bims-tubesc Biomed News
on Molecular mechanisms in tuberous sclerosis
Issue of 2021‒02‒21
thirteen papers selected by
Marti Cadena Sandoval
metabolic-signalling.eu
  1. Clinical, cellular, and molecular characterisation of cardiac rhabdomyoma in tuberous sclerosis.
  2. Therapeutic targeting of DGKA-mediated macropinocytosis leads to phospholipid reprogramming in Tuberous Sclerosis Complex.
  3. Expression and cellular distribution of FGF13 in cortical tubers of the tuberous sclerosis complex.
  4. Everolimus for severe arrhythmias in tuberous sclerosis complex related cardiac rhabdomyomas.
  5. The Role of TSC1 in the Macrophages Against Vibrio vulnificus Infection.
  6. The tuberous sclerosis complex-associated giant renal angiomyolipoma: A case report.
  7. Everolimus induced organizing pneumonia in a patient with tuberous sclerosis complex.
  8. Utility of contrast-enhanced ultrasound for solid mass surveillance and characterization in children with tuberous sclerosis complex: an initial experience.
  9. Infantile spasms and early-onset progressive polycystic renal lesions associated with TSC2/PKD1 contiguous gene deletion syndrome.
  10. TSC1 Suppresses Macrophage Necroptosis for the Control of Infection by Fungal Pathogen Candida albicans.
  11. Regulation and metabolic functions of mTORC1 and mTORC2.
  12. Regulation of Autophagy Enzymes by Nutrient Signaling.
  13. Machine learning classifies predictive kinematic features in a mouse model of neurodegeneration.
  1. Cardiol Young. 2021 Feb 19. 1-9
    Clinical, cellular, and molecular characterisation of cardiac rhabdomyoma in tuberous sclerosis.
    Hamood N Al Kindi, Ayman M Ibrahim, Mohamed Roshdy, Besra S Abdelghany, Dina Yehia, Ahmed Nageeb Masoud, Walid Simry, Yasmine Aguib, Magdi H Yacoub.
      BACKGROUND: Rhabdomyoma is the most common cardiac tumour in children. It is usually associated with tuberous sclerosis complex caused by mutations in TSC-1 or TSC-2 genes. This tumour typically regresses by unknown mechanisms; however, it may cause inflow or outflow obstruction that necessitates urgent surgery. Here we investigate the clinical features and the genetic analysis of patients with tuberous sclerosis complex presenting with large rhabdomyoma tumours. We also investigate the potential role of autophagy and apoptosis in the pathogenesis of this tumour.METHODS: All the patients with cardiac rhabdomyoma referred to Aswan Heart Centre from 2010 to 2018 were included in this study. Sanger sequencing was performed for coding exons and the flanking intronic regions of TSC1 and TSC2 genes. Histopathological evaluation, immunohistochemistry, and western blotting were performed with P62, LC3b, caspase3, and caspase7, to evaluate autophagic and apoptotic signaling.
    RESULTS: Five patients were included and had the clinical features of tuberous sclerosis complex. Three patients, who were having obstructive tumours, were found to have pathogenic mutations in TSC-2. The expression of two autophagic markers, P62 and LC3b, and two apoptotic markers, caspase3 and caspase7, were increased in the tumour cells compared to normal surrounding myocardial tissue.
    CONCLUSION: All the patients with rhabdomyoma were diagnosed to have tuberous sclerosis complex. The patients who had pathogenic mutations in the TSC-2 gene had a severe disease form necessitating urgent intervention. We also demonstrate the potential role of autophagy and apoptosis as a possible mechanism for tumourigenesis and regression. Future studies will help in designing personalised treatment for cardiac rhabdomyoma.
    Keywords:  Cardiac rhabdomyoma; apoptosis; autophagy; mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) pathway; tuberous sclerosis (TSC); tuberous sclerosis complex-1 (TSC-1); tuberous sclerosis complex-2 (TSC-2)
    DOI:  https://doi.org/10.1017/S1047951121000172
  2. Cancer Res. 2021 Feb 16. pii: canres.2218.2020. [Epub ahead of print]
    Therapeutic targeting of DGKA-mediated macropinocytosis leads to phospholipid reprogramming in Tuberous Sclerosis Complex.
