Cerebellar Dysfunction in a Mouse Model of Childhood-Onset Manganese-Induced Dystonia Parkinsonism
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ABSTRACT:
PROVIDER: PRJNA1297174 | ENA |
REPOSITORIES: ENA
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Project description:Humans with pathogenic variants in the manganese (Mn) transporter gene SLC39A14 exhibit highly elevated brain Mn concentrations and childhood-onset dystonia-parkinsonism. Here we show that Slc39a14-knockout (KO) mice, a preclinical model of the disease, express deficits in physiological tremor implicating cerebellar (CB) dysfunction in the presence of elevated CB Mn levels. Imaging of intracellular Mn levels using synchrotron-based X-ray fluorescence microscopy revealed highly increased Mn concentrations in Purkinje cells (PCs). We performed RNAseq studies to determine biological pathways altered in the CB of Slc39a14-KO mice relative to wildtype (WT), which revealed an upregulation of pathways and genes responsible for immune response and cell death. To confirm these findings, we performed quantitative autoradiography of the neuroinflammation biomarker Translocator Protein 18kDa (TSPO) which was significantly increased in the CB of Slc39a14-KO mice relative to WT and was further confirmed with Iba-1 positive microglia activation and clustering in the CB cortex. Immunostaining for cleaved caspase-3 (cCASP3), a marker of apoptosis, revealed a widespread increase in cCASP3 immunoreactivity in PCs, which was supported by Hematoxylin and Eosin (H&E) staining demonstrating pyknotic PCs. Lastly, functional electrophysiological assessment of CB neurocircuitry revealed marked decrease in firing rates of cerebellar nuclei (CN) neurons and an increase in variability of PCs simple spikes firing. These findings show, for the first time, Mn-induced PCs degeneration in the CB of Slc39a14-KO mice and provide a pathological substrate for the dystonia-like movement, balance, and gait abnormalities in SLC39A14 mutation carriers.
2025-08-01 | GSE303733 | GEO
Project description:The study of the origin and development of cerebellar tumours has been hampered by the complexity and heterogeneity of cerebellar cells that change over the course of development. We used single-cell transcriptomics to study >60,000 cells from the developing murine cerebellum, and show that different molecular subgroups of childhood cerebellar tumours mirror the transcription of cells from distinct, temporally restricted cerebellar lineages. Sonic Hedgehog medulloblastoma transcriptionally mirrors the granule cell hierarchy as expected, whereas Grp3-MB resemble Nestin+ve stem cells, Group 4 medulloblastomas resemble unipolar brush cells, and PFA/PFB ependymoma and cerebellar pilocytic astrocytoma resemble the pre-natal gliogenic progenitor cells. Furthermore, single-cell transcriptomics of human childhood cerebellar tumours demonstrates that many bulk tumours contain a mixed population of cells with divergent differentiation. Our data highlight cerebellar tumours as a disorder of early brain development, and provide a proximate explanation for the peak incidence of cerebellar tumours in early childhood.
2019-05-01 | GSE118068 | GEO
Project description:The genetic mechanism underlying the neurodegenerative movement disorder X-linked dystonia-parkinsonism (XDP) involves a retrotransposon insertion within the TAF1 gene. TAF1 encodes the TATA-box binding protein-associated factor 1, the largest subunit of the basal transcription factor TFIID, which connects transcription activation to the assembly of the RNA polymerase II preinitiation complex at the core promoter of genes. This study investigated how the TAF1 mutation affects the transcriptomes of XDP patient-derived neurons under basal conditions and in response to mitochondrial toxins.
