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(The FASEB Journal. 1999;13:2225-2234.)
© 1999 FASEB

Mitotic signaling by ß-amyloid causes neuronal death

A. COPANI*, F. CONDORELLI{dagger}, A. CARUSO*, C. VANCHERI{ddagger}, A. SALA§, A. M. GIUFFRIDA STELLA*, P. L. CANONICO, F. NICOLETTI{dagger}{dagger},#1 and M. A. SORTINO{dagger}

* Biochemistry and
{dagger} Pharmacology, School of Medicine, University of Catania, 95125 Catania;
{ddagger} Institute of Respiratory Disease, Ospedale Tomaselli, 95125 Catania, Italy;
§ Consorzio Mario Negri Sud, 66030 S. Maria Imbaro, Chieti, Italy;
Department Internal Medicine and Medical Therapy, University of Pavia, 27100 Pavia, Italy;
{dagger}{dagger} Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, School of Pharmacy, University of Catania, 95125 Catania;
# I. N. M. Neuromed, Localita‘ Camerelle, 86077 Pozzilli, Isernia, Italy

1Correspondence: Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Section of Pharmacology, School of Pharmacy, University of Catania, Viale A. Doria 6, 95125 Catania, Italy. E-mail: nicoletti.ferdinando{at}ctonline.it


   ABSTRACT
TOP
ABSTRACT
INTRODUCTION
MATERIALS AND METHODS
RESULTS
DISCUSSION
REFERENCES
 
Aggregates of ß-amyloid peptide (ßAP), the main constituent of amyloid plaques in Alzheimer’s brain, kill neurons by a not yet defined mechanism, leading to apoptotic death. Here, we report that both full-length ßAP(1–40) or (1–42) and its active fragment ßAP(25–35) act as proliferative signals for differentiated cortical neurons, driving them into the cell cycle. The cycle followed some of the steps observed in proliferating cells, including induction of cyclin D1, phosphorylation of retinoblastoma, and induction of cyclin E and A, but did not progress beyond S phase. Inactivation of cyclin-dependent protein kinase-4 or -2 prevented both the entry into S phase and the development of apoptosis in ßAP(25–35)-treated neurons. We conclude that neurons must cross the G1/S transition before succumbing to ßAP signaling, and therefore multiple steps within this pathway may be targets for neuroprotective agents.—Copani, A., Condorelli, F., Caruso, A., Vancheri, C., Sala, A., Giuffrida Stella, A. M., Canonico, P. L., Nicoletti, F., Sortino, M. A. Mitotic signaling by ß-amyloid causes neuronal death.


Key Words: neuronal apoptosis • cell cycle • Alzheimer’s disease.


   INTRODUCTION
TOP
ABSTRACT
INTRODUCTION
MATERIALS AND METHODS
RESULTS
DISCUSSION
REFERENCES
 
ALZHEIMER’S DISEASE (AD) brain is characterized by the presence of amyloid plaques, neurofibrillary tangles, and extensive neuronal loss (1) . Degenerating neurons show the morphological features of apoptosis (2 , 3) . ß-Amyloid peptide (ßAP), the main constituent of amyloid plaques (4) , is believed to play a causative role in the pathogenesis of AD and induces neuronal apoptosis in vitro (5 , 6) . Understanding the mechanism(s) responsible for ßAP-induced apoptosis may therefore be relevant for the identification of novel therapeutic strategies in AD. Although numerous mechanisms have been implicated as initial triggers of ßAP toxicity, such as activation of surface receptors (7 8 9 10 11) , generation of radical oxygen species (12) , or interference with cell adhesion to the extracellular matrix (13 , 14) , the linking bridge between these initial events and the execution of apoptosis are still obscure.

We proceeded from the observation that ßAP is toxic to neurons (5 , 6) , but does not affect glial cell viability (15 16 17) . An induction of c-jun and c-fos has been causally linked to neuronal apoptosis induced by ßAP (18 , 19) , and this is supported by the presence of Jun or Fos immunoreactivity in tangle-bearing neurons of AD brain (20) . However, ßAP also induces c-jun and c-fos expression in astrocytes (21 , 22) , which are resistant to death. Knowing that c-jun and c-fos respond to mitotic stimuli in proliferating cells (23 , 24) , we have hypothesized that ßAP generates a proliferative signal, which can be afforded by astrocytes but may not be tolerated by postmitotic cells such as neurons.


