Regulation of Zbp1 by miR-99b-5p in microglia controls the development of schizophrenia-like symptoms in mice.

Current approaches to the treatment of schizophrenia have mainly focused on the protein-coding part of the genome; in this context, the roles of microRNAs have received less attention. In the present study, we analyze the microRNAome in the blood and postmortem brains of schizophrenia patients, showing that the expression of miR-99b-5p is downregulated in both the prefrontal cortex and blood of patients. Lowering the amount of miR-99b-5p in mice leads to both schizophrenia-like phenotypes and inflammatory processes that are linked to synaptic pruning in microglia. The microglial miR-99b-5p-supressed inflammatory response requires Z-DNA binding protein 1 (Zbp1), which we identify as a novel miR-99b-5p target. Antisense oligonucleotides against Zbp1 ameliorate the pathological effects of miR-99b-5p inhibition. Our findings indicate that a novel miR-99b-5p-Zbp1 pathway in microglia might contribute to the pathogenesis of schizophrenia.

Conserved reduction of m6A RNA modifications during aging and neurodegeneration is linked to changes in synaptic transcripts.

N6-methyladenosine (m6A) regulates mRNA metabolism. While it has been implicated in the development of the mammalian brain and in cognition, the role of m6A in synaptic plasticity, especially during cognitive decline, is not fully understood. In this study, we employed methylated RNA immunoprecipitation sequencing to obtain the m6A epitranscriptome of the hippocampal subregions CA1, CA3, and the dentate gyrus and the anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) in young and aged mice. We observed a decrease in m6A levels in aged animals. Comparative analysis of cingulate cortex (CC) brain tissue from cognitively intact human subjects and Alzheimer's disease (AD) patients showed decreased m6A RNA methylation in AD patients. m6A changes common to brains of aged mice and AD patients were found in transcripts linked to synaptic function including calcium/calmodulin-dependent protein kinase 2 (CAMKII) and AMPA-selective glutamate receptor 1 (Glua1). We used proximity ligation assays to show that reduced m6A levels result in decreased synaptic protein synthesis as exemplified by CAMKII and GLUA1. Moreover, reduced m6A levels impaired synaptic function. Our results suggest that m6A RNA methylation controls synaptic protein synthesis and may play a role in cognitive decline associated with aging and AD.

MiRNA Differences Related to Treatment-Resistant Schizophrenia.

Schizophrenia (SZ) is a serious mental disorder that is typically treated with antipsychotic medication. Treatment-resistant schizophrenia (TRS) is the condition where symptoms remain after pharmacological intervention, resulting in long-lasting functional and social impairments. As the identification and treatment of a TRS patient requires previous failed treatments, early mechanisms of detection are needed in order to quicken the access to effective therapy, as well as improve treatment adherence. In this study, we aim to find a microRNA (miRNA) signature for TRS, as well as to shed some light on the molecular pathways potentially involved in this severe condition. To do this, we compared the blood miRNAs of schizophrenia patients that respond to medication and TRS patients, thus obtaining a 16-miRNA TRS profile. Then, we assessed the ability of this signature to separate responders and TRS patients using hierarchical clustering, observing that most of them are grouped correctly (~70% accuracy). We also conducted a network, pathway analysis, and bibliography search to spot molecular pathways potentially altered in TRS. We found that the response to stress seems to be a key factor in TRS and that proteins p53, SIRT1, MDM2, and TRIM28 could be the potential mediators of such responses. Finally, we suggest a molecular pathway potentially regulated by the miRNAs of the TRS profile.

Formin 2 links neuropsychiatric phenotypes at young age to an increased risk for dementia.

Age-associated memory decline is due to variable combinations of genetic and environmental risk factors. How these risk factors interact to drive disease onset is currently unknown. Here we begin to elucidate the mechanisms by which post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) at a young age contributes to an increased risk to develop dementia at old age. We show that the actin nucleator Formin 2 (Fmn2) is deregulated in PTSD and in Alzheimer's disease (AD) patients. Young mice lacking the Fmn2 gene exhibit PTSD-like phenotypes and corresponding impairments of synaptic plasticity, while the consolidation of new memories is unaffected. However, Fmn2 mutant mice develop accelerated age-associated memory decline that is further increased in the presence of additional risk factors and is mechanistically linked to a loss of transcriptional homeostasis. In conclusion, our data present a new approach to explore the connection between AD risk factors across life span and provide mechanistic insight to the processes by which neuropsychiatric diseases at a young age affect the risk for developing dementia.

