RESUMEN
Down syndrome (DS) is characterized by chronic neuroinflammation, peripheral inflammation, astrogliosis, imbalanced excitatory/inhibitory neuronal function, and cognitive deficits in both humans and mouse models. Suppression of inflammation has been proposed as a therapeutic approach to treating DS co-morbidities, including intellectual disability (DS/ID). Conversely, we discovered previously that treatment with the innate immune system stimulating cytokine granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor (GM-CSF), which has both pro- and anti-inflammatory activities, improved cognition and reduced brain pathology in a mouse model of Alzheimer's disease (AD), another inflammatory disorder, and improved cognition and reduced biomarkers of brain pathology in a phase II trial of humans with mild-to-moderate AD. To investigate the effects of GM-CSF treatment on DS/ID in the absence of AD, we assessed behavior and brain pathology in 12-14 month-old DS mice (Dp[16]1Yey) and their wild-type (WT) littermates, neither of which develop amyloid, and found that subcutaneous GM-CSF treatment (5 µg/day, five days/week, for five weeks) improved performance in the radial arm water maze in both Dp16 and WT mice compared to placebo. Dp16 mice also showed abnormal astrocyte morphology, increased percent area of GFAP staining in the hippocampus, clustering of astrocytes in the hippocampus, and reduced numbers of calretinin-positive interneurons in the entorhinal cortex and subiculum, and all of these brain pathologies were improved by GM-CSF treatment. These findings suggest that stimulating and/or modulating inflammation and the innate immune system with GM-CSF treatment may enhance cognition in both people with DS/ID and in the typical aging population.
Asunto(s)
Enfermedad de Alzheimer , Síndrome de Down , Anciano , Enfermedad de Alzheimer/tratamiento farmacológico , Enfermedad de Alzheimer/patología , Animales , Astrocitos/metabolismo , Cognición , Citocinas/metabolismo , Modelos Animales de Enfermedad , Síndrome de Down/tratamiento farmacológico , Síndrome de Down/patología , Factor Estimulante de Colonias de Granulocitos y Macrófagos/metabolismo , Factor Estimulante de Colonias de Granulocitos y Macrófagos/farmacología , Hipocampo/metabolismo , Humanos , Sistema Inmunológico/metabolismo , Sistema Inmunológico/patología , Inflamación/tratamiento farmacológico , Inflamación/patología , Interneuronas/metabolismo , RatonesRESUMEN
An infant presented with fatal infantile lactic acidosis and cardiomyopathy, and was found to have profoundly decreased activity of respiratory chain complex I in muscle, heart and liver. Exome sequencing revealed compound heterozygous mutations in NDUFB10, which encodes an accessory subunit located within the PD part of complex I. One mutation resulted in a premature stop codon and absent protein, while the second mutation replaced the highly conserved cysteine 107 with a serine residue. Protein expression of NDUFB10 was decreased in muscle and heart, and less so in the liver and fibroblasts, resulting in the perturbed assembly of the holoenzyme at the 830 kDa stage. NDUFB10 was identified together with three other complex I subunits as a substrate of the intermembrane space oxidoreductase CHCHD4 (also known as Mia40). We found that during its mitochondrial import and maturation NDUFB10 transiently interacts with CHCHD4 and acquires disulfide bonds. The mutation of cysteine residue 107 in NDUFB10 impaired oxidation and efficient mitochondrial accumulation of the protein and resulted in degradation of non-imported precursors. Our findings indicate that mutations in NDUFB10 are a novel cause of complex I deficiency associated with a late stage assembly defect and emphasize the role of intermembrane space proteins for the efficient assembly of complex I.
