Publications

2024

Huang* AY, Zhou* Z, Talukdar* M, Miller MB, Chhouk BH, Enyenihi L, Rosen I, Stronge E, Zhao B, Kim D, Choi J, Khoshkoo S, Kim J, Ganz J, Travaglini K, Gabitto M, Hodge R, Kaplan E, Lein E, De Jager PL, Bennett DA, Lee** EA, Walsh** CA. Somatic cancer driver mutations are enriched and associated with inflammatory states in Alzheimer’s disease microglia. BioRxiv, preprint. 2024;.

Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is an age-associated neurodegenerative disorder characterized by progressive neuronal loss and pathological accumulation of the misfolded proteins amyloid-β and tau1,2. Neuroinflammation mediated by microglia and brain-resident macrophages plays a crucial role in AD pathogenesis15, though the mechanisms by which age, genes, and other risk factors interact remain largely unknown. Somatic mutations accumulate with age and lead to clonal expansion of many cell types, contributing to cancer and many non-cancer diseases6,7. Here we studied somatic mutation in normal aged and AD brains by three orthogonal methods and in three independent AD cohorts. Analysis of bulk RNA sequencing data from 866 samples from different brain regions revealed significantly higher (∼two-fold) overall burdens of somatic single-nucleotide variants (sSNVs) in AD brains compared to age-matched controls. Molecular-barcoded deep (>1000X) gene panel sequencing of 311 prefrontal cortex samples showed enrichment of sSNVs and somatic insertions and deletions (sIndels) in cancer driver genes in AD brain compared to control, with recurrent, and often multiple, mutations in genes implicated in clonal hematopoiesis (CH)8,9. Pathogenic sSNVs were enriched in CSF1R+ microglia of AD brains, and the high proportion of microglia (up to 40%) carrying some sSNVs in cancer driver genes suggests mutation-driven microglial clonal expansion (MiCE). Analysis of single-nucleus RNA sequencing (snRNAseq) from temporal neocortex of 62 additional AD cases and controls exhibited nominally increased mosaic chromosomal alterations (mCAs) associated with CH10,11. Microglia carrying mCA showed upregulated pro-inflammatory genes, resembling the transcriptomic features of disease-associated microglia (DAM) in AD. Our results suggest that somatic driver mutations in microglia are common with normal aging but further enriched in AD brain, driving MiCE with inflammatory and DAM signatures. Our findings provide the first insights into microglial clonal dynamics in AD and identify potential new approaches to AD diagnosis and therapy.

2023

Zhou* Z, Kim* J, Huang* AY, Nolan M, Park J, Doan R, Shin T, Miller MB, Chhouk BH, Morillo K, Yeh RC, Kenny C, Neil JE, Lee CZ, Ohkubo T, Ravits J, Ansorge O, Ostrow LW, Lagier-Tourenne C, Lee** EA, Walsh** CA. Somatic Mosaicism in Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis and Frontotemporal Dementia Reveals Widespread Degeneration from Focal Mutations. BioRxiv, preprint. 2023;.

Although mutations in dozens of genes have been implicated in familial forms of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (fALS) and frontotemporal degeneration (fFTD), most cases of these conditions are sporadic (sALS and sFTD), with no family history, and their etiology remains obscure. We tested the hypothesis that somatic mosaic mutations, present in some but not all cells, might contribute in these cases, by performing ultra-deep, targeted sequencing of 88 genes associated with neurodegenerative diseases in postmortem brain and spinal cord samples from 404 individuals with sALS or sFTD and 144 controls. Known pathogenic germline mutations were found in 20.6% of ALS, and 26.5% of FTD cases. Predicted pathogenic somatic mutations in ALS/FTD genes were observed in 2.7% of sALS and sFTD cases that did not carry known pathogenic or novel germline mutations. Somatic mutations showed low variant allele fraction (typically <2%) and were often restricted to the region of initial discovery, preventing detection through genetic screening in peripheral tissues. Damaging somatic mutations were preferentially enriched in primary motor cortex of sALS and prefrontal cortex of sFTD, mirroring regions most severely affected in each disease. Somatic mutation analysis of bulk RNA-seq data from brain and spinal cord from an additional 143 sALS cases and 23 controls confirmed an overall enrichment of somatic mutations in sALS. Two adult sALS cases were identified bearing pathogenic somatic mutations in DYNC1H1 and LMNA, two genes associated with pediatric motor neuron degeneration. Our study suggests that somatic mutations in fALS/fFTD genes, and in genes associated with more severe diseases in the germline state, contribute to sALS and sFTD, and that mosaic mutations in a small fraction of cells in focal regions of the nervous system can ultimately result in widespread degeneration.

