Neuroscience
Abstract
Background: Circadian timing of treatments can largely improve tolerability and efficacy in patients. Thus, drug metabolism and cell cycle are controlled by molecular clocks in each cell, and coordinated by the core body temperature 24-hour rhythm, which is generated by the hypothalamic pacemaker. Individual circadian phase is currently estimated with questionnaire-based chronotype, center-of-rest time, dim light melatonin onset (DLMO), or timing of CBT maximum (acrophase) or minimum (bathyphase). Methods: We aimed at circadian phase determination and read-out during daily routine in volunteers stratified by sex and age. We measured (i) chronotype; (ii) q1min CBT using two electronic pills swallowed 24-hours apart; (iii) DLMO through hourly salivary samples from 18:00 to bedtime; (iv) q1min accelerations and surface temperature at anterior chest level for seven days, using a tele-transmitting sensor. Circadian phases were computed using cosinor and Hidden-Markov modelling. Multivariate regression identified the combination of biomarkers that best predicted core temperature circadian bathyphase. Results: Amongst the 33 participants, individual circadian phases were spread over 5h10min (DLMO), 7h (CBT bathyphase) and 9h10 min (surface temperature acrophase). CBT bathyphase was accurately predicted, i.e. with an error <1h for 78.8% of the subjects, using a new digital health algorithm (INTime), combining time-invariant sex and chronotype score, with computed center-of-rest time and surface temperature bathyphase (adjusted R-squared = 0.637). Conclusion: INTime provided a continuous and reliable circadian phase estimate in real time. This model helps integrate circadian clocks into precision medicine and will enable treatment timing personalisation following further validation.
Authors
Sandra Komarzynski, Matei Bolborea, Qi Huang, Bärbel Finkenstädt, Francis Lévi
Abstract
Aminoglycoside (AG) antibiotics are widely used to prevent life-threatening infections, and cisplatin is used in the treatment of various cancers, but both are ototoxic and result in loss of sensory hair cells from the inner ear. ORC-13661 is a new drug that was derived from PROTO-1, a compound first identified as protective in a large-scale screen utilizing hair cells in the lateral line organs of zebrafish larvae. Here, we demonstrate, in zebrafish larvae and in mouse cochlear cultures, that ORC-13661 provides robust protection of hair cells against both ototoxins, the AGs and cisplatin. ORC-13661 also prevents both hearing loss in a dose-dependent manner in rats treated with amikacin and the loading of neomycin-Texas Red into lateral line hair cells. In addition, patch-clamp recordings in mouse cochlear cultures reveal that ORC-13661 is a high-affinity permeant blocker of the mechanoelectrical transducer (MET) channel in outer hair cells, suggesting that it may reduce the toxicity of AGs by directly competing for entry at the level of the MET channel and of cisplatin by a MET-dependent mechanism. ORC-13661 is therefore a promising and versatile protectant that reversibly blocks the hair cell MET channel and operates across multiple species and toxins.
Authors
Siân R. Kitcher, Nerissa K. Kirkwood, Esra D. Camci, Patricia Wu, Robin M. Gibson, Van A. Redila, Julian A. Simon, Edwin W. Rubel, David W. Raible, Guy P. Richardson, Corné J. Kros
Abstract
Prion disease is a fatal, incurable neurodegenerative disease of humans and other mammals caused by conversion of cellular prion protein (PrP; PrPC) into a self-propagating neurotoxic conformer (prions; PrPSc). Strong genetic proofs of concept support lowering PrP expression as a therapeutic strategy. Antisense oligonucleotides (ASOs) can provide a practical route to lowering one target mRNA in the brain, but their development for prion disease has been hindered by three unresolved questions from prior work: uncertainty about mechanism of action, unclear potential for efficacy against established prion infection, and poor tolerability of drug delivery by osmotic pumps. Here we test antisense oligonucleotides (ASOs) delivered by bolus intracerebroventricular injection to intracerebrally prion-infected wild-type mice. Prophylactic treatments given every 2-3 months extended survival times 61-98%, and a single injection at 120 days post-infection, near the onset of clinical signs, extended survival 55% (87 days). In contrast, a non-targeting control ASO was ineffective. Thus, PrP lowering is the mechanism of action of ASOs effective against prion disease in vivo, and infrequent, or even single, bolus injections of ASOs can slow prion neuropathogenesis and markedly extend survival, even when initiated near clinical signs. These findings should empower development of PrP-lowering therapy for prion disease.
