a transporter of T4 in the blood and transports 15-20 % of serum-T4 and around 80% of CNS-T4 [22]. Other T4 binding proteins and transporters include albumin and thyroxine-binding globulin. TTR is also involved in the transportation of retinol (vitamin A) in complex with retinol binding protein (RBP). The TTR–RBP–retinol complex is formed in the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) of hepatocytes. In TTR, there are four binding sites for RBP, however, only two molecules can bind at the same time because of steric hindrance. In the plasma, most of the TTR does not bind RBP [23, 24]. The source for plasma TTR is the liver. In human plasma, TTR is present at a concentration of 0.25 g/l [23]. The major sites for TTR production are in the liver, the choroid plexus of the brain and the retinal pigment epithelium in the eye.

There are over 100 known mutations in the TTR gene that are associated with amyloid deposition, with varying phenotype depending on the mutation [25] (some are shown in Figure 8). The most common neurodegenerative disease associated with TTR mutations is familial amyloidotic polyneuropathy (FAP) [23, 26-28], which first was described in 1952 by Corino Andrade [29] in Portugal. For more than 20 years, Andrade and colleagues had observed 74 cases from different families suffering from a progressive and mortal, by then unknown disease. ….

Figure 5. Tetrameric TTR (from rat). The binding sites for T4 are pointed out with the arrows (www.pdb.org, pdb code 1IE4).

Although TTR amyloid deposit disease is associated with TTR variants, senile systemic amyloidosis (SSA) is a disease associated with TTR wild type and affects up to 25% of people over the age of 80 and is characterized by amyloid deposits in the heart [36, 37]. The primary structure of TTR is therefore not the only explanation for development of TTR amyloidosis [38]. SSA is usually benign and without symptoms, and mostly men are severely affected [39]. Analysis of the amyloid fibril deposits in SSA patients have revealed that the amyloids contain fragments of TTR and those fragments dominate over full length TTR [40, 41]. The fragmentation has occurred at certain positions (predominantly at positions 46, 49 and 52) in the molecule which makes it tempting to believe that the cleavage of TTR is the cause of disease since the cleavage might expose sequences that are prone to aggregate. However, the cleavage mechanism is not fully understood.

Formation of TTR amyloids starts with dissociation of the tetramer into monomers, that in turn partly unfold and develop aggregates and amyloid fibrils over time [42- 44] (Figure 6). While the structure and properties of amyloid fibrils have been in the focus for diagnosing and understanding the pathogenesis for amyloid disease, there is now increasing evidence that the intermediate states in the amyloid formation pathway, are the most toxic species [45-48].

Another role for TTR, which recently has been published, is the ability to bind the Aβ-protein, which plays the major role in the pathology of Alzheimer´s disease. TTR can act in a chaperone like manner and thereby prevent formation of Aβ amyloid aggregates and thereby possibly halt progression of Alzheimer disease [49].

Figure 6. The amyloid formation process of TTR. The native tetrameric structure of TTR is destabilized and form a rearranged structure that dissociates into monomers. The monomeric species are unstable and aggregation prone and can mature into long, inert fibril structures or unfold. Unfolded TTR can also rearrange to a molten globule like structure (A-state) that has very similar properties as the monomeric amyloidogenic intermediates.

The TTR D18G mutation TTR D18G is a naturally occurring mutation in the TTR gene. The mutation was originally discovered in a Hungarian family, where four definite and three probable affected members were identified. It leads to amyloidosis in the central nervous system (CNS) with disease onset at an average age of 44. The affected family members had extensive amyloid deposition in the leptomeningeal vessels and in the subarachnoid membrane.   ….

TTR D18G was identified as the most destabilized TTR mutant found to date.  Recently, it has been demonstrated that a combination of thermodynamic and kinetic stability of TTR mutants is strongly correlated to disease progression. …
Analysis of serum and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) of a heterozygote D18G patient revealed that only TTR wt could be detected [53], which is an indication of degradation or accumulation of D18G within the cell or rapid degradation post secretion. This could explain why patients do not develop disease until 44 years of age.

Figure 7. Position of D18 in the TTR monomer and residues believed to influence the tetramer stability. A) Structure of a TTR monomer. Residues within a radius of B) 5Å C) 7Å

TTR D18G is monomeric (Figure 7) and unable to form tetramers under physiological conditions. The mutant is aggregation prone and aggregates 1000-fold faster that TTR wt under physiological conditions [53]. The location of the D18G mutation is at the end of the A-strand of TTR. The neighboring residues (Figure 7) are known to stabilize the tetrameric structure. For example, the A25T mutation results in destabilization of the TTR tetramer and cause CNS amyloidosis [54], the V20I mutation leads to destabilization of the TTR tetramer and cause cardiac amyloidosis [55], the F87M/L110M mutations engineer the TTR molecule to be monomeric [56] and the L111M mutation leads to cardiac amyloidosis [57].

The region with the D18 mutation obviously has high impact on TTR tetramerization and stability. TTR D18G cannot efficiently form hybrid tetramers with TTR wt. T4 binding was found to facilitate tetramerization of D18G in the choroid plexus, where concentrations of T4 is high, but not in the CSF where the concentrations are lower. That could explain the TTR D18G prevalence to accumulate in the CNS. Expression of TTR D18G in E.coli leads to the formation of inclusion bodies [53].

Figure 8. Primary sequence of TTR with naturally found mutations marked below the wild type sequence (Hou et al 2007).

Molecular chaperones The term “molecular chaperone” was coined by Ron Laskey in 1978. Laskey observed that a nuclear protein, called nucleoplasmin, could solve a misassembly problem during the assembly of histone proteins, termed nucleosomes, in amphibian eggs. Nucleosomes bind DNA by electrostatic interactions. If the interactions are broken, e.g. by changes in the physiological conditions, the nucleoplasmin is not able to rebind the DNA, even if the physiological conditions are readapted, which leads to aggregation of the protein. This can be prevented by the presence of nucleoplasmin, is able to bind the nucleosomes and protect them [58].

The molecular chaperones are today known as folding helpers and it is believed that they are essential for cell survival and for life processes in general. They are present in the mitochondria, the Golgi, the ER and in the cytoplasm of all cells. The chaperones can correct mistakes in the folding machinery, unfold and send misfolded species to be degraded, or hold on to proteins that cannot be folded in a productive way, thereby preventing escapes of misfolded proteins that could cause damage. The chaperones direct their substrates into productive folding, transport or degradation pathways, but they do not become parts of the final structures of the proteins they interact with [59]. The majority of newly synthesized proteins need assistance to adopt their final conformation. Molecular chaperones stabilize non-native proteins, unfold incorrectly folded proteins and send abnormal proteins for degradation. They do not interact with native proteins, only the unfolded or partially unfolded ones. They are interacting with the proteins for a finite time and thereafter release their substrates, often mediated through ATP hydrolysis. Some chaperones interact with a wide variety of polypeptide chains whereas others are very restrictive and only bind to specific targets.

The heat shock response was first discovered in 1962 in Drosophila flies and the heat shock proteins (HSP) were identified as a set of proteins whose expression was induced when the cells were exposed to elevated temperature [60]. Shortly after they had been discovered, it became evident that their synthesis was not only due to elevated temperatures in cells but also to other forms of outer stresses, like radiation (UV or gamma-irradiation), oxidative stress, exposure to heavy metals, amino acid analogues etc. Protein misfolding and aggregation can lead to acute or chronic stress and activation of inappropriate signaling pathways. HSPs have strong cytoprotective effects [61] and are thought to restore the cellular homeostasis when it is disturbed.

Mammalian HSPs are classified according to their molecular weights (in kilodaltons) and are divided into two main groups, the high molecular weight HSPs and the small molecular weight HSPs. The first group includes three major families: Hsp60, Hsp70 and Hsp90. The first group (the heavy HSPs) consists of ATP dependent chaperones whereas the second group (the light HSPs) consists of ATP independent chaperones.

The Hsp70 family is the most studied HSP family, containing proteins from 66 to 78 kDa. Some of the Hsp70 proteins are localized in the cytosol (Hsp70 and Hsp72), one is found in the mitochondrion (mtHsp70) and one in the ER (BiP).

BiP BiP was first defined as glucose regulated protein with a molecular weight of 78 kDa (GRP78) or immunoglobulin heavy chain binding protein. Its function as a molecular chaperone was established by Munro et al [62] in 1986, who demonstrated that BiP is an ATP dependent member of the Hsp70 family, located in the ER lumen. BiP interacts with newly synthesized proteins and chaperones them during transport through the cell and is believed to be one of the most important components in facilitating folding in the ER. BiP has a molecular mass of 74 kDa and its 3D structure is not known but it has been defined by X-ray crystallography for DnaK (an E.coli Hsp70 and BiP homologue).

Structure and mechanism of BiP All the Hsp70 family members have the same structural organization with a 44 kDa N-terminal ATPase domain (NtD), a 18 kDa C-terminal substate binding domain (CtD) (Figure 9) and a third domain, belonging to the C-terminal domain whose function is unknown. The NtD and the CtD communicate allosterically with each other. If the NtD is occupied by an ATP molecule, the affinity for the substrate in the CtD is low but if the NtD is occupied by an ADP molecule, the affinity for substrate is high. If the CtD binding site is occupied by a substrate, the rate of ATP hydrolysis in the NtD increases [63, 64]. Thus, an unfolded polypeptide captured by BiP, can undergo cycles of binding and release, cycles that will proceed until BiP binding motifs no longer are present in the released and folded polypeptide. BiP recognizes a wide variety of nascent polypeptides with no obvious sequence similarity. However, experiments that have been done in order to find sequences that BiP preferentially binds to, have shown that the binding motifs consist of a high proportion of hydrophobic residues, normally located in the interior of a folded protein. It has also been shown that those motifs preferably consist of seven amino acids [63].

Figure 9. The NtD and the CtD of the bacterial BiP homologue DnaK. The NtD binds ATP/ADP (ADP is marked with black, left figure) whereas the CtD is substrate binding (substrate (NRLLLTG) is marked with black, right figure). The domains communicate allosterically with each other. When ATP is bound to the NtD, the CtD releases its substrate (www.pdb.org, pdb code 1S3X for left figure and 1Q5L for right figure).

…..

BiP can self associate into different oligomeric species and it is the CtD that is responsible for oligomerization. The more oligomeric BiP is, the less active is it [65]. BiP can also be post-translationally modified by phosphorylation and by ADP ribosylation. These modifications are believed to play a role in the synthesis and the polypeptide binding of BiP. Accumulation of unfolded proteins in the ER leads to an decreased amount of modified BiP whereas unmodified, monomeric BiP increases [64].

Many chaperones need co-chaperones to be effective. Hsp70 chaperones often need Jdomain containing Hsp40 proteins. The function for the Hsp40 proteins is to stimulate the ATPase activity which is crucial for Hsp70 chaperone activity. BiP can interact with different J-domain proteins [72] which are necessary for the chaperone function. ….

A role for BiP during translocation ….

The role of molecular chaperones in misfolding diseases A current opinion is that the chaperones play important roles in the protein misfolding diseases since they are parts of the control system in the cell [76, 77]. All proteins associated with the classical amyloid diseases are secreted proteins and will therefore pass the quality control checks within the ER, where they interact with a number of proteins facilitating protein folding. In some cases, misfolded proteins are accumulated in the ER [5]. This accumulation causes “ER-stress”, a condition that normal cells respond to by increasing the transcription of genes encoding ERchaperones, such as BiP, to facilitate protein folding or by suppressing the mRNA translation to synthesize proteins. These mechanisms are called “the unfolded protein response” (UPR). Once proteins are aggregated into extracellular amyloid deposits they are quite resistant to degradation.

The ER, cellular stress and cell death The ER is a membrane bound cellular organelle, consisting of tubules, vesicles and cisternae. The environment is oxidizing, which facilitates formation of disulphide bonds in maturing proteins and thereby stabilizing their structures. ER is involved in protein translation, folding, post translational modifications and quality control of proteins that are to be secreted from the cell. The majority of secreted or plasma membrane proteins enter the ER and fold within it. The vesicles of the ER are responsible for transport of proteins to be used in the cell membrane or to be secreted from the cell. Molecular chaperones and folding enzymes assist nascent proteins to fold inside the ER and correctly folded proteins are transported to the Golgi apparatus. Proteins that are not able to fold or that are misfolded, are accumulated in the ER since they cannot be exported. There are different mechanisms responding to accumulation of unfolded or misfolded proteins inside the ER. One of the mechanisms is termed ER-associated degradation (ERAD), which recognizes the misfolded proteins and retrotranslocates them to the cytoplasm and send them for degradation by the ubiquitin-proteasome degradation machinery [78]. Another mechanism that responds to accumulation of unfolded proteins in the ER is the unfolded protein response (UPR). Accumulation of unfolded proteins in the ER may also lead to cell death (apoptosis), if the condition is prolonged and cannot be solved (Figure 10). ER chaperones and ER components play a crucial role for recognition of unfolded proteins and are continuously expressed in the ER. [79].

Figure 10. The ER functions. Proteins entering the ER are facing different destinies. The correctly folded proteins are sent for export, whereas proteins that are not able to fold are sent for degradation. Accumulation of incorrectly folded proteins leads to ER stress, which in turn can result in apoptosis if the condition is prolonged. Most ER processes involve several chaperone systems as indicated in the figure.

The unfolded protein response (UPR) ER has a certain loading capacity, which varies between different cell types and during a cell’s life. When unfolded proteins are accumulated in the ER, the cell becomes stressed and the folding machinery gets perturbed. Unfolded proteins have hydrophobic residues exposed, which normally are buried in the interior of the folded protein. These hydrophobic parts tend to form (protein) aggregates that are toxic to cells. ER stress can also occur as a result of starvation, virus infections or heat, and other outer factors that influence cells negatively, and the condition is either transient or permanent. The cells respond to the stress by activating a pathway of signals leading to transcription of more chaperones, e.g BiP. Simultaneously, the translation of new proteins and the loading of proteins into ER are reduced, and further accumulation of unfolded proteins is decreased. …

ER stress leads mainly to three sets of responses: first, the amount of unfolded proteins that enters the ER is reduced (lowered protein synthesis and translocation into the ER); second, the ER folding capacity is increased (transcriptional activation of UPR target genes) and third, if the homeostasis has not been re-established, cell death (the cells commit suicide (apoptosis) to protect the organism). ER stress leads to activation of different signaling pathways, mediated by trans-membrane proteins, so called stress transducers, which sense the ER overload and transmit a signal to the cytosol where the transcription and translation of proteins take place. Three pathways have been identified (Figure 11), mediated by inositol-requiring protein-1 (IRE1), activating transcription factor-6 (ATF6) or protein kinase RNA (PKR)-like ER kinase (PERK) [82]. ….

Figure 11. The unfolded protein response with a central role for BiP.

