Filter and export

Publications

What is a Publication?
52 Publications visible to you, out of a total of 52
A genome-wide in vivo CRISPR screen identifies essential regulators of T cell migration to the CNS in a multiple sclerosis model.

Abstract (Expand)

Multiple sclerosis (MS) involves the infiltration of autoreactive T cells into the CNS, yet we lack a comprehensive understanding of the signaling pathways that regulate this process. Here, we conducted … a genome-wide in vivo CRISPR screen in a rat MS model and identified 5 essential brakes and 18 essential facilitators of T cell migration to the CNS. While the transcription factor ETS1 limits entry to the CNS by controlling T cell responsiveness, three functional modules, centered around the adhesion molecule alpha4-integrin, the chemokine receptor CXCR3 and the GRK2 kinase, are required for CNS migration of autoreactive CD4(+) T cells. Single-cell analysis of T cells from individuals with MS confirmed that the expression of these essential regulators correlates with the propensity of CD4(+) T cells to reach the CNS. Our data thus reveal key regulators of the fundamental step in the induction of MS lesions.

Authors: A. Kendirli, C. de la Rosa, K. F. Lammle, K. Eglseer, I. J. Bauer, V. Kavaka, S. Winklmeier, L. Zhuo, C. Wichmann, L. A. Gerdes, T. Kumpfel, K. Dornmair, E. Beltran, M. Kerschensteiner, N. Kawakami

Date Published: 4th Oct 2023

Publication Type: Journal

Targeting the TCA cycle can ameliorate widespread axonal energy deficiency in neuroinflammatory lesions.

Abstract (Expand)

Inflammation in the central nervous system can impair the function of neuronal mitochondria and contributes to axon degeneration in the common neuroinflammatory disease multiple sclerosis (MS). Here … we combine cell-type-specific mitochondrial proteomics with in vivo biosensor imaging to dissect how inflammation alters the molecular composition and functional capacity of neuronal mitochondria. We show that neuroinflammatory lesions in the mouse spinal cord cause widespread and persisting axonal ATP deficiency, which precedes mitochondrial oxidation and calcium overload. This axonal energy deficiency is associated with impaired electron transport chain function, but also an upstream imbalance of tricarboxylic acid (TCA) cycle enzymes, with several, including key rate-limiting, enzymes being depleted in neuronal mitochondria in experimental models and in MS lesions. Notably, viral overexpression of individual TCA enzymes can ameliorate the axonal energy deficits in neuroinflammatory lesions, suggesting that TCA cycle dysfunction in MS may be amendable to therapy.

Authors: Y. H. Tai, D. Engels, G. Locatelli, I. Emmanouilidis, C. Fecher, D. Theodorou, S. A. Muller, S. Licht-Mayer, M. Kreutzfeldt, I. Wagner, N. P. de Mello, S. N. Gkotzamani, L. Trovo, A. Kendirli, A. Aljovic, M. O. Breckwoldt, R. Naumann, F. M. Bareyre, F. Perocchi, D. Mahad, D. Merkler, S. F. Lichtenthaler, M. Kerschensteiner, T. Misgeld

Date Published: 25th Aug 2023

Publication Type: Journal

The COP9 signalosome reduces neuroinflammation and attenuates ischemic neuronal stress in organotypic brain slice culture model.

Abstract (Expand)

