Project description:Alzheimer's disease (AD) is characterized by a sequential progression of amyloid plaques (A), neurofibrillary tangles (T) and neurodegeneration (N), constituting ATN pathology. While microglia are considered key contributors to AD pathogenesis, their contribution in the combined presence of ATN pathologies remains incompletely understood. As sensors of the brain microenvironment, microglial phenotypes and contributions are importantly defined by the pathologies in the brain, indicating the need for their analysis in preclinical models that recapitulate combined ATN pathologies, besides their role in A and T models only. Here, we report a new tau-seed model in which amyloid pathology facilitates bilateral tau propagation associated with brain atrophy, thereby recapitulating robust ATN pathology. Single-cell RNA sequencing revealed that ATN pathology exacerbated microglial activation towards disease-associated microglia (DAM) states, with a significant upregulation of Apoe as compared to amyloid-only models (A). Importantly, Colony-Stimulating Factor 1 Receptor inhibition preferentially eliminated non-plaque-associated versus plaque associated microglia. The preferential depletion of non-plaque-associated microglia significantly attenuated tau pathology and neuronal atrophy, indicating their detrimental role during ATN progression. Together, our data reveal the intricacies of microglial activation and their contributions to pathology in a model that recapitulates the combined ATN pathologies of Alzheimer's disease. Our data may provide a basis for microglia-targeting therapies selectively targeting detrimental microglial populations, while conserving protective populations.
Project description:Microglia-mediated neuroinflammation has been implicated in the pathogenesis of Alzheimer's disease (AD). Although microglia in aging and neurodegenerative disease model mice show a loss of homeostatic phenotype and activation of disease-associated microglia (DAM), a correlation between those phenotypes and the degree of neuronal cell loss has not been clarified. In this study, we performed RNA sequencing of microglia isolated from three representative neurodegenerative mouse models, AppNL-G-F/NL-G-F with amyloid pathology, rTg4510 with tauopathy, and SOD1G93A with motor neuron disease by magnetic activated cell sorting. In parallel, gene expression patterns of the human precuneus with early Alzheimer's change (n=11) and control brain (n=14) were also analyzed by RNA sequencing. We found that a substantial reduction of homeostatic microglial genes in rTg4510 and SOD1G93A microglia, whereas DAM genes were uniformly upregulated in all mouse models. The reduction of homeostatic microglial genes was correlated with the degree of neuronal cell loss. In human precuneus with early AD pathology, reduced expression of genes related to microglia- and oligodendrocyte-specific markers was observed, although the expression of DAM genes was not upregulated. Our results implicate a loss of homeostatic microglial function in the progression of AD and other neurodegenerative diseases. Moreover, analyses of human precuneus also suggest loss of microglia and oligodendrocyte functions induced by early amyloid pathology in human.
Project description:Elucidating the intricate molecular mechanisms of Alzheimer's disease (AD) requires a multidimensional analysis incorporating various omics data. In this study, we employed transcriptome and proteome profiling of AppNL-G-F, a human APP knock-in model of amyloidosis, at the early and mid-stages of amyloid-beta (Aβ) pathology, to delineate the impacts of Aβ deposition on brain cells. By contrasting AppNL-G-F mice with TREM2 (Triggering receptor expressed on myeloid cells 2) knockout models, our study further investigates the role of TREM2, a well-known AD risk gene, in influencing microglial responses to Aβ pathology. Our results highlight microglial activation as a central feature of Aβ pathology, characterized by the significant upregulation of microglia-specific genes related to immune responses such as complement system and antigen presentation, and catabolic pathways such as phagosome formation and lysosome biogenesis. The absence of TREM2 markedly diminishes the induction of these genes, impairs Aβ clearance, and exacerbates dystrophic neurite formation. Importantly, TREM2 is required for the microglial engagement with Aβ plaques and the formation of compact Aβ plaque cores. Furthermore, this study reveals substantial disruptions in energy metabolism and protein synthesis, signaling a shift from anabolism to catabolism in response to Aβ deposition. This metabolic alteration, coupled with a decrease in synaptic protein abundance, occurs independently of TREM2, suggesting the direct effects of Aβ deposition on synaptic integrity and plasticity. In summary, our findings demonstrate significant microglial activation and metabolic disruption following Aβ deposition, offering mechanistic insights into Aβ pathology and highlighting the potential of targeting these pathways in AD therapy.
