Microglial response differences between amyloidogenic transgenic models and Alzheimer’s disease patients

Aims: The continuing failure to develop an effective treatment for Alzheimer’s disease (AD) reveals the complexity for AD pathology. Increasing evidence indicates that neuroinflammation involving particularly microglial cells contributes to disease pathogenesis. Here we analyze the differences in the microglial response between APP/PS1 model and human brains. Methods: RT-PCR, western blots, and immunostaining were performed in the hippocampus of human post mortem samples (from Braak II to Braak V-VI) and APP751SL/PS1M146L mice. In vitro studies to check the effect of S1 fractions on microglial cells were assayed. Results: In APP based models the high Abeta accumulation triggers a prominent microglial response. On the contrary, the microglial response detected in human samples is, at least, partial or really mild. This patent difference could simple reflect the lower and probably slower Abeta production observed in human hippocampal samples, in comparison with models or could reflect the consequence of a chronic long-standing microglial activation. However, beside this differential response, we also observed a prominent microglial degenerative process in Braak V-VI samples that, indeed, could compromise their normal role of surveying the brain environment and respond to the damage. This microglial degeneration, particularly relevant at the dentate gyrus of the hippocampal formation, might be mediated by the accumulation of toxic soluble phospho-tau species. Conclusions: These differences need to be considered when delineating animal models that better integrate the complexity of AD pathology and, therefore, guarantee clinical translation. Correcting dysregulated brain inflammatory responses might be a promising avenue to restore cognitive function. Supported by grants FIS PI15/00796 and FIS PI15/00957 co-financed by FEDER funds from European Union, and by Junta de Andalucia Proyecto de Excelencia CTS385 2035.Financiado por FIS PI15/00796 y FIS PI15/0095, cofinanciado por los fondos FEDER de la Unión Europea, y por Junta de Andalucia Proyecto de Excelencia CTS385 2035. Universidad de Málaga. Campus de Excelencia Internacional Andalucía Tech

Editorial

Es así que en este número 5 de la Revista los escritores hacen un ejercicio concienzudo de escritura para darnos un recorrido por las concepciones docentes sobre lectura y la lectura crítica, los objetos virtuales de aprendizaje como estrategia didáctica significativa para mejorar el desempeño académico en el área de ciencias naturales de los estudiantes de grado octavo. Así mismo, dan cuenta de la importancia de la ciencia y la tecnología a la educación matemática; se introducen en la autoevaluación de los estudiantes para comprender cómo lo asimilar y analizan la configuración histórica regional a través de la literatura entre ficción y testimonio en la obra la multitud errante de Laura Restrepo

Involvement of different aβ-associated myeloid populations in the human alzheimer’s brain

Parenchymal microglia, the brain-resident immune cells, have been postulated as a critical factor in Alzheimer´s disease (AD) since the identification of genetic risk factors related to their functions. Though the role of microglia in the AD progression/development is still unknown, a dysfunctional response has recently gained support. However, the different phenotypes and the implication of others myeloid cells in the human pathology have not been determined yet. In this work, we analyzed the phenotypic profile displayed by damage-associated myeloid cells in two AD vulnerable brain regions, the frontal cortex and hippocampus. For this purpose, immunohistochemistry and image analysis approaches have been carried out in postmortem brain samples from patients with AD (Braak VVI stage) and aged controls without neurological symptoms (Braak 0-II stage). Damage-associated microglial cells were clustered around amyloid plaques and expressed Iba1, CD32,TMEM119, CD68,Trem2 and CD45high. A subset of these cells also expressed ferritin and Gal-3. However, and even though some Braak II individuals accumulated reactive CD45 and CD68-positive plaques, only AD patients exhibited parenchymal infiltration of CD163-positive monocyte-derived cells that invaded plaque near blood vessels. While the frontal cortex showed strong microglial activation similar to that reported in amyloidogenic mice, the hippocampus of the same patients showed an attenuated microglial activation with a degenerative phenotype. These results reveal the co-existence of distinct myeloid populations associated with amyloid plaques during disease progression, as well their region-specific contribution to neuroimmune protection. These findings open the opportunity to design targeted therapies, not only to microglia, but also to the population of macrophages to modulate amyloid pathology and provide a better understanding of the immunological mechanisms underlying AD progression.Supported by ISCiii grants (PI21-0915 (AG), PI21-00914 (JV)); FEDER funds from European Union, by Junta de Andalucia grants (P18-RT-2233 (AG), US-1262734 (JV)); Programa Operativo FEDER 2014-2020, and by grant PPIT.UMA.B1-2019-07 (ESM). Universidad de Málaga. Campus de Excelencia Internacional Andalucía Tech

