Cytoplasmic inclusion of TAR DNA-binding protein 43 (TDP-43) is a pathological hallmark of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) and a subtype of frontotemporal lobar degeneration (FTLD). Recent studies have suggested that the formation of cytoplasmic TDP-43 aggregates is dependent on a liquid–liquid phase separation (LLPS) mechanism. However, it is unclear whether TDP-43 pathology is induced through a single intracellular mechanism such as LLPS. To identify intracellular mechanisms responsible for TDP-43 aggregation, we established a TDP-43 aggregation screening system using a cultured neuronal cell line stably expressing EGFP-fused TDP-43 and a mammalian expression library of the inherited ALS/FTLD causative genes, and performed a screening. We found that microtubule-related proteins (MRPs) and RNA-binding proteins (RBPs) co-aggregated with TDP-43. MRPs and RBPs sequestered TDP-43 into the cytoplasmic aggregates through distinct mechanisms, such as microtubules and LLPS, respectively. The MRPs-induced TDP-43 aggregates were co-localized with aggresomal markers and dependent on histone deacetylase 6 (HDAC6), suggesting that aggresome formation induced the co-aggregation. However, the MRPs-induced aggregates were not affected by 1,6-hexanediol, an LLPS inhibitor. On the other hand, the RBPs-induced TDP-43 aggregates were sensitive to 1,6-hexanediol, but not dependent on microtubules or HDAC6. In sporadic ALS patients, approximately half of skein-like TDP-43 inclusions were co-localized with HDAC6, but round and granular type inclusion were not. Moreover, HDAC6-positive and HDAC6-negative inclusions were found in the same ALS patient, suggesting that the two distinct pathways are both involved in TDP-43 pathology. Our findings suggest that at least two distinct pathways (i.e., aggresome formation and LLPS) are involved in inducing the TDP-43 pathologies.

Abnormal accumulation of TAR DNA-binding protein 43 (TDP-43), a DNA/RNA binding protein, is a pathological signature of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). Missense mutations in the TARDBP gene are also found in inherited and sporadic ALS, indicating that dysfunction in TDP-43 is causative for ALS. To model TDP-43-linked ALS in rodents, we generated TDP-43 knock-in mice with inherited ALS patient-derived TDP-43 M337V mutation. Homozygous TDP-43 M337V mice developed normally without exhibiting detectable motor dysfunction and neurodegeneration. However, splicing of mRNAs regulated by TDP-43 was deregulated in the spinal cords of TDP-43 M337V mice. Together with the recently reported TDP-43 knock-in mice with ALS-linked mutations, our finding indicates that ALS patient-derived mutations in the TARDBP gene at a carboxyl-terminal domain of TDP-43 may cause a gain of splicing function by TDP-43, however, were insufficient to induce robust neurodegeneration in mice.

Intracellular mislocalization of TAR DNA-binding protein 43 (TDP-43), a nuclear DNA/RNA-binding protein involved in RNA metabolism, is a pathological hallmark of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). Although the aggregation-prone, TDP-43 C-terminal domain is widely considered as a key component of TDP-43 pathology in ALS, recent studies including ours suggest that TDP-43 N-terminal fragments (TDP-∆C) may also contribute to the motor dysfunction in ALS. However, the specific pathological functions of TDP-43 N-terminal fragments in mice have not been elucidated. Here, we established TDP-∆C knock-in mice missing a part of exon 6 of murine Tardbp gene, which encodes the C-terminal region of TDP-43. Homozygous TDP-∆C mice showed embryonic lethality, indicating that the N-terminal domain of TDP-43 alone is not sufficient for normal development. In contrast, heterozygous TDP-∆C mice developed normally but exhibited age-dependent mild motor dysfunction with a loss of C-boutons, large cholinergic synaptic terminals on spinal α-motor neurons. TDP-∆C protein broadly perturbed gene expression in the spinal cords of aged heterozygous TDP-∆C mice, including downregulation of Notch1 mRNA. Moreover, the level of Notch1 mRNA was suppressed both by TDP-43 depletion and TDP-∆C expression in Neuro2a cells. Decreased Notch1 mRNA expression in aged TDP-∆C mice was associated with the age-dependent motor dysfunction and loss of Akt surviving signal. Our findings indicate that the N-terminal region of TDP-43 derived from TDP-∆C induces the age-dependent motor dysfunction associated with impaired Notch1-Akt axis in mice. Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (10.1186/s40478-019-0776-5) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

The cytoplasmic aggregation of TAR DNA binding protein-43 (TDP-43), also known as TDP-43 pathology, is the pathological hallmark of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). However, the mechanism underlying TDP-43 cytoplasmic mislocalization and subsequent aggregation remains unclear. Here, we show that TDP-43 dimerization/multimerization is impaired in the postmortem brains and spinal cords of patients with sporadic ALS and that N-terminal dimerization–deficient TDP-43 consists of pathological inclusion bodies in ALS motor neurons. Expression of N-terminal dimerization–deficient mutant TDP-43 in Neuro2a cells and induced pluripotent stem cell–derived motor neurons recapitulates TDP-43 pathology, such as Nxf1-dependent cytoplasmic mislocalization and aggregate formation, which induces seeding effects. Furthermore, TDP-DiLuc, a bimolecular luminescence complementation reporter assay, could detect decreased N-terminal dimerization of TDP-43 before TDP-43 pathological changes caused by the transcription inhibition linked to aberrant RNA metabolism in ALS. These findings identified TDP-43 monomerization as a critical determinant inducing TDP-43 pathology in ALS.

Background Cytoplasmic inclusion of TAR DNA-binding protein 43 (TDP-43) is a pathological hallmark of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) and a subtype of frontotemporal lobar degeneration (FTLD). Recent studies have suggested that the formation of cytoplasmic TDP-43 aggregates is dependent on a liquid-liquid phase separation (LLPS) mechanism. However, it is unclear whether TDP-43 pathology is induced through a single intracellular mechanism such as LLPS.Methods We established a TDP-43 aggregation screening system using a cultured neuronal cell line stably expressing EGFP-fused TDP-43 and a mammalian expression library of the inherited ALS/FTLD causative genes. We performed a screening to identify the intracellular mechanisms responsible for TDP-43 aggregation. An immunofluorescence study was conducted using the sporadic ALS spinal cord sections.Results We found that microtubule-related proteins (MRPs) and RNA-binding proteins (RBPs) co-aggregated with TDP-43. MRPs and RBPs sequestered TDP-43 into the cytoplasmic aggregates through distinct mechanisms such as microtubules and LLPS, respectively. The MRPs-induced TDP-43 aggregates were co-localized with aggresomal markers and dependent on histone deacetylase 6 (HDAC6), suggesting that aggresome formation induced the co-aggregation. However, the MRPs-induced aggregates were not affected by 1,6-hexanediol, an LLPS inhibitor. On the other hand, the RBPs-induced TDP-43 aggregates were sensitive to 1,6-hexanediol, but not dependent on microtubules or HDAC6. In sporadic ALS patients, approximately half of skein-like TDP-43 inclusions were co-localized with HDAC6, but round and granular type inclusion were not. Moreover, HDAC6-positive and HDAC6-negative inclusions were found in the same ALS patient, suggesting that the two distinct pathways are both involved in TDP-43 pathology.Conclusion Our findings suggest that at least two distinct pathways (i.e., aggresome formation and LLPS ) are involved in inducing the TDP-43 pathologies.