Stereotaxic-assisted gene therapy in Alzheimer's and Parkinson's diseases: therapeutic potentials and clinical frontiers.

INTRODUCTION: Alzheimer's disease (AD) and Parkinson's disease (PD) are neurodegenerative disorders causing cognitive deficits and motor difficulties in the elderly. Conventional treatments are mainly symptomatic with little ability to halt disease progression. Gene therapies to correct or silence genetic mutations predisposing to AD or PD are currently being developed in preclinical studies and clinical trials, relying mostly on systemic delivery, which reduces their effectiveness. Imaging-guided stereotaxic procedures are used to locally deliver therapeutic cargos to well-defined brain sites, hence raising the question whether stereotaxic-assisted gene therapy has therapeutic potentials. AREAS COVERED: The authors summarize the studies that investigated the use of gene therapy in PD and AD in animal and clinical studies over the past five years, with a special emphasis on the combinatorial potential with stereotaxic delivery. The advantages, limitations and futuristic challenges of this technique are discussed. EXPERT OPINION: Robotic stereotaxis combined with intraoperative imaging has revolutionized brain surgeries. While gene therapies are bringing huge innovations to the medical field and new hope to AD and PD patients and medical professionals, the efficient and targeted delivery of such therapies is a bottleneck. We propose that careful application of stereotaxic delivery of gene therapies can improve PD and AD management. [Figure: see text].

SynGO: An Evidence-Based, Expert-Curated Knowledge Base for the Synapse.

Synapses are fundamental information-processing units of the brain, and synaptic dysregulation is central to many brain disorders ("synaptopathies"). However, systematic annotation of synaptic genes and ontology of synaptic processes are currently lacking. We established SynGO, an interactive knowledge base that accumulates available research about synapse biology using Gene Ontology (GO) annotations to novel ontology terms: 87 synaptic locations and 179 synaptic processes. SynGO annotations are exclusively based on published, expert-curated evidence. Using 2,922 annotations for 1,112 genes, we show that synaptic genes are exceptionally well conserved and less tolerant to mutations than other genes. Many SynGO terms are significantly overrepresented among gene variations associated with intelligence, educational attainment, ADHD, autism, and bipolar disorder and among de novo variants associated with neurodevelopmental disorders, including schizophrenia. SynGO is a public, universal reference for synapse research and an online analysis platform for interpretation of large-scale -omics data (https://syngoportal.org and http://geneontology.org).

Mapping the Proteome of the Synaptic Cleft through Proximity Labeling Reveals New Cleft Proteins.

Synapses are specialized neuronal cell-cell contacts that underlie network communication in the mammalian brain. Across neuronal populations and circuits, a diverse set of synapses is utilized, and they differ in their molecular composition to enable heterogenous connectivity patterns and functions. In addition to pre- and post-synaptic specializations, the synaptic cleft is now understood to be an integral compartment of synapses that contributes to their structural and functional organization. Aiming to map the cleft proteome, this study applied a peroxidase-mediated proximity labeling approach and used the excitatory synaptic cell adhesion protein SynCAM 1 fused to horseradish peroxidase (HRP) as a reporter in cultured cortical neurons. This reporter marked excitatory synapses as measured by confocal microcopy and was targeted to the edge zone of the synaptic cleft as determined using 3D dSTORM super-resolution imaging. Proximity labeling with a membrane-impermeant biotin-phenol compound restricted labeling to the cell surface, and Label-Free Quantitation (LFQ) mass spectrometry combined with ratiometric HRP tagging of membrane vs. synaptic surface proteins was used to identify the proteomic content of excitatory clefts. Novel cleft candidates were identified, and Receptor-type tyrosine-protein phosphatase zeta was selected and successfully validated. This study supports the robust applicability of peroxidase-mediated proximity labeling for synaptic cleft proteomics and its potential for understanding synapse heterogeneity in health and changes in diseases such as psychiatric disorders and addiction.

How a Piggyback Synapse Listens in to Tune Excitatory Terminals.

