Project description:Expression of PS19 Tau Transgenic mice from hippocampus at different ages 3, 6, 9, and 12 months We used Affy arrays to understand the global expression profile of PS19 Tau transgenic mice
Project description:We report the binding between tRNA fragments and Phosphorylated Tau pS396 from the hippocampus of WT controls and Tau-mutant PS19 (human P301S Tau transgenic) mice. We show tRNA fragments abundance in Tau-RNA complexes changes between the two groups. Specific tRNA fragment in the results of Real Time-qPCR were consistent with the small RNA microarray:5'tRF_GluCTC
Project description:Protein kinase CK2α’ is upregulated in patients with tau-associated dementias and in the PS19 mouse model of tauopathy. CK2α’ haploinsufficiency in the PS19 mouse model improved tau pathology, synaptic density, synaptic function, cognitive behavior and disease-associated microglia phenotypes. We hypothesized CK2α’ haploinsufficiency would impact dysregulated gene expression in the PS19 model. We found that CK2α’ haploinsufficiency led to enhanced synaptic gene network expression and enhance immune gene network expression.
Project description:By introducing haploinsufficiency of Cx3cr1 in the P301S (PS19) transgenic model of tau pathology, we report remarkable transcriptional changes, including crucial amyotrophic lateral sclerosis and Alzheimer’s disease risk genes, several of which showed co-expression, suggesting gene–gene interactions among these genetic risk factors.
Project description:We collected whole genome testis expression data from hybrid zone mice. We integrated GWAS mapping of testis expression traits and low testis weight to gain insight into the genetic basis of hybrid male sterility.
Project description:Tau aggregates are critical pathological features of Alzheimer’s disease (AD) and other tauopathies. Growing evidence suggests that soluble tau aggregates trigger neurodegenerative phenotypes. However, the nature of the tau species and interactors involved in its aggregation and spreading remains unclear. By using size exclusion chromatography, mass spectrometry, and bioinformatic analysis, we identified Bassoon protein (BSN) as a significant tau interactor in PS19 mice, as well as in human AD and PSP cases. We also found that overexpression of BSN triggers the aggregation of tau and increase the tau seeding activity in vitro, and also exacerbates the degenerative phenotype in a Fly model for tauopathy. Knockdown of BSN significantly reduced tau spreading in PS19 mouse brains and destabilized the tau aggregates, leading to a reduction in the tau pathology in this model. Furthermore, BSN downregulation was able to restore the neurodegenerative phenotype in PS19 mice, observed in electrophysiology and behavioral tests. Our results identify BSN as a key interactor of tau spread and aggregation in the brain, and therefore a potential target for the treatment of diseases that involve tau spread and aggregation.
Project description:Tau aggregation is a hallmark of several neurodegenerative disorders and gain of toxic functions of misfolded tau species are linked to pathobiology. Herein, we identified proteins that limit tau aggregation when targeted to tau aggregates by polyserine domains. Polyserine targeting was most effective at mitigating tau aggregation when fused to the VCP adaptor protein, FAF2/UBXD8. Surprisingly, FAF2/UBXD8 suppresses tau aggregation independent of VCP, but does require ubiquitination, membrane localization and a UBX domain. Validation in animal models demonstrated that polyserine-targeted FAF2/UBXD8 rescues tau-induced neurodegeneration in Drosophila. Further, delivery of targeted FAF2/UBXD8 reduced gliosis, seeding capacity and insoluble tau levels in PS19 tau transgenic mice while improving contextual fear conditioning. Collectively, our findings highlight polyserine as a tau targeting strategy and identify targeted FAF2/UBXD8 as a potent suppressor of tau pathology.
Project description:Introgressed variants from other species can be an important source of genetic variation because they may arise rapidly, can include multiple mutations on a single haplotype, and have often been pretested by selection in the species of origin. Although introgressed alleles are generally deleterious, several studies have reported introgression as the source of adaptive alleles-including the rodenticide-resistant variant of Vkorc1 that introgressed from Mus spretus into European populations of Mus musculus domesticus. Here, we conducted bidirectional genome scans to characterize introgressed regions into one wild population of M. spretus from Spain and three wild populations of M. m. domesticus from France, Germany, and Iran. Despite the fact that these species show considerable intrinsic postzygotic reproductive isolation, introgression was observed in all individuals, including in the M. musculus reference genome (GRCm38). Mus spretus individuals had a greater proportion of introgression compared with M. m. domesticus, and within M. m. domesticus, the proportion of introgression decreased with geographic distance from the area of sympatry. Introgression was observed on all autosomes for both species, but not on the X-chromosome in M. m. domesticus, consistent with known X-linked hybrid sterility and inviability genes that have been mapped to the M. spretus X-chromosome. Tract lengths were generally short with a few outliers of up to 2.7 Mb. Interestingly, the longest introgressed tracts were in olfactory receptor regions, and introgressed tracts were significantly enriched for olfactory receptor genes in both species, suggesting that introgression may be a source of functional novelty even between species with high barriers to gene flow.