    Andrii Kovalenko, Andres Sanin, Kosmas Kosmas, Long Zhang, Ji Wang, Elie W Akl, Krinio Giannikou, Clemens Kemena Probst, Thomas Robert Hougard, Ryan W Rue, Vera P Krymskaya, John M Asara, Hilaire C Lam, David J Kwiatkowski, Elizabeth P Henske, Harilaos Filippakis.
      Lymphangioleiomyomatosis (LAM) is a rare destructive lung disease affecting primarily women and is the primary lung manifestation of tuberous sclerosis complex (TSC). In LAM, biallelic loss of TSC1/2 leads to hyperactivation of mTORC1 and inhibition of autophagy. To determine how the metabolic vulnerabilities of TSC2-deficient cells can be targeted, we performed a high throughput screen utilizing the "Repurposing" library at the Broad Institute, with or without the autophagy inhibitor chloroquine. Ritanserin, an inhibitor of diacylglycerol kinase alpha (DGKA), was identified as a selective inhibitor of proliferation of Tsc2-/- MEFs, with no impact on Tsc2+/+ MEFs. DGKA is a lipid kinase that metabolizes diacylglycerol (DAG) to phosphatidic acid (PA), a key component of plasma membranes. PA levels were increased 5-fold in Tsc2-/- MEFs compared to Tsc2+/+ MEFs, and treatment of Tsc2-/- MEFs with ritanserin led to depletion of PA as well as rewiring of phospholipid metabolism. Macropinocytosis is known to be upregulated in TSC2-deficient cells. Ritanserin decreased macropinocytic uptake of albumin, limited the number of lysosomes, and reduced lysosomal activity in Tsc2-/- MEFs. In a mouse model of TSC, ritanserin treatment decreased cyst frequency and volume, and in a mouse model of LAM, genetic downregulation of DGKA prevented alveolar destruction and airspace enlargement. Collectively, these data indicate that DGKA supports macropinocytosis in TSC2-deficient cells to maintain phospholipid homeostasis and promote proliferation. Targeting macropinocytosis with ritanserin may represent a novel therapeutic approach for the treatment of TSC and LAM.
    DOI:  https://doi.org/10.1158/0008-5472.CAN-20-2218
  3. Neurosci Lett. 2021 Feb 11. pii: S0304-3940(21)00092-6. [Epub ahead of print] 135714
    Expression and cellular distribution of FGF13 in cortical tubers of the tuberous sclerosis complex.
    Kefu Wu, Jiong Yue, Kaifeng Shen, Jiaojiang He, Gang Zhu, Shiyong Liu, Hui Yang, Chunqing Zhang.
      Cortical tubers in patients with tuberous sclerosis complex (TSC) are highly associated with intractable epilepsy. Recent evidence suggests a close relationship between FGF13 and seizures. To understand the role of FGF13 in the pathogenesis of cortical tubers, we investigated the expression pattern of FGF13 in cortical tubers of TSC compared with normal control cortices (CTX). We found that both the mRNA and protein levels of FGF13 were significantly higher in the cortical tubers from patients with TSC than in the control cortices. The immunohistochemical results showed strong FGF13 immunoreactivity in abnormal cells, including dysplastic neurons (DNs) and giant cells (GCs). Moreover, double-label immunofluorescence analyses confirmed that FGF13 was mainly localized in neurons and nearly absent in glia-like cells. The protein levels of FGF13 in the TSC samples were positively correlated with the frequency of seizures before surgery. Taken together, these results suggest that the overexpression and distribution pattern of FGF13 may be related to intractable epilepsy caused by TSC.
    Keywords:  Cortical tubers; Fibroblast growth factors 13; Intractable epilepsy; Tuberous sclerosis complex
    DOI:  https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neulet.2021.135714
  4. Am J Med Genet A. 2021 Feb 16.
    Everolimus for severe arrhythmias in tuberous sclerosis complex related cardiac rhabdomyomas.
