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TREM2 interacts with TDP-43 and mediates microglial neuroprotection against TDP-43-related neurodegeneration

Nature Neuroscience volume 25, pages 26–38 (2022)Cite this article

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Abstract

Triggering receptor expressed on myeloid cell 2 (TREM2) is linked to risk of neurodegenerative disease. However, the function of TREM2 in neurodegeneration is still not fully understood. Here, we investigated the role of microglial TREM2 in TAR DNA-binding protein 43 (TDP-43)-related neurodegeneration using virus-mediated and transgenic mouse models. We found that TREM2 deficiency impaired phagocytic clearance of pathological TDP-43 by microglia and enhanced neuronal damage and motor impairments. Mass cytometry analysis revealed that human TDP-43 (hTDP-43) induced a TREM2-dependent subpopulation of microglia with high CD11c expression and phagocytic ability. Using mass spectrometry (MS) and surface plasmon resonance (SPR) analysis, we further demonstrated an interaction between TDP-43 and TREM2 in vitro and in vivo as well as in human tissues from individuals with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). We computationally identified regions within hTDP-43 that interact with TREM2. Our data highlight that TDP-43 is a possible ligand for microglial TREM2 and that this interaction mediates neuroprotection of microglia in TDP-43-related neurodegeneration.

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Fig. 1: TREM2 deficiency aggravates hTDP-43-induced behavioral deficits and neurodegeneration.
Fig. 2: TREM2 deficiency abolishes hTDP-43-induced CD11c+ microglia subpopulation.
Fig. 3: TREM2 deficiency locks microglia into a homeostatic state in TDP-43-induced neurodegeneration.
Fig. 4: TREM2 deficiency impairs microglial phagocytosis of pathological hTDP-43 protein.
Fig. 5: TREM2 deficiency leads to increased accumulation of pathological hTDP-43 protein.
Fig. 6: hTDP-43 interacts with TREM2 in vitro and in vivo in the mouse brain.
Fig. 7: hTDP-43 interacts with TREM2 in human tissues and in silico.

Data availability

The MS proteomics data have been deposited to the ProteomeXchange Consortium via the PRIDE63 partner repository with the accession number PXD029429 and 10.6019/PXD029429. Other information that supports the findings of this study is available from the corresponding author upon request. Source data are provided with this paper.

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Acknowledgements

We thank M. Colonna (Washington University) for providing Trem2-KO mice; R.L. Klein (Louisiana State University) for providing AAV virus; V.A. Lennon (Mayo Clinic Rochester) for thoughtful discussion and manuscript editing; W. Rossoll (Mayo Clinic Florida) for insightful suggestions; A.J. Johnson (Mayo Clinic Rochester), Y. Zhu (Mayo Clinic Rochester) and K.D. Pavelko (Mayo Clinic Rochester Immune Monitoring Core) for assistance with CyTOF sample preparation and data analysis; A. Pandey (Mayo Clinic Rochester) and the Mayo Clinic Proteomics Core (a shared resource of the Mayo Clinic Cancer Center) for LC–MS/MS experiment and data analysis; C. Howe and B. Clarkson (Mayo Clinic Rochester) for providing iPSC-derived neurons and R.M. Weinshilboum (Mayo Clinic Rochester) for assistance with biochemistry experiments. The current study is supported by NIH grants R21AG064159 and R01NS088627 to L.-J.W., R01AG066395 to G.B. and N.Z. and U19AG069701 to G.B., Y.A.M., N.Z., C.-C.L., D.W.D. and L.-J.W.

Author information

Author notes

  1. These authors contributed equally: Manling Xie, Yong U. Liu.

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Neurology, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN, USA

    Manling Xie, Yong U. Liu, Shunyi Zhao, Dale B. Bosco & Long-Jun Wu

  2. Mayo Clinic Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences, Rochester, MN, USA

    Manling Xie & Udit Sheth

  3. Laboratory for Neuroscience in Health and Disease, Guangzhou First People’s Hospital School of Medicine, South China University of Technology, Guangzhou, China

    Yong U. Liu

  4. Division of Clinical Pharmacology, Department of Molecular Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN, USA

    Lingxin Zhang, Yongxian Zhuang & Liewei Wang

  5. Computer-Aided Molecular Design Laboratory, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN, USA

    Yuan-Ping Pang

  6. Department of Laboratory Medicine and Pathology, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN, USA

    Jun Zhong

  7. Department of Neuroscience, Mayo Clinic, Jacksonville, FL, USA

    Udit Sheth, Yuka A. Martens, Na Zhao, Chia-Chen Liu, Dennis W. Dickson, Guojun Bu & Long-Jun Wu

