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Browsing by Author "Wang, Fengxian"
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Item Circular RNA detection identifies circPSEN1 alterations in brain specific to autosomal dominant Alzheimer's disease(BMC, 2022-03-04) Chen, Hsiang‑Han; Eteleeb, Abdallah; Wang, Ciyang; Fernandez, Maria Victoria; Budde, John P.; Bergmann, Kristy; Norton, Joanne; Wang, Fengxian; Ebl, Curtis; Morris, John C.; Perrin, Richard J.; Bateman, Randall J.; McDade, Eric; Xiong, Chengjie; Goate, Alison; Farlow, Martin; Chhatwal, Jasmeer; Schofield, Peter R.; Chui, Helena; Harari, Oscar; Cruchaga, Carlos; Ibanez, Laura; Dominantly Inherited Alzheimer Network; Neurology, School of MedicineBackground: Autosomal-dominant Alzheimer's disease (ADAD) is caused by pathogenic mutations in APP, PSEN1, and PSEN2, which usually lead to an early age at onset (< 65). Circular RNAs are a family of non-coding RNAs highly expressed in the nervous system and especially in synapses. We aimed to investigate differences in brain gene expression of linear and circular transcripts from the three ADAD genes in controls, sporadic AD, and ADAD. Methods: We obtained and sequenced RNA from brain cortex using standard protocols. Linear counts were obtained using the TOPMed pipeline; circular counts, using python package DCC. After stringent quality control (QC), we obtained the counts for PSEN1, PSEN2 and APP genes. Only circPSEN1 passed QC. We used DESeq2 to compare the counts across groups, correcting for biological and technical variables. Finally, we performed in-silico functional analyses using the Circular RNA interactome website and DIANA mirPath software. Results: Our results show significant differences in gene counts of circPSEN1 in ADAD individuals, when compared to sporadic AD and controls (ADAD = 21, AD = 253, Controls = 23-ADADvsCO: log2FC = 0.794, p = 1.63 × 10-04, ADADvsAD: log2FC = 0.602, p = 8.22 × 10-04). The high gene counts are contributed by two circPSEN1 species (hsa_circ_0008521 and hsa_circ_0003848). No significant differences were observed in linear PSEN1 gene expression between cases and controls, indicating that this finding is specific to the circular forms. In addition, the high circPSEN1 levels do not seem to be specific to PSEN1 mutation carriers; the counts are also elevated in APP and PSEN2 mutation carriers. In-silico functional analyses suggest that circPSEN1 is involved in several pathways such as axon guidance (p = 3.39 × 10-07), hippo signaling pathway (p = 7.38 × 10-07), lysine degradation (p = 2.48 × 10-05) or Wnt signaling pathway (p = 5.58 × 10-04) among other KEGG pathways. Additionally, circPSEN1 counts were able to discriminate ADAD from sporadic AD and controls with an AUC above 0.70. Conclusions: Our findings show the differential expression of circPSEN1 is increased in ADAD. Given the biological function previously ascribed to circular RNAs and the results of our in-silico analyses, we hypothesize that this finding might be related to neuroinflammatory events that lead or that are caused by the accumulation of amyloid-beta.Item Leveraging large multi-center cohorts of Alzheimer disease endophenotypes to understand the role of Klotho heterozygosity on disease risk(PLOS, 2022-05-26) Ali, Muhammad; Sung, Yun Ju; Wang, Fengxian; Fernández, Maria V.; Morris, John C.; Fagan, Anne M.; Blennow, Kaj; Zetterberg, Henrik; Heslegrave, Amanda; Johansson, Per M.; Svensson, Johan; Nellgård, Bengt; Lleó, Alberto; Alcolea, Daniel; Clarimon, Jordi; Rami, Lorena; Molinuevo, José Luis; Suárez-Calvet, Marc; Morenas-Rodríguez, Estrella; Kleinberger, Gernot; Haass, Christian; Ewers, Michael; Levin, Johannes; Farlow, Martin R.; Perrin, Richard J.; Alzheimer’s Disease Neuroimaging Initiative (ADNI); Dominantly Inherited Alzheimer Network (DIAN); Cruchaga, Carlos; Neurology, School of MedicineTwo genetic variants in strong linkage disequilibrium (rs9536314 and rs9527025) in the Klotho (KL) gene, encoding a transmembrane protein, implicated in longevity and associated with brain resilience during normal aging, were recently shown to be associated with Alzheimer disease (AD) risk in cognitively normal participants who are APOE ε4 carriers. Specifically, the participants heterozygous for this variant (KL-SVHET+) showed lower risk of developing AD. Furthermore, a neuroprotective effect of KL-VSHET+ has been suggested against amyloid burden for cognitively normal participants, potentially mediated via the regulation of redox pathways. However, inconsistent associations and a smaller sample size of existing studies pose significant hurdles in drawing definitive conclusions. Here, we performed a well-powered association analysis between KL-VSHET+ and five different AD endophenotypes; brain amyloidosis measured by positron emission tomography (PET) scans (n = 5,541) or cerebrospinal fluid Aβ42 levels (CSF; n = 5,093), as well as biomarkers associated with tau pathology: the CSF Tau (n = 