Pharmacological inhibition of Fms-like kinase 3 (FLT3) promotes neuronal maturation and suppresses seizure in a mouse model

Cruite, K.; Moore, M.; Gallagher, M.; Coleman, E.; Yin, Y.; Lin, S.; Shahbo, E.; Lungjangwa, T.; Hovestadt, V.; Jaenisch, R.; Maguire, J.; Tang, X.

doi:10.1101/2024.10.02.616380

bioRxiv · 10.1101/2024.10.02.616380

Pharmacological inhibition of Fms-like kinase 3 (FLT3) promotes neuronal maturation and suppresses seizure in a mouse model

Cruite, K.·Moore, M.·Gallagher, M.·Coleman, E.·Yin, Y.·Lin, S.·Shahbo, E.·Lungjangwa, T.·Hovestadt, V.·Jaenisch, R.·Maguire, J.·Tang, X.

View original source ↗Export metadata ↓

Abstract

Fms-like tyrosine kinase 3 (FLT3) is a receptor tyrosine kinase predominantly expressed in blood and brain cells. While the FLT3 signaling pathway has been extensively studied in blood cell development and leukemia, its role in the brain remains largely unexplored. Through our groups previous high-throughput drug screening work unexpectedly found that several small molecule FLT3 inhibitors (FLT3i), including KW-2449 and Sunitinib, enhance expression of the gene encoding chloride transporter KCC2 in neurons. KCC2 is crucial for brain development and function, and its dysregulation is linked to many brain diseases. These findings suggest previously unrecognized roles of FLT3 signaling in brain health and disease that have yet to be systematically studied. In this study, we utilized a functional genomics approach to investigate the transcriptomic changes induced by pharmacological inhibition of the FLT3 pathway in brain cells, including cultured primary mouse neurons, a human stem cell-derived neuronal model of Rett syndrome (RTT), and human stem cell-derived microglia cultures. Our results show that treating human or mouse neurons with FLT3i drugs significantly upregulates genes crucial for brain development while downregulating genes linked to neuroinflammation. In contrast, FLT3i treatment of human microglia, which do not express FLT3, has no effect on their gene expression, highlighting the cell type-specific roles of FLT3 signaling in the brain. To further understand how FLT3 signaling regulates the expression of neuronal maturation genes such as KCC2, we conducted a curated CRISPR screen that identified a number of transcription factors involved in FLT3i-mediated KCC2 activation in neurons. The mRNA and protein levels of several neurodevelopmental disorder (NDD) risk genes are significantly upregulated in FLT3i-treated neurons, indicating potential therapeutic applications of FLT3i in rescuing underexpression and/or haploinsufficiency of disease-associated genes. In our in vivo studies, we evaluated the efficacy of the FLT3i drug KW-2449 in mice, demonstrating that it can effectively cross the blood-brain barrier, induce KCC2 protein expression for up to 24 hours after a single injection, and reduces seizure activity in a chemoconvulsant-induced mouse model of temporal lobe epilepsy. Collectively, our findings uncover previously unrecognized roles of neuron-specific FLT3 signaling in promoting neuronal maturation and reducing neuroinflammation. These results suggest that FLT3 kinase signaling regulates a transcriptional program vital for brain development and function, position it as a promising therapeutic target for NDD treatment.

Explore related subjects

neuroscience Preprint

Keep this discovery

Explore connections, maps & timelines

BibTeX RIS

Cruite, K., Moore, M., Gallagher, M., Coleman, E., Yin, Y., Lin, S., Shahbo, E., Lungjangwa, T., Hovestadt, V., Jaenisch, R., Maguire, J., Tang, X.. 2024-10-03. Pharmacological inhibition of Fms-like kinase 3 (FLT3) promotes neuronal maturation and suppresses seizure in a mouse model. https://doi.org/10.1101/2024.10.02.616380

Cite the original work for its findings. Save a collection to share your selection of sources.

KEEP EXPLORING

Related preprints

bioRxiv2026

Isogenic forebrain organoids uncover early neurodevelopmental alterations and imbalances in neuronal function leading to hyperexcitation in Gaucher disease