    María P Silva-Sánchez, Jorge L Alvarado-Socarras, Javier Castro-Monsalve, Keyla Milena Meneses, Justo Santiago, Carlos E Prada.
      Intracardiac rhabdomyoma is the most common primary cardiac tumor in children. Most cases are associated with tuberous sclerosis complex (TSC). Most of them are asymptomatic in the neonate and do not require treatment. However, some develop cardiovascular symptoms such as arrhythmias, heart failure, and ventricular inflow/outflow tract obstruction in the neonatal period with early death. Many of these tumors are not candidates for surgical resection and medical management is limited. Treatment with mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) inhibitor is currently approved for the management of central nervous tumors and angiomyolipoma in TSC. Two patients with malignant arrhythmias related to nonsurgical multiple rhabdomyomas associated with TSC who were successfully treated with an mTOR inhibitor were described. Everolimus therapy showed significant regression of rhabdomyomas with rapid improvement of arrhythmias and heart failure prior to tumor shrinkage.
    Keywords:  arrhythmias; cardiac; everolimus; rhabdomyoma; tuberous sclerosis
    DOI:  https://doi.org/10.1002/ajmg.a.62120
  5. Front Cell Infect Microbiol. 2020 ;10 596609
    The Role of TSC1 in the Macrophages Against Vibrio vulnificus Infection.
    Xian-Hui Huang, Yao Ma, Han Lou, Na Chen, Ting Zhang, Liu-Ying Wu, Yi-Ju Chen, Meng-Meng Zheng, Yong-Liang Lou, Dan-Li Xie.
      Vibrio vulnificus (V. vulnificus) is an estuarine bacterium that is capable of causing rapidly fatal infection in humans. Proper polarization and bactericidal activity of macrophages play essential roles in defending against invading pathogens. How macrophages limit V. vulnificus infection remains not well understood. Here we report that tuberous sclerosis complex 1 (TSC1) is crucial for the regulation of V. vulnificus-induced macrophage polarization, bacterial clearance, and cell death. Mice with myeloid-specific deletion of TSC1 exhibit a significant reduction of survival time after V. vulnificus infection. V. vulnificus infection induces both M1 and M2 polarization. However, TSC1 deficient macrophages show enhanced M1 response to V. vulnificus infection. Interestedly, the absence of TSC1 in myeloid cells results in impaired bacterial clearance both in vivo and in vitro after V. vulnificus infection. Inhibition of the mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) activity significantly reverses V. vulnificus-induced hypersensitive M1 response and resistant bactericidal activity both in wild-type and TSC1-deficient macrophages. Moreover, V. vulnificus infection causes cell death of macrophages, possibly contributes to defective of bacterial clearance, which also exhibits in a mTORC1-dependent manner. These findings highlight an essential role for the TSC1-mTOR signaling in the regulation of innate immunity against V. vulnificus infection.
    Keywords:  Vibrio vulnificus; bactericidal activity; macrophage; mammalian target of rapamycin; polarization; tuberous sclerosis complex 1
    DOI:  https://doi.org/10.3389/fcimb.2020.596609
  6. Mol Clin Oncol. 2021 Mar;14(3): 52
    The tuberous sclerosis complex-associated giant renal angiomyolipoma: A case report.
    Pengfei Sun, Shuangxing Chen, Zhengming Su, Yongzhong He.
      Renal angiomyolipoma (RAML), also referred to as renal hamartoma, is a rare benign tumor. There are two types of RAML, which include the tuberous sclerosis complex (TSC)-associated type and the sporadic type. TSC is an autosomal dominant genetic disease characterized by the growth of benign tumors in the skin, brain, kidneys, lung and heart. TSC leads to organ dysfunction, as the normal parenchyma is replaced by a variety of cell types. The current study presents a case of giant RAML in a 20-year-old female, who was hospitalized for epileptic seizures. Large abdominal lesions were detected during hospitalization. Subsequently, she underwent open mass resection and right kidney partial resection. Postoperative pathological examination confirmed that the mass was angiomyolipoma.