   MATERIALS AND METHODS
TOP
ABSTRACT
INTRODUCTION
MATERIALS AND METHODS
RESULTS
DISCUSSION
REFERENCES
 
Astrocyte culture
Primary cultures of rat cortical astrocytes were prepared from 1-day-old Sprague-Dawley rats. Briefly, cortices were dissected in a Ca2+/Mg2+ free buffer; after trituration, suspended cells were plated on 250 ml flasks in Dulbecco’s modified Eagle minimal essential medium (DMEM, Life Technologies, Inc.) containing 2 mM glutamine, 10% fetal calf serum, and a penicillin/streptomycin combination (100 units/ml and 100 µg/ml, respectively). Astrocytes were allowed to reach confluency, then flasks were shaken overnight to eliminate the contaminating microglia and oligodendrocytes. Astrocytes were harvested by a 0.25% trypsin-EDTA solution and plated on 35 mm Nunc dishes at a density of 500,000 cells/dish. Before reaching confluency, astrocytes were shifted in a serum-free DMEM containing 2 mM glutamine, 100 µM putrescine, 20 nM progesterone, and 30 nM selenium 48 h prior to the addition of ßAP.

Pure neuronal culture
Cultures of pure cortical neurons were obtained from E 15 rat embryos. Cortices were dissected in a Ca2+/Mg2+ free buffer; pieces were collected by slow speed centrifugation and cells were mechanically dissociated in a plating medium consisting of DMEM/Ham’s F12 (1:1) supplemented with the following components: 10 mg/ml bovine serum albumin, 10 µg/ml insulin, 100 µg/ml transferrin, 100 µM putrescine, 20 nM progesterone, 30 nM selenium, 2 mM glutamine, 6 mg/ml glucose, 50 units/ml penicillin, and 50 µg/ml streptomycin. Cortical cells were plated at a density of 2 x 106/dish on 35 mm Nunc dishes precoated with 0.1 mg/ml poly-D-lysine. Cytosine-ß-D-arabinofuranoside (10 µM) was added to the cultures 18 h after plating to avoid the proliferation of non-neuronal elements and was kept for 3 days before medium replacement. Subsequent partial medium replacements were carried out every 2 days. This method yields more than 99% pure neuronal cultures, as judged by immunocytochemistry for glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP) and neuron-specific microtubule-associated protein 2 (MAP-2). ßAP has always been applied to cultures at 8–12 days in vitro.

Immunocytochemistry
Cells were fixed with 4% paraformaldehyde for 15 min at room temperature and permeabilized with 0.1% Triton X-100 for 5 min. After blocking for 30 min with 3% normal goat serum, incubation with polyclonal GFAP antibodies (Sigma Immunochemicals, 1:100 dilution) was carried out for 2 h at room temperature. After washing, biotin-conjugated anti-rabbit secondary antibodies (7 µg/ml) were added for 1 h. After a 45 min incubation with the ABC complex (Vectastain ABC-Elite kit, Vector, Burlinghame, Calif.), staining was developed by DAB-nickel/H2O2 reaction. Ten microscopic fields per culture were marked on the dish and visualized on a video monitor connected to a digital video camera. Images of the fields were examined for GFAP staining and were computer-stored prior to MAP-2 staining. For MAP-2 staining, cultures were blocked for 30 min with 3% horse serum and incubated for 2 h at room temperature with monoclonal MAP-2 antibodies (Affiniti Research, 1:1000 dilution). After washing, biotin-conjugated anti-mouse secondary antibodies (7 µg/ml) were added for 1 h. After a 45 min incubation with the ABC complex, staining was developed by DAB-/H2O2 reaction. Marked fields were analyzed for MAP-2 staining and their images were compared to those previously stored.

Handling of ßA peptides
ßAP(1–42), ßAP(1–40), ßAP(25–35), and the control peptide reverse ßAP(35–25) were purchased from Bachem Feinchemikalien AG (Bubendorf, Switzerland). Different lots of the peptides were used. Peptides were solubilized in sterile, doubly distilled water at an initial concentration of 2.5 mM and stored frozen at -20°C. Before the experiment, ßAP(1–42) and ßAP(1–40) stock solutions were kept for 1 wk in a 37°C incubator so as to allow aggregation and therefore toxicity. ßAP(25–35) was toxic soon after solubilization (25) . The reverse ßAP (35–25) was generally not toxic; however, we observed some toxicity when it was stored frozen for long periods of time. All peptides were used to a final concentration of 25 µM in the presence of the glutamate receptor antagonists MK-801 (10 µM) and DNQX (30 µM) to avoid the potentiation of endogenous glutamate toxicity (26) . ßAP(1–42) and ßAP(1–40) behaved similarly to ßAP(25–35) in activating cell cycle. For this reason, most of the characterization has been performed with ßAP(25–35), which more reproducibly forms aggregates in culture.