Gaucher disease is a rare lysosomal storage disorder caused by autosomal recessive mutations in the GBA1 gene, encoding the lysosomal enzyme glucocerebrosidase. Gaucher disease is classified in 3 different subtypes depending on the presence and severity of neurological involvement, with type 2 resulting in fatal early-onset neuropathology and patients exhibiting developmental delays, seizures and early death. Studies investigating disease mechanisms of neuronopathic Gaucher disease are mainly based on animal models and focus predominantly on late neuronal phenotypes. Here, we established healthy control and Gaucher disease patient-derived iPSC lines and engineered them to obtain isogenic control and disease lines. Using these lines, we generated cortical and subpallial brain organoids in which we identified early-onset lipid dysregulation in form of glucosylceramide accumulation, highly elevated glucosylsphingosine, and a later increase in ganglioside levels, recapitulating clinical findings. Furthermore, single-cell transcriptomic profiling uncovered novel phenotypes in both cortical and subpallial forebrain organoids. Subpallial alterations consisted of an early increase in migrating interneurons in subpallial organoids, which upregulated cholesterol metabolism. Cortical alterations showed early upregulation of mitochondrial genes and a downregulation of proliferation, with a subsequent switch from GABAergic to glutamatergic neuron fate with a striking increase in gene expression related to the synaptic assembly. Functional assays demonstrated a marked hyperexcitability of cortical organoids and reduced response to GABA-A receptor blockage in Gaucher disease. Additional 2D neuronal network models confirmed the organoid data and showed that both glutamatergic and GABAergic neurons contribute to the phenotype, with hyperexcitability of Gaucher glutamatergic neurons and incapacity of Gaucher GABAergic neurons to balance the excessive excitation. This alteration represents a clinically significant phenotype as many patients exhibit an excitation/inhibition imbalance leading to treatment-resistant seizures, hastening their decline. In conclusion, our defined human models of Gaucher disease identify novel and clear phenotypes that can be used for drug screening or aid in development of new therapeutic strategies to ameliorate Gaucher disease.

neuroscience↗

bioRxiv2026

Oxytocin and Vasopressin Immunoreactivity Differs Across Auditory Brainstem Nuclei in Rodents with Distinct Social Systems

Oxytocin (OT) and vasopressin (AVP) are neuropeptide hormones involved in regulating animal social behavior and a broad spectrum of physiological processes. Although their distributions are well documented in neuroendocrine regions of the forebrain and midbrain, their expression in the hindbrain remains poorly understood. Here, we used immunohistochemistry to quantify OT and AVP immunoreactive puncta within three auditory brainstem nuclei, the lateral superior olive (LSO), the medial superior olive (MSO), and the medial nucleus of the trapezoid body (MNTB) in six wild-caught rodent species differing in sociality. We also quantified the volume of these nuclei and examined variation in total brain volume across species and sociality. OT and AVP puncta count differed among species and social groups. Group-living species exhibited higher OT and AVP puncta counts than monogamous and solitary species in the LSO and MNTB. In the MSO, OT puncta counts did not differ among social groups, whereas AVP puncta counts were higher in group-living than in monogamous and solitary species. Total brain volume and the volumes of the MNTB and MSO differed among species, but not across social groups, whereas LSO volume did not differ among species or sociality. These findings revealed sociality-related variation in OT and AVP immunoreactive puncta within auditory brainstem circuits and suggest that neuropeptide signaling within early auditory brainstem pathways may contribute to the neural integration of social and auditory information.

neuroscience↗

bioRxiv2026

Connexin 40 deficiency alters the temporal profile of postictal oxygen dynamics following focal seizures.

Epilepsy is increasingly recognized as a disorder involving both neuronal and vascular dysfunction. While connexin signaling has been implicated in epileptogenesis, the contribution of vascular connexins to seizure associated cerebrovascular pathology remains poorly understood. Connexin40 (Cx40) is an endothelial gap junction protein that plays a crucial role in vascular communication and blood-flow regulation. Seizures induce dynamic changes in cerebral perfusion and oxygenation, including prolonged postictal hypoperfusion/hypoxia. To determine whether Cx40 influences postictal hypoxia following focal seizures, we examined seizure characteristics and postictal oxygen dynamics in Cx40 knockout (Cx40-/-) mice using an established focal hippocampal seizure model. Electrically kindled seizures were elicited in wild-type and Cx40-/- mice, and local hippocampal tissue oxygenation was continuously monitored before and after seizure induction. Seizure duration did not differ between genotypes, indicating comparable seizure severity. Interestingly, Cx40 deletion altered the temporal pattern of postictal oxygen recovery, producing greater early hypoxia and a delayed secondary rebound in pO2 despite similar peak oxygen levels and overall hypoxic burden. These findings demonstrate that loss of Cx40 selectively alters the temporal profile of postictal oxygen dynamics without affecting seizure duration. Taken together, the results suggest that endothelial gap junctional communication contributes to postictal vascular recovery and identify Cx40 as a potential modulator of seizure associated neurovascular dysfunction.

neuroscience↗