Cerebellar granule neurons induce Cyclin D1 before the onset of motor symptoms in Huntington's disease mice.

Although Huntington's disease (HD) is classically defined by the selective vulnerability of striatal projection neurons, there is increasing evidence that cerebellar degeneration modulates clinical symptoms. However, little is known about cell type-specific responses of cerebellar neurons in HD. To dissect early disease mechanisms in the cerebellum and cerebrum, we analyzed translatomes of neuronal cell types from both regions in a new HD mouse model. For this, HdhQ200 knock-in mice were backcrossed with the calm 129S4 strain, to constrain experimental noise caused by variable hyperactivity of mice in a C57BL/6 background. Behavioral and neuropathological characterization showed that these S4-HdhQ200 mice had very mild behavioral abnormalities starting around 12 months of age that remained mild up to 18 months. By 9 months, we observed abundant Huntingtin-positive neuronal intranuclear inclusions (NIIs) in the striatum and cerebellum. The translatome analysis of GABAergic cells of the cerebrum further confirmed changes typical of HD-induced striatal pathology. Surprisingly, we observed the strongest response with 626 differentially expressed genes in glutamatergic neurons of the cerebellum, a population consisting primarily of granule cells, commonly considered disease resistant. Our findings suggest vesicular fusion and exocytosis, as well as differentiation-related pathways are affected in these neurons. Furthermore, increased expression of cyclin D1 (Ccnd1) in the granular layer and upregulated expression of polycomb group complex protein genes and cell cycle regulators Cbx2, Cbx4 and Cbx8 point to a putative role of aberrant cell cycle regulation in cerebellar granule cells in early disease.

Distinct translatome changes in specific neural populations precede electroencephalographic changes in prion-infected mice.

Selective vulnerability is an enigmatic feature of neurodegenerative diseases (NDs), whereby a widely expressed protein causes lesions in specific cell types and brain regions. Using the RiboTag method in mice, translational responses of five neural subtypes to acquired prion disease (PrD) were measured. Pre-onset and disease onset timepoints were chosen based on longitudinal electroencephalography (EEG) that revealed a gradual increase in theta power between 10- and 18-weeks after prion injection, resembling a clinical feature of human PrD. At disease onset, marked by significantly increased theta power and histopathological lesions, mice had pronounced translatome changes in all five cell types despite appearing normal. Remarkably, at a pre-onset stage, prior to EEG and neuropathological changes, we found that 1) translatomes of astrocytes indicated reduced synthesis of ribosomal and mitochondrial components, 2) glutamatergic neurons showed increased expression of cytoskeletal genes, and 3) GABAergic neurons revealed reduced expression of circadian rhythm genes. These data demonstrate that early translatome responses to neurodegeneration emerge prior to conventional markers of disease and are cell type-specific. Therapeutic strategies may need to target multiple pathways in specific populations of cells, early in disease.

Slc1a3-2A-CreERT2 mice reveal unique features of Bergmann glia and augment a growing collection of Cre drivers and effectors in the 129S4 genetic background.

Genetic variation is a primary determinant of phenotypic diversity. In laboratory mice, genetic variation can be a serious experimental confounder, and thus minimized through inbreeding. However, generalizations of results obtained with inbred strains must be made with caution, especially when working with complex phenotypes and disease models. Here we compared behavioral characteristics of C57Bl/6-the strain most widely used in biomedical research-with those of 129S4. In contrast to 129S4, C57Bl/6 demonstrated high within-strain and intra-litter behavioral hyperactivity. Although high consistency would be advantageous, the majority of disease models and transgenic tools are in C57Bl/6. We recently established six Cre driver lines and two Cre effector lines in 129S4. To augment this collection, we genetically engineered a Cre line to study astrocytes in 129S4. It was validated with two Cre effector lines: calcium indicator gCaMP5g-tdTomato and RiboTag-a tool widely used to study cell type-specific translatomes. These reporters are in different genomic loci, and in both the Cre was functional and astrocyte-specific. We found that calcium signals lasted longer and had a higher amplitude in cortical compared to hippocampal astrocytes, genes linked to a single neurodegenerative disease have highly divergent expression patterns, and that ribosome proteins are non-uniformly expressed across brain regions and cell types.

Aggregated Aß1-42 Is Selectively Toxic for Neurons, Whereas Glial Cells Produce Mature Fibrils with Low Toxicity in Drosophila.

The basis for selective vulnerability of certain cell types for misfolded proteins (MPs) in neurodegenerative diseases is largely unknown. This knowledge is crucial for understanding disease progression in relation to MPs spreading in the CNS. We assessed this issue in Drosophila by cell-specific expression of human Aß1-42 associated with Alzheimer's disease. Expression of Aß1-42 in various neurons resulted in concentration-dependent severe neurodegenerative phenotypes, and intraneuronal ring-tangle-like aggregates with immature fibril properties when analyzed by aggregate-specific ligands. Unexpectedly, expression of Aß1-42 from a pan-glial driver produced a mild phenotype despite massive brain load of Aß1-42 aggregates, even higher than in the strongest neuronal driver. Glial cells formed more mature fibrous aggregates, morphologically distinct from aggregates found in neurons, and was mainly extracellular. Our findings implicate that Aß1-42 cytotoxicity is both cell and aggregate morphotype dependent.

