Project description:We examined whether peripheral tissues can serve as a source of readily accessible biological signatures at the RNA and protein level in Huntington disease (HD) patients. Under the MTM-HD study we generated large, high-quality human datasets from skeletal muscle, skin and adipose tissue, as well as primary human fibroblast lines to probe molecular changes in human pre-manifest and early manifest HD patients. We document the involvement of inflammation, energy metabolism and extracellular vesicle homeostasis. This demonstrates the potential to identify biological signatures from peripheral tissues in HD suitable as biomarkers in clinical trials.
Project description:We examined whether peripheral tissues can serve as a source of readily accessible biological signatures at the RNA and protein level in Huntington disease (HD) patients. Under the MTM-HD study we generated large, high-quality human datasets from skeletal muscle, skin and adipose tissue, as well as primary human fibroblast lines to probe molecular changes in human pre-manifest and early manifest HD patients. We document the involvement of inflammation, energy metabolism and extracellular vesicle homeostasis. This demonstrates the potential to identify biological signatures from peripheral tissues in HD suitable as biomarkers in clinical trials.
Project description:We examined whether peripheral tissues can serve as a source of readily accessible biological signatures at the RNA and protein level in Huntington disease (HD) patients. Under the MTM-HD study we generated large, high-quality human datasets from skeletal muscle, skin and adipose tissue, as well as primary human fibroblast lines to probe molecular changes in human pre-manifest and early manifest HD patients. We document the involvement of inflammation, energy metabolism and extracellular vesicle homeostasis. This demonstrates the potential to identify biological signatures from peripheral tissues in HD suitable as biomarkers in clinical trials.
Project description:Gene expression profile comparison from fibroblasts of Huntington individuals and normal ones We used microarrays to detail the global gene expression of fibroblasts from Huntington patients Comparison between six Huntington human fibroblasts and three normal controls. All individuals were aged and sex matched. In fact they are all males with the subsequent ages: 28, 48, 57 for the controls and 38, 63, 57, 47, 38, 37 for the HD patients. The average age is comparable.
Project description:Direct neuronal conversion of fibroblasts from Huntington’s disease (HD) patients to striatal medium spiny neurons (MSNs) has been shown to recapitulate neurodegenerative pathology of HD. Here, we carried out comparative analyses between reprogrammed MSNs from patients at different disease stages to investigate age-associated molecular processes driving neurodegeneration. We found that neuronal death was manifested in reprogrammed MSNs from symptomatic HD patients (HD-MSNs) compared to MSNs derived from younger, pre-symptomatic patients (pre-HD-MSNs) and healthy controls. Dissecting the differential cellular state between HD-MSNs and pre-HD-MSNs by transcriptome and chromatin accessibility analyses identified miR-29b-3p, whose age-associated upregulation impairs autophagic function via human-specific targeting of STAT3. Reducing miR-29b-3p or treating with G2-115, a glibenclamide analog, increased the resilience of HD-MSNs against neurodegeneration by promoting autophagy, demonstrating that the autophagic decline during aging in HD underlies MSN degeneration and pointing to potential approaches for enhancing autophagy and resilience of MSNs against degeneration in HD.
Project description:Direct neuronal conversion of fibroblasts from Huntington’s disease (HD) patients to striatal medium spiny neurons (MSNs) has been shown to recapitulate neurodegenerative pathology of HD. Here, we carried out comparative analyses between reprogrammed MSNs from patients at different disease stages to investigate age-associated molecular processes driving neurodegeneration. We found that neuronal death was manifested in reprogrammed MSNs from symptomatic HD patients (HD-MSNs) compared to MSNs derived from younger, pre-symptomatic patients (pre-HD-MSNs) and healthy controls. Dissecting the differential cellular state between HD-MSNs and pre-HD-MSNs by transcriptome and chromatin accessibility analyses identified miR-29b-3p, whose age-associated upregulation impairs autophagic function via human-specific targeting of STAT3. Reducing miR-29b-3p or treating with G2-115, a glibenclamide analog, increased the resilience of HD-MSNs against neurodegeneration by promoting autophagy, demonstrating that the autophagic decline during aging in HD underlies MSN degeneration and pointing to potential approaches for enhancing autophagy and resilience of MSNs against degeneration in HD.
Project description:Huntington’s disease (HD) is an autosomal-dominant neurodegenerative disorder caused by the CAG expansion in the Huntingtin (HTT) gene. Several studies have shown the potential of microRNAs as biomarkers in neurodegenerative diseases. However, no bona fide microRNAs have been identified as promising diagnostic biomarkers for HD. As part of the PREDICT-HD project, here we performed NanoString on blood samples of 115 pre-manifest HD cases and 111 controls in an effort to provide promising biomarkers for the diagnostic of HD or the disease processes tracking. The results showed that five miRNAs (miR-1252, miR-433, miR-553, miR-138-5p and miR-2053) are significantly differentially expressed in pre-manifest gene-positive HD cases vs. gene-negative controls. We also explored the miRNAs associated with HD severity by correlating the miRNA expression with CAP scores of 115 pre-manifest HD samples and found that 41 and 24 miRNAs are negatively and positively correlated with CAP scores significantly. Furthermore, target gene set of miR-138 and miR-433 , its co-expressed mRNAs in ROSMAP, and differentially expressed mRNAs of HD reveal four overlap genes (CASP7, CNOT6L, TMED and FERMT2). In summary, our study provides new insights into biomarker of Huntington’s disease by analyzing the cross-sectional miRNA expression data in blood.
Project description:Huntington’s disease (HD) is an autosomal-dominant neurodegenerative disorder caused by the CAG expansion in the Huntingtin (HTT) gene. Several studies have shown the potential of microRNAs as biomarkers in neurodegenerative diseases. However, no bona fide microRNAs have been identified as promising diagnostic biomarkers for HD. As part of the PREDICT-HD project, here we performed NanoString on blood samples of 115 pre-manifest HD cases and 111 controls in an effort to provide promising biomarkers for the diagnostic of HD or the disease processes tracking. The results showed that five miRNAs (miR-1252, miR-433, miR-553, miR-138-5p and miR-2053) are significantly differentially expressed in pre-manifest gene-positive HD cases vs. gene-negative controls. We also explored the miRNAs associated with HD severity by correlating the miRNA expression with CAP scores of 115 pre-manifest HD samples and found that 41 and 24 miRNAs are negatively and positively correlated with CAP scores significantly. Furthermore, target gene set of miR-138 and miR-433 , its co-expressed mRNAs in ROSMAP, and differentially expressed mRNAs of HD reveal four overlap genes (CASP7, CNOT6L, TMED and FERMT2). In summary, our study provides new insights into biomarker of Huntington’s disease by analyzing the cross-sectional miRNA expression data in blood.