The genetic architecture of mitochondrial dysfunction in Parkinson's Disease

Mitochondrial impairment is a well-established pathological pathway implicated in Parkinson’s disease (PD). Defects of the complex I of the mitochondrial respiratory chain have been found in post mortem brains from sporadic PD patients. Furthermore, several disease-related genes are linked to mitochondrial pathways, such as PRKN, PINK1, DJ-1 and HTRA2 and are associated to mitochondrial impairment. This phenotype can be caused by the dysfunction of mitochondrial quality control machinery at different levels: molecular, organellar or cellular. Mitochondrial unfolded protein response represents the molecular level and implicates various chaperones and proteases. If the molecular level of quality control is not sufficient, the organellar level is required and involves mitophagy and mitochondrial derived vesicles to sequester whole dysfunctional organelle or parts of it. Only when the impairment is too severe, it leads to cell death via apoptosis which defines the cellular level of quality control. Here we review how currently known PD-linked genetic variants interfere with the different levels of mitochondrial quality control. We discuss the graded risk concept of the most recently identified PARK loci (PARK 17-23) and some susceptibility variants such as GBA, LRRK2 and SNCA. Finally, the emerging concept of rare genetic variants as candidates for PD, such as HSPA9, TRAP1 and RHOT1 complete the picture of the complex genetic architecture of PD that will direct future precision medicine approaches

Mitochondrial and Clearance Impairment in p.D620N VPS35 Patient-Derived Neurons

Background: VPS35 is part of the retromer complex and is responsible for the trafficking and recycling of proteins implicated in autophagy and lysosomal degradation, but also takes part in the degradation of mitochondrial proteins via mitochondria-derived vesicles. The p.D620N mutation of VPS35 causes an autosomal-dominant form of Parkinson’s disease (PD), clinically representing typical PD. Objective: Most of the studies on p.D620N VPS35 were performed on human tumor cell lines, rodent models overexpressing mutant VPS35, or in patient-derived fibroblasts. Here, based on identified target proteins, we investigated the implication of mutant VPS35 in autophagy, lysosomal degradation, and mitochondrial function in induced pluripotent stem cell-derived neurons from a patient harboring the p.D620N mutation. Methods: We reprogrammed fibroblasts from a PD patient carrying the p.D620N mutation in the VPS35 gene and from two healthy donors in induced pluripotent stem cells. These were subsequently differentiated into neuronal precursor cells to finally generate midbrain dopaminergic neurons. Results: We observed a decreased autophagic flux and lysosomal mass associated with an accumulation of α-synuclein in patient-derived neurons compared to controls. Moreover, patient-derived neurons presented a mitochondrial dysfunction with decreased membrane potential, impaired mitochondrial respiration, and increased production of reactive oxygen species associated with a defect in mitochondrial quality control via mitophagy. Conclusion: We describe for the first time the impact of the p.D620N VPS35 mutation on autophago-lysosome pathway and mitochondrial function in stem cell-derived neurons from an affected p.D620N carrier and define neuronal phenotypes for future pharmacological intervention

Mitochondria interaction networks show altered topological patterns in Parkinson's disease.

Mitochondrial dysfunction is linked to pathogenesis of Parkinson's disease (PD). However, individual mitochondria-based analyses do not show a uniform feature in PD patients. Since mitochondria interact with each other, we hypothesize that PD-related features might exist in topological patterns of mitochondria interaction networks (MINs). Here we show that MINs formed nonclassical scale-free supernetworks in colonic ganglia both from healthy controls and PD patients; however, altered network topological patterns were observed in PD patients. These patterns were highly correlated with PD clinical scores and a machine-learning approach based on the MIN features alone accurately distinguished between patients and controls with an area-under-curve value of 0.989. The MINs of midbrain dopaminergic neurons (mDANs) derived from several genetic PD patients also displayed specific changes. CRISPR/CAS9-based genome correction of alpha-synuclein point mutations reversed the changes in MINs of mDANs. Our organelle-interaction network analysis opens another critical dimension for a deeper characterization of various complex diseases with mitochondrial dysregulation

DISSECTING GENETIC EPISTASIS IN FAMILIAL PARKINSON’S DISEASE USING A DIGENIC PATIENT-DERIVED STEM CELL MODEL

Parkinson’s disease (PD) is the second most common neurodegenerative disorder worldwide. 10% of PD patients present a familial form of the disease implicating genetic mutations. A variability in terms of disease expressivity, severity and penetrance can be observed among familial cases. The idea that the classical one-gene one-trait model may not catch the full picture of genetic contribution to PD pathophysiology is increasingly recognized. Therefore, a polygenic model where multiple genes would influence the disease risk and the phenotypic traits in PD should be investigated. Mutations in PRKN, encoding the E3 ubiquitin-protein ligase Parkin, cause young onset autosomal recessive forms of PD. A variability in terms of clinical presentation and neuropathology have been observed in PD patients carrying mutations in Parkin. On the other hand, mutations in GBA were recently recognized as the most common genetic risk factor for developing PD. The incomplete penetrance of the disease in patients with GBA mutations may implicate other genetic factors. Therefore, it can be hypothesized that the interactions between common PD genes like PRKN and GBA can contribute to the phenotypic heterogeneity observed in PD cases. To explore this hypothesis, we generated patient-derived cellular models from several PD patients carrying pathogenic mutations in either both PRKN and GBA (triallelic models) or in only one of them (bi- or monoallelic models). We developed a novel strategy to gene edit the N370S mutation in GBA via CRISPR-Cas9, without interference with its respective pseudogene, which allows for the dissection of the role of GBA in the context of a PRKN mutation on an isogenic background. We identified a specific α-synuclein homeostasis in the triallelic model. The genetic and pharmacological rescue of GBA in the triallelic model modified the observed α-synuclein phenotype, proving the contribution of GBA to the observed phenotype. We then investigated whether Parkin was contributing to the phenotype. The modulation of Parkin function in the context of a GBA mutation induced a modification of the α-synuclein homeostasis. We therefore concluded that both PRKN and GBA are influencing α-synuclein homeostasis in the triallelic model. Nevertheless, the phenotypic outcome of the co-occurrence of these mutations was not additive nor synergistic. We therefore suggest the existence of an epistatic interaction between mutant GCase and Parkin that would underlie the clinical heterogeneity observed in PD patients carrying these mutations

