Lipid Accumulation Induced by APOE4 Impairs Microglial Surveillance of Neuronal-Network Activity
Ontology highlight
ABSTRACT:
PROVIDER: PRJNA838125 | ENA |
REPOSITORIES: ENA
Similar Datasets
Project description:Apolipoprotein E4 (APOE4) is the greatest known genetic risk factor for developing late-onset Alzheimer’s disease and its expression in microglia is associated with pro-inflammatory states. How the interaction of APOE4 microglia with neurons differs from microglia expressing the disease-neutral allele APOE3 is currently unknown. Here, we employ CRISPR-edited induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) to dissect the impact of APOE4 in neuron-microglia communication. Our results reveal that APOE4 induces a distinct metabolic program in microglia that is marked by the accumulation of intracellular neutral lipid stores through impaired lipid catabolism. Importantly, this altered lipid-accumulated state shifts microglia away from homeostatic surveillance and renders APOE4 microglia weakly responsive to neuronal activity. By examining the transcriptional signatures of APOE3 versus APOE4 microglia before and after exposure to neuronal conditioned media, we further established that neuronal soluble cues differentially induce a lipogenic program in APOE4 microglia that exacerbates pro-inflammatory signals. Pharmacological blockade of lipogenesis in APOE4 microglia is sufficient to diminish intracellular lipid accumulation and restore microglial homeostasis. Remarkably, unlike APOE3 microglia that support neuronal network activity, co-culture of APOE4 microglia with neurons disrupts the coordinated activity of neuronal ensembles. We identified that through decreased uptake of extracellular fatty acids and lipoproteins, APOE4 microglia disrupts the net flux of lipids which results in decreased neuronal activity via the potentiation of the lipid-gated K+ channel, GIRK3. These findings suggest that neurological diseases that exhibit abnormal neuronal network-level disturbances may in part be triggered by impairment in lipid homeostasis in non-neuronal cells, underscoring a novel therapeutic route to restore circuit function in the diseased brain.
2022-05-19 | GSE203019 | GEO
Project description:Recent developments in genome sequencing have expanded the knowledge of genetic factors associated with late-onset Alzheimer’s disease (AD). Among them, genetic variant e4 of the APOE gene (ApoE4) confers the greatest disease risk. Dysregulated glucose metabolism is an early pathological feature of AD. Using isogenic ApoE3 and ApoE4 astrocytes derived from human-induced pluripotent stem cells, we find that ApoE4 increases glycolytic activity but impairs mitochondrial respiration in astrocytes. Ultrastructural and autophagic flux analyses show that ApoE4-induced cholesterol accumulation impairs lysosome-dependent removal of damaged mitochondria. Acute treatment with cholesterol-depleting agents restores autophagic activity, mitochondrial dynamics, and associated proteomes, and extended treatment rescues mitochondrial respiration in ApoE4 astrocytes. Taken together, our study provides a direct link between ApoE4-induced lysosomal cholesterol accumulation and abnormal oxidative phosphorylation.
2023-09-12 | PXD045298 | Pride
Project description:Apolipoprotein E (APOE) is a strong genetic risk factor for late-onset Alzheimer’s disease (AD) with APOE4 increasing and APOE2 decreasing risk relative to APOE3. In the P301S mouse model of tauopathy, ApoE4 increases tau pathology and neurodegeneration when compared to ApoE3 or the absence of ApoE. However, the role of ApoE isoforms in regulating lipid metabolism in the setting of tauopathy is unknown. Here, by using targeted lipidomics coupled with histological analysis, we demonstrate that in P301S tau mice, ApoE4 strongly promotes glial lipid accumulation along with significant perturbations in cholesterol metabolism and lysosomal function. Increasing lipid efflux in glia via administration of the LXR agonist GW3965 reduces lipid droplet accumulation in primary E4 microglia in vitro and GW3965 or Abca1 overexpression strongly attenuates tau pathology, neurodegeneration, and synapse loss in P301S/ApoE4 mice. By immunostaining, bulk and snRNA sequencing, we demonstrate reductions in reactive astrocytes and microglia as well as significant changes in cholesterol biosynthesis and metabolism in glia of tauopathy mice in response to LXR activation. These data suggest that promoting efflux of glial lipids via Abca1 could serve as a therapeutic approach to ameliorate tau and ApoE4-linked neurodegeneration.
