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Nowadays, the physical nature of supersaturated binary aqueous sugar solutions in the vicinity of the glass transition represents a very important issue due to their biological applications in cryopreservation of cells and tissues, food science and stabilization and storage of nano genetic drugs. We present the construction of the Supplemented Phase Diagram and the non-equilibrium nature of the undersaturated-supersaturated kinetic transition. The description of its thermodynamic nature is achieved through the study of behavior of their viscosity as temperature is lowered and concentration increased. In this work, we find a universal character for the viscosities of several sugar water solutions.
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Criopreservación , Vitrificación , Agua , Viscosidad , Criopreservación/métodos , Agua/química , Azúcares/química , Crioprotectores/química , Crioprotectores/farmacología , Termodinámica , Transición de Fase , Soluciones , Sacarosa/química , Trehalosa/química , TemperaturaRESUMEN
Introduction: Primary Sjögren's syndrome (SS) is an autoimmune exocrinopathy that affects the structure and function of salivary and lachrymal glands. Labial salivary gland (LSG) acinar cells from SS patients lose cellular homeostasis and experience endoplasmic reticulum and oxidative stress. The integrated cellular stress response (ISR) is an adaptive pathway essential for restoring homeostasis against various stress-inducing factors, including pro-inflammatory cytokines, and endoplasmic reticulum and oxidative stress. ISR activation leads eIF2α phosphorylation, which transiently blocks protein synthesis while allowing the ATF4 expression, which induces a gene expression program that seeks to optimize cellular recovery. PKR, HRI, GCN2, and PERK are the four sentinel stress kinases that control eIF2α phosphorylation. Dysregulation and chronic activation of ISR signaling have pathologic consequences associated with inflammation. Methods: Here, we analyzed the activation of the ISR in LSGs of SS-patients and non-SS sicca controls, determining the mRNA, protein, and phosphorylated-protein levels of key ISR components, as well as the expression of some of ATF4 targets. Moreover, we performed a qualitative characterization of the distribution of ISR components in LSGs from both groups and evaluated if their levels correlate with clinical parameters. Results: We observed that the four ISR sensors are expressed in LSGs of both groups. However, only PKR and PERK showed increased expression and/or activation in LSGs from SS-patients. eIF2α and p-eIF2α protein levels significantly increased in SS-patients; meanwhile components of the PP1c complex responsible for eIF2α dephosphorylation decreased. ATF4 mRNA levels were decreased in LSGs from SS-patients along with hypermethylation of the ATF4 promoter. Despite low mRNA levels, SS-patients showed increased levels of ATF4 protein and ATF4-target genes involved in the antioxidant response. The acinar cells of SS-patients showed increased staining intensity for PKR, p-PKR, p-PERK, p-eIF2α, ATF4, xCT, CHOP, and NRF2. Autoantibodies, focus score, and ESSDAI were correlated with p-PERK/PERK ratio and ATF4 protein levels. Discussion: In summary, the results showed an increased ISR activation in LSGs of SS-patients. The increased protein levels of ATF4 and ATF4-target genes involved in the redox homeostasis could be part of a rescue response against the various stressful conditions to which the LSGs of SS-patients are subjected and promote cell survival.
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There is a growing evidence describing a decline in adaptive homeostasis in aging-related diseases affecting the central nervous system (CNS), many of which are characterized by the appearance of non-native protein aggregates. One signaling pathway that allows cell adaptation is the integrated stress response (ISR), which senses stress stimuli through four kinases. ISR activation promotes translational arrest through the phosphorylation of the eukaryotic translation initiation factor 2 alpha (eIF2α) and the induction of a gene expression program to restore cellular homeostasis. However, depending on the stimulus, ISR can also induce cell death. One of the ISR sensors is the double-stranded RNA-dependent protein kinase [protein kinase R (PKR)], initially described as a viral infection sensor, and now a growing evidence supports a role for PKR on CNS physiology. PKR has been largely involved in the Alzheimer's disease (AD) pathological process. Here, we reviewed the antecedents supporting the role of PKR on the efficiency of synaptic transmission and cognition. Then, we review PKR's contribution to AD and discuss the possible participation of PKR as a player in the neurodegenerative process involved in aging-related pathologies affecting the CNS.
