New insights into the effects of APP gene dose on synapse in Down syndrome

Synaptic dysfunction:Alzheimer’s disease(AD)is a prevalent form of dementia,affecting over 35 million people worldwide(Tzioras et al.,2023).A synapse serves as the connection point between neurons,facilitating the transmission of information from one neuron to another.Dynamic alterations in synapses,known as synaptic plasticity,play a pivotal role in cognitive processes such as learning and memory.Synaptic loss has been identified as a key contributor to cognitive decline in AD patients.Studies have shown that the soluble forms of amyloid-beta(Aβ)and tau proteins are toxic to synapses,leading to cognitive impairment in animal models(Spires-Jones and Hyman,2014).Additionally,the formation of oligomers of tau and Aβcan spread pathology through synaptic connections in the brain,emphasizing the vital role of synapses in disease progression.

Involvement of T-complex protein 1-ring complex/chaperonin containing T-complex protein 1(TRiC/CCT) in retrograde axonal transport through tau phosphorylation

The cytosolic chaperonin T-complex protein 1-ring complex(TRiC)or chaperonin containing T-complex protein 1(CCT)is essential in de novo folding of approximately 10%of the eukaryotic,newly translated polypeptides as well as misfolded proteins.There is a close link between the TRiC/CCT cytosolic chaperonin and neurodegenerative diseases(Lopez et al.,2015).A lot of research suggests that CCT plays neuroprotective roles in neurodegenerative diseases including Huntington’s disease(Lopez et al.,2015).Either overexpression of a single or all eight subunits(CCT1-8)or treatment of the substrate-binding apical domain of yeast CCT1(ApiCCT1)prevented mutant Huntingtin aggregation and improved cellular and neuronal functions(Zhao et al.,2016).Importantly,our recent study has demonstrated that both CCT and ApiCCT could reduce mutant Huntingtin level and enhance both anterograde and retrograde axonal transport of brain-derived neurotrophic factor.These results led to restoration of the trophic status of striatal neurons from a bacterial artificial chromosome transgenic mouse model of Huntington’s disease(Zhao et al.,2016).Axonal transport is regulated by many factors including microtubule-associated protein tau,which promotes tubulin polymerization and stabilizes microtubules.Impaired interaction between tau and microtubules plays a vital role in the pathogenesis of multiple neurodegenerative diseases(Wang and Mandelkow,2016).Interestingly,tau phosphorylation is also observed in brains of several Huntington’s disease mouse models and Huntington’s disease patients(Gratuze et al.,2016).In a recent study,we explored if CCT subunit has any effect on axonal transport in a tau-dependent pathway(Chen et al.,2018b).We focused on the retrograde axonal transport of brain-derived neurotrophic factor,as neurotrophic factor-mediated signaling in the form of signaling endosome is essential in both the developing and the mature nervous system and dysregulation of trafficking of neurotrophic factors is tightly linked to disorders of the nervous system(Chen et al.,2018a).We found that the expression of a single CCT subunit(CCT5)significantly promoted retrograde axonal transport of brain-derived neurotrophic factor in primary cortical neurons.Mechanically,CCT regulated the level of cyclin-dependent kinase 5(CDK5)/p35/p25 and,subsequently contributed to CCT-induced tau phosphorylation,which induced detachment of tau from microtubules(Chen et al.,2018b)(Figure 1).

A pilot exploration with Posiphen to normalize amyloid precursor protein in Down syndrome

Down syndrome(DS)pathology:DS is the most common cause of Alzheimer’s disease(AD)and has a known AD-causing genetic variation which is trisomy of the whole or part of Homo sapiens chromosome 21(HSA21)(Chen and Mobley,2019a).Compared with AD,DS usually present with various symptoms and manifestations which are related to dysfunction of multiple body systems;the extra copies of the many genes present in HSA21 in DS can cause various developmental problems including neurodevelopmental deficits,which underlie the physical features in DS and may also contribute to the ADrelated neurological symptoms of DS like cognition decline(Antonarakis et al.,2020).

Synaptic dysfunction in Down syndrome:an emerging role for circulatingβ2-microglobulin

Recent research by Gao et al.published in Cell proposes that circulatingβ2-microglobulin impairs synaptic function through antagonizing NMDA receptors in two mouse models of Down syndrome(DS),providing a potentially novel therapeutic target to combat cognitive deficits in the early stage of DS.^(1)

CaMKIIα and caveolin-1 cooperate to drive ATP-induced membrane delivery of the P2X3 receptor

The P2X3 receptor plays a vital role in sensory processing and transmission. The assembly and trafficking of the P2X3 receptor are important for its function in primary sensory neurons. As an important inflammation mediator, ATP is released from different cell types around primary sensory neurons, especially under pathological pain conditions. Here, we showthat α, β-MeATP dramatically promoted membrane delivery of the P2X3 receptor both in HEK293T celts expressing recombinant P2X3 receptor and in rat primary sensory neurons. α, β-MeATP induced P2X3 receptor-mediated Ca^2＋ influx, which further activated Ca^2＋/calmodulin-dependent protein kinase Ilec （CaMKIIα）. The N terminus of the P2X3 receptor was responsible for CaMKIleα binding, whereas Thr38s in the C terminus was phosphorylated by CaMKIIα. Thr^388 phosphorylation increased P2X3 receptor binding to caveoUn-1. CaveoUn-1 knockdown abrogated the α, β-MeATP-induced membrane insertion of the P2X3 receptor. Moreover,α, β-MeATP drove the CaMKIlec-mediated membrane coinsertion of the P2X2 receptor with the P2X3 receptor. The increased P2X3 receptors on the cell membrane that are due to Thr388 phosphorytation facilitated P2X3 receptor-mediated signal transduction. Together, our data indicate that CaMKIIoL and caveoUn-1 cooperate to drive Ugand-induced membrane delivery of the P2X3 receptor and may provide a mechanism of P2X3 receptor sensitization in pain development.