Self-textured ZnO via AACVD of alkyl alkoxides: a solution-based seed-less route towards optoelectronic-grade coatings

Carbon-free, crystalline and transparent (002)-oriented ZnO films with thickness below 200 nm were deposited at 350 °C on plain glass via AACVD. ZnO films restricted to PVD-growth are achievable through a fast, cost-effective and scalable methodology

Diversity of plaque-associated myeloid cells subtypes in human alzheimer’s disease brain

Aims: Parenchymal microglia, as well other myeloid cells, have been postulated as a critical factor in Alzheimer´s disease (AD) pathogenesis since the identification of genetic risk factors related to their functions. However, the different phenotypes and the implication of the diverse immune cells in the human pathology have not been determined yet. In this work, we have further analyzed the phenotypic profile of the damage-associated myeloid cells in two AD vulnerable brain regions, the frontal cortex and hippocampus. Methods: Immunohistochemistry and image analysis approaches have been carried out in postmortem brain samples from patients with AD (Braak V-VI) and aged controls without neurological symptoms (Braak II). Results: Damage-associated microglial cells were clustered around amyloid plaques and expressed Iba1, TMEM119, CD68, Trem2 and CD45high. Moreover, AD brains exhibited parenchymal infiltration of CD163-positive monocyte-derived cells that invaded plaque near blood vessels. While the frontal cortex showed strong microglial activation similarly to that reported in amyloidogenic mice, the hippocampus of the same patients showed an attenuated microglial activation with a degenerative phenotype. Conclusions: These findings suggest the existence of different myeloid populations associated with Aβ plaques that correlates with disease severity. These results open the opportunity to design targeted therapies, not only to microglia, but also to the population of macrophages to modulate amyloid pathology and provide a better understanding of the immunological mechanisms underlying AD progression.Supported by ISCiii of Spain grants PI18/01557 (AG), PI18/01556 (JV) co-financed by FEDER funds from EU, by Junta de Andalucia grants UMA18-FEDERJA-211(AG), P18-RT-2233(AG) and US-1262734(JV) co-financed by Programa Operativo FEDER 2014-2020, and by B1-2019_07 Universidad de Malaga. Campus de Excelencia Internacional Andalucia Tech (ESM)

Microtubule stabilization reduces amyloid pathology and improves synaptic/memory deficits in APP/PS1 mice

Aims: Cognitive decline in Alzheimer's disease (AD) is highly related to synaptic/neuronal loss. Tau hyperphosphorylation destabilizes microtubules leading to axonal transport failure and generation of dystrophic neurites, thus contributing to synaptic dysfunction. The effect of microtubule stabilization on amyloid-beta pathology has not been assessed in vivo yet. This study evaluated the effect of the microtubule-stabilizing agent, Epothilone D (EpoD) in the pathology of an amyloidogenic mouse model. Methods: APP751SL/PS1M146L mice (3-month-old) were treated weekly with intraperitoneal injections of EpoD (2 mg/kg) or vehicle for 3 months. For memory performance, animals were tested on the objectrecognition, Y-maze and Morris water maze. Hippocampal proteinopathies were quantified by image analysis after immunostaining. Somatostatin (SOM)-numerical density was calculated by stereology. APPswe-N2a cells were treated with EpoD 100nM for 12/24 hours. Protein levels were analysed by Western/dot-blot. Results: EpoD-treated mice improved their performance of cognitive tests, while hippocampal phospho-tau and Ab (especially oligomers) accumulation decreased, together with synaptic/neuritic pathology. Remarkably, EpoD exerted a neuroprotective effect on SOM-interneurons, a highly AD-vulnerable GABAergic subpopulation. Conclusions: EpoD improved microtubule dynamics and axonal transport in an AD-like context, reducing tau and Ab accumulation and promoting neuronal and cognitive protection, underlining the cross-talk between cytoskeleton pathology and proteinopathy. Therefore, microtubule-stabilizing drugs could be candidates for slowing AD at both tau and Ab pathologies.Supported by PI18/01557 (to AG) and PI18/01556 (to JV) grants from ISCiii of Spain, co-financed by FEDER funds (European Union), CIBERNED collaborative grant (to AG and JV), and by PPIT.UMA.B1.2017/26 grant (to RSV). Universidad de Málaga. Campus de Excelencia Internacional Andalucía Tech

Impact of recommended maternal vaccination programs on the clinical presentation of sars-cov-2 infection: A prospective observational study