HDAC1 links early life stress to schizophrenia-like phenotypes.

Schizophrenia is a devastating disease that arises on the background of genetic predisposition and environmental risk factors, such as early life stress (ELS). In this study, we show that ELS-induced schizophrenia-like phenotypes in mice correlate with a widespread increase of histone-deacetylase 1 (Hdac1) expression that is linked to altered DNA methylation. Hdac1 overexpression in neurons of the medial prefrontal cortex, but not in the dorsal or ventral hippocampus, mimics schizophrenia-like phenotypes induced by ELS. Systemic administration of an HDAC inhibitor rescues the detrimental effects of ELS when applied after the manifestation of disease phenotypes. In addition to the hippocampus and prefrontal cortex, mice subjected to ELS exhibit increased Hdac1 expression in blood. Moreover, Hdac1 levels are increased in blood samples from patients with schizophrenia who had encountered ELS, compared with patients without ELS experience. Our data suggest that HDAC1 inhibition should be considered as a therapeutic approach to treat schizophrenia.

Alpha-synuclein deregulates the expression of COL4A2 and impairs ER-Golgi function.

Alpha-synuclein (aSyn) is the major protein component of Lewy bodies and Lewy neurites, the typical pathological hallmarks in Parkinson's disease (PD) and Dementia with Lewy bodies. aSyn is capable of inducing transcriptional deregulation, but the precise effect of specific aSyn mutants associated with familial forms of PD, remains unclear. Here, we used transgenic mice overexpressing human wild-type (WT) or A30P aSyn to compare the transcriptional profiles of the two animal models. We found that A30P aSyn promotes strong transcriptional deregulation and increases DNA binding. Interestingly, COL4A2, a major component of basement membranes, was found to be upregulated in both A30P aSyn transgenic mice and in dopaminergic neurons expressing A30P aSyn, suggesting a crucial role for collagen related genes in aSyn-induced toxicity. Finally, we observed that A30P aSyn alters Golgi morphology and increases the susceptibility to endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress in dopaminergic cells. In total, our findings provide novel insight into the putative role of aSyn on transcription and on the molecular mechanisms involved, thereby opening novel avenues for future therapeutic interventions in PD and other synucleinopathies.

K-Lysine acetyltransferase 2a regulates a hippocampal gene expression network linked to memory formation.

Neuronal histone acetylation has been linked to memory consolidation, and targeting histone acetylation has emerged as a promising therapeutic strategy for neuropsychiatric diseases. However, the role of histone-modifying enzymes in the adult brain is still far from being understood. Here we use RNA sequencing to screen the levels of all known histone acetyltransferases (HATs) in the hippocampal CA1 region and find that K-acetyltransferase 2a (Kat2a)--a HAT that has not been studied for its role in memory function so far--shows highest expression. Mice that lack Kat2a show impaired hippocampal synaptic plasticity and long-term memory consolidation. We furthermore show that Kat2a regulates a highly interconnected hippocampal gene expression network linked to neuroactive receptor signaling via a mechanism that involves nuclear factor kappa-light-chain-enhancer of activated B cells (NF-κB). In conclusion, our data establish Kat2a as a novel and essential regulator of hippocampal memory consolidation.

A hippocampal insulin-growth factor 2 pathway regulates the extinction of fear memories.

Extinction learning refers to the phenomenon that a previously learned response to an environmental stimulus, for example, the expression of an aversive behaviour upon exposure to a specific context, is reduced when the stimulus is repeatedly presented in the absence of a previously paired aversive event. Extinction of fear memories has been implicated with the treatment of anxiety disease but the molecular processes that underlie fear extinction are only beginning to emerge. Here, we show that fear extinction initiates upregulation of hippocampal insulin-growth factor 2 (Igf2) and downregulation of insulin-growth factor binding protein 7 (Igfbp7). In line with this observation, we demonstrate that IGF2 facilitates fear extinction, while IGFBP7 impairs fear extinction in an IGF2-dependent manner. Furthermore, we identify one cellular substrate of altered IGF2 signalling during fear extinction. To this end, we show that fear extinction-induced IGF2/IGFBP7 signalling promotes the survival of 17-19-day-old newborn hippocampal neurons. In conclusion, our data suggest that therapeutic strategies that enhance IGF2 signalling and adult neurogenesis might be suitable to treat disease linked to excessive fear memory.

microRNA-34c is a novel target to treat dementias.

