Broad proteomics analysis of seeding-induced aggregation of α-synuclein in M83 neurons reveals remodeling of proteostasis mechanisms that might contribute to Parkinson's disease pathogenesis.

Aggregation of misfolded α-synuclein (α-syn) is a key characteristic feature of Parkinson's disease (PD) and related synucleinopathies. The nature of these aggregates and their contribution to cellular dysfunction is still not clearly elucidated. We employed mass spectrometry-based total and phospho-proteomics to characterize the underlying molecular and biological changes due to α-syn aggregation using the M83 mouse primary neuronal model of PD. We identified gross changes in the proteome that coincided with the formation of large Lewy body-like α-syn aggregates in these neurons. We used protein-protein interaction (PPI)-based network analysis to identify key protein clusters modulating specific biological pathways that may be dysregulated and identified several mechanisms that regulate protein homeostasis (proteostasis). The observed changes in the proteome may include both homeostatic compensation and dysregulation due to α-syn aggregation and a greater understanding of both processes and their role in α-syn-related proteostasis may lead to improved therapeutic options for patients with PD and related disorders.

Landscape of brain myeloid cell transcriptome along the spatiotemporal progression of Alzheimer's disease reveals distinct sequential responses to Aß and tau.

Human microglia are critically involved in Alzheimer's disease (AD) progression, as shown by genetic and molecular studies. However, their role in tau pathology progression in human brain has not been well described. Here, we characterized 32 human donors along progression of AD pathology, both in time-from early to late pathology-and in space-from entorhinal cortex (EC), inferior temporal gyrus (ITG), prefrontal cortex (PFC) to visual cortex (V2 and V1)-with biochemistry, immunohistochemistry, and single nuclei-RNA-sequencing, profiling a total of 337,512 brain myeloid cells, including microglia. While the majority of microglia are similar across brain regions, we identified a specific subset unique to EC which may contribute to the early tau pathology present in this region. We calculated conversion of microglia subtypes to diseased states and compared conversion patterns to those from AD animal models. Targeting genes implicated in this conversion, or their upstream/downstream pathways, could halt gene programs initiated by early tau progression. We used expression patterns of early tau progression to identify genes whose expression is reversed along spreading of spatial tau pathology (EC > ITG > PFC > V2 > V1) and identified their potential involvement in microglia subtype conversion to a diseased state. This study provides a data resource that builds on our knowledge of myeloid cell contribution to AD by defining the heterogeneity of microglia and brain macrophages during both temporal and regional pathology aspects of AD progression at an unprecedented resolution.

New precision medicine avenues to the prevention of Alzheimer's disease from insights into the structure and function of γ-secretases.

Two phase-III clinical trials with anti-amyloid peptide antibodies have met their primary goal, i.e. slowing of Alzheimer's disease (AD) progression. However, antibody therapy may not be the optimal therapeutic modality for AD prevention, as we will discuss in the context of the earlier small molecules described as "γ-secretase modulators" (GSM). We review here the structure, function, and pathobiology of γ-secretases, with a focus on how mutations in presenilin genes result in early-onset AD. Significant progress has been made in generating compounds that act in a manner opposite to pathogenic presenilin mutations: they stabilize the proteinase-substrate complex, thereby increasing the processivity of substrate cleavage and altering the size spectrum of Aß peptides produced. We propose the term "γ-secretase allosteric stabilizers" (GSAS) to distinguish these compounds from the rather heterogenous class of GSM. The GSAS represent, in theory, a precision medicine approach to the prevention of amyloid deposition, as they specifically target a discrete aspect in a complex cell biological signalling mechanism that initiates the pathological processes leading to Alzheimer's disease.

Distinct transcriptomic responses to Aß plaques, neurofibrillary tangles, and APOE in Alzheimer's disease.

INTRODUCTION: Omics studies have revealed that various brain cell types undergo profound molecular changes in Alzheimer's disease (AD) but the spatial relationships with plaques and tangles and APOE-linked differences remain unclear. METHODS: We performed laser capture microdissection of amyloid beta (Aß) plaques, the 50 µm halo around them, tangles with the 50 µm halo around them, and areas distant (> 50 µm) from plaques and tangles in the temporal cortex of AD and control donors, followed by RNA-sequencing. RESULTS: Aß plaques exhibited upregulated microglial (neuroinflammation/phagocytosis) and downregulated neuronal (neurotransmission/energy metabolism) genes, whereas tangles had mostly downregulated neuronal genes. Aß plaques had more differentially expressed genes than tangles. We identified a gradient Aß plaque > peri-plaque > tangle > distant for these changes. AD APOE ε4 homozygotes had greater changes than APOE ε3 across locations, especially within Aß plaques. DISCUSSION: Transcriptomic changes in AD consist primarily of neuroinflammation and neuronal dysfunction, are spatially associated mainly with Aß plaques, and are exacerbated by the APOE ε4 allele.

