scholarly journals Impaired β-glucocerebrosidase activity and processing in frontotemporal dementia due to progranulin mutations

Author(s):  
Andrew E. Arrant ◽  
Jonathan R. Roth ◽  
Nicholas R. Boyle ◽  
Shreya N. Kashyap ◽  
Madelyn Q. Hoffmann ◽  
...  

AbstractLoss-of-function mutations in progranulin (GRN) are a major autosomal dominant cause of frontotemporal dementia. Most pathogenic GRN mutations result in progranulin haploinsufficiency, which is thought to cause frontotemporal dementia in GRN mutation carriers. Progranulin haploinsufficiency may drive frontotemporal dementia pathogenesis by disrupting lysosomal function, as patients with GRN mutations on both alleles develop the lysosomal storage disorder neuronal ceroid lipofuscinosis, and frontotemporal dementia patients with GRN mutations (FTD-GRN) also accumulate lipofuscin. The specific lysosomal deficits caused by progranulin insufficiency remain unclear, but emerging data indicate that progranulin insufficiency may impair lysosomal sphingolipid-metabolizing enzymes. We investigated the effects of progranulin insufficiency on sphingolipid-metabolizing enzymes in the inferior frontal gyrus of FTD-GRN patients using fluorogenic activity assays, biochemical profiling of enzyme levels and posttranslational modifications, and quantitative neuropathology. Of the enzymes studied, only β-glucocerebrosidase exhibited impairment in FTD-GRN patients. Brains from FTD-GRN patients had lower activity than controls, which was associated with lower levels of mature β-glucocerebrosidase protein and accumulation of insoluble, incompletely glycosylated β-glucocerebrosidase. Immunostaining revealed loss of neuronal β-glucocerebrosidase in FTD-GRN patients. To investigate the effects of progranulin insufficiency on β-glucocerebrosidase outside of the context of neurodegeneration, we investigated β-glucocerebrosidase activity in progranulin-insufficient mice. Brains from Grn−/− mice had lower β-glucocerebrosidase activity than wild-type littermates, which was corrected by AAV-progranulin gene therapy. These data show that progranulin insufficiency impairs β-glucocerebrosidase activity in the brain. This effect is strongest in neurons and may be caused by impaired β-glucocerebrosidase processing.

2021 ◽  
Vol 49 (4) ◽  
pp. 030006052110059
Author(s):  
Xinwen Zhang ◽  
Shaozhi Zhao ◽  
Hongwei Liu ◽  
Xiaoyan Wang ◽  
Xiaolei Wang ◽  
...  

Fucosidosis is a rare lysosomal storage disorder characterized by deficiency of α-L-fucosidase with an autosomal recessive mode of inheritance. Here, we describe a 4-year-old Chinese boy with signs and symptoms of fucosidosis but his parents were phenotypically normal. Whole exome sequencing (WES) identified a novel homozygous single nucleotide deletion (c.82delG) in the exon 1 of the FUCA1 gene. This mutation will lead to a frameshift which will result in the formation of a truncated FUCA1 protein (p.Val28Cysfs*105) of 132 amino acids approximately one-third the size of the wild type FUCA1 protein (466 amino acids). Both parents were carrying the mutation in a heterozygous state. This study expands the mutational spectrum of the FUCA1 gene associated with fucosidosis and emphasises the benefits of WES for accurate and timely clinical diagnosis of this rare disease.


2019 ◽  
Vol 116 (50) ◽  
pp. 25322-25328 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yi Liu ◽  
Xiaopin Ma ◽  
Hisashi Fujioka ◽  
Jun Liu ◽  
Shengdi Chen ◽  
...  

Loss-of-function mutations in DJ-1 are associated with autosomal recessive early onset Parkinson’s disease (PD), yet the underlying pathogenic mechanism remains elusive. Here we demonstrate that DJ-1 localized to the mitochondria-associated membrane (MAM) both in vitro and in vivo. In fact, DJ-1 physically interacts with and is an essential component of the IP3R3-Grp75-VDAC1 complexes at MAM. Loss of DJ-1 disrupted the IP3R3-Grp75-VDAC1 complex and led to reduced endoplasmic reticulum (ER)-mitochondria association and disturbed function of MAM and mitochondria in vitro. These deficits could be rescued by wild-type DJ-1 but not by the familial PD-associated L166P mutant which had demonstrated reduced interaction with IP3R3-Grp75. Furthermore, DJ-1 ablation disturbed calcium efflux-induced IP3R3 degradation after carbachol treatment and caused IP3R3 accumulation at the MAM in vitro. Importantly, similar deficits in IP3R3-Grp75-VDAC1 complexes and MAM were found in the brain of DJ-1 knockout mice in vivo. The DJ-1 level was reduced in the substantia nigra of sporadic PD patients, which was associated with reduced IP3R3-DJ-1 interaction and ER-mitochondria association. Together, these findings offer insights into the cellular mechanism in the involvement of DJ-1 in the regulation of the integrity and calcium cross-talk between ER and mitochondria and suggests that impaired ER-mitochondria association could contribute to the pathogenesis of PD.


