Much experimental evidence shows that the cytoskeleton is a downstream target and effector during cell death in numerous neurodegenerative diseases, including Parkinson's, Huntington's, and Alzheimer's diseases. However, recent evidence indicates that cytoskeletal dysfunction can also trigger neuronal death, by mechanisms as yet poorly understood. We studied a mathematical model of cytoskeleton-induced neuron death in which assembly control of the neuronal cytoskeleton interacts with both cellular stress levels and cytosolic free radical concentrations to trigger neurodegeneration. This trigger mechanism is further modulated by the presence of cell interactions in the form of a diffusible toxic factor released by dying neurons. We found that, consistent with empirical observations, the model produces one-hit exponential and sigmoid patterns of cell dropout. In all cases, cell dropout is exponential-tailed and described accurately by a gamma distribution. The transition between exponential and sigmoidal is gradual, and determined by a synergetic interaction between the magnitude of fluctuations in cytoskeleton assembly control and by the degree of cell coupling. We concluded that a single mechanism involving neuron interactions and fluctuations in cytoskeleton assembly control is compatible with the experimentally observed range of neuronal attrition kinetics. We also studied the transit of neurons through states intermediate between initial viability and cell death. We found that the stochastic flow of neuron fate, from viability to cell death, self-organizes into two distinct temporal phases. There is a rapid relaxation of the initial neuron population to a more disordered phase that is long-lived, or metastable, with respect to the time scales of change in single cells. Strikingly, cellular egress from this metastable phase follows the one-hit kinetic pattern of exponential decline now established as a principal hallmark of cell death in neurodegenerative disorders. Intermediate state metastability may therefore be an important element in the systems biology of one-hit neurodegeneration. Further, we studied the full spatiotemporal dynamics of death factor pulses released from dying neurons to emphasize the effects of the cell-to-cell coupling strength on neuron death rates. The rate of neuron cell loss monotonically increased with increased diffusion-dependent intercellular communication. Death factor diffusion effects may therefore be important moderators of one-hit neurodegeneration.

While great strides have been made in treating many classes of human disease, the late-onset neurodegenerative diseases continue to elude modern medicine. These diseases, which include Alzheimer's disease (AD), Parkinson's disease (PD), Huntington's disease (HD), the transmissible spongiform encephalopathies (TSEs), and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), involve accumulation of insoluble aggregates of one or more causative proteins, leading to progressive loss of central nervous system neurons, progressively worsening neurological symptoms, and eventual patient death. All of these diseases are currently incurable and fatal. In the case of ALS, progressive death of upper and lower motor neurons leads to full-body paralysis, respiratory difficulty, and patient death. Of the subset of ALS cases showing familial inheritance, approximately 20% are caused by mutations in the SOD1 gene, encoding the Cu, Zn superoxide dismutase (SOD1). These mutations do not have the common property of impairing SOD1's normal function as a free radical scavenger. Instead, they are thought to increase the protein's likelihood of misfolding and aggregating via a poorly-understood aggregation cascade. It is believed that species populated along the misfolding and aggregation pathway may prove to be good targets for therapies designed to block accumulation of downstream toxic species, or to prevent aberrant protein-protein interactions responsible for neurotoxicity. In this thesis, several new techniques are developed to enable detailed elucidation of the SOD1 unfolding and misfolding pathways. Time-resolved measurements collected during SOD1 unfolding or misfolding of release of bound Cu and Zn, of changes in intrinsic fluorescence, of exposure of hydrophobic surface area, and of alterations in the chemical environment of histidine residues, are presented. A new mathematical analysis technique named the Analytical Laplace Inversion Algorithm is developed for rapid extraction of mechanistic information from these time-resolved signals. These tools are applied to the construction of the most detailed models to date of the unfolding and misfolding mechanisms of WT and ALS-causing mutant SOD1. The models presented identify several well-populated unfolding and misfolding intermediates that could serve as good targets for therapies designed to address the fundamental molecular mechanisms underlying SOD1-associated ALS, and to treat what is currently a devastating and incurable disease.