Endothelial Cells Are Heterogeneous in Different Brain Regions and Are Dramatically Altered in Alzheimer's Disease.

Vascular endothelial cells play an important role in maintaining brain health, but their contribution to Alzheimer's disease (AD) is obscured by limited understanding of the cellular heterogeneity in normal aged brain and in disease. To address this, we performed single nucleus RNAseq on tissue from 32 human AD and non-AD donors (19 female, 13 male) each with five cortical regions: entorhinal cortex, inferior temporal gyrus, prefrontal cortex, visual association cortex, and primary visual cortex. Analysis of 51,586 endothelial cells revealed unique gene expression patterns across the five regions in non-AD donors. Alzheimer's brain endothelial cells were characterized by upregulated protein folding genes and distinct transcriptomic differences in response to amyloid ß plaques and cerebral amyloid angiopathy. This dataset demonstrates previously unrecognized regional heterogeneity in the endothelial cell transcriptome in both aged non-AD and AD brain.SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT In this work, we show that vascular endothelial cells collected from five different brain regions display surprising variability in gene expression. In the presence of Alzheimer's disease pathology, endothelial cell gene expression is dramatically altered with clear differences in regional and temporal changes. These findings help explain why certain brain regions appear to differ in susceptibility to disease-related vascular remodeling events that may impact blood flow.

Distinct Transcriptomic Responses to Aß plaques, Neurofibrillary Tangles, and APOE in Alzheimer's Disease.

INTRODUCTION: Omics studies have revealed that various brain cell types undergo profound molecular changes in Alzheimer's disease (AD) but the spatial relationships with plaques and tangles and APOE -linked differences remain unclear. METHODS: We performed laser capture microdissection of Aß plaques, the 50µm halo around them, tangles with the 50µm halo around them, and areas distant (>50µm) from plaques and tangles in the temporal cortex of AD and control donors, followed by RNA-sequencing. RESULTS: Aß plaques exhibited upregulated microglial (neuroinflammation/phagocytosis) and downregulated neuronal (neurotransmission/energy metabolism) genes, whereas tangles had mostly downregulated neuronal genes. Aß plaques had more differentially expressed genes than tangles. We identified a gradient Aß plaque>peri-plaque>tangle>distant for these changes. AD APOE ε4 homozygotes had greater changes than APOE ε3 across locations, especially within Aß plaques. DISCUSSION: Transcriptomic changes in AD consist primarily of neuroinflammation and neuronal dysfunction, are spatially associated mainly with Aß plaques, and are exacerbated by the APOE ε4 allele.

Endothelial Cells are Heterogeneous in Different Brain Regions and are Dramatically Altered in Alzheimer's Disease.

Vascular endothelial cells play an important role in maintaining brain health, but their contribution to Alzheimer's disease (AD) is obscured by limited understanding of the cellular heterogeneity in normal aged brain and in disease. To address this, we performed single nucleus RNAseq on tissue from 32 AD and non-AD donors each with five cortical regions: entorhinal cortex, inferior temporal gyrus, prefrontal cortex, visual association cortex and primary visual cortex. Analysis of 51,586 endothelial cells revealed unique gene expression patterns across the five regions in non-AD donors. Alzheimer's brain endothelial cells were characterized by upregulated protein folding genes and distinct transcriptomic differences in response to amyloid beta plaques and cerebral amyloid angiopathy (CAA). This dataset demonstrates previously unrecognized regional heterogeneity in the endothelial cell transcriptome in both aged non-AD and AD brain. Significance Statement: In this work, we show that vascular endothelial cells collected from five different brain regions display surprising variability in gene expression. In the presence of Alzheimer's disease pathology, endothelial cell gene expression is dramatically altered with clear differences in regional and temporal changes. These findings help explain why certain brain regions appear to differ in susceptibility to disease-related vascular remodeling events that may impact blood flow.

The amyloid hypothesis in Alzheimer disease: new insights from new therapeutics.

