PROJECT SUMMARY/ABSTRACT
Several genetic variants within immune system genes like APOE, TREM2, BIN1, CR1, etc have been
associated with Alzheimer’s disease (AD). There is also evidence showing heavy metals such as cadmium
(Cd) toxicity being associated with AD. Studies have shown that circulatory levels of Cd are significantly
increased in AD patients and Cd levels in urine are associated with AD associated mortality. Next,
neuroinflammatory dysregulation due to viral infection has also been implicated in AD. Evidence for this
includes, discoveries linking a higher load of herpes-viral signatures of post-mortem brain tissues of AD
patients and accelerated beta-amyloid deposition in in-vitro and in-vivo models infected with herpes viruses.
Since then, our team has been studying the role of herpes simplex virus 1 (HSV-1) in AD using human in-vitro
cerebral organoid (cOrgs) models differentiated from induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs). Our work led to
the discovery of an AD-specific transcriptomic perturbations signature by HSV-1. We also discovered that
HSV-1 infection of cOrgs upregulated AD markers such as Aβ and phosphorylated Tau. As such, we propose
to use these phenotypes to test the if we can similarly measure such AD-specific phenotypes when cOrgs are
exposed to Cd alone or exposed to Cd in conjunction with HSV-1 infection and test if genetic variation affect
these phenotypes. We plan to select donor lymphoblastoid cell lines (LCLs) carrying various immune related
AD associated genetic variants from the 1000 genomes project as well as the Personal Genome Project for
reprogramming into iPSCs and differentiating into cOrgs. We plan to test similar conditions for all our aims. We
will perform the tests on a single-donor differentiated cOrgs as well as on multiple cOrgs carrying different AD-
genetic variants. We will test and compare between Cd exposed cOrg and unexposed cOrgs. We will test
HSV-1 infected, Cd exposed cOrgs and compare that with just unexposed HSV-1 infected cOrgs. For aim 1,
we plan to perform RNA-sequencing of the cOrgs and test for the AD-specific transcriptomic perturbation
signature upon Cd exposure, with or without HSV-1 infection, and the effect of the genetic variants. For aim 2,
we plan to perform intracellular staining of Aβ, phosphorylated Tau and several cell type specific markers using
flow cytometry and determine if Cd exposure or HSV-1 infection causes significant changes and whether
cOrgs carrying various variants will show differential effects. For aim 3, we plan to interrogate the media for
pro-inflammatory cytokines using multiplex enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays (ELISAs). By doing so, we
can test if any are released upon Cd exposure or HSV-1 infection and if their effects are different for the
various AD-associated genetic variants. These aims are independent measurements for determining the
relationship between Cd exposure, HSV-1 infection, genetic variation, and AD pathology. Knowing these things
will allow us to understand better the pathology of AD and reveal insights into its genetic and environmental
effects which can lead to novel ways of treating this debilitating neurodegenerative disease.
