Citations

AbstractBackgroundNeuron‐derived extracellular vesicles (NDEVs) are a valuable resource for understanding brain conditions and discovering neurodegenerative diseases biomarkers, notably Alzheimer’s disease (AD). Recent interest focuses on capturing neuron‐specific EVs from patient‐derived samples, characterizing their contents as a pathological reflection of the central nervous system (CNS). Our recent study identified ATPase Na+/K+ Transporting Subunit Alpha 3 (ATP1A3) as a prevalent neuron‐specific EV marker specifically expressed in brains. This study systematically analyzes neuronal EVs to assess the specificity of ATP1A3 to NDEVs and its potential as a target for NDEV pulldown from accessible biofluids for disease monitoring. Additionally, ATP1A3 is compared with other proposed NDEV markers.MethodWe applied immunoelectron microscopy to detect ATP1A3, L1 cell adhesion molecule (L1CAM) and neural cell adhesion molecule 1 (NCAM1) in EVs isolated from iPSC‐derived excitatory neurons, brain tissue, cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) and plasma. Neuronal EV enrichment was achieved through immunoaffinity isolation, utilizing anti‐ATP1A3, L1CAM and NCAM1 antibodies separately. Evaluation involved quantitative mass‐spectrometry, immunoblotting and ELISA. To compare the enrichment of neuronal markers, EVs isolated from CSF and plasma samples were analyzed using ExoView and Nanoimager. Additionally, we investigated the potential of ATP1A3+ plasma EVs as AD biomarker by comparing the value of amyloid‐beta peptide (Aβ) in ATP1A3+ plasma EVs measured by Nanoimager and other plasma AD biomarkers as determined by SIMOA.ResultATP1A3, identified as a neuron‐specific protein, exhibits substantial enrichment in NDEVs isolated from induced human neurons, brain tissue, CSF, and plasma samples, surpassing NCAM1 or L1CAM. Both single‐ and bulk‐EV analysis consistently demonstrate a higher enrichment of ATP1A3 associated EVs in human samples. Immunoprecipitation of ATP1A3+ EVs from human brain tissues reveals superior neuronal cell‐type specificity over NCAM1+ and L1CAM+ EVs by label‐free mass spectrometry. Increased Aβ levels are observed in ATP1A3+ EVs derived from CSF and plasma of AD cases by SIMOA. Moreover, Aβ+ populations in ATP1A3+ EVs from plasma can distinguish AD from mild cognitive impairment and control cases via Nanoimager compared to the conventional quantification of AD markers.ConclusionOur findings demonstrate that ATP1A3 as a promising target for isolating NDEVs from biofluids, offering potential diagnostic advancements in neurological research.

AbstractBackgroundTauopathies are a group of neurodegenerative disorders which are characterized by the accumulation of abnormal tau protein in the brain. However, the mechanistic understanding of pathogenic tau formation and spread within the brain remains elusive. Astrocytes are major immune reactive cells in the brain and have been implicated in exacerbating tau pathology by releasing extracellular vesicles (AEVs) containing pro‐inflammatory cytokines and chemokines upon activation. Our prior investigation revealed a significant association between AEVs and tau pathology development, as well as cognitive function, by analyzing brain‐derived EV proteins from AD patients. In this study, we explore the potential roles of AEVs in tau pathogenesis using a human induced pluripotent stem cell (iPSC) model.MethodWe obtained two male P301L tau mutant iPSC lines from a Polish family with frontotemporal dementia. By including two male control lines, these iPSCs were differentiated into astrocytes (iAs) and characterized by immunocytochemistry and subjected for bulk RNAseq. Bioinformatics analysis was conducted to compare the transcriptome profile between wild‐type (WT) and P301L iAs. EVs from WT and P301L iAs were isolated by ultracentrifugation combined with size exclusion chromatography. Characterization of WT and P301L iAEVs involved nanoparticle tracking analysis, nano‐flow cytometry and super‐resolution microscopy.ResultWe successfully differentiated WT and P301L mutant iPSC lines into astrocytes with >99% purity. P301L iAs displayed distinctive astrocyte reactivity compared to WT cells, with elevated levels of pan‐reactive astrocyte genes (e.g., GFAP, CD44) and decreased expression of neuroprotective A2 astrocyte‐specific genes (e.g., TM4SF1, PTGS2). Additionally, gene enrichment set analysis of RNAseq data revealed dysregulation in the endo‐lysosomal pathway and extracellular matrix in P301L iAs compared to WT iAs. The count of intraluminal vesicles marked by CD9+ were reduced in P301L iAs compared to WT cells. Moreover, we observed a significant increase in the internalization of Tau by P301L iAs compared to WT iAs following incubation with preformed Tau fibrils, resulting in an augmented release of tau‐containing EVs from P301L iAs.ConclusionOur findings suggest a potential alteration in EV biogenesis in P301L iAs, potentially contributing to astrocyte‐mediated tau pathology. Future investigations will focus on understanding how AEVs contribute to tau propagation and accumulation.

