Background Mutations of the isocitrate dehydrogenase (IDH) gene occur in over 80% of low-grade gliomas and secondary glioblastomas. Despite considerable efforts, endogenous in vitro IDH-mutated glioma models remain scarce. Availability of these models is key for the development of new therapeutic interventions. Methods Cell cultures were established from fresh tumor material and expanded in serum-free culture media. D-2-Hydroxyglutarate levels were determined by mass-spectrometry. Genomic and transcriptomic profiling were carried out on the Illumina Novaseq platform, methylation profiling was performed with the Infinium MethylationEpic BeadChip array. Mitochondrial respiration was measured with the Seahorse XF24 Analyzer. Drug screens were performed with an NIH FDA-approved anti-cancer drug set and two IDH-mutant specific inhibitors. Results A set of twelve patient-derived IDHmt cell cultures was established. We confirmed high concordance in driver mutations, copy number and methylation profiles between the tumors and derived cultures. Homozygous deletion of CDKN2A/B was observed in all cultures. IDH-mutant cultures had lower mitochondrial reserve capacity. IDH-mutant specific inhibitors did not affect cell viability or global gene expression. Screening of 107 FDA-approved anti-cancer drugs identified nine compounds with potent activity against IDHmt gliomas, including three compounds with favorable pharmacokinetic characteristics for CNS penetration: teniposide, omacetaxine mepesuccinate, and marizomib. Conclusions Our twelve IDH-mutant cell cultures show high similarity to the parental tissues and offer a unique tool to study the biology and drug sensitivities of high-grade IDHmt gliomas in vitro. Our drug screening studies reveal lack of sensitivity to IDHmt inhibitors, but sensitivity to a set of nine available anti-cancer agents.

Mutations in ELANE cause severe congenital neutropenia (SCN), but how they affect neutrophil production and contribute to leukemia predisposition is unknown. Neutropenia is alleviated by CSF3 (granulocyte colony-stimulating factor) therapy in most cases, but dose requirements vary between patients. Here, we show that CD34+CD45+ hematopoietic progenitor cells (HPCs) derived from induced pluripotent stem cell lines from patients with SCN that have mutations in ELANE (n = 2) or HAX1 (n = 1) display elevated levels of reactive oxygen species (ROS) relative to normal iPSC-derived HPCs. In patients with ELANE mutations causing misfolding of the neutrophil elastase (NE) protein, HPCs contained elevated numbers of promyelocyte leukemia protein nuclear bodies, a hallmark of acute oxidative stress. This was confirmed in primary bone marrow cells from 3 additional patients with ELANE-mutant SCN. Apart from responding to elevated ROS levels, PML controlled the metabolic state of these ELANE-mutant HPCs as well as the expression of ELANE, suggestive of a feed-forward mechanism of disease development. Both PML deletion and correction of the ELANE mutation restored CSF3 responses of these ELANE-mutant HPCs. These findings suggest that PML plays a crucial role in the disease course of ELANE-SCN characterized by NE misfolding, with potential implications for CSF3 therapy.

Apoptosis is a form of regulated cell death (RCD) that involves proteases of the caspase family. Pharmacological and genetic strategies that experimentally inhibit or delay apoptosis in mammalian systems have elucidated the key contribution of this process not only to (post-)embryonic development and adult tissue homeostasis, but also to the etiology of multiple human disorders. Consistent with this notion, while defects in the molecular machinery for apoptotic cell death impair organismal development and promote oncogenesis, the unwarranted activation of apoptosis promotes cell loss and tissue damage in the context of various neurological, cardiovascular, renal, hepatic, infectious, neoplastic and inflammatory conditions. Here, the Nomenclature Committee on Cell Death (NCCD) gathered to critically summarize an abundant pre-clinical literature mechanistically linking the core apoptotic apparatus to organismal homeostasis in the context of disease.

Background: Parkinson disease is an intractable disorder with heterogeneous clinical presentation that may reflect different underlying pathogenic mechanisms. Surrogate indicators of pathogenic processes correlating with clinical measures may assist in better patients stratification. Mitochondrial function -which is impaired in and central to PD pathogenesis -may represent one of such surrogate indicators. Methods: mitochondrial function was assessed by respirometry experiment in fibroblasts derived from idiopathic patients (n=47) in normal conditions and in experimental settings that do not permit glycolysis and therefore force energy production through mitochondrial function. Respiratory parameters and clinical measures were correlated with bivariate analysis. Machine learning based classification and regression trees were used to classify patients on the basis of biochemical and clinical measures. Effects of mitochondrial respiration on alpha-synuclein stress was assessed monitoring the protein phosphorylation in permitting versus restrictive glycolysis conditions. Results: bioenergetics properties in peripheral fibroblasts correlate with clinical measures in idiopathic patients and correlation is stronger with predominantly non-dopaminergic signs.Bioenergetics analysis under metabolic stress, in which energy is produced solely by mitochondria, shows that patients' fibroblasts can augment respiration, therefore indicating that mitochondrial defects are reversible. Forcing energy production through mitochondria, however, favors alphasynuclein stress in different cellular experimental systems. Machine learning-based classification identified different groups of patients in which increasing disease severity parallels higher mitochondrial respiration. Conclusion: Suppression of mitochondrial activity in Parkinson disease may be an adaptive strategyto cope with concomitant pathogenic factors. Moreover, mitochondrial measures are potential biomarkers to follow disease progression.

