Biology subjects

Ohtonen, S.

Publications and source records attributed to Ohtonen, S..

5 recordsLinked to original sources

bioRxiv2026

Diesel exhaust particles disrupt mouse and human iPSC-derived microglial function and Amyloid-beta clearance in Alzheimer's disease models

Alzheimers disease (AD) is one of the most common neurodegenerative disorders, yet the environmental drivers that accelerate its progression remain poorly defined. Traffic-related air pollution is emerging as a modifiable AD risk factor, but how inhaled particles perturb microglial clearance of amyloid beta (A{beta}) is unknown. Microglia are the principal A{beta}-clearing phagocytes of the brain. Here, we showed that exposure of primary mouse microglia and human induced pluripotent stem cell-derived microglia (iMGLs) to 3-100 {micro}g/mL diesel exhaust particles (DEP) disrupted microglial homeostasis, induced morphological abnormalities, increased reactive oxygen species, impaired lysosomal degradation, and led to a concentration-dependent loss of phagocytic capacity. Importantly, DEP markedly reduces A{beta} uptake in both species. Transcriptomic profiling revealed a DEP-induced, non-canonical state characterized by metabolic reprogramming, broad suppression of inflammatory pathways, antigen-presentation, chemokine, and species-specific remodeling during subsequent A{beta} challenge, including defective chemotaxis, cell cycle, and cytoskeletal signatures. These data show that DEP profoundly alters microglial transcriptional and metabolic states, leading to impaired A{beta} clearance, which could, thereby, further contribute to AD progression.

neuroscience↗

bioRxiv2024

Microglia from patients with multiple sclerosis display a cell-autonomous immune activation state

Aberrant and sustained activation of microglia is implicated in the progression and severity of multiple sclerosis (MS). However, whether intrinsic alterations in microglial function impact the pathogenesis of this disease remains unclear. We conducted transcriptomic and functional analyses of microglia-like cells (iMGLs) differentiated from induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) from patients with MS (pwMS) to answer this question. We generated iPSCs from six pwMS showing increased microglial activity via translocator protein (TSPO)-PET imaging. We demonstrated that the differentiated iMGL transcriptional profile resembled the microglial signature found in MS lesions. Importantly, compared with healthy controls, MS iMGLs presented cell-autonomous differences in their regulation of inflammation, both in the basal state and following inflammatory lipopolysaccharide challenge. Through transcriptomic profiling, we showed that MS iMGLs display increased expression of genes known to be upregulated in MS microglia. Furthermore, upregulated genes in MS iMGLs were associated with immune receptor activation, antigen presentation, and the complement system, with known MS implications. Finally, functional analyses indicated that the transcriptional changes in MS iMGLs corresponded with alterations in the secretion of inflammatory cytokines and chemokines and increased phagocytosis. Together, our results provide evidence of putative cell-autonomous microglial activation in pwMS and identify transcriptomic and functional changes that recapitulate the phenotypes observed in vivo in microglia from pwMS. These findings indicate that MS disease-specific iPSCs are valuable tools for studying disease-specific microglial activation in vitro and highlight microglia as potential therapeutic targets in MS.

neuroscience↗

bioRxiv2024

C9orf72 repeat expansion-carrying iPSC-microglia from FTD patients show increased phagocytic activity concomitantly with decreased number of autophagosomal-lysosomal vesicles

C9orf72 hexanucleotide repeat expansion (HRE) is a major genetic cause of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis and frontotemporal dementia. The role of microglia in these C9orf72 HRE-associated diseases is understudied. To elucidate effects of C9orf72 HRE on microglia, we have characterized human induced pluripotent stem cell-derived microglia (iMG) from behavioral variant frontotemporal dementia (bvFTD) patients carrying the C9orf72 HRE. C9orf72 HRE iMG were compared to iMG from healthy controls and sporadic bvFTD patients. The phenotypes of iMG were analyzed using bulk RNA sequencing, biochemical and immunofluorescence analyses, and live cell imaging. C9orf72 HRE-carrying iMG showed nuclear RNA foci and poly-GP dipeptide repeat proteins but no decreased C9orf72 mRNA or protein expression. TDP-43 pathology was absent from all bvFTD iMG. As compared to healthy control iMG, quantitative immunofluorescence analyses indicated that all bvFTD iMG had reduced number, size, and intensity of LAMP2-A-positive vesicles. C9orf72 HRE-carrying iMG additionally showed decreased number, size, and intensity of p62/SQSTM1-positive vesicles. These changes were accompanied by increased phagocytic activity of the C9orf72 HRE-carrying iMG. Serum starvation increased phagocytic activity also in the iMG of sporadic bvFTD patients. RNA sequencing revealed that iMG of C9orf72 HRE-carrying bvFTD patients as compared to the iMG of sporadic bvFTD patients showed differential gene expression in pathways related to RNA and protein regulation and mitochondrial metabolism. Our data suggest potential alterations in the autophagosomal/lysosomal pathways in bvFTD patient iMG, which are further reinforced by the C9orf72 HRE and functionally manifest as increased phagocytic activity.