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Alteration to endoplasmic reticulum (ER) proteostasis is observed in a variety of neurodegenerative diseases associated with abnormal protein aggregation. Activation of the unfolded protein response (UPR) enables an adaptive reaction to recover ER proteostasis and cell function. The UPR is initiated by specialized stress sensors that engage gene expression programs through the concerted action of the transcription factors ATF4, ATF6f, and XBP1s. Although UPR signaling is generally studied as unique linear signaling branches, correlative evidence suggests that ATF6f and XBP1s may physically interact to regulate a subset of UPR target genes. In this study, we designed an ATF6f/XBP1s fusion protein termed UPRplus that behaves as a heterodimer in terms of its selective transcriptional activity. Cell-based studies demonstrated that UPRplus has a stronger effect in reducing the abnormal aggregation of mutant huntingtin and α-synuclein when compared to XBP1s or ATF6 alone. We developed a gene transfer approach to deliver UPRplus into the brain using adeno-associated viruses (AAVs) and demonstrated potent neuroprotection in vivo in preclinical models of Parkinson's disease and Huntington's disease. These results support the concept in which directing UPR-mediated gene expression toward specific adaptive programs may serve as a possible strategy to optimize the beneficial effects of the pathway in different disease conditions.
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Factor de Transcripción Activador 6/metabolismo , Enfermedades Neurodegenerativas/prevención & control , Respuesta de Proteína Desplegada , Proteína 1 de Unión a la X-Box/metabolismo , Factor de Transcripción Activador 6/genética , Animales , Modelos Animales de Enfermedad , Células HEK293 , Humanos , Proteína Huntingtina/genética , Masculino , Ratones , Complejos Multiproteicos/genética , Complejos Multiproteicos/metabolismo , Mutación , Enfermedades Neurodegenerativas/genética , Enfermedades Neurodegenerativas/metabolismo , Proteína 1 de Unión a la X-Box/genética , alfa-Sinucleína/genéticaRESUMEN
OBJECTIVE: Altered homeostasis of salivary gland (SG) epithelial cells in Sjögren's syndrome (SS) could be the initiating factor that leads to inflammation, secretory dysfunction and autoimmunity. Autophagy is an important homeostatic mechanism, whose deficiency is associated with inflammation and accumulation of Janus kinase (JAK)-signal transducer and activator of transcription (STAT) components. We aimed to evaluate whether autophagy is altered in labial SG (LSG) epithelial cells from primary SS (pSS) patients and whether this contributes to inflammation through the JAK-STAT pathway. Furthermore, we investigated the anti-inflammatory effect of the JAK inhibitor tofacitinib in autophagy-deficient (ATG5 knockdown) three-dimensional (3D)-acini. METHODS: We analysed LSG biopsies from 12 pSS patients with low focus score and 10 controls. ATG5-deficient 3D-acini were generated and incubated with IL-6 in the presence or absence of tofacitinib. Autophagy markers, pro-inflammatory cytokine expression, and JAK-STAT pathway activation were evaluated by PCR or western blot, along with correlation analyses between the evaluated markers and clinical parameters. RESULTS: LSG from pSS patients showed increased p62 and decreased ATG5 expression, correlating negatively with increased activation of JAK-STAT pathway components (pSTAT1 and pSTAT3). Increased expression of STAT1 and IL-6 correlated with EULAR Sjögren's syndrome disease activity index and the presence of anti-Ro antibodies. ATG5-deficient 3D-acini reproduced the findings observed in LSG from pSS patients, showing increased expression of pro-inflammatory markers such as IL-6, which was reversed by tofacitinib. CONCLUSION: Decreased expression of ATG5 in LSG epithelial cells from pSS patients possibly contributes to increased inflammation associated with JAK-STAT pathway activation, as evidenced in ATG5-deficient 3D-acini. Interestingly, these results suggest that tofacitinib could be used as an anti-inflammatory agent in pSS patients.