AbstractBackgroundWe previously identified the novel mechanism of pathological tau transfer via extracellular vesicles (EVs) in Alzheimer’s disease (AD). Targeting EV secretion to mitigate tau transfer is therefore a promising therapeutic approach for AD. P2X purinoreceptor 7 (P2RX7), an ATP‐gated cationic channel, regulates microvesicle shedding or secretion of multivesicular body‐derived exosomes. We aim to investigate the effect of P2rx7 deficiency on disease progression in PS19 tauopathy mouse model in vivo and by proteomic profiling of brain EVs.MethodPS19:P2rx7–/– mice at 9 months of age were tested for the fear conditioning, and pathology assessment of the brain atrophy and tau using immunofluorescence against aggregated tau (Alz50) or phosphorylated tau (AT8) and ELISA. Mice were intracranially injected with viral vectors expressing mEmerald‐CD9 in microglia and P301L tau in neurons to visualize the secretion of microglial EV and extracellular tau in vivo. Brain EV samples were subjected to proteomic profiling by data independent acquisition mass‐spectrometry.ResultPS19:P2rx7–/– mice showed significant improvement in contextual and cued memory compared to age‐matched PS19 mice, which was accompanied by preserved cortical and hippocampal volume, and significant reduction of hippocampal tau pathology and pS396 tau in sarkosyl‐insoluble fraction of brain tissues. The number of GFP+ microglial EVs were significantly reduced in P2rx7–/– compared to WT mice. Gene ontology pathway analysis of EV proteome showed significant enrichment of mitochondrial pathways in PS19 group compared to WT group, which was significantly downregulated in PS19:P2rx7–/– group.ConclusionOur study demonstrated that P2rx7 deficiency ameliorates cognitive dysfunction and tau pathology development in PS19 mice by dampening microglial EV secretion and EV‐mediated mitochondria transfer, further indicating the therapeutic potential of targeting P2RX7, an EV regulatory molecule, to ameliorate AD progression.

AbstractThe characterization of single extracellular vesicle (EV) has been an emerging tool for the early detection of various diseases despite there being challenges regarding how to interpret data with different protocols or instruments. In this work, standard EV particles were characterized for single CD9+, single CD81+ or double CD9+/CD81+ tetraspanin molecule positivity with two single EV analytic technologies in order to optimize their EV sample preparation after antibody labelling and analysis methods: NanoImager for direct stochastic optical reconstruction microscopy (dSTORM)‐based EV imaging and characterization, and Flow NanoAnalyzer for flow‐based EV quantification and characterization. False positives from antibody aggregates were found during dSTORM‐based NanoImager imaging. Analysis of particle radius with lognormal fittings of probability density histogram enabled the removal of antibody aggregates and corrected EV quantification. Furthermore, different machine learning models were trained to differentiate antibody aggregates from EV particles and correct EV quantification with increased double CD9+/CD81+ population. With Flow NanoAnalyzer, EV samples were prepared with different dilution or fractionation methods, which increased the detection rate of CD9+/CD81+ EV population. Comparing the EV phenotype percentages measured by two instruments, differences in double positive and single positive particles existed after percentage correction, which might be due to the different detection limit of each instrument. Our study reveals that the characterization of individual EVs for tetraspanin positivity varies between two platforms—the NanoImager and the Flow NanoAnalyzer—depending on the EV sample preparation methods used after antibody labelling. Additionally, we applied machine learning models to correct for false positive particles identified in imaging‐based results by fitting size distribution data.

