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Increased expression of the frontotemporal dementia risk factor TMEM106B causes C9orf72-dependent alterations in lysosomes.

ABSTRACT: Frontotemporal lobar degeneration with TDP-43 inclusions (FTLD-TDP) is an important cause of dementia in individuals under age 65. Common variants in the TMEM106B gene were previously discovered by genome-wide association to confer genetic risk for FTLD-TDP (p = 1 × 10-11, OR = 1.6). Furthermore, TMEM106B may act as a genetic modifier affecting age at onset and age at death in the Mendelian subgoup of FTLD-TDP due to expansions of the C9orf72 gene. Evidence suggests that TMEM106B variants increase risk for developing FTLD-TDP by increasing expression of Transmembrane Protein 106B (TMEM106B), a lysosomal protein. To further understand the functional role of TMEM106B in disease pathogenesis, we investigated the cell biological effects of increased TMEM106B expression. Here, we report that increased TMEM106B expression results in the appearance of a vacuolar phenotype in multiple cell types, including neurons. Concomitant with the development of this vacuolar phenotype, cells over-expressing TMEM106B exhibit impaired lysosomal acidification and degradative function, as well as increased cytotoxicity. We further identify a potential lysosomal sorting motif for TMEM106B and demonstrate that abrogation of sorting to lysosomes rescues TMEM106B-induced defects. Finally, we show that TMEM106B-induced defects are dependent on the presence of C9orf72, as knockdown of C9orf72 also rescues these defects. In sum, our results suggest that TMEM106B exerts its effects on FTLD-TDP disease risk through alterations in lysosomal pathways. Furthermore, TMEM106B and C9orf72 may interact in FTLD-TDP pathophysiology.

SUBMITTER: Busch JI

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5181637 | biostudies-literature | 2016 Jul

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Increased expression of the frontotemporal dementia risk factor TMEM106B causes C9orf72-dependent alterations in lysosomes.

Busch Johanna I JI Unger Travis L TL Jain Nimansha N Tyler Skrinak R R Charan Rakshita A RA Chen-Plotkin Alice S AS

Human molecular genetics 20160428 13

Frontotemporal lobar degeneration with TDP-43 inclusions (FTLD-TDP) is an important cause of dementia in individuals under age 65. Common variants in the TMEM106B gene were previously discovered by genome-wide association to confer genetic risk for FTLD-TDP (p = 1 × 10<sup>-</sup><sup>11</sup>, OR = 1.6). Furthermore, TMEM106B may act as a genetic modifier affecting age at onset and age at death in the Mendelian subgoup of FTLD-TDP due to expansions of the C9orf72 gene. Evidence suggests that TM ...[more]

PMID: 27126638

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Project description:Variants in transmembrane protein 106 B (TMEM106B) modify the disease penetrance of frontotemporal dementia (FTD) in carriers of progranulin (GRN) mutations. We investigated whether TMEM106B is also a genetic modifier of disease in carriers of chromosome 9 open reading frame 72 (C9ORF72) expansions. We assessed the genotype of 325 C9ORF72 expansion carriers (cohort 1), 586 FTD patients lacking C9ORF72 expansions [with or without motor neuron disease (MND); cohort 2], and a total of 1,302 controls for TMEM106B variants (rs3173615 and rs1990622) using MassArray iPLEX and Taqman genotyping assays. For our primary analysis, we focused on functional variant rs3173615, and employed a recessive genotypic model. In cohort 1, patients with C9ORF72 expansions showed a significantly reduced frequency of carriers homozygous for the minor allele as compared to controls [11.9 vs. 19.1 %, odds ratio (OR) 0.57, p = 0.014; same direction as carriers of GRN mutations]. The strongest evidence was provided by FTD patients (OR 0.33, p = 0.009) followed by FTD/MND patients (OR 0.38, p = 0.017), whereas no significant difference was observed in MND patients (OR 0.85, p = 0.55). In cohort 2, the frequency of carriers homozygous for the minor allele was not significantly reduced in patients as compared to controls (OR 0.77, p = 0.079); however, a significant reduction was observed when focusing on those patients with frontotemporal lobar degeneration and TAR DNA-binding protein 43 inclusions (FTLD-TDP; OR 0.26, p < 0.001). Our study identifies TMEM106B as the first genetic factor modifying disease presentation in C9ORF72 expansion carriers. Homozygosity for the minor allele protects carriers from developing FTD, but not from developing MND; similar effects are seen in FTLD-TDP patients with yet unknown genetic causes. These new findings show that the protective effects of TMEM106B are not confined to carriers of GRN mutations and might be relevant for prognostic testing, and as a promising therapeutic target for the entire spectrum of FTLD-TDP.

Project description:Loss-of-function mutations in progranulin (GRN) and a non-coding (GGGGCC)n hexanucleotide repeat expansions in C9ORF72 are the two most common genetic causes of frontotemporal lobar degeneration with aggregates of TAR DNA binding protein 43 (FTLD-TDP). TMEM106B encodes a type II transmembrane protein with unknown function. Genetic variants in TMEM106B associated with reduced TMEM106B levels have been identified as disease modifiers in individuals with GRN mutations and C9ORF72 expansions. Recently, loss of Tmem106b has been reported to protect the FTLD-like phenotypes in Grn-/- mice. Here, we generated Tmem106b-/- mice and examined whether loss of Tmem106b could rescue FTLD-like phenotypes in an AAV mouse model of C9ORF72-repeat induced toxicity. Our results showed that neither partial nor complete loss of Tmem106b was able to rescue behavioral deficits induced by the expression of (GGGGCC)66 repeats (66R). Loss of Tmem106b also failed to ameliorate 66R-induced RNA foci, dipeptide repeat protein formation and pTDP-43 pathological burden. We further found that complete loss of Tmem106b increased astrogliosis, even in the absence of 66R, and failed to rescue 66R-induced neuronal cell loss, whereas partial loss of Tmem106b significantly rescued the neuronal cell loss but not neuroinflammation induced by 66R. Finally, we showed that overexpression of 66R did not alter expression of Tmem106b and other lysosomal genes in vivo, and subsequent analyses in vitro found that transiently knocking down C9ORF72, but not overexpression of 66R, significantly increased TMEM106B and other lysosomal proteins. In summary, reducing Tmem106b levels failed to rescue FTLD-like phenotypes in a mouse model mimicking the toxic gain-of-functions associated with overexpression of 66R. Combined with the observation that loss of C9ORF72 and not 66R overexpression was associated with increased levels of TMEM106B, this work suggests that the protective TMEM106B haplotype may exert its effect in expansion carriers by counteracting lysosomal dysfunction resulting from a loss of C9ORF72.

Dataset Information

Increased expression of the frontotemporal dementia risk factor TMEM106B causes C9orf72-dependent alterations in lysosomes.

Publications

Increased expression of the frontotemporal dementia risk factor TMEM106B causes C9orf72-dependent alterations in lysosomes.

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