Mitochondria interaction networks show altered topological patterns in Parkinson's disease.

in NPJ systems biology and applications (2020), 6(1), 38

Mitochondrial dysfunction is linked to pathogenesis of Parkinson's disease (PD). However, individual mitochondria-based analyses do not show a uniform feature in PD patients. Since mitochondria interact ... [more ▼]

Mitochondrial dysfunction is linked to pathogenesis of Parkinson's disease (PD). However, individual mitochondria-based analyses do not show a uniform feature in PD patients. Since mitochondria interact with each other, we hypothesize that PD-related features might exist in topological patterns of mitochondria interaction networks (MINs). Here we show that MINs formed nonclassical scale-free supernetworks in colonic ganglia both from healthy controls and PD patients; however, altered network topological patterns were observed in PD patients. These patterns were highly correlated with PD clinical scores and a machine-learning approach based on the MIN features alone accurately distinguished between patients and controls with an area-under-curve value of 0.989. The MINs of midbrain dopaminergic neurons (mDANs) derived from several genetic PD patients also displayed specific changes. CRISPR/CAS9-based genome correction of alpha-synuclein point mutations reversed the changes in MINs of mDANs. Our organelle-interaction network analysis opens another critical dimension for a deeper characterization of various complex diseases with mitochondrial dysregulation. [less ▲]

Induced pluripotent stem cell line (LCSBi001-A) derived from a patient with Parkinson's disease carrying the p.D620N mutation in VPS35

in Stem Cell Research (2020)

Fibroblasts were obtained from a 76 year-old man diagnosed with Parkinson's disease (PD). The disease is caused by a heterozygous p.D620N mutation in VPS35. Induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) were ... [more ▼]

Fibroblasts were obtained from a 76 year-old man diagnosed with Parkinson's disease (PD). The disease is caused by a heterozygous p.D620N mutation in VPS35. Induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) were generated using the CytoTune™-iPS 2.0 Sendai Reprogramming Kit (Thermo Fisher Scientific). The presence of the c.1858G > A base exchange in exon 15 of VPS35 was confirmed by Sanger sequencing. The iPSCs are free of genomically integrated reprogramming genes, express pluripotency markers, display in vitro differentiation potential to the three germ layers and have karyotypic integrity. Our iPSC line will be useful for studying the impact of the p.D620N mutation in VPS35 in vitro. [less ▲]

Using High-Content Screening to Generate Single-Cell Gene-Corrected Patient-Derived iPS Clones Reveals Excess Alpha-Synuclein with Familial Parkinson's Disease Point Mutation A30P.

in Cells (2020), 9(9),

The generation of isogenic induced pluripotent stem cell (iPSC) lines using CRISPR-Cas9 technology is a technically challenging, time-consuming process with variable efficiency. Here we use fluorescence ... [more ▼]

The generation of isogenic induced pluripotent stem cell (iPSC) lines using CRISPR-Cas9 technology is a technically challenging, time-consuming process with variable efficiency. Here we use fluorescence-activated cell sorting (FACS) to sort biallelic CRISPR-Cas9 edited single-cell iPSC clones into high-throughput 96-well microtiter plates. We used high-content screening (HCS) technology and generated an in-house developed algorithm to select the correctly edited isogenic clones for continued expansion and validation. In our model we have gene-corrected the iPSCs of a Parkinson's disease (PD) patient carrying the autosomal dominantly inherited heterozygous c.88G>C mutation in the SNCA gene, which leads to the pathogenic p.A30P form of the alpha-synuclein protein. Undertaking a PCR restriction-digest mediated clonal selection strategy prior to sequencing, we were able to post-sort validate each isogenic clone using a quadruple screening strategy prior to generating footprint-free isogenic iPSC lines, retaining a normal molecular karyotype, pluripotency and three germ-layer differentiation potential. Directed differentiation into midbrain dopaminergic neurons revealed that SNCA expression is reduced in the gene-corrected clones, which was validated by a reduction at the alpha-synuclein protein level. The generation of single-cell isogenic clones facilitates new insights in the role of alpha-synuclein in PD and furthermore is applicable across patient-derived disease models. [less ▲]