Department of Biotechnology
inStem (Institute for Stem Cell Science and Regenerative Medicine)

Golgi fragmentation – One of the earliest organelle phenotypes in Alzheimer’s disease neurons.

Publication Type

Journal Article

Date of Publication

January 1, 2023

Journal

Frontiers in neuroscience

Volume/Issue

17

ISSN

1662-4548

Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is the most common cause of dementia, with no current cure. Consequently, alternative approaches focusing on early pathological events in specific neuronal populations, besides targeting the well-studied amyloid beta (Aβ) accumulations and Tau tangles, are needed. In this study, we have investigated disease phenotypes specific to glutamatergic forebrain neurons and mapped the timeline of their occurrence, by implementing familial and sporadic human induced pluripotent stem cell models as well as the 5xFAD mouse model. We recapitulated characteristic late AD phenotypes, such as increased Aβ secretion and Tau hyperphosphorylation, as well as previously well documented mitochondrial and synaptic deficits. Intriguingly, we identified Golgi fragmentation as one of the earliest AD phenotypes, indicating potential impairments in protein processing and post-translational modifications. Computational analysis of RNA sequencing data revealed differentially expressed genes involved in glycosylation and glycan patterns, whilst total glycan profiling revealed minor glycosylation differences. This indicates general robustness of glycosylation besides the observed fragmented morphology. Importantly, we identified that genetic variants in Sortilin-related receptor 1 () associated with AD could aggravate the Golgi fragmentation and subsequent glycosylation changes. In summary, we identified Golgi fragmentation as one of the earliest disease phenotypes in AD neurons in various and complementary disease models, which can be exacerbated additional risk variants in .

Alternate Journal

Front Neurosci

PubMed ID

36875643

PubMed Central ID

PMC9978754

Authors

Henriette Haukedal
Giulia I Corsi
Veerendra P Gadekar
Nadezhda T Doncheva
Shekhar Kedia
Noortje de Haan
Abinaya Chandrasekaran
Pia Jensen
Pernille Schiønning
Sarah Vallin
Frederik Ravnkilde Marlet
Anna Poon
Carlota Pires
Fawzi Khoder Agha
Hans H Wandall
Susanna Cirera
Anja Hviid Simonsen
Troels Tolstrup Nielsen
Jørgen Erik Nielsen
Poul Hyttel
Ravi Muddashetty
Blanca I Aldana
Jan Gorodkin
Deepak Nair
Morten Meyer
Martin Røssel Larsen
Kristine Freude