Systematic Aß Analysis in Drosophila Reveals High Toxicity for the 1-42, 3-42 and 11-42 Peptides, and Emphasizes N- and C-Terminal Residues.

Brain amyloid plaques are a hallmark of Alzheimer's disease (AD), and primarily consist of aggregated Aß peptides. While Aß 1-40 and Aß 1-42 are the most abundant, a number of other Aß peptides have also been identified. Studies have indicated differential toxicity for these various Aß peptides, but in vivo toxicity has not been systematically tested. To address this issue, we generated improved transgenic Drosophila UAS strains expressing 11 pertinent Aß peptides. UAS transgenic flies were generated by identical chromosomal insertion, hence removing any transgenic position effects, and crossed to a novel and robust Gal4 driver line. Using this improved Gal4/UAS set-up, survival and activity assays revealed that Aß 1-42 severely shortens lifespan and reduces activity. N-terminal truncated peptides were quite toxic, with 3-42 similar to 1-42, while 11-42 showed a pronounced but less severe phenotype. N-terminal mutations in 3-42 (E3A) or 11-42 (E11A) resulted in reduced toxicity for 11-42, and reduced aggregation for both variants. Strikingly, C-terminal truncation of Aß (1-41, -40, -39, -38, -37) were non-toxic. In contrast, C-terminal extension to 1-43 resulted in reduced lifespan and activity, but not to the same extent as 1-42. Mutating residue 42 in 1-42 (A42D, A42R and A42W) greatly reduced Aß accumulation and toxicity. Histological and biochemical analysis revealed strong correlation between in vivo toxicity and brain Aß aggregate load, as well as amount of insoluble Aß. This systematic Drosophila in vivo and in vitro analysis reveals crucial N- and C-terminal specificity for Aß neurotoxicity and aggregation, and underscores the importance of residues 1-10 and E11, as well as a pivotal role of A42.

Visualization of oxidative stress in ex vivo biopsies using electron paramagnetic resonance imaging.

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to develop an X-Band electron paramagnetic resonance imaging protocol for visualization of oxidative stress in biopsies. METHODS: The developed electron paramagnetic resonance imaging protocol was based on spin trapping with the cyclic hydroxylamine spin probe 1-hydroxy-3-methoxycarbonyl-2,2,5,5-tetramethylpyrrolidine and X-Band EPR imaging. Computer software was developed for deconvolution and back-projection of the EPR image. A phantom containing radicals of known spatial characteristic was used for evaluation of the developed protocol. As a demonstration of the technique electron paramagnetic resonance imaging of oxidative stress was performed in six sections of atherosclerotic plaques. Histopathological analyses were performed on adjoining sections. RESULTS: The developed computer software for deconvolution and back-projection of the EPR images could accurately reproduce the shape of a phantom of known spatial distribution of radicals. The developed protocol could successfully be used to image oxidative stress in six sections of the three ex vivo atherosclerotic plaques. CONCLUSIONS: We have shown that oxidative stress can be imaged using a combination of spin trapping with the cyclic hydroxylamine spin probe cyclic hydroxylamine spin probe 1-hydroxy-3-methoxycarbonyl-2,2,5,5-tetramethylpyrrolidine and X-Band EPR imaging. A thorough and systematic evaluation on different types of biopsies must be performed in the future to validate the proposed technique.

Curcumin promotes A-beta fibrillation and reduces neurotoxicity in transgenic Drosophila.

The pathology of Alzheimer's disease (AD) is characterized by the presence of extracellular deposits of misfolded and aggregated amyloid-ß (Aß) peptide and intraneuronal accumulation of tangles comprised of hyperphosphorylated Tau protein. For several years, the natural compound curcumin has been proposed to be a candidate for enhanced clearance of toxic Aß amyloid. In this study we have studied the potency of feeding curcumin as a drug candidate to alleviate Aß toxicity in transgenic Drosophila. The longevity as well as the locomotor activity of five different AD model genotypes, measured relative to a control line, showed up to 75% improved lifespan and activity for curcumin fed flies. In contrast to the majority of studies of curcumin effects on amyloid we did not observe any decrease in the amount of Aß deposition following curcumin treatment. Conformation-dependent spectra from p-FTAA, a luminescent conjugated oligothiophene bound to Aß deposits in different Drosophila genotypes over time, indicated accelerated pre-fibrillar to fibril conversion of Aß(1-42) in curcumin treated flies. This finding was supported by in vitro fibrillation assays of recombinant Aß(1-42). Our study shows that curcumin promotes amyloid fibril conversion by reducing the pre-fibrillar/oligomeric species of Aß, resulting in a reduced neurotoxicity in Drosophila.