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Autofagia/efectos de los fármacos , Interleucina-6/metabolismo , Piperidinas/farmacología , Pirimidinas/farmacología , Adolescente , Adulto , Anciano , Western Blotting , Estudios de Casos y Controles , Femenino , Técnica del Anticuerpo Fluorescente , Humanos , Interleucina-6/antagonistas & inhibidores , Quinasas Janus/metabolismo , Masculino , Persona de Mediana Edad , Piperidinas/uso terapéutico , Pirimidinas/uso terapéutico , Reacción en Cadena en Tiempo Real de la Polimerasa , Factores de Transcripción STAT/metabolismo , Glándulas Salivales/efectos de los fármacos , Glándulas Salivales/metabolismo , Transducción de Señal/efectos de los fármacos , Síndrome de Sjögren , Adulto JovenRESUMEN
BACKGROUND: Neuroinflammation constitutes a pathogenic process leading to neurodegeneration in several disorders, including Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease (PD) and sepsis. Despite microglial cells being the central players in neuroinflammation, astrocytes play a key regulatory role in this process. Our previous results indicated that pharmacologic-antagonism or genetic deficiency of dopamine receptor D3 (DRD3) attenuated neuroinflammation and neurodegeneration in two mouse models of PD. Here, we studied how DRD3-signalling affects the dynamic of activation of microglia and astrocyte in the context of systemic inflammation. METHODS: Neuroinflammation was induced by intraperitoneal administration of LPS. The effect of genetic DRD3-deficiency or pharmacologic DRD3-antagonism in the functional phenotype of astrocytes and microglia was determined by immunohistochemistry and flow cytometry at different time-points. RESULTS: Our results show that DRD3 was expressed in astrocytes, but not in microglial cells. DRD3 deficiency resulted in unresponsiveness of astrocytes and in attenuated microglial activation upon systemic inflammation. Furthermore, similar alterations in the functional phenotypes of glial cells were observed by DRD3 antagonism and genetic deficiency of DRD3 upon LPS challenge. Mechanistic analyses show that DRD3 deficiency resulted in exacerbated expression of the anti-inflammatory protein Fizz1 in glial cells both in vitro and in vivo. CONCLUSIONS: These results suggest that DRD3 signalling regulates the dynamic of the acquisition of pro-inflammatory and anti-inflammatory features by astrocytes and microglia, finally favouring microglial activation and promoting neuroinflammation.
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Astrocitos/metabolismo , Mediadores de Inflamación/metabolismo , Microglía/metabolismo , Receptores de Dopamina D3/metabolismo , Transducción de Señal/fisiología , Animales , Astrocitos/efectos de los fármacos , Células Cultivadas , Inflamación/inducido químicamente , Inflamación/genética , Inflamación/metabolismo , Lipopolisacáridos/toxicidad , Masculino , Ratones , Ratones Endogámicos C57BL , Ratones Noqueados , Microglía/efectos de los fármacos , Trastornos Parkinsonianos/inducido químicamente , Trastornos Parkinsonianos/genética , Trastornos Parkinsonianos/metabolismo , Receptores de Dopamina D3/antagonistas & inhibidores , Receptores de Dopamina D3/genética , Transducción de Señal/efectos de los fármacosRESUMEN
Aging is a complex process in which the accumulation of molecular, cellular, and organism dysfunction increases the probability of death. Several pieces of evidence have revealed a contribution of stress responses in aging and in aging-related diseases, in particular, the key role of signaling pathways associated to nutritional stress. Here, we review the possible interplay between amino acid sensing and redox balance maintenance mediated by the nutritional sensor general control nonderepressive 2 (GCN2). We discuss this new dimension of nutritional stress sensing consequences, standing out GCN2 as a central coordinator of key cellular processes that assure healthy homeostasis in the cell, raising GCN2 as a novel interesting target, that when activated, could imply pleiotropic benefits, particularly GCN2 intervention and its new unexplored therapeutic role as a player in the aging process.