The constitutive photomorphogenesis 9 (COP9) signalosome (CSN) is a deNEDDylase controlling ubiquitination activity of cullin-RING-E3 ligases (CRLs) and thus the levels of key cellular proteins. While … the CSN and its catalytic subunit CSN5 have been extensively studied in cancer, its role in inflammatory and neurological diseases is less understood. Following verification that CSN5 is expressed in mouse and human brain, here we studied the role of the CSN in neuroinflammation and ischemic neuronal damage employing models of relevant brain-resident cell types, an ex vivo organotypic brain slice culture model, and the CRL NEDDylation state-modifying drugs MLN4924 and CSN5i-3, which mimic and inhibit, respectively, CSN5 deNEDDylase activity. Untargeted mass spectrometry-based proteomics revealed that MLN4924 and CSN5i-3 substantially alter the microglial proteome, including inflammation-related proteins. Applying these drugs and mimicking microglial and endothelial inflammation as well as ischemic neuronal stress by TNF and oxygen-glucose-deprivation/reoxygenation (OGD/RO) treatment, respectively, we could link CSN5/CSN-mediated cullin deNEDDylation to reduction of microglial inflammation, attenuated cerebral endothelial inflammation, improved barrier integrity, as well as protection from ischemic stress-induced neuronal cell death. Specifically, MLN4924 reduced phagocytic activity, motility, and inflammatory cytokine expression of microglial cells, and this was linked to inhibition of inflammation-induced NF-kappaB and Akt signaling. Inversely, Csn5 knockdown and CSN5i-3 increased NF-kappaB signaling. Moreover, MLN4924 abrogated TNF-induced NF-kappaB signaling in cerebral microvascular endothelial cells (hCMECs) and rescued hCMEC monolayers from OGD/RO-triggered barrier leakage, while CSN5i-3 exacerbated permeability. In an ex vivo organotypic brain slice model of ischemia/reperfusion stress, MLN4924 protected from neuronal death, while CSN5i-3 impaired neuronal survival. Neuronal damage was attributable to microglial activation and inflammatory cytokines, as indicated by microglial shape tracking and TNF-blocking experiments. Our results indicate a protective role of the CSN in neuroinflammation via brain-resident cell types involved in ischemic brain disease and implicate CSN activity-mimicking deNEDDylating drugs as potential therapeutics.

Authors: Y. Tian, J. Milic, L. S. Monasor, R. Chakraborty, S. Wang, Y. Yuan, Y. Asare, C. Behrends, S. Tahirovic, J. Bernhagen

Date Published: 19th Aug 2023

Publication Type: Journal

Reactivated endogenous retroviruses promote protein aggregate spreading.

Abstract (Expand)

Prion-like spreading of protein misfolding is a characteristic of neurodegenerative diseases, but the exact mechanisms of intercellular protein aggregate dissemination remain unresolved. Evidence … accumulates that endogenous retroviruses, remnants of viral germline infections that are normally epigenetically silenced, become upregulated in neurodegenerative diseases such as amyotrophic lateral sclerosis and tauopathies. Here we uncover that activation of endogenous retroviruses affects prion-like spreading of proteopathic seeds. We show that upregulation of endogenous retroviruses drastically increases the dissemination of protein aggregates between cells in culture, a process that can be inhibited by targeting the viral envelope protein or viral protein processing. Human endogenous retrovirus envelopes of four different clades also elevate intercellular spreading of proteopathic seeds, including pathological Tau. Our data support a role of endogenous retroviruses in protein misfolding diseases and suggest that antiviral drugs could represent promising candidates for inhibiting protein aggregate spreading.

Authors: S. Liu, S. E. Heumuller, A. Hossinger, S. A. Muller, O. Buravlova, S. F. Lichtenthaler, P. Denner, I. M. Vorberg

Date Published: 18th Aug 2023

Publication Type: Journal

C9orf72 protein quality control by UBR5-mediated heterotypic ubiquitin chains.

Abstract (Expand)

Hexanucleotide repeat expansions within C9orf72 are a frequent cause of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis and frontotemporal dementia. Haploinsufficiency leading to reduced C9orf72 protein contributes to … disease pathogenesis. C9orf72 binds SMCR8 to form a robust complex that regulates small GTPases, lysosomal integrity, and autophagy. In contrast to this functional understanding, we know far less about the assembly and turnover of the C9orf72-SMCR8 complex. Loss of either subunit causes the concurrent ablation of the respective partner. However, the molecular mechanism underlying this interdependence remains elusive. Here, we identify C9orf72 as a substrate of branched ubiquitin chain-dependent protein quality control. We find that SMCR8 prevents C9orf72 from rapid degradation by the proteasome. Mass spectrometry and biochemical analyses reveal the E3 ligase UBR5 and the BAG6 chaperone complex as C9orf72-interacting proteins, which are components of the machinery that modifies proteins with K11/K48-linked heterotypic ubiquitin chains. Depletion of UBR5 results in reduced K11/K48 ubiquitination and increased C9orf72 when SMCR8 is absent. Our data provide novel insights into C9orf72 regulation with potential implication for strategies to antagonize C9orf72 loss during disease progression.