The COVID-19 pandemic has raised questions about the possible cross immunity resulting from common vaccination programs and SARS-CoV-2 infection. Therefore, the Spanish Obstetric Emergency group performed a multicenter prospective study on the vaccination status of Influenza and Tdap (diphtheria, tetanus and pertussis vaccine boost administered in adulthood) in consecutive cases of SARS-CoV-2 infection in a pregnancy cohort, in order to assess its possible association with the clinical presentation and severity of symptoms of SARS-CoV-2 infection, as well as to determine the factors that may affect vaccination adherence. A total of 1150 SARS-CoV-2 positive pregnant women from 78 Spanish hospitals were analyzed: 183 had not received either vaccine, 23 had been vaccinated for Influenza only, 529 for Tdap only and 415 received both vaccines. No association was observed between the vaccination status and the clinical presentation of SARS-CoV-2 infection and/or the severity of symptoms. However, a lower adherence to the administration of both vaccines was observed in the Latin-American subgroup. Based on the results above, we reinforce the importance of maternal vaccination programs in the actual pandemic. Health education campaigns should be specially targeted to groups less likely to participate in these programs, as well as for a future SARS-CoV-2 vaccination campaign.This research was supported by public funds obtained in competitive calls: Grant COV20/ 00021 from the Instituto de Salud Carlos III-Spanish Ministry of Health, and co-financed with Fondo Europeo de Desarrollo Regional (FEDER) fund

SALMANTICOR study. Rationale and design of a population-based study to identify structural heart disease abnormalities: a spatial and machine learning analysis

[EN]Introduction: This study aims to obtain data on the prevalence and incidence of structural heart disease in a population setting and, to analyse and present those data on the application of spatial and machine learning methods that, although known to geography and statistics, need to become used for healthcare research and for political commitment to obtain resources and support effective public health programme implementation. Methods and analysis: We will perform a cross-sectional survey of randomly selected residents of Salamanca (Spain). 2400 individuals stratified by age and sex and by place of residence (rural and urban) will be studied. The variables to analyse will be obtained from the clinical history, different surveys including social status, Mediterranean diet, functional capacity, ECG, echocardiogram, VASERA and biochemical as well as genetic analysis. Ethics and dissemination: The study has been approved by the ethical committee of the healthcare community. All study participants will sign an informed consent for participation in the study. The results of this study will allow the understanding of the relationship between the different influencing factors and their relative importance weights in the development of structural heart disease

Evidence for classification of c.1852_1853AA>GC in MLH1 as a neutral variant for Lynch syndrome

Background: Lynch syndrome (LS) is an autosomal dominant inherited cancer syndrome characterized by early onset cancers of the colorectum, endometrium and other tumours. A significant proportion of DNA variants in LS patients are unclassified. Reports on the pathogenicity of the c.1852_1853AA>GC (p.Lys618Ala) variant of the MLH1 gene are conflicting. In this study, we provide new evidence indicating that this variant has no significant implications for LS. Methods: The following approach was used to assess the clinical significance of the p.Lys618Ala variant: frequency in a control population, case-control comparison, co-occurrence of the p.Lys618Ala variant with a pathogenic mutation, co-segregation with the disease and microsatellite instability in tumours from carriers of the variant. We genotyped p.Lys618Ala in 1034 individuals (373 sporadic colorectal cancer [CRC] patients, 250 index subjects from families suspected of having LS [revised Bethesda guidelines] and 411 controls). Three well-characterized LS families that fulfilled the Amsterdam II Criteria and consisted of members with the p.Lys618Ala variant were included to assess co-occurrence and co-segregation. A subset of colorectal tumour DNA samples from 17 patients carrying the p.Lys618Ala variant was screened for microsatellite instability using five mononucleotide markers. Results: Twenty-seven individuals were heterozygous for the p.Lys618Ala variant; nine had sporadic CRC (2.41%), seven were suspected of having hereditary CRC (2.8%) and 11 were controls (2.68%). There were no significant associations in the case-control and case-case studies. The p.Lys618Ala variant was co-existent with pathogenic mutations in two unrelated LS families. In one family, the allele distribution of the pathogenic and unclassified variant was in trans, in the other family the pathogenic variant was detected in the MSH6 gene and only the deleterious variant co-segregated with the disease in both families. Only two positive cases of microsatellite instability (2/17, 11.8%) were detected in tumours from p.Lys618Ala carriers, indicating that this variant does not play a role in functional inactivation of MLH1 in CRC patients. Conclusions: The p.Lys618Ala variant should be considered a neutral variant for LS. These findings have implications for the clinical management of CRC probands and their relatives.Generalitat Valenciana in Spain (AP140/08) and the Biomedical Research Foundation from the Hospital of Elche, Spain (FIBElx0902). Conselleria de Educació (Generalitat Valenciana); Fundacion Juan Peran-Pikolinos; Fundacion Carolina-BBVA and Fondo Investigación Sanitaria (FI07/00303). Instituto de Salud Carlos III (INT09/208)