Much experimental evidence shows that the cytoskeleton is a downstream target and effector during cell death in numerous neurodegenerative diseases, including Parkinson's, Huntington's, and Alzheimer's diseases. However, recent evidence indicates that cytoskeletal dysfunction can also trigger neuronal death, by mechanisms as yet poorly understood. We studied a mathematical model of cytoskeleton-induced neuron death in which assembly control of the neuronal cytoskeleton interacts with both cellular stress levels and cytosolic free radical concentrations to trigger neurodegeneration. This trigger mechanism is further modulated by the presence of cell interactions in the form of a diffusible toxic factor released by dying neurons. We found that, consistent with empirical observations, the model produces one-hit exponential and sigmoid patterns of cell dropout. In all cases, cell dropout is exponential-tailed and described accurately by a gamma distribution. The transition between exponential and sigmoidal is gradual, and determined by a synergetic interaction between the magnitude of fluctuations in cytoskeleton assembly control and by the degree of cell coupling. We concluded that a single mechanism involving neuron interactions and fluctuations in cytoskeleton assembly control is compatible with the experimentally observed range of neuronal attrition kinetics. We also studied the transit of neurons through states intermediate between initial viability and cell death. We found that the stochastic flow of neuron fate, from viability to cell death, self-organizes into two distinct temporal phases. There is a rapid relaxation of the initial neuron population to a more disordered phase that is long-lived, or metastable, with respect to the time scales of change in single cells. Strikingly, cellular egress from this metastable phase follows the one-hit kinetic pattern of exponential decline now established as a principal hallmark of cell death in neurodegenerative disorders. Intermediate state metastability may therefore be an important element in the systems biology of one-hit neurodegeneration. Further, we studied the full spatiotemporal dynamics of death factor pulses released from dying neurons to emphasize the effects of the cell-to-cell coupling strength on neuron death rates. The rate of neuron cell loss monotonically increased with increased diffusion-dependent intercellular communication. Death factor diffusion effects may therefore be important moderators of one-hit neurodegeneration.

En esta tesis estudiamos la población total de las células ganglionares de la retina (CGR) en rata y ratón, y desarrollamos un modelo experimental de hipertensión ocular mediante fotocoagulación láser. La población de CGR proyecta masivamente a los colículos superiores. Se observa una estría visual en la retina dorsal donde se encuentra las densidades más altas de CGR. La pequeña población de CGR ipsilateral se distribuye mayoritariamente en la periferia de la retina temporal. El aumento de la presión intraocular induce una compresión de los axones en la cabeza del nervio óptico que provoca una alteración del transporte axonal retrógrado, que induce una degeneración sectorial localizada y difusa de las CGR, preferentemente en la retina dorsal, así como de sus axones. La pérdida selectiva de las CGR en la capa de CGR, sugiere que la causa de la muerte de las CGR no se debe a una isquemia retiniana. / In this thesis we have studied the total population of retinal ganglion cells (RGCs) in rat and mouse, and developed an experimental model of ocular hypertension by laser photocoagulation. The RGC population projects massively to the superior colliculi. There is a visual streak in the dorsal retina where the highest densities of RGCs are found. The small population of ipsilateral RGCs is distributed mainly in the periphery of the temporal retina. The increase of intraocular pressure induces a compression of the axons at the optic nerve head that causes a disturbed retrograde axonal transport, inducing a localized, diffuse and sectorial degeneration of RGCs and their axons, preferably in the dorsal retina. The selective loss of RGCs in the RGC layer, suggests that the cause of the RGC loss is not due to retinal ischemia.

In eukaryotes, the first step of interpreting the genetic information is the transcription of DNA into RNA. For protein-coding genes, such transcription is carried out by RNA polymerase II. A special domain of RNA polymerase II, called the C-terminal domain (CTD), functions as a master controller for the transcription process by providing a platform to recruit regulatory proteins to nascent mRNA (Chapter 1-2). The modifications and conformational states of the CTD, termed the 'CTD code', represent a critical regulatory checkpoint for transcription. The CTD, found only in eukaryotes, consists of 26--52 tandem heptapeptide repeats with the consensus sequence, Tyr₁Ser₂Pro₃Thr₄Ser₅Pro₆Ser₇. Phosphorylation of the serines and prolyl isomerization of the prolines represent two major regulatory mechanisms of the CTD. Interestingly, the phosphorylation sites are typically close to prolines, thus the conformation of the adjacent proline could impact the specificity of the corresponding kinases and phosphatases. Understanding how those modifying enzymes recognize and regulate the CTD is important for expanding our knowledge on the transcription regulation and deciphering the 'CTD code'. During my PhD study, I studied the function of CTD phosphatases and prolyl isomerase in the CTD regulation using Scp1, Ssu72 and Pin1 as model regulators. Scp1 and Ssu72 are both Ser5 phosphatases. However, Ssu72 is an essential protein and regulates the global transcription while Scp1 epigenetically silences the expression of specific neuronal genes. Pin1 is a highly conserved phosphorylation-specific prolyl isomerase that recognizes the phospho-Ser/Thr-Pro motif within the CTD as one of its primary substrates in vivo. Among these enzymes, Scp1 is the focal point of this dissertation, as it was studied from different angles, such as enzymatic mechanism (Chapter 3 describes the capture of phospho-aspartyl intermediate of Scp1 as a direct evidence for the proposed two-step mechanism), specific inhibition (Chapter 4 describes the identification and characterization of the first specific inhibitor of Scp1), and its non-active-site contact with the CTD (Chapter 5 describes the structural basis of this contact). These studies are of great importance towards understanding the molecular mechanism of the dephosphorylation process of the CTD by Scp1. / text

No description available.

