DYRK1A and Activity-Dependent Neuroprotective Protein Comparative Diagnosis Interest in Cerebrospinal Fluid and Plasma in the Context of Alzheimer-Related Cognitive Impairment in Down Syndrome Patients

Manon Moreau; Maria Carmona-Iragui; Miren Altuna; Lorraine Dalzon; Isabel Barroeta; Marie Vilaire; Sophie Durand; Juan Fortea; Anne-Sophie Rebillat; Nathalie Janel

doi:10.3390/biomedicines10061380

DYRK1A and Activity-Dependent Neuroprotective Protein Comparative Diagnosis Interest in Cerebrospinal Fluid and Plasma in the Context of Alzheimer-Related Cognitive Impairment in Down Syndrome Patients

Biomedicines. 2022 Jun 10;10(6):1380. doi: 10.3390/biomedicines10061380.

Authors

Manon Moreau¹, Maria Carmona-Iragui^{2

3

4}, Miren Altuna^{2

3}, Lorraine Dalzon¹, Isabel Barroeta^{2

3}, Marie Vilaire⁵, Sophie Durand⁵, Juan Fortea^{2

3

4}, Anne-Sophie Rebillat⁵, Nathalie Janel¹

Affiliations

¹ CNRS, UMR 8251, Biologie Fonctionnelle et Adaptative (BFA), Université Paris Cité, 75013 Paris, France.
² Sant Pau Memory Unit, Department of Neurology, Hospital de la Santa Creu i Sant Pau, Biomedical Research Institute Sant Pau, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, 08193 Barcelona, Spain.
³ Center of Biomedical Investigation Network for Neurodegenerative Diseases (CIBERNED), 28029 Madrid, Spain.
⁴ Barcelona Down Medical Center, Fundació Catalana de Síndrome de Down, 08029 Barcelona, Spain.
⁵ Institut Médical Jérôme Lejeune, 75015 Paris, France.

Abstract

Down syndrome (DS) is a complex genetic condition due to an additional copy of human chromosome 21, which results in the deregulation of many genes. In addition to the intellectual disability associated with DS, adults with DS also have an ultrahigh risk of developing early onset Alzheimer's disease dementia. DYRK1A, a proline-directed serine/threonine kinase, whose gene is located on chromosome 21, has recently emerged as a promising plasma biomarker in patients with sporadic Alzheimer's disease (AD). The protein DYRK1A is truncated in symptomatic AD, the increased truncated form being associated with a decrease in the level of full-length form. Activity-dependent neuroprotective protein (ADNP), a key protein for the brain development, has been demonstrated to be a useful marker for symptomatic AD and disease progression. In this study, we evaluated DYRK1A and ADNP in CSF and plasma of adults with DS and explored the relationship between these proteins. We used mice models to evaluate the effect of DYRK1A overexpression on ADNP levels and then performed a dual-center cross-sectional human study in adults with DS in Barcelona (Spain) and Paris (France). Both cohorts included adults with DS at different stages of the continuum of AD: asymptomatic AD (aDS), prodromal AD (pDS), and AD dementia (dDS). Non-trisomic controls and patients with sporadic AD dementia were included for comparison. Full-form levels of DYRK1A were decreased in plasma and CSF in adults with DS and symptomatic AD (pDS and dDS) compared to aDS, and in patients with sporadic AD compared to controls. On the contrary, the truncated form of DYRK1A was found to increase both in CSF and plasma in adults with DS and symptomatic AD and in patients with sporadic AD with respect to aDS and controls. ADNP levels showed a more complex structure. ADNP levels increased in aDS groups vs. controls, in agreement with the increase in levels found in the brains of mice overexpressing DYRK1A. However, symptomatic individuals had lower levels than aDS individuals. Our results show that the comparison between full-length and truncated-form levels of DYRK1A coupled with ADNP levels could be used in trials targeting pathophysiological mechanisms of dementia in individuals with DS.

Keywords: ADNP; Alzheimer’s disease; CSF; DYRK1A; Down syndrome; brain; plasma.

Grants and funding

This work was supported by the Fondation Jerome Lejeune (grant number 2017a-1634) and the French state funds through the “Agence Nationale de la Recherche” program (grant numbers ANR-18-CE16-0020 DYRKDOWN and ANR-19-CE18-0023 PIF21). This study was supported by the Fondo de Investigaciones Sanitario (FIS), Instituto de Salud Carlos III (PI17/01019 and PI20/01473 to J.F., PI18/00335 to M.C.I.), partly jointly funded by the Fondo Europeo de Desarrollo Regional, Unión Europea, Una manera de hacer Europa. This work was also supported by the National Institutes of Health (NIA grants 1R01AG056850—01A1; R21AG056974 and R01AG061566 to JF), Fundació La Marató de TV3 (20141210 to JF). The manuscript describes independent research, and the views expressed are those of the authors and not necessarily those of the funders. The sponsors of the study did not take part in the design and conduct of the study; collection, management, analysis, and interpretation of the data; writing and review of the report; or the decision to submit the article for publication.