The Zinc Dyshomeostasis Hypothesis of Alzheimer's Disease

Alzheimer's disease (AD) is the most common form of dementia in the elderly. Hallmark AD neuropathology includes extracellular amyloid plaques composed largely of the amyloid-β protein (Aβ), intracellular neurofibrillary tangles (NFTs) composed of hyper-phosphorylated microtubule-associated protein tau (MAP-tau), and microtubule destabilization. Early-onset autosomal dominant AD genes are associated with excessive Aβ accumulation, however cognitive impairment best correlates with NFTs and disrupted microtubules. The mechanisms linking Aβ and NFT pathologies in AD are unknown. Here, we propose that sequestration of zinc by Aβ-amyloid deposits (Aβ oligomers and plaques) not only drives Aβ aggregation, but also disrupts zinc homeostasis in zinc-enriched brain regions important for memory and vulnerable to AD pathology, resulting in intra-neuronal zinc levels, which are either too low, or excessively high. To evaluate this hypothesis, we 1) used molecular modeling of zinc binding to the microtubule component protein tubulin, identifying specific, high-affinity zinc binding sites that influence side-to-side tubulin interaction, the sensitive link in microtubule polymerization and stability. We also 2) performed kinetic modeling showing zinc distribution in extra-neuronal Aβ deposits can reduce intra-neuronal zinc binding to microtubules, destabilizing microtubules. Finally, we 3) used metallomic imaging mass spectrometry (MIMS) to show anatomically-localized and age-dependent zinc dyshomeostasis in specific brain regions of Tg2576 transgenic, mice, a model for AD. We found excess zinc in brain regions associated with memory processing and NFT pathology. Overall, we present a theoretical framework and support for a new theory of AD linking extra-neuronal Aβ amyloid to intra-neuronal NFTs and cognitive dysfunction. The connection, we propose, is based on β-amyloid-induced alterations in zinc ion concentration inside neurons affecting stability of polymerized microtubules, their binding to MAP-tau, and molecular dynamics involved in cognition. Further, our theory supports novel AD therapeutic strategies targeting intra-neuronal zinc homeostasis and microtubule dynamics to prevent neurodegeneration and cognitive decline

Enhanced prefrontal serotonin 5-HT1A currents in a mouse model of Williams-Beuren syndrome with low innate anxiety

Williams-Beuren syndrome (WBS) is a neurodevelopmental disorder caused by the hemizygous deletion of 28 genes on chromosome 7, including the general transcription factor GTF2IRD1. Mice either hemizygously (Gtf2ird1+/−) or homozygously (Gtf2ird1−/−) deleted for this transcription factor exhibit low innate anxiety, low aggression and increased social interaction, a phenotype that shares similarities to the high sociability and disinhibition seen in individuals with WBS. Here, we investigated the inhibitory effects of serotonin (5-HT) on the major output neurons of the prefrontal cortex in Gtf2ird1−/− mice and their wildtype (WT) siblings. Prefrontal 5-HT receptors are known to modulate anxiety-like behaviors, and the Gtf2ird1−/− mice have altered 5-HT metabolism in prefrontal cortex. Using whole cell recording from layer V neurons in acute brain slices of prefrontal cortex, we found that 5-HT elicited significantly larger inhibitory, outward currents in Gtf2ird1−/− mice than in WT controls. In both genotypes, these currents were resistant to action potential blockade with TTX and were suppressed by the selective 5-HT1A receptor antagonist WAY-100635, suggesting that they are mediated directly by 5-HT1A receptors on the recorded neurons. Control experiments suggest a degree of layer and receptor specificity in this enhancement since 5-HT1A receptor-mediated responses in layer II/III pyramidal neurons were unchanged as were responses mediated by two other inhibitory receptors in layer V pyramidal neurons. Furthermore, we demonstrate GTF2IRD1 protein expression by neurons in layer V of the prefrontal cortex. Our finding that 5-HT1A-mediated responses are selectively enhanced in layer V pyramidal neurons of Gtf2ird1−/− mice gives insight into the cellular mechanisms that underlie reduced innate anxiety and increased sociability in these mice, and may be relevant to the low social anxiety and disinhibition in patients with WBS and their sensitivity to serotonergic medicines

Isolation and characterisation of a cDNA encoding rat mitochondrial GrpE, a stress-inducible nucleotide-exchange factor of ubiquitous appearance in mammalian organs

AbstractIn contrast to the E. coli chaperones DnaK, GroEL and GroES, cDNAs encoding mitochondrial homologues of DnaJ and GrpE from higher eukaryotes have yet to be reported. Based on peptide sequences, we have isolated a cDNA encoding a 217 residue nuclear encoded precursor of rat mitochondrial GrpE (mt-GrpE) including a typical mitochondrial presequence of 27 residues. Western blotting revealed that the 21 kDa GrpE homologue is present exclusively in the mitochondrial fraction where it comprises only ∼0.03% of the total soluble protein, while Northern blotting showed that the mt-GrpE transcript is present in most if not all organs. By contrast to other mitochondrial chaperones, the levels of mt-GrpE and its transcript in cultured cells are only marginally increased in response to the proline analog l-azetidine 2-carboxylic acid but not by heat shock. Furthermore, members of the GrpE family exhibit a much lower degree of sequence identity than do the well studied members of the Hsp70, Hsp60 and Hsp10 families

Dynein, Lis1 and CLIP-170 counteract Eg5-dependent centrosome separation during bipolar spindle assembly

Bipolar spindle assembly critically depends on the microtubule plus-end-directed motor Eg5 that binds antiparallel microtubules and slides them in opposite directions. As such, Eg5 can produce the necessary outward force within the spindle that drives centrosome separation and inhibition of this antiparallel sliding activity results in the formation of monopolar spindles. Here, we show that upon depletion of the minus-end-directed motor dynein, or the dynein-binding protein Lis1, bipolar spindles can form in human cells with substantially less Eg5 activity, suggesting that dynein and Lis1 produce an inward force that counteracts the Eg5-dependent outward force. Interestingly, we also observe restoration of spindle bipolarity upon depletion of the microtubule plus-end-tracking protein CLIP-170. This function of CLIP-170 in spindle bipolarity seems to be mediated through its interaction with dynein, as loss of CLIP-115, a highly homologous protein that lacks the dynein–dynactin interaction domain, does not restore spindle bipolarity. Taken together, these results suggest that complexes of dynein, Lis1 and CLIP-170 crosslink and slide microtubules within the spindle, thereby producing an inward force that pulls centrosomes together