2023-12-08 | GSE242693 | GEO
Project description:Apolipoprotein E (APOE) is a strong genetic risk factor for late-onset Alzheimer’s disease (AD) with APOE4 increasing and APOE2 decreasing risk relative to APOE3. In the P301S mouse model of tauopathy, ApoE4 increases tau pathology and neurodegeneration when compared to ApoE3 or the absence of ApoE. However, the role of ApoE isoforms in regulating lipid metabolism in the setting of tauopathy is unknown. Here, by using targeted lipidomics coupled with histological analysis, we demonstrate that in P301S tau mice, ApoE4 strongly promotes glial lipid accumulation along with significant perturbations in cholesterol metabolism and lysosomal function. Increasing lipid efflux in glia via administration of the LXR agonist GW3965 reduces lipid droplet accumulation in primary E4 microglia in vitro and GW3965 or Abca1 overexpression strongly attenuates tau pathology, neurodegeneration, and synapse loss in P301S/ApoE4 mice. By immunostaining, bulk and snRNA sequencing, we demonstrate reductions in reactive astrocytes and microglia as well as significant changes in cholesterol biosynthesis and metabolism in glia of tauopathy mice in response to LXR activation. These data suggest that promoting efflux of glial lipids via Abca1 could serve as a therapeutic approach to ameliorate tau and ApoE4-linked neurodegeneration.
2023-12-08 | GSE242180 | GEO
Project description:Several genetic risk factors for Alzheimer’s Disease (AD) implicate genes involved in lipid metabolism and many of these lipid genes are highly expressed in glial cells. However, the relationship between lipid metabolism in glia and AD pathology remains poorly understood. Through single-nucleus RNA-sequencing of AD brain tissue, we have identified a microglial state defined by the expression of the lipid droplet (LD) associated enzyme ACSL1 with ACSL1-positive microglia most abundant in AD patients with the APOE4/4 genotype. In human iPSC-derived microglia (iMG) fibrillar Aβ (fAβ) induces ACSL1 expression, triglyceride synthesis, and LD accumulation in an APOE-dependent manner. Additionally, conditioned media from LD-containing microglia leads to Tau phosphorylation and neurotoxicity in an APOE-dependent manner. Our findings suggest a link between genetic risk factors for AD with microglial LD accumulation and neurotoxic microglial-derived factors, potentially providing novel therapeutic strategies for AD.
2024-02-01 | GSE254205 | GEO
Project description:Here we elucidate the effect of Alzheimer’s disease (AD)-predisposing genetic backgrounds, APOE4, PSEN1ΔE9 and APPswe, on functionality of human microglia. We present a physiologically relevant high-yield protocol for producing human microglia-like cells (iMGLs) from induced pluripotent stem cells. Differentiation is directed with small molecules through primitive erythromyeloid progenitors to recreate microglial ontogeny from yolk sac. The iMGLs express microglial signature genes and respond to ADP with intracellular Ca2+ release distinguishing them from macrophages. Using 16 iPSC lines from healthy donors, AD patients and isogenic controls, we reveal that the APOE4 genotype has a profound impact on several aspects of microglial functionality whereas PSEN1ΔE9 and APPswe mutations trigger minor alterations. The APOE4 genotype impairs phagocytosis, migration and metabolic activity of iMGLs but exacerbates their cytokine secretion. This indicates that APOE4 iMGLs are fundamentally unable to mount normal microglial functionality in AD.
