Frontiers in Molecular Neuroscience (Mar 2024)

APOE3 Christchurch modulates β-catenin/Wnt signaling in iPS cell-derived cerebral organoids from Alzheimer’s cases

  • Paula Perez-Corredor,
  • Timothy E. Vanderleest,
  • Guido N. Vacano,
  • Justin S. Sanchez,
  • Nelson D. Villalba-Moreno,
  • Claudia Marino,
  • Susanne Krasemann,
  • Miguel A. Mendivil-Perez,
  • David Aguillón,
  • Marlene Jiménez-Del-Río,
  • Ana Baena,
  • Diego Sepulveda-Falla,
  • Francisco Lopera,
  • Yakeel T. Quiroz,
  • Yakeel T. Quiroz,
  • Yakeel T. Quiroz,
  • Joseph F. Arboleda-Velasquez,
  • Randall C. Mazzarino

DOI
https://doi.org/10.3389/fnmol.2024.1373568
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 17

Abstract

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A patient with the PSEN1 E280A mutation and homozygous for APOE3 Christchurch (APOE3Ch) displayed extreme resistance to Alzheimer’s disease (AD) cognitive decline and tauopathy, despite having a high amyloid burden. To further investigate the differences in biological processes attributed to APOE3Ch, we generated induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cell-derived cerebral organoids from this resistant case and a non-protected control, using CRISPR/Cas9 gene editing to modulate APOE3Ch expression. In the APOE3Ch cerebral organoids, we observed a protective pattern from early tau phosphorylation. ScRNA sequencing revealed regulation of Cadherin and Wnt signaling pathways by APOE3Ch, with immunostaining indicating elevated β-catenin protein levels. Further in vitro reporter assays unexpectedly demonstrated that ApoE3Ch functions as a Wnt3a signaling enhancer. This work uncovered a neomorphic molecular mechanism of protection of ApoE3 Christchurch, which may serve as the foundation for the future development of protected case-inspired therapeutics targeting AD and tauopathies.

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