In this issue of Neuron, Mende et al. (2016) report how axo-axonic synapses of interneurons balance the strength of glutamatergic terminals in the spinal cord. The results highlight presynaptic roles of mGluR1 receptors and of BDNF as a retrograde signal to regulate GABA synthesis and tune transmission.

Synaptic Effects of Munc18-1 Alternative Splicing in Excitatory Hippocampal Neurons.

The munc18-1 gene encodes two splice-variants that vary at the C-terminus of the protein and are expressed at different levels in different regions of the adult mammalian brain. Here, we investigated the expression pattern of these splice variants within the brainstem and tested whether they are functionally different. Munc18-1a is expressed in specific nuclei of the brainstem including the LRN, VII and SOC, while Munc18-1b expression is relatively low/absent in these regions. Furthermore, Munc18-1a is the major splice variant in the Calyx of Held. Synaptic transmission was analyzed in autaptic hippocampal munc18-1 KO neurons re-expressing either Munc18-1a or Munc18-1b. The two splice variants supported synaptic transmission to a similar extent, but Munc18-1b was slightly more potent in sustaining synchronous release during high frequency stimulation. Our data suggest that alternative splicing of Munc18-1 support synaptic transmission to a similar extent, but could modulate presynaptic short-term plasticity.

Quantitative image analysis tool to study the plasma membrane localization of proteins and cortical actin in neuroendocrine cells.

BACKGROUND: Adrenal chromaffin cells are a widely used model system to study regulated exocytosis and other membrane-associated processes. Alterations in the amount and localization of the proteins involved in these processes can be visualized with fluorescent probes that report the effect of different stimuli or genetic modifications. However, the quantitative analysis of such images remains difficult, especially when focused on specific locations, such as the plasma membrane. NEW METHOD: We developed an image analysis algorithm, named plasma membrane analysis in chromaffin cells (PlasMACC). PlasMACC enables automatic detection of the plasma membrane region and quantitative analysis of multi-fluorescent signals from spherical cells. PlasMACC runs in the image analysis software ImageJ environment, it is user-friendly and freely available. RESULTS: PlasMACC delivers detailed information about intensity, thickness and density of fluorescent signals at the plasma membrane of both living and fixed cells. Individual signals can be compared between cells and different signals within one cell can be correlated. PlasMACC can process conventional laser-scanning confocal images as well as data obtained by super-resolution methods such as structured illumination microscopy. COMPARISON WITH EXISTING METHOD(S): By comparing PlasMACC to methods currently used in the field, we show more consistent quantitative data due to the fully automated algorithm. PlasMACC also provides an expanded set of novel analysis parameters. CONCLUSION: PlasMACC enables a detailed quantification of fluorescent signals at the plasma membrane of spherical cells in an unbiased and reliable fashion.

Munc18-1 redistributes in nerve terminals in an activity- and PKC-dependent manner.

Munc18-1 is a soluble protein essential for synaptic transmission. To investigate the dynamics of endogenous Munc18-1 in neurons, we created a mouse model expressing fluorescently tagged Munc18-1 from the endogenous munc18-1 locus. We show using fluorescence recovery after photobleaching in hippocampal neurons that the majority of Munc18-1 trafficked through axons and targeted to synapses via lateral diffusion together with syntaxin-1. Munc18-1 was strongly expressed at presynaptic terminals, with individual synapses showing a large variation in expression. Axon-synapse exchange rates of Munc18-1 were high: during stimulation, Munc18-1 rapidly dispersed from synapses and reclustered within minutes. Munc18-1 reclustering was independent of syntaxin-1, but required calcium influx and protein kinase C (PKC) activity. Importantly, a PKC-insensitive Munc18-1 mutant did not recluster. We show that synaptic Munc18-1 levels correlate with synaptic strength, and that synapses that recruit more Munc18-1 after stimulation have a larger releasable vesicle pool. Hence, PKC-dependent dynamic control of Munc18-1 levels enables individual synapses to tune their output during periods of activity.

Neuronal palmitoyl acyl transferases exhibit distinct substrate specificity.