Apoptosis Sometimes, cells have to die. They can do it in different ways and for different reasons. One reason for cell death is tissue damage, which results in a process called necrosis. During necrosis, damaged cells swell and burst and release their contents to the surrounding area, which in turn can damage the neighbouring cells and give rise to an inflammation.  ….

Caspases Caspases is a family of calcium dependent cysteine proteases and they are able to cleave their substrates after aspartate residues. Robert Horwitz and colleagues identified a gene (in C.elegans) called Ced-3, which coded for a protein with similar properties to the, by then, only known caspase (caspase 1) and what they found was required for cell death [88]. After that discovery, other caspases in different organisms were soon identified and their roles were surveyed [89]. Caspases contain three domains; an N-terminal domain (which vary in size between different caspases), a large domain containing the active site and a small C-terminal domain. ….

Figure 12. The inactive procaspase and the active caspase.

Methods …

Results The findings will be presented in four papers, which are summarized below. The first paper is a study about TTR and its misfolding and fibrillation pathway. The oligomeric intermediates in the process were studied and characterized. In paper II, the different states in the TTR oligomerization pathway were captured, and added to neuroblastoma cells to elucidate which species were toxic to cells when applied from the outside. We could see that early oligomers were toxic to neuroblastoma cells. This resulted in apoptosis and release of BiP into the cytoplasm. In the third paper, the misfolding of TTR is studied from a disease point of view and the role of BiP in misfolding diseases is discussed. The most unstable TTR variant found to date, TTR D18G, was used as a model for the study and we found that BiP strongly interacted with this mutant, which was not the case for TTR wt or other mutants. Paper IV is a study of the role of BiP for TTR D18G misfolding within a eukaryotic cell. Most of the work done previously was in vitro studies and measurements were performed on purified proteins, made in E.coli cells. However, the fourth study was done in an in vivo context, to get a cell biologigal aspect of the work. Human kidney cells were used to express proteins and the interactions inside the cells were studied. We could see that the in vivo results in human cells correlated well to what we had seen earlier from E.coli expressed complexes.

Paper I The purpose with the study in the first paper was to characterize and understand the aggregation process of TTR. We used different techniques to detect structural changes in the aggregation process. An in vitro protocol for creating TTR oligomers was used. Oligomers were studied by using fluorescence spectroscopy, circular dichroism, chemical cross-linking and transmission electron microscopy. ….

Figure 16. Different probes were used to follow the TTR misfolding reaction. Aliquots of the aggregation reaction of TTR were withdrawn and assayed at 2μM probe + 2 μM TTR. Symbols: ANS (circles), Bis-ANS (inverted triangles), DCVJ (triangles) and ThT (squares). The fluorescence intensity of the different probes in the presence of the unfolded monomer state and the burst amplitude from the fit is indicated with horizontal lines labeled with the letter U and “burst” in colors corresponding to the probe.

Paper II In paper I, we characterized different states in the TTR aggregation pathway. In paper II, we harvested the different states in the aggregation pathway (during fibrillation) and challenged with neuroblastoma cells with these species. We exposed the cells to both early, oligomeric TTR species, long and mature fibrils of TTR and native TTR wt. We also wanted to investigate if BiP was upregulated in cells as a marker for UPR activation when exposed to TTR oligomers and used immunostaining for BiP to detect BiP localization in cells.

Early oligomeric species of TTR kill human cells Phase contrast images of human SH-SY5Y neuroblastoma cells exposed to early oligomers or mature fibrils of TTR in 48 hours, revealed that cells that had been exposed to oligomers were dying, whereas cells exposed to mature fibrils were still alive and healthy (Figure 17). …

Figure 17. Phase contrast pictures of cell viability after exposure to TTR. Cells exposed to early TTR oligomers, which had aggregated for 5 min, demonstrated apoptotic morphology, such as decreased cell size and more sparse population compared to non exposed cells (C) or cells exposed to native TTR wt, 22˚C (wt). Cells exposed to TTR that had aggregated for longer than 1 h were more dense. Cells exposed to TTR that had aggregated for more than one day (24 h and 1 week (1 w)) showed similar morphology as control cells (C).

Figure 18. BiP is upregulated in cells stressed with TTR oligomers and cold, native TTR wt. A) Confocal microscopy images of cells immunostained for BiP (green). Top micrograph: cells exposed to vehicle (C). Middle micrograph: cells exposed to early TTR oligomers (5 min). Bottom micrograph: cells exposed to cold native TTR wt (wt 4 °C). B) Western blot analysis of BiP expression in cells following exposure to early oligomers of TTR or cold native TTR wt (4 °C). GAPDH was used as a protein loading control to quantify the level of BiP expression.

Paper III To understand how the chaperone BiP could interact with an unstable, aggregation prone, protein mutant like TTRD18G, plasmids containing genes for His6-BiP or FT2- TTRD18G were introduced into E.coli cells grown in LB media. The proteins were thereafter expressed with IPTG, the cells were harvested and the protein containing lysate was purified on a Ni-NTA-affinity chromatography column for capturing His6- BiP. As controls, BiP was also expressed with FT2-TTRA25T, FT2-TTRL55P or FT2- TTRwt and were treated in a similar way. The protein containing cell lysate was separated on the column and fractions containing column flow through, wash buffer, and protein eluate were analyzed by SDS-PAGE.

BiP selectively binds to destabilized variants of TTR….

Figure 19. Comparison of different TTR mutants in their ability to bind to BiP. TTR wt was compared with the mutants TTR D18G, TTR A25T and TTR L55P. FT= Flow Through, w1= wash 1, w2= wash 2, el= eluate, MW= Molecular Weight marker.  ….

Figure 20. The binding site for BiP in the TTR molecule. The F-strand in the TTR molecule was found to be its binding site for BiP. ….

BiP plays a protective role against the toxic effects of TTR D18G ….

Figure 21. BiP protects from TTR D18G cytotoxicity by keeping it in a soluble form. A) Micrographs of TTR D18G complex before (upper left) and after (upper right) addition of ATP. ATP releases substrates from BiP, and release of TTR D18G results in aggregation. B) ThT fluoresecence of BiP/TTR D18G (filled bars) and BiP (open bars) before and after addition of ATP or addition of the competitive peptide 88-103 TTR. Without incubation (w/o inc), without ATP, 37˚C incubation for 18 h (37˚C no add), with ATP, 37˚C, 18h (37˚C ATP), with 88-103 TTR peptide, 37˚C, 18h (37˚C 88-103).

Paper IV In this paper, the idea was to obtain a cell biological aspect of BiP/TTR D18G binding and to investigate if the E.coli derived complexes could be confirmed in a human cellular system. We wanted to study complex formation between BiP and TTR D18G in vivo and used human 293T kidney cells to overexpress the proteins. We also wanted to investigate if BiP would influence the degradation rate of TTR D18G. We could clearly see that the complex was formed in vivo in human cells, which confirmed our previous results. It is also known from before that BiP has the ability to oligomerize. We found that BiP did not prevent aggregation of TTR D18G, but rather oligomerized with it, both in soluble and insoluble aggregates. Surprisingly, aggregates seemed to accumulate inside the ER. We also found that the degradation of TTR D18G was altered in presence of a high amount of BiP.

BiP interacts with TTR D18G in the mammalian ER ….

The degradation rate of TTR D18G is slowed down in the presence of BiP ….

Figure 22. Selective binding of mutant TTR. Cells expressing Flag-BiP and/or TTRwt or TTR D18G were lysed with triton. The triton supernatants (containing the soluble protein fractions) and the triton pellets (containing the insoluble protein fractions) were collected. Immunoprecipitation with anti-TTR antibody shows that Flag-BiP is pulled down with TTR D18G and to a small extent with TTR wt. The amount of soluble TTR D18G seemed to increase when BiP was overexpressed.

Figure 23. The TTR D18G degradation rate is slowed down in presence of BiP. Pulse chase analysis results showed that the degradation of TTR D18G alone (circles) occurred faster than when BiP was overexpressed in the cells (squares).

The BiP- TTR D18G complex was present in a wide distribution of molecular weights ….

Figure 24. Distribution of oligomers in cells expressing TTR D18G alone or TTR D18G and BiP.

BiP can protect cells from TTR D18G cytotoxicity ….

Figure 25. BiP can rescue cells from dying in apoptosis. Phase contrast pictures of human NBC exposed to cold TTR wt (wt), TTR D18G (D18G) or TTR D18G in complex with BiP (D18G + BiP) showed that cells treated with TTR D18G were dead after 48 hours (decreased cell size, modified morphology and sparse population) whereas TTR D18G in complex with BiP were more viable (more dense and normal morphology).  ….

BiP is found in TTR D18G aggregates in patient tissue  ….

Figure 26. BiP co-localizes with TTR containing amyloid in the brain. Amyloid staining (LCP), TTR, and BiP are all co-localized, however there are patters where the individual signals dominates, indicating that the amyloid composition is layered within the deposits (indicated with arrows, right panel) ….

Conclusions From the studies in this thesis, it could be concluded that:

Fluorescence spectroscopy used intelligently (various molecular probes and time resolves techniques) is a very powerful tool to assay formation of amyloid and prefibrillar oligomers.

Formation of TTR oligomers during acidic conditions from the A-state occurs very fast (within minutes) after the process has been initiated. The formation of amyloid like fibrils occurs via oligomeric intermediates.

Oligomeric, intermediate species in the TTR aggregation pathway are toxic to neuroblastoma cells and cause apoptosis. Mature fibrils are less toxic. Cold stored native, tetrameric TTR is also cytotoxic suggesting an additional pathway for a labile tetramer or monomer to be toxic.

The ER chaperone BiP selectively captures the pathogenic, misfolding prone mutant of TTR; TTR D18G.

The binding site for BiP in TTR is the part in TTR that is involved in formation of the tetrameric structure and is possibly an elongation site in fibrils, comprising residues 88-103. Hence, BiP maintains TTR D18G in a soluble oligomeric form which should be a protection mechanism against oligomer toxicity.

BiP co-aggregates with TTR D18G. The larger the TTR containing aggregates are, the fewer BiP are in the complex. We ascribe this collection role for BiP as a molecular shepherd.

The degradation process of TTR D18G is slowed down in the presence of BiP.

BiP can escape the ER in complexes with TTR D18G and accumulate as extracellular amyloid in human brain. 

New Studies Bring Scientists Closer to Combating Dangerous Unstable Proteins

Madeline McCurry-Schmidt

http://www.scripps.edu/newsandviews/e_20141027/wiseman.html

Scientists at The Scripps Research Institute (TSRI) have discovered a way to decrease deadly protein deposits in the heart, kidney and other organs associated with a group of human diseases called the systemic amyloid diseases.

“If we can develop a strategy to reduce the load that’s coming from these proteins, then we can open up treatment options that could be broadly applied to treat multiple systemic amyloid diseases,” said Luke Wiseman, assistant professor at TSRI and a senior author of the new research.

In related studies published recently in the journals Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS) and Chemistry & Biology, Wiseman and his colleagues described a process that can catch unstable proteins before they are released from the cell and form deposits. The process involves a “transcription factor” (which controls genetic expression) called ATF6 that may provide a drug target for future therapies.

Systemic amyloid diseases are caused by the buildup of unstable protein in extracellular environments such as the blood. The accumulation of these proteins damages organs such as the heart, kidney and gut, leading to organ malfunction and, eventually, death. Currently, treatment options for these diseases are limited.

“There has been a lot of work on ATF6, but people haven’t yet asked the functional question—can ATF6 be therapeutically accessed?” said Wiseman.

The Root of the Disease

In the recent PNAS study, the Wiseman lab, in collaboration with Jeffery Kelly’s lab at TSRI, focused on a systemic amyloid disease called light chain amyloidosis, where the unstable proteins are called light chain immunoglobulins.

Current treatments for light chain amyloidosis involve chemotherapy to kill the dysfunctional cells that secrete the disease-associated proteins, but about 30 percent of patients have significant buildup of light chain in the heart, making them too weak for this treatment. The researchers sought to develop a strategy to reduce the buildup of these proteins and increase treatment options for these patients.

Wiseman, Kelly and their teams went to the source of the unstable proteins: a part of the cell called the endoplasmic reticulum (ER). In the ER, proteins, such as immunoglobulin light chains, fold into structures that are then secreted into the blood where they perform important functions in the body. In light chain amyloidosis, mutations in immunoglobulin light chains make the proteins unstable, allowing them to unfold in the blood and form toxic clusters (aggregates) that damage the heart.

Using human cells, the researchers used a library of compounds that target specific biologic pathways to identify mechanisms that would reduce the secretion of unstable light chains from the ER. This approach identified an ER mechanism called the Unfolded Protein Response, or UPR, as a pathway whose activation preferentially reduces secretion of disease-associated light chains.

The UPR regulates ER function through the increased expression of proteins, such as “chaperones,” that directly influence the folding and secretion of destabilized proteins. Although sustained activation of the UPR is toxic, the team wondered if specific aspects of this pathway could be targeted to help cells “catch” these unstable light chains before they are secreted to the blood, where they can cause damage.

Using a chemical biologic approach, the researchers showed that activation of the UPR-associated protein ATF6 increases expression of many ER proteins involved in regulating protein folding and trafficking and reduces secretion of disease-associated light chains without causing toxic consequences. Furthermore, they showed that activating ATF6 decreases the extracellular aggregation of light chains by about 75 percent, suggesting the potential to reduce disease.

“This is an approach to treat light chain amyloidosis that ‘cuts it off at the source’ by not allowing the disease-associated immunoglobulin light chain to get out of cells to aggregate,” said TSRI Research Associate Christina Cooley, co-first author of the new study with Lisa M. Ryno, now an assistant professor at Oberlin College.

One Strategy, Multiple Diseases

In a second study, published October 23 online ahead of print by the journalChemistry and Biology, Wiseman and his team asked if ATF6 activation could be similarly used to reduce secretion and aggregation of transthyretin—a protein that aggregates in association with other systemic amyloid diseases referred to as the transthyretin amyloidoses.

Using a similar approach, the Wiseman lab showed that ATF6 activation reduced the secretion and extracellular aggregation of disease-associated transthyretin variants. Interestingly, the team reported that ATF6 activation increases the ability of the cell to “read” the stability of proteins.

Detecting small variations in stability is crucial because some misfolded proteins can evade the cell’s protective responses. These proteins are only slightly misfolded, and they can slip past the degradation proteins and form dangerous aggregates in the blood.

Wiseman hopes researchers will be able to design therapeutics to take advantage of the body’s natural ability to use AFT6 to decrease secretion and aggregation of multiple amyloid disease-associated proteins.

“It’s very exciting to see if we can treat multiple diseases with one drug, which would really offset the cost of developing a specific drug for each amyloid disease,” said TSRI graduate student John Chen, co-first author of the Chemistry and Biology study with Research Associate Joseph C. Genereux.

Wiseman said the next step in this area of research, which also is being conducted in collaboration with the Kelly lab, is to identify drug candidates that can activate ATF6.

