Project description:Alexander disease is a neurodegenerative diseases caused by mutations of GFAP, an astrocyte-specific gene. We used single cell RNA sequencing (scRNA-seq) to analyze the diversity of astrocytes.
Project description:Co-cultures of neurons and astrocytes derived from human iPS cells carrying a GFAP (R239C) mutation - an identified cause of Alexander disease (AxD) - were analyzed with single-cell RNA sequencing to assess cell population composition, differential gene expression, and cell-cell interaction differences in AxD co-cultures compared to controls. Oxygen-glucose deprivation (OGD) challenge was applied to identify differences in stress response. Our results suggested differentiation impairment especially in AxD astrocytes, represented by an enriched population of less differentiated cells and downregulation of mature astrocyte genes in AxD astrocytes-containing co-cultures. Furthermore, AxD co-cultures showed increased stress response represented by upregulation of metallothioneins and increased susceptibility to the OGD challenge.
Project description:Alexander disease is a rare neurodegenerative disorder caused by mutations in the gene for glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP), the major intermediate filament of astrocytes in the central nervous system. GFAP mutation causes a toxic gain-of-function and protein aggregation, ultimately leading to gliosis, astrocyte dysfunction, and neurodegeneration. To better understand the disease process, a rat model has been generated to mimic the common R239H mutation observed in the human disease (R237H in the rat). This study focuses on hippocampus, a brain region with a heavy burden of pathology, to determine the impact of GFAP mutation at presymptomatic (3 weeks of age) and severe stages ( 8 weeks of age) of disease. Transcription profiling shows progressive neuroinflammation and neurodegeneration.
Project description:3D-cultured unguided neural and cortical organoids derived from human iPS cells carrying a GFAP (R239C) mutation - an identified cause of Alexander disease (AxD) - and their isogenic controls were analyzed with scRNA-seq to investigate the effect of the GFAP mutation on brain development, cell type composition, and gene expression. Results of this analysis showed impaired astro- and neurogenesis in both types of organoids (unguided and cortical), including a lack of cells acquiring the astrocyte fate, and an increased abundance of cells differentiating into lineages other than neuroectodermal. The results also suggested dysregulation of extracellular matrix, membrane, and cytoskeleton components, which might have also affected their differentiation trajectories.
Project description:Gene expression analysis was performed in Gfap+/+, Gfap+/R236H, and mGFAPTg170-2 transgenic mice, using the Aldh1l1-eGFP-L10a transgenic line (JD130) to isolate translating ribosomes and purify astrocyte specific transcripts for RNAseq.