Abstract Extracellular vesicle (EV) secretion is mediated by purinergic receptor P2X 7 (P2RX7), an ATP‐gated cation channel highly expressed in microglia. We have previously shown that administration of GSK1482160, a P2RX7 selective inhibitor, suppresses EV secretion from murine microglia and prevents tauopathy development, leading to the recovery of the hippocampal function in PS19 mice, expressing P301S tau mutant. It is yet unknown, however, whether the effect of GSK1482160 on EV secretion from glial cells is specifically regulated through P2RX7. Here we tested GSK1482160 on primary microglia and astrocytes isolated from C57BL/6 (WT) and P2rx7 –/– mice and evaluated their EV secretion and phagocytotic activity of aggregated human tau (hTau) under ATP stimulation. GSK1482160 treatment and deletion of P2rx7 significantly reduced secretion of small and large EVs in microglia and astrocytes in both ATP stimulated or unstimulated condition as determined by nanoparticle tracking analysis, CD9 ELISA and immunoblotting of Tsg101 and Flotilin 1 using isolated EVs. GSK1482160 treatment had no effect on EV secretion from P2rx7 –/– microglia while we observed significant reduction in the secretion of small EVs from P2rx7 –/– astrocytes, suggesting its specific targeting of P2RX7 in EV secretion except small EV secretion from astrocytes. Finally, deletion of P2rx7 suppressed IL‐1β secretion and phagocytosed misfolded tau from both microglia and astrocytes. Together, these findings show that GSK1482160 suppresses EV secretion from microglia and astrocytes in P2RX7‐dependment manner, and P2RX7 critically regulates secretion of IL‐1β and misfolded hTau, demonstrating as the viable target of suppressing EV‐mediated neuroinflammation and tau propagation.

AbstractBackgroundMicroglia, the resident brain immune cells, play a critical role in brain homeostasis and disease progression. In neurodegenerative conditions, microglia acquire the neurodegenerative phenotype (MGnD), whose function is poorly understood. MicroRNA‐155 (miR‐155), enriched in immune cells, critically regulates MGnD. However, its role in Alzheimer’s disease (AD) pathogenesis remains unclear.MethodsWe used RNAseq and immunohistochemistry (n = 6‐8 per sex per group) to investigate the gene expression profile and AD pathology. We further utilized single‐cell RNAseq (n = 5 per group) to identify microglial clusters. Whole‐tissue proteomics (n = 4) was applied to detect the protein changes in brain milieu. Moreover, we used spontaneous alternation and forced alternation tests to evaluate the cognition (n = 33‐36).ResultWe report that microglial deletion of miR‐155 induces a pre‐MGnD activation state via interferon‐g (IFNg) signaling and blocking IFNg signaling attenuates MGnD induction and microglial phagocytosis. Single‐cell RNAseq analysis of microglia from AD mouse model identifies Stat1 and Clec2d as pre‐MGnD markers. This phenotypic transition enhances amyloid plaque compaction, reduces dystrophic neurites, attenuates plaque‐associated synaptic degradation, and improves cognition.ConclusionOur study demonstrates a novel miR‐155‐mediated regulatory mechanism of MGnD and the beneficial role of IFNg‐responsive pre‐MGnD in restricting neurodegenerative pathology and preserving cognitive function in an AD mouse model, highlighting miR‐155 and IFNg as potential therapeutic targets for AD.

Neuron-derived extracellular vesicles (NDEVs) are potential biomarkers of neurological diseases although their reliable molecular target is not well established. Here, we demonstrate that ATPase Na + /K + transporting subunit alpha 3 (ATP1A3) is abundantly expressed in extracellular vesicles (EVs) isolated from induced human neuron, brain, cerebrospinal fluid, and plasma in comparison with the presumed NDEV markers NCAM1 and L1CAM by using super-resolution microscopy and biochemical assessments. Proteomic analysis of immunoprecipitated ATP1A3 + brain-derived EVs shows higher enrichment of synaptic markers and cargo proteins relevant to Alzheimer’s disease (AD) compared to NCAM1 + or LICAM + EVs. Single particle analysis shows the elevated amyloid-β positivity in ATP1A3 + EVs from AD plasma, providing better diagnostic prediction of AD over other plasma biomarkers. Thus, ATP1A3 is a reliable target to isolate NDEV from biofluids for diagnostic research.