In addition to Cooley, Ryno, Kelly and Wiseman, other contributors to theProceedings of National Academy of Sciences paper, “Unfolded protein response activation reduces secretion and extracellular aggregation of amyloidogenic immunoglobulin light chain,” are Lars Plate, Gareth J. Morgan and John D. Hulleman, all of TSRI. Support for this study came from Arlene and Arnold Goldstein, the Ellison Medical Foundation, the Skaggs Institute for Chemical Biology at TSRI, the Lita Annenberg Hazen Foundation, TSRI and the National Institutes of Health (AG046495, DK075295, NS079882, F32 AG042259). For more information on this study.  http://www.pnas.org/content/111/36/13046.full

In addition to Chen, Genereux and Wiseman, other contributors to theChemistry and Biology paper, “ATF6 Activation Reduces the Secretion and Extracellular Aggregation of Destabilized Variants of an Amyloidogenic Protein,” are Song Qu, John D. Hulleman and Matthew D. Shoulders, all of TSRI. Support for this study came from Arlene and Arnold Goldstein, the Ellison Medical Foundation, TSRI, the American Cancer Society and the National Institutes of Health (AG036634, NS079882, DK075295, DK102635, AG046495, HL099245). For more information on this study, http://www.cell.com/chemistry-biology/abstract/S1074-5521(14)00327-5

An insight to the conserved water mediated dynamics of catalytic His88 and its recognition to thyroxin and RBP binding residues in human transthyretin

http://dx.doi.org:/10.1080/07391102.2014.984632

Avik Banerjeea & Bishnu P. Mukhopadhyaya**

online: 08 Dec 2014

Human transthyretin (hTTR) is a multifunctional protein involved in several amyloidogenic diseases. Besides transportation of thyroxin and vitamin-A, its role towards the catalysis of apolipoprotein-A1 and Aβ-peptide are also drawing interest. The role of water molecules in the catalytic mechanism is still unknown. Extensive analyses of 14 high-resolution X-ray structures of human transthyretin and MD simulation studies have revealed the presence of eight conserved hydrophilic centres near its catalytic zone which may be indispensable for the function, dynamics and stability of the protein. Three water molecules (W1, W2 and W3) form a cluster and play an important role in the recognition of the catalytic and RBP-binding residues. They also induce the reorganisation of the His88 for coupling with other catalytic residues (His90, Glu92). Another water molecule (W5) participate in inter-monomer recognition between the catalytic and thyroxin binding sites. The rest four water molecules (W6, W*, W# and W†) form a distorted tetrahedral cluster and impart stability to the catalytic core of hTTR. The conserved water mediated recognition dynamics of the different functional sites may provide some rational clues towards the understanding of the activity and mechanism of hTTR.

Amyloid Formation by Human Carboxypeptidase D Transthyretin-like Domain under Physiological Conditions*

Javier Garcia-Pardo‡,§1, Ricardo Graña-Montes‡,§2, Marc Fernandez-Mendez‡,§, Angels Ruyra‡3, Nerea Roher‡,¶4, Francesc X. Aviles‡,§, Julia Lorenzo‡,§5 and Salvador Ventura‡,§6

↵6 Recipient of an ICREA academia award. To whom correspondence may be addressed. Tel.: 34-935868956; Fax: 34-935811264; E-mail: salvador.ventura@uab.es.

Capsule

Background: Proteins can form amyloid aggregates from initially folded states.

Results: The transthyretin-like domain of human carboxypeptidase D forms amyloid aggregates without extensive unfolding.

Conclusion: The monomeric transthyretin fold has an inherent propensity to aggregate due to the presence of preformed amyloidogenic structural elements.

Significance: Generic aggregation from initially folded states would have a huge impact on cell proteostasis.

Protein aggregation is linked to a growing list of diseases, but it is also an intrinsic property of polypeptides, because the formation of functional globular proteins comes at the expense of an inherent aggregation propensity. Certain proteins can access aggregation-prone states from native-like conformations without the need to cross the energy barrier for unfolding. This is the case of transthyretin (TTR), a homotetrameric protein whose dissociation into its monomers initiates the aggregation cascade. Domains with structural homology to TTR exist in a number of proteins, including the M14B subfamily carboxypeptidases. We show here that the monomeric transthyretin-like domain of human carboxypeptidase D aggregates under close to physiological conditions into amyloid structures, with the population of folded but aggregation-prone states being controlled by the conformational stability of the domain. We thus confirm that the TTR fold keeps a generic residual aggregation propensity upon folding, resulting from the presence of preformed amyloidogenic β-strands in the native state. These structural elements should serve for functional/structural purposes, because they have not been purged out by evolution, but at the same time they put proteins like carboxypeptidase D at risk of aggregation in biological environments and thus can potentially lead to deposition diseases.

The importance of a gatekeeper residue on the aggregation of transthyretin implications for transthyretin-related amyloidoses  (Article)

Journal of Biological Chemistry 10 October 2014; 289(41): 28324-28337

Sant’Anna, R.a,  Braga, C.a,  Varejão, N.a,  Pimenta, K.M.a,  Granã-Montes, R.d,  Alves, A.a,  Cortines, J.c,  Cordeiro, Y.b,  Ventura, S.d ,  Foguel, D.a

a  Instituto de Bioquímica Médica Leopoldo de Meis, Programa de Biologia Estrutural, Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

b  Faculdade de Farmácia, Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

c  Instituto de Microbiologia Professor Paulo de Goés, Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

d  Institut de Biotecnologia I Biomedicina, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Bellaterra, Spain

Protein aggregation into β-sheet-enriched amyloid fibrils is associated with an increasing number of human disorders. The adoption of such amyloid conformations seems to constitute a generic property of polypeptide chains. Therefore, during evolution, proteins have adopted negative design strategies to diminish their intrinsic propensity to aggregate, including enrichment of gatekeeper charged residues at the flanks of hydrophobic aggregation-prone segments. Wild type transthyretin (TTR) is responsible for senile systemic amyloidosis, and more than 100 mutations in the TTR gene are involved in familial amyloid polyneuropathy. The TTR 26-57 segment bears many of these aggressive amyloidogenic mutations as well as the binding site for heparin. We demonstrate here that Lys-35 acts as a gatekeeper residue in TTR, strongly decreasing its amyloidogenic potential. This protective effect is sequence-specific because Lys-48 does not affect TTR aggregation. Lys-35 is part of the TTR basic heparin-binding motif. This glycosaminoglycan blocks the protective effect of Lys-35, probably by neutralization of its side chain positive charge. A K35L mutation emulates this effect and results in the rapid self-assembly of the TTR 26-57 region into amyloid fibrils. This mutation does not affect the tetrameric protein stability, but it strongly increases its aggregation propensity. Overall, we illustrate how TTR is yet another amyloidogenic protein exploiting negative design to prevent its massive aggregation, and we show how blockage of conserved protective features by endogenous factors or mutations might result in increased disease susceptibility.

Unfolded protein response-induced ERdj3 secretion links ER stress to extracellular proteostasis

Joseph C Genereux1,2,‡, Song Qu1,2,3,‡, Minghai Zhou4, Lisa M Ryno1,2, Shiyu Wang5, Matthew D Shoulders2,†, Randal J Kaufman5, Corinne I Lasmézas4, Jeffery W Kelly1,2,6 and R Luke Wiseman1,3,*   

EMBO J, 2 Jan 2015; 34(1): 4–19. published online: 31 OCT 2014 http://dx.doi.org:/10.15252/embj.201488896

The Unfolded Protein Response (UPR) indirectly regulates extracellular proteostasis through transcriptional remodeling of endoplasmic reticulum (ER) proteostasis pathways. This remodeling attenuates secretion of misfolded, aggregation-prone proteins during ER stress. Through these activities, the UPR has a critical role in preventing the extracellular protein aggregation associated with numerous human diseases. Here, we demonstrate that UPR activation also directly influences extracellular proteostasis through the upregulation and secretion of the ER HSP40 ERdj3/DNAJB11. Secreted ERdj3 binds misfolded proteins in the extracellular space, substoichiometrically inhibits protein aggregation, and attenuates proteotoxicity of disease-associated toxic prion protein. Moreover, ERdj3 can co-secrete with destabilized, aggregation-prone proteins in a stable complex under conditions where ER chaperoning capacity is overwhelmed, preemptively providing extracellular chaperoning of proteotoxic misfolded proteins that evade ER quality control. This regulated co-secretion of ERdj3 with misfolded clients directly links ER and extracellular proteostasis during conditions of ER stress. ERdj3 is, to our knowledge, the first metazoan chaperone whose secretion into the extracellular space is regulated by the UPR, revealing a new mechanism by which UPR activation regulates extracellular proteostasis.

Synopsis  

The unfolded protein response (UPR) triggers secretion of ER chaperone ERdj3 to prevent formation of toxic aSggregates, providing the first mechanistic link between intracellular stress signaling and extracellular proteostasis.

  • ERdj3 is an ER-stress-induced secreted chaperone
  • Secretion of ERdj3 is induced by the ATF6 arm of the UPR
  • Secretion of ERdj3 enhances extracellular proteostasis capacity
  • ERdj3 can co-secrete as a stable complex with misfolding-prone protein clients
  • ERdj3 serves as a link between intracellular and extracellular proteostasis capacity during ER stress.

Thumbnail image of graphical abstract

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Imbalances in extracellular protein homeostasis (or proteostasis) and consequent protein aggregation are inextricably linked to degenerative phenotypes in over 30 human protein misfolding diseases, including Alzheimer’s disease, Creutzfeldt–Jakob disease and the transthyretin (TTR) amyloidoses (Kelly, 1996; Rochet & Lansbury, 2000; Stefani & Dobson, 2003; Buxbaum, 2004; Haass & Selkoe, 2007). Compelling genetic and pharmacologic evidence supports a causal relationship between protein aggregation (including amyloidogenesis) and the degeneration of post-mitotic tissue in these disorders (Tanzi & Bertram, 2005; Aguzzi et al, 2007; Gotz et al, 2011; Coelho et al,2012). Primary determinants of extracellular proteostasis capacity include the spectrum and concentration of secreted proteostasis factors (e.g., chaperones) (Wyatt et al, 2013) and the efficiency of protein folding and quality control in the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) (Wisemanet al, 2007).

Extracellular proteostasis capacity is regulated by secreted proteins that prevent the formation of protein aggregates associated with disease. The best characterized secreted chaperones such as clusterin directly bind misfolded proteins in the extracellular environment and prevent their aggregation through an ATP-independent “holdase” mechanism (Wyatt et al, 2012). Deletion of clusterin predisposes mice to aging-dependent progressive glomerulopathy (Rosenberg et al, 2002) and increases Aβ(1–42) aggregation and deposition in mouse models of Alzheimer’s disease (DeMattos et al, 2004). Furthermore, genome-wide association studies implicate clusterin in the development of Alzheimer’s disease (Harold et al, 2009; Lambert et al, 2009; Wijsman et al, 2011). Small populations of some ER chaperones, such as the HSP70 BiP and the lectin calreticulin, can be trafficked to the plasma membrane, particularly under stress or during apoptosis (Martins et al, 2010; Zhang et al, 2010). Protein disulfide isomerases (PDIs) can also be secreted to promote extracellular disulfide exchange (Jordan & Gibbins, 2006; Hahm et al, 2013). A role for these chaperones in extracellular proteostasis maintenance has not been demonstrated to date, rather their surface expression has been implicated in immunological signaling (Peters & Raghavan, 2011; Lee, 2014).

Extracellular proteostasis is also impacted by proteostasis in the ER, which is responsible for the folding and trafficking of the 1/3 of the human proteome that is targeted to the cellular secretory pathway (Fewell et al, 2001; Braakman & Bulleid, 2011). In the ER, nascent polypeptides interact with components of ER protein folding pathways to facilitate their folding into native three-dimensional conformations (Buck et al, 2007). Folded proteins are then packaged into vesicles at the ER membrane and trafficked to downstream compartments of the secretory pathway or the extracellular space. Proteins unable to attain native three-dimensional conformations in the ER are instead targeted to ER degradation pathways such as ER-associated degradation (ERAD) (Benyair et al, 2011). The partitioning of polypeptides between ER protein folding/trafficking and degradation pathways, also referred to as ER quality control, prevents the secretion of misfolded, aggregation-prone proteins (Powers et al, 2009; Araki & Nagata, 2011).

Despite the typical efficiency of ER quality control, exposure to genetic, environmental or aging-related stresses leads to increased protein misfolding within the ER lumen and imbalances in ER proteostasis. Such stresses can increase secretion of misfolding-prone proteins into the extracellular space, directly challenging extracellular proteostasis capacity and facilitating concentration-dependent protein aggregation into proteotoxic oligomeric conformations. As such, ER stress is pathologically associated with numerous extracellular protein aggregation diseases including the systemic amyloidoses and Alzheimer’s disease (Teixeira et al, 2006; Kim et al, 2008).

To restore ER proteostasis following stress, cells activate the Unfolded Protein Response (UPR). The UPR consists of three integrated stress-responsive signaling pathways activated downstream of the ER stress-sensing proteins IRE1, ATF6, and PERK (Schroder & Kaufman, 2005; Walter & Ron, 2011). These stress sensors are activated by the accumulation of misfolded proteins within the ER lumen (a consequence of ER stress) (Bertolotti et al, 2000; Okamura et al, 2000; Shen et al, 2002). The activation of UPR signaling pathways results in the attenuation of new protein synthesis (Harding et al, 1999) and transcriptional remodeling of ER protein folding, trafficking, and degradation pathways (Lee et al, 2003; Yamamoto et al, 2007; Shoulders et al, 2013), thus enhancing ER proteostasis capacity and quality control. Through these mechanisms, UPR activation reduces accumulation of misfolded proteins in the ER and attenuates the aberrant secretion of aggregation-prone proteins into the extracellular space (Adachi et al, 2008; Shoulders et al, 2013).

In contrast, the functional impact of UPR signaling on extracellular proteostasis capacity remains poorly defined. Not only are the established secreted chaperones not transcriptional targets of the UPR, but clusterin secretion is attenuated during conditions of ER stress, indicating that clusterin secretion is not a protective mechanism to regulate extracellular proteostasis in response to pathologic ER insults (Nizard et al, 2007). Similarly, ER stress reduces secretion of ER proteostasis factors such as protein disulfide isomerase (PDI), suggesting reduced extracellular regulation of disulfide integrity during ER stress (Terada et al, 1995). Thus, we sought to study the functional role for UPR signaling in adapting extracellular proteostasis capacity during conditions of ER stress.

