Identifying cellular signalling molecules in developmental disorders of the brain: Evidence from focal cortical dysplasia and tuberous sclerosis.

AIMS: We understand little of the pathogenesis of developmental cortical lesions, because we understand little of the diversity of the cell types that contribute to the diseases or how those cells interact. We tested the hypothesis that cellular diversity and cell-cell interactions play an important role in these disorders by investigating the signalling molecules in the commonest cortical malformations that lead to childhood epilepsy, focal cortical dysplasia (FCD) and tuberous sclerosis (TS). METHODS: Transcriptional profiling clustered cases into molecularly distinct groups. Using gene expression data, we identified the secretory signalling molecules in FCD/TS and characterised the cell types expressing these molecules. We developed a functional model using organotypic cultures. RESULTS: We identified 113 up-regulated secretory molecules in FCDIIB/TS. The top 12 differentially expressed genes (DEGs) were validated by immunohistochemistry. This highlighted two molecules, Chitinase 3-like protein 1 (CHI3L1) and C-C motif chemokine ligand 2 (CCL2) (MCP1) that were expressed in a unique population of small cells in close proximity to balloon cells (BC). We then characterised these cells and developed a functional model in organotypic slice cultures. We found that the number of CHI3L1 and CCL2 expressing cells decreased following inhibition of mTOR, the main aberrant signalling pathway in TS and FCD. CONCLUSIONS: Our findings highlight previously uncharacterised small cell populations in FCD and TS which express specific signalling molecules. These findings indicate a new level of diversity and cellular interactions in cortical malformations and provide a generalisable approach to understanding cell-cell interactions and cellular heterogeneity in developmental neuropathology.

Molecular analysis of pediatric brain tumors identifies microRNAs in pilocytic astrocytomas that target the MAPK and NF-κB pathways.

INTRODUCTION: Pilocytic astrocytomas are slow-growing tumors that usually occur in the cerebellum or in the midline along the hypothalamic/optic pathways. The most common genetic alterations in pilocytic astrocytomas activate the ERK/MAPK signal transduction pathway, which is a major driver of proliferation but is also believed to induce senescence in these tumors. Here, we have conducted a detailed investigation of microRNA and gene expression, together with pathway analysis, to improve our understanding of the regulatory mechanisms in pilocytic astrocytomas. RESULTS: Pilocytic astrocytomas were found to have distinctive microRNA and gene expression profiles compared to normal brain tissue and a selection of other pediatric brain tumors. Several microRNAs found to be up-regulated in pilocytic astrocytomas are predicted to target the ERK/MAPK and NF-κB signaling pathways as well as genes involved in senescence-associated inflammation and cell cycle control. Furthermore, IGFBP7 and CEBPB, which are transcriptional inducers of the senescence-associated secretory phenotype (SASP), were also up-regulated together with the markers of senescence and inflammation, CDKN1A (p21), CDKN2A (p16) and IL1B. CONCLUSION: These findings provide further evidence of a senescent phenotype in pilocytic astrocytomas. In addition, they suggest that the ERK/MAPK pathway, which is considered the major driver of these tumors, is regulated not only by genetic aberrations but also by microRNAs.

mTOR-dependent abnormalities in autophagy characterize human malformations of cortical development: evidence from focal cortical dysplasia and tuberous sclerosis.

Focal cortical dysplasia (FCD) is a localized malformation of cortical development and is the commonest cause of severe childhood epilepsy in surgical practice. Children with FCD are severely disabled by their epilepsy, presenting with frequent seizures early in life. The commonest form of FCD in children is characterized by the presence of an abnormal population of cells, known as balloon cells. Similar pathological changes are seen in the cortical malformations that characterize patients with tuberous sclerosis complex (TSC). However, the cellular and molecular mechanisms that underlie the malformations of FCD and TSC are not well understood. We provide evidence for a defect in autophagy in FCD and TSC. We have found that balloon cells contain vacuoles that include components of the autophagy pathway. Specifically, we show that balloon cells contain prominent lysosomes by electron microscopy, immunohistochemistry for LAMP1 and LAMP2, LysoTracker labelling and enzyme histochemistry for acid phosphatase. Furthermore, we found that balloon cells contain components of the ATG pathway and that there is cytoplasmic accumulation of the regulator of autophagy, DOR. Most importantly we found that there is abnormal accumulation of the autophagy cargo protein, p62. We show that this defect in autophagy can be, in part, reversed in vitro by inhibition of the mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) suggesting that abnormal activation of mTOR may contribute directly to a defect in autophagy in FCD and TSC.

Balloon cells in human cortical dysplasia and tuberous sclerosis: isolation of a pathological progenitor-like cell.

Neural stem cells are present in the human post-natal brain and are important in the development of brain tumours. However, their contribution to non-neoplastic human disease is less clear. We have tested the hypothesis that malformations of cortical development contain abnormal (pathological) stem cells. Such malformations are a major cause of epilepsy. Two of the most common malformations [focal cortical dysplasia (FCD) and cortical tubers] are characterised by the presence of a population of abnormal cells known as balloon cells. The identity of these cells is unknown but one hypothesis is that they are an abnormal stem cell that contributes to the pathogenesis of the malformation. We have characterised in tissue, and isolated in culture, an undifferentiated population of balloon cells from surgical resections of FCD and cortical tubers. We show that beta1-integrin labels a sub-population of balloon cells with a stem cell phenotype and show for the first time that these cells can be isolated in vitro. We have characterised the immunohistochemical, morphological and ultrastructural features of these cells. This is the first isolation of an abnormal cell with features of a progenitor/stem cell from a non-neoplastic disease of the brain.

Hotspots for copy number variation in chimpanzees and humans.

Copy number variation is surprisingly common among humans and can be involved in phenotypic diversity and variable susceptibility to complex diseases, but little is known of the extent of copy number variation in nonhuman primates. We have used two array-based comparative genomic hybridization platforms to identify a total of 355 copy number variants (CNVs) in the genomes of 20 wild-born chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes) and have compared the identified chimpanzee CNVs to known human CNVs from previous studies. Many CNVs were observed in the corresponding regions in both chimpanzees and humans; especially those CNVs of higher frequency. Strikingly, these loci are enriched 20-fold for ancestral segmental duplications, which may facilitate CNV formation through nonallelic homologous recombination mechanisms. Therefore, some of these regions may be unstable "hotspots" for the genesis of copy number variation, with recurrent duplications and deletions occurring across and within species.