Objective:The apolipoprotein E (APOE) E4 isoform is the strongest genetic risk factor for sporadic Alzheimer disease (AD). Although APOE is predominantly expressed by astrocytes in the central nervous system, neuronal expression of APOE is of increasing interest in age-related cognitive impairment, neurological injury, and neurodegeneration. Here, we show that endogenous expression of E4 in stem-cell-derived neurons predisposes them to injury and promotes the release of phosphorylated tau. Methods: Induced pluripotent stem cells from 2 unrelated AD patients carrying the E4 allele were corrected to the E3/E3 genotype with the CRISPR/Cas9 system and differentiated into pure cultures of forebrain excitatory neurons without contamination from other cells types. Results: Compared to unedited E4 neurons, E3 neurons were less susceptible to ionomycin-induced cytotoxicity. Biochemically, E4 cells exhibited increased tau phosphorylation and ERK1/2 phosphoactivation. Moreover, E4 neurons released increased amounts of phosphorylated tau extracellularly in an isoform-dependent manner by a heparin sulfate proteoglycan-dependent mechanism. Interpretation: Our results demonstrate that endogenous expression of E4 by stem-cell-derived forebrain excitatory neurons predisposes neurons to calcium dysregulation and ultimately cell death. This change is associated with increased cellular tau phosphorylation and markedly enhanced release of phosphorylated tau. Importantly, these effects are independent of glial APOE. These findings suggest that E4 accelerates spreading of tau pathology and neuron death in part by neuron-specific, glia-independent mechanisms. ANN NEUROL 2019;85:726-739 T he apolipoprotein E (APOE) E4 allele, the strongest genetic risk factor for sporadic Alzheimer disease (AD), differs from the risk-neutral E3 allele by a single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP). 1,2 E4 patients exhibit greater brain atrophy, accumulation of hyperphosphorylated tau protein, and deposition of amyloid, albeit by unclear mechanisms. 3-6 Although most APOE is expressed by astrocytes in the brain, 7-9 neuronal APOE is of increasing interest in age-related cognitive impairment, neurological injury, and neurodegeneration. 10-12 Disease modeling using isogenic stem cells has demonstrated that, compared to E3, expression of E4 leads to distinct transcriptomic differences in multiple neural cell types and increases tau phosphorylation in neurons. 13,14 However, the effects of APOE genotype on neuronal viability and tau release are unknown. Using genome editing and a reductionist human stem cell culture approach, we show that endogenous expression of E4 predisposes pure cultures of forebrain excitatory neurons to injury and promotes release of phosphorylated tau (p-tau). These findings suggest that neuronal APOE can accelerate brain atrophy and the spreading of tau pathology in E4-carrying AD patients independently of glia. Subjects and Methods Reprogramming and Culture of Stem CellsFibroblast lines from patients diagnosed with AD (AD1, AG11414; AD...
Highlights d ykt6 responds to lysosomal stress by enhancing hydrolase trafficking d a-Synuclein impedes the lysosomal stress response by blocking ykt6 in patient neurons d Reducing the farnesylation of ykt6 enhances hydrolase trafficking and lysosomal function d Farnesyltransferase inhibitors activate ykt6 and lysosomes in patient neurons and mice
Background: Alzheimer's disease (AD) is characterized by progressive neurodegeneration, but the specific events that cause cell death remain poorly understood. Death Induced by Survival gene Elimination (DISE) is a recently discovered powerful cell death mechanism mediated by short (s) RNAs including micro (mi) RNAs acting through the RNA induced silencing complex (RISC). G-rich 6mer seed sequences in the sRNAs (position 2-7) target hundreds of C-rich seed matches in genes essential for cell survival resulting in the simultaneous activation of multiple cell death pathways. The RISC of most cells is occupied by miRNAs with nontoxic 6mer seeds, which may protect them from DISE by blocking loading of toxic sRNAs. However, during aging when miRNA expression decreases, toxic sRNAs may enter the RISC more readily leaving cells primed for DISE. Whether DISE contributes to neuronal loss in a neurodegenerative disease such as AD has not been evaluated. Methods: Using Ago precipitation and RNAseq (Ago-RP-Seq) combined with SPOROS, a recently developed bioinformatics pipeline to analyze small RNAseq data with respect to 6mer seed toxicity, we analyzed RISC bound sRNAs (R-sRNAs) in in vitro models and in the brains of multiple in vivo AD mouse models, aged mice, and AD patients. Results: We find that in in vitro cell line studies, in mouse models that show neurodegeneration, and in the aging brain R-sRNAs shift to more toxic seeds. In contrast, in cells that survived in post-mortem brains of AD patients and the brains of "SuperAgers", individuals over age 80 who have superior memory performance, R-sRNAs shift to more nontoxic seeds, supporting a protective function of miRNAs. Conclusion: Our data provide first evidence of a contribution of DISE to the neurotoxicity seen in AD suggesting that increasing the levels of protective miRNAs in the brain or blocking the activity of toxic R-sRNAs could lead to a novel way of treating the disease.
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