Here, we report that UPR activation regulates extracellular proteostasis directly through the secretion of the ER-targeted HSP40 co-chaperone ERdj3. While ERdj3 is established to function as an HSP40 co-chaperone for BiP within the ER HSP70 chaperoning pathway (Shen & Hendershot, 2005), we show that ERdj3 is also a UPR-induced secreted chaperone, whose extracellular levels increase both in response to ER stress and stress-independent activation of the UPR-associated transcription factor ATF6. Secreted ERdj3 binds to misfolded proteins in the extracellular space, prevents the aggregation of amyloidogenic Aβ1–40 at substoichiometric concentrations, and ameliorates the toxic effects of misfolded prion protein on neuronal cells. Furthermore, we demonstrate that ERdj3 can co-secrete with destabilized, misfolding-prone clients under conditions where the ER HSP70 chaperoning pathway is overwhelmed, preemptively chaperoning these misfolding-prone secreted proteins that evade ER quality control in the extracellular environment. Thus, the capacity for ERdj3 to function in both ER and extracellular proteostasis provides an unanticipated direct link between these two environments that is regulated by the UPR during conditions of ER stress.

ER stress increases ERdj3 secretion

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We confirmed the ER stress-dependent increase in ERdj3 mRNA in HEK293T cells treated with the small molecule SERCA inhibitor thapsigargin (Tg)—a potent inducer of ER stress (Fig 1B). Upon Tg-induced ER stress, ERdj3 protein levels increased primarily in conditioned media and not intracellularly for HEK293T-Rex (Fig 1C and D). RNAi depletion of ERdj3 reduced intracellular ERdj3 levels > 90% and completely ablated extracellular ERdj3 upon Tg treatment. Tg treatment also selectively increased extracellular, as opposed to intracellular, ERdj3 from Huh7 cells (Supplementary Fig S1D). In stark contrast to ERdj3, BiP and HYOU1, two abundantly expressed, UPR-induced, ER chaperones, were not detected in the conditioned media (Fig 1C), reflecting the presence of ER retention motifs on these proteins. These results are consistent with previous results showing that negligible BiP is secreted to the extracellular space (Munro & Pelham, 1987; Yamamoto et al, 2003; Kern et al, 2009). Rather, BiP that evades the KDEL receptor is typically still retained at the cellular membrane (Wang et al, 2009; Zhang et al, 2010), as is common for other canonical ER-localized chaperones, particularly under apoptotic conditions (Jordan & Gibbins, 2006; Martins et al, 2010; Lee, 2014). HYOU1, the ER resident Hsp110 that both serves as a nucleotide exchange factor for BiP and displays its own chaperone function (Andreasson et al, 2010; Behnke & Hendershot, 2014), has not been implicated in either secretion or presentation at the cellular membrane. Alternatively, intracellular levels of BiP and HYOU1 were significantly increased upon Tg treatment. These data indicate that increased extracellular ERdj3 levels result from constitutive secretion and not from leakage of ER proteins into the extracellular space, as has been proposed for other ER chaperones (Booth & Koch, 1989).

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We next evaluated whether ER stress increases ERdj3 serum levels in mice. In the absence of stress, ERdj3 has a serum concentration of 23 ± 5 nM (Supplementary Fig S1E). Mice subjected to an 18 h fast followed by refeeding on a high-fat diet, which rapidly induces hepatic ER stress (Oyadomari et al, 2008), show a significant twofold increase in serum ERdj3 levels (Fig 1H). ERdj3 serum levels also significantly increased following 7 days on a high-fructose diet (Supplementary Fig S1F and G), which also induces ER stress in hepatic cells (Wanget al, 2012), as indicated by increased BiP, Grp94, and phosphorylated eIF2α in hepatic lysates (Supplementary Fig S1H). These results demonstrate that increased ERdj3 serum levels in mice correlate with hepatic ER stress, strongly indicating that hepatic ER stress increases ERdj3 secretion in vivo.

Stress-independent activation of the UPR-associated transcription factor ATF6 increases ERdj3 secretion

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Figure 2. ERdj3 is efficiently secreted from cells following stress-independent activation of the UPR-associated transcription factor ATF6

We further characterized the ATF6-dependent increase in ERdj3 secretion using a [35S] metabolic pulse-chase approach. ATF6 preactivation increased the extracellular concentration of newly synthesized ERdj3 fourfold relative to vehicle-treated cells, with nearly 40% of [35S] labeled ERdj3 being secreted following a 4 h incubation in non-radioactive chase media (Fig 2B–D). Despite an increase in ERdj3 synthesis (Supplementary Fig S2B), XBP1s preactivation reduced the fraction of newly synthesized ERdj3 in media, relative to the vehicle treatment (Fig 2D). This decrease in ERdj3 secretion is attributed to an increase in ERdj3 degradation, with ~40% of newly synthesized ERdj3 being degraded after 4 h in cells following XBP1s preactivation (Fig 2E). ATF6 and XBP1s co-activation demonstrated a similar increase in ERdj3 secretion to that observed with ATF6 preactivation alone, demonstrating that ATF6 activation prevents the increased ERdj3 degradation observed upon XBP1s activation (Fig 2B–E). Collectively, these results show that ERdj3 secretion is increased by stress-independent preactivation of the UPR-associated transcription factor ATF6, directly implicating protective UPR signaling in the regulation of the extracellular ERdj3 concentration.

Secreted ERdj3 increases extracellular proteostasis capacity

To evaluate whether ERdj3 secretion is critical for the maintenance of intracellular ER proteostasis, we overexpressed either ERdj3WT or the non-secreted ERdj3KDEL and then measured expression of UPR target genes and cellular viability, both in the absence and the presence of Tg-induced ER stress (Supplementary Fig S3A and B). Despite the known role of ERdj3 in folding and degradation of specific clients (Shen & Hendershot, 2005; Hoshino et al, 2007; Jin et al, 2008; Buck et al, 2010; Tan et al, 2014), ERdj3 retention does not significantly impair global ER proteostasis maintenance in the absence or the presence of ER stress.

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Figure 3. Secreted ERdj3 inhibits extracellular protein aggregation

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Figure 4. Secreted ERdj3 attenuates vacuole formation induced by toxic prion protein in mammalian cells

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ERdj3 is co-secreted in complex with secreted destabilized mutant proteins

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Figure 5. ERdj3 is co-secreted with destabilized proteins through the secretory pathway

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ERdj3–client co-secretion is regulated by ER proteostasis capacity

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Figure 6. ERdj3–client protein complexes are co-secreted when BiP activity is limiting

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Discussion

Protein synthesis is necessarily an intracellular process. Hence, extracellular metazoan environments such as the blood rely on cellular protein secretion to define extracellular protein concentrations and regulate the integrity of the secreted proteome. The presence of misfolding-prone proteins in the ER directly threatens this environment, as imbalances in ER proteostasis can impair the capacity for ER quality control pathways to prevent secretion of misfolded, aggregation-prone client proteins that in turn challenge the integrity of the extracellular proteome (Hetz & Mollereau, 2014). The UPR indirectly regulates extracellular proteostasis by attenuating the secretion of misfolded protein conformations that can both accumulate during and induce ER stress. Here, we demonstrate a direct role for the UPR in regulating extracellular proteostasis through the increased transcription and secretion of ERdj3. The capacity for UPR activation to influence extracellular proteostasis through ERdj3 secretion links protein misfolding in the secretory pathway to extracellular proteostasis, revealing a new mechanism by which cells coordinate intra- and extracellular environments in response to pathologic insults that induce ER stress (Fig 7).

image

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Figure 7. ERdj3 secretion links ER and extracellular proteostasis environments during conditions of ER stress

In response to ER stress, newly synthesized ERdj3 binds misfolded ER client proteins and delivers them to BiP for chaperoning in the Hsp70 cycle. When free BiP becomes limiting, or if repeated BiP cycling cannot productively deplete the levels of the misfolded client, the stable ERdj3–client complex is co-secreted to the extracellular environment, preemptively binding the misfolded protein and preventing the aggregation of the misfolded client protein in the extracellular space. Furthermore, stress-induced ERdj3 can be secreted on its own into the extracellular space where it can bind to misfolded, aggregation-prone client proteins and attenuate pathologic protein aggregation in the extracellular environment.

In its role as a traditional HSP40 co-chaperone to BiP, ERdj3 can influence the trafficking of ER client proteins and is exploited for pathogenic toxin internalization (Yu & Haslam, 2005; Massey et al, 2011) and viral infection (Wen & Damania, 2010; Goodwin et al, 2011) (Fig 7). However, we find that at least half of newly synthesized ERdj3 is secreted. Secreted ERdj3 has the capacity to bind misfolded proteins and prevent their extracellular aggregation and proteotoxicity, suggesting that UPR-dependent increases in ERdj3 secretion offer a new potential mechanism to protect the local extracellular environment from toxic protein conformations that can be secreted during ER stress (Fig 7). Interestingly, ERdj3 also can also influence extracellular proteostasis through its co-secretion with destabilized, misfolding-prone client proteins. This capacity of ERdj3 to be co-secreted with misfolding-prone proteins avoids the problem of diffusion-limited encounter in the extracellular space.

ERdj3–client co-secretion serves as a natural bridge between the dual roles of ERdj3 as an ER HSP40 and in regulating extracellular proteostasis (Fig 7). In the ER, ERdj3 delivers misfolded clients (e.g., FTTTRA25T) into the BiP cycle for chaperoning. If inadequate free BiP is available, ERdj3 remains bound to its client protein throughout the secretory pathway and the client-ERdj3 complex can be secreted into the extracellular space, where lack of BiP prevents ERdj3 release from the substrate. When the ER must deal with high, persistent levels of misfolding-prone proteins, the UPR is activated, increasing the levels of ERdj3, BiP and other chaperones to offer misfolding-prone proteins more ER chaperoning capacity. Simultaneously, increased intracellular ERdj3 is available to bind and co-secrete with misfolding-prone protein clients that evade ER quality control and traverse the secretory pathway, providing preemptive chaperone capacity to the extracellular space. Importantly, clusterin co-secretion, unlike ERdj3 co-secretion, assists destabilized clients in evading ER quality control, providing a potential reason for the reduced secretion of clusterin during conditions of ER stress. Thus, ERdj3 offers a unique link between ER and extracellular proteostasis, employing a mechanism that cannot be achieved with other known secreted chaperones.

The capacity of UPR-dependent activation of ATF6 to influence extracellular proteostasis through ERdj3 secretion indicates a potential role for this pathway in extracellular protein aggregation pathologies. UPR signaling is activated in many extracellular protein aggregation diseases, including Alzheimer’s disease and the systemic amyloidoses (Teixeira et al, 2006; Saxena et al, 2009; Hoozemans et al, 2012; Hetz & Mollereau, 2014). Our results showing that secreted ERdj3 can increase the extracellular chaperoning and prevent extracellular aggregation and/or proteotoxicity of disease-associated proteins such as TPrP, TTRA25T, and Aβ suggest that ATF6-dependent regulation of ERdj3 secretion is a potential mechanism to protect the extracellular space from proteotoxicity. Consistent with this prediction, presenilin mutations causatively associated with Alzheimer’s disease significantly impair ATF6 activation during stress (Katayama et al, 1999, 2001). Thus, a decreased capacity to regulate extracellular proteostasis through ATF6 activation and consequent ERdj3 secretion could be a contributing factor in the disease pathology of patients harboring these mutations.

We have established that UPR activation directly and adaptively regulates the composition of the extracellular proteostasis network through ERdj3 secretion. In particular, UPR-induced secretion of ERdj3 offers a mechanism for organisms to adapt to the presence of destabilized proteins in the secretory pathway and increase extracellular chaperoning capacity through two mechanisms: (1) the secretion of free ERdj3 available to bind misfolding-prone proteins in the extracellular environment and (2) the co-secretion of ERdj3–client complexes, which preemptively protects the extracellular environment from proteotoxic protein conformations. This potentially provides an endogenous mechanism to prevent ER stress-induced increases in extracellular protein aggregation and proteotoxicity that can lead to degenerative phenotypes. Our identification of ERdj3 as a UPR-induced secreted chaperone demonstrates that targeting adaptive stress responses, particularly the ATF6 arm of the UPR, can enhance the maintenance of extracellular proteostasis, offering a promising approach to better understand and intervene in diseases characterized by extracellular protein aggregation.

References

  • Adachi Y, Yamamoto K, Okada T, Yoshida H, Harada A, Mori K (2008) ATF6 is a transcription factor specializing in the regulation of quality control proteins in the endoplasmic reticulum. Cell Struct Funct 33: 75–89
  • Aguzzi A, Heikenwalder M, Polymenidou M (2007) Insights into prion strains and neurotoxicity. Nat Rev Mol Cell Biol 8: 552–561
  • Andreasson C, Rampelt H, Fiaux J, Druffel-Augustin S, Bukau B (2010) The endoplasmic reticulum Grp170 acts as a nucleotide exchange factor of Hsp70 via a mechanism similar to that of the cytosolic Hsp110. J Biol Chem 285: 12445–12453
  • Araki K, Nagata K (2011) Protein folding and quality control in the ER. Cold Spring Harb Perspect Biol 3: a007526
  • Behnke J, Hendershot LM (2014) The large Hsp70 Grp170 binds to unfolded protein substrates in vivo with a regulation distinct from conventional Hsp70s. J Biol Chem 289: 2899–2907
  • Benyair R, Ron E, Lederkremer GZ (2011) Protein quality control, retention, and degradation at the endoplasmic reticulum. Int Rev Cell Mol Biol 292: 197–280
  • Bertolotti A, Zhang Y, Hendershot LM, Harding HP, Ron D (2000) Dynamic interaction of BiP and ER stress transducers in the unfolded-protein response. Nat Cell Biol 2: 326–332
  • Bohrmann B, Tjernberg L, Kuner P, Poli S, Levet-Trafit B, Naslund J, Richards G, Huber W, Dobeli H, Nordstedt C (1999) Endogenous proteins controlling amyloid beta-peptide polymerization. Possible implications for beta-amyloid formation in the central nervous system and in peripheral tissues. J Biol Chem 274: 15990–15995

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Late Onset of Alzheimer’s Disease and One-carbon Metabolism 

Reporter and Curator: Dr. Sudipta Saha, Ph.D.

http://pharmaceuticalintelligence.com/2013/05/06/alzheimers-disease-and-one-carbon-metabolism/

The two main molecular signs of AD are:

  • Extracellular deposits of Amyloid-beta (Aβ) peptides (amyloidogenic pathway) and
  • Intracellular deposits of phosphorylated protein TAU (fibrillogenic pathway)

For many years, both these two pathways (amyloidogenic and fibrillogenic) contended the role of “responsible” for AD onset in the researchers’ debates, even originating respectively the two groups of “BAptists” and “TAUists” scientists. In the recent years, however, these absolutist hypotheses were confuted by the emerging data evidencing that late onset AD (LOAD) has the characteristics to be considered a multifactorial disease and by scientific reports demonstrating possible interconnection between (but not limited to) the two above-mentioned “pathogenic” pathways.

For example, it was demonstrated that

  • GSK-3β (glycogen synthase kinase 3-beta), a phosphorylase involved in tau phosphorylation, is also responsible for APP (Amyloid Precursor Protein) phosphorylation and that
  • Aβ peptides are able to induce GSK-3β.

