Dysregulation of astrocyte extracellular signaling in Costello syndrome

Robert Krencik, Kenton C Hokanson, Aditi R Narayan, Jill Dvornik, Gemma E Rooney, Katherine A Rauen, Lauren A Weiss, David H Rowitch, Erik M Ullian

    Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

    68 Scopus citations

    Abstract

    Astrocytes produce an assortment of signals that promote neuronal maturation according to a precise developmental timeline. Is this orchestrated timing and signaling altered in human neurodevelopmental disorders? To address this question, the astroglial lineage was investigated in two model systems of a developmental disorder with intellectual disability caused by mutant Harvey rat sarcoma viral oncogene homolog (HRAS) termed Costello syndrome: mutant HRAS human induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) and transgenic mice. Human iPSCs derived from patients with Costello syndrome differentiated to astroglia more rapidly in vitro than those derived from wild-type cell lines with normal HRAS, exhibited hyperplasia, and also generated an abundance of extracellular matrix remodeling factors and proteoglycans. Acute treatment with a farnesyl transferase inhibitor and knockdown of the transcription factor SNAI2 reduced expression of several proteoglycans in Costello syndrome iPSC-derived astrocytes. Similarly, mice in which mutant HRAS was expressed selectively in astrocytes exhibited experience-independent increased accumulation of perineuronal net proteoglycans in cortex, as well as increased parvalbumin expression in interneurons, when compared to wild-type mice. Our data indicate that astrocytes expressing mutant HRAS dysregulate cortical maturation during development as shown by abnormal extracellular matrix remodeling and implicate excessive astrocyte-to-neuron signaling as a possible drug target for treating mental impairment and enhancing neuroplasticity.

    Original languageEnglish (US)
    Pages (from-to)286ra66
    JournalScience translational medicine
    Volume7
    Issue number286
    DOIs
    StatePublished - May 6 2015

    Keywords

    • Animals
    • Astrocytes
    • Cell Differentiation
    • Cell Line
    • Costello Syndrome
    • Extracellular Matrix
    • Gene Expression Regulation
    • Genes, ras
    • Genotype
    • Hippocampus
    • Humans
    • Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells
    • Mass Spectrometry
    • Mice
    • Mice, Transgenic
    • Mutation
    • Neuronal Plasticity
    • Neurons
    • Oligonucleotide Array Sequence Analysis
    • Phenotype
    • Proteoglycans
    • Signal Transduction
    • Transcription Factors
    • ras Proteins
    • Journal Article
    • Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural
    • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

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