Authors
Gregory J. Raymond, Hien Tran Zhao, Brent Race, Lynne D. Raymond, Katie Williams, Eric E. Swayze, Samantha Graffam, Jason Le, Tyler Caron, Jacquelyn Stathopoulos, Rhonda O'Keefe, Lori L. Lubke, Andrew G. Reidenbach, Allison Kraus, Stuart L. Schreiber, Curt Mazur, Deborah E. Cabin, Jeffrey B. Carroll, Eric Vallabh Minikel, Holly Kordasiewicz, Byron Caughey, Sonia M. Vallabh
Abstract
BACKGROUND. Lewy body diseases, a family of aging-related neurodegenerative disorders, entail loss of the catecholamine dopamine in the nigrostriatal system and equally severe deficiency of the closely related catecholamine norepinephrine in the heart. The myocardial noradrenergic lesion is associated with major non-motor symptoms and decreased survival. Numerous mechanisms determine norepinephrine stores, and which of these are altered in Lewy body diseases has not been examined in an integrated way. We used a computational modeling approach to assess comprehensively pathways of cardiac norepinephrine synthesis, storage, release, reuptake, and metabolism in Lewy body diseases. Application of a novel kinetic model identified a pattern of dysfunctional steps contributing to norepinephrine deficiency. We then tested predictions from the model in a new cohort of Parkinson disease patients. METHODS. Rate constants were calculated for 17 reactions determining intra-neuronal norepinephrine stores. Model predictions were tested by measuring post-mortem apical ventricular concentrations and concentration ratios of catechols in controls and patients with Parkinson disease. RESULTS. The model identified low rate constants for three types of processes in the Lewy body group—catecholamine biosynthesis via tyrosine hydroxylase and L-aromatic-amino-acid decarboxylase, vesicular storage of dopamine and norepinephrine, and neuronal norepinephrine reuptake via the cell membrane norepinephrine transporter. Post-mortem catechols and catechol ratios confirmed this triad of model-predicted functional abnormalities. CONCLUSION. Denervation-independent impairments of neurotransmitter biosynthesis, vesicular sequestration, and norepinephrine recycling contribute to the myocardial norepinephrine deficiency attending Lewy body diseases. A proportion of cardiac sympathetic nerves are “sick but not dead,” suggesting targeted disease-modification strategies might retard clinical progression. TRIAL REGISTRATION. This study was not a clinical trial. FUNDING. The research reported here was supported by the Division of Intramural Research, NINDS.
Authors
David S. Goldstein, Mark J. Pekker, Graeme Eisenhofer, Yehonatan Sharabi
Abstract
Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is a fatal motor neuron disease with diverse etiologies. Therefore, the identification of common disease mechanisms and therapeutics targeting these mechanisms could dramatically improve clinical outcomes. To this end, we developed induced motor neuron (iMN) models from C9ORF72 and sporadic ALS (sALS) patients to identify targets that are effective against these types of cases, which together comprise ~90% of patients. We find that iMNs from C9ORF72 and several sporadic ALS patients share two common defects – impaired autophagosome formation and the aberrant accumulation of glutamate receptors. Moreover, we show that an anticoagulation-deficient form of activated protein C, 3K3A-APC, rescues these defects in both C9ORF72 and sporadic ALS iMNs. As a result, 3K3A-APC treatment lowers C9ORF72 dipeptide repeat protein (DPR) levels, restores nuclear TDP-43 localization, and rescues the survival of both C9ORF72 and sporadic ALS iMNs. Importantly, 3K3A-APC also lowers glutamate receptor levels and rescues proteostasis in vivo in C9ORF72 gain- and loss-of-function mouse models. Thus, motor neurons from C9ORF72 and at least a subset of sporadic ALS patients share common, early defects in autophagosome formation and glutamate receptor homeostasis and a single therapeutic approach may be efficacious against these disease processes.