Project description:Alzheimer's disease (AD) is the most common neurodegenerative disorder affecting memory and cognition. The disease is accompanied by an abnormal deposition of ß-amyloid plaques in the brain that contributes to neurodegeneration and is known to induce glial inflammation. Studies in the APP/PS1 mouse model of ß-amyloid-induced neuropathology have suggested a role for inflammasome activation in ß-amyloid-induced neuroinflammation and neuropathology. Here, we evaluated the in vivo role of microglia-selective and full body inflammasome signalling in several mouse models of ß-amyloid-induced AD neuropathology. Unexpectedly, microglia-specific deletion of the inflammasome regulator A20 and inflammasome effector protease caspase-1 in the AppNL-G-F and APP/PS1 models failed to identify a prominent role for microglial inflammasome signalling in ß-amyloid-induced neuropathology. Moreover, global inflammasome inactivation through respectively full body deletion of caspases 1 and 11 in AppNL-G-F mice and Nlrp3 deletion in APP/PS1 mice, also failed to modulate amyloid pathology and disease progression. In agreement, single-cell RNA sequencing did not reveal an important role for Nlrp3 signalling in driving microglial activation and the transition into disease-associated states, both during homeostasis and upon amyloid pathology. Collectively, these results question a generalizable role for inflammasome activation in pre-clinical amyloid-only models of neuroinflammation.
Project description:Microglial dysfunction is a key pathological feature of Alzheimer´s disease (AD), but little is known about proteome-wide changes in microglia during the course of AD pathogenesis and their consequences for microglial function. Here, we performed an in-depth proteomic characterization of microglia in two AD mouse models, the overexpression APPPS1 and the knock-in AppNL-G-F (APP-KI) model. Proteome changes were followed from pre-deposition to early, middle and advanced stages of amyloid plaque pathology, revealing a large panel of Microglial Amyloid Response Proteins (MARPs) that reflect a heterogeneity of microglial alterations triggered by Adeposition. We demonstrate that the occurrence of MARPs coincided with the deposition of fibrillar A, recruitment of microglia to amyloid plaques and phagocytic dysfunction. While the proteomic and functional microglial changes were already markedly seen in 3 months old APPPS1 mice, they were delayed in the APP-KI model that generates substantially less fibrillar A. The identified microglial proteomic fingerprints of AD provide a valuable resource for functional studies of novel molecular targets and potential biomarkers for monitoring AD progression or therapeutic efficacy.
Project description:Along with the two hallmark pathologies—intracellular neurofibrillary tangles (NFTs) and extracellular amyloid plaques—transcriptional studies suggest that Alzheimer's disease (AD) results from dysfunction of many cellular pathways including synaptic transmission, cytoskeletal dynamics, and apoptosis. While these studies consistently point to the same pathways involved in AD, there is no consensus on which genes in each pathway are disease-relevant, much less on whether these genes play causative roles or are downstream effects of disease progression. To address these issues, we have performed a large-scale transcriptional analysis in brain of individuals with advanced AD and non-demented controls, focusing specifically on CA1 and the relatively less affected CA3. For comparisons between regions and across disease status, we find consistency in both pathway enrichment as well as specific differentially expressed genes across several studies. Furthermore, genes that show decreased expression with AD progression also tend to show enrichment in CA3 (and vice versa), suggesting that transcription levels in a region may reflect that region's vulnerability to disease. In particular, we find several strong candidate vulnerability (ABCA1, MT1H, PDK4, RHOBTB3) and protection (FAM13A1, LINGO2, UNC13C) genes based on expression patterns. We have also applied weighted gene coexpression network analysis (WGCNA) to explore the pathophysiology of AD from a systems perspective, finding modules for major cell types, which each show distinct disease-relevant expression patterns. In particular, a microglial module shows increased expression in the brain of non-demented controls harboring early NFT pathology, suggesting that microglial activation is an early event in AD progression. Total RNA obtained from 60um sections of frozen human hippocampus was collected using scalpel dissection. Control and AD brains were matched for all non-disease characteristics as closely as possible. CA1 and CA3 dissections for a given individual were taken from the same section. Several region- and disease-related comparisons were performed.