  8. Department of Neuroscience, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, USA

    Mark P. Mattson

  9. Department of Immunology, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN, USA

    Long-Jun Wu

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Contributions

M.X., Y.U.L. and L.-J.W. designed the experiments and wrote the manuscript. M.X. and Y.U.L. performed most of the experiments. S.Z., L.Z., U.S., Y.Z., N.Z. and C.-C.L. performed some of the experiments. M.X. and D.B.B. performed data analysis. Y.-P.P. designed, performed and analyzed the MD simulation study. J.Z performed and analyzed the MS data. Y.A.M., L.W., D.W.D., M.P.M. and G.B. provided resources for specific experiments.

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Correspondence to Yong U. Liu or Long-Jun Wu.

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Extended data

Extended Data Fig. 1 Characterizations of GFP-hTDP-43 expression in a neonatal TDP-43 mouse model.

GFP-hTDP-43 expression was induced via intracerebroventricular injection of AAV9.CAG.hTDP-43.GFP in C57/BL6 (WT) neonatal mice. a, Representative image of brain GFP-hTDP-43 expression in WT mice at 21 days post-infection (dpi). Primary motor cortex (M1), supplementary motor area (M2) and lateral ventricle (LV) are separated by dashed line. Scale bar, 500 µm. Inset shows hTDP-43 expression at higher magnification as indicated by the area in dotted yellow box. Scale bar, 100 µm. b, Representative image of spinal cord (SC) GFP-hTDP-43 expression in WT mice at 21 dpi. Scale bar, 200 µm. c, Representative image (c) and quantification (d, n = 4) of GFP-hTDP-43 expression in the brain regions of cerebral cortex, hippocampus, thalamus and brainstem in WT mice at 21 dpi. Scale bar, 100 μm. e,f, Representative images (e) and quantification (f, n = 7) of co-immunostaining of GFP-hTDP-43 (green) with neuron marker NeuN (red), microglia marker Iba1 (red), astrocyte marker GFAP (red), and oligodendroglia marker CNPase (red) in the primary motor cortex of WT mice at 21 dpi. Scale bar, 100 µm. g, Representative images of p-hTDP-43 expression in the brain regions of hippocampus, thalamus, brainstem at 35 dpi. Scale bar, 20 µm. In d and f, data represented as mean ± SEM.

Extended Data Fig. 2 Characterizations of motor deficits and neuronal loss in a neonatal TDP-43 mouse model.

GFP-hTDP-43 expression was induced via intracerebroventricular injection of AAV9.CAG.hTDP-43.GFP in neonatal mice (AAV9.CAG.GFP as control). a, Body weights were measured separately for male and female of indicated groups at 35 dpi. b,c, Representative traces (b) and quantification (c) of locomotor activity in an open field test of indicated groups at 35 dpi. d,e, Representative immunostaining images (d) and quantification (e) of NeuN (red) with DAPI (blue) in the primary motor cortex of indicated groups at 35 dpi. M1 and M2 are separated by dashed line. Scale bar, 200 µm. Insets show NeuN staining in layer 5 of primary motor cortex at higher magnification as indicated by the area in dotted white box. Scale bar, 20 µm. In a, c, and e, Significance was calculated using Two-way ANOVA, Tukey’s post-hoc analysis. Data represented as mean ± SEM. n.s., not significant, *P < 0.05, **P < 0.01, *** P < 0.001. a, n = 13 per group, female: P < 0.0001, F 3,36 = 17.08; male: P < 0.0001, F 3,36 = 21.72; c, n = 25 per group, P = 0.0008, F 3,66 = 6.339; e, n = 10 per group, P < 0.0001, F 3,27 = 195.1.

Extended Data Fig. 3 TREM2 deficiency leads to increased accumulation of hTDP-43 protein.

hTDP-43 protein expression was induced via intracerebroventricular injection of AAV9.CAG.hTDP-43 in neonatal mouse (AAV9.CAG.Empty as control). a, Schematic representation of the velocity sedimentation protocol for separating soluble from Sarkosyl-insoluble aggregated proteins from an aqueous homogenate of brain tissue. b, Whole brain hTDP-43 and p-hTDP-43 (Ser409/410) immunoblots of the soluble fraction of WT and TREM2 KO mice at 70 dpi. p-hTDP-43 (Ser409/410) antibody detected a ~25 kD fragment in the soluble fractions. Notably, Ser409/410 is at the extreme C-terminal of TDP-43 protein, suggesting a higher level of phosphorylated C-terminal fragments in TREM2 KO mice. c, Whole brain p-hTDP-43 immunoblots of the Sarkosyl-insoluble fraction of WT and TREM2 KO mice at 70 dpi. Western blots were independently repeated twice with n = 4 for each group.