FACS analysis
For FACS analysis cells were harvested by incubation with 0.25% trypsin for 3 min, and after addition of 50% fetal calf serum the suspension was centrifuged at low speed. Each pellet was washed with phosphate-buffered saline and finally fixed in 70% ethanol. Prior to propidium iodide staining (50 µg/ml in the dark for 30 min), suspended cells were treated for 1 h at 37°C with RNase (100 µg/ml). DNA content and ploidy were assessed by using a Coulter Elite flow cytometer. The Multicycle AV software program (Phoenix Flow Systems, San Diego, Calif.) was used to analyze cell cycle distribution profiles.

For immunofluorescent staining, suspended cells, prepared as described above, were permeabilized with 0.01% triton-X100 and then stained for 1 h at 4°C with a mouse monoclonal antibody to MAP-2 (Affiniti Research Products, 1:750 dilution) or with a rabbit polyclonal phospho- retinoblastoma (RB) antibody (Medical & Biological Laboratories Co., Ltd., Tokyo, Japan; 1 µg/ml) specific for a phospho-Ser containing peptide (one-letter code: TRPPTLS(p)PIPHIP-KLH) conserved in rat, mouse, and human RB. After washing, FITC-conjugated secondary antibodies (1:50 dilution) were added for 30 min.

Thymidine incorporation
For measurement of thymidine incorporation, neuronal cultures were labeled for 20 h with 1 µCi of [3H]methyl-thymidine (sp. act.: 25 Ci/mmol, Amersham, Italia). ßAP(25–35) was either co-added or applied 8 and 16 h before ending the incubation. At the end of the incubation, cultures were washed extensively with ice-cold phosphate-buffered saline and incubated for 30 min in 1 N ice-cold HClO4. After two additional washings with 0.5 N HClO4 and a final wash with ethanol, precipitates were solubilized with 0.5 N NaOH and aliquots were collected for measurement of [3H]methyl-thymidine incorporation.

Bromodeoxyuridine incorporation assay
To assess bromodeoxyuridine (BrdU) incorporation, 10 µM BrdU (Sigma, St. Louis, Mo.) was added to neuronal cultures together with 25 µM ßAP(25–35) and cells were incubated for 18 h. Cells were then fixed for 10 min at -20°C in 95% ethanol/5% acetic acid. DNA was denatured by incubation with 2 N HCl for 30 min at room temperature; afterward, cultures were washed twice (5 min each) with Sorenson’s buffer 0.4 M for neutralization of HCl.

For double-labeling experiments with anti-MAP-2 and anti-BrdU antibodies, cultures were first processed for anti-MAP-2 labeling to demonstrate that the immunostaining with anti-MAP-2 was not affected by the cell fixation and DNA denaturation procedure used for BrdU staining. For MAP-2 staining, cultures were blocked for 30 min with 3% horse serum, then incubated for 2 h at room temperature with monoclonal MAP-2 antibodies (Affiniti Research, 1:750 dilution). After washing, Cy3-conjugated anti-mouse secondary antibodies (Vector, 1:200) were incubated for 45 min. Cells were observed in an inverted fluorescence microscope with a rhodamine filter. Images of marked fields stained for MAP-2 were computer-stored before processing for anti-BrdU labeling. Cultures were blocked again for 30 min with 3% bovine serum albumin before the addition of monoclonal anti-BrdU antibodies (Sigma Immunochemicals, 1:1000 dilution) for 1 h. After washing, Cy3-conjugated anti-mouse secondary antibodies (Vector, 1:200) were incubated for 45 min and anti-BrdU immunofluorescence was revealed as described above. Marked fields were analyzed for nuclear BrdU staining and their images were compared to those previously stored. Fluorescent secondary antibodies, in the absence of BrdU primary antibodies, never labeled the nuclear region of MAP-2 stained neurons.

Immunoblotting
For Western blot analysis, neurons were harvested at 4°C in a 10 mM Tris buffer (pH 7.4) containing 5 mM EDTA, 1 mM PMSF, 25 µg/ml leupeptin, and 0.5% aprotinin. After 10 min centrifugation at 8000 rpm, an aliquot of the supernatants was processed for the assessment of protein concentration by a bicinchoninic acid kit. Samples were diluted in sodium dodecyl sulfate-bromphenol blue buffer and boiled for 5 min before loading. Electrophoresis was performed in sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (30 mA/h) using 60 µg of cell protein per lane. After separation, proteins were transferred onto a nitrocellulose membrane (Hybond ECL, Amersham Italia) for 45 min using a transblot semi-dry transfer cell. After blocking, membranes were incubated with primary antibodies for 2 h at room temperature, then repeatedly washed and exposed to horseradish peroxidase-conjugated secondary antibodies for 1 h at room temperature. Proteins were visualized using the enhancing chemiluminescence detection system (ECL, Amersham Italia). The following primary antibodies were used: mouse monoclonal cyclin D1 antibody (Santa Cruz, final dilution: 1 µg/ml); rabbit polyclonal phospho-RB antibody (Medical & Biological Laboratories; 1 µg/ml); rabbit polyclonal cyclin E antibody (Santa Cruz, 1 µg/ml); and rabbit polyclonal cyclin A antibody (Santa Cruz, 1 µg/ml).