The pre-symptomatic stage of neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer’s disease (AD) and Parkinson’s disease (PD) occurs several decades before the clinical onset. Changes in the lysosomal network, i.e. the autophagosomal, endosomal and lysosomal vesicular system, are among the first alterations observed. There are currently no treatments to slow or cure neurodegenerative diseases, and there is a great need for discovery of treatment targets in cellular pathways where pathology pre-dates the neuronal death. It is also crucial to be able to diagnose neurodegenerative diseases earlier, both to enable early intervention treatment and aid in selecting clinical trial populations before the patient has widespread pathology. This thesis aims at investigating the potential of lysosomal network proteins as biomarkers and therapeutic targets in neurodegenerative disease. A targeted search for lysosomal network proteins was performed in cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) from AD patients, and seven proteins: early endosomal antigen 1 (EEA1), lysosomal-associated membrane proteins 1 and 2 (LAMP-1, LAMP-2), lysozyme, microtubule-associated protein 1 light chain 3 (LC3), Rab3 and Rab7, were elevated. The levels of EEA1, LAMP-1, LAMP-2, LC3, lysozyme and Rab3 were also measured in CSF from parkinsonian syndrome patients: PD, clinically diagnosed 4-repeat tauopathy, pathologically confirmed corticobasal degeneration (CBD) and pathologically confirmed progressive supranuclear palsy (PSP) patients. LAMP-1 and LAMP-2 were decreased in PD. LC3 and lysozyme levels were increased in 4-repeat tauopathy patients. EEA1 was decreased and lysozyme increased in PSP, and LAMP-1, LAMP-2, LC3 and lysozyme were increased in CBD. The lysosomal network proteins had different CSF protein profiles in all the parkinsonian syndromes, as well as in AD. It should be emphasized that only a select few of the lysosomal network proteins were observed to be changed, rather than a general change in lysosomal network proteins, which implicates the involvement of these seven proteins in specific pathological processes. The most interesting candidates, LAMP-2 and lysozyme, were selected for further study for their involvement in the pathology of AD. Lysozyme was found to co-localise with Aβ plaques in AD patients and overexpression prolonged survival and improved the activity in a Drosophila model of AD. Lysozyme was found to alter the aggregation pathway of Aβ1-42, to counteract the formation of toxic Aβ species and to protect from Aβ1-42 induced cell toxicity. Aβ1-42 in turn was found to increase the expression of lysozyme in both neuronal and glial cells. These data suggest that lysozyme levels rise in AD as a compensatory response which is protective against Aβ associated toxicity. LAMP-2 mRNA and protein were found increased in brain areas relevant for AD pathology and various cellular models showed complex involvement of LAMP-2 in Aβ related pathology, with extensive crosstalk between LAMP-2 and Aβ. Exposure to oligomeric Aβ1-42 caused an upregulation of LAMP-2 and in turn, overexpression of LAMP-2 caused a reduction in secreted levels of Aβ1-42, as well as changing the generation pattern of Aβ and affecting clearance and secretion of Aβ1-42. These data indicate that the increased levels of LAMP-2 in AD could be an attempt to regulate Aβ generation and secretion. In summary, this thesis reports that utilising lysosomal network proteins as biomarkers and novel therapeutic targets for neurodegenerative diseases holds great promise.

No description available.