2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Defne A. Amado ◽  
Julianne M. Rieders ◽  
Fortunay Diatta ◽  
Pilar Hernandez-Con ◽  
Adina Singer ◽  
...  

AbstractAdeno-associated virus (AAV)-mediated gene replacement is emerging as a safe and effective means of correcting single-gene mutations, and use of AAV vectors for treatment of diseases of the CNS is increasing. AAV-mediated progranulin gene (GRN) delivery has been proposed as a treatment for GRN-deficient frontotemporal dementia (FTD) and neuronal ceroid lipofuscinosis (NCL), and two recent studies using focal intraparenchymal AAV-Grn delivery to brain have shown moderate success in histopathologic and behavioral rescue in mouse FTD models. Here, we used AAV9 to deliver GRN to the lateral ventricle to achieve widespread expression in the Grn null mouse brain. We found that despite a global increase in progranulin throughout many brain regions, overexpression of GRN resulted in dramatic and selective hippocampal toxicity and degeneration affecting both neurons and glia. Histologically, hippocampal degeneration was preceded by T cell infiltration and perivascular cuffing, suggesting an inflammatory component to the ensuing neuronal loss. GRN delivery with an ependymal-targeting AAV for selective secretion of progranulin into the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) similarly resulted in T cell infiltration as well as ependymal hypertrophy. Interestingly, overexpression of GRN in wild-type animals also provoked T cell infiltration. These results call into question the safety of GRN overexpression in the CNS, with evidence for both a region-selective immune response and cellular proliferative response following GRN gene delivery. Our results highlight the importance of careful consideration of target gene biology and cellular response to overexpression in relevant animal models prior to progressing to the clinic.Significance StatementGene therapies using adeno-associated viral (AAV) vectors show great promise for many human diseases, including diseases that affect the central nervous system (CNS). Frontotemporal dementia (FTD) and neuronal ceroid lipofuscinosis (NCL) are neurodegenerative diseases resulting from loss of one or both copies of the gene encoding progranulin (GRN), and gene replacement has been proposed for these currently untreatable disorders. Here, we used two different AAV vectors to induce widespread brain GRN expression in mice lacking the gene, as well as in wild-type mice. Unexpectedly, GRN overexpression resulted in T cell infiltration, followed by marked hippocampal neurodegeneration. Our results call into question the safety of GRN overexpression in the CNS, with wider implications for development of CNS gene therapies.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
S. Devireddy ◽  
S.M. Ferguson

AbstractProgranulin is a lysosomal protein whose haploinsufficiency causes frontotemporal dementia while homozygous loss of progranulin causes neuronal ceroid lipofuscinosis, a lysosomal storage disease. The sensitivity of cells to progranulin deficiency raises important questions about how cells coordinate intracellular trafficking of progranulin to ensure its efficient delivery to lysosomes. In this study, we discover that progranulin interacts with prosaposin, another lysosomal protein, within the lumen of the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) and that prosaposin is required for the efficient ER exit of progranulin. Mechanistically, we identify an interaction between prosaposin and Surf4, a receptor that promotes loading of lumenal cargos into COPII coated vesicles, and establish that Surf4 is critical for the efficient export of progranulin and prosaposin from the ER. Collectively, this work demonstrates a network of interactions occurring early in the secretory pathway that promote the ER exit and subsequent lysosomal delivery of newly translated progranulin and prosaposin.