neuroscience↗

bioRxiv2022

Microglial amyloid beta clearance is driven by PIEZO1 channels

BackgroundMicroglia are the endogenous immune cells of the brain and act as sensors of pathology to maintain brain homeostasis and eliminate potential threats. In Alzheimers disease (AD), toxic amyloid beta (A{beta}) accumulates in the brain and forms stiff plaques. In late-onset AD accounting for 95% of all cases, this is thought to be due to reduced clearance of A{beta}. Human genome-wide association studies and animal models suggest that reduced clearance results from aberrant function of microglia. While the impact of neurochemical pathways on microglia have been broadly studied, mechanical receptors regulating microglial functions remain largely unexplored. MethodsHere we showed that a mechanotransduction ion channel, PIEZO1, is expressed and functional in human and mouse microglia. We used a small molecule agonist, Yoda1, to study how activation of PIEZO1 affects AD-related functions in human induced pluripotent stem cell (iPSC) -derived microglia-like cells (iMGL) under controlled laboratory experiments. Cell survival, metabolism, phagocytosis and lysosomal activity were assessed using real-time functional assays. To evaluate the effect of activation of PIEZO1 in vivo, 5-month-old 5xFAD male mice were infused daily with Yoda1 for two weeks through intracranial cannulas. Microglial Iba1 expression and A{beta} pathology were quantified with immunohistochemistry and confocal microscopy. Published human and mouse AD datasets were used for in-depth analysis of PIEZO1 gene expression and related pathways in microglial subpopulations. ResultsWe show that PIEZO1 orchestrates A{beta} clearance by enhancing microglial survival, phagocytosis, and lysosomal activity. A{beta} inhibited PIEZO1-mediated calcium transients, whereas activation of PIEZO1 with a selective agonist, Yoda1, improved microglial phagocytosis resulting in A{beta} clearance both in human and mouse models of AD. Moreover, PIEZO1 expression was associated with a unique microglial transcriptional phenotype in AD as indicated by assessment of cellular metabolism, and human and mouse single cell datasets. ConclusionThese results indicate that the compromised function of microglia in AD could be improved by controlled activation of PIEZO1 channels resulting in alleviated A{beta} burden. Pharmacological regulation of these mechanoreceptors in microglia could represent a novel therapeutic paradigm for AD. GRAPHICAL ABSTRACT O_FIG O_LINKSMALLFIG WIDTH=176 HEIGHT=200 SRC="FIGDIR/small/484831v1_ufig1.gif" ALT="Figure 1"> View larger version (43K): org.highwire.dtl.DTLVardef@832eadorg.highwire.dtl.DTLVardef@6d8719org.highwire.dtl.DTLVardef@c09740org.highwire.dtl.DTLVardef@9fa85_HPS_FORMAT_FIGEXP M_FIG C_FIG

neuroscience↗

bioRxiv2020

Microglia orchestrate neuronal activity in brain organoids

Human stem cell-derived brain organoids provide a physiologically relevant in vitro 3D brain model for studies of neurological development that are unique to the human nervous system. Prior studies have reported protocols that support the maturation of microglia from mesodermal progenitors leading to innately developing microglia within the organoids. However, although microglia are known to support neuronal development in rodents, none of the previous studies have reported what is the impact of microglia on neuronal growth and maturation in human brain organoids. Here we show that incorporating microglial progenitors into the developing organoid supports neuronal maturation, the emergence of neurons capable of firing repetitive action potentials and the appearance of synaptic and neuronal bursting activity. Immunocompetent organoids enable experimental strategies for interrogating fundamental questions on microglial and neuronal diversity and function during human brain development.

neuroscience↗