Authors: J. Julg, D. Edbauer, C. Behrends

Date Published: 3rd Aug 2023

Publication Type: Journal

Spatial Transcriptomics-correlated Electron Microscopy maps transcriptional and ultrastructural responses to brain injury.

Abstract (Expand)

Understanding the complexity of cellular function within a tissue necessitates the combination of multiple phenotypic readouts. Here, we developed a method that links spatially-resolved gene expression … of single cells with their ultrastructural morphology by integrating multiplexed error-robust fluorescence in situ hybridization (MERFISH) and large area volume electron microscopy (EM) on adjacent tissue sections. Using this method, we characterized in situ ultrastructural and transcriptional responses of glial cells and infiltrating T-cells after demyelinating brain injury in male mice. We identified a population of lipid-loaded "foamy" microglia located in the center of remyelinating lesion, as well as rare interferon-responsive microglia, oligodendrocytes, and astrocytes that co-localized with T-cells. We validated our findings using immunocytochemistry and lipid staining-coupled single-cell RNA sequencing. Finally, by integrating these datasets, we detected correlations between full-transcriptome gene expression and ultrastructural features of microglia. Our results offer an integrative view of the spatial, ultrastructural, and transcriptional reorganization of single cells after demyelinating brain injury.

Authors: P. Androvic, M. Schifferer, K. Perez Anderson, L. Cantuti-Castelvetri, H. Jiang, H. Ji, L. Liu, G. Gouna, S. A. Berghoff, S. Besson-Girard, J. Knoferle, M. Simons, O. Gokce

Date Published: 11th Jul 2023

Publication Type: Journal

The Alzheimer's disease-linked protease BACE1 modulates neuronal IL-6 signaling through shedding of the receptor gp130.

Abstract (Expand)

BACKGROUND: The protease BACE1 is a major drug target for Alzheimer's disease, but chronic BACE1 inhibition is associated with non-progressive cognitive worsening that may be caused by modulation … of unknown physiological BACE1 substrates. METHODS: To identify in vivo-relevant BACE1 substrates, we applied pharmacoproteomics to non-human-primate cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) after acute treatment with BACE inhibitors. RESULTS: Besides SEZ6, the strongest, dose-dependent reduction was observed for the pro-inflammatory cytokine receptor gp130/IL6ST, which we establish as an in vivo BACE1 substrate. Gp130 was also reduced in human CSF from a clinical trial with a BACE inhibitor and in plasma of BACE1-deficient mice. Mechanistically, we demonstrate that BACE1 directly cleaves gp130, thereby attenuating membrane-bound gp130 and increasing soluble gp130 abundance and controlling gp130 function in neuronal IL-6 signaling and neuronal survival upon growth-factor withdrawal. CONCLUSION: BACE1 is a new modulator of gp130 function. The BACE1-cleaved, soluble gp130 may serve as a pharmacodynamic BACE1 activity marker to reduce the occurrence of side effects of chronic BACE1 inhibition in humans.

Authors: S. A. Muller, M. D. Shmueli, X. Feng, J. Tushaus, N. Schumacher, R. Clark, B. E. Smith, A. Chi, S. Rose-John, M. E. Kennedy, S. F. Lichtenthaler

Date Published: 21st Feb 2023

Publication Type: Journal

Powered by
 (v.1.15.0)
About FAIRDOM | About SyNergy (Munich Cluster for Systems Neurology) | Funding and Programmes | Credits
Copyright © 2008 - 2024 The University of Manchester and HITS gGmbH