2021 ◽  
Vol 221 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Swathi Devireddy ◽  
Shawn M. Ferguson

Progranulin is a lysosomal protein whose haploinsufficiency causes frontotemporal dementia, while homozygous loss of progranulin causes neuronal ceroid lipofuscinosis, a lysosomal storage disease. The sensitivity of cells to progranulin deficiency raises important questions about how cells coordinate intracellular trafficking of progranulin to ensure its efficient delivery to lysosomes. In this study, we discover that progranulin interactions with prosaposin, another lysosomal protein, first occur within the lumen of the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) and are required for the efficient ER exit of progranulin. Mechanistically, we identify an interaction between prosaposin and Surf4, a receptor that promotes loading of lumenal cargos into COPII-coated vesicles, and establish that Surf4 is critical for the efficient export of progranulin and prosaposin from the ER. Collectively, this work demonstrates that a network of interactions occurring early in the secretory pathway promote the ER exit and subsequent lysosomal delivery of newly translated progranulin and prosaposin.


Metabolites ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (4) ◽  
pp. 153
Author(s):  
Ariful Islam ◽  
Emiko Takeyama ◽  
Md. Al Mamun ◽  
Tomohito Sato ◽  
Makoto Horikawa ◽  
...  

Dementia is a major public health concern nowadays. Reduced levels of brain docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) and DHA-phosphatidylcholines (DHA-PCs) in dementia patients were reported previously. Recently, we have reported that supplementation of green nut oil (GNO) or DHA improves memory function and distribution levels of brain DHA in senescence accelerated mice P8 (SAMP8). GNO is extracted from Plukenetia volubilis seeds, and SAMP8 is a well-known model mouse of dementia. In this current study, we examined the results of GNO or DHA supplementation in the distribution levels of brain DHA-PCs in same model mouse of dementia using desorption electrospray ionization (DESI) mass spectrometry imaging (MSI). We observed significantly decreased distribution of brain DHA-PCs, PC (16:0_22:6), and PC (18:0_22:6) in SAMP8 mice compared to wild type mice, and GNO or DHA treatment restored the decreased distribution levels of PC (16:0_22:6) and PC (18:0_22:6) in the brain of SAMP8 mice. These results indicate that GNO or DHA supplementation can ameliorate the decreased distribution of brain DHA-PCs in dementia, and could be potentially used for the prevention and treatment of dementia.


2020 ◽  
Vol 21 (14) ◽  
pp. 4966 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shani Blumenreich ◽  
Or B. Barav ◽  
Bethan J. Jenkins ◽  
Anthony H. Futerman

The lysosome is a central player in the cell, acting as a clearing house for macromolecular degradation, but also plays a critical role in a variety of additional metabolic and regulatory processes. The lysosome has recently attracted the attention of neurobiologists and neurologists since a number of neurological diseases involve a lysosomal component. Among these is Parkinson’s disease (PD). While heterozygous and homozygous mutations in GBA1 are the highest genetic risk factor for PD, studies performed over the past decade have suggested that lysosomal loss of function is likely involved in PD pathology, since a significant percent of PD patients have a mutation in one or more genes that cause a lysosomal storage disease (LSD). Although the mechanistic connection between the lysosome and PD remains somewhat enigmatic, significant evidence is accumulating that lysosomal dysfunction plays a central role in PD pathophysiology. Thus, lysosomal dysfunction, resulting from mutations in lysosomal genes, may enhance the accumulation of α-synuclein in the brain, which may result in the earlier development of PD.


2012 ◽  
Vol 18 (5) ◽  
pp. 834-844 ◽  
Author(s):  
Katherine L. Possin ◽  
Serana K. Chester ◽  
Victor Laluz ◽  
Alan Bostrom ◽  
Howard J. Rosen ◽  
...  

AbstractOn tests of design fluency, an examinee draws as many different designs as possible in a specified time limit while avoiding repetition. The neuroanatomical substrates and diagnostic group differences of design fluency repetition errors and total correct scores were examined in 110 individuals diagnosed with dementia, 53 with mild cognitive impairment (MCI), and 37 neurologically healthy controls. The errors correlated significantly with volumes in the right and left orbitofrontal cortex (OFC), the right and left superior frontal gyrus, the right inferior frontal gyrus, and the right striatum, but did not correlate with volumes in any parietal or temporal lobe regions. Regression analyses indicated that the lateral OFC may be particularly crucial for preventing these errors, even after excluding patients with behavioral variant frontotemporal dementia (bvFTD) from the analysis. Total correct correlated more diffusely with volumes in the right and left frontal and parietal cortex, the right temporal cortex, and the right striatum and thalamus. Patients diagnosed with bvFTD made significantly more repetition errors than patients diagnosed with MCI, Alzheimer's disease, semantic dementia, progressive supranuclear palsy, or corticobasal syndrome. In contrast, total correct design scores did not differentiate the dementia patients. These results highlight the frontal-anatomic specificity of design fluency repetitions. In addition, the results indicate that the propensity to make these errors supports the diagnosis of bvFTD. (JINS, 2012, 18, 1–11)


2020 ◽  
Vol 2 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Clara Bruno ◽  
Kirsten Sieverding ◽  
Axel Freischmidt ◽  
Takashi Satoh ◽  
Paul Walther ◽  
...  

