RNA-seq to determine PRC2 targets in the aging Drosophila brain.
Ontology highlight
ABSTRACT: Aging is a prominent risk factor for neurodegenerative disease, therefore defining mechanisms critical for healthy brain aging should lead to insight into genes that modulate susceptibility to disease. To define such genes, we have pursued analysis of miR-34 mutants in Drosophila. The miR-34 mutant brain displays a gene profile of accelerated aging, and miR-34 upregulation is a potent suppressor of polyglutamine-induced neurodegeneration. We investigated targets of miR-34 to define those important for its functions in mitigating degeneration and impacting health of the brain with age. These studies show that miR-34 targets for silencing two components of polycomb repressive complex 2 (PRC2)—Pcl and Su(z)12—in the brain with age. PRC2 is a histone methyltransferase that confers the repressive H3K27me3 mark, suggesting that a critical role of miR-34 is to modulate the function of PRC2 to silence key genes in the brain with age. Remarkably, gene expression profiling of the brains of hypomorphic mutants in Enhancer of zeste (E(z)), the enzymatic methyltransferase component of PRC2, revealed a younger brain transcriptome profile and identified the small heat shock proteins as key modulated genes. These findings indicate that PRC2 epigenetic mechanisms impact the susceptibility of the brain to degenerative disease with age, and highlight the role of small heat shock proteins to protect the brain from age-associated decline and disease.
Project description:This SuperSeries is composed of the following subset Series: GSE24992: Drosophila brain microRNA expression with age: miRNA profiling GSE25007: Drosophila brain gene expression with age: mRNA profiling GSE25008: Drosophila brain gene expression between wildtype and miR-34 null flies Refer to individual Series. Aging is the most prominent risk factor for human neurodegenerative disease, but underlying mechanisms that connect two processes are less well characterized. With age, the brain undergoes functional decline and perhaps degeneration. Such decline may not just contribute to normal aging, but also enhance susceptibility to and progression of age-related neurodegenerative diseases. Therefore, defining intrinsic factors and pathways that underline the normal integrity of the adult nervous system may lead to insights that potentially link aging and neurodegeneration. Here, we report a highly conserved microRNA (miRNA), miR-34, as a modulator of aging and neurodegeneration. Using Drosophila, we show that fly miR-34 expression is brain-enriched and strikingly upregulated with age. Functional studies reveal that, whereas animals without miR-34 are normal as young adults, upon aging, they gradually show late-onset deficits characteristic of accelerated brain aging; these include a transcriptional signature of aged animals, coupled with rapid functional decline, loss of brain integrity, followed by a catastrophic decline in adult viability. Moreover, upregulation of miR-34 protects against neurodegeneration induced by pathogenic human polyglutamine (polyQ) disease protein. We next reveal a dramatic effect of miR-34 to silence the Eip74EF gene of steroid hormone pathways in the adult, which is crucial to maintain the normal aging. Collectively, these data define a miR-34-mediated mechanism that specifically affects long-term integrity of the adult nervous system. miR-34 function in Drosophila may thus present a link that functionally connects aging and neurodegeneration. Our studies implicate essential roles of miRNA- dependent pathways in maintenance of the adult brain, disease pathogenesis and healthy aging.
Project description:Aging is a risk factor for neurodegenerative disease, but precise mechanisms that influence this relationship are still under investigation. Work in Drosophila melanogaster identified the microRNA miR-34 as a modifier of aging and neurodegeneration in the brain. MiR-34 mutants present aspects of early aging, including reduced lifespan, neurodegeneration, and a buildup of the repressive histone mark H3K27me3. To better understand how miR-34 regulated pathways contribute to age-associated phenotypes in the brain, here we transcriptionally profiled the miR-34 mutant brain. This identified that genes associated with translation are dysregulated in the miR-34 mutant. The brains of these animals show increased translation activity, accumulation of protein aggregation markers, and altered autophagy activity. To determine if altered H3K27me3 was responsible for this proteostasis dysregulation, we studied the effects of increased H3K27me3 by mutating the histone demethylase Utx. Reduced Utx activity enhanced neurodegeneration and mimicked the protein accumulation seen in miR-34 mutant brains. However, unlike the miR-34 mutant, Utx mutant brains did not show similar altered autophagy or translation activity, suggesting that additional miR-34-targeted pathways are involved. Transcriptional analysis of predicted miR-34 targets identified Lst8, a subunit of Tor Complex 1 (TORC1), as a potential target. We confirmed that miR-34 regulates the 3’ UTR of Lst8. Biological analysis of miR-34 mutant brains demonstrate that 4E-BP is hyperphosphorylated, consistent with increased Lst8 activity and changes in translation. Together, these results present novel understanding of brain aging and the role of the conserved miRNA miR-34 in impacting proteostasis in the brain with age.