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Background: Mutations of the isocitrate dehydrogenase (IDH) gene occur in over 80% of low-grade gliomas and secondary glioblastomas. Despite considerable efforts, endogenous in vitro IDH-mutated glioma models remain scarce. Availability of these models is key for the development of new therapeutic interventions. Methods: Cell cultures were established from fresh tumor material and expanded in serum-free culture media. D-2-Hydroxyglutarate levels were determined by mass-spectrometry. Genomic and transcriptomic profiling were carried out on the Illumina Novaseq platform, methylation profiling was performed with the Infinium MethylationEpic BeadChip array. Mitochondrial respiration was measured with the Seahorse XF24 Analyzer. Drug screens were performed with an NIH FDA-approved anti-cancer drug set and two IDH-mutant specific inhibitors. Results: A set of twelve patient-derived IDHmt cell cultures were established. We confirmed high concordance in driver mutations, copy number and methylation profiles between the tumors and derived cultures. Homozygous deletion of CDKN2A/B was observed in all cultures. IDH-mutant cultures had lower mitochondrial reserve capacity. IDH-mutant specific inhibitors did not affect cell viability or global gene expression. Screening of 107 FDA-approved anti-cancer drugs identified nine compounds with potent activity against IDHmt gliomas, including three compounds with favorable pharmacokinetic characteristics for CNS penetration: teniposide, omacetaxine mepesuccinate, and marizomib. Conclusions: Our twelve IDH-mutant cell cultures show high similarity to the parental tissues and offer a unique tool to study the biology and drug sensitivities of high-grade IDHmt gliomas in vitro. Our drug screening studies reveal lack of sensitivity to IDHmt inhibitors, but sensitivity to a set of nine available anti-cancer agents.

Despite efficient repair, DNA damage inevitably accumulates with time affecting proper cell function and viability, thereby driving systemic aging. Interventions that either prevent DNA damage or enhance DNA repair are thus likely to extend health- and lifespan across species. However, effective genome-protecting compounds are largely lacking. Here, we use Ercc1Δ/− and Xpg−/− DNA repair-deficient mutants as two bona fide accelerated aging mouse models to test propitious anti-aging pharmaceutical interventions. Ercc1Δ/− and Xpg−/− mice show shortened lifespan with accelerated aging across numerous organs and tissues. Previously, we demonstrated that a well-established anti-aging intervention, dietary restriction, reduced DNA damage, and dramatically improved healthspan, strongly extended lifespan, and delayed all aging pathology investigated. Here, we further utilize the short lifespan and early onset of signs of neurological degeneration in Ercc1Δ/− and Xpg−/− mice to test compounds that influence nutrient sensing (metformin, acarbose, resveratrol), inflammation (aspirin, ibuprofen), mitochondrial processes (idebenone, sodium nitrate, dichloroacetate), glucose homeostasis (trehalose, GlcNAc) and nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NAD+) metabolism. While some of the compounds have shown anti-aging features in WT animals, most of them failed to significantly alter lifespan or features of neurodegeneration of our mice. The two NAD+ precursors; nicotinamide riboside (NR) and nicotinic acid (NA), did however induce benefits, consistent with the role of NAD+ in facilitating DNA damage repair. Together, our results illustrate the applicability of short-lived repair mutants for systematic screening of anti-aging interventions capable of reducing DNA damage accumulation.

Alterations in the metabolism of iron and its accumulation in the substantia nigra pars compacta accompany the pathogenesis of Parkinson’s disease (PD). Changes in iron homeostasis also occur during aging, which constitutes a PD major risk factor. As such, mitigation of iron overload via chelation strategies has been considered a plausible disease modifying approach. Iron chelation, however, is imperfect because of general undesired side effects and lack of specificity; more effective approaches would rely on targeting distinctive pathways responsible for iron overload in brain regions relevant to PD and, in particular, the substantia nigra. We have previously demonstrated that the Transferrin/Transferrin Receptor 2 (TfR2) iron import mechanism functions in nigral dopaminergic neurons, is perturbed in PD models and patients, and therefore constitutes a potential therapeutic target to halt iron accumulation. To validate this hypothesis, we generated mice with targeted deletion of TfR2 in dopaminergic neurons. In these animals, we modeled PD with multiple approaches, based either on neurotoxin exposure or alpha-synuclein proteotoxic mechanisms. We found that TfR2 deletion can provide neuroprotection against dopaminergic degeneration, and against PD- and aging-related iron overload. The effects, however, were significantly more pronounced in females rather than in males. Our data indicate that the TfR2 iron import pathway represents an amenable strategy to hamper PD progression. Data also suggest, however, that therapeutic strategies targeting TfR2 should consider a potential sexual dimorphism in neuroprotective response.