Plasma Amyloid Is Associated with White Matter and Subcortical Alterations and Is Modulated by Age and Seasonal Rhythms in Mouse Lemur Primates

Accumulation of amyloid-β (Aβ) peptides in the brain is a critical early event in the pathogenesis of Alzheimer's disease (AD), the most common age-related neurodegenerative disorder. There is increasing interest in measuring levels of plasma Aβ since this could help in diagnosis of brain pathology. However, the value of plasma Aβ in such a diagnosis is still controversial and factors modulating its levels are still poorly understood. The mouse lemur (Microcebus murinus) is a primate model of cerebral aging which can also present with amyloid plaques and whose Aβ is highly homologous to humans'. In an attempt to characterize this primate model and to evaluate the potential of plasma Aβ as a biomarker for brain alterations, we measured plasma Aβ40 concentration in 21 animals aged from 5 to 9.5 years. We observed an age-related increase in plasma Aβ40 levels. We then evaluated the relationships between plasma Aβ40 levels and cerebral atrophy in these mouse lemurs. Voxel-based analysis of cerebral MR images (adjusted for the age/sex/brain size of the animals), showed that low Aβ40 levels are associated with atrophy of several white matter and subcortical brain regions. These results suggest that low Aβ40 levels in middle-aged/old animals are associated with brain deterioration. One special feature of mouse lemurs is that their metabolic and physiological parameters follow seasonal changes strictly controlled by illumination. We evaluated seasonal-related variations of plasma Aβ40 levels and found a strong effect, with higher plasma Aβ40 concentrations in winter conditions compared to summer. This question of seasonal modulation of Aβ plasma levels should be addressed in clinical studies. We also focused on the amplitude of the difference between plasma Aβ40 levels during the two seasons and found that this amplitude increases with age. Possible mechanisms leading to these seasonal changes are discussed

Plasma Amyloid Is Associated with White Matter and Subcortical Alterations and Is Modulated by Age and Seasonal Rhythms in Mouse Lemur Primates

International audienceAccumulation of amyloid-β (Aβ) peptides in the brain is a critical early event in the pathogenesis of Alzheimer's disease (AD), the most common age-related neurodegenerative disorder. There is increasing interest in measuring levels of plasma Aβ since this could help in diagnosis of brain pathology. However, the value of plasma Aβ in such a diagnosis is still controversial and factors modulating its levels are still poorly understood. The mouse lemur (Microcebus murinus) is a primate model of cerebral aging which can also present with amyloid plaques and whose Aβ is highly homologous to humans'. In an attempt to characterize this primate model and to evaluate the potential of plasma Aβ as a biomarker for brain alterations, we measured plasma Aβ 40 concentration in 21 animals aged from 5 to 9.5 years. We observed an age-related increase in plasma Aβ 40 levels. We then evaluated the relationships between plasma Aβ 40 levels and cerebral atrophy in these mouse lemurs. Voxel-based analysis of cerebral MR images (adjusted for the age/sex/brain size of the animals), showed that low Aβ 40 levels are associated with atrophy of several white matter and subcortical brain regions. These results suggest that low Aβ 40 levels in middle-aged/old animals are associated with brain deterioration. One special feature of mouse lemurs is that their metabolic and physiological parameters follow seasonal changes strictly controlled by illumination. We evaluated seasonal-related variations of plasma Aβ 40 levels and found a strong effect, with higher plasma Aβ 40 concentrations in winter conditions compared to summer. This question of seasonal modulation of Aβ plasma levels should be addressed in clinical studies. We also focused on the amplitude of the difference between plasma Aβ 40 levels during the two seasons and found that this amplitude increases with age. Possible mechanisms leading to these seasonal changes are discussed

Induced pluripotent stem cell line (LCSBi001-A) derived from a patient with Parkinson's disease carrying the p.D620N mutation in VPS35

Fibroblasts were obtained from a 76 year-old man diagnosed with Parkinson's disease (PD). The disease is caused by a heterozygous p.D620N mutation in VPS35. Induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) were generated using the CytoTune™-iPS 2.0 Sendai Reprogramming Kit (Thermo Fisher Scientific). The presence of the c.1858G > A base exchange in exon 15 of VPS35 was confirmed by Sanger sequencing. The iPSCs are free of genomically integrated reprogramming genes, express pluripotency markers, display in vitro differentiation potential to the three germ layers and have karyotypic integrity. Our iPSC line will be useful for studying the impact of the p.D620N mutation in VPS35 in vitro