MicroRNAs are key regulators of transcriptome plasticity and have been implicated with the pathogenesis of brain diseases. Here, we employed massive parallel sequencing and provide, at an unprecedented depth, the complete and quantitative miRNAome of the mouse hippocampus, the prime target of neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer's disease (AD). Using integrative genetics, we identify miR-34c as a negative constraint of memory consolidation and show that miR-34c levels are elevated in the hippocampus of AD patients and corresponding mouse models. In line with this, targeting miR-34 seed rescues learning ability in these mouse models. Our data suggest that miR-34c could be a marker for the onset of cognitive disturbances linked to AD and indicate that targeting miR-34c could be a suitable therapy.

Histone-methyltransferase MLL2 (KMT2B) is required for memory formation in mice.

The consolidation of long-term memories requires differential gene expression. Recent research has suggested that dynamic changes in chromatin structure play a role in regulating the gene expression program linked to memory formation. The contribution of histone methylation, an important regulatory mechanism of chromatin plasticity that is mediated by the counteracting activity of histone-methyltransferases and histone-demethylases, is, however, not well understood. Here we show that mice lacking the histone-methyltransferase myeloid/lymphoid or mixed-lineage leukemia 2 (mll2/kmt2b) gene in adult forebrain excitatory neurons display impaired hippocampus-dependent memory function. Consistent with the role of KMT2B in gene-activation DNA microarray analysis revealed that 152 genes were downregulated in the hippocampal dentate gyrus region of mice lacking kmt2b. Downregulated plasticity genes showed a specific deficit in histone 3 lysine 4 di- and trimethylation, while histone 3 lysine 4 monomethylation was not affected. Our data demonstrates that KMT2B mediates hippocampal histone 3 lysine 4 di- and trimethylation and is a critical player for memory formation.

Insulin growth factor binding protein 7 is a novel target to treat dementia.

Alzheimer's disease (AD) is the most common form of dementia in the elderly but effective therapeutic strategies to treat AD are not yet available. This is also due to the fact that the pathological mechanisms that drive the pathogenesis of sporadic AD are still not sufficiently understood and may differ on the individual level. Several risk factors such as altered insulin-like peptide (ILP) signaling have been linked to AD and modulating the ILP system has been discussed as a potential therapeutic avenue. Here we show that insulin-like growth factor binding protein 7 (IGFBP7), a protein that attenuates the function of ILPs, is up-regulated in the brains of AD patients and in a mouse model for AD via a process that involves altered DNA-methylation and coincides with decreased ILP signaling. Mimicking the AD-situation in wild type mice, by increasing hippocampal IGFBP7 levels leads to impaired memory consolidation. Consistently, inhibiting IGFBP7 function in mice that develop AD-like memory impairment reinstates associative learning behavior. These data suggest that IGFBP7 is a critical regulator of memory consolidation and might be used as a biomarker for AD. Targeting IGFBP7 could be a novel therapeutic avenue for the treatment of AD patients.

A Single-Cell Transcriptomic Analysis of the Mouse Hippocampus After Voluntary Exercise.

Exercise has been recognized as a beneficial factor for cognitive health, particularly in relation to the hippocampus, a vital brain region responsible for learning and memory. Previous research has demonstrated that exercise-mediated improvement of learning and memory in humans and rodents correlates with increased adult neurogenesis and processes related to enhanced synaptic plasticity. Nevertheless, the underlying molecular mechanisms are not fully understood. With the aim to further elucidate these mechanisms, we provide a comprehensive dataset of the mouse hippocampal transcriptome at the single-cell level after 4 weeks of voluntary wheel-running. Our analysis provides a number of interesting observations. For example, the results suggest that exercise affects adult neurogenesis by accelerating the maturation of a subpopulation of Prdm16-expressing neurons. Moreover, we uncover the existence of an intricate crosstalk among multiple vital signaling pathways such as NF-κB, Wnt/ß-catenin, Notch, and retinoic acid (RA) pathways altered upon exercise in a specific cluster of excitatory neurons within the Cornu Ammonis (CA) region of the hippocampus. In conclusion, our study provides an important resource dataset and sheds further light on the molecular changes induced by exercise in the hippocampus. These findings have implications for developing targeted interventions aimed at optimizing cognitive health and preventing age-related cognitive decline.

PRDM16-DT: A Brain and Astrocyte-Specific lncRNA Implicated in Alzheimer's Disease.