Project description:Proctor2005 - Actions of chaperones and their
role in ageing
This model is described in the article:
Modelling the actions of
chaperones and their role in ageing.
Proctor CJ, Soti C, Boys RJ,
Gillespie CS, Shanley DP, Wilkinson DJ, Kirkwood TB.
Mech. Ageing Dev. 2005 Jan; 126(1):
119-131
Abstract:
Many molecular chaperones are also known as heat shock
proteins because they are synthesised in increased amounts
after brief exposure of cells to elevated temperatures. They
have many cellular functions and are involved in the folding of
nascent proteins, the re-folding of denatured proteins, the
prevention of protein aggregation, and assisting the targeting
of proteins for degradation by the proteasome and lysosomes.
They also have a role in apoptosis and are involved in
modulating signals for immune and inflammatory responses.
Stress-induced transcription of heat shock proteins requires
the activation of heat shock factor (HSF). Under normal
conditions, HSF is bound to heat shock proteins resulting in
feedback repression. During stress, cellular proteins undergo
denaturation and sequester heat shock proteins bound to HSF,
which is then able to become transcriptionally active. The
induction of heat shock proteins is impaired with age and there
is also a decline in chaperone function. Aberrant/damaged
proteins accumulate with age and are implicated in several
important age-related conditions (e.g. Alzheimer's disease,
Parkinson's disease, and cataract). Therefore, the balance
between damaged proteins and available free chaperones may be
greatly disturbed during ageing. We have developed a
mathematical model to describe the heat shock system. The aim
of the model is two-fold: to explore the heat shock system and
its implications in ageing; and to demonstrate how to build a
model of a biological system using our simulation system
(biology of ageing e-science integration and simulation
(BASIS)).
This model is hosted on
BioModels Database
and identified by:
BIOMD0000000091.
To cite BioModels Database, please use:
BioModels Database:
An enhanced, curated and annotated resource for published
quantitative kinetic models.
To the extent possible under law, all copyright and related or
neighbouring rights to this encoded model have been dedicated to
the public domain worldwide. Please refer to
CC0
Public Domain Dedication for more information.
Project description:The aging brain is highly vulnerable to cellular stress, and neurons often employ numerous mechanisms to combat neurotoxic proteins and promote healthy brain aging. The RNA modification m6A has been shown to be a critical regulator of RNA stability and translation in cells during stress. m6A is highly enriched in the Drosophila brain and is critical for the acute heat stress response. Here we examine m6A response to chronic stresses of aging and degenerative disease. In the brain, m6A levels dynamically increased with age and disease, marking critical signaling pathway transcripts that become downregulated in age and disease. Unexpectedly, there is opposing regulation of m6A transcript translation in neural vs glial cells, which conferred different outcomes on animal healthspan with Mettl3 knockdown to reduce m6A. Moreover, these data reveal that knockdown of Mettl3 in glial tauopathy is beneficial, leading to increased animal survival. These findings provide mechanistic insight into regulation of m6A modified transcripts with age and disease that varies based on cell type.
Project description:Probiotics play important role in maintaining the health and extend longevity in their host. Previous studies reported several live probiotic bacteria in enhancing longevity and improving diverse feature of the host’s health. In this study, we reported a new potential heat- killed probiotic bacterium Levilactobacillus brevis strain MRKAK9 improved longevity and different features of healthy aging, including age-associated physical activity, improved resistance to biotic and abiotic stress in C. elegans. The mechanistic investigations showed that heat-killed strain MRKAK9 promoted longevity and healthy aging by downregulating insulin-signaling pathway resulting in improved proteostasis, autophagy and preserving lysosomal functionality in C. elegans. Heat-killed strain MRKAK9-mediated downregulation of insulin signaling pathway was regulated by the miRNA mir-243, suggesting that mir-243 partially involved in enhancing longevity of C. elegans. Additionally, the structural component exopolysaccharide of the strain heat-killed MRKAK9 also downregulated insulin- signaling mechanisms, increased the expression of genes involved in proteostatsis, autophagy as well as improved expression of mir-243. This study indicates that heat-killed strain MRKAK9 improves longevity and healthy aging, suggesting its candidature as a novel postbiotic.
Project description:Aging is a major risk factor for impaired cardiovascular health. The aging myocardium is characterized by microcirculatory and diastolic dysfunction and increased susceptibility to arrhythmias. Nerves align with vessels during development. However, the impact of aging on the cardiac neuro-vascular interface is entirely unknown. Here, we report that aging reduces nerve density specifically in the left ventricle and dysregulates vascular-derived neuro-regulatory genes. Aging leads to a down-regulation of miR-145 and de-repression of the neuro-repulsive factor Semaphorin-3A. miR-145 deletion, which increased Sema3a expression, or endothelial Sema3a overexpression reduced axon density, thus mimicking the observed aged heart phenotype. Removal of senescent cells, which accumulated with chronological age in parallel to the decline in nerve density, rescued age-induced denervation, reduced Sema3a expression, preserved heart rate variability and reduced electrical instability. These data suggest that senescence-associated regulation of neuro-regulatory genes is associated with reduced nerve density and, thereby, contributes to age-associated cardiac dysfunction.