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Envejecimiento/fisiología , Homeostasis , Nutrientes/administración & dosificación , Nutrientes/metabolismo , Proteínas Serina-Treonina Quinasas/metabolismo , Humanos , Oxidación-Reducción , Transducción de SeñalRESUMEN
The occurrence of mutations of TDP-43, FUS, and C9ORF72 in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) suggests pathogenic alterations to RNA metabolism and specifically to microRNA (miRNA) biology. Moreover, several ALS-related proteins impact stress granule dynamics affecting miRNA biogenesis and cellular miRNA levels. miRNAs are present in different biological fluids and have been proposed as potential biomarkers. Here we used next-generation sequencing to perform a comparative analysis of the expression profile of circulating miRNAs in the serum of 2 mutant superoxide dismutase 1 transgenic mice. Top hit candidates were then validated using quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction, confirming significant changes for 6 miRNAs. In addition, one of these miRNAs was also altered in mutant TDP-43 mice. Then, we tested this set of miRNAs in the serum from sporadic ALS patients, observing a significant deregulation of hsa-miR-142-3p and hsa-miR-1249-3p. A negative correlation between the revised ALS functional rating scale and hsa-miR-142-3p levels was found. Bioinformatics analysis of the regulatory network governed by hsa-miR-142-3p identified TDP-43 and C9orf72 as possible targets, suggesting a connection with ALS pathogenesis. This study identifies miRNAs that are altered in ALS that may serve as potentials biomarkers.
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Esclerosis Amiotrófica Lateral/diagnóstico , Esclerosis Amiotrófica Lateral/genética , MicroARN Circulante/sangre , MicroARN Circulante/genética , Estudio de Asociación del Genoma Completo , Transcriptoma/genética , Adulto , Anciano , Animales , Biomarcadores/sangre , Modelos Animales de Enfermedad , Femenino , Humanos , Masculino , Ratones TransgénicosRESUMEN
Tar DNA binding protein 43 (TDP-43) is the principal component of ubiquitinated protein inclusions present in nervous tissue of most cases of both amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) and frontotemporal dementia (FTD). Previous studies described a TDP-43A315T transgenic mouse model that develops progressive motor dysfunction in the absence of protein aggregation or significant motoneuron loss, questioning its validity to study ALS. Here we have further characterized the course of the disease in TDP-43A315T mice using a battery of tests and biochemical approaches. We confirmed that TDP-43 mutant mice develop impaired motor performance, accompanied by progressive body weight loss. Significant differences were observed in life span between genders, where females survived longer than males. Histopathological analysis of the spinal cord demonstrated a significant motoneurons loss, accompanied by axonal degeneration, astrogliosis and microglial activation. Importantly, histopathological alterations observed in TDP-43 mutant mice were similar to some characteristic changes observed in mutant SOD1 mice. Unexpectedly, we identified the presence of different species of disulfide-dependent TDP-43 aggregates in cortex and spinal cord tissue. Overall, this study indicates that TDP-43A315T transgenic mice develop key features resembling key aspects of ALS, highlighting its relevance to study disease pathogenesis.
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Esclerosis Amiotrófica Lateral/patología , Proteínas de Unión al ADN/química , Disulfuros/química , Demencia Frontotemporal/patología , Neuronas Motoras/patología , Multimerización de Proteína , Médula Espinal/patología , Esclerosis Amiotrófica Lateral/metabolismo , Animales , Recuento de Células , Proteínas de Unión al ADN/genética , Modelos Animales de Enfermedad , Femenino , Demencia Frontotemporal/metabolismo , Humanos , Masculino , Ratones , Ratones Transgénicos , Corteza Prefrontal/metabolismo , Agregado de Proteínas , Estructura Cuaternaria de Proteína , Médula Espinal/metabolismoRESUMEN
Proteins along the secretory pathway are co-translationally translocated into the lumen of the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) as unfolded polypeptide chains. Afterwards, they are usually modified with N-linked glycans, correctly folded and stabilized by disulfide bonds. ER chaperones and folding enzymes control these processes. The accumulation of unfolded proteins in the ER activates a signaling response, termed the unfolded protein response (UPR). The hallmark of this response is the coordinated transcriptional up-regulation of ER chaperones and folding enzymes. In order to discuss the importance of the proper folding of certain substrates we will address the role of ER chaperones in normal physiological conditions and examine different aspects of its contribution in neurodegenerative disease. This article is part of a Special Issue entitled SI:ER stress.