    Keywords:  renal angiomyolipoma; tuberous sclerosis complex
    DOI:  https://doi.org/10.3892/mco.2021.2214
  7. Respir Med Case Rep. 2021 ;32 101347
    Everolimus induced organizing pneumonia in a patient with tuberous sclerosis complex.
    Julio Lanfranco, Andrew Holt, Allison Montague, Twisha H Oza, Mohammad Elballat, Ivan H Romero-Legro.
      Organizing pneumonia is characterized by a distinct histologic pattern in the lung interstitium and presents clinically as hypoxemia, fever, cough, and dyspnea that is not attributable to concurrent infection. Typical etiologies of this condition include inflammatory disease, malignancy, toxic inhalation, and an array of medications including the mTOR inhibitor everolimus. In this report, we describe the case of a female with tuberous sclerosis complex on everolimus therapy for renal angiomyolipomas who presented to the hospital with persistent cough, dyspnea, and fevers and bilateral lower lobe opacities on chest X-ray despite multiple courses of antibiotic therapy. Bronchoscopy was performed with transbronchial biopsies, and results demonstrated a lymphocytic predominance and pathologic findings of intraluminal plugs composed of fibroblasts and myofibroblasts consistent with organizing pneumonia. Everolimus therapy was discontinued and patient completed a steroid course with resolution of symptoms. To our knowledge, this is the first published case of organizing pneumonia secondary to everolimus in a patient with tuberous sclerosis complex.
    Keywords:  Bronchoscopy; Everolimus; Organizing pneumonia; Tuberous sclerosis complex
    DOI:  https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rmcr.2021.101347
  8. Pediatr Nephrol. 2021 Feb 13.
    Utility of contrast-enhanced ultrasound for solid mass surveillance and characterization in children with tuberous sclerosis complex: an initial experience.
    Joyce Pk Chan, Susan J Back, Seth Vatsky, Juan S Calle-Toro, Dimitry Khrichenko, Anush Sridharan, Laura Poznick, Savvas Andronikou.
      BACKGROUND: Patients with tuberous sclerosis complex (TSC) can develop solid kidney masses from childhood. Imaging surveillance is done to detect renal cell carcinoma (RCC) and angiomyolipomas (AML), including AMLs at risk for hemorrhage. Intravenous contrast-enhanced ultrasound (CEUS) may be useful for screening as ultrasound is well tolerated by children and ultrasound contrast agents (UCA) are not nephrotoxic.METHODS: Retrospective review of kidney CEUS exams of pediatric TSC patients. Qualitative CEUS analysis by consensus of 3 radiologists assessed rate, intensity, and pattern of lesion enhancement. Quantitative CEUS analysis was performed using Vuebox®. Where available, abdominal MRI was analyzed qualitatively for the same features and quantitatively by in-house-developed software. Time-intensity curves were generated from both CEUS and MRI where possible. Appearance of lesions were compared between CEUS and MRI and histology where available.
    RESULTS: Nine masses in 5 patients included one histologically proven RCC and 8 AMLs diagnosed by imaging. Quantitative CEUS of RCC showed malignant features including increased peak enhancement 162%, rapid wash-in rate 162%, and elevated washout rate 156% compared to normal kidney tissue; versus AML which was 68%, 105%, and 125%, respectively. All masses were hypoenhancing on MRI compared to normal kidney tissue; MR dynamic contrast study offered no distinction between RCC and AML. The only MRI feature differentiating RCC from AML was absence of fat.
    CONCLUSION: Temporal resolution afforded by CEUS was useful to distinguish malignant from benign kidney masses. CEUS may prove useful for screening, characterizing, and follow-up of kidney lesions in pediatric TSC patients.