Neuronal transfection
Transfection was carried out as follows: 10 µg of plasmid containing a cyclin D1 antisense or a dominant negative mutant of Cdk2 (both provided by A. Sala and described in Results) was equilibrated with 20 µl Lipofectin (Life Technologies, Inc.) in 1 ml of conditioned medium for 1 h before addition to the culture dish. Transfection was allowed overnight before fresh medium replacement and was carried out 36 h before ßAP(25–35) treatment. When necessary, Dex (1 µM) was added 12 h prior to ßAP(25–35) addition. Transfection efficiency was quantitated by cotransfecting 10 µg of the leukocyte marker CD20 in a pCMV-neo-Bam vector. Cell surface expression of CD20 was revealed by staining living cells with a PE-conjugated anti CD20 mouse monoclonal antibody (Immunotech, Marseille, France; 1:10 dilution), followed by fixation with 2% paraformaldehyde and FACS analysis. Mock-transfected neurons were used for control of CD20 staining.

Hoechst chromatin staining in transfected cultures
Cultures were stained with the fluorescent chromatin dye, Hoechst 33258 (0.4 µg/ml for 10 min at 37°C, after 15 min fixation with 4% paraformaldehyde), after being transfected with either As-D1 or DN-CDK2 and exposed to ßAP(25–35) for 24 h. For the identification of neurons transfected with As-D1 (15 µg/dish), cultures were cotransfected with 5 µg/dish of pEGFP-IRESneo vector encoding for EGFP. Neurons transfected with DN-CDK2 were instead identified by immunostaining for an influenza protein HA-epitope tag inserted just prior to the first stop codon of the DN-CDK2 insert. Immunostaining was performed using an affinity-purified rabbit polyclonal antibody raised against the HA-epitope tag (Santa Cruz, 1 µg/ml) and a Cy3-conjugated anti-rabbit secondary antibody (1:500, Vector Laboratories).


   RESULTS
TOP
ABSTRACT
INTRODUCTION
MATERIALS AND METHODS
RESULTS
DISCUSSION
REFERENCES
 
Analysis of cell cycle and apoptotic death in ßAP-treated cultures
FACS analysis (27) of pure rat cortical astrocytes stimulated with ßAP(25–35) showed a greater percentage of cells in S phase (Fig. 1 ), which is consistent with an activation of cell cycle.



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Figure 1. Cell cycle analysis of rat cortical astrocytes exposed to ßAP(25–35). A) A typical cell cycle distribution profile in control cultured astrocytes deprived of serum for 72 h. B) Changes in cell cycle distribution after exposure to 25 µM of ßAP(25–35) (during the last 24 h of serum deprivation). Values are expressed as percent of astrocytes in G0/G1, S, or G2/M phases of the cell cycle and are the means ± SE of three determinations, each obtained from three pooled culture dishes. *P<0.05 (Student’s t test), if compared with control. CTRL = control; ßAP = ßAP(25–35).

To address the same issue in neurons, we first established the conditions to grow virtually pure cultures of cortical neurons (>99% MAP-2 positive and GFAP negative; Fig. 2 ), which were healthy and viable up to 12 days in vitro (DIV). Neuronal cultures were treated with ßAP(1–42), ßAP(1–40), the active fragment ßAP(25–35), or the control reverse ßAP (35–25) always in the presence of a mixture of ionotropic glutamate receptor antagonists. In untreated cultures or in cultures treated with the reverse ßAP (35–25), <1% of neurons were in S or G2/M phase (exemplified in Fig. 3A, B ), suggesting that contamination by neuroblasts was minimal. Addition of 25 µM ßAP(25–35) to the cultures increased substantially the percentage of neurons in S phase, although no cell was observed in G2/M phase of the cell cycle (Fig. 3C ). ßAP(25–35) treatment also increased the incorporation of [3H]-methylthymidine into DNA (Fig. 3D ). The neuronal origin of cells synthesizing DNA in response to ßAP(25–35) is also shown by double fluorescent staining with MAP-2 antibodies and bromodeoxyuridine (Fig. 3E, F ).