Source data

Extended Data Fig. 4 Phenotypic diversity of microglia in response to TDP-43 pathology by CyTOF.

a, A representative gating strategy illustrating brain myeloid cell being subgated to CD45medCD11b+ microglia. b, Microglia were plotted onto a tSNE. Plots represent distinguishing cell surface markers for microglia of 6 to 8-week-old WT mice. Clustering analysis revealed a major microglia population characterized by CD45mid:CD11b+:CX3CR1hi:F4/80+:CD64+:MERTK+:Siglec−H+:CD11c−. c, Heat map shows the change of expression levels of typical microglial markers in response to TDP-43 pathology in individual samples. Heat colors of expression levels have been scaled for each marker (blue, low expression; orange, high expression). d, Frequency analysis of microglia based on manual gating of indicated groups at 35 dpi. Significance was calculated using two-way ANOVA, Tukey’s post-hoc analysis. Data represented as mean ± SEM. n.s., not significant, *P < 0.05, **P < 0.01, *** P < 0.001. n = 4 per group, P = 0.0008, F 3,9 = 14.79.

Extended Data Fig. 5 TREM2 deficiency attenuates hTDP-43-induced microglial activation.

hTDP-43 protein expression was induced via intracerebroventricular injection of AAV9.CAG.hTDP-43 in neonatal mouse (AAV9.CAG.Empty as control). a-c, Representative images (a) and quantification of GFP-expressing microglia number (b) and soma size (c) in the primary motor cortex of indicated groups at 35 dpi. M1 and M2 are separated by dashed line. Scale bar, 200 µm. Insets show microglia at higher magnification as indicated by the area in white box. Scale bar, 50 µm. d, Representative images of co-localization of CD11c (white) with Iba1 (red) in microglia phagocytosing GFP-hTDP-43 (green) in the primary motor cortex of WT group at 35 dpi. White arrowheads indicate phagocytic puncta of GFP-hTDP-43. Scale bar, 20 µm. e, Pie chart representing the percentage of microglia phagocytosing GFP-hTDP-43 (green, phagocytic microglia) and those non-phagocytic microglia in d. In b and c, Significance was calculated using two-way ANOVA followed by Tukey’s post hoc test. Data represented as mean ± SEM. n.s., not significant, *P < 0.05, **P < 0.01, *** P < 0.001. b, n = 10 per group, P < 0.0001, F 3,27 = 283.9; c, n = 10 per group, P < 0.0001, F 3,27 = 19.59.

Extended Data Fig. 6 Characterizations of hTDP-43 expression mouse model via local virus injection in the primary motor cortex of adult mice.

GFP-hTDP-43 or hTDP-43 was expressed in the primary motor cortex of 2-month-old mice via stereotactic intracerebral injection of AAV9.CAG.hTDP-43.GFP or AAV9.CAG.hTDP (AAV9.CAG.GFP or AAV9.CAG.Empty as control). a, Schematic picture showing stereotactic virus injection site (upper). Representative image of GFP expression in the primary motor cortex of 2-month-old WT mice at 14 dpi (lower); Dashed lines indicate the borders of layer 4&5. Scale bar, 100 µm. b, Representative images of GFP-hTDP-43 expression in neuronal nuclei (white arrowhead) and diffusely in dendrites (white arrow) in motor cortex of WT mice at 14 dpi. AAV1.CAG.tdTomato virus was co-injected to visualize neurons. Scale bar, 5 µm. c,d, Representative images (c) and quantification (d) of GFP-hTDP-43 expression in the primary motor cortex of WT and TREM2 KO mice at 14 dpi. Scale bar, 100 µm. e, GFP-hTDP-43 immunoblots of primary motor cortex of WT and TREM KO mice at 14 dpi. Western blots were independently repeated four times (n = 8 per group). GAPDH was used as loading control. f,g, Representative images (f) and quantification (g) of GFP-expressing microglia in the primary motor cortex of indicated groups at 14 dpi. Scale bar, 100 µm. h, Representative images of microglia (Iba1, red) phagocytosing GFP-hTDP-43 (green) in the primary motor cortex of indicated groups at 28 dpi. Scale bar, 100 µm. Significance was calculated using either two-tailed unpaired Student’s t-test (d) or two-way ANOVA, Tukey’s post-hoc analysis (g). Data represented as mean ± SEM. n.s., not significant, *P < 0.05, **P < 0.01, *** P < 0.001. d, n = 7 per group, P = 0.4802, t = 0.7286, d.f. = 12; g, n = 12 per group, P < 0.0001, F 3,33 = 133.4.

