Development of Passive Immunotherapies for Synucleinopathies.

Immunotherapy using antibodies targeting alpha-synuclein has proven to be an effective strategy for ameliorating pathological and behavioral deficits induced by excess pathogenic alpha-synuclein in various animal and/or cellular models. However, the process of selecting the anti-alpha-synuclein antibody with the best potential to treat synucleinopathies in humans is not trivial. Critical to this process is a better understanding of the pathological processes involved in the synucleinopathies and how antibodies are able to influence these. We will give an overview of the first proof-of-concept studies in rodent disease models and discuss challenges associated with developing antibodies against alpha-synuclein resulting from the distribution and structural characteristics of the protein. We will also provide a status on the passive immunization approaches targeting alpha-synuclein that have entered, or are expected to enter, clinical evaluation.

Prion-Specific Antibodies Produced in Wild-Type Mice.

Peptide-specific antibodies produced against synthetic peptides are of high value in probing protein structure and function, especially when working with challenging proteins, including not readily available, non-immunogenic, toxic, and/or pathogenic proteins. Here, we present a straightforward method for production of mouse monoclonal antibodies (MAbs) against peptides representing two sites of interest in the bovine prion protein (boPrP), the causative agent of bovine spongiform encephalopathy ("mad cow disease") and new variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob's disease (CJD) in humans, as well as a thorough characterization of their reactivity with a range of normal and pathogenic (misfolded) prion proteins. It is demonstrated that immunization of wild-type mice with ovalbumin-conjugated peptides formulated with Freund's adjuvant induces a good immune response, including high levels of specific anti-peptide antibodies, even against peptides very homologous to murine protein sequences. In general, using the strategies described here for selecting, synthesizing, and conjugating peptides and immunizing 4-5 mice with 2-3 different peptides, high-titered antibodies reacting with the target protein are routinely obtained with at least one of the peptides after three to four immunizations with incomplete Freund's adjuvant.

Urea and thiourea modified polypropyleneimine dendrimers clear intracellular α-synuclein aggregates in a human cell line.

Synucleinopathies are neurodegenerative pathologies in which disease progression is closely correlated to brain accumulation of insoluble α-synuclein, a small protein abundantly expressed in neural tissue. Here, two types of modified polypropyleneimine (PPI) dendrimers having either urea or methylthiourea (MTU) surface functional groups were investigated in a cellular model of synucleinopathy. Dendrimers are synthetic macromolecules that may be produced in a range of well-defined molecular sizes. Using cellomics array scan high-content screening, we show that both types of dendrimers are able to significantly reduce intracellular levels of α-synuclein aggregates dependent on the concentration, the type and molecular size of the dendrimer with the bigger size MTU-dendrimers having the highest potency. The intracellular clearance of α-synuclein aggregates by dendrimers was achieved at noncytotoxic concentrations.

Tubulin polymerization-promoting protein (TPPP/p25α) promotes unconventional secretion of α-synuclein through exophagy by impairing autophagosome-lysosome fusion.

Aggregation of α-synuclein can be promoted by the tubulin polymerization-promoting protein/p25α, which we have used here as a tool to study the role of autophagy in the clearance of α-synuclein. In NGF-differentiated PC12 catecholaminergic nerve cells, we show that de novo expressed p25α co-localizes with α-synuclein and causes its aggregation and distribution into autophagosomes. However, p25α also lowered the mobility of autophagosomes and hindered the final maturation of autophagosomes by preventing their fusion with lysosomes for the final degradation of α-synuclein. Instead, p25α caused a 4-fold increase in the basal level of α-synuclein secreted into the medium. Secretion was strictly dependent on autophagy and could be up-regulated (trehalose and Rab1A) or down-regulated (3-methyladenine and ATG5 shRNA) by enhancers or inhibitors of autophagy or by modulating minus-end-directed (HDAC6 shRNA) or plus-end-directed (Rab8) trafficking of autophagosomes along microtubules. Finally, we show in the absence of tubulin polymerization-promoting protein/p25α that α-synuclein release was modulated by dominant mutants of Rab27A, known to regulate exocytosis of late endosomal (and amphisomal) elements, and that both lysosomal fusion block and secretion of α-synuclein could be replicated by knockdown of the p25α target, HDAC6, the predominant cytosolic deacetylase in neurons. Our data indicate that unconventional secretion of α-synuclein can be mediated through exophagy and that factors, which increase the pool of autophagosomes/amphisomes (e.g. lysosomal disturbance) or alter the polarity of vesicular transport of autophagosomes on microtubules, can result in an increased release of α-synuclein monomer and aggregates to the surroundings.

Competitive HIF Prolyl Hydroxylase Inhibitors Show Protection against Oxidative Stress by a Mechanism Partially Dependent on Glycolysis.