Among the several possible cocauses and interconnected pathways involved in LOAD onset and progression, a very rapidly emerging topic is related to the role of epigenetics. Moreover, it was hypothesized that methylation impairment could be a common promoter and/or a connection between amyloid and tau pathogenic pathways involving not only DNA methylation but also protein methylation mechanisms. This observation rises from studies on PP2A (protein phosphatase 2A) protein methylation showing that downregulation of neuronal PP2A methylation occurs in affected brain regions from AD patients, causing the accumulation of both phosphorylated tau and APP isoforms and increased secretion of Aβ peptides.

Altered methylation metabolism could represent the connection between B vitamins and LOAD. B vitamins are essential cofactors of homocysteine (HCY) metabolism, also called 1-carbon metabolism. One-carbon metabolism is a complex biochemical pathway regulated by the presence of folate, vitamin B12 and B6 (among other metabolites), and leading to the production of methyl donor molecule S-adenosylmethionine (SAM). High HCY and low B vitamin levels are associated to LOAD, even if a cause-effect relationship is still far to be ascertained; moreover, a clear correlation between HCY and Aβ levels has been found.

In addition, SAM, the principal metabolite in the HCY cycle and the main methyl donor in eukaryotes, appears to be altered in some neurological disorders, including AD. HCY, a thiol containing amino acid produced during the methionine metabolism via the adenosylated compound SAM, once formed is either converted to cysteine by transsulfuration or remethylated to form methionine. In the remethylation pathway HCY is remethylated by the vitamin B12-dependent enzyme methionine synthase (MS) using 5-methyltetrahydrofolate as cosubstrate. Alternatively, mainly in liver, betaine can donate a methyl group in a vitamin B12-independent reaction, catalyzed by betaine-homocysteine methyltransferase (BHMT). In the transsulfuration pathway, HCY can condense with serine to form cystathionine in a reaction catalyzed by the cystathionine beta synthase (CBS), a vitamin B6-dependent enzyme, and the cystathionine is hydrolyzed to cysteine (Cys). Cysteine is used for protein synthesis, metabolized to sulfate, or used for glutathione (GSH) synthesis. The tripeptide GSH is the most abundant intracellular nonprotein thiol, and it is a versatile reductant, serving multiple biological functions, acting, among others, as a quencher of free radicals and a cosubstrate in the enzymatic reduction of peroxides. HCY accumulation causes the accumulation of S-adenosylhomocysteine (SAH) because of the reversibility of the reaction converting SAH to HCY and adenosine (Ado); the equilibrium dynamic favors SAH synthesis. The reaction proceeds in the hydrolytic direction only if HCY and adenosine are efficiently removed. SAH is a strong DNA methyltransferases inhibitor, which reinforces DNA hypomethylation (Chiang et al., 1996). Thus, an alteration of the metabolism through either remethylation or transsulfuration pathways can lead to hyperhomocysteinemia, decrease of SAM/SAH ratio (methylation potential; MP), and alteration of GSH levels, suggesting that hypomethylation is a mechanism through which HCY is involved in vascular disease and AD, together with the oxidative damage. To add insult to injury, oxidative stress also promotes the formation of oxidized derivatives of HCY, like homocysteic acid and homocysteine sulfinic acid. These compounds, through the interaction with glutamate receptors, generate intracellular free radicals.

The first observations about B vitamins or HCY deficiency in neurological disorders were hypothesized in the 80 seconds. Despite this recent acknowledgement, alterations of HCY levels and related compounds were only recently widely recognized as risk factors for LOAD and other forms of dementia. Few mechanisms are suggested as possible protagonists in the toxic pathway of HCY in LOAD onset:

  • oxidative stress and neurotoxicity,

These results were obtained by using both transgenic and dietary models of hyperhomocysteinemia or altered 1-carbon metabolism. On the one hand, this variety of experimental models allowed to investigate multiple aspects of the biochemical alterations and their consequences; on the other, the lacking of common methods or goals generated a large body of literature in part overlapping for some aspects but fragmentary or incomplete for others. This aspect represents, together with the scarce interplay between clinical/epidemiological and biomolecular research, one of the reasons for the poor relevance given by the scientific community to the role of 1-carbon metabolism in certain diseases like dementia.

A causal connection between 1-carbon alterations:

  • hyperhomocysteinemia,
  • low B vitamins,
  • low SAM, or
  • high SAH

and biological alterations responsible for LOAD onset and progression is still missing. So, it was previously demonstrated that 1-carbon metabolism was related to AD-like hallmarks (increased Aβ production) via PSEN1 (presenilin 1) and BACE (beta-site APP cleaving enzyme 1) upregulation in cellular and animal models. More recently, it was added to the rising literature body dealing with 1-carbon metabolism and GSK-3β and PP2A modulation; it was also demonstrated that PSEN1 promoter is regulated by site-specific DNA methylation in cell cultures and mice and that this modulation of methylation is dependent on the regulation of the DNA methylation machinery. Although all the proposed pathways of HCY toxicity are possibly involved and nonmutually exclusive, as suggested by the multifactorial origin of LOAD, the recent advances in the connection between epigenetics and LOAD (as discussed above) stress a primary role for methylation dishomeostasis dependent on 1-carbon metabolism alterations.

Protein misfolding and prions

Larry H/ Bernstein, MD, FCAP, Curator

Leaders in Pharmaceutical Intelligence

Series E. 2; 4.9

Revised 9/30/2015

Susan L. Lindquist, Stanley B. Prusiner

http://pharmaceuticalintelligence.com/2015/09/11/protein-misfolding-and-prions-3/

Whitehead Member Susan Lindquist is a pioneer in the study of protein folding. She has shown that changes in protein folding can have profound and unexpected influences in fields as wide-ranging as human disease, evolution and nanotechnology.

Protein misfolding has been implicated as a major mechanism in many severe neurological disorders including Parkinson’s and Huntington’s diseases. Lindquist and colleagues have developed yeast strains that serve as living test tubes in which to study these disorders, unraveling how protein folding contributes to them.

Prions are proteins that can change into a self-perpetuating form. They have only been discovered recently, but one of them is already well known as the cause of mad cow disease. The Lindquist lab investigates both how prions form and the diseases they cause. In addition, Lindquist is convinced that other prion proteins play many important and positive roles in biological processes. The first evidence for this was shown in her work with Nobel Laureate Eric Kandel, which demonstrated that prions may be integral to memory storage in the brain.

Heat shock proteins are a group of molecular chaperone proteins that, as their name might suggest, guide other proteins to fold and mature correctly. Lindquist has established that heat shock protein 90 (Hsp90) can reveal hidden genetic variation in fruit flies and in cress plants (Arabidopsis) under certain environmental conditions.

Lindquist is a Member and former Director (2001-2004) of Whitehead Institute, a Professor of Biology at MIT, and a Howard Hughes Medical Institute investigator. Previously she was the Albert D. Lasker Professor of Medical Sciences from 1999-2001, and a Professor in the Department of Molecular Biology, University of Chicago, since 1978. She received a PhD in Biology from Harvard University in 1976, and was elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in 1997, the National Academy of Sciences in 1997 and the Institute of Medicine in 2006.

Dr. Susan Lindquist – “Alzheimer’s Disease: An Entirely New Point of …

http://www.youtube.com/watch%3Fv%3DZ3tK50LQH_c  Nov 15, 2011 …
Whitehead Institute Member Susan Lindquist’s keynote from the 2011 Whitehead Colloquium, November 5, 2011.

Susan Lindquist Lab uploaded a video 1 year ago

 1:03:11

Sue Lindquist Plenary Lecture at AAAS Annual Meeting 2014

by Susan Lindquist Lab

From Yeast Cells to Patient Neurons: A Powerful Discovery Platform for Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s Disease

Stanley B. Prusiner, MD

Director, Institute for Neurodegenerative Diseases
Professor, Department of Neurology

Prusiner discovered an unprecedented class of pathogens that he named prions. Prions are proteins that acquire an alternative shape that becomes self-propagating. As prions accumulate, they cause neurodegenerative diseases in animals and humans. Prusiner’s discovery lead him to develop a novel disease paradigm: prions cause disorders such as Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (CJD) in humans that manifest as (1) sporadic, (2) inherited and (3) infectious illnesses.  Based on his seminal discovery that prions can assemble into amyloid fibrils, Prusiner proposed that the more common neurodegenerative diseases including Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s diseases may be caused by prions.

Prusiner’s contributions to scientific research have been internationally recognized: He is a member of the National Academy of Sciences, the Institute of Medicine, the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and the American Philosophical Society, and a foreign member of the Royal Society, London. He is the recipient of numerous prizes, including the Potamkin Prize for Alzheimer’s Disease Research from the American Academy of Neurology (1991); the Richard Lounsbery Award for Extraordinary Scientific Research in Biology and Medicine from the National Academy of Sciences (1993); the Gairdner Foundation International Award (1993); the Albert Lasker Award for Basic Medical Research (1994); the Wolf Prize in Medicine from the State of Israel (1996); the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine (1997); and the United States Presidential National Medal of Science (2009).

Stanley Prusiner – National Medal of Science – YouTube

http://www.youtube.com/watch%3Fv%3DkghMfXrtvAY
Nov 29, 2010 … 2009 Medal of Science Laureate for his discovery of prions — a new class of infectious agents comprised only of proteins. Produced by Evolving ..

2011 Bay Area Council Outlook Conference – Dr. Stanley Prusiner …

http://www.youtube.com/watch%3Fv%3DcSZA8VUXxZ8
Apr 27, 2011 … 2011 Bay Area Council Outlook Conference – Dr. Stanley Prusiner …. President Obama Awards National Medal of Scienceand Medal of …

By Jennifer O’Brien on October 15, 2010

UCSF Nobel laureate Stanley B. Prusiner, MD, UCSF professor of neurology and director of the Institute for Neurodegenerative Diseases, today (Oct. 15, 2010) was named to receive the National Medal of Science, the nation’s highest honor for science and technology.

Prusiner received the medal for his discovery of and ongoing research on a novel infectious agent, which he named the prion (PREE-on). The prion, composed solely of protein, causes bovine spongiform encephalopathy, or “mad cow” disease, and other related fatal neurodegenerative diseases in animals and humans.

Prions

Stanley B. Prusiner†

PNAS Nov 10, 1998; 95(23):13363–13383,    http://dx.doi.org:/10.1073/pnas.95.23.13363

Prions are unprecedented infectious pathogens that cause a group of invariably fatal neurodegenerative diseases by an entirely novel mechanism. Prions are transmissible particles that are devoid of nucleic acid and seem to be composed exclusively of a modified protein (PrPSc). The normal, cellular PrP (PrPC) is converted into PrPSc through a posttranslational process during which it acquires a high β-sheet content. The species of a particular prion is encoded by the sequence of the chromosomal PrP gene of the mammals in which it last replicated. In contrast to pathogens carrying a nucleic acid genome, prions appear to encipher strain-specific properties in the tertiary structure of PrPSc.

The torturous path of the scientific investigation that led to an understanding of familial Creutzfeldt–Jakob disease (CJD) chronicles a remarkable scientific odyssey. By 1930, the high incidence of familial (f) CJD in some families was known (1, 2). Almost 60 years were to pass before the significance of this finding could be appreciated (3–5). CJD remained a curious, rare neurodegenerative disease of unknown etiology throughout this period of three score years (6)(7).

Once CJD was shown to be an infectious disease, relatively little attention was paid to the familial form of the disease since most cases were not found in families(8–12). Libyan Jews living in Israel developed CJD about 30 times more frequently than other Israelis (13). This finding prompted some investigators to propose that the Libyan Jews had contracted CJD by eating lightly cooked brain from scrapie-infected sheep when they lived in Tripoli prior to emigration. Subsequently, the Libyan Jewish patients were all found to carry a mutation at codon 200 in their prion protein (PrP) gene (14–16).

Slow Viruses.

The term “slow virus” had been coined by Bjorn Sigurdsson in 1954 while he was working in Iceland on scrapie and visna of sheep (17). Five years later, William Hadlow had suggested that kuru, a disease of New Guinea highlanders, was similar to scrapie and thus, it, too, was caused by a slow virus (18). Seven more years were to pass before the transmissibility of kuru was established by passaging the disease to chimpanzees inoculated intracerebrally (19). Just as Hadlow had made the intellectual leap between scrapie and kuru, Igor Klatzo made a similar connection between kuru and CJD (20). Neuropathologists were struck by the similarities in light microscopic pathology of the central nervous system (CNS) that kuru exhibited with scrapie or CJD. In 1968, the transmission of CJD to chimpanzees after intracerebral inoculation was reported (7).

In scrapie, kuru, CJD, and all of the other disorders now referred to as prion diseases (Table 1), spongiform degeneration and astrocytic gliosis is found upon microscopic examination of the CNS (Fig. 1) (21–22).

Table 1

The prion disease

Figure 1

http://www.pnas.org/content/95/23/13363/F1.medium.gif

Neuropathologic changes in Swiss mice after inoculation with RML scrapie prions. (a) Hematoxylin and eosin stain of a serial section of the hippocampus shows spongiform degeneration of the neuropil, with vacuoles 10–30 μm in diameter.

Prions: A Brief Overview.

Prions are unprecedented infectious pathogens that cause a group of invariably fatal neurodegenerative diseases mediated by an entirely novel mechanism. Prion diseases may present as genetic, infectious, or sporadic disorders, all of which involve modification of the prion protein (PrP), a constituent of normal mammalian cells (23). CJD generally presents as progressive dementia, whereas scrapie of sheep and bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) are generally manifest as ataxic illnesses (Table 1) (24).

Prions are devoid of nucleic acid and seem to be composed exclusively of a modified isoform of PrP designated PrPSc.‡ The normal, cellular PrP, denoted PrPC, is converted into PrPSc through a process whereby a portion of its α-helical and coil structure is refolded into β-sheet (25). This structural transition is accompanied by profound changes in the physicochemical properties of the PrP. The amino acid sequence of PrPSc corresponds to that encoded by the PrP gene of the mammalian host in which it last replicated. In contrast to pathogens with a nucleic acid genome that encode strain-specific properties in genes, prions encipher these properties in the tertiary structure of PrPSc (26–28). Transgenetic studies argue that PrPScacts as a template upon which PrPC is refolded into a nascent PrPSc molecule through a process facilitated by another protein.

More than 20 mutations of the PrP gene are now known to cause the inherited human prion diseases, and significant genetic linkage has been established for five of these mutations (4, 16, 29–31). The prion concept readily explains how a disease can be manifest as a heritable as well as an infectious illness.

Families of hypotheses.

Once the requirement for a protein was established, it was possible to revisit the long list of hypothetical structures that had been proposed for the scrapie agent and to eliminate carbohydrates, lipids, and nucleic acids as the infective elements within a scrapie agent devoid of protein (58) (58, 68).

The family of hypotheses that remained after identifying a protein component was still large and required a continued consideration of all possibilities in which a protein was a critical element (49). The prion concept evolved from a family of hypotheses in which an infectious protein was only one of several possibilities. With the accumulation of experimental data on the molecular properties of the prion, it became possible to discard an increasing number of hypothetical structures. (69).