Authors
Yingxiao Shi, Shu-Ting Hung, Gabriel Rocha, Shaoyu Lin, Gabriel R. Linares, Kim A. Staats, Carina Seah, Yaoming Wang, Michael Chickering, Jesse Lai, Tohru Sugawara, Abhay P. Sagare, Berislav V. Zlokovic, Justin K. Ichida
Abstract
TRIOBP remodels the cytoskeleton by forming unusually dense F-actin bundles and is implicated in human cancer, schizophrenia, and deafness. Mutations ablating human and mouse TRIOBP-4 and TRIOBP-5 isoforms are associated with profound deafness, as inner ear mechanosensory hair cells degenerate after stereocilia rootlets fail to develop. However, the mechanisms regulating formation of stereocilia rootlets by each TRIOBP isoform remain unknown. Using 3 new Triobp mouse models, we report that TRIOBP-5 is essential for thickening bundles of F-actin in rootlets, establishing their mature dimensions and for stiffening supporting cells of the auditory sensory epithelium. The coiled-coil domains of this isoform are required for reinforcement and maintenance of stereocilia rootlets. A loss of TRIOBP-5 in mouse results in dysmorphic rootlets that are abnormally thin in the cuticular plate but have increased widths and lengths within stereocilia cores, and causes progressive deafness recapitulating the human phenotype. Our study extends the current understanding of TRIOBP isoform–specific functions necessary for life-long hearing, with implications for insight into other TRIOBPopathies.
Authors
Tatsuya Katsuno, Inna A. Belyantseva, Alexander X. Cartagena-Rivera, Keisuke Ohta, Shawn M. Crump, Ronald S. Petralia, Kazuya Ono, Risa Tona, Ayesha Imtiaz, Atteeq Rehman, Hiroshi Kiyonari, Mari Kaneko, Ya-Xian Wang, Takaya Abe, Makoto Ikeya, Cristina Fenollar-Ferrer, Gavin P. Riordan, Elisabeth A. Wilson, Tracy S. Fitzgerald, Kohei Segawa, Koichi Omori, Juichi Ito, Gregory I. Frolenkov, Thomas B. Friedman, Shin-ichiro Kitajiri
Abstract
BACKGROUND The hereditary transthyretin (TTR) amyloidoses are a group of diseases for which several disease-modifying treatments are now available. Long-term effectiveness of these therapies is not yet fully known. Moreover, the existence of alternative therapies has resulted in an urgent need to identify patient characteristics that predict response to each therapy.METHODS We carried out a retrospective cohort study of 210 patients with hereditary TTR amyloidosis treated with the kinetic stabilizer tafamidis (20 mg qd). These patients were followed for a period of 18–66 months, after which they were classified by an expert as responders, partial responders, or nonresponders. Correlations between baseline demographic and clinical characteristics, as well as plasma biomarkers and response to therapy, were investigated.RESULTS 34% of patients exhibited an almost complete arrest of disease progression (classified by an expert as responders); 36% had a partial to complete arrest in progression of some but not all disease components (partial responders); whereas the remaining 30% continued progressing despite therapy (nonresponders). We determined that disease severity, sex, and native TTR concentration at the outset of treatment were the most relevant predictors of response to tafamidis. Plasma tafamidis concentration after 12 months of therapy was also a predictor of response for male patients. Using these variables, we built a model to predict responsiveness to tafamidis.CONCLUSION Our study indicates long-term effectiveness for tafamidis, a kinetic stabilizer approved for the treatment of hereditary TTR amyloidosis. Moreover, we created a predictive model that can be potentially used in the clinical setting to inform patients and clinicians in their therapeutic decisions.
Authors
Cecília Monteiro, Jaleh S. Mesgazardeh, João Anselmo, Joana Fernandes, Marta Novais, Carla Rodrigues, Gabriel J. Brighty, David L. Powers, Evan T. Powers, Teresa Coelho, Jeffery W. Kelly
Abstract
In the United States, poison ivy exposure is the most common naturally occurring allergen to cause allergic contact dermatitis (ACD). The immune and pruritic mechanisms associated with poison ivy ACD remain largely unexplored. Here, we compared skin whole transcriptomes and itch mediator levels in mouse ACD models induced by the poison ivy allergen, urushiol, and the synthetic allergen, oxazolone. The urushiol model produced a Th2-biased immune response and scratching behavior, resembling findings in poison ivy patients. Urushiol-challenged skin contained elevated levels of the cytokine thymic stromal lymphopoietin (TSLP), a T-cell regulator and itch mediator, and pruritogenic serotonin (5-HT) and endothelin (ET-1), but not substance P (SP) or histamine. The oxazolone model generated a mixed Th1/Th2 response associated with increased levels of substance P, 5-HT, ET-1, but not TSLP or histamine. Injections of a TSLP monoclonal neutralizing antibody, serotonergic or endothelin inhibitors, but not SP inhibitors or antihistamines, reduced scratching behaviors in urushiol-challenged mice. Our findings suggest that the mouse urushiol model may serve as a translational model of human poison ivy ACD study. Inhibiting signaling by TSLP and other cytokines may represent alternatives to the standard steroid/antihistamine regimen for steroid-resistant or -intolerant patients and in exaggerated systemic responses to poison ivy.