    Keywords:  CEUS; Children; Contrast-enhanced ultrasound; Kidney; Mass; TSC
    DOI:  https://doi.org/10.1007/s00467-020-04835-6
  9. Seizure. 2021 Jan 30. pii: S1059-1311(21)00025-X. [Epub ahead of print]86 82-84
    Infantile spasms and early-onset progressive polycystic renal lesions associated with TSC2/PKD1 contiguous gene deletion syndrome.
    Yoshie Matsubara, Satoshi Akamine, Pin Fee Chong, Saori Kawakami, Kenji Maehara, Yoshitsugu Kaku, Mari Kurokawa, Naoya Morisada, Kazumoto Iijima, Ryutaro Kira.
      
    Keywords:  Angiomyolipoma; Autosomal dominant polycystic kidney disease; Infantile spasm; TSC2/PKD1 contiguous gene deletion syndrome; Tuberous sclerosis
    DOI:  https://doi.org/10.1016/j.seizure.2021.01.016
  10. Immunohorizons. 2021 Feb 17. 5(2): 90-101
    TSC1 Suppresses Macrophage Necroptosis for the Control of Infection by Fungal Pathogen Candida albicans.
    Tiantian Li, Yadong Xie, Lei Shi, Yumeng Sun, Jing Wen, Zihou Deng, Haibing Zhang, Huabin Li, Jinbo Yang, Hui Xiao.
      Candida albicans is the most common, opportunistic human fungal pathogen whose complex interplay with the host innate immune system remains incompletely understood. In this study, we revealed that infection macrophages with C. albicans triggers prominent cell death, which is largely attributed to the RIPK3/MLKL-mediated necroptosis. Our results further demonstrated that the TSC1-mTOR pathway plays a pivotal role in the control of macrophage necroptosis upon engaging the Dectin-1/2 and TLR-2/4 pathways through fungal components β-glucan/α-mannan or Sel1, respectively. Notably, the rapamycin-sensitive mTORC1 pathway, rather than the rapamycin-insensitive mTORC2 pathway, was responsible for elevated activation of RIPK1, RIPK3, and MLKL in TSC1-deficient macrophages. Following systemic infection with C. albicans, mice with macrophage/neutrophil-specific deletion of Tsc1 (Tsc1 M/N-/-) showed heightened fungal burden in multiple organs, such as the kidney, liver, and spleen, severe morbidity, and mortality. Notably, Tsc1 M/N-/- kidneys exhibited prominent cell death and concomitant loss of tissue-resident macrophages, which likely contributing to a dampened phagocytosis of fungal pathogens. Together, our data demonstrate a crucial role for the TSC1-mTOR pathway in the regulation of macrophage necroptosis and suggest that both Dectin- and TLRs-induced necroptosis may undermine the immune defense effector functions of these innate receptors during C. albicans infection.
    DOI:  https://doi.org/10.4049/immunohorizons.2000093
  11. Physiol Rev. 2021 Feb 18.
    Regulation and metabolic functions of mTORC1 and mTORC2.
    Angelia Szwed, Eugene Kim, Estela Jacinto.
      Cells metabolize nutrients for biosynthetic and bioenergetic needs to fuel growth and proliferation. The uptake of nutrients from the environment and their intracellular metabolism is a highly controlled process that involves crosstalk between growth signaling and metabolic pathways. Despite constant fluctuations in nutrient availability and environmental signals, normal cells restore metabolic homeostasis to maintain cellular functions and prevent disease. A central signaling molecule that integrates growth with metabolism is the mechanistic target of rapamycin (mTOR). mTOR is a protein kinase that responds to levels of nutrients and growth signals. mTOR forms two protein complexes, mTORC1, which is sensitive to rapamycin and mTORC2, which is not directly inhibited by this drug. Rapamycin has facilitated the discovery of the various functions of mTORC1 in metabolism. Genetic models that disrupt either mTORC1 or mTORC2 have expanded our knowledge on their cellular, tissue as well as systemic functions in metabolism. Nevertheless, our knowledge on the regulation and functions of mTORC2, particularly in metabolism, has lagged behind. Since mTOR is an important target for cancer, aging and other metabolism-related pathologies, understanding the distinct and overlapping regulation and functions of the two mTOR complexes is vital for the development of more effective therapeutic strategies. This review will discuss the key discoveries and recent findings on the regulation and metabolic functions of the mTOR complexes. We highlight findings from cancer models, but also discuss other examples of the mTOR-mediated metabolic reprogramming occurring in stem and immune cells, type 2 diabetes/obesity, neurodegenerative disorders and aging.