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Chaperonas Moleculares/metabolismo , Enfermedades Neurodegenerativas/metabolismo , Respuesta de Proteína Desplegada/fisiología , Animales , Retículo Endoplásmico/metabolismo , Estrés del Retículo Endoplásmico/fisiología , Humanos , Enfermedades Neurodegenerativas/patología , Proteostasis , Regulación hacia Arriba/fisiologíaRESUMEN
Disturbance of endoplasmic reticulum (ER) proteostasis is a common feature of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). Protein disulfide isomerases (PDIs) areERfoldases identified as possibleALSbiomarkers, as well as neuroprotective factors. However, no functional studies have addressed their impact on the disease process. Here, we functionally characterized fourALS-linked mutations recently identified in two majorPDIgenes,PDIA1 andPDIA3/ERp57. Phenotypic screening in zebrafish revealed that the expression of thesePDIvariants induce motor defects associated with a disruption of motoneuron connectivity. Similarly, the expression of mutantPDIs impaired dendritic outgrowth in motoneuron cell culture models. Cellular and biochemical studies identified distinct molecular defects underlying the pathogenicity of thesePDImutants. Finally, targetingERp57 in the nervous system led to severe motor dysfunction in mice associated with a loss of neuromuscular synapses. This study identifiesERproteostasis imbalance as a risk factor forALS, driving initial stages of the disease.
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Esclerosis Amiotrófica Lateral/genética , Neuronas Motoras/patología , Procolágeno-Prolina Dioxigenasa/genética , Proteína Disulfuro Isomerasas/genética , Esclerosis Amiotrófica Lateral/patología , Animales , Animales Modificados Genéticamente , Electromiografía , Embrión no Mamífero , Estrés del Retículo Endoplásmico/genética , Humanos , Ratones Noqueados , Mutación , Neuritas/patología , Procolágeno-Prolina Dioxigenasa/metabolismo , Proteína Disulfuro Isomerasas/metabolismo , Pez Cebra/embriología , Pez Cebra/genéticaRESUMEN
Although the accumulation of a misfolded and protease-resistant form of the prion protein (PrP) is a key event in prion pathogenesis, the cellular factors involved in its folding and quality control are poorly understood. PrP is a glycosylated and disulfide-bonded protein synthesized at the endoplasmic reticulum (ER). The ER foldase ERp57 (also known as Grp58) is highly expressed in the brain of sporadic and infectious forms of prion-related disorders. ERp57 is a disulfide isomerase involved in the folding of a subset of glycoproteins in the ER as part of the calnexin/calreticulin cycle. Here, we show that levels of ERp57 increase mainly in neurons of Creutzfeldt-Jacob patients. Using gain- and loss-of-function approaches in cell culture, we demonstrate that ERp57 expression controls the maturation and total levels of wild-type PrP and mutant forms associated with human disease. In addition, we found that PrP physically interacts with ERp57, and also with the closest family member PDIA1, but not ERp72. Furthermore, we generated a conditional knock-out mouse for ERp57 in the nervous system and detected a reduction in the steady-state levels of the mono- and nonglycosylated forms of PrP in the brain. In contrast, ERp57 transgenic mice showed increased levels of endogenous PrP. Unexpectedly, ERp57 expression did not affect the susceptibility of cells to ER stress in vitro and in vivo. This study identifies ERp57 as a new modulator of PrP levels and may help with understanding the consequences of ERp57 up-regulation observed in human disease.