……..

With the discovery of PrP 27–30 and the production of antiserum (87), brains from humans and animals with putative prion diseases were examined for the presence of this protein. In each case, PrP 27–30 was found, and it was absent in other neurodegenerative disorders such as Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease, and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (88–91). The extreme specificity of PrPSc for prion disease is an important feature of the protein and is consistent with the postulated role of PrPSc in both the transmission and pathogenesis of these illnesses (Table 2) (92).

Table 2

Arguments for prions being composed largely, if not entirely, of PrPSc molecules and devoid of nucleic acid

The accumulation of PrPSc contrasts markedly with that of glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP) in prion disease. In scrapie, GFAP mRNA and protein levels rise as the disease progresses (93), but the accumulation of GFAP is neither specific nor necessary for either the transmission or the pathogenesis of disease. Mice deficient for GFAP show no alteration in their incubation times (94, 95).

Except for PrPSc, no macromolecule has been found in tissues of patients dying of the prion diseases that is specific for these encephalopathies. In searches for a scrapie-specific nucleic acid, cDNAs have been identified that are complementary to mRNAs encoding other proteins with increased expression in prion disease (96–98). Yet none of the proteins has been found to be specific for prion disease.

more…

Alzheimer’s Outlook 2014

http://pharmaceuticalintelligence.com/2014/08/05/six-johns-hopkins-alzheimers-experts-discuss-the-latest-discoveries/

Six leading experts provide the latest thinking on new and emerging approaches to the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of Alzheimer’s disease and other dementias

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

If you or a loved one has been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease or another memory disorder…

Or if you are caring for someone with Alzheimer’s and are wondering if there’s a new drug or therapy in the pipeline that might help…

Then it’s vitally important to stay on top of developments in the field — so you can ask your doctor the key questions — and discuss the critical issues that affect the management of the disease.

To help you, we have just published Alzheimer’s Outlook 2014 — a valuable new resource that allows you to sit down with a group of preeminent physicians and listen in as they share their insights and ideas about the future course of Alzheimer’s disease — and provide a clear sense of what caregivers and patients can hope for.

Alzheimer’s Outlook 2014 is part of a series of annual research reports written for concerned lay readers. It gives you special access to information you won’t find anywhere else on the future of Alzheimer’s research.

What’s in the Alzheimer’s pipeline?

In the past few years, researchers have made meaningful strides in the understanding of dementia prevention, diagnosis and treatment. Many important breakthroughs have come from the talented physicians and scientists working here at Johns Hopkins Medicine.

In the pages of Alzheimer’s Outlook 2014 you’ll gain unprecedented access to the insights of Hopkins experts, as well as from colleagues at other renowned research centers.

And there’s so much exciting information to report!

Although we don’t yet have a drug to stop the disease progression, new techniques in molecular biology and genetics are providing remarkable insights into how and why Alzheimer’s begins, how it progresses and how it produces symptoms.

Great progress has also been made in brain imaging and other biomarkers that might allow us to diagnose Alzheimer’s when no or minimal symptoms are present. Thanks to two new radiologic compounds researchers can now see the abnormal proteins in the brain and track the disease from one part of the brain to the next.

Here’s a sample of other key highlights in Alzheimer’s Outlook 2014:

  • Investigating Causes and Risks by Peter V. Rabins, M.D., M.P.H., Professor of Psychiatry at Johns Hopkins and Medical Editor of the Johns Hopkins Memory Disorders Bulletin. Dr. Rabins takes a close look at the amyloid cascade hypothesis, which predominates Alzheimer’s research and drug development.  He also discusses promising new brain tracers, apolipoprotein E as a risk factor for late-onset Alzheimer’s and progress on understanding the genetics of Alzheimer’s.
  • New Research Efforts to Prevent or Slow Dementia by Peter V. Rabins, M.D., M.P.H. Do vitamin E supplements have any effect on cognitive impairment or Alzheimer’s disease?  In his second chapter, Dr. Rabins reviews recent research on this question.  He also reports on the role of statins in  Alzheimer’s, research on cocoa and enhanced brain health and the status of funding for dementia research.
  • The Ongoing Search for Drugs That Will Affect Alzheimer’s Disease by Paul Rosenberg, M.D., Associate Director of the Memory and Alzheimer’s Treatment Center at the Johns Hopkins Bayview Medical Center. Researchers now believe that to have any significant benefit, a treatment has to stop the disease long before symptoms of Alzheimer’s appear and before damage to the brain becomes widespread.  Dr. Rosenberg describes efforts at early diagnosis, including the A4 trial, the DIAN study, the API study and the SNIFF study.
  • Noninvasive Brain Stimulation for Aphasia by Argyle Hillis, M.D., Professor of Neurology at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. Primary progressive aphasia causes degeneration of nerve cells in the brain’s left hemisphere, which controls speech and language. It can also be an early symptom of Alzheimer’s. Dr. Hillis describes her work with transcranial direct current stimulation to help aphasia patients recover.
  • Reducing Risks for Alzheimer’s by Marilyn Albert, Ph.D., Director of the Johns Hopkins Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center. Aerobic exercise promotes better mental functioning by improving cerebral blood flow. But can exercise improve the outlook for Alzheimer’s patients? Dr. Alpert looks at research on exercise and dementia and also reports good news on increased federal funding for dementia research.
  • Assessing Cognitive Impairment Online by Jason Brandt, Ph.D., Professor of Neurology at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. Low-tech cognitive screening tests offer a quick, inexpensive assessment of a person’s cognitive health.  Dr. Brandt has been working on an online assessment tool called the “Dementia Risk Assessment,” which will help patients decide if they should pursue in-person evaluation from a doctor.
  • Brain Training: The ACTIVE Study by George W. Rebok, Ph.D., Professor of Mental Health at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. Dr. Rebok is a principal investigator in the ACTIVE (Advanced Cognitive Training for Independent and Vital Elderly) trial which looks at ways to improve cognitive performance in older adults.  In this section, Dr. Rebok explains what he discovered.

Scientists Discover New Disease Caused By Prion Protein

AUGUST 31, 2015  Rob Stein
http://www.npr.org/2015/08/31/436377464/scientists-discover-new-disease-caused-by-prion-protein
Scientists have discovered the first new human disease caused by a “prion” in more than 50 years. Prions are strange, deformed proteins that can act like viruses and bacteria.

Giles and his colleagues at the University of California, San Francisco took a look at a disease called multiple-system atrophy or MSA.

GILES: Initially, it looks like Parkinson’s disease. People have the tremors and the loads of problems of Parkinson’s disease.

STEIN: But MSA destroys the brain even faster than Parkinson’s. Giles and his colleagues suspected MSA might be caused by a misshapen version of a protein called alpha-synuclein. So they created mice that have the human form of that protein in their brains and injected the mice with alpha-synuclein from the brains of 14 people who had died from MSA.

GILES: And in every case, the mice died about four months later of the disease.

STEIN: Under a microscope, their brains looked exactly like the brains of people who died from MSA. And tissue taken from the brains of the dead mice could do the same thing to the brains of other mice.

GILES: So that really shows that this is a transmissible disease and that the protein involved in it is acting as a prion.

STEIN: That has all kinds of implications. For starters, Giles says it raises the disturbing possibility that MSA could spread from one person to another by surgical instruments that have been used on the brains of MSA patients.

GILES: Protein sticks very tightly to the stainless steel. And when you clean it afterwards, you could potentially still have misfolded clumps of protein on the surgical instruments that, if you then do surgery on a second person, could potentially induce that in the other person.

STEIN: And the new research, which is being published in the proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, could be really important for other reasons.

CORINNE LASMEZAS: The fact that these proteins behave like prions – it has tremendous implications.

STEIN: Corinne Lasmezas is a neuroscientist at the Scripps Research Institute in Florida. If a prion can cause MSA, Lasmezas says that’s a big boost for the idea that prions could cause other much more common diseases like Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s and Lou Gehrig’s disease.

Another Fatal Brain Disease May Come from the Spread of ‘Prion’ Proteins

by Rachael Rettner,
http://www.livescience.com/52040-prions-multiple-system-atrophy.html
Brain tissue stained to show the features of vCJD.
This photo shows the brain tissue of someone with variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (vCJD), which is caused by abnormal proteins called prions. The disease is believed to have a long incubation period, of many years, but is ultimately fatal.

A rare and fatal brain disorder called multiple system atrophy (MSA) may be caused by a newly discovered prion, a protein similar to the ones that cause mad cow and Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (CJD), according to a new study.

The findings may set the stage for new treatments for MSA, a progressive disorder that causes symptoms similar to Parkinson’s disease and has no cure.

What’s more, the researchers say that the prion they believe causes MSA, called alpha-synuclein, is the first new prion to be discovered in half a century. Prions are infectious proteins that fold abnormally and trigger the misfolding of other, similar proteins. Eventually, the buildup of misfolded proteins can cause lesions to form in the brain, leading to disease.

Genomic Promise for Neurodegenerative Diseases, Dementias, Autism Spectrum, Schizophrenia, and Serious Depression

Reporter and writer: Larry H Bernstein, MD, FCAP

There has been an considerable success in the current state of expanding our knowledge in genomics and therapeutic targets in cancer (although clinical remission targets and relapse are a concern), cardiovascular disease, and infectious disease.  Our knowledge of  prenatal and perinatal events is still at an early stage.  The neurology front is by no means unattended.  Here there are two prominent drivers of progress –

  • genomic control of cellular apoptosis by ubiquitin pathways, and
  • epigenetic investigations,

among a complex sea of sequence-changes.  I indicate some of the current status in this.  However, as much as we have know, there is an incredible barrier to formulate working models because:

  1. ligand binding between DNA short-sequences is not predictable over time
  2. binding between proteins and DNA is still largely unknown
  3. specific regulatory roles between nucleotide-sequences and histone proeins are still unclear
  4. the relationship between intracellular as well as extracellular cations and the equilibria between cations and anions in intertitial fluid that bathes the cell and between organelles is virgin territory

Consequently, it is quite an accomplishment to have come as far as we have come, and yet, even with the huge compuational power at our disposal, there is insuficient data to unravel the complexity.  This may be especially true in the pathway to understanding of neurological and behavioral disorders.

Broad Map of Brain

John Markoff reports in the Feb 18 front-page of New York Times (Project would construct a broad map of the brain) that the Obama administration envisions a decade-long effort to examine the workings of the human brain and construct a map, comparable to what the Human Genome Project did for genetics.  It will be a collaboration between universities, the federal government, private foundations, and teams of scientists (neuro-, nano- and whoever else).  The goal is to break through the barrier to understanding the brain’s billions of neurons and gain greater insight into

  • perception
  • actions
  • and consciousness.

Essentially, it holds great promise for understanding

Alzheimer’s disease and Parkinson’s, as well as finding therapies for a variety of mental illnesses.  An open-ended question is whether it will also advance artificial intelligence research.  It is termed the Brain Activity Map project.
http://NYTimes/broad-map-of-brain/

Alzheimer’s Genomic Diagnosis and Treatment

Larry H Bernstein, MD, FCAP

http://pharmaceuticalintelligence.com/2013/03/09/alzheimers-disease-conundrum-are-we-near-the-end-of-the-puzzle/

Gene Mutation Protects Against Alzheimer’s

by Greg Miller on 11 July 2012
Brain preserver. A newly discovered gene mutation appears to protect against Alzheimer’s disease. Credit: Alzheimer’s Disease Education and Referral Center/NIA/NIH
http://news.sciencemag.org/sciencenow/2012/07/gene-mutation-protects-against-a.html

A rare mutation that alters a single letter of the genetic code protects people from the

  • memory-robbing dementia of Alzheimer’s disease.

The DNA change may inhibit the buildup of β amyloid, the

  • protein fragment that forms the hallmark plaques in the brains of Alzheimer’s patients.
  • The mutation affects a gene called APP,
  • which encodes a protein that gets broken down into pieces,
  • including β amyloid.

Researchers previously identified more than 30 mutations to APP, none of them good. Several of these changes increase β amyloid formation and cause

•      a devastating inherited form of Alzheimer’s that afflicts people in their 30s and 40s—

•      much earlier than the far more common “late-onset” form of Alzheimer’s

  • that typically strikes people their 70s and 80s.

The new mutation, discovered from whole-genome data from 1795 Icelanders for variations in APP that protect against Alzheimer’s, appears to do the opposite. The mutation interferes with one of the enzymes that breaks down the APP protein and causes a 40% reduction in β amyloid formation

New pharmacological strategies for treatment of Alzheimer’s disease: focus on disease modifying drugs.
Salomone S, Caraci F, Leggio GM, Fedotova J, Drago F.
University of Catania, Viale Andrea Doria 6, Catania, Italy.
Br J Clin Pharmacol. 2012 Apr;73(4):504-17. doi: 10.1111/j.1365-2125.2011.04134.x.

Current approved drug treatments for Alzheimer disease (AD) include

These drugs provide symptomatic relief but poorly affect the progression of the disease. Drug discovery has been directed, in the last 10 years, to develop ‘disease modifying drugs’ hopefully able to counteract the progression of AD. Because in a chronic, slow progressing pathological process, such as AD, an early start of treatment enhances the chance of success,

  • it is crucial to have biomarkers for early detection of AD-related brain dysfunction,
    • usable before clinical onset.

Reliable early biomarkers need therefore to be prospectively tested for predictive accuracy,

  • with specific cut off values validated in clinical practice.

Disease modifying drugs developed so far include drugs to

  • reduce β amyloid (Aβ) production,
  • drugs to prevent Aβ aggregation,
  • drugs to promote Aβ clearance,
  • drugs targeting tau phosphorylation and assembly

None of these drugs has demonstrated efficacy in phase 3 studies. The failure of clinical trials with disease modifying drugs raises a number of questions, spanning from

  • methodological flaws to
  • fundamental understanding of AD pathophysiology and biology.

Diagnostic criteria applicable to presymptomatic stages of AD have now been published.

These new criteria may impact on drug development, such that future trials on disease modifying drugs will include populations susceptible to AD, before clinical onset. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22035455

Gene mutation defends against Alzheimer’s disease
Rare genetic variant suggests a cause and treatment for cognitive decline.
Ewen Callaway  11 July 2012
http://www.nature.com/news/gene-mutation-defends-against-alzheimer-s-disease-1.10984

J. NIETH/CORBIS
Almost 30 million people live with Alzheimer’s disease worldwide, a staggering health-care burden that is expected to quadruple by 2050. Yet doctors can offer no effective treatment, and scientists have been unable to pin down the underlying mechanism of the disease.
Research published this week offers some hope on both counts – few people carry a genetic mutation that naturally prevents them from developing the condition – 0.5% of Icelanders have a protective gene, as are 0.2–0.5% of Finns, Swedes and Norwegians. Icelanders who carry it have a 50% better chance of reaching age 85, are more than five times more likely to reach it 85 without Alzheimer’s.   The mutation seems to put a brake on the milder mental deterioration that most elderly people experience. Carriers are about 7.5 times more likely than non-carriers to reach the age of 85 without major cognitive decline, and perform better on the cognitive tests that are administered thrice yearly to Icelanders who live in nursing homes.
The discovery not only confirms the principal suspect that is responsible for Alzheimer’s, it also suggests that the disease could be

  • an extreme form of the cognitive decline seen in many older people.

