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AD-linked TREM2 mutation induces disease-enhancing proinflammatory microglial states in mice and humans [Now it is part of GSE183068]

ABSTRACT: The hemizygous R47H variant of TREM2, a microglia-specific gene in the brain, increases risk for late-onset Alzheimer’s disease (AD). To understand its pathogenicity, we performed single-nuclei RNA-sequencing of cortical tissue from AD patients with R47H or the common variant (CV)-TREM2 with matched sex, pathology and APOE status. we found that the R47H mutation is associated with cell type- and sex-specific transcriptional changes in human AD, with microglia exhibiting the most robust alterations. R47H-associated microglial subpopulations were characterized by hyperactivation of AKT, one of the signaling pathways downstream of TREM2, and enhanced inflammatory signatures. In tauopathy mouse models that carry one allele of human TREM2 (hTREM2) with either the R47H mutation or CV, the mutation induced spatial memory deficits and exacerbated tau-mediated deficits in female mice. Similar to the human data, the disease-enhancing effects of R47H microglia were associated with robust increases in proinflammatory cytokines, Syk-Akt-signaling, and elevation of a subset of disease-associated microglial signatures identified using single-cell sequencing from isolated microglia. Pharmacological Akt inhibition largely reversed the enhanced inflammatory signatures in R47H microglia treated with tau fibrils. By unraveling the disease-enhancing properties of the R47H mutation in mouse and human, our findings shed light on an immune-linked AD subtype and provide new directions for modulating brain immune responses to treat AD.

ORGANISM(S): Homo sapiens

PROVIDER: GSE154578 | GEO | 2022/07/16

REPOSITORIES: GEO

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Project description:TREM2 is a microglial cell surface receptor, with risk mutations linked to Alzheimer’s disease (AD), including R47H. TREM2 signalling via SYK aids phagocytosis, chemotaxis, survival, and changes to microglial activation state. In AD mouse models, knockout (KO) of TREM2 impairs microglial clustering around amyloid, and prevents microglial activation. The R47H mutation is proposed to reduce TREM2 ligand binding. We investigated cell phenotypes of the R47H mutant and TREM2 KO in a model of human microglia, and compared their transcriptional signatures, to determine the mechanism by which R47H TREM2 disrupts function. We generated human microglia-like iPSC-macrophages (pMac) from isogenic induced pluripotent stem cell (iPSC) lines, with homozygous R47H mutation or TREM2 knockout (KO). We firstly validated the effect of the R47H mutant on TREM2 surface and subcellular localization in pMac. To assess microglial phenotypic function we measured phagocytosis of dead neurons, cell morphology, directed migration, survival, and LPS-induced inflammation. We performed bulk RNA-seq, comparing significant differentially-expressed genes (DEGs: p<0.05) between the R47H and KO versus WT, and bioinformatically predicted potential upstream regulators of TREM2-mediated gene expression. Altered gene expression in the R47H TREM2 pMac overlapped by 90% with the TREM2 KO, and was characterized by dysregulation of genes involved with immunity, proliferation, activation, chemotaxis and adhesion. Downregulated mediators of ECM adhesion included the vitronectin receptor αVβ3, and consequently R47H TREM2 pMac adhered weakly to vitronectin compared with WT pMac. To counteract these transcriptional defects, we investigated TGFβ1, as a candidate upstream regulator. TGFβ1 failed to rescue vitronectin adhesion of pMac, although improved αVβ3 expression. The R47H mutation is not sufficient to cause gross phenotypic defects of human pMac under standard culture conditions. However, overlapping transcriptional defects with TREM2 KO supports the hypothesised partial loss-of-function effects of the R47H mutation. Furthermore, transcriptomics can guide us to more subtle phenotypic defects in the R47H cells, such as reduced cell adhesion, and can be used to predict targets for therapeutic intervention.

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AD-linked TREM2 mutation induces disease-enhancing proinflammatory microglial states in mice and humans [Now it is part of GSE183068]

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