Many drugs that target amyloid-ß (Aß) in Alzheimer disease (AD) have failed to demonstrate clinical efficacy. However, four anti-Aß antibodies have been shown to mediate the removal of amyloid plaque from brains of patients with AD, and the FDA has recently granted accelerated approval to one of these, aducanumab, using reduction of amyloid plaque as a surrogate end point. The rationale for approval and the extent of the clinical benefit from these antibodies are under intense debate. With the aim of informing this debate, we review clinical trial data for drugs that target Aß from the perspective of the temporal interplay between the two pathognomonic protein aggregates in AD - Aß plaques and tau neurofibrillary tangles - and their relationship to cognitive impairment, highlighting differences in drug properties that could affect their clinical performance. On this basis, we propose that Aß pathology drives tau pathology, that amyloid plaque would need to be reduced to a low level (~20 centiloids) to reveal significant clinical benefit and that there will be a lag between the removal of amyloid and the potential to observe a clinical benefit. We conclude that the speed of amyloid removal from the brain by a potential therapy will be important in demonstrating clinical benefit in the context of a clinical trial.

Uncovering specificity of endogenous TAU aggregation in a human iPSC-neuron TAU seeding model.

Tau pathobiology has emerged as a key component underlying Alzheimer's disease (AD) progression; however, human neuronal in vitro models have struggled to recapitulate tau phenomena observed in vivo. Here, we aimed to define the minimal requirements to achieve endogenous tau aggregation in functional neurons utilizing human induced pluripotent stem cell (hiPSC) technology. Optimized hiPSC-derived cortical neurons seeded with AD brain-derived competent tau species or recombinant tau fibrils displayed increases in insoluble, endogenous tau aggregates. Importantly, MAPT-wild type and MAPT-mutant hiPSC-neurons exhibited unique propensities for aggregation dependent on the seed strain rather than the repeat domain identity, suggesting that successful templating of the recipient tau may be driven by the unique conformation of the seed. The in vitro model presented here represents the first successful demonstration of combining human neurons, endogenous tau expression, and AD brain-derived competent tau species, offering a more physiologically relevant platform to study tau pathobiology.

MEK1/2 activity modulates TREM2 cell surface recruitment.

Rare sequence variants in the microglial cell surface receptor TREM2 have been shown to increase the risk for Alzheimer's disease (AD). Disease-linked TREM2 mutations seem to confer a partial loss of function, and increasing TREM2 cell surface expression and thereby its function(s) might have therapeutic benefit in AD. However, druggable targets that could modulate microglial TREM2 surface expression are not known. To identify such targets, we conducted a screen of small molecule compounds with known pharmacology using human myeloid cells, searching for those that enhance TREM2 protein at the cell surface. Inhibitors of the kinases MEK1/2 displayed the strongest and most consistent increases in cell surface TREM2 protein, identifying a previously unreported pathway for TREM2 regulation. Unexpectedly, inhibitors of the downstream effector ERK kinases did not have the same effect, suggesting that noncanonical MEK signaling regulates TREM2 trafficking. In addition, siRNA knockdown experiments confirmed that decreased MEK1 and MEK2 were required for this recruitment. In iPSC-derived microglia, MEK inhibition increased cell surface TREM2 only modestly, so various cytokines were used to alter iPSC microglia phenotype, making cells more sensitive to MEK inhibitor-induced TREM2 recruitment. Of those tested, only IFN-gamma priming prior to MEK inhibitor treatment resulted in greater TREM2 recruitment. These data identify the first known mechanisms for increasing surface TREM2 protein and TREM2-regulated function in human myeloid cells and are the first to show a role for MEK1/MEK2 signaling in TREM2 activity.

Arrayed CRISPR reveals genetic regulators of tau aggregation, autophagy and mitochondria in Alzheimer's disease model.

Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a common neurodegenerative disease with poor prognosis. New options for drug discovery targets are needed. We developed an imaging based arrayed CRISPR method to interrogate the human genome for modulation of in vitro correlates of AD features, and used this to assess 1525 human genes related to tau aggregation, autophagy and mitochondria. This work revealed (I) a network of tau aggregation modulators including the NF-κB pathway and inflammatory signaling, (II) a correlation between mitochondrial morphology, respiratory function and transcriptomics, (III) machine learning predicted novel roles of genes and pathways in autophagic processes and (IV) individual gene function inferences and interactions among biological processes via multi-feature clustering. These studies provide a platform to interrogate underexplored aspects of AD biology and offer several specific hypotheses for future drug discovery efforts.

Inhibition of IL-34 Unveils Tissue-Selectivity and Is Sufficient to Reduce Microglial Proliferation in a Model of Chronic Neurodegeneration.