The hypoxia inducible factor 1 (HIF-1) is a central transcription factor involved in the cellular and molecular adaptation to hypoxia and low glucose supply. The level of HIF-1 is to a large degree regulated by the HIF prolyl hydroxylase enzymes (HPHs) belonging to the Fe(II) and 2-oxoglutarate-dependent dioxygenase superfamily. In the present study, we compared competitive and noncompetitive HPH-inhibitor compounds in two different cell types (SH-SY5Y and PC12). Although the competitive HPH-inhibitor compounds were found to be pharmacologically more potent than the non-competitive compounds at inhibiting HPH2 and HPH1, this was not translated into the cellular effects of the compounds, where the non-competitive inhibitors were actually more potent than the competitive in stabilizing and translocatingHIF1 α to the nucleus (quantified with Cellomics ArrayScan technology). This could be explained by the high cellular concentrations of the cofactor 2-oxoglutarate (2-OG) as the competitive inhibitors act by binding to the 2-OG site of the HPH enzymes. Both competitive and non-competitive HPH inhibitors protected the cells against 6-OHDA induced oxidative stress. In addition, the protective effect of a specific HPH inhibitor was partially preserved when the cells were serum starved and exposed to 2-deoxyglucose, an inhibitor of glycolysis, indicating that other processes than restoring energy supply could be important for the HIF-mediated cytoprotection.

Endogenous 2-oxoglutarate levels impact potencies of competitive HIF prolyl hydroxylase inhibitors.

The stability and transcriptional activity of the hypoxia-inducible factors (HIFs) are regulated by oxygen-dependent hydroxylation that is catalyzed by three HIF prolyl 4-hydroxylases (HPHs). Use of HPH inhibition as a mean for HIF-upregulation has recently gained interest as a potential treatment paradigm against neurodegenerative diseases like ischemia and Parkinson's disease. In the present investigation we report the development of a new and robust assay to measure HPH activity. The assay is based on capture of hydroxylated peptide product by the von Hippel-Lindau protein which is directly measured in a scintillation proximity assay. In addition we describe the determination of HPH subtype potencies of HPH inhibitors which either directly or indirectly inhibit the HPH enzyme. The potencies of the HPH inhibitors displayed almost identical IC(50) values toward the HPH1 and HPH2 subtype while the potency against the HPH3 subtype was increased for several of the compounds. For the most potent compound, a hydroxyl thiazole derivative, the potency against HPH2 and HPH3 was 7nM and 0.49nM, respectively corresponding to a 14-fold difference. These results suggest that HPH subtype-selective compounds may be developed. In addition we determined the 2-oxoglutarate concentration in brain tissue and neuronal cell lines as 2-oxoglutarate is an important co-factor used by the HPH enzyme during the hydroxylation reaction. The high intracellular 2-oxoglutarate concentration provides an explanation for the diminished cellular HIF activating potency of a competitive HPH inhibitor compared to its orders of magnitude higher HPH inhibiting potency. The present reported data suggest that in the development of specific Hif prolyl hydroxylase inhibitors the high 2-oxoglutarate tissue level should be taken into account as this might affect the cellular potency. Thus to specifically inhibit the intracellular HPH enzymatic reaction a competitive inhibitor with a low Ki should be developed.

α-Synuclein propagates from mouse brain to grafted dopaminergic neurons and seeds aggregation in cultured human cells.

Post-mortem analyses of brains from patients with Parkinson disease who received fetal mesencephalic transplants show that α-synuclein-containing (α-syn-containing) Lewy bodies gradually appear in grafted neurons. Here, we explored whether intercellular transfer of α-syn from host to graft, followed by seeding of α-syn aggregation in recipient neurons, can contribute to this phenomenon. We assessed α-syn cell-to-cell transfer using microscopy, flow cytometry, and high-content screening in several coculture model systems. Coculturing cells engineered to express either GFP- or DsRed-tagged α-syn resulted in a gradual increase in double-labeled cells. Importantly, α-syn-GFP derived from 1 neuroblastoma cell line localized to red fluorescent aggregates in other cells expressing DsRed-α-syn, suggesting a seeding effect of transmitted α-syn. Extracellular α-syn was taken up by cells through endocytosis and interacted with intracellular α-syn. Next, following intracortical injection of recombinant α-syn in rats, we found neuronal uptake was attenuated by coinjection of an endocytosis inhibitor. Finally, we demonstrated in vivo transfer of α-syn between host cells and grafted dopaminergic neurons in mice overexpressing human α-syn. In summary, intercellularly transferred α-syn interacts with cytoplasmic α-syn and can propagate α-syn pathology. These results suggest that α-syn propagation is a key element in the progression of Parkinson disease pathology.

Characterisation of new monoclonal antibodies reacting with prions from both human and animal brain tissues.