    Keywords:  cancer metabolism; mTOR; mTORC; metabolic reprogramming; metabolism
    DOI:  https://doi.org/10.1152/physrev.00026.2020
  12. Trends Biochem Sci. 2021 Feb 13. pii: S0968-0004(21)00020-7. [Epub ahead of print]
    Regulation of Autophagy Enzymes by Nutrient Signaling.
    Karyn E King, Truc T Losier, Ryan C Russell.
      Autophagy is the primary catabolic program of the cell that promotes survival in response to metabolic stress. It is tightly regulated by a suite of kinases responsive to nutrient status, including mammalian target of rapamycin complex 1 (mTORC1), AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK), protein kinase C-α (PKCα), MAPK-activated protein kinases 2/3 (MAPKAPK2/3), Rho kinase 1 (ROCK1), c-Jun N-terminal kinase 1 (JNK), and Casein kinase 2 (CSNK2). Here, we highlight recently uncovered mechanisms linking amino acid, glucose, and oxygen levels to autophagy regulation through mTORC1 and AMPK. In addition, we describe new pathways governing the autophagic machinery, including the Unc-51-like (ULK1), vacuolar protein sorting 34 (VPS34), and autophagy related 16 like 1 (ATG16L1) enzyme complexes. Novel downstream targets of ULK1 protein kinase are also discussed, such as the ATG16L1 subunit of the microtubule-associated protein 1 light chain 3 (LC3)-lipidating enzyme and the ATG14 subunit of the VPS34 complex. Collectively, we describe the complexities of the autophagy pathway and its role in maintaining cellular nutrient homeostasis during times of starvation.
    Keywords:  AMPK; ATG complexes; amino acids; glucose; mTORC1; oxygen
    DOI:  https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tibs.2021.01.006
  13. Sci Rep. 2021 Feb 17. 11(1): 3950
    Machine learning classifies predictive kinematic features in a mouse model of neurodegeneration.
    Ruyi Huang, Ali A Nikooyan, Bo Xu, M Selvan Joseph, Hamidreza Ghasemi Damavandi, Nathan von Trotha, Lilian Li, Ashok Bhattarai, Deeba Zadeh, Yeji Seo, Xingquan Liu, Patrick A Truong, Edward H Koo, J C Leiter, Daniel C Lu.
      Motor deficits are observed in Alzheimer's disease (AD) prior to the appearance of cognitive symptoms. To investigate the role of amyloid proteins in gait disturbances, we characterized locomotion in APP-overexpressing transgenic J20 mice. We used three-dimensional motion capture to characterize quadrupedal locomotion on a treadmill in J20 and wild-type mice. Sixteen J20 mice and fifteen wild-type mice were studied at two ages (4- and 13-month). A random forest (RF) classification algorithm discriminated between the genotypes within each age group using a leave-one-out cross-validation. The balanced accuracy of the RF classification was 92.3 ± 5.2% and 93.3 ± 4.5% as well as False Negative Rate (FNR) of 0.0 ± 0.0% and 0.0 ± 0.0% for the 4-month and 13-month groups, respectively. Feature ranking algorithms identified kinematic features that when considered simultaneously, achieved high genotype classification accuracy. The identified features demonstrated an age-specific kinematic profile of the impact of APP-overexpression. Trunk tilt and unstable hip movement patterns were important in classifying the 4-month J20 mice, whereas patterns of shoulder and iliac crest movement were critical for classifying 13-month J20 mice. Examining multiple kinematic features of gait simultaneously could also be developed to classify motor disorders in humans.
    DOI:  https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-021-82694-3
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