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Exposure to the organochlorine pesticide cis-chlordane induces ALS-like mitochondrial perturbations in stem cell-derived motor neurons

ABSTRACT: Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS) is a debilitating and incurable neurodegenerative dis-ease with unsolved etiology. Due to the large proportion of patients lacking direct disease inher-itance, understanding the environmental factors that contribute to ALS development is of high priority. Epidemiological studies have implicated pesticides and other environmental exposures as possible contributors to ALS pathogenesis. Recently, our group determined that the organo-chlorine pesticide cis-chlordane is toxic to human motor neurons in a dose-dependent manner, causing an ALS-like phenotype in culture and animals with a mode of action independent of its known GABAA antagonism. Here, we aimed to characterize downstream motor neuron pheno-types associated with cis-chlordane treatment. We performed bulk RNA sequencing, live imaging, immunofluorescent labeling, and real-time metabolic assays on stem cell-derived motor neurons to assess chlordane-associated phenotypes in vitro. We demonstrate that cis-chlordane treatment causes a highly altered mitochondrial phenotype in motor neurons, including increased produc-tion of reactive oxygen species, decreased oxygen consumption rate and ATP production, and loss of mitochondrial membrane potential. We further implicate cis-chlordane as a possible medi-ator of potent motor neuron damage, with exposure to the pesticide inducing mitochondrial phe-notypes akin to those seen in ALS. We suggest that future studies investigating the role of pesti-cides in ALS development center upon the organochlorine molecules.

ORGANISM(S): Homo sapiens

PROVIDER: GSE307375 | GEO | 2025/10/29

REPOSITORIES: GEO

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Project description:Familial amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) represents about 10% of ALS cases. In about 20% of familial ALS patients, a mutation in superoxide dismutase-1 (SOD1) can be found. The ubiquitous SOD1 protein converts superoxide radical anions to oxygen and hydrogen peroxide. Patients with familial ALS caused by mutations in SOD1 can show comorbidity with frontotemporal dementia and develop cognitive impairment, including apathy, inattention, verbal deficits, and hypersexuality. At the cellular level, pathological signs of ALS may include tau immunoreactive astrocytic and neuronal inclusions, suggesting that cognitive dysfunction in ALS may also reflect abnormal protein metabolism of the microtubule associated protein (MAP), tau. To identify cell-specific expression changes, we performed laser capture microdissection (LCM) to isolate anterior horn motor neurons and surrounding cells. To determine common pathways for the development of ALS due to dysfunction of SOD1 or TAU, we performed whole transcriptome analysis in SOD1 and TAU mouse models. Because ALS is a neurodegenerative disease that specifically affects motor neurons, these cells were the main investigative target. Global transcriptomes of glial cells surrounding the motor neurons were also assessed, because these cells have been implicated as triggers of neurodegeneration. Mouse experiments were performed at the presymptomatic stage, prior to the onset of cell loss, in order to reduce false positive signals due to tissue reactive changes. Lumbar anterior horn anterior horn motor neurons and surrounding cells (glia) were isolated from presymptomatic TAU-P301L and SOD1-G93A transgenic mice using laser capture microdissection (LCM; PixCellÂ® IIe LCM System, Arcturus, Molecular Devices, CA). On average, 500 motor neuron bodies or surrounding glial cells from 20 tissue sections per animal were collected. RNA isolation from LCM collected cells was performed using the Qiagen RNeasy Micro Kit. Only RNA with RNA Integrity Numbers (RIN) above 7.5 were taken for further analysis (Agilent Bioanalyzer 2100). A two-round T7-based amplification and labeling protocol (Agilent Low RNA Input Linear Amplification Kit PLUS) was used to generate high quality labeled cRNA. Agilent Whole Mouse Genome Microarray comparisons of motor neurons and surrounding glia were performed between transgenic (SOD1G93A and TAUP301L) and corresponding nontransgenic (control) littermate animals, producing four independent comparison groups: SOD1G93A motor neurons versus control motor neurons (SOD1mn), SOD1G93A motor neuron surrounding glia versus control glia (SOD1gl), TAUP301L motor neurons versus control motor neurons (TAUmn) and TAUP301L glia versus control glia (TAUgl). Each comparison used four pairs of transgenic (SOD1G93A or TAUP301L) vs. corresponding control littermate animals, producing four biological replicates. Raw microarray data were acquired using the Agilent DNA Microarray scanner and processed with the accompanying Agilent Feature Extraction 10.5 Image Analysis software using default settings. Normalized signal intensities were used to identify gene expression changes in SOD1G93A and TAUP301L motor neurons and surrounding glial cells, generating four partially overlapping sets of data. For the identification of differential expression, the genes were required to pass two conservative criteria: a ratio beyond the 99.5% confidence interval observed in homotypic comparisons, which corresponded to an approximately 1.5-fold expression change, and a paired t-test (P<0.01) computed using 100 permutations of the data for each gene. Correction for multiple comparisons was performed using the adjusted Bonferroni test. 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Therefore, eight microarray hybridizations were performed for each biological comparison, for a total of 32 microarray slides and generating four groups of differentially expressed genes in SOD1G93A motor neurons (SODmn), SOD1G93A motor neuron surrounding glial cells (SODgl), TAUP301L motor neurons (TAUmn), and TAUP301L surrounding glial cells (TAUgl).

Project description:Aims: Loss of nuclear TDP-43 characterises sporadic and most familial forms of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). TDP-43 (encoded by TARDBP) has multiple roles in RNA processing. We aimed to determine whether 1) RNA splicing dysregulation is present in lower motor neurons in ALS and in a motor neuron-like cell model, and 2) TARDBP mutations (mtTARDBP) are associated with aberrant RNA splicing using patient-derived fibroblasts. Methods: Affymetrix exon arrays were used to study mRNA expression and splicing in lower motor neurons obtained by laser capture microdissection of autopsy tissue from individuals with sporadic ALS and TDP-43 proteinopathy. Findings were confirmed by qRT-PCR and in NSC34 motor neuronal cells following shRNA-mediated TDP-43 depletion. Exon arrays and immunohistochemistry were used to study mRNA splicing and TDP-43 expression in fibroblasts from patients with mtTARDBP-associated, sporadic and mutant SOD1-associated ALS. Results: We found altered expression of spliceosome components in motor neurons and widespread aberrations of mRNA splicing that specifically affected genes involved in ribonucleotide binding. This was confirmed in TDP-43 depleted NSC34 cells. Fibroblasts with mtTARDBP showed loss of nuclear TDP-43 protein and demonstrated similar changes in splicing and gene expression, that were not present in fibroblasts from patients with sporadic or SOD1-related ALS. Conclusion: Loss of nuclear TDP-43 is associated with RNA processing abnormalities in ALS motor neurons, patient-derived cells with mtTARDBP, and following artificial TDP-43 depletion, suggesting that splicing dysregulation directly contributes to disease pathogenesis. Key functional pathways affected include those central to RNA metabolism. RNA was extracted from lower motor neurons obtained by laser capture microdissection from autopsy material from neurologically healthy controls (n=6) and cases of sporadic ALS (n=3) and ALS due to C9ORF72 mutations (n=3).

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Exposure to the organochlorine pesticide cis-chlordane induces ALS-like mitochondrial perturbations in stem cell-derived motor neurons

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