Palmitoylation, a post-translational modification of cysteine residues with the lipid palmitate, has recently emerged as an important mechanism for regulating protein trafficking and function. With the identification of 23 DHHC mammalian palmitoyl acyl transferases (PATs), a key question was the nature of substrate-enzyme specificity for these PATs. Using the acyl-biotin exchange palmitoylation assay, we compared the substrate specificity of four neuronal PATs, namely DHHC-3, DHHC-8, HIP14L (DHHC-13), and HIP14 (DHHC-17). Exogenous expression of enzymes and substrates in COS cells reveals that HIP14L and HIP14 modulate huntingtin palmitoylation, DHHC-8 modulates paralemmin-1 palmitoylation, and DHHC-3 shows the least substrate specificity. These in vitro data were validated by lentiviral siRNA-mediated knockdown of endogenous HIP14 and DHHC-3 in cultured rat cortical neurons. PATs require the presence of palmitoylated cysteines in order to interact with their substrates. To understand the elements that influence enzyme/substrate specificity further, we fused the HIP14 ankryin repeat domain to the N terminus of DHHC-3, which is not a PAT for huntingtin. This modification enabled DHHC-3 to behave similarly to HIP14 by modulating palmitoylation and trafficking of huntingtin. Taken together, this study indicates that individual PATs have specific substrate preference, determined by regulatory domains outside the DHHC domain of the enzymes.

Molecular cloning and expression of a Toll receptor in the giant tiger shrimp, Penaeus monodon.

Invertebrates rely completely for their protection against pathogens on the innate immune system. This non-self-recognition is activated by microbial cell wall components with unique conserved molecular patterns. Pathogen-associated molecular patterns (PAMPs) are recognised by pattern recognition receptors (PRRs). Toll and its mammalian homologs Toll-like receptors are cell-surface receptors acting as PRRs and involved in the signalling pathway implicated in their immune response. Here we describe a novel partial Toll receptor gene cloned from a gill library of the giant tiger shrimp, Penaeus monodon, using primers based on the highly conserved Toll/IL-1R (TIR) domain. The deduced amino acid sequence of the P. monodon Toll (PmToll) shows 59% similarity to a Toll-related protein of Apis mellifera. Analysis of the LRRs of shrimp Toll contained no obvious PAMP-binding insertions. Phylogenetic analysis with the insect Toll family shows clustering with Toll1 and Toll5 gene products, and it is less related to Toll3 and Toll4. Furthermore, RT-qPCR shows that PmToll is constitutively expressed in gut, gill and hepatopancreas. Challenge with white spot syndrome virus (WSSV) shows equal levels of expression in these organs. A role in the defence mechanism is discussed. In conclusion, shrimp possess at least one Toll receptor that might be involved in immune defence.

Telomeric localization of the modified DNA base J in the genome of the protozoan parasite Leishmania.

Base J or beta-d-glucosylhydroxymethyluracil is a DNA modification replacing a fraction of thymine in the nuclear DNA of kinetoplastid parasites and of Euglena. J is located in the telomeric sequences of Trypanosoma brucei and in other simple repeat DNA sequences. In addition, J was found in the inactive variant surface glycoprotein (VSG) expression sites, but not in the active expression site of T. brucei, suggesting that J could play a role in transcription silencing in T. brucei. We have now looked at the distribution of J in the genomes of other kinetoplastid parasites. First, we analyzed the DNA sequences immunoprecipitated with a J-antiserum in Leishmania major Friedlin. Second, we investigated the co-migration of J- and telomeric repeat-containing DNA sequences of various kinetoplastids using J-immunoblots and Southern blots of fragmented DNA. We find only approximately 1% of J outside the telomeric repeat sequences of Leishmania sp. and Crithidia fasciculata, in contrast to the substantial fraction of non-telomeric J found in T. brucei, Trypanosoma equiperdum and Trypanoplasma borreli. Our results suggest that J is a telomeric base modification, recruited for other (unknown) functions in some kinetoplastids and Euglena.