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Priones/metabolismo , Proteína Disulfuro Isomerasas/metabolismo , Animales , Línea Celular , Síndrome de Creutzfeldt-Jakob/metabolismo , Humanos , Ratones , Ratones Noqueados , Neuronas/metabolismo , Pliegue de ProteínaRESUMEN
Mutations in fused in sarcoma and/or translocated in liposarcoma (FUS, TLS or FUS) are linked to familial cases of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). Mutant FUS selectively accumulates into discrete cytosolic structures known as stress granules under various stress conditions. In addition, mutant FUS expression can alter the dynamics and morphology of stress granules. Although the link between mutant FUS and stress granules is well established, the mechanisms modulating stress granule formation and disassembly in the context of ALS are poorly understood. In this issue of Neurobiology of Aging, Ryu et al. uncover the impact of autophagy on the potential toxicity of mutant FUS-positive stress granules. The authors provide evidence indicating that enhanced autophagy activity reduces the number of stress granules, which in the case of cells containing mutant FUS-positive stress granules, is neuroprotective. Overall, this study identifies an intersection between the proteostasis network and alterations in RNA metabolism in ALS through the dynamic assembly and disassembly of stress granules.
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Esclerosis Amiotrófica Lateral/genética , Autofagia/genética , Autofagia/fisiología , Gránulos Citoplasmáticos/metabolismo , Gránulos Citoplasmáticos/patología , Mutación , Proteína FUS de Unión a ARN/genética , Expresión Génica , Estudios de Asociación Genética , Humanos , ARN/metabolismo , Proteína FUS de Unión a ARN/metabolismoRESUMEN
The most prevalent neurodegenerative disorders involve protein misfolding and the aggregation of specific proteins. Autophagy is becoming an attractive target to treat neurodegenerative disorders through the selective degradation of abnormally folded proteins by the lysosomal pathway. However, accumulating evidence indicates that autophagy impairment at different regulatory steps may contribute to the neurodegenerative process. Thus, a complex scenario is emerging where autophagy may play a dual role in neurodegenerative diseases by causing the downstream effect of promoting the degradation of misfolded proteins and an upstream effect where its deregulation perturbs global proteostasis, contributing to disease progression. Challenges in the future development of therapeutic strategies to target the autophagy pathway are discussed.
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Enfermedades Neurodegenerativas/patología , Enfermedades Neurodegenerativas/terapia , Animales , Proteínas Reguladoras de la Apoptosis/genética , Autofagia/efectos de los fármacos , Autofagia/genética , Terapia Genética , Humanos , Enfermedades Neurodegenerativas/tratamiento farmacológicoRESUMEN
The development of curative therapies for genetically complex diseases such as ALS has been delayed by the lack of relevant disease models. Recent advances using induced-pluripotent-stem-cell-derived motoneurons from patients harboring distinct ALS mutations have recapitulated essential disease features and have identified some common pathways driving disease pathogenesis.
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Pharmacological activation of autophagy is becoming an attractive strategy to induce the selective degradation of aggregate-prone proteins. Recent evidence also suggests that autophagy impairment may underlie the pathogenesis of several neurodegenerative diseases. Mutations in the gene encoding SOD1 (superoxide disumutase 1) trigger familial amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), inducing its misfolding and aggregation and the progressive loss of motoneurons. It is still under debate whether autophagy has a protective or detrimental role in ALS. Here we evaluate the impact of BECN1/Beclin 1, an essential autophagy regulator, in ALS. BECN1 levels were upregulated in both cells and animals expressing mutant SOD1. To evaluate the impact of BECN1 to the pathogenesis of ALS in vivo, we generated mutant SOD1 transgenic mice heterozygous for Becn1. We observed an unexpected increase in life span of mutant SOD1 transgenic mice haploinsufficient for Becn1 compared with littermate control animals. These effects were accompanied by enhanced accumulation of SQSTM1/p62 and reduced levels of LC3-II, and an altered equilibrium between monomeric and oligomeric mutant SOD1 species in the spinal cord. At the molecular level, we detected an abnormal interaction of mutant SOD1 with the BECN1-BCL2L1 complex that may impact autophagy stimulation. Our data support a dual role of BECN1 in ALS and depict a complex scenario in terms of predicting the effects of manipulating autophagy in a disease context.