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Figure 2. MAP-2 immunostaining of cultured cortical neurons. A) DAB immunostaining with MAP-2 antibodies shows that virtually all viable cells are MAP-2 positive. In the same microscopic field (B), no cell is stained with GFAP (bar = 20 µM). C) Immunofluorescent staining with MAP-2 antibodies was quantitated by flow cytometry analysis and is expressed as log10 fluorescence on the x axis. D) Nonspecific staining by the secondary antibody alone. In panel C, note that the entire population of cells is MAP-2 positive. Panel E shows the lack of MAP-2 staining in cultured astrocytes.



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Figure 3. Activation of the cell cycle induced by ßAP(25–35) in pure cultures of cortical neurons. A) A typical cell cycle distribution profile of control cultured neurons, where 99.6% of MAP-2-positive cells falls into the G0/G1 peak; no cells are in the S phase and only 0.4% of cells are in the G2/M phase. An identical distribution is observed 16 h after the addition of reverse ßAP (35–25) (B). The cell cycle distribution profile changed dramatically 16 h after the addition of ßAP(25–35). In panel C, 9.9% of cells are in S phase (peak under ‘S’), whereas the percentage of cells in G0/G1 phase drops to 90.1%; no cells are found in the G2/M phase. D) An increase in [3H]methyl-thymidine incorporation is shown in cultures exposed to ßAP(25–35) for 16 or 20 h. Values are means ± SE of 6 determinations; *P<0.01 (Student’s t test). Fluorescent staining for MAP-2 (E) or MAP-2 and BrdU (F) is shown in a microscopic field from a culture exposed to ßAP(25–35) for 18 h. Arrowheads point to cells positive for both MAP-2 and BrdU. No cells in control cultures were immunopositive for BrdU. Bar = 20 µM.

FACS analysis revealed that in most of the cultures the percentage of neurons found in S phase increased to ~8–10% between 8 and 16 h after addition of ßAP(25–35), and declined to 4–5% at 20 h (Fig. 4A ). In the same cultures, ßAP(25–35)-induced apoptosis (quantitated by FACS as in Fig. 4C, D ) increased linearly between 8 and 20 h (Fig. 4B ). The same extent of neuronal apoptosis was detected by Hoechst staining in sister cultures (not shown). A similar time course for both S phase and apoptosis was observed after incubating the cultures with ßAP(1–40) and ßAP(1–42) (Fig. 4E, F ). No effects were induced by ßAP(1–42) applied to the cultures immediately after solubilization, i.e., under conditions in which the peptide does not form toxic aggregates at least during the first 24 h in culture (see legend of Fig. 4 ). These results therefore suggest that cortical neurons exposed to ßAP undergo apoptosis after entering S phase. The smaller percentage of neurons in S phase with respect to the percentage of apoptotic neurons may reflect a rapid transfer from S phase into the apoptotic phenotype.



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Figure 4. The time course of ßAP(25–35)-induced S phase and apoptosis is shown in panels A and B, respectively. Values are means ± SE of 7 individual culture dishes. *P<0.01 vs. the respective controls and #P<0.01 vs. ßAP(25–35) values at 16 h (one-way ANOVA + Fisher PLSD test). ßAP = ßAP(25–35). Samples were simultaneously analyzed for cell cycle and apoptotic degeneration by FACS, where apoptotic cells appear as an area preceding the G0/G1 DNA peak (areas of hypoploid DNA under the horizontal bars). C, D) The extent of apoptotic death in control cultures or in cultures treated with ßAP(25–35) for 16 h. E, F) The time dependence of both ßAP(1–40) and ßAP(1–42)-induced S phase and apoptosis, respectively. Values are means ± SE of 3–4 individual culture dishes. *P<0.01 vs. the respective controls; #P<0.01 vs. ßAP values at 16 h (one-way ANOVA + Fisher PLSD test). Values of freshly solubilized ßAP(1–42) were S phase neurons = 1 ± 0.2% and apoptotic neurons = 28 ± 3% at 24 h (n=4).

Sequential expression of cell cycle proteins in ßAP-treated neurons
To examine whether neurons exposed to ßAP enter S phase following the typical sequence of events driving the G0-G1/S transition, we have measured 1) the induction of cyclin D1 and phosphorylation of RB protein by activated cyclin-dependent protein kinase 4 (Cdk4) as events associated with mid G1 phase, and 2) the induction of cyclin E and A, as markers of late G1 and S phase, respectively (28 , 29) . Western blot analysis with anti-cyclin D1 antibodies revealed a 34 kDa band corresponding to the molecular mass of cyclin D1. Expression of cyclin D1 was low in control cultures and increased in response to ßAP(25–35), showing a peak at 4 h. Cyclin D1 levels were still detectable at 8 h, but markedly decreased after 20 h of exposure to ßAP(25–35) (Fig. 5 ). The amount of phosphorylated RB (pRB) was also increased by ßAP(25–35) with a similar time course (Fig. 5) , suggesting an induced formation of functionally active Cdk4/6-cyclin D1 complex leading to phosphorylation of RB and, presumably, to the release of the transcription factor E2F (30) . Cyclin E, a target of E2F (31) , and cyclin A were also induced, but with a longer latency, increasing after 8 h of exposure to ßAP(25–35) (Fig. 5) . Thus, ßAP-treated neurons enter S phase through the sequential expression of cell cycle proteins operating in proliferating cells.