Abstract Loss-of-function mutations in TANK-binding kinase 1 cause genetic amyotrophic lateral sclerosis and frontotemporal dementia. Consistent with incomplete penetrance in humans, haploinsufficiency of TANK-binding kinase 1 did not cause motor symptoms in mice up to 7 months of age in a previous study. Ageing is the strongest risk factor for neurodegenerative diseases. Hypothesizing that age-dependent processes together with haploinsufficiency of TANK-binding kinase 1 could create a double hit situation that may trigger neurodegeneration, we examined mice with hemizygous deletion of Tbk1 (Tbk1+/− mice) and wild-type siblings up to 22 months. Compared to 4-month old mice, aged, 22-month old mice showed glial activation, deposition of motoneuronal p62 aggregates, muscular denervation and profound transcriptomic alterations in a set of 800 immune-related genes upon ageing. However, we did not observe differences regarding these measures between aged Tbk1+/− and wild-type siblings. High age did also not precipitate TAR DNA-binding protein 43 aggregation, neurodegeneration or a neurological phenotype in Tbk1+/− mice. In young Tbk1+/− mice, however, we found the CNS immune gene expression pattern shifted towards the age-dependent immune system dysregulation observed in old mice. Conclusively, ageing is not sufficient to precipitate an amyotrophic lateral sclerosis or frontotemporal dementia phenotype or spinal or cortical neurodegeneration in a model of Tbk1 haploinsufficiency. We hypothesize that the consequences of Tbk1 haploinsufficiency may be highly context-dependent and require a specific synergistic stress stimulus to be uncovered.


2020 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Meixiang Huang ◽  
Erica Modeste ◽  
Eric Dammer ◽  
Paola Merino ◽  
Georgia Taylor ◽  
...  

Abstract Heterozygous, loss-of-function mutations in the granulin gene (GRN) encoding progranulin (PGRN) are a common cause of frontotemporal dementia (FTD). Homozygous GRN mutations cause neuronal ceroid lipofuscinosis-11 (CLN11), a lysosome storage disease. PGRN is a secreted glycoprotein that can be proteolytically cleaved into seven bioactive 6 kDa granulins. However, it is unclear how deficiency of PGRN and granulins causes neurodegeneration. To gain insight into the mechanisms of FTD pathogenesis, we utilized Tandem Mass Tag isobaric labeling mass spectrometry to perform an unbiased quantitative proteomic analysis of whole-brain tissue from wild type (Grn+/+) and Grn knockout (Grn−/−) mice at 3- and 19-months of age. At 3-months lysosomal proteins (i.e. Gns, Scarb2, Hexb) are selectively increased indicating lysosomal dysfunction is an early consequence of PGRN deficiency. Additionally, proteins involved in lipid metabolism (Acly, Apoc3, Asah1, Gpld1, Ppt1, and Naaa) are decreased; suggesting lysosomal degradation of lipids may be impaired in the Grn−/− brain. Systems biology using weighted correlation network analysis (WGCNA) of the Grn−/− brain proteome identified 26 modules of highly co-expressed proteins. Three modules strongly correlated to Grn deficiency and were enriched with lysosomal proteins (Gpnmb, CtsD, CtsZ, and Tpp1) and inflammatory proteins (Lgals3, GFAP, CD44, S100a, and C1qa). We find that lysosomal dysregulation is exacerbated with age in the Grn−/− mouse brain leading to neuroinflammation, synaptic loss, and decreased markers of oligodendrocytes, myelin, and neurons. In particular, GPNMB and LGALS3 (galectin-3) were upregulated by microglia and elevated in FTD-GRN brain samples, indicating common pathogenic pathways are dysregulated in human FTD cases and Grn−/− mice. GPNMB levels were significantly increased in the cerebrospinal fluid of FTD-GRN patients, but not in MAPT or C9orf72 carriers, suggesting GPNMB could be a biomarker specific to FTD-GRN to monitor disease onset, progression, and drug response. Our findings support the idea that insufficiency of PGRN and granulins in humans causes neurodegeneration through lysosomal dysfunction, defects in autophagy, and neuroinflammation, which could be targeted to develop effective therapies.


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