Lai J, Demirbas D, Kim J, Jeffries AM, Tolles A, Park J, Chittenden TW, Buckley PG, Yu TW, Lodato* MA, Lee* EA. ATM-deficiency induced microglial activation promotes neurodegeneration in Ataxia-Telangiectasia. Cell Reports. 2023;.

While ATM loss-of-function has long been identified as the genetic cause of Ataxia Telangiectasia (A-T), how this genetic mutation leads to selective and progressive degeneration of cerebellar Purkinje and granule neurons remains unclear. ATM expression is enriched in microglia, the resident immune cell of the central nervous system, throughout cerebellar development and adulthood. Microglial activation has been strongly implicated in neurodegenerative disease and observed in rodent and cellular models of ATM deficiency. Here, we find evidence of prominent inflammation of microglia in cerebellum from A-T patients using single-nucleus RNA-sequencing. A-T microglia have transcriptomic signatures of aging and neurodegenerative disease associated microglia. Pseudotime analysis revealed that activation of A-T microglia preceded upregulation of apoptosis related genes in granule and Purkinje neurons, and microglia exhibited increased neurotoxic cytokine signaling to granule and Purkinje neurons in A-T. To confirm these findings experimentally, we studied microglia and neurons that we generated from A-T patient vs. control induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs). Transcriptomic profiling of A-T iPSC-derived microglia revealed cell-intrinsic microglial activation of cytokine production and innate immune response pathways compared to controls. Furthermore, adding A-T microglia to co-cultures with either control or A-T iPSC-derived neurons was sufficient to induce cytotoxicity. Taken together, these studies reveal that cell-intrinsic microglial activation may play a critical role in the development and progression of neurodegeneration in Ataxia Telangiectasia.

Arkhipova IR, Burns K, Chiappinelli KB, Chuong EB, Goubert C, Guarné A, Larracuente AM, Lee EA, Levin HL. Meeting report: transposable elements at the crossroads of evolution, health and disease 2023. Mobile DNA. 2023;.

The conference “Transposable Elements at the Crossroads of Evolution, Health and Disease” was hosted by Keystone Symposia in Whistler, British Columbia, Canada, on September 3–6, 2023, and was organized by Kathleen Burns, Harmit Malik and Irina Arkhipova. The central theme of the meeting was the incredible diversity of ways in which transposable elements (TEs) interact with the host, from disrupting the existing genes and pathways to creating novel gene products and expression patterns, enhancing the repertoire of host functions, and ultimately driving host evolution. The meeting was organized into six plenary sessions and two afternoon workshops with a total of 50 invited and contributed talks, two poster sessions, and a career roundtable. The topics ranged from TE roles in normal and pathological processes to restricting and harnessing TE activity based on mechanistic insights gained from genetic, structural, and biochemical studies.

Lee* B, Park* J, Voshall A, Maury EA, Kang Y, Kim YJ, Lee JY, Shim HR, Kim HJ, Lee JW, Jung MH, Kim SC, Chu HBK, Kim DW, Kim M, Choi EJ, Hwang OK, Lee HW, Ha K, Choi JK, Kim Y, Choi** Y, Park** WY, Lee** EA. Pan-cancer analysis reveals multifaceted roles of retrotransposon-fusion RNAs. BioRxiv. 2023;.