Astrocytes provide crucial support for neurons, contributing to synaptogenesis, synaptic maintenance, and neurotransmitter recycling. Under pathological conditions, deregulation of astrocytes contributes to neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer's disease (AD), highlighting the growing interest in targeting astrocyte function to address early phases of AD pathogenesis. While most research in this field has focused on protein-coding genes, non-coding RNAs, particularly long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs), have emerged as significant regulatory molecules. In this study, we identified the lncRNA PRDM16-DT as highly enriched in the human brain, where it is almost exclusively expressed in astrocytes. PRDM16-DT and its murine homolog, Prdm16os, are downregulated in the brains of AD patients and in AD models. In line with this, knockdown of PRDM16-DT and Prdm16os revealed its critical role in maintaining astrocyte homeostasis and supporting neuronal function by regulating genes essential for glutamate uptake, lactate release, and neuronal spine density through interactions with the RE1-Silencing Transcription factor (Rest) and Polycomb Repressive Complex 2 (PRC2). Notably, CRISPR-mediated overexpression of Prdm16os mitigated functional deficits in astrocytes induced by stimuli linked to AD pathogenesis. These findings underscore the importance of PRDM16-DT in astrocyte function and its potential as a novel therapeutic target for neurodegenerative disorders characterized by astrocyte dysfunction.

HDAC1 regulates fear extinction in mice.

Histone acetylation has been implicated with the pathogenesis of neuropsychiatric disorders and targeting histone deacetylases (HDACs) using HDAC inhibitors was shown to be neuroprotective and to initiate neuroregenerative processes. However, little is known about the role of individual HDAC proteins during the pathogenesis of brain diseases. HDAC1 was found to be upregulated in patients suffering from neuropsychiatric diseases. Here, we show that virus-mediated overexpression of neuronal HDAC1 in the adult mouse hippocampus specifically affects the extinction of contextual fear memories, while other cognitive abilities were unaffected. In subsequent experiments we show that under physiological conditions, hippocampal HDAC1 is required for extinction learning via a mechanism that involves H3K9 deacetylation and subsequent trimethylation of target genes. In conclusion, our data show that hippocampal HDAC1 has a specific role in memory function.

Baseline levels of miR-223-3p correlate with the effectiveness of electroconvulsive therapy in patients with major depression.

There is a strong medical need to develop suitable biomarkers to improve the diagnosis and treatment of depression, particularly in predicting response to certain therapeutic approaches such as electroconvulsive therapy (ECT). MicroRNAs are small non-coding RNAs that have the ability to influence the transcriptome as well as proteostasis at the systems level. Here, we investigate the role of circulating microRNAs in depression and response prediction towards ECT. Of the 64 patients with treatment-resistant major depression (MDD) who received ECT treatment, 62.5% showed a response, defined as a reduction of ≥50% in the MADRS total score from baseline. We performed smallRNA sequencing in blood samples that were taken before the first ECT, after the first and the last ECT. The microRNAome was compared between responders and non-responders. Co-expression network analysis identified three significant microRNA modules with reverse correlation between ECT- responders and non-responders, that were amongst other biological processes linked to inflammation. A candidate microRNA, namely miR-223-3p was down-regulated in ECT responders when compared to non-responders at baseline. In line with data suggesting a role of miR-223-3p in inflammatory processes we observed higher expression levels of proinflammatory factors Il-6, Il-1b, Nlrp3 and Tnf-α in ECT responders at baseline when compared to non-responders. ROC analysis of confirmed the diagnostic power of miR-223-3p demarcating ECT-responders from non-responder subjects (AUC = 0.76, p = 0.0031). Our data suggest that miR-223-3p expression and related cytokine levels could serve as predictors of response to ECT in individuals with treatment-resistant depressive disorders.

Exercise as a model to identify microRNAs linked to human cognition: a role for microRNA-409 and microRNA-501.

MicroRNAs have been linked to synaptic plasticity and memory function and are emerging as potential biomarkers and therapeutic targets for cognitive diseases. Most of these data stem from the analysis of model systems or postmortem tissue from patients which mainly represents an advanced stage of pathology. Due to the in-accessibility of human brain tissue upon experimental manipulation, it is still challenging to identify microRNAs relevant to human cognition, which is however a key step for future translational studies. Here, we employ exercise as an experimental model for memory enhancement in healthy humans with the aim to identify microRNAs linked to memory function. By analyzing the circulating smallRNAome we find a cluster of 18 microRNAs that are highly correlated to cognition. MicroRNA-409-5p and microRNA-501-3p were the most significantly regulated candidates. Functional analysis revealed that the two microRNAs are important for neuronal integrity, synaptic plasticity, and morphology. In conclusion, we provide a novel approach to identify microRNAs linked to human memory function.

