Project description:Alzheimer’s Disease (AD) is the 6th leading cause of death in the US. It is established that neuroinflammation contributes to the synaptic loss, neuronal death, and symptomatic decline of AD patients. Accumulating evidence suggests a critical role for microglia, innate immune phagocytes of the brain. For instance, microglia release pro-inflammatory products such as IL-1β which is highly implicated in AD pathobiology. The mechanisms underlying the transition of microglia to proinflammatory promoters of AD remain largely unknown. To address this gap, we performed Representation Bisulfite Sequencing (RRBS) to profile global DNA methylation changes in human AD brains compared to no disease controls. We identified differential DNA methylation of CASPASE-4 (CASP4), which when expressed, can be involved in generation of IL-1β and is predominantly expressed in immune cells. DNA upstream of the CASP4 transcription start site was hypomethylated in human AD brains, which was correlated with increased expression of CASP4. Furthermore, microglia from a mouse model of AD (5xFAD) express increased levels of CASP4 compared to wild-type (WT) mice. To study the role of CASP4 in AD, we developed a novel mouse model of AD lacking CASP4 (5xFAD/Casp4-/-). The expression of CASP4 was associated with increased accumulation of pathologic protein aggregate amyloid-β (Aβ) in 5xFAD mice. Utilizing RNA sequencing, we determined that CASP4 promotes unique transcriptomic phenotypes in 5xFAD mouse brains, including alterations of neuroinflammatory and chemokine signaling pathways. Notably, in vitro, CASP4 promoted generation of IL-1β from macrophages and microglia in response to cytosolic Aβ through cleavage of downstream effector GASDERMIN-D (GSDMD). We are the first to describe a role for CASP4 and GSDMD in the generation of IL-1β in response to Aβ and the progression of pathologic inflammation in AD. Overall, our results demonstrate that overexpression of CASP4 due to differential methylation in AD microglia contributes to the progression of AD pathobiology, thus identifying CASP4 as a potential target for immunotherapies for the treatment of AD.

Project description:Microglia are innate immune cells of the brain that perform phagocytic and inflammatory functions in disease conditions. Transcriptomic studies of acutely-isolated microglia have provided novel insights into their molecular and functional diversity in homeostatic and neurodegenerative disease states. State-of-the-art mass spectrometric methods can comprehensively characterize proteomic alterations in microglia in neurodegenerative disorders, potentially providing novel functionally-relevant molecular insights that are not provided by transcriptomics. However, proteomic profiling of adult primary microglia in neurodegenerative disease conditions has not been performed. We performed quantitative proteomic analyses of purified CD11b+ acutely-isolated microglia adult mice in normal, acute neuroinflammatory (LPS-treatment) and chronic neurodegenerative states (5xFAD model of Alzheimer’s disease [AD]) using tandem mass tag mass spectrometry. Differential expression analyses were performed to characterize specific microglial proteomic changes in 5xFAD mice and identify overlap with LPS-induced pro-inflammatory changes. Our results were also contrasted with existing proteomic data from wild-type mouse microglia and from existing microglial transcriptomic data from wild-type and 5xFAD mice. Neuropathological validation studies of select proteins were performed in human AD and 5xFAD brains. Of 4,133 proteins identified, 187 microglial proteins were differentially expressed in the 5xFAD mouse model of AD pathology, including proteins with previously known (Apoe, Clu and Htra1) as well as previously unreported relevance to AD biology (Cotl1 and Hexb). Proteins upregulated in 5xFAD microglia shared significant overlap with pro-inflammatory changes observed in LPS-treated mice. Several proteins increased in human AD brain were also upregulated by 5xFAD microglia (Aβ peptide, Apoe, Htra1, Cotl1 and Clu). Cotl1 was identified as a novel microglia-specific marker with increased expression and strong association with AD neuropathology. Apoe protein was also detected within plaque-associated microglia in which Apoe and Aβ were highly co-localized suggesting a role for Apoe in phagocytic clearance of Aβ. We report the first comprehensive comparative proteomic study of adult mouse microglia derived from acute neuroinflammatory and AD models, representing a valuable resource to the neuroscience research community. We highlight shared and unique microglial proteomic changes in acute neuroinflammatory, aging and AD mouse models in addition to identifying novel roles for microglial proteins in human neurodegeneration.

Project description:Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is an unremitting neurodegenerative disorder characterized by cerebral amyloid-β (Aβ) accumulation and gradual decline in cognitive function. Changes in brain energy metabolism arise in the preclinical phase of AD, suggesting an important metabolic component of early AD pathology. Neurons and astrocytes function in close metabolic collaboration, which is essential for the recycling of neurotransmitters in the synapse. However, how this metabolic interplay may be affected during the early stages of AD development has not been sufficiently investigated. Here, we provide an integrative analysis of cellular metabolism during the early stages of Aβ accumulation in the cerebral cortex and hippocampus of the 5xFAD mouse model of AD. Our electrophysiological examination revealed an increase in spontaneous excitatory signaling in hippocampal brain slices of 5xFAD mice. This hyperactive neuronal phenotype coincided with decreased hippocampal TCA cycle metabolism mapped by stable 13C isotope tracing. Particularly, reduced astrocyte TCA cycle activity led to decreased glutamine synthesis, in turn hampering neuronal GABA synthesis in the 5xFAD hippocampus. In contrast, cerebral cortical slices of 5xFAD mice displayed an elevated capacity for oxidative glucose metabolism suggesting a metabolic compensation. When we explored the brain proteome and metabolome of the 5xFAD mice, we found limited changes, supporting that the functional metabolic disturbances between neurons and astrocytes are early events in AD pathology. In addition, we show that synaptic mitochondrial and glycolytic function was impaired selectively in the 5xFAD hippocampus, whereas non-synaptic mitochondrial function was maintained. These findings were supported by ultrastructural analyses demonstrating disruptions in mitochondrial morphology, particularly in the 5xFAD hippocampus. Collectively, our study reveals complex region and cell specific metabolic adaptations, in the early stages of amyloid pathology, which may be fundamental for the progressing synaptic dysfunction in AD.

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	ANAKIN_20160908_MK_EWB_04360_tg_8month_Cortex_1.raw	Raw
	ANAKIN_20160908_MK_EWB_04360_tg_8month_Cortex_2.raw	Raw
	ANAKIN_20160908_MK_EWB_04363_wt_8month_Cortex_1.raw	Raw
	ANAKIN_20160908_MK_EWB_04363_wt_8month_Cortex_2.raw	Raw
	ANAKIN_20160908_MK_EWB_04376_wt_8month_Cortex_1.raw	Raw

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A proteomics analysis of 5xFAD mouse brain regions reveals the lysosome-associated protein Arl8b as a candidate biomarker for Alzheimers disease

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