Project description:Calorie restriction (CR) enhances longevity and mitigates aging phenotypes in numerous species. Physiological responses to CR are cell-type specific and variable throughout the lifespan; however, the mosaic of molecular changes responsible CR benefits remain unclear, particularly in brain regions susceptible to deterioration throughout aging. Thus, we examined the influence of long-term CR on the CA1 hippocampal region, a key learning and memory brain area that is vulnerable to age-related pathologies, such as Alzheimerâs disease (AD). Through mRNA sequencing and NanoString nCounter analysis, we demonstrate that one year of CR feeding suppresses an age-dependent signature of 882 genes functionally associated with synaptic transmission-related pathways, including calcium signaling, long-term potentiation (LTP), and Creb signaling in wild-type mice. By comparing the influence of CR on hippocampal CA1 region transcriptional profiles at younger- (5 months) and older-adult (15 months) timepoints, we identify conserved upregulation of proteome quality control and calcium buffering genes, including heat shock 70 kDa proteins 1b and 5 (Hspa1b and Hspa5), protein disulfide isomerase family A members 4 and 6 (Pdia4 and Pdia6), and calreticulin (Calr). Expression levels of putative neuroprotective factors, klotho (Kl) and transthyretin (Ttr), are also elevated by CR throughout adulthood, although the global CR-specific expression profiles at young and older timepoints are highly divergent. At a previously unachieved resolution, our results demonstrate conserved activation of neuroprotective gene signatures and broad CR-suppression of age-dependent hippocampal CA1 region expression changes, indicating that CR functionally maintains a more youthful transcriptional state within hippocampal CA1 throughout aging. Hippocampal CA1 region mRNA profiles of younger- (5 months) and older-adult (15 months) mice on calorie-restricted (CR) and normal (AD) diets were generated by deep sequencing using Illumina HiSeq 2500.
Project description:Transcriptional Profile of Aging in C. elegans Whole-genome analysis of gene expression during chronological aging of the worm provides a rich database of age-specific changes in gene expression and represents one way to distinguish among these models. Using a rigorous statistical model with multiple replicates, we find that a relatively small number of genes (only 164) show statistically significant changes in transcript levels as aging occurs (<1% of the genome). Expression of heat shock proteins decreases, while expression of certain transposases increases in older worms, and these findings are consistent with a higher mortality risk due to a failure in homeostenosis and destabilization of the genome in older animals. Finally, a specific subset of genes is coordinately altered both during chronological aging and in the transition from the reproductive form to the dauer, demonstrating a mechanistic overlap in aging between these two processes. Groups of assays that are related as part of a time series. Age: Age of organism Computed
Project description:Brain aging causes a progressive decline in functional capacity and is a strong risk factor for dementias such as Alzheimer’s disease. To characterize age-related proteomic changes in the brain, we used quantitative proteomics to examine brain tissues, cortex and hippocampus, of mice at three age points (3, 15, and 24 months old), and quantified more than 7,000 proteins in total with high reproducibility. We found that many of the proteins upregulated with age were extracellular proteins, such as extracellular matrix proteins and secreted proteins, associated with glial cells. On the other hand, many of the significantly downregulated proteins were associated with synapses, particularly postsynaptic density, specifically in the cortex but not in the hippocampus. Our datasets will be helpful as resources for understanding the molecular basis of brain aging.
Project description:Proteotoxic stress such as heat shock causes heat-shock factor (HSF)-dependent transcriptional upregulation of chaperones. Heat shock also leads to a rapid and reversible downregulation of many genes, a process we term stress-induced transcriptional attenuation (SITA). The mechanism underlying this conserved phenomenon is unknown. Here we report that enhanced recruitment of negative transcription elongation factors to gene promoters in human cell lines induces SITA. A chemical inhibitor screen showed that active translation and protein ubiquitination are required for the response. We further find that proteins translated during heat shock are subjected to ubiquitination and that p38 kinase signaling connects cytosolic translation with gene downregulation. Notably, brain samples of subjects with Huntington's disease also show transcriptional attenuation, which is recapitulated in cellular models of protein aggregation similar to heat shock. Thus our work identifies an HSF-independent mechanism that links nascent-protein ubiquitination to transcriptional downregulation during heat shock, with potential ramifications in neurodegenerative diseases.