Asunto(s)
Acidosis Láctica , Cardiomiopatías , Complejo I de Transporte de Electrón/deficiencia , Trastornos de la Nutrición del Lactante , Mutación , NADH Deshidrogenasa , Acidosis Láctica/enzimología , Acidosis Láctica/genética , Cardiomiopatías/congénito , Cardiomiopatías/enzimología , Femenino , Humanos , Trastornos de la Nutrición del Lactante/enzimología , Trastornos de la Nutrición del Lactante/genética , Recién Nacido , Masculino , Proteínas de Transporte de Membrana Mitocondrial/genética , Proteínas de Transporte de Membrana Mitocondrial/metabolismo , Proteínas del Complejo de Importación de Proteínas Precursoras Mitocondriales , NADH Deshidrogenasa/genética , NADH Deshidrogenasa/metabolismoRESUMEN
Activation-induced deaminase (AID) functions by deaminating cytosines and causing U:G mismatches, a rate-limiting step of Ab gene diversification. However, precise mechanisms regulating AID deamination frequency remain incompletely understood. Moreover, it is not known whether different sequence contexts influence the preferential access of mismatch repair or uracil glycosylase (UNG) to AID-initiated U:G mismatches. In this study, we employed two knock-in models to directly compare the mutability of core Sµ and VDJ exon sequences and their ability to regulate AID deamination and subsequent repair process. We find that the switch (S) region is a much more efficient AID deamination target than the V region. Igh locus AID-initiated lesions are processed by error-free and error-prone repair. S region U:G mismatches are preferentially accessed by UNG, leading to more UNG-dependent deletions, enhanced by mismatch repair deficiency. V region mutation hotspots are largely determined by AID deamination. Recurrent and conserved S region motifs potentially function as spacers between AID deamination hotspots. We conclude that the pattern of mutation hotspots and DNA break generation is influenced by sequence-intrinsic properties, which regulate AID deamination and affect the preferential access of downstream repair. Our studies reveal an evolutionarily conserved role for substrate sequences in regulating Ab gene diversity and AID targeting specificity.
Asunto(s)
Sitios de Unión , Citidina Desaminasa/metabolismo , Reparación del ADN , Motivos de Nucleótidos , Alelos , Animales , Secuencia de Bases , Reparación de la Incompatibilidad de ADN , Técnicas de Sustitución del Gen , Orden Génico , Marcación de Gen , Sitios Genéticos , Ratones , Ratones Noqueados , Proteína 2 Homóloga a MutS/metabolismo , Mutación , Tasa de Mutación , Especificidad por Sustrato , Uracil-ADN Glicosidasa/metabolismo , Exones VDJ/genéticaRESUMEN
Activation-induced deaminase (AID) initiates U:G mismatches, causing point mutations or DNA double-stranded breaks at Ig loci. How AID-initiated lesions are prevented from inducing genome-wide damage remains elusive. A differential DNA repair mechanism might protect certain non-Ig loci such as c-myc from AID attack. However, determinants regulating such protective mechanisms are largely unknown. To test whether target DNA sequences modulate protective mechanisms via altering the processing manner of AID-initiated lesions, we established a knock-in model by inserting an Sγ2b region, a bona fide AID target, into the first intron of c-myc. Unexpectedly, we found that the inserted S region did not mutate or enhance c-myc genomic instability, due to error-free repair of AID-initiated lesions, in Ag-stimulated germinal center B cells. In contrast, in vitro cytokine-activated B cells display a much higher level of c-myc genomic instability in an AID- and S region-dependent manner. Furthermore, we observe a comparable frequency of AID deamination events between the c-myc intronic sequence and inserted S region in different B cell populations, demonstrating a similar frequency of AID targeting. Thus, our study reveals a clear difference between germinal center and cytokine-activated B cells in their ability to develop genomic instability, attributable to a differential processing of AID-initiated lesions in distinct B cell populations. We propose that locus-specific regulatory mechanisms (e.g., transcription) appear to not only override the effects of S region sequence on AID targeting frequency but also influence the repair manner of AID-initiated lesions.