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Esclerosis Amiotrófica Lateral/etiología , Esclerosis Amiotrófica Lateral/patología , Proteínas Reguladoras de la Apoptosis/metabolismo , Animales , Astrocitos/metabolismo , Astrocitos/patología , Autofagia , Beclina-1 , Biomarcadores/metabolismo , Modelos Animales de Enfermedad , Marcación de Gen , Haploinsuficiencia , Heterocigoto , Humanos , Ratones Endogámicos C57BL , Ratones Transgénicos , Modelos Biológicos , Neuronas Motoras/metabolismo , Neuronas Motoras/patología , Proteínas Mutantes/metabolismo , Mutación , Agregado de Proteínas , Unión Proteica , Multimerización de Proteína , Superóxido Dismutasa/metabolismo , Regulación hacia Arriba , Proteína bcl-X/metabolismoRESUMEN
A current need in the neuroscience field is a simple method to monitor autophagic activity in vivo in neurons. Until very recently, most reports have been based on correlative and static determinations of the expression levels of autophagy markers in the brain, generating conflicting interpretations. Autophagy is a fundamental process mediating the degradation of diverse cellular components, including organelles and protein aggregates at basal levels, whereas alterations in the process (i.e., autophagy impairment) operate as a pathological mechanism driving neurodegeneration in most prevalent diseases. We have recently described a new simple method to deliver and express an autophagy flux reporter through the peripheral and central nervous system of mice by the intracerebroventricular delivery of adeno-associated viruses (AAV) into newborn mice. We obtained a wide expression of a monomeric tandem mCherry-GFP-LC3 construct in neurons through the nervous system and demonstrated efficient and accurate measurements of LC3 flux after pharmacological stimulation of the pathway or in disease settings of axonal damage. Here we discuss the possible applications of this new method to assess autophagy activity in neurons in vivo.
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Autofagia/fisiología , Proteínas Asociadas a Microtúbulos/metabolismo , Sistema Nervioso/citología , Sistema Nervioso/metabolismo , Neuronas/citología , Neuronas/metabolismo , Animales , Proteínas Fluorescentes Verdes/metabolismo , RatonesRESUMEN
Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is the most frequent paralytic disease in adults. Most ALS cases are considered sporadic with no clear genetic component. The disruption of protein homeostasis due to chronic stress responses at the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) and the accumulation of abnormal protein inclusions are extensively described in ALS mouse models and patient-derived tissue. Recent studies using pharmacological and genetic manipulation of the unfolded protein response (UPR), an adaptive reaction against ER stress, have demonstrated a complex involvement of the pathway in experimental models of ALS. In addition, quantitative changes in ER stress-responsive chaperones in body fluids have been proposed as possible biomarkers to monitor the disease progression. Here we review most recent advances attributing a causal role of ER stress in ALS.
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Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is a fatal motoneuron disease with no current effective treatment. Accumulation of abnormal protein inclusions containing SOD1, TARDBP, FUS, among other proteins, is a pathological hallmark of ALS. Autophagy is the major degradation pathway involved in the clearance of damaged organelles and protein aggregates. Although autophagy has been shown to efficiently degrade ALS-linked mutant protein in cell culture models, several studies suggest that autophagy impairment may also contribute to disease pathogenesis. In this report, we tested the potential use of trehalose, a disaccharide that induces MTOR-independent autophagy, in the development of experimental ALS. Administration of trehalose to mutant SOD1 transgenic mice significantly prolonged life span and attenuated the progression of disease signs. These effects were associated with decreased accumulation of SOD1 aggregates and enhanced motoneuron survival. The protective effects of trehalose were associated with increased autophagy levels in motoneurons. Cell culture experiments demonstrated that trehalose led to mutant SOD1 degradation by autophagy in NSC34 motoneuron cells and also protected primary motoneurons against the toxicity of conditioned media from mutant SOD1 transgenic astrocytes. At the mechanistic level, trehalose treatment led to a significant upregulation in the expression of key autophagy-related genes at the mRNA level including Lc3, Becn1, Sqstm1 and Atg5. Consistent with these changes, trehalose administration enhanced the nuclear translocation of FOXO1, an important transcription factor involved in the activation of autophagy in neurons. This study suggests a potential use of trehalose and enhancers of MTOR-independent autophagy for the treatment of ALS.