2026-04-28 | GSE300875 | GEO
Project description:Genetics, Cellular and Natural History of X-Linked Dystonia Parkinsonism
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Project description:Genetics, Cellular and Natural History of X-Linked Dystonia Parkinsonism
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Project description:Biallelic mutations in DNAJC6 cause a complex, early-onset movement disorder characterized by rapidly progressive parkinsonism-dystonia in childhood. The disease is commonly associated with additional neurodevelopmental, neurological and neuropsychiatric features. Currently, there are no disease-specific treatments for this condition, resulting in significant morbidity and risk of premature mortality. To investigate the underlying disease mechanisms in childhood-onset DNAJC6 parkinsonism, we generated induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSC) from three patients harboring pathogenic loss-of-function DNAJC6 mutations and subsequently developed a midbrain dopaminergic (mDA) neuronal model of disease. DNAJC6 encodes auxilin, a co-chaperone protein involved in clathrin-mediated synaptic vesicle (SV) recycling at the presynaptic terminal. When compared to age-matched and CRISPR-corrected isogenic controls, the neuronal cell model revealed disease-specific auxilin deficiency as well as disturbance of synaptic vesicle recycling and homeostasis. We also observed dysregulation of key neurodevelopmental pathways affecting ventral midbrain pattering and neuronal maturation.
2023-12-31 | GSE208353 | GEO
Project description: Not available
| S-EPMC4894980 | biostudies-literature
Project description:Human retrotransposon insertions are often associated with diseases. In the case of the neurodegenerative X-Linked Dystonia-Parkinsonism disease, a human-specific SINE-VNTR-Alu subfamily F retrotransposon was inserted in intron 32 of the TAF1 gene. Here, we genomically rewrote a portion of the mouse Taf1 allele with the corresponding 78-kb XDP patient derived TAF1 allele. In mESCs, the presence of the intronic SVAs—rather than the hybrid gene structure—reduces hyTAF1 levels. This leads to transcriptional downregulation of genes with TATA box enriched in their promoters and triggering apoptosis. Chromatin and transcriptome profiling revealed that intronic SVAs are actively transcribed, forming barriers that likely impede transcription elongation. In mice, neuronal lineage TAF1 humanization resulted lethality of male progeny within two months. XDP male mice had severe atrophy centered on the striatum—the same affected brain region in XDP patients. Lastly, CRISPRa-mediated activation of hyTAF1 restored mESC viability, suggesting boosting TAF1 transcription as a therapeutic approach.
2026-07-01 | GSE323168 | GEO
Project description:Human retrotransposon insertions are often associated with diseases. In the case of the neurodegenerative X-Linked Dystonia-Parkinsonism disease, a human-specific SINE-VNTR-Alu subfamily F retrotransposon was inserted in intron 32 of the TAF1 gene. Here, we genomically rewrote a portion of the mouse Taf1 allele with the corresponding 78-kb XDP patient derived TAF1 allele. In mESCs, the presence of the intronic SVAs—rather than the hybrid gene structure—reduces hyTAF1 levels. This leads to transcriptional downregulation of genes with TATA box enriched in their promoters and triggering apoptosis. Chromatin and transcriptome profiling revealed that intronic SVAs are actively transcribed, forming barriers that likely impede transcription elongation. In mice, neuronal lineage TAF1 humanization resulted lethality of male progeny within two months. XDP male mice had severe atrophy centered on the striatum—the same affected brain region in XDP patients. Lastly, CRISPRa-mediated activation of hyTAF1 restored mESC viability, suggesting boosting TAF1 transcription as a therapeutic approach.
2026-07-01 | GSE322968 | GEO
Project description:Human retrotransposon insertions are often associated with diseases. In the case of the neurodegenerative X-Linked Dystonia-Parkinsonism disease, a human-specific SINE-VNTR-Alu subfamily F retrotransposon was inserted in intron 32 of the TAF1 gene. Here, we genomically rewrote a portion of the mouse Taf1 allele with the corresponding 78-kb XDP patient derived TAF1 allele. In mESCs, the presence of the intronic SVAs—rather than the hybrid gene structure—reduces hyTAF1 levels. This leads to transcriptional downregulation of genes with TATA box enriched in their promoters and triggering apoptosis. Chromatin and transcriptome profiling revealed that intronic SVAs are actively transcribed, forming barriers that likely impede transcription elongation. In mice, neuronal lineage TAF1 humanization resulted lethality of male progeny within two months. XDP male mice had severe atrophy centered on the striatum—the same affected brain region in XDP patients. Lastly, CRISPRa-mediated activation of hyTAF1 restored mESC viability, suggesting boosting TAF1 transcription as a therapeutic approach.
2026-07-01 | GSE322966 | GEO