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GSK-3β-induced Tau pathology drives hippocampal neuronal cell death in Huntington's disease : involvement of astrocyte-neuron interactions

L'Episcopo, F ; Drouin-Ouellet, J LU ; Tirolo, C ; Pulvirenti, A ; Giugno, R ; Testa, N ; Caniglia, S ; Serapide, M F ; Cisbani, G and Barker, R A LU , et al. (2016) In Cell Death and Disease 7. p.1-14
Abstract

Glycogen synthase kinase-3β (GSK-3β) has emerged as a critical factor in several pathways involved in hippocampal neuronal maintenance and function. In Huntington's disease (HD), there are early hippocampal deficits both in patients and transgenic mouse models, which prompted us to investigate whether disease-specific changes in GSK-3β expression may underlie these abnormalities. Thirty-three postmortem hippocampal samples from HD patients (neuropathological grades 2-4) and age- and sex-matched normal control cases were analyzed using real-time quantitative reverse transcription PCRs (qPCRs) and immunohistochemistry. In vitro and in vivo studies looking at hippocampal pathology and GSK-3β were also undertaken in transgenic R6/2 and... (More)

Glycogen synthase kinase-3β (GSK-3β) has emerged as a critical factor in several pathways involved in hippocampal neuronal maintenance and function. In Huntington's disease (HD), there are early hippocampal deficits both in patients and transgenic mouse models, which prompted us to investigate whether disease-specific changes in GSK-3β expression may underlie these abnormalities. Thirty-three postmortem hippocampal samples from HD patients (neuropathological grades 2-4) and age- and sex-matched normal control cases were analyzed using real-time quantitative reverse transcription PCRs (qPCRs) and immunohistochemistry. In vitro and in vivo studies looking at hippocampal pathology and GSK-3β were also undertaken in transgenic R6/2 and wild-type mice. We identified a disease and stage-dependent upregulation of GSK-3β mRNA and protein levels in the HD hippocampus, with the active isoform pGSK-3β-Tyr(216) being strongly expressed in dentate gyrus (DG) neurons and astrocytes at a time when phosphorylation of Tau at the AT8 epitope was also present in these same neurons. This upregulation of pGSK-3β-Tyr(216) was also found in the R6/2 hippocampus in vivo and linked to the increased vulnerability of primary hippocampal neurons in vitro. In addition, the increased expression of GSK-3β in the astrocytes of R6/2 mice appeared to be the main driver of Tau phosphorylation and caspase3 activation-induced neuronal death, at least in part via an exacerbated production of major proinflammatory mediators. This stage-dependent overactivation of GSK-3β in HD-affected hippocampal neurons and astrocytes therefore points to GSK-3β as being a critical factor in the pathological development of this condition. As such, therapeutic targeting of this pathway may help ameliorate neuronal dysfunction in HD.

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organization
publishing date
type
Contribution to journal
publication status
published
subject
keywords
Journal Article, Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't
in
Cell Death and Disease
volume
7
article number
e2206
pages
1 - 14
publisher
Nature Publishing Group
external identifiers
  • pmid:27124580
  • scopus:84986300521
  • wos:000375277600032
ISSN
2041-4889
DOI
10.1038/cddis.2016.104
language
English
LU publication?
yes
id
b10af769-caeb-4df6-aa15-75d6f69cfff3
date added to LUP
2016-11-22 08:57:08
date last changed
2024-06-14 18:13:22
@article{b10af769-caeb-4df6-aa15-75d6f69cfff3,
  abstract     = {{<p>Glycogen synthase kinase-3β (GSK-3β) has emerged as a critical factor in several pathways involved in hippocampal neuronal maintenance and function. In Huntington's disease (HD), there are early hippocampal deficits both in patients and transgenic mouse models, which prompted us to investigate whether disease-specific changes in GSK-3β expression may underlie these abnormalities. Thirty-three postmortem hippocampal samples from HD patients (neuropathological grades 2-4) and age- and sex-matched normal control cases were analyzed using real-time quantitative reverse transcription PCRs (qPCRs) and immunohistochemistry. In vitro and in vivo studies looking at hippocampal pathology and GSK-3β were also undertaken in transgenic R6/2 and wild-type mice. We identified a disease and stage-dependent upregulation of GSK-3β mRNA and protein levels in the HD hippocampus, with the active isoform pGSK-3β-Tyr(216) being strongly expressed in dentate gyrus (DG) neurons and astrocytes at a time when phosphorylation of Tau at the AT8 epitope was also present in these same neurons. This upregulation of pGSK-3β-Tyr(216) was also found in the R6/2 hippocampus in vivo and linked to the increased vulnerability of primary hippocampal neurons in vitro. In addition, the increased expression of GSK-3β in the astrocytes of R6/2 mice appeared to be the main driver of Tau phosphorylation and caspase3 activation-induced neuronal death, at least in part via an exacerbated production of major proinflammatory mediators. This stage-dependent overactivation of GSK-3β in HD-affected hippocampal neurons and astrocytes therefore points to GSK-3β as being a critical factor in the pathological development of this condition. As such, therapeutic targeting of this pathway may help ameliorate neuronal dysfunction in HD.</p>}},
  author       = {{L'Episcopo, F and Drouin-Ouellet, J and Tirolo, C and Pulvirenti, A and Giugno, R and Testa, N and Caniglia, S and Serapide, M F and Cisbani, G and Barker, R A and Cicchetti, F and Marchetti, B}},
  issn         = {{2041-4889}},
  keywords     = {{Journal Article; Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  month        = {{04}},
  pages        = {{1--14}},
  publisher    = {{Nature Publishing Group}},
  series       = {{Cell Death and Disease}},
  title        = {{GSK-3β-induced Tau pathology drives hippocampal neuronal cell death in Huntington's disease : involvement of astrocyte-neuron interactions}},
  url          = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/cddis.2016.104}},
  doi          = {{10.1038/cddis.2016.104}},
  volume       = {{7}},
  year         = {{2016}},
}