Authors
Boyi Liu, Yan Tai, Boyu Liu, Ana I. Caceres, Chengyu Yin, Sven-Eric Jordt
Abstract
Parkinson’s is primarily a non-familial, age-related disorder caused by α-synuclein accumulation and the progressive loss of dopamine neurons in the substantia nigra pars compacta (SNc). G protein-coupled receptor (GPCR)-cAMP signaling has been linked to a reduction in human Parkinson’s incidence and α-synuclein expression. Neuronal cAMP levels are controlled by GPCRs coupled to Gs or Gi/o, which increase or decrease cAMP, respectively. Regulator of G protein signaling 6 (RGS6) powerfully inhibits Gi/o signaling. Therefore, we hypothesized that RGS6 suppresses D2 autoreceptor- Gi/o signaling in SNc dopamine neurons promoting neuronal survival and reducing α-synuclein expression. Here we provide novel evidence that RGS6 critically suppresses late-age-onset SNc dopamine neuron loss and α-synuclein accumulation. RGS6 is restrictively expressed in human SNc dopamine neurons and, despite their loss in Parkinson’s, all surviving neurons express RGS6. RGS6-/- mice exhibit hyperactive D2 autoreceptors with reduced cAMP signaling in SNc dopamine neurons. Importantly, RGS6-/- mice recapitulate key sporadic Parkinson’s hallmarks, including: SNc dopamine neuron loss, reduced nigrostriatal dopamine, motor deficits, and α-synuclein accumulation. To our knowledge, Rgs6 is the only gene whose loss phenocopies these features of human Parkinson’s. Therefore, RGS6 is a key regulator of D2R-Gi/o signaling in SNc dopamine neurons, protecting against Parkinson’s neurodegeneration and α-synuclein accumulation.
Authors
Zili Luo, Katelin E. Ahlers-Dannen, Mackenzie M. Spicer, Jianqi Yang, Stephanie Alberico, Hanna E. Stevens, Nandakumar S. Narayanan, Rory A. Fisher
Abstract
The discovery of novel biomarkers has emerged as a critical need for therapeutic development in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). For some subsets of ALS, such as the genetic superoxide dismutase 1 (SOD1) form, exciting new treatment strategies, such as antisense oligonucleotide–mediated (ASO-mediated) SOD1 silencing, are being tested in clinical trials, so the identification of pharmacodynamic biomarkers for therapeutic monitoring is essential. We identify increased levels of a 7–amino acid endogenous peptide of SOD1 in cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) of human SOD1 mutation carriers but not in other neurological cases or nondiseased controls. Levels of peptide elevation vary based on the specific SOD1 mutation (ranging from 1.1-fold greater than control in D90A to nearly 30-fold greater in V148G) and correlate with previously published measurements of SOD1 stability. Using a mass spectrometry–based method (liquid chromatography–mass spectrometry), we quantified peptides in both extracellular samples (CSF) and intracellular samples (spinal cord from rat) to demonstrate that the peptide distinguishes mutation-specific differences in intracellular SOD1 degradation. Furthermore, 80% and 63% reductions of the peptide were measured in SOD1G93A and SOD1H46R rat CSF samples, respectively, following treatment with ASO, with an improved correlation to mRNA levels in spinal cords compared with the ELISA measuring intact SOD1 protein. These data demonstrate the potential of this peptide as a pharmacodynamic biomarker.
Authors
Ilya Gertsman, Joanne Wuu, Melissa McAlonis-Downes, Majid Ghassemian, Karen Ling, Frank Rigo, Frank Bennett, Michael Benatar, Timothy M. Miller, Sandrine Da Cruz
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