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Figure 5. Representative immunoblots of cyclin D1, pRB, cyclin E, and cyclin A in protein extracts from cultures exposed to ßAP(25–35) for 4–20 h. All these immunoblots were obtained from the same culture preparation. The same blot was stained for cyclin D1 and cyclin E. Two independent blots were stained for pRB and cyclin A. Equal amounts of proteins (60 µg) were loaded per lane, as revealed by rouge ponceau staining (not shown). In the cyclin D1 immunoblot, a second band of higher molecular mass (46 kDa) was detected (not shown). This band may correspond to cyclin X, a putative G1 cyclin that is abundantly expressed in neurons and is known to cross-react with cyclin D1 antibodies (52) . This protein was constitutively expressed in our cultures and did not change substantially after ßAP(25–35) treatment. C = control cultures; ßAP = ßAP(25–35).

Activation of cell cycle in response to ßAP is causally related to neuronal death
To examine the relationship between activation of cell cycle and neuronal death, we transfected the cultures with a dexamethasone (Dex) -inducible cyclin D1 antisense (As-D1) (32) or a dominant negative mutant of Cdk2 (DN-CDK2) (29) . The As-D1 is a 606 bp murine cDNA fragment ligated in an antisense orientation with respect to the Dex-inducible MMTV-LTR promoter contained in the pMAM-neo vector (32) ; the DN-CDK2, in which a dominant negative mutation was introduced by an Asp to Asn mutation at the protein kinase KLADFGLAR consensus site, was inserted in a pCMV-neo-Bam vector (29) . For the control of transfection efficiency, cultures were cotransfected with a pCMV-neo-Bam vector expressing the leukocyte marker CD20, which was revealed by immunofluorescent staining. Cytofluorometric analysis showed that 18–30% of neurons were CD20 immunopositive in different experiments (exemplified in Fig. 6 ). Induction of As-D1 by 1 µM Dex reduced the percentage of neurons entering S phase (Fig. 7A ) as well as the amount of the direct Cdk4/6-cyclin D1 target, pRB (Fig. 7C, D ), in cultures exposed to ßAP(25–35). Control As-D1 transfection without Dex (i.e., a condition in which As-D1 cannot be expressed) had no effect (Fig. 7A ). CMV-mediated expression of DN-CDK2 gave results comparable to those obtained by As-D1 + Dex (Fig. 7A ). The induced expression of both As-D1 (in the presence of Dex) and DN-CDK2 significantly protected against ßAP(25–35)-induced apoptosis as assessed by cytofluorometric analysis (Fig. 7B ). In addition, neurons expressing As-D1 after treatment with Dex always showed integrity of nuclear chromatin as revealed by Hoechst 33258 staining in cells coexpressing the enhanced green fluorescent protein (EGFP) (Fig. 8A, B,G ). In contrast, the majority of EGFP-positive cells from cultures not treated with Dex (i.e., transfected but not expressing As-D1) showed signs of chromatin fragmentation and/or condensation (Fig. 8C, D, G ). Hoechst staining also showed integrity of nuclear chromatin in neurons expressing DN-CDK2, identified by immunostaining for an influenza hemagglutinin (HA)-epitope tag (Fig. 8E, F, G ). Taken collectively, these results indicate that activation of cell cycle is not only antecedent to but also causally related to neuronal death. Because of the unexpectedly high extent of neuroprotection in transfected cultures, we wondered whether primarily surviving neurons might have spread the protection to other neurons in culture through the production of soluble factors. Cultures were therefore transfected with As-D1 ± Dex and then treated with ßAP(25–35) for 20 h. The medium collected from ßAP(25–35)-treated cultures expressing As-D1 (i.e., transfected with As-D1 + Dex) was neuroprotective when applied to receiving cultures, which in turn were treated with ßAP(25–35). Protection was not observed with the medium collected from cultures untreated with Dex (Table 1 ). To further support a causal relationship between cell cycle induction and neuronal death, we treated the cultures with chemical inhibitors of the cell cycle such as mimosine (33) , an inhibitor of cdk’s by competing for the ATP binding domain of the kinases, deferoxamine (34) , a chelator of the iron required for the onset of DNA synthesis, or transforming-growth factor ß (TGF-ß), which induces cell cycle arrest in a number of proliferating cells (35) and protects human neurons against ßAP toxicity (36) . All these agents substantially reduced the percentage of neurons in S phase after exposure to ßAP(25–35) and were neuroprotective against ßAP(25–35)-induced apoptosis (Fig. 7E, F ).



