Work

Functional Characterization of IPSC-Derived Brain Cells as a Model for X-Linked Adrenoleukodystrophy

Year: 2015

Type: article

Abstract: X-ALD is an inherited neurodegenerative disorder where mutations in the ABCD1 gene result in clinically diverse phenotypes: the fatal disorder of cerebral childhood ALD (cALD) or a milder disorder of adrenomyeloneuropathy (AMN). The various models used to study the pathobiology of X-ALD disease lack the appropriate presentation for different phenotypes of cALD vs AMN. This study demonstrates that induced pluripotent stem cells (IPSC) derived brain cells astrocytes (Ast), neurons and oligodendrocytes (OLs) express morphological and functional activities of the respective brain cell types. The excessive accumulation of saturated VLCFA, a "hallmark" of X-ALD, was observed in both AMN OLs and cALD OLs with higher levels observed in cALD OLs than AMN OLs. The levels of ELOVL1 (ELOVL Fatty Acid Elongase 1) mRNA parallel the VLCFA load in AMN and cALD OLs. Furthermore, cALD Ast expressed higher levels of proinflammatory cytokines than AMN Ast and control Ast with or without stimulation with lipopolysaccharide. These results document that IPSC-derived Ast and OLs from cALD and AMN fibroblasts mimic the respective biochemical disease phenotypes and thus provide an ideal platform to investigate the mechanism of VLCFA load in cALD OLs and VLCFA-induced inflammatory disease mechanisms of cALD Ast and thus for testing of new therapeutics for AMN and cALD disease of X-ALD.

Source: PLoS ONE

DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0143238

Authors: Mauhamad Baarine, Mushfiquddin Khan, Avtar Singh, Inderjit Singh

Institution: Medical University of South Carolina

Language: English

Topic: Metabolism and Genetic Disorders

Subfield: Clinical Biochemistry

Field: Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology

Domain: Life Sciences

SDG: Good health and well-being

Open Access status: gold

Estimated APC paid: $2,382