Abstract Extracellular vesicles (EVs) have emerged as critical mediators of intercellular communication and promising biomarkers and therapeutics in the central nervous system (CNS). Human brain‐derived EVs (BDEVs) provide a comprehensive snapshot of physiological changes in the brain's environment, however, the isolation of BDEVs and the comparison of different methods for this purpose have not been fully investigated. In this study, we compared the yield, morphology, subtypes and protein cargo composition of EVs isolated from the temporal cortex of aged human brains using three established separation methods: size‐exclusion chromatography (SEC), phosphatidylserine affinity capture (MagE) and sucrose gradient ultracentrifugation (SG‐UC). Our results showed that SG‐UC method provided the highest yield and collected larger EVs compared to SEC and MagE methods as assessed by transmission electron microscopy and nanoparticle tracking analysis (NTA). Quantitative tandem mass‐tag (TMT) mass spectrometry analysis of EV samples from three different isolation methods identified a total of 1158 proteins, with SG‐UC showing the best enrichment of common EV proteins with less contamination of non‐EV proteins. In addition, SG‐UC samples were enriched in proteins associated with ATP activity and CNS maintenance, and were abundant in neuronal and oligodendrocytic molecules. In contrast, MagE samples were more enriched in molecules related to lipoproteins, cell‐substrate junction and microglia, whereas SEC samples were highly enriched in molecules related to extracellular matrix, Alzheimer's disease and astrocytes. Finally, we validated the proteomic results by performing single‐particle analysis using the super‐resolution microscopy and flow cytometry. Overall, our findings demonstrate the differences in yield, size, enrichment of EV cargo molecules and single EV assay by different isolation methods, suggesting that the choice of isolation method will have significant impact on the downstream analysis and protein discovery.

AbstractBackgroundP2X purinoceptor 7 (P2RX7), an ATP‐gated cation channel present abundantly in the microglia, induces membrane depolarization and extracellular vesicle (EV) secretion. Previous study demonstrated that administration of GSK1482160, a P2RX7 selective inhibitor, suppressed EVs secretion from murine microglia resulting in accumulation of Tsg101+ intraluminal vesicles (ILVs) in the hippocampus, and restored partial behavioral deficits in P301S tau mice. However, the specificity of GSK1482160 to P2RX7 has never been investigated in P301S tau mice. It is crucial to validate whether P2RX7 is a potential target for alleviating the tauopathy phenotype in P301S tau mice. The purpose of this study is to determine if deletion of P2RX7 is sufficient to recapiturate the therapeutic effect of GSK1482160 in tauopathy mouse model.MethodFours and nine‐months‐old P2RX7‐/‐:P301S and P301S mice were generated for the evaluation of ILV accumulation and tau pathology. Primary microglia and astrocytes from WT (C57BL/6) and P2RX7‐/‐ mice, treated with GSK1482160 and ATP for EV secretion. EVs were isolated from conditioned media via the sequential centrifugation and ultracentrifugation. Finally, EVs were quantified by nanoparticle tracking analysis and exosome specific marker CD9 ELISA. Effects of GSK1482160 on EVs secretion from astrocytes/microglia were also assessed using Western blot with EV specific markers Tsg101 and CD9.ResultExosome specific marker Tsg101, CD9, and tau expression levels were reduced in the hippocampus of nine‐months‐old P2RX7‐/‐:P301S mice compared to P301S mice. No significant difference between the two groups at 4 months of age was observed. Strikingly, primary cultured microglia and astrocytes showed reduction in EV secretion in both ATP stimulated or unstimulated condition from P2RX7‐/‐ group compared to WT group. Additionally, GSK1482160 pretreatment significantly reduced EV secretion from WT astrocytes and microglia, although it had no effects in P2RX7‐/‐ cells. These findings were validated by ELISA of EV marker CD9 and immunoblotting of Tsg101 and flotillin‐1 using isolated EVs.ConclusionResults demonstrate that P2RX7 is primarily responsible for ATP‐induced EV secretion from astrocytes and microglia, and systemic disruption of P2RX7 mimics the effect of GSK1482160 in P301S tau mice, including accumulation of ILVs in microglia and suppression of tau accumulation in the hippocampal regions.

AbstractAlzheimer's disease (AD) is a pervasive neurodegeneration disease with high heritability. In this study, we employed CRISPR‐Cas9‐engineered technology to investigate the effects of a rare mutation (rs144662445) in the A kinase anchoring protein 9 (AKAP9) gene, which is associated with AD in African Americans (AA), on tau pathology and the tau interactome in SH‐SY5Y P301L neuron‐like cells. The mutation significantly increased the level of phosphorylated tau, specifically at the site Ser396/Ser404. Moreover, analyses of the tau interactome measured by affinity purification‐mass spectrometry revealed that differentially expressed tau‐interacting proteins in AKAP9 mutant cells were associated with RNA translation, RNA localization and oxidative activity, recapitulating the tau interactome signature previously reported with human AD brain samples. Importantly, these results were further validated by functional studies showing a significant reduction in protein synthesis activity and excessive oxidative stress in AKAP9 mutant compared with wild type cells in a tau‐dependent manner, which are mirrored with pathological phenotype frequently seen in AD. Our results demonstrated specific effects of rs14462445 on mis‐processing of tau and suggest a potential role of AKAP9 in AD pathogenesis.