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Single-cell transcriptomics has revealed specific glial activation states associated with the pathogenesis of neurodegenerative diseases, such as Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s disease. While these findings may eventually lead to new therapeutic opportunities, little is known about how these glial responses are reflected by biomarker changes in bodily fluids. Such knowledge, however, appears crucial for patient stratification, as well as monitoring disease progression and treatment responses in clinical trials. Here, we took advantage of well-described mouse models of β-amyloidosis and α-synucleinopathy to explore cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) proteome changes related to their respective proteopathic lesions. Nontargeted liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry revealed that the majority of proteins that undergo age-related changes in CSF of either mouse model were linked to microglia and astrocytes. Specifically, we identified a panel of more than 20 glial-derived proteins that were increased in CSF of aged β-amyloid precursor protein- and α-synuclein-transgenic mice and largely overlap with previously described disease-associated glial genes identified by single-cell transcriptomics. Our results also show that enhanced shedding is responsible for the increase of several of the identified glial CSF proteins as exemplified for TREM2. Notably, the vast majority of these proteins can also be quantified in human CSF and reveal changes in Alzheimer’s disease cohorts. The finding that cellular transcriptome changes translate into corresponding changes of CSF proteins is of clinical relevance, supporting efforts to identify fluid biomarkers that reflect the various functional states of glial responses in cerebral proteopathies, such as Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s disease.

While the initial pathology of Parkinson’s disease and other α-synucleinopathies is often confined to circumscribed brain regions, it can spread and progressively affect adjacent and distant brain locales. This process may be controlled by cellular receptors of α-synuclein fibrils, one of which was proposed to be the LAG3 immune checkpoint molecule. Here, we analyzed the expression pattern of LAG3 in human and mouse brains. Using a variety of methods and model systems, we found no evidence for LAG3 expression by neurons. While we confirmed that LAG3 interacts with α-synuclein fibrils, the specificity of this interaction appears limited. Moreover, overexpression of LAG3 in cultured human neural cells did not cause any worsening of α-synuclein pathology ex vivo. The overall survival of A53T α-synuclein transgenic mice was unaffected by LAG3 depletion and the seeded induction of α-synuclein lesions in hippocampal slice cultures was unaffected by LAG3 knockout. These data suggest that the proposed role of LAG3 in the spreading of α-synucleinopathies is not universally valid.

A majority of current disease-modifying therapeutic approaches for age-related neurodegenerative diseases target their characteristic proteopathic lesions (α-synuclein, Tau, Aβ). To monitor such treatments, fluid biomarkers reflecting the underlying disease process are crucial. We found robust increases of neurofilament light chain (NfL) in CSF and blood in murine models of α-synucleinopathies, tauopathy, and β-amyloidosis. Blood and CSF NfL levels were strongly correlated, and NfL increases coincided with the onset and progression of the corresponding proteopathic lesions in brain. Experimental induction of α-synuclein lesions increased CSF and blood NfL levels, while blocking Aβ lesions attenuated the NfL increase. Consistently, we also found NfL increases in CSF and blood of human α-synucleinopathies, tauopathies, and Alzheimer's disease. Our results suggest that CSF and particularly blood NfL can serve as a reliable and easily accessible biomarker to monitor disease progression and treatment response in mouse models and potentially in human proteopathic neurodegenerative diseases.

Fragile X mental retardation protein (FMRP) is an RNA-binding protein that has a major effect on neuronal protein synthesis. Transcriptional silencing of the FMR1 gene leads to loss of FMRP and development of Fragile X syndrome (FXS), the most common known hereditary cause of intellectual impairment and autism. Here we utilize SILAC-based quantitative phosphoproteomics to analyze murine FMR1(-) and FMR1(+) fibroblastic cell lines derived from FMR1-KO embryos to identify proteins and phosphorylation sites dysregulated as a consequence of FMRP loss. We quantify FMRP-related changes in the levels of 5,023 proteins and 6,133 phosphorylation events and map them onto major signal transduction pathways. Our study confirms global downregulation of the MAPK/ERK pathway and decrease in phosphorylation level of ERK1/2 in the absence of FMRP, which is connected to attenuation of long-term potentiation. We detect differential expression of several key proteins from the p53 pathway, pointing to the involvement of p53 signaling in dysregulated cell cycle control in FXS. Finally, we detect differential expression and phosphorylation of proteins involved in pre-mRNA processing and nuclear transport, as well as Wnt and calcium signaling, such as PLC, PKC, NFAT, and cPLA2. We postulate that calcium homeostasis is likely affected in molecular pathogenesis of FXS.