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Figure 6. Assessment of transfection efficiency in cultured cortical neurons. A) Cultures cotransfected with the cyclin D1 antisense plasmid and a pCMV-neo-Bam vector encoding the leukocyte marker, CD20. Cytofluorometric analysis of CD20 performed 40 h after transfection shows that >24% of cells are transfected in this particular example. B) Control CD20 staining in mock-transfected cells. The efficiency of CD20 expression ranged from 18 to 30% when the antigen was cotransfected with cyclin D1 antisense or with the dominant negative mutant of Cdk2.



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Figure 7. Cell cycle inhibitors protect against ßAP(25–35)-induced apoptosis. Expression of a cyclin D1 antisense (As-D1) or a dominant negative mutant of CDK2 (DN-CDK2) reduces the percentage of neurons in the S phase (A) and the extent of apoptotic degeneration (B) in cultures exposed for 18 h to ßAP(25–35). This incubation time has been selected to examine simultaneously ßAP(25–35)-induced S phase and apoptosis. Values are means ± SE of 4–6 determinations. *P<0.01 (one-way ANOVA + Fisher PLSD test). Dex = dexamethasone (1 µM); ßAP = ßAP(25–35) . Expression of pRB in As-D1 transfected cultures 4 h after exposure to ßAP(25–35) (C–E). pRB expression of transfected neurons was quantitated by flow cytometry analysis by using an antibody that reacts with RB phosphorylated at Ser 780 by CDK4/cyclin D1 (see Materials and Methods). E) Cultures expressing the As-D1 and exposed to ßAP(25–35) show a shift to the left in the distribution of immunofluorescence, indicative of a reduced expression of pRB, as compared with control cultures (C) or with As-D1 transfected cultures not treated with Dex (D) both exposed to ßAP(25–35). Cultures treated with ßAP(25–35) expressing the DN-CDK2 show an expression of pRB similar to control cultures treated with ßAP(25–35) (not shown). The effect of mimosine (400 µM), deferoxamine (1 mM), or TGF-ß2 (5 ng/ml) on the induction of S-phase and apoptosis by an 18 h exposure to ßAP(25–35) is shown in panels E and F, respectively. Values are expressed as permeants ± SE of 6 determinations. *P<0.01 (one-way ANOVA + Fisher PLSD test) if compared with cultures treated with ßAP(25–35) alone. ßAP = ßAP(25–35).



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Figure 8. Fluorescent chromatin staining in cells expressing a cyclin D1 antisense (As-D1) or a dominant negative mutant of CDK2 (DN-CDK2). A, C) Examples of ßAP(25–35)-treated neurons transfected with As-D1, as revealed by EGFP expression. However, in panel A, As-D1 expression was induced in transfected cells by Dex treatment, whereas cultures in panel C were not treated with Dex and therefore As-D1 could not be expressed in transfected cells. The difference in chromatin staining between the two conditions is shown in panels B and D, respectively. Transfected apoptotic neurons showed a more faint EGFP fluorescence than transfected viable neurons (see the difference between panels A and C). E, F) Nuclear integrity of neurons transfected with DN-CDK2, identified as immunopositive for the HA-epitope tag. Arrowheads point to transfected neurons (A, C, E) and to the corresponding nuclei (B, D, F). Open arrowheads indicate examples of apoptotic neurons with condensed chromatin; straight arrows in panels D andF point to apoptotic neurons with fragmented chromatin; curved arrows in all panels point to the less bright and regularly dispersed chromatin typical of viable neurons. Bar = 10 µM. G) The percentage of viable and apoptotic neurons in cultures transfected with As-D1 (identified as immunopositive for EGFP) treated or not with dexamethasone (Dex) (i.e., expressing or not expressing As-D1) or in cultures transfected with DN-CDK2 (identified as immunopositive for the HA tag). In cultures transfected with As-D1 and exposed to ßAP(25–35) 12 h after addition of Dex, 12 ± 4.5% of neurons (n=3 dishes) were EGFP positive (EGF+). This value refers to 100%. Note that all EGFP-positive neurons were viable in cultures treated with Dex. In cultures transfected with As-D1 and treated with ßAP(25–35) but without Dex, 9 ± 3.2% of neurons (n=3 dishes) were scored as EGFP positive; note that in this group, the majority of transfected neurons were scored as apoptotic. In cultures transfected with DN-CDK2 and treated with ßAP(25–35), the percentage of HA+-positive neurons was 16 ± 3.4 (n=3). All HA+ neurons were viable. Cultures were always exposed to ßAP(25–35) for 24 h. ßAP = ßAP(25–35).


