Levels of Synaptic Proteins in Brain and Neurofilament Light Chain in Cerebrospinal Fluid and Plasma of OVT73 Huntington’s Disease Sheep Support a Prodromal Disease State

Article type: Research Article

Authors: Sapp, Ellen^{a; 1} | Boudi, Adel^{a; 1} | Reid, Suzanne J.^b | Trombetta, Bianca A.^c | Kivisäkk, Pia^c | Taghian, Toloo^d | Arnold, Steven E.^c | Howland, David^e | Gray-Edwards, Heather^d | Kegel-Gleason, Kimberly B.^a | DiFiglia, Marian^{a; *}

Affiliations: [a] Department of Neurology, Mass General Institute for Neurodegenerative Disease, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA | [b] Centre for Brain Research, School of Biological Sciences, University of Auckland, Auckland, New Zealand | [c] Department of Neurology, Alzheimer’s Clinical and Translational Research Unit, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA | [d] Department of Radiology and Horae Gene Therapy Center, University of Massachusetts Chan Medical School, Worcester, MA, USA | [e] CHDI Management/CHDI Foundation, New York, NY, USA

Correspondence: [*] Correspondence to: Marian DiFiglia, PhD, Laboratory of Cellular Neurobiology, Massachusetts General Hospital, 114 16th Street, Charlestown, MA 02129, USA. Tel.: +1 617 726 8446; E-mail: DiFiglia@helix.mgh.harvard.edu.

Note: [1] These authors contributed equally to this work.

Abstract: Background:Synaptic changes occur early in patients with Huntington’s disease (HD) and in mouse models of HD. An analysis of synaptic changes in HD transgenic sheep (OVT73) is fitting since they have been shown to have some phenotypes. They also have larger brains, longer lifespan, and greater motor and cognitive capacities more aligned with humans, and can provide abundant biofluids for in vivo monitoring of therapeutic interventions. Objective:The objective of this study was to determine if there were differences between 5- and 10-year-old OVT73 and wild-type (WT) sheep in levels of synaptic proteins in brain and in neurofilament light chain (NfL) in cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) and plasma. Methods:Mutant huntingtin (mHTT) and other proteins were measured by western blot assay in synaptosomes prepared from caudate, motor, and piriform cortex in 5-year-old and caudate, putamen, motor; and piriform cortex in 10-year-old WT and OVT73 sheep. Levels of NfL, a biomarker for neuronal damage increased in many neurological disorders including HD, were examined in CSF and plasma samples from 10-year-old WT and OVT73 sheep using the Simoa NfL Advantage kit. Results:Western blot analysis showed mHTT protein expression in synaptosomes from OVT73 sheep was  23% of endogenous sheep HTT levels at both ages. Significant changes were detected in brain levels of PDE10A, SCN4B, DARPP32, calmodulin, SNAP25, PSD95, VGLUT 1, VAMP1, and Na+/K+-ATPase, which depended on age and brain region. There was no difference in NfL levels in CSF and plasma in OVT73 sheep compared to age-matched WT sheep. Conclusions:These results show that synaptic changes occur in brain of 5- and 10-year-old OVT73 sheep, but levels of NfL in biofluids are unaffected. Altogether, the data support a prodromal disease state in OVT73 sheep that involves the caudate, putamen and cortex.

Keywords: Huntington’s disease, HD sheep, caudate, putamen, synaptosomes, neurofilament light chain levels, cerebrospinal fluid

DOI: 10.3233/JHD-230590

Journal: Journal of Huntington's Disease, vol. 12, no. 3, pp. 201-213, 2023