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Extended Data Fig. 7 TREM2 deficiency facilitates hTDP-43-induced neurodegeneration.

GFP-hTDP-43 or hTDP-43 was expressed in the primary motor cortex of 2-month-old mice via stereotactic intracerebral injection of AAV9.CAG.hTDP-43.GFP or AAV9.CAG.hTDP (AAV9.CAG.GFP or AAV9.CAG.Empty as control). a,b, Representative images (a) and quantification (b) of NeuN immunostaining (red) in the primary motor cortex of indicated groups at 28 dpi. Scale bar, 100 µm. c,d, Representative images (c) and quantification (d) of microglia (GFP) interaction with NeuN+ neurons (red) in the primary motor cortex of indicated groups at 28 dpi. Scale bar, 50 µm. e, Representative images of CD11c (white) expression in microglia (CX3CR1-GFP, green) interacting with NeuN+ neurons (red) in the primary motor cortex of WT groups at 28 dpi. Scale bar, 20 µm. In b and d, Significance was calculated using two-way ANOVA followed by Tukey’s post hoc test. Data represented as mean ± SEM. n.s., not significant, *P < 0.05, **P < 0.01, *** P < 0.001. b, n = 5 per group, P < 0.0001, F 3,12 = 60.56; d, n = 4 per group, P < 0.0001, F 3,9 = 34.58.

Extended Data Fig. 8 TDP-43 can be released from neurons and interact with TREM2 in vitro.

a, Representative images of human iPSC derived neurons infected with AAV9.CAG.hTDP-43.GFP virus or control virus at 21 dpi. AAV1.CAG.tdTomato virus used to visualize neurons. Scale bar, 100 µm. Inserts show neuron morphology at high magnification as indicated by the area in dotted white box. White arrowheads indicate GFP-hTDP-43 translocation in neurites. Scale bar, 20 µm. b, Immunoblots of TDP-43 contained within collected culture media of iPSCs (left) or in pulled down fractions by bead-immobilized GFP antibody (right). c, Representative images of HEK 293 T cells co-transfected with myc-tagged human TREM2 (myc-hTREM2) and GFP-hTDP-43 C terminal fragment (residues 216-414) or GFP control plasmids. Scale bar, 20 µm. d, myc-hTREM2 was co-immunoprecipitated with GFP-hTDP-43 in HEK 293 T cells using bead-immobilized GFP antibody. Experiments were independently repeated three times. e, GFP-hTDP-43 was co-immunoprecipitated with myc-hTREM2 in HEK 293 T cells using bead-immobilized myc antibody. Experiments were independently repeated three times.

Source data

Extended Data Fig. 9 Human TREM2 interacting proteins in HEK293T cells.

a, A schematic illustration of the SILAC methodology to identify human TREM2 interacting proteins in HEK293T cells (Created with BioRender.com). b and c, MS and MS/MS spectra of a peptide ‘D137AGDLWFPGESESFEDAHVEHSISR161’ from human TREM2.

Extended Data Fig. 10 hTDP-43 interacts with TREM2 in vivo in mouse brain.

GFP-hTDP-43 was expressed in the primary motor cortex of 2-month-old mice via stereotactic intracerebral injection of AAV9.CAG.hTDP-43.GFP. a, Representative images of co-localization of TREM2 (red) with Iba1 (white) in microglia phagocytosing GFP-hTDP-43 (green) in the primary motor cortex of indicated groups at 14 dpi. Arrowheads indicate co-localization of TREM2 with phagocytic puncta of GFP-hTDP-43. Scale bar, 20 µm. b, SPR analysis of the binding between recombinant hTREM2 ECD (Met1-Ser174) with NFG and AMM at the indicated concentrations.

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Unprocessed western blots.

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Source Data Extended Data Fig. 3

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Unprocessed western blots.

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Xie, M., Liu, Y.U., Zhao, S. et al. TREM2 interacts with TDP-43 and mediates microglial neuroprotection against TDP-43-related neurodegeneration. Nat Neurosci 25, 26–38 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41593-021-00975-6

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