Project description:Background: ABCA1 has recently been identified as a novel genetic risk factor for Alzheimer’s disease. The major known role of ABCA1 in the brain is to transfer lipids onto lipid poor APOE. Given that APOEε4 is the strongest genetic risk factor for developing late onset Alzheimer’s disease, this recent finding implicates the cholesterol homeostatic pathway in the onset/progression of Alzheimer’s disease. microRNAs (miRs) are small RNA species that negatively regulate expression of their target genes. ABCA1 is regulated by miR-33, and loss of this miR significantly increases protein levels of ABCA1 and increases the lipidation of APOE. However, it is unknown if loss of miR-33 and subsequent increase in ABCA1 protein levels ameliorates amyloid pathology. Methods: We generated miR-33+/+;APP/PS1 and miR-33-/-;APP/PS1 mice to determine changes in amyloid-beta (Aβ) peptides and amyloid plaque formation utilizing biochemical and histological analyses. In addition to amyloid pathology, we assessed if deletion of miR-33 altered the activation of glial cells in the brains of these mice. We utilized in vitro methods to determine if miR-33 alters the phagocytosis of Aβ aggregates. We utilized RNA-sequencing and mass spectrometry to identify the transcriptome and proteome regulation by miR-33 in the context of amyloid pathology. Results: Deletion of miR-33 dramatically reduces insoluble Aβ peptide levels and the deposition of amyloid plaques in APP/PS1 mice. In addition, we identified that astrocyte and microglial activation is markedly decreased in miR-33-/-;APP/PS1 mice through histological analyses. Intriguingly, we show that loss of miR-33 results in amyloid plaques that are more compact, potentially implicating enhanced microglial phagocytosis. We confirm in vitro that loss of miR-33 significantly increases microglial phagocytosis of Aβ aggregates. Our multi-omics analyses reveal that deletion of miR-33 regulates immune response in the context of amyloid pathology. Interestingly, we identified that WNT/Beta-catenin signaling is significantly upregulated in miR-33-/-;APP/PS1 mice. Conclusion: We confirm that the deletion of miR-33 increases APOE lipidation and significantly reduces amyloid pathology as well as glial activation in APP/PS1 mice. Our results agree with previous work identifying APOE lipidation as an important modulator of amyloid pathology. We show, for the first time, that loss of miR-33 increases the phagocytosis of Aβ by microglia. In total, we identify miR-33 as a promising target for the amelioration of amyloid pathology.
Project description:Amyloid-beta (Aβ) is a key factor in the onset and progression of Alzheimer's disease (AD). Selenium (Se) compounds show promise in AD treatment. Here, we reveal that selenoprotein K (SELENOK), a selenoprotein involved in immune regulation and potentially related to AD pathology, plays a critical role in microglial immune response, migration, and phagocytosis. In vivo and in vitro studies corroborate that SELENOK deficiency inhibits microglial Aβ phagocytosis, exacerbating cognitive deficits in 5xFAD mice, which are reversed by SELENOK overexpression. Mechanistically, SELENOK is involved in CD36 palmitoylation through DHHC6, regulating CD36 localization to microglial plasma membranes and thus impacting Aβ phagocytosis. CD36 palmitoylation is reduced in the brains of AD patients and mice. Se supplementation promotes SELENOK expression and CD36 palmitoylation, enhancing microglial Aβ phagocytosis and mitigating AD progression. We have identified the regulatory mechanisms from Se-dependent selenoproteins to Aβ pathology, providing novel insights into potential therapeutic strategies involving Se and selenoproteins.
Project description:Recently, we showed that administration of B. breve MCC1274 reduced amyloid-beta production, inhibited microglial activation, and suppressed inflammatory responses in the brains of APP knock-in (AppNL-G-F) mice. To elucidate the mechanism of action of this probiotic strain in an Alzheimer's disease-like model, we orally fed 3-month-old mice with B. breve MCC1274 or saline for 4 months and comprehensively investigated metabolites in plasma using CE-FTMS and LC-TOFMS.