The mutation — the first ever found to protect against the disease — lies in a gene that produces

  • amyloid-β precursor protein (APP),
  • which has an unknown role in the brain

APP was discovered 25 years ago in patients with rare,

  • inherited forms of Alzheimer’s that strike in middle age.
  • In the brain, APP is broken down into a smaller molecule called amyloid-β.

Visible clumps, or plaques, of amyloid-β found in the autopsied brains of patients are a hallmark of Alzheimer’s.
Scientists have long debated whether the plaques are a cause of the neuro­degenerative condition

  • or a consequence of other biochemical changes associated with the disease.

The latest finding supports other genetics studies blaming amyloid-β, according to Rudolph Tanzi, a neurologist at the Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston and a member of one of the four teams that discovered APP’s role in the 1980s.
If amyloid-β plaques were confirmed as the cause of Alzheimer’s, it would bolster efforts to develop drugs that block their formation, says Kári Stefánsson, chief executive of deCODE Genetics in Reykjavik, Iceland, who led the latest research. He and his team first discovered the mutation by comparing the complete genome sequences of 1,795 Icelanders with their medical histories. The researchers then studied the variant in nearly 400,000 more Scandinavians.
This suggests that Alzheimer’s disease and cognitive decline are two sides of the same coin, with a common cause — the build-up of amyloid-β plaques in the brain, something seen to a lesser degree in elderly people who do not develop full-blown Alzheimer’s. A drug that mimics the effects of the mutation, might slow cognitive decline as well as prevent Alzheimer’s.
Stefánsson and his team discovered that the mutation introduces a single amino-acid alteration to APP. This amino acid is close to the site where an enzyme called

  • β-secretase 1 (BACE1) ordinarily snips APP into smaller amyloid-β chunks —
  • and the alteration is enough to reduce the enzyme’s efficiency.

Stefánsson’s study suggests that blocking β-secretase from cleaving APP has the potential to prevent Alzheimer’s, but Philippe Amouyel, an epidemiologist at the Pasteur Institute in Lille, France, says “it is very difficult to identify the

  • precise time when this amyloid toxic effect could still be modified”.

“If this effect needs to be blocked as early as possible in life to protect against Alzheimer’s disease, we will need to propose a new design for clinical trials” to identify an effective treatment.

The results demonstrate that whole-genome sequencing can uncover very rare mutations that might offer insight into common diseases.

  • disease risk, may be determined by genetic variants that slightly tilt the odds of developing disease
  • In this case a rare mutant may provide very key mechanistic insights into Alzheimer’s

Jonsson, T. et al. Nature     http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/nature11283 (2012).
Kang, J. et al. Nature 325, 733–736 (1987).
Goldgaber, D., Lerman, M. I., McBride, O. W., Saffiotti, U. & Gajdusek, D. C. Science 235, 877–880 (1987).

BHCE genetic data combined with brain imaging using agent florbetapir connects the BHCE gene to AD plaque buildup. BHCE is an enzyme that breaks down acetylcholine in the brain, which is depleted early in the disease and results in memory loss.   http://www.genengnews.com/

New Alzheimer’s Genes Found
Gigantic Scientific Effort Discovers Clues to Treatment, Diagnosis of Alzheimer’s Disease
By Daniel J. DeNoon
WebMD Health News Reviewed by Laura J. Martin, MD
http://www.webmd.com/alzheimers/news/20110403/new-alzheimers-genes-found

A massive scientific effort has found five new gene variants linked to Alzheimer’s disease. The undertaking involved analyzing the genomes of nearly 40,000 people with and without Alzheimer’s. This study was undertaken by two separate research consortiums in the U.S. and in Europe, which collaborated to confirm each other’s results.
Four genes had previously been linked to Alzheimer’s. Three of them affect only the risk of relatively rare forms of Alzheimer’s. The fourth is APOE, until now the only gene known to affect risk of the common, late-onset form of Alzheimer’s. Roughly 27% of Alzheimer’s disease can be attributed to the five new gene variants.  Even though Alzheimer’s is a very complex disease, the new findings represent a large chunk of Alzheimer’s risk, according to Margaret A. Pericak-Vance, PhD, of the U.S. consortium –

  • 20% of the causal risk of Alzheimer’s disease and
  • 32% of the genetic risk.

Alzheimer’s Tied to Mutation Harming Immune Response
By GINA KOLATA   Published: November 14, 2012  in NY Times
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/11/15/health/gene-mutation-that-hobbles-immune-response-is-linked-to-alzheimers.html?_r=0
Alzheimer’s researchers and drug companies have for years concentrated on one hallmark of Alzheimer’s disease: the production of toxic shards of a protein that accumulate in plaques on the brain.
Two groups of researchers working from entirely different starting points have converged on a mutated gene involved in another aspect of Alzheimer’s disease:

  • the immune system’s role in protecting against the disease.

The mutation is suspected of interfering with

  • the brain’s ability to prevent the buildup of plaque.

When the gene is not mutated, white blood cells in the brain spring into action,

  • gobbling up and eliminating the plaque-forming toxic protein, beta amyloid.

As a result, Alzheimer’s can be staved off or averted.  People with the mutated gene have a threefold to fivefold increase in the likelihood of developing Alzheimer’s disease in old age.

Comparing Differences

Dr. Julie Williams’s, Cardiff, Wales (European team leader) report identified CLU and Picalm. A second study published in Nature Genetics, by Philippe Amouyel from Institut Pasteur de Lille in France, pinpointed CLU and CR1. The greatest inherited risk comes from the APOE gene, discovered in 1993 by a team led by Allen Roses, now director of the Deane Drug Discovery Institute at Duke UMC, in Durham, North Carolina.
The findings “are beginning to give us insight into the biology, but I don’t think you can expect treatments overnight,” Dr. Michael Owen (Cardiff, Wales) said. Instead, the genes will show a mosaic of risk, and “the key issue is what hand of cards you’re dealt,” he said.

Promise for Early Diagnosis
BHCE genetic data combined with brain imaging using agent florbetapir connects the BHCE gene to AD plaque buildup. BHCE is an enzyme that breaks down acetylcholine in the brain, which is depleted early in the disease and results in memory loss.

Dr. Bernstein’s comments:

  1. There has been a long history of failure of drugs to slow down the progression of Alzheimer’s.  Regression of the plaques has not corresponded with retention of cognitive ability, which has been behind the arguments over beta amyloid or tau.
  2. We now have two particularly interesting mutations –
    1. ApoE gene mutation that increases risk
    2. APP mutation that quite dramatically affects retention of cognition

The Alzheimer Scene around the Web

Larry H Bernstein, MD, FCAP, Curator

http://pharmaceuticalintelligence.com/2012/11/02/the-alzheimer-scene-around-the-web/

Neurodegerative Disease
Tumeric-Derived Compound Curcumin May Treat Alzheimer’s
Curry chemical shows promise for treating the memory-robbing disease
By Lauren K. Wolf
Department: Science & Technology
News Channels: Biological SCENE
Keywords: alternative medicine, dietary supplements, curcumin, tumeric, Alzheimer’s disease

CURRY WONDER
Curcumin, derived from the rootstalk of the turmeric plant, not only gives Indian dishes their color but might treat Alzheimer’s.
Credit: Shutterstock
More than 5 million people in the U.S. currently live with Alzheimer’s disease. And according to the Alz­heimer’s Association, the situation is only going to get worse.
By 2050, the nonprofit estimates, up to 16 million Americans will have the memory-robbing disease. It will cost the U.S. $1.1 trillion annually to care for them unless a successful therapy is found.
Pharmaceutical companies have invested heavily in developing Alzheimer’s drugs, many of which target amyloid-β, a peptide that misfolds and clumps in the brains of patients. But so far, no amyloid-β-targeted medications have been successful. Expectation for the most advanced drugs—bapineu­zumab from Pfizer and Johnson & Johnson and solanezumab from Eli Lilly & Co.—are low on the basis of lackluster data from midstage clinical trials. That sentiment was reinforced last week when bapineuzumab was reported to have failed the first of four Phase III studies.
Even if these late-stage hopefuls do somehow work, they won’t come cheap, says Gregory M. Cole, a neuroscientist at the University of California, Los Angeles. These drugs “would cost patients tens of thousands of dollars per year,” he estimates. That hefty price tag stems from bapineuzumab and solanezumab being costly-to-manufacture monoclonal antibodies against amyloid-β.
“There’s a great need for inexpensive Alzheimer’s treatments,” as well as a backup plan if pharma fails, says Larry W. Baum, a professor in the School of Pharmacy at the Chinese University of Hong Kong. As a result, he says, a great many researchers have turned their attention to less pricy alternatives, such as compounds from plants and other natural sources.
Curcumin, a spice compound derived from the rootstalk of the turmeric plant (Curcuma longa), has stood out among some of the more promising naturally derived candidates.

When administered to mice that develop Alzheimer’s symptoms, curcumin decreases inflammation and reactive oxygen species in the rodents’ brains, researchers have found. The compound also inhibits the aggregation of troublesome amyloid-β strands among the animals’ nerve cells. But the development of curcumin as an Alzheimer’s drug has been stymied, scientists say, both by its low uptake in the body and a lack of funds for effective clinical trials—obstacles researchers are now trying to overcome.
In addition to contributing to curry dishes’ yellow color and pungent flavor, curcumin has been a medicine in India for thousands of years. Doctors practicing traditional Hindu medicine admire turmeric’s active ingredient for its anti-inflammatory properties and have used it to treat patients for ailments including digestive disorders and joint pain.
Only in the 1970s did Western researchers catch up with Eastern practices and confirm curcumin’s anti-inflammatory properties in the laboratory. Scientists also eventually determined that the polyphenolic compound is an antioxidant and has chemotherapeutic activity.

Bharat B. Aggarwal, a professor at the University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center, says curcumin is an example of a pleiotropic agent: It has a number of different effects and interacts with many targets and biochemical pathways in the body. He and his group have discovered that one important molecule targeted and subsequently suppressed by curcumin is NF-κB, a transcription factor that switches on the body’s inflammatory response when activated (J. Biol. Chem., DOI: 10.1074/jbc.270.42.24995).
Aside from NF-κB, curcumin seems to interact with several other molecules in the inflammatory pathway, a biological activity that Aggarwal thinks is advantageous. “All chronic diseases are caused by dysregulation of multiple targets,” he says. “Chemists don’t yet know how to design a drug that hits multiple targets.” With curcumin, “Mother Nature has already provided a compound that does so.”
Curcumin’s pleiotropy also brought it to the attention of UCLA’s Cole during the early 1990s while he was searching for possible Alzheimer’s therapeutics. “That was before we knew about amyloid-β” and its full role in Alzheimer’s, he says. “We were working on the disease from an oxidative damage and inflammation point of view—two processes implicated in aging.”
When Cole and his wife, Sally A. Frautschy, also at UCLA, searched the literature for compounds that could tackle both of these age-related processes, curcumin jumped out at them. It also didn’t hurt that the incidence of Alz­heimer’s in India, where large amounts of curcumin are consumed regularly, is lower than in other parts of the developing world (Lancet Neurol., DOI:10.1016/s1474-4422(08)70169-8).

In 2001, Cole, Frautschy, and colleagues published the first papers that demonstrated curcumin’s potential to treat neurodegenerative disease (Neurobiol. Aging, DOI: 10.1016/s0197-4580(01)00300-1; J. Neurosci.2001, 8370). The researchers studied the effects of curcumin on rats that had amyloid-β injected into their brains, as well as mice engineered to develop amyloid brain plaques. In both cases, curcumin suppressed oxidative tissue damage and reduced amyloid-β deposits.
Those results, Cole says, “turned us into curcuminologists.”
Although the UCLA team observed that curcumin decreased amyloid plaques in animal models, at the time, the researchers weren’t sure of the molecular mechanism involved.
Soon after the team’s first results were published, Cole recalls, a colleague brought to his attention the structural similarity between curcumin and the dyes used to stain amyloid plaques in diseased brain tissue. When Cole and Frautschy tested the spice compound, they saw that it, too, could stick to aggregated amyloid-β. “We thought, ‘Wow, not only is curcumin an antioxidant and an anti-inflammatory, but it also might be an anti-amyloid drug,’ ” he says.
In 2004, a group in Japan demonstrated that submicromolar concentrations of curcumin in solution could inhibit aggregation of amyloid-β and break up preformed fibrils of the stuff (J. Neurosci. Res., DOI: 10.1002/jnr.20025). Shortly after that, the UCLA team demonstrated the same (J. Biol. Chem., DOI: 10.1074/jbc.m404751200).
As an Alzheimer’s drug, however, it’s unclear how important it is that the spice compound inhibits amyloid-β aggregation, Cole says. “When you have something that’s so pleiotropic,” he adds, “it’s hard to know” which of its modes of action is most effective.
Having multiple targets may be what helps curcumin have such beneficial, neuroprotective effects, says David R. Schubert, a neurobiologist at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies, in La Jolla, Calif. But its pleiotropy can also be a detriment, he contends.
The pharmaceutical world, Schubert says, focuses on designing drugs aimed at hitting single-target molecules with high affinity. “But we don’t really know what ‘the’ target for curcumin is,” he says, “and we get knocked for it on grant requests.”
Another problem with curcumin is poor bioavailability. When ingested, UCLA’s Cole says, the compound gets converted into other molecular forms, such as curcumin glucuronide or curcumin sulfate. It also gets hydrolyzed at the alkaline and neutral pHs present in many areas of the body. Not much of the curcumin gets into the bloodstream, let alone past the blood-brain barrier, in its pure, active form, he adds.

Unfortunately, neither Cole nor Baum at the Chinese University of Hong Kong realized the poor bioavailability until they had each launched a clinical trial of curcumin. So the studies showed no significant difference between Alzheimer’s patients taking the spice compound and those taking a placebo (J. Clin. Psychopharma­col., DOI: 10.1097/jcp.0b013e318160862c).
“But we did show curcumin was safe for patients,” Baum says, finding a silver lining to the blunder. “We didn’t see any adverse effects even at high doses.”

Some researchers, such as Salk’s Schubert, are tackling curcumin’s low bioavailability by modifying the compound to improve its properties. Schubert and his group have come up with a molecule, called J147, that’s a hybrid of curcumin and cyclohexyl-bisphenol A. Like Cole and coworkers, they also came upon the compound not by initially screening for the ability to interact with amyloid-β, but by screening for the ability to alleviate age-related symptoms.