Post-mortem diagnosis of transmissible spongiform encephalopathies (prion diseases) is primarily based on the detection of a protease resistant, misfolded disease associated isoform (PrP(Sc)) of the prion protein (PrP(C)) on neuronal cells. These methods depend on antibodies directed against PrP(C) and capable of reacting with PrP(Sc)in situ (immunohistochemistry on nervous tissue sections) or with the unfolded form of the protein (western and paraffin embedded tissue (PET) blotting). Here, high-affinity monoclonal antibodies (mAbs 1.5D7, 1.6F4) were produced against synthetic PrP peptides in wild-type mice and used for western blotting and immunohistochemistry to detect several types of human prion-disease associated PrP(Sc), including sporadic Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease (CJD) (subtypes MM1 and VV2), familial CJD and Gerstmann-Sträussler-Scheinker (GSS) disease PrP(Sc) as well as PrP(Sc) of bovine spongiform encephalopathy (bovine brain), scrapie (ovine brain) and experimental scrapie in hamster and in mice. The antibodies were also used for PET-blotting in which PrP(Sc) blotted from brain tissue sections onto a nitrocellulose membrane is visualized with antibodies after protease and denaturant treatment allowing the detection of protease resistant PrP forms (PrP(RES)) in situ. Monoclonal antibodies 1.5D7 and 1.6F4 were raised against the reported epitope (PrP153-165) of the commercial antibody 6H4. While 1.5D7 and 1.6F4 were completely inhibitable by PrP153-165, 6H4 was not, indicating that the specificity of 6H4 is not defined completely by PrP153-165. The two antibodies performed similarly to 6H4 in western blotting with human samples, but showed less reactivity and enhanced background staining with animal samples in this method. In immunohistochemistry 1.5D7 and 1.6F4 performed better than 6H4 suggesting that the binding affinity of 1.5D7 and 1.6F4 with native (aggregated) PrP(Sc)in situ was higher than that of 6H4. On the other hand in PET-blotting, 6H4 reached the same level of reactivity as 1.5D7 and 1.6F4. This shows that 6H4 needs denatured PrP(RES) to reach maximal reactivity, confirming earlier results. As an exception, human PrP(RES) still reacted relatively poorly with 6H4 in PET-blotting, while 1.5D7 and 1.6F4 reacted well with PrP(RES) from most human CJD types. Taken together this implies that the binding epitope of 1.5D7 and 1.6F4 is accessible in the aggregates of undenatured PrP(Sc) (IHC) while the binding site of 6H4 is at least partly inaccessible. In techniques incorporating a denaturing and/or disaggregating step 6H4 showed good binding indicating increased accessibility of the binding site. An exception to this is human samples in PET-blotting suggesting that huPrP(RES) might not be as easily unfolded by denaturation as BSE and scrapie PrP(RES). Also of interest was the ability of 1.5D7 and 1.6F4 to discriminate between two allelic variants of PrP CJD(Sc) (VV vs. MM) in immunohistochemistry as opposed to the normally used antibody 3F4.

Oxidation reduces the fibrillation but not the neurotoxicity of the prion peptide PrP106-126.

There is increasing evidence that soluble oligomers of misfolded protein may play a role in the pathogenesis of protein misfolding diseases including the transmissible spongiform encephalopathies (TSE) where the protein involved is the prion protein, PrP. The effect of oxidation on fibrillation tendency and neurotoxicity of different molecular variants of the prion peptide PrP106-126 was investigated. It was found that methionine oxidation significantly reduced amyloid fibril formation and proteinase K resistance, but it did not reduce (but rather increase slightly) the neurotoxicity of the peptides in vivo (electroretinography after intraocular injections in mice) and in vitro (in primary neuronal cultures). We furthermore found that the bovine variant of PrP106-126, containing only one methionine residue, showed both reduced fibril forming capacity and in vivo and in vitro neurotoxicity. The findings imply (I) that there is not a simple relation between the formation of amyloid fibrils and neurotoxicity of PrP106-126 derived peptides, (II) that putative, soluble, non-amyloid protofibrils, presumed to be present in increased proportions in oxidized PrP106-126, could play a role in the pathogenesis of TSE and III) that the number of methionine residues in the PrP106-126 peptide seems to have a pivotal role in determining the physical and biological properties of PrP106-126.

Amidation and structure relaxation abolish the neurotoxicity of the prion peptide PrP106-126 in vivo and in vitro.

One of the major pathological hallmarks of transmissible spongiform encephalopathies (TSEs) is the accumulation of a pathogenic (scrapie) isoform (PrP(Sc)) of the cellular prion protein (PrP(C)) primarily in the central nervous system. The synthetic prion peptide PrP106-126 shares many characteristics with PrP(Sc) in that it shows PrP(C)-dependent neurotoxicity both in vivo and in vitro. Moreover, PrP106-126 in vitro neurotoxicity has been closely associated with the ability to form fibrils. Here, we studied the in vivo neurotoxicity of molecular variants of PrP106-126 toward retinal neurons using electroretinographic recordings in mice after intraocular injections of the peptides. We found that amidation and structure relaxation of PrP106-126 significantly reduced the neurotoxicity in vivo. This was also found in vitro in primary neuronal cultures from mouse and rat brain. Thioflavin T binding studies showed that amidation and structure relaxation significantly reduced the ability of PrP106-126 to attain fibrillar structures in physiological salt solutions. This study hence supports the assumption that the neurotoxic potential of PrP106-126 is closely related to its ability to attain secondary structure.