A microRNA signature that correlates with cognition and is a target against cognitive decline.

While some individuals age without pathological memory impairments, others develop age-associated cognitive diseases. Since changes in cognitive function develop slowly over time in these patients, they are often diagnosed at an advanced stage of molecular pathology, a time point when causative treatments fail. Thus, there is great need for the identification of inexpensive and minimal invasive approaches that could be used for screening with the aim to identify individuals at risk for cognitive decline that can then undergo further diagnostics and eventually stratified therapies. In this study, we use an integrative approach combining the analysis of human data and mechanistic studies in model systems to identify a circulating 3-microRNA signature that reflects key processes linked to neural homeostasis and inform about cognitive status. We furthermore provide evidence that expression changes in this signature represent multiple mechanisms deregulated in the aging and diseased brain and are a suitable target for RNA therapeutics.

Changes in m6A RNA methylation contribute to heart failure progression by modulating translation.

AIMS: Deregulation of epigenetic processes and aberrant gene expression are important mechanisms in heart failure. Here we studied the potential relevance of m6A RNA methylation in heart failure development. METHODS AND RESULTS: We analysed m6A RNA methylation via next-generation sequencing. We found that approximately one quarter of the transcripts in the healthy mouse and human heart exhibit m6A RNA methylation. During progression to heart failure we observed that changes in m6A RNA methylation exceed changes in gene expression both in mouse and human. RNAs with altered m6A RNA methylation were mainly linked to metabolic and regulatory pathways, while changes in RNA expression level mainly represented changes in structural plasticity. Mechanistically, we could link m6A RNA methylation to altered RNA translation and protein production. Interestingly, differentially methylated but not differentially expressed RNAs showed differential polysomal occupancy, indicating transcription-independent modulation of translation. Furthermore, mice with a cardiomyocyte restricted knockout of the RNA demethylase Fto exhibited an impaired cardiac function compared to control mice. CONCLUSIONS: We could show that m6A landscape is altered in heart hypertrophy and heart failure. m6A RNA methylation changes lead to changes in protein abundance, unconnected to mRNA levels. This uncovers a new transcription-independent mechanisms of translation regulation. Therefore, our data suggest that modulation of epitranscriptomic processes such as m6A methylation might be an interesting target for therapeutic interventions.

A combined miRNA-piRNA signature to detect Alzheimer's disease.

Alzheimer's disease (AD) is the most common neurodegenerative disorder causing huge emotional and economic burden to our societies. An effective therapy has not been implicated yet, which is in part also due to the fact that pathological changes occur years before clinical symptoms manifest. Thus, there is a great need for the development of a translatable biomarker. Recent evidence highlights microRNAs as candidate biomarkers. In this study, we use next-generation sequencing to study the small noncoding RNAome (sncRNAome) in exosomes derived from human cerebrospinal fluid (CSF). We show that the sncRNAome from CSF-derived exosomes is dominated not only by microRNAs (miRNAs) but also by PIWI-interacting RNAs (piRNAs). We define a combined signature consisting of three miRNAs and three piRNAs that are suitable to detect AD with an AUC of 0.83 in a replication cohort and furthermore predict the conversion of mild-cognitive impaired (MCI) patients to AD dementia with an AUC of 0.86 for the piRNA signature. When combining the smallRNA signature with pTau and Aß 42/40 ratio the AUC reaches 0.98. Our study reports a novel exosomal small noncoding RNA signature to detect AD pathology and provides the first evidence that in addition to miRNAs, piRNAs should also be considered as a candidate biomarker for AD.

Development of a new method for the complete extraction of carotenoids from cereals with special reference to durum wheat (Triticum durum Desf.).

Due to the growing interest in the role of carotenoids in human health, their qualitative and quantitative analysis in foods is becoming more and more important. High-performance liquid chromatography has become the method of choice for the determination of these phytochemicals. A crucial step prior to the chromatographic separation is the quantitative extraction from the food matrix which was proven to be impeded in durum wheat. To optimize the extraction procedure, several factors with influence on extractability of carotenoids were investigated. Finally, it was shown that soaking of samples in water for 5 min prior to extraction with organic solvents had the strongest impact on extraction yield and led to the most rapid and gentle method. Contents of carotenoids in the extracts of several durum wheat and corn samples were doubled by soaking in water before extracting with methanol/tetrahydrofuran (1/1, v/v). In light of these findings, literature data on contents of carotenoids in cereal grains have to be viewed critically regarding the extraction procedures employed.