2019-10-08 | GSE135707 | GEO
Project description:Alzheimer’s disease is associated with disrupted circadian rhythms and clock gene expression. REV-ERBα (Nr1d1) is a circadian transcriptional repressor involved in the regulation of lipid metabolism and macrophage function. While global REV-ERBα deletion increases microglial activation and mitigates amyloid plaque formation, the cell-autonomous effects of microglial REV-ERBα deletion in healthy brain and in tauopathy are unexplored. Here, we show that microglial REV-ERBα deficient enhances inflammatory signaling, disrupts lipid metabolism, and causes lipid droplet (LD) accumulation specifically in male microglia. Inflammation and LD accumulation combine to inhibit microglial tau phagocytosis, which can be partially rescued by blockage of lipid droplet formation. Microglial REV-ERBα deletion exacerbates tau aggregation and neuroinflammation in P301S and AAV-P301L tauopathy models in male, but not female mice. These data demonstrate the importance of microglial lipid droplets in tau accumulation and reveal REV-ERBα as a therapeutically accessible, sex-dependent regulator of microglial inflammatory signaling, lipid metabolism, and tauopathy.
2023-08-09 | PXD043877 | Pride
Project description:Alzheimer’s disease is associated with disrupted circadian rhythms and clock gene expression. REV-ERBα (Nr1d1) is a circadian transcriptional repressor involved in the regulation of lipid metabolism and macrophage function. While global REV-ERBα deletion increases microglial activation and mitigates amyloid plaque formation, the cell-autonomous effects of microglial REV-ERBα on tau pathology are unexplored. Here, we show that microglial REV-ERBα deletion enhances inflammatory signaling, disrupts lipid metabolic processes, and causes lipid droplet (LD) accumulation specifically in male microglia. Inflammation and LD accumulation combine to inhibit microglial tau phagocytosis, which can be partially rescued by blockage of lipid droplet formation. Microglial REV-ERBα deletion exacerbates tau aggregation and neuroinflammation in P301S and AAV-P301L tauopathy models in male, but not female mice. These data demonstrate the importance of microglial lipid droplets in tau accumulation and reveal REV-ERBα as a therapeutically accessible, sex-dependent regulator of microglial inflammatory signaling, lipid metabolism, and tauopathy.
2023-07-12 | GSE236875 | GEO
Project description:Apolipoprotein E4 (APOE4) is the strongest known genetic risk factor for late-onset Alzheimer’s disease (AD). Conditions of stress or injury induce APOE expression within neurons, but the exact roles of neuronal APOE4 in AD pathogenesis are still unclear. Here we report a rigorous characterization of neuronal APOE4 effects on prominent AD-related pathologies by selectively removing APOE4 from neurons in an APOE4-expressing tauopathy mouse model. We found that the removal of neuronal APOE4 led to a drastic reduction in Tau pathology accumulation and spread, gliosis, neurodegeneration, neurodysfunction, and myelin deficits in this tauopathy mouse model. Single-nucleus RNA-sequencing revealed that the removal of neuronal APOE4 greatly diminished neurodegenerative disease-associated subpopulations of neurons, oligodendrocytes, astrocytes, and microglia that were enriched in APOE4-expressing tauopathy mice and whose accumulation correlated to the severity of Tau pathology, neurodegeneration, and myelin deficits. Thus, neuronal APOE4 plays a central role in promoting the development of major AD pathologies and its removal can effectively combat APOE4-driven effects in AD and other tauopathies.
2023-01-06 | GSE221215 | GEO
Project description:The apolipoprotein E4 (APOE4) gene is the strongest genetic risk factor for late-onset Alzheimer’s disease (AD). ApoE is a lipid carrier abundantly expressed in both brain and periphery. As peripheral apoE is separated from brain apoE by the blood-brain barrier, it remains unclear whether peripheral apoE impacts brain functions and AD pathogenesis. To investigate this, we developed novel mouse models that conditionally express human APOE3 or APOE4 only in the liver with no detectable apoE in the brain. We found that liver-expressed apoE4 compromised synaptic plasticity and cognitive behaviors likely by impairing cerebrovascular functions. Remarkably, liver-expressed apoE4 exacerbated brain amyloid pathology, whereas apoE3 reduced it. Our findings demonstrate a pathogenic effect of peripheral apoE4, providing strong rationale for targeting peripheral apoE to treat AD.
2022-06-15 | GSE125501 | GEO