Transposon-derived transcripts are abundant in RNA sequences, yet their landscape and function, especially for fusion transcripts derived from unannotated or somatically acquired transposons, remains underexplored. Here, we developed a new bioinformatic tool to detect transposon-fusion transcripts in RNA-sequencing data and performed a pan-cancer analysis of 10,257 cancer samples across 34 cancer types as well as 3,088 normal tissue samples. We identified 52,277 cancer-specific fusions with ∼30 events per cancer and hotspot loci within transposons vulnerable to fusion formation. Exonization of intronic transposons was the most prevalent genic fusions, while somatic L1 insertions constituted a small fraction of cancer-specific fusions. Source L1s and HERVs, but not Alus showed decreased DNA methylation in cancer upon fusion formation. Overall cancer-specific L1 fusions were enriched in tumor suppressors while Alu fusions were enriched in oncogenes, including recurrent Alu fusions in EZH2 predictive of patient survival. We also demonstrated that transposon-derived peptides triggered CD8+ T-cell activation to the extent comparable to EBV viruses. Our findings reveal distinct epigenetic and tumorigenic mechanisms underlying transposon fusions across different families and highlight transposons as novel therapeutic targets and the source of potent neoantigens.

Zhao B, Nguyen MA, Woo S, Kim J, Yu** TW, Lee** EA. Contribution and Therapeutic Implications of Retroelement Insertions in Ataxia Telangiectasia. American Journal of Human Genetics. 2023;.

Certain classes of genetic variation still escape detection in clinical sequencing analysis. One such class is retroelement insertion, which has been reported as a cause of Mendelian diseases and may offer unique therapeutic implications. Here, we conducted retroelement profiling on whole-genome sequencing data from a cohort of 237 individuals with ataxia telangiectasia (A-T). We found 15 individuals carrying retroelement insertions in ATM, all but one of which integrated in noncoding regions. Systematic functional characterization via RNA sequencing, RT-PCR, and/or minigene splicing assays showed that 12 out of 14 intronic insertions led or contributed to ATM loss of function by exon skipping or activating cryptic splice sites. We also present proof-of-concept antisense oligonucleotides that suppress cryptic exonization caused by a deep intronic retroelement insertion. These results provide an initial systematic estimate of the contribution of retroelements to the genetic architecture of recessive Mendelian disorders as ∼2.1%–5.5%. Our study highlights the importance of retroelement insertions as causal variants and therapeutic targets in genetic diseases.

Kim* J, Woo* S, de Gusmao* C, Zhao* B, Chin DH, DiDonato RL, Nguyen MA, Nakayama T, Hu CA, Soucy A, Kuniholm A, Thornton JK, Riccardi O, Friedman DA, Achkar CME, Dash Z, Cornelissen L, Donado C, Faour KNW, Bush LW, Suslovitch V, Lentucci C, Park PJ, Lee EA, Patterson A, Philippakis AA, Margus B, Berde CB, Yu TW. A framework for individualized splice-switching oligonucleotide therapy. Nature. 2023;619(7971):828–836.

Splice-switching antisense oligonucleotides (ASOs) could be used to treat a subset of individuals with genetic diseases1, but the systematic identification of such individuals remains a challenge. Here we performed whole-genome sequencing analyses to characterize genetic variation in 235 individuals (from 209 families) with ataxia-telangiectasia, a severely debilitating and life-threatening recessive genetic disorder2,3, yielding a complete molecular diagnosis in almost all individuals. We developed a predictive taxonomy to assess the amenability of each individual to splice-switching ASO intervention; 9% and 6% of the individuals had variants that were 'probably' or 'possibly' amenable to ASO splice modulation, respectively. Most amenable variants were in deep intronic regions that are inaccessible to exon-targeted sequencing. We developed ASOs that successfully rescued mis-splicing and ATM cellular signalling in patient fibroblasts for two recurrent variants. In a pilot clinical study, one of these ASOs was used to treat a child who had been diagnosed with ataxia-telangiectasia soon after birth, and showed good tolerability without serious adverse events for three years. Our study provides a framework for the prospective identification of individuals with genetic diseases who might benefit from a therapeutic approach involving splice-switching ASOs.