MiR-219 deficiency in Alzheimer’s disease contributes to neurodegeneration and memory dysfunction through post-transcriptional regulation of tau-kinase network

Abstract

Intracellular accumulation of hyperphosphorylated misfolded tau proteins is one of the main neuropathological hallmarks in Alzheimers disease (AD) and related tauopathies. Hence, knowledge and understanding of disease mechanisms altering tau proteostasis and inducing cytotoxicity is critical. MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are capable of binding to and silencing many target transcripts, providing an additional level of regulation that complements canonical transcriptional pathways. Therefore, observed abnormalities in their expression patterns in neurodegeneration suggest alterations of microRNA-target networks as drivers of cellular dysfunction in the disease. Strikingly, here we have found in autopsy brain tissue that miRNA miR-219 expression levels are decreased in a brain region early affected in AD patients, the entorhinal cortex. Our bioinformatics analysis indicates miR-219 is predicted to target Calcium/calmodulin-dependent protein kinase 2 gamma subunit (CAMK2{gamma}), Tau tubulin kinase 1 (TTBK1) and Glycogen synthase kinase 3 beta (GSK3{beta}), which are all implicated in the generation of abnormal hyperphosphorylated tau. We reveal human proteomic data supporting dysregulation in the levels of predicted miR-219 targets in the entorhinal cortex. In mammalian cellular models, we found that downregulation of miR-219 de-repress synthesis of three tau kinases, CAMK2{gamma}, TTBK1 and GSK3{beta} on the post-transcriptional level resulting in tau phosphorylation and cell toxicity. Finally, we show that deficiency of miR-219 in vivo promotes age dependent neurodegeneration in the adult brain, with enhanced alterations in tau proteostasis, presynaptic terminals and memory impairment. Taken together, our data implicate miRNA dysregulation central to AD etiopathogenesis and suggest potential targets for the treatment of AD and related tauopathies.