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Table 1. ßAP(25–35)-induced apoptosis in cultured cortical neurons incubated with conditioned medium collected from cultures treated with ßAP(25–35) after being transfected with As-D1 (with or without Dex)a


   DISCUSSION
TOP
ABSTRACT
INTRODUCTION
MATERIALS AND METHODS
RESULTS
DISCUSSION
REFERENCES
 
Present data indicate that ßAP behaves as a mitotic stimulus leading to proliferation or death depending on the status, dividing or postmitotic, of the cell type. This situation diverges from some experimental models carrying an intrinsic toxic potential [e.g., neurons either deprived of a trophic support (37–40) or challenged with toxic compounds (41–43)] in which an association between reappearance of cell cycle proteins and apoptotic death has been reported. ßAP-treated neurons not only expressed the typical repertoire necessary for the G1/S transition, but also began to duplicate their DNA. This is clearly shown by FACS analysis, which, as opposed to more conventional methods such as [3H]methyl-thymidine incorporation or BrdU staining, provides a quantitative assessment of DNA per single cell. The peak in S phase was found 16 h after treatment with ßAP, whereas apoptosis was maximal later on. This suggested that neurons enter the S phase before undergoing apoptotic death. The lower percentage of neurons in S phase as compared to apoptotic neurons may reflect the stochastic nature of apoptosis. Apoptotic neurons can only be scored at an end point because of their permanent phenotype, whereas S-phase neurons are scored only in a transient period of time that they may cross asynchronously before dying. A causal relationship between activation of cell cycle and neuronal death was suggested by a series of experiments in which neurons were protected against ßAP toxicity when treated with chemical inhibitors of the cell cycle or when transfected with an As-D1 or a DN-CDK2. The extent of protection exceeded the number of transfected neurons. This may reflect the release of an unknown protective factor from neurons that generally survive to ßAP, as shown by experiments in which the conditioned medium was transferred from transfected cultures into sister cultures challenged with ßAP. These results agree with the protective effect of dominant negative forms of Cdk4 or Cdk6 found in sympathetic neurons deprived of nerve growth factor (NGF) (40) . Sympathetic neurons, however, are not affected by a dominant negative form of Cdk2 (40) , which was instead protective in our model. Thus, activation of an unscheduled cell cycle may be common to several forms of neuronal apoptosis, but subtle differences exist with respect to the cell type and death paradigm. For example, as opposed to NGF-deprived sympathetic neurons (40) , cortical neurons challenged with ßAP must cross the late G1/early S phase (a process that requires Cdk2 activation) before dying. The mechanism by which ßAP-treated neurons interrupt the cell cycle and enter the execution phase of apoptotic death remains to be established. p53 or other potential targets for Cdk activity may trigger apoptotic death through the activation of effectors such as caspases, the inhibition of which is protective against ßAP-induced toxicity (44 , 45) .

Our finding is in line with recent papers describing the reappearance of mitotic proteins in neurons from autoptic brain samples of AD patients (46 47 48 49 50) . Initially, the reported presence of mitotic phospho-epitopes in neurons bearing neurofibrillary tangles (46) could be interpreted as a terminal byproduct of apoptotic degeneration; however, more recently, cell cycle markers have been described in susceptible regions of AD brain, but not necessarily in late degenerating neurons (50) . This suggests that the activation of a cell cycle may be a requisite antecedent to neuronal death in AD. A relationship between the mitotic cycle and the AD phenotype has also been inferred from the evidence that presenilin 1 and 2 (which are mutated in most of early-onset familiar AD) are present in the nuclear membrane and are associated with subcellular structures involved in cell cycle regulation and mitosis (51) .

We now provide evidence that neurons begin a cycle in response to ßAP: they complete G1, are blocked after entering S phase, and eventually die. The lack of neurons in G2 phase in our study diverges from the appearance of cyclin B1 or activated cyclin B1/Cdk1 complex in AD neurons (49 , 50) . The absence of specific environmental factors in our cultures might have prevented progression of the cell cycle into the G2 phase, as may occur in the AD brain. It is noteworthy that ßAP-induced ‘neuronal cycle’ was accompanied by the sequential expression of cell cycle proteins, because this suggests that targeted inhibitors of these proteins may function as neuroprotectants in AD.;1>


   FOOTNOTES
 
Received for publication April 21, 1999. Revised for publication July 26, 1999.


   REFERENCES
TOP
ABSTRACT
INTRODUCTION
MATERIALS AND METHODS
RESULTS
DISCUSSION
REFERENCES
 

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