Asunto(s)
Subgrupos de Linfocitos B/fisiología , Linfocitos B/fisiología , Citidina Desaminasa/metabolismo , Centro Germinal/inmunología , Animales , Células Cultivadas , Citidina Desaminasa/genética , Citocinas/metabolismo , Reparación del ADN/inmunología , Técnicas de Sustitución del Gen , Sitios Genéticos/genética , Inestabilidad Genómica , Humanos , Intrones/genética , Ratones de la Cepa 129 , Mutación/genética , Proteínas Proto-Oncogénicas c-myc/genética , Hipermutación Somática de Inmunoglobulina , Especificidad por SustratoRESUMEN
RATIONALE: Pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) is a progressive disease characterized by elevated pulmonary artery pressure, vascular remodeling, and ultimately right ventricular heart failure. PAH can have a genetic component (heritable PAH), most often through mutations of bone morphogenetic protein receptor 2, and idiopathic and associated forms. Heritable PAH is not completely penetrant within families, with approximately 20% concurrence of inactivating bone morphogenetic protein receptor 2 mutations and delayed onset of PAH disease. Because one of the treatment options is using prostacyclin analogs, we hypothesized that prostacyclin synthase promoter sequence variants associated with increased mRNA expression may play a protective role in the bone morphogenetic protein receptor 2 unaffected carriers. OBJECTIVES: To characterize the range of prostacyclin synthase promoter variants and assess their transcriptional activities in PAH-relevant cell types. To determine the distribution of prostacyclin synthase promoter variants in PAH, unaffected carriers in heritable PAH families, and control populations. METHODS: Polymerase chain reaction approaches were used to genotype prostacyclin synthase promoter variants in more than 300 individuals. Prostacyclin synthase promoter haplotypes' transcriptional activities were determined with luciferase reporter assays. MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS: We identified a comprehensive set of prostacyclin synthase promoter variants and tested their transcriptional activities in PAH-relevant cell types. We demonstrated differences of prostacyclin synthase promoter activities dependent on their haplotype. CONCLUSIONS: Prostacyclin synthase promoter sequence variants exhibit a range of transcriptional activities. We discovered a significant bias for more active prostacyclin synthase promoter variants in unaffected carriers as compared with affected patients with PAH.
Asunto(s)
Receptores de Proteínas Morfogenéticas Óseas de Tipo II/genética , Sistema Enzimático del Citocromo P-450/genética , Heterocigoto , Hipertensión Pulmonar/genética , Oxidorreductasas Intramoleculares/genética , Polimorfismo Genético , Estudios de Casos y Controles , Sistema Enzimático del Citocromo P-450/fisiología , Progresión de la Enfermedad , Hipertensión Pulmonar Primaria Familiar , Femenino , Haplotipos , Humanos , Oxidorreductasas Intramoleculares/fisiología , Masculino , Mutación , Reacción en Cadena de la PolimerasaRESUMEN
Evidence from multiple laboratories has accumulated to show that mosaic neuronal aneuploidy and consequent apoptosis characterizes and may underlie neuronal loss in many neurodegenerative diseases, particularly Alzheimer's disease and frontotemporal dementia. Furthermore, several neurodevelopmental disorders, including Seckel syndrome, ataxia telangiectasia, Nijmegen breakage syndrome, Niemann-Pick type C, and Down syndrome, have been shown to also exhibit mosaic aneuploidy in neurons in the brain and in other cells throughout the body. Together, these results indicate that both neurodegenerative and neurodevelopmental disorders with apparently different pathogenic causes share a cell cycle defect that leads to mosaic aneuploidy in many cell types. When such mosaic aneuploidy arises in neurons in the brain, it promotes apoptosis and may at least partly underlie the cognitive deficits that characterize the neurological symptoms of these disorders. These findings have implications for both diagnosis and treatment/prevention.
RESUMEN
BACKGROUND: Activated B lymphocytes harbor programmed DNA double-strand breaks (DSBs) initiated by activation-induced deaminase (AID) and repaired by non-homologous end-joining (NHEJ). While it has been proposed that these DSBs during secondary antibody gene diversification are the primary source of chromosomal translocations in germinal center (GC)-derived B cell lymphomas, this point has not been directly addressed due to the lack of proper mouse models. METHODS: In the current study, we establish a unique mouse model by specifically deleting a NHEJ gene, Xrcc4, and a cell cycle checkpoint gene, Trp53, in GC B cells, which results in the spontaneous development of B cell lymphomas that possess features of GC B cells. RESULTS: We show that these NHEJ deficient lymphomas harbor translocations frequently targeting immunoglobulin (Ig) loci. Furthermore, we found that Ig translocations were associated with distinct mechanisms, probably caused by AID- or RAG-induced DSBs. Intriguingly, the AID-associated Ig loci translocations target either c-myc or Pvt-1 locus whereas the partners of RAG-associated Ig translocations scattered randomly in the genome. Lastly, these NHEJ deficient lymphomas harbor complicated genomes including segmental translocations and exhibit a high level of ongoing DNA damage and clonal heterogeneity. CONCLUSIONS: We propose that combined NHEJ and p53 defects may serve as an underlying mechanism for a high level of genomic complexity and clonal heterogeneity in cancers.