5,127), phosphorylated Tau (pTau181; n = 4,778) and inflammation: CSF soluble triggering receptor expressed on myeloid cells 2 (sTREM2; n = 2,123) levels. Our results found nominally significant associations of KL-VSHET+ status with biomarkers for brain amyloidosis (e.g., CSF Aβ positivity; odds ratio [OR] = 0.67 [95% CI, 0.55-0.78], β = 0.72, p = 0.007) and tau pathology (e.g., biomarker positivity for CSF Tau; OR = 0.39 [95% CI, 0.19-0.77], β = -0.94, p = 0.007, and pTau; OR = 0.50 [95% CI, 0.27-0.96], β = -0.68, p = 0.04) in cognitively normal participants, 60-80 years old, who are APOE e4-carriers. Our work supports previous findings, suggesting that the KL-VSHET+ on an APOE ε4 genotype background may modulate Aβ and tau pathology, thereby lowering the intensity of neurodegeneration and incidence of cognitive decline in older controls susceptible to AD.Item Metabolomic and lipidomic signatures in autosomal dominant and late-onset Alzheimer's disease brains(Wiley, 2023) Novotny, Brenna C.; Fernandez, Maria Victoria; Wang, Ciyang; Budde, John P.; Bergmann, Kristy; Eteleeb, Abdallah M.; Bradley, Joseph; Webster, Carol; Ebl, Curtis; Norton, Joanne; Gentsch, Jen; Dube, Umber; Wang, Fengxian; Morris, John C.; Bateman, Randall J.; Perrin, Richard J.; McDade, Eric; Xiong, Chengjie; Chhatwal, Jasmeer; Dominantly Inherited Alzheimer Network (DIAN) Study Group; Alzheimer's Disease Neuroimaging Initiative; Alzheimer's Disease Metabolomics Consortium (ADMC); Goate, Alison; Farlow, Martin; Schofield, Peter; Chui, Helena; Karch, Celeste M.; Cruchaga, Carlos; Benitez, Bruno A.; Harari, Oscar; Neurology, School of MedicineIntroduction: The identification of multiple genetic risk factors for Alzheimer's disease (AD) suggests that many pathways contribute to AD onset and progression. However, the metabolomic and lipidomic profiles in carriers of distinct genetic risk factors are not fully understood. The metabolome can provide a direct image of dysregulated pathways in the brain. Methods: We interrogated metabolomic signatures in the AD brain, including carriers of pathogenic variants in APP, PSEN1, and PSEN2 (autosomal dominant AD; ADAD), APOE ɛ4, and TREM2 risk variant carriers, and sporadic AD (sAD). Results: We identified 133 unique and shared metabolites associated with ADAD, TREM2, and sAD. We identified a signature of 16 metabolites significantly altered between groups and associated with AD duration. Discussion: AD genetic variants show distinct metabolic perturbations. Investigation of these metabolites may provide greater insight into the etiology of AD and its impact on clinical presentation. Highlights: APP/PSEN1/PSEN2 and TREM2 variant carriers show distinct metabolic changes. A total of 133 metabolites were differentially abundant in AD genetic groups. β-citrylglutamate is differentially abundant in autosomal dominant, TREM2, and sporadic AD. A 16-metabolite profile shows differences between Alzheimer's disease (AD) genetic groups. The identified metabolic profile is associated with duration of disease.Item Proteomics of brain, CSF, and plasma identifies molecular signatures for distinguishing sporadic and genetic Alzheimer's disease(American Association for the Advancement of Science, 2023) Sung, Yun Ju; Yang, Chengran; Norton, Joanne; Johnson, Matt; Fagan, Anne; Bateman, Randall J.; Perrin, Richard J.; Morris, John C.; Farlow, Martin R.; Chhatwal, Jasmeer P.; Schofield, Peter R.; Chui, Helena; Wang, Fengxian; Novotny, Brenna; Eteleeb, Abdallah; Karch, Celeste; Schindler, Suzanne E.; Rhinn, Herve; Johnson, Erik C. B.; Oh, Hamilton Se-Hwee; Rutledge, Jarod Evert; Dammer, Eric B.; Seyfried, Nicholas T.; Wyss-Coray, Tony; Harari, Oscar; Cruchaga, Carlos; Neurology, School of MedicineProteomic studies for Alzheimer's disease (AD) are instrumental in identifying AD pathways but often focus on single tissues and sporadic AD cases. Here, we present a proteomic study analyzing 1305 proteins in brain tissue, cerebrospinal fluid (CSF), and plasma from patients with sporadic AD, TREM2 risk variant carriers, patients with autosomal dominant AD (ADAD), and healthy individuals. We identified 8 brain, 40 CSF, and 9 plasma proteins that were altered in individuals with sporadic AD, and we replicated these findings in several external datasets. We identified a proteomic signature that differentiated TREM2 variant carriers from both individuals with sporadic AD and healthy individuals. The proteins associated with sporadic AD were also altered in patients with ADAD, but with a greater effect size. Brain-derived proteins associated with ADAD were also replicated in additional CSF samples. Enrichment analyses highlighted several pathways, including those implicated in AD (calcineurin and Apo E), Parkinson's disease (α-synuclein and LRRK2), and innate immune responses (SHC1, ERK-1, and SPP1). Our findings suggest that combined proteomics across brain tissue, CSF, and plasma can be used to identify markers for sporadic and genetically defined AD.