The proliferation and activation of microglia, the resident macrophages in the brain, is a hallmark of many neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer's disease (AD) and prion disease. Colony stimulating factor 1 receptor (CSF1R) is critically involved in regulating microglial proliferation, and CSF1R blocking strategies have been recently used to modulate microglia in neurodegenerative diseases. However, CSF1R is broadly expressed by many cell types and the impact of its inhibition on the innate immune system is still unclear. CSF1R can be activated by two independent ligands, CSF-1 and interleukin 34 (IL-34). Recently, it has been reported that microglia development and maintenance depend on IL-34 signaling. In this study, we evaluate the inhibition of IL-34 as a novel strategy to reduce microglial proliferation in the ME7 model of prion disease. Selective inhibition of IL-34 showed no effects on peripheral macrophage populations in healthy mice, avoiding the side effects observed after CSF1R inhibition on the systemic compartment. However, we observed a reduction in microglial proliferation after IL-34 inhibition in prion-diseased mice, indicating that microglia could be more specifically targeted by reducing IL-34. Overall, our results highlight the challenges of targeting the CSF1R/IL34 axis in the systemic and central compartments, important for framing any therapeutic effort to tackle microglia/macrophage numbers during brain disease.

Author Correction: Felodipine induces autophagy in mouse brains with pharmacokinetics amenable to repurposing.

An amendment to this paper has been published and can be accessed via a link at the top of the paper.

Felodipine induces autophagy in mouse brains with pharmacokinetics amenable to repurposing.

Neurodegenerative diseases like Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease and Huntington's disease manifest with the neuronal accumulation of toxic proteins. Since autophagy upregulation enhances the clearance of such proteins and ameliorates their toxicities in animal models, we and others have sought to re-position/re-profile existing compounds used in humans to identify those that may induce autophagy in the brain. A key challenge with this approach is to assess if any hits identified can induce neuronal autophagy at concentrations that would be seen in humans taking the drug for its conventional indication. Here we report that felodipine, an L-type calcium channel blocker and anti-hypertensive drug, induces autophagy and clears diverse aggregate-prone, neurodegenerative disease-associated proteins. Felodipine can clear mutant α-synuclein in mouse brains at plasma concentrations similar to those that would be seen in humans taking the drug. This is associated with neuroprotection in mice, suggesting the promise of this compound for use in neurodegeneration.

The Major Risk Factors for Alzheimer's Disease: Age, Sex, and Genes Modulate the Microglia Response to Aß Plaques.

Gene expression profiles of more than 10,000 individual microglial cells isolated from cortex and hippocampus of male and female AppNL-G-F mice over time demonstrate that progressive amyloid-ß accumulation accelerates two main activated microglia states that are also present during normal aging. Activated response microglia (ARMs) are composed of specialized subgroups overexpressing MHC type II and putative tissue repair genes (Dkk2, Gpnmb, and Spp1) and are strongly enriched with Alzheimer's disease (AD) risk genes. Microglia from female mice progress faster in this activation trajectory. Similar activated states are also found in a second AD model and in human brain. Apoe, the major genetic risk factor for AD, regulates the ARMs but not the interferon response microglia (IRMs). Thus, the ARMs response is the converging point for aging, sex, and genetic AD risk factors.

Development of a characterised tool kit for the interrogation of NLRP3 inflammasome-dependent responses.

Inflammation is an established contributor to disease and the NLRP3 inflammasome is emerging as a potential therapeutic target. A number of small molecule inhibitors of the NLRP3 pathway have been described. Here we analysed the most promising of these inhibitor classes side by side to assess relative potency and selectivity for their respective putative targets. Assessed using ASC inflammasome-speck formation, and release of IL-1ß, in both human monocyte/macrophage THP1 cells and in primary mouse microglia, we compared the relative potency and selectivity of P2X7 inhibitors, inflammasome inhibitors (diarylsulfonylurea vs. the NBC series), and caspase-1 inhibitors. In doing so we are now able to provide a well characterised small molecule tool kit for interrogating and validating inflammasome-dependent responses with a range of nanomolar potency inhibitors against established points in the inflammasome pathway.

Precision pharmacology for Alzheimer's disease.

