Neurocalcin Delta Suppression Protects against Spinal Muscular Atrophy in Humans and across Species by Restoring Impaired Endocytosis

This document is the Accepted Manuscript version of the following article: Riessland et al., 'Neurocalcin Delta Suppression Protects against Spinal Muscular Atrophy in Humans and across Species by Restoring Impaired Endocytosis', The American Journal of Human Genetics, Vol. 100 (2): 297-315, first published online 26 January 2017. The final, published version is available online at doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.ajhg.2017.01.005 © 2017 American Society of Human Genetics.Homozygous SMN1 loss causes spinal muscular atrophy (SMA), the most common lethal genetic childhood motor neuron disease. SMN1 encodes SMN, a ubiquitous housekeeping protein, which makes the primarily motor neuron-specific phenotype rather unexpected. SMA-affected individuals harbor low SMN expression from one to six SMN2 copies, which is insufficient to functionally compensate for SMN1 loss. However, rarely individuals with homozygous absence of SMN1 and only three to four SMN2 copies are fully asymptomatic, suggesting protection through genetic modifier(s). Previously, we identified plastin 3 (PLS3) overexpression as an SMA protective modifier in humans and showed that SMN deficit impairs endocytosis, which is rescued by elevated PLS3 levels. Here, we identify reduction of the neuronal calcium sensor Neurocalcin delta (NCALD) as a protective SMA modifier in five asymptomatic SMN1-deleted individuals carrying only four SMN2 copies. We demonstrate that NCALD is a Ca(2+)-dependent negative regulator of endocytosis, as NCALD knockdown improves endocytosis in SMA models and ameliorates pharmacologically induced endocytosis defects in zebrafish. Importantly, NCALD knockdown effectively ameliorates SMA-associated pathological defects across species, including worm, zebrafish, and mouse. In conclusion, our study identifies a previously unknown protective SMA modifier in humans, demonstrates modifier impact in three different SMA animal models, and suggests a potential combinatorial therapeutic strategy to efficiently treat SMA. Since both protective modifiers restore endocytosis, our results confirm that endocytosis is a major cellular mechanism perturbed in SMA and emphasize the power of protective modifiers for understanding disease mechanism and developing therapies.Peer reviewedFinal Accepted Versio

Paraoxonase 1 and dietary hyperhomocysteinemia modulate the expression of mouse proteins involved in liver homeostasis

Homocysteine (Hcy), a product of methionine metabolism, is elevated by the consumption of a high-methionine diet that can cause fatty liver disease. Paraoxonase 1 (Pon1), a hydrolase expressed mainly in the liver and carried in the circulation on high-density lipoprotein, participates in Hcy metabolism. Low Pon1 activity is linked to fatty liver disease. We hypothesize that hyperhomocysteinemia and low Pon1 induce changes in gene expression that could impair liver homeostasis. To test this hypothesis, we analyzed the liver proteome of Pon1-/- and Pon1+/+ mice fed a high methionine diet (1% methionine in the drinking water) for 8 weeks using 2D IEF/SDS-PAGE gel electrophoresis and MALDI-TOF mass spectrometry. We identified seven liver proteins whose expression was significantly altered in Pon1-/- mice. In animals fed with a control diet, the expression of three liver proteins involved in lipoprotein metabolism (ApoE), iron metabolism (Ftl), and regulation of nitric oxide generation (Ddah1) was up-regulated by the Pon1-/- genotype. In mice fed with a high-methionine diet, expression of four liver proteins was up-regulated and of three proteins was down-regulated by the Pon1-/- genotype. The up-regulated proteins are involved in lipoprotein metabolism (ApoE), energy metabolism (Atp5h), oxidative stress response (Prdx2), and nitric oxide regulation (Ddah1). The down-regulated proteins are involved in energy metabolism (Gamt), iron metabolism (Ftl), and catechol metabolism (Comt). Expression of one protein (Ftl) was up-regulated both by the Pon1-/- genotype and a high-methionine diet. Our findings suggest that Pon1 interacts with diverse cellular processes - from lipoprotein metabolism, nitric oxide regulation, and energy metabolism to iron transport and antioxidant defenses - that are essential for normal liver homeostasis and modulation of these interactions by a high-methionine diet may contribute to fatty liver disease

Presentation1_Diet-induced hyperhomocysteinemia causes sex-dependent deficiencies in offspring musculature and brain function.pdf

Hyperhomocysteinemia (HHcy), characterized by elevated homocysteine (Hcy) levels, is a known risk factor for cardiovascular, renal, and neurological diseases, as well as pregnancy complications. Our study aimed to investigate whether HHcy induced by a high-methionine (high-Met) diet exacerbates cognitive and behavioral deficits in offspring and leads to other breeding problems. Dietary HHcy was induced four weeks before mating and continued throughout gestation and post-delivery. A battery of behavioral tests was conducted on offspring between postnatal days (PNDs) 5 and 30 to assess motor function/activity and cognition. The results were correlated with brain morphometric measurements and quantitative analysis of mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR)/autophagy markers. The high-Met diet significantly increased parental and offspring urinary tHcy levels and influenced offspring behavior in a sex-dependent manner. Female offspring exhibited impaired cognition, potentially related to morphometric changes observed exclusively in HHcy females. Male HHcy pups demonstrated muscle weakness, evidenced by slower surface righting, reduced hind limb suspension (HLS) hanging time, weaker grip strength, and decreased activity in the beaker test. Western blot analyses indicated the downregulation of autophagy and the upregulation of mTOR activity in HHcy cortexes. HHcy also led to breeding impairments, including reduced breeding rate, in-utero fetal death, lower pups’ body weight, and increased mortality, likely attributed to placental dysfunction associated with HHcy. In conclusion, a high-Met diet impairs memory and cognition in female juveniles and weakens muscle strength in male pups. These effects may stem from abnormal placental function affecting early neurogenesis, the dysregulation of autophagy-related pathways in the cortex, or epigenetic mechanisms of gene regulation triggered by HHcy during embryonic development.</p