La neuropathie sensitive et motrice héréditaire avec agénésie du corps calleux (NSMH/ACC) se traduit par une atteinte neurodégénérative sévère associée à des anomalies développementales dans le système nerveux central et du retard mental. Bien que rare dans le monde, ce désordre autosomique récessif est particulièrement fréquent dans la population Québécoise du Canada Français du fait d’un effet fondateur. L’unique étude réalisée sur la mutation québécoise du gène qui code pour le co-transporteur de potassiumchlore 3 (KCC3) a montré qu’il y a une perte de fonction de la protéine. Cependant, la maladie est également retrouvée hors du Québec et il reste encore à élucider les pathomécanismes mis en jeu. Nous avons donc séquencé les 26 exons du gène KCC3 chez des individus recrutés dans le monde entier et suspectés d’être atteints de la maladie. Nous avons ainsi identifié trois nouvelles mutations. L’étude fonctionnelle de ces mutations nous a confirmé la perte de fonction systématique des co-transporteurs mutés. Puisque l’inactivation de KCC3 se produit majoritairement via l’élimination de segments peptidiques en C-terminus, nous avons concentré notre attention sur l’identification des interactions qui s’y produisent. À l’aide d’approches double hybride, pull-down et immunomarquage, nous avons déterminé que KCC3 interagit avec la créatine kinase CK-B et que cette interaction est perturbée par les mutations tronquantes. De plus, l’utilisation d’un inhibiteur de créatine kinase inactive KCC3, ce qui démontre qu’il existe bien un lien fonctionnel et pathologique entre KCC3 et ses partenaires C-terminaux. Nous avons aussi identifié des anomalies majeures de localisation membranaire des KCC3 mutés. Que KCC3 soit tronqué ou pleine longueur, sa distribution subcellulaire est affectée dans des cellules en culture, dans les ovocytes de Xenopes et dans des échantillons de cerveau de patients. La perte d’interaction entre KCC3 et CK-B et/ou les défauts de transit intracellulaire de KCC3 sont donc les mécanismes pathologiques majeurs de la NSMH/ACC. / Heredirary motor and sensory neuropathy with agenesis of the corpus callosum (HMSN/ACC) is a severe neurodegenerative disease associated with developmental anomalies in the central nervous system and mental retardation. Although rare worldwide, this autosomal-recessive disorder is frequent in the French-Canadian population of Quebec because of a founder effect. Different mutations in the gene coding for the potassiumchloride co-transporter 3 (KCC3) have been associated with the disease; however, little is known about the mechanisms leading to the inactivation of the co-transporter. We sequenced 26 exons of the KCC3 gene in individuals recruited worldwide and suspected to be affected by the disease. We identified three new mutations. The functional study of these mutations gave confirmation of a systematic loss-of-function of the mutant co-transporters. As the loss of function occurs mainly via the elimination of C-terminal peptide fragments, we focused on the identification of C-terminal interacting partners. Using different biochemical approaches, such as yeast two-hydbrid, pull-down, and immunostaining, we established that KCC3 interacts with the brain-type creatine kinase CK-B and that this interaction is disrupted by the HMSN/ACC truncation mutations. In addition, a specific creatine kinase inhibitor inactivates KCC3 and shows for the first time the functional link between KCC3 and its C-terminal partners. In addition, we found that anomalies in KCC3 transit—as seen in cultured cells, in Xenopus oocytes, and in human brain samples—is a major pathogenic mechanism that also leads to the disease manifestations.

Les expansions du codon CAG (polyQ) sont impliquées dans neuf maladies neurodégénératives. Notre groupe a démontré que, lors de la traduction de la protéine ataxine-3 (Atx3) mutée qui est impliquée dans l’ataxie spinocérébelleuse de type 3 (SCA3), un changement du cadre de lecture vers un cadre décalé -1 (GCA) se produit. La traduction dans ce nouveau cadre de lecture entraine la production de polyalanine et ceci amplifierait la toxicité des polyQ. Le changement de cadre de lecture (ccl) ribosomique peut se produire des virus aux mammifères mais peu de choses sont connues sur son impact chez l’humain. Afin d’étudier ce phénomène dans la protéine Atx3 avec expansion de polyQ, nous avons établi un modèle de Drosophile transgénique et testé si c’était l’ARNm ou la protéine mutée qui était toxique. Nous avons aussi employé un essai de toeprinting (TP) afin d’identifier l’emplacement précis où les ribosomes changent de cadre de lecture sur l’ARNm. Nos résultats indiquent que la toxicité est due à la présence de polyalanines faisant suite au ccl et que l’ARNm en soi n’est pas la cause directe de la toxicité. De plus, nous avons observé que les ribosomes s’arrêtent au 48ième codon glutamine et que cet arrêt est spécifique aux polyQ. L’arrêt des ribosomes a d’ailleurs aussi été observé dans d’autres maladies avec expansions de polyQ. Puisque ces maladies ont des caractéristiques communes, un blocage de ce ccl pourrait atténuer les symptômes des patients SCA3 et d’autres maladies à expansions de polyQ / Coding CAG repeat disorders have been associated with nine neurodegenerative disorders. Our group has previously shown that during the translation of mutant ataxine-3 (Atx3), the protein involved in Spinocerebellar Ataxia type 3 (SCA3), a ribosomal frameshift occurs and leads to the reading of a GCA frame rather than a CAG frame. This new reading frame causes the production of polyalanine in the polyglutamine peptide which increases its toxicity. Ribosomal frameshifts are known to occur in all organisms but little is known about this phenomenon in human. To study ribosomal frameshift along the ATXN3 transcript, we generated a transgenic Drosophila model in which we looked at the toxicity of the mRNA. Also, we developed a toeprinting assay to precisely evaluate where the change of reading frame occurs along the mRNA. Our results suggest that the toxicity observed in our Drosophila model results from the production of polyalanine and not from the presence of the mRNA per se. Moreover, the change in reading frame seems to occur at the 48th CAG codon and this pausing of the ribosome also occurs in other polyQ tracts. Because CAG repeat disorders share many characteristics, an alteration of the frameshift could alleviate symptoms of SCA3 patients as well as of many other diseases with coding CAG repeats.