The complex multifactorial nature of polygenic Alzheimer's disease (AD) presents significant challenges for drug development. AD pathophysiology is progressing in a non-linear dynamic fashion across multiple systems levels - from molecules to organ systems - and through adaptation, to compensation, and decompensation to systems failure. Adaptation and compensation maintain homeostasis: a dynamic equilibrium resulting from the dynamic non-linear interaction between genome, epigenome, and environment. An individual vulnerability to stressors exists on the basis of individual triggers, drivers, and thresholds accounting for the initiation and failure of adaptive and compensatory responses. Consequently, the distinct pattern of AD pathophysiology in space and time must be investigated on the basis of the individual biological makeup. This requires the implementation of systems biology and neurophysiology to facilitate Precision Medicine (PM) and Precision Pharmacology (PP). The regulation of several processes at multiple levels of complexity from gene expression to cellular cycle to tissue repair and system-wide network activation has different time delays (temporal scale) according to the affected systems (spatial scale). The initial failure might originate and occur at every level potentially affecting the whole dynamic interrelated systems within an organism. Unraveling the spatial and temporal dynamics of non-linear pathophysiological mechanisms across the continuum of hierarchical self-organized systems levels and from systems homeostasis to systems failure is key to understand AD. Measuring and, possibly, controlling space- and time-scaled adaptive and compensatory responses occurring during AD will represent a crucial step to achieve the capacity to substantially modify the disease course and progression at the best suitable timepoints, thus counteracting disrupting critical pathophysiological inputs. This approach will provide the conceptual basis for effective disease-modifying pathway-based targeted therapies. PP is based on an exploratory and integrative strategy to complex diseases such as brain proteinopathies including AD, aimed at identifying simultaneous aberrant molecular pathways and predicting their temporal impact on the systems levels. The depiction of pathway-based molecular signatures of complex diseases contributes to the accurate and mechanistic stratification of distinct subcohorts of individuals at the earliest compensatory stage when treatment intervention may reverse, stop, or delay the disease. In addition, individualized drug selection may optimize treatment safety by decreasing risk and amplitude of side effects and adverse reactions. From a methodological point of view, comprehensive "omics"-based biomarkers will guide the exploration of spatio-temporal systems-wide morpho-functional shifts along the continuum of AD pathophysiology, from adaptation to irreversible failure. The Alzheimer Precision Medicine Initiative (APMI) and the APMI cohort program (APMI-CP) have commenced to facilitate a paradigm shift towards effective drug discovery and development in AD.

The amyloid cascade hypothesis: are we poised for success or failure?

The first description of Alzheimer's disease (AD) was made in 1907 by Alois Alzheimer (Allgemeine Zeitschrift fur Psyciatrie und Psychisch-Gerichtliche Medizin 64, 3, 1907), although other contemporary physicians had made similar, and rather more complete, assessments of the neuropathological changes present in the AD brain (Fischer, Monatsschr Psychiat Neurol 22, 17, 1907). Our knowledge of AD has increased dramatically and continues to accelerate. This year is 25 years after the publication of a series of papers that, in various ways, articulated the amyloid cascade hypothesis (ACH) for AD (Beyreuther and Masters, Brain Pathol 1, 241-251, 1991; Hardy and Allsop, Trends Pharmacol Sci 12, 383-388, 1991; Selkoe, Neuron 6, 487-498, 1991; Hardy and Higgins, Science 256, 184-185, 1992). This review will cover some familiar territory, but we shall also place the ACH into a wider context, compare it with other hypotheses for AD, explore the evolution of the hypothesis to encompass new findings, and determine, irrespective of the merits of the hypothesis itself, whether it has been useful for the research field, both in academia and in industry. Finally, we shall review how the ACH has led to a number of therapeutic approaches, all of which have, to date, failed to reach their primary efficacy end-points in clinical trials and reflect upon what the future may hold. We review the amyloid cascade hypothesis (ACH) and compare it with other hypotheses that have been posited to explain the initiation and progression Alzheimer's disease. We document the data that support the ACH, and also reflect upon its deficiencies. We list the recent clinical failures of amyloidocentric drugs and anticipate the results that new therapeutic approaches may deliver. This article is part of the 60th Anniversary special issue.

The Cellular Phase of Alzheimer's Disease.

The amyloid hypothesis for Alzheimer's disease (AD) posits a neuron-centric, linear cascade initiated by Aß and leading to dementia. This direct causality is incompatible with clinical observations. We review evidence supporting a long, complex cellular phase consisting of feedback and feedforward responses of astrocytes, microglia, and vasculature. The field must incorporate this holistic view and take advantage of advances in single-cell approaches to resolve the critical junctures at which perturbations initially amenable to compensatory feedback transform into irreversible, progressive neurodegeneration.