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Over the last decade, there has been a growing interest in intrabodies and their therapeutic potential. Intrabodies are antibody fragments that are expressed inside a cell to target intracellular antigens. In the context of intracellular protein misfolding and aggregation, such as tau pathology in Alzheimer’s disease, intrabodies have become an interesting approach as there is the possibility to target early stages of aggregation. As such, we engineered three anti-tau monoclonal antibodies into single-chain variable fragments for cytoplasmic expression and activity: PT51, PT77, and hTau21. Due to the reducing environment of the cytoplasm, single-chain variable fragment (scFv) aggregation is commonly observed. Therefore, we also performed complementarity-determining region (CDR) grafting into three different stable frameworks to rescue solubility and intracellular binding. All three scFvs retained binding to tau after cytoplasmic expression in HEK293 cells, in at least one of the frameworks. Subsequently, we show their capacity to interfere with either mouse or mutant human tau aggregation in two different primary mouse neuron models and organotypic hippocampal slice cultures. Collectively, our work extends the current knowledge on intracellular tau targeting with intrabodies, providing three scFv intrabodies that can be used as immunological tools to target tau inside cells.

Summary: The glycine receptor alpha 2 (GlyRα2) is a ligand-gated ion channel which upon activation induces a chloride conductance. Here, we investigated the role of GlyRα2 in dopamine-stimulated striatal cell activity and behavior. We show that depletion of GlyRα2 enhances dopamine-induced increases in the activity of putative dopamine D1 receptor-expressing striatal projection neurons, but does not alter midbrain dopamine neuron activity. We next show that the locomotor response to d-amphetamine is enhanced in GlyRα2 knockout animals, and that this increase correlates with c-fos expression in the dorsal striatum. 3-D modeling revealed an increase in the neuronal ensemble size in the striatum in response to D-amphetamine in GlyRα2 KO mice. Finally, we show enhanced appetitive conditioning in GlyRα2 KO animals that is likely due to increased motivation, but not changes in associative learning or hedonic response. Taken together, we show that GlyRα2 is an important regulator of dopamine-stimulated striatal activity and function.

Abstract Aggregation of alpha-synuclein (α-SYN) is the pathological hallmark of several diseases named synucleinopathies, including Parkinson’s disease (PD), which is the most common neurodegenerative motor disorder. Alpha-SYN has been linked to synaptic function both in physiological and pathological conditions. However, the exact link between neuronal activity, α-SYN toxicity and disease progression in PD is not clear. In this study, we aimed to investigate the effect of chronic neuromodulation in an α-SYN-based rat model for PD using chemogenetics. To do this, we expressed excitatory Designer Receptors Exclusively Activated by Designer Drugs (DREADDs) combined with mutant A53T α-SYN, using two different recombinant adeno-associated viral (rAAV) vectors (serotypes 2/7 and 2/8) in rat substantia nigra (SN) and investigated the effect on motor behavior, synapses and neuropathology. We found that chronic neuromodulation aggravates motor deficits induced by α-SYN, without altering dopaminergic neurodegeneration. In addition, neuronal activation led to changes in post-translational modification and subcellular localization of α-SYN, linking neuronal activity to the pathophysiological role of α-SYN in PD.

Abstract Background The continuously growing human exposure to combustion-derived particles (CDPs) drives in depth investigation of the involved complex toxicological mechanisms of those particles. The current study evaluated the hypothesis that CDPs could affect cell-induced remodeling of the extracellular matrix due to their underlying toxicological mechanisms. The effects of two ultrafine and one fine form of CDPs on human lung fibroblasts (MRC-5 cell line) were investigated, both in 2D cell culture and in 3D collagen type I hydrogels. A multi-parametric analysis was employed. Results In vitro dynamic 3D analysis of collagen matrices showed that matrix displacement fields induced by human lung fibroblasts are disturbed when exposed to carbonaceous particles, resulting in inhibition of matrix remodeling. In depth analysis using general toxicological assays revealed that a plausible explanation comprises a cascade of numerous detrimental effects evoked by the carbon particles, including oxidative stress, mitochondrial damage and energy storage depletion. Also, ultrafine particles revealed stronger toxicological and inhibitory effects compared to their larger counterparts. The inhibitory effects can be almost fully restored when treating the impaired cells with antioxidants like vitamin C. Conclusions The unraveled in vitro pathway, by which ultrafine particles alter the fibroblasts’ vital role of matrix remodeling, extends our knowledge about the contribution of these biologically active particles in impaired lung tissue repair mechanisms, and development and exacerbation of chronic lung diseases. The new insights may even pave the way to precautionary actions. The results provide justification for toxicological assessments to include mechanism-linked assays besides the traditional in vitro toxicological screening assays.

Glycine receptors (GlyRs) containing the α2 subunit are highly expressed in the developing brain, where they regulate neuronal migration and maturation, promote spontaneous network activity and subsequent development of synaptic connections. Mutations in GLRA2 are associated with autism spectrum disorder, but the underlying pathophysiology is not described yet. Here, using Glra2-knockout mice, we found a GlyR-dependent effect on neonatal spontaneous activity of dorsal striatum medium spiny neurons (MSNs) and maturation of the incoming glutamatergic innervation. Our data demonstrate that functional GlyRs are highly expressed in MSNs of one-week-old mice, but they do not generate endogenous chloride-mediated tonic or phasic current. Despite of that, knocking out the Glra2 severely affects the shape of action potentials and impairs spontaneous activity and the frequency of miniature AMPA receptor-mediated currents in MSNs. This reduction in spontaneous activity and glutamatergic signaling can attribute to the observed changes in neonatal behavioral phenotypes as seen in ultrasonic vocalizations and righting reflex. In adult Glra2-knockout animals, the glutamatergic synapses in MSNs remain functionally underdeveloped. The number of glutamatergic synapses and release probability at presynaptic site remain unaffected, but the amount of postsynaptic AMPA receptors is decreased. This deficit is a consequence of impaired development of the neuronal circuitry since acute inhibition of GlyRs by strychnine in adult MSNs does not affect the properties of glutamatergic synapses. Altogether, these results demonstrate that GlyR-mediated signaling supports neonatal spontaneous MSN activity and, in consequence, promotes the functional maturation of glutamatergic synapses on MSNs. The described mechanism might shed light on the pathophysiological mechanisms in GLRA2-linked autism spectrum disorder cases.