The researchers hit upon J147 by exposing cultured Alzheimer’s nerve cells to a library of compounds and then measuring changes to levels of biomarkers for oxidative stress, inflammation, and nerve growth. J147 performed well in all categories. And when given to mice engineered to accumulate amyloid-β clumps in their brains, the hybrid molecule prevented memory loss and reduced formation of amyloid plaques over time (PLoS One, DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0027865).

Other researchers have tackled curcumin’s poor bioavailability by reformulating it. Both Baum and Cole have encapsulated curcumin in nanospheres coated with either polymers or lipids to protect the compound from modification after ingestion. Cole tells C&EN that by packaging the curcumin in this way, he and his group have gotten micromolar quantities of it into the bloodstream of humans. The researchers are now preparing for a small clinical trial to test the formulation on patients with mild cognitive impairment, who are at an increased risk of developing Alzheimer’s.

An early-intervention human study such as this one comes with its own set of challenges, Cole says. People with mild cognitive impairment “have good days and bad days,” he says. A large trial over a long period would be the best way to get any meaningful data, he adds.  Such a trial can cost up to $100 million, a budget big pharma might be able to scrape together but that is far out of reach for academics funded by grants, Cole says. “If you’re down at the level of what an individual investigator can do, you’re running a small trial,” he says, “and even if the result is positive, it might be inconclusive” because of its small size or short duration. That’s one of the reasons the curcumin work is slow-going, Cole contends.
NIH-Funded Research Provides New Clues on How ApoE4 Affects Alzheimer’s Risk
Published: Tuesday, October 30, 2012
Last Updated: Tuesday, October 30, 2012

Researchers found that ApoE4 triggers an inflammatory reaction that weakens the blood-brain barrier.
Common variants of the ApoE gene are strongly associated with the risk of developing late-onset Alzheimer’s disease, but the gene’s role in the disease has been unclear.

Now, researchers funded by the National Institutes of Health have found that in mice, having the most risky variant of ApoE damages the blood vessels that feed the brain.

The researchers found that the high-risk variant, ApoE4, triggers an inflammatory reaction that weakens the blood-brain barrier, a network of cells and other components that lines brain’s brain vessels.

Normally, this barrier allows nutrients into the brain and keeps harmful substances out.

The study appears in Nature, and was led by Berislav Zlokovic, M.D., Ph.D., director of the Center for Neurodegeneration and Regeneration at the Zilkha Neurogenetic Institute, Keck School of Medicine, University of Southern California, Los Angeles.

“Understanding the role of ApoE4 in Alzheimer’s disease may be one of the most important avenues to a new therapy,” Dr. Zlokovic said. “Our study shows that ApoE4 triggers a cascade of events that damages the brain’s vascular system,” he said, referring to the system of blood vessels that supply the brain.

The ApoE gene encodes a protein that helps regulate the levels and distribution of cholesterol and other lipids in the body. The gene exists in three varieties.

ApoE2 is thought to play a protective role against both Alzheimer’s and heart disease, ApoE3 is believed to be neutral, and ApoE4 confers a higher risk for both conditions.

Outside the brain, the ApoE4 protein appears to be less effective than other versions at clearing away cholesterol; however, inside the brain, exactly how ApoE4 contributes to Alzheimer’s disease has been a mystery.

Dr. Zlokovic and his team studied several lines of genetically engineered mice, including one that lacks the ApoE gene and three other lines that produce only human ApoE2, ApoE3 or ApoE4. Mice normally have only a single version of ApoE.

The researchers found that mice whose bodies made only ApoE4, or made no ApoE at all, had a leaky blood-brain barrier. With the barrier compromised, harmful proteins in the blood made their way into the mice’s brains, and after several weeks, the researchers were able to detect loss of small blood vessels, changes in brain function, and a loss of connections between brain cells.

“The study demonstrates that damage to the brain’s vascular system may play a key role in Alzheimer’s disease, and highlights growing recognition of potential links between stroke and Alzheimer’s-type dementia,” said Roderick Corriveau, Ph.D., a program director at NIH’s National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS), which helped fund the research. “It also suggests that we might be able to decrease the risk of Alzheimer’s disease among ApoE4 carriers by improving their vascular health.”

The researchers also found that ApoE2 and ApoE3 help control the levels of an inflammatory molecule called cyclophilin A (CypA), but ApoE4 does not. Levels of CypA were raised about five-fold in blood vessels of mice that produce only ApoE4.

The excess CypA then activated an enzyme, called MMP-9, which destroys protein components of the blood-brain barrier. Treatment with the immunosuppressant drug cyclosporine A, which inhibits CypA, preserved the integrity of the blood-brain barrier and lessened damage to the brain.

An inhibitor of the MMP-9 enzyme had similar beneficial effects. In prior studies, inhibitors of this enzyme have been shown to reduce brain damage after stroke in animal models.

“These findings point to cyclophilin A as a potential new drug target for Alzheimer’s disease,” said Suzana Petanceska, Ph.D., a program director at NIH’s National Institute on Aging (NIA), which also funded Dr. Zlokovic’s study.

“Many population studies have shown an association between vascular risk factors in mid-life, such as high blood pressure and diabetes, and the risk for Alzheimer’s in late-life. We need more research aimed at deepening our understanding of the mechanisms involved and to test whether treatments that reduce vascular risk factors may be helpful against Alzheimer’s.”

Alzheimer’s disease is the most common cause of dementia in older adults, and affects more than 5 million Americans. A hallmark of the disease is a toxic protein fragment called beta-amyloid that accumulates in clumps, or plaques, within the brain.

Gene variations that cause higher levels of beta-amyloid are associated with a rare type of Alzheimer’s that appears early in life, between age 30 and 60.

However, it is the ApoE4 gene variant that is most strongly tied to the more common, late-onset type of Alzheimer’s disease. Inheriting a single copy of ApoE4 from a parent increases the risk of Alzheimer’s disease by about three-fold. Inheriting two copies, one from each parent, increases the risk by about 12-fold.

Dr. Zlokovic’s study and others point to a complex interplay between beta-amyloid and ApoE4. On the one hand, beta-amyloid is known to build up in and damage blood vessels and cause bleeding into the brain.

On the other hand, Dr. Zlokovic’s data suggest that ApoE4 can damage the vascular system independently of beta-amyloid. He theorizes that this damage makes it harder to clear beta-amyloid from the brain.

Some therapies under investigation for Alzheimer’s focus on destroying amyloid plaques, but therapies designed to compensate for ApoE4 might help prevent the plaques from forming, he said.

Compound Could Become Alzheimer’s Treatment
Thu, 10/11/2012 – 1:29pm
A new molecule designed to treat Alzheimer’s disease has significant promise and is potentially the safest to date, according to researchers.

Purdue University professor Arun Ghosh designed the molecule, which is a highly potent beta-secretase inhibitor with unique features that ensure it goes only to its target and does not affect healthy physiological processes, he said.

“This molecule maintains the disease-fighting properties of earlier beta-secretase inhibitors, but is much less likely to cause harmful side effects,” said Ghosh, the Ian P. Rothwell Distinguished Professor of Chemistry and Medicinal Chemistry and Molecular Pharmacology. “The selectivity we achieved is unprecedented, which gives it great promise for the long-term medication required to treat Alzheimer’s. Each time a treatment misses its disease target and instead interacts with a healthy cell or molecule, damage is done that we call toxicity. Even low levels of this toxicity could build up over years and years of treatment, and an Alzheimer’s patient would need to be treated for the rest of his or her life.”

The new molecule shows a 7,000-fold selectivity for its target enzyme, which far surpasses the benchmark of a 1,000-fold selectivity for a viable treatment molecule, and dwarfs the selectivity values in the hundreds for past beta-secretase inhibitors, he said. A paper detailing the work will be published in an upcoming Alzheimer’s research issue of the Journal of Medicinal Chemistry and is currently available online. The National Institutes of Health funded the research.

Beta-secretase inhibitors, which could allow for intervention in the early stages of Alzheimer’s disease, have promise as a potential treatment. Several drugs based on this molecular target have made it to clinical trials, including one based on a molecule Ghosh designed previously. These molecules prevent the first step in a chain of events that leads to the formation of amyloid plaque in the brain, fibrous clumps of toxic proteins that are believed to cause the disease’s devastating symptoms.

The National Institute on Aging estimates that 5.1 million Americans suffer from Alzheimer’s disease, which leads to dementia by affecting parts of the brain that control thought, memory and language.

“Alzheimer’s is a progressive disease that destroys the brain and also destroys the quality of life for those who suffer from it,” Ghosh said. “It eventually robs people of their ability to recognize their own spouse or child and to complete basic tasks necessary for independence, like getting dressed. It is a truly devastating disease for those who suffer from it and for their friends and loved ones.”

Earlier versions of the beta-secretase inhibitor were able to stop and even reverse the progression of amyloid plaques in tests on mice, but potency and selectivity are only two of the three pillars of a viable Alzheimer’s treatment, Ghosh said. It has yet to be shown whether this molecule possesses the third pillar, the ability to be turned into an easily administered drug that passes through the blood-brain barrier.

Ghosh collaborates with Jordan Tang, the J.G. Puterbaugh Chair in Medical Research at the Oklahoma Medical Research Foundation, who in 2000 identified beta-secretase and its role in the progression of Alzheimer’s. Later that year Ghosh designed his first molecule that bound to and inhibited the activity of the enzyme. He has strived to create the needed improvements ever since.

Ghosh bypasses the usual lengthy process of trial and error in finding useful inhibitor molecules by using a structure-based design strategy. He uses the structures of the inhibitor bound to the enzyme as a guide to what molecular features are important for desirable and undesirable characteristics. Then he removes, replaces and adds molecular groups to amplify the desirable and eliminate the undesirable.

“I believe structure-based design is vital to the development of new and improved medicine,” said Ghosh, who also is a member of the Purdue University Center for Cancer Research. “These strategies have the potential to eliminate enormous costs and time needed in traditional random screening protocols for drug development. Structure-based strategies allow us to design molecules that do precisely what we need them to do with fewer undesirable side effects.”

Tang performed the X-ray crystallography and captured the crystal structures to reveal important insights and serve as a guide for Ghosh’s designs.

“Developing inhibitors into clinically useful drugs is an evolutionary process,” Tang said. “We learn what works and what doesn’t along the way, and the knowledge permits us to do better in the next step. The miracles of modern medicine are built on top of excellent scientific findings. We try to do good science and know that the consequence will be a better chance for conquering diseases and improving lives.”

Beta-secretase belongs to a class of enzymes called aspartyl proteases. Research into beta-secretase inhibitors faced setbacks when other aspartyl proteases similar in structure, called memapsin 1 and cathepsin D, were discovered and found to be involved in many important physiological processes. Earlier designed beta-secretase inhibitors were found also to work against the biologically necessary enzymes.

Ghosh’s team focused on developing ways to make the inhibitor more selective so that it would avoid these other, physiologically important enzymes. They compared the structures of beta-secretase and memapsin 1 as they interacted with the inhibitor to find an active area unique only to beta-secretase. Then they added a functional molecular feature that targets and interacts with the unique area, making the inhibitor more attractive to beta-secretase and less attractive to the other enzymes.

“The added feature serves as a bait on the inhibitor molecule that entices beta-secretase and also grabs onto it tightly, greatly enhancing its selectivity,” he said. “This is a fundamental insight into the origins of selectivity and ways to increase it.”
Ghosh said this work highlights an important purpose of academic research.

“Academic research lays out and shares the fundamentals to advance drug discovery,” he said. “Advances in treatment are built upon the basic research happening at universities.”

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Perspectives of Nitric Oxide in Disease Mechanisms, Vol. I of BioMed Series A, Now Available on Amazon Kindle

Posted in Academic Publishing, Bone Disease and Musculoskeletal Disease, Cancer and Current Therapeutics, Cardiac and Cardiovascular Surgical Procedures, Cardiovascular Pharmacogenomics, Curation, Disease Biology, Frontiers in Cardiology and Cardiovascular Disorders, Myocardial Ischemia, Nephrology, Nitric Oxide in Health and Disease, Origins of Cardiovascular Disease, Pharmacotherapy of Cardiovascular Disease, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on August 17, 2015| Leave a Comment »

Leaders in Pharmaceutical Business Intelligence would like to announce their First Volume of their BioMedical E-Book Series A: eBooks on Cardiovascular Diseases

 

Perspectives on Nitric Oxide in Disease Mechanisms

Nitric Oxide coverwhich is now available on Amazon Kindle at

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00DINFFYC

This book is a comprehensive review of Nitric Oxide, its discovery, function, and related opportunities for Targeted Therapy written by  Experts, Authors, Writers.  This book is a series of articles delineating the basic functioning of the NOS isoforms, their production widely by endothelial cells, and the effect of NITRIC OXIDE production by endothelial cells, by neutrophils and macrophages, the effect on intercellular adhesion, and the effect of circulatory shear and turbulence on NITRIC OXIDE production. The e-Book’s articles have been published on the  Open Access Online Scientific Journal, since April 2012.  All new articles on this subject, will continue to be incorporated, as published, in real time in the e-Book which is a live book.

 

We invite e-Readers to write an Article Reviews on Amazon for this e-Book.

 

All forthcoming BioMed e-Book Titles can be viewed at:

http://pharmaceuticalintelligence.com/biomed-e-books/

 

Leaders in Pharmaceutical Business Intelligence, launched in April 2012 an Open Access Online Scientific Journal is a scientific, medical and business multi expert authoring environment in several domains of  life sciences, pharmaceutical, healthcare & medicine industries. The venture operates as an online scientific intellectual exchange at their website http://pharmaceuticalintelligence.com and for curation and reporting on frontiers in biomedical, biological sciences, healthcare economics, pharmacology, pharmaceuticals & medicine. In addition the venture publishes a Medical E-book Series available on Amazon’s Kindle platform.

Analyzing and sharing the vast and rapidly expanding volume of scientific knowledge has never been so crucial to innovation in the medical field. WE are addressing need of overcoming this scientific information overload by:

  • delivering curation and summary interpretations of latest findings and innovations on an open-access, Web 2.0 platform with future goals of providing primarily concept-driven search in the near future
  • providing a social platform for scientists and clinicians to enter into discussion using social media
  • compiling recent discoveries and issues in yearly-updated Medical E-book Series on Amazon’s mobile Kindle platform

This curation offers better organization and visibility to the critical information useful for the next innovations in academic, clinical, and industrial research by providing these hybrid networks.

Table of Contents for Perspectives on Nitric Oxide in Disease Mechanisms

Chapter 1: Nitric Oxide Basic Research

Chapter 2: Nitric Oxide and Circulatory Diseases

Chapter 3: Therapeutic Cardiovascular Targets

Chapter 4: Nitric Oxide and Neurodegenerative Diseases

Chapter 5: Bone Metabolism

Chapter 6: Nitric Oxide and Systemic Inflammatory Disease

Chapter 7: Nitric Oxide: Lung and Alveolar Gas Exchange

Chapter 8. Nitric Oxide and Kidney Dysfunction

Chapter 9: Nitric Oxide and Cancer 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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