Biology subjects

Tsartsalis, S.

Publications and source records attributed to Tsartsalis, S..

4 recordsLinked to original sources

bioRxiv2022

Translocator protein is a marker of activated microglia in rodent models but not human neurodegenerative diseases

Microglial activation plays central roles in neuro-inflammatory and neurodegenerative diseases. Positron emission tomography (PET) targeting 18kDa Translocator Protein (TSPO) is widely used for localising inflammation in vivo, but its quantitative interpretation remains uncertain. We show that TSPO expression increases in activated microglia in mouse brain disease models but does not change in a non-human primate disease model or in common neurodegenerative and neuroinflammatory human diseases. We describe genetic divergence in the TSPO gene promoter, consistent with the hypothesis that the increase in TSPO expression in activated myeloid cells is unique to a subset of species within the Muroidea superfamily of rodents. We show that TSPO is mechanistically linked to classical pro-inflammatory myeloid cell function in rodents but not humans. These data emphasise that TSPO expression in human myeloid cells is related to different phenomena than in mice, and that TSPO PET reflects density of inflammatory cells rather than activation state.

neuroscience↗

bioRxiv2022

Knockout of TSPO delays and reduces amyloid, Tau, astrocytosis and behavioral dysfunctions in Alzheimer's disease.

The 18kDa translocator protein (TSPO) is up-regulated in glial cells in neurodegenerative diseases. In Alzheimers disease (AD) animal models, TSPO is first overexpressed in astrocytes and then in microglia. However, the precise role of TSPO in the onset and progression of pathology and symptoms characteristic of the disease remains unknown. Here, we report that in the absence of TSPO in 3xTgAD mice the expected disease onset is significantly delayed and a reduction is seen in the hippocampal load of poorly and highly aggregated forms of Tau (-44% and -82%, respectively) and A{beta}42 (-25% and -95%, respectively), at 9 months of age. In addition, the astrocyte reactivity was decreased in 3xTgAD.TSPO-/- mice with a reduction in the morphologic complexity and the size of astrocytes in the dorso-dorsal hippocampus and the hilus. Functionally, the absence of TSPO ameliorated the cognitive consequences of adeno-associated virus-induced Tau over-expression in the hippocampus. This suggests that TSPO plays an important role in the active disease progression of AD. TSPO-inhibiting drugs thus merit further exploration as to their potential to reduce the rate of neurodegenerative disease progression.

pathology↗

bioRxiv2021

Single nuclear transcriptional signatures of dysfunctional brain vascular homeostasis in Alzheimer's disease

Brain perfusion and normal blood brain barrier integrity are reduced early in Alzheimers disease (AD). We performed single nucleus RNA sequencing of vascular cells isolated from AD and control brains to characterise pathological transcriptional signatures. We found that endothelial cells (EC) are enriched for expression of genes associated with susceptibility to AD. EC transcriptional signatures identified mechanisms for impaired {beta}-amyloid clearance. Evidence for immune activation was found with upregulation of interferon signalling genes in EC and in pericytes (PC). Transcriptional signatures suggested dysregulation of vascular homeostasis and angiogenesis with upregulation of pro-angiogenic signals (HIF1A) and metabolism in EC, but downregulation of homeostatic growth factor pathways (VEGF, EGF, insulin) in EC and PC and of extracellular matrix genes in fibroblasts (FB). Our genomic dissection of vascular cell risk gene enrichment suggests a potentially causal role for EC and defines transcriptional signatures associated with microvascular dysfunction in AD.

neuroscience↗

bioRxiv2021

Diverse human astrocyte and microglial transcriptional responses to Alzheimer's pathology

To better define roles that astrocytes and microglia play in Alzheimers disease (AD), we used single-nuclei RNA sequencing to comprehensively characterize transcriptomes in astrocyte and microglia nuclei isolated post mortem from neuropathologically-defined AD and control brains with a range of amyloid-beta and phospho-tau (pTau) pathology. Significant differences in glial gene expression (including AD risk genes expressed in astrocytes [CLU, MEF2C, IQCK] and microglia [APOE, MS4A6A, PILRA]) were correlated with tissue amyloid and pTau expression. Astrocytes were enriched for proteostatic, inflammatory and metal ion homeostasis pathways. Pathways for phagocytosis, proteostasis and autophagy were highly enriched in microglia and perivascular macrophages. Gene co-expression analyses revealed potential functional associations of soluble biomarkers of AD in astrocytes (CLU) and microglia (GPNMB). Our work highlights responses of both astrocytes and microglia for pathological protein clearance and inflammation, as well as glial transcriptional diversity in AD.

neuroscience↗