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Showing posts with label Down Syndrome. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Down Syndrome. Show all posts

Tuesday 24 October 2017

Treated ID and CBS/DYRK1A in Autism and Down Syndrome

One of the most interesting concepts I have come across writing this blog is the idea of treating people with mental retardation (MR) / intellectual disability (ID). I do keep using the term MR, because 90% of the world has no idea what ID means. MR is a very precise description, which is increasingly rare these days.
I still recall several years ago going to a French-speaking neighbour’s barbecue. The French are generally very family-oriented, but quite traditional when it comes to parenting, (hence their low rates of ADHD diagnosis). At that time, Monty aged around 8, could act strangely and was rather obsessed with fire, matches and cigarette lighters. Our neighbour introduced us to his French friends and explained Monty with a brief use of the word “retardé”, which did not prompt any comments or requests for clarification. In the English language this might have been regarded as a big faux-pas; it did not bother me.  It seemed to work very well to forewarn people not to over-react to any unexpected behaviours. 
In the English language, autism has become a nice word and seems the new ADHD, with people even wanting to be diagnosed with it.  MR/ID is still something reserved for other people; it is not something most people want to be associated with. I do use the term cognitive dysfunction, which is just as explicit as MR but does not seem to upset people.
Cognitive dysfunction (MR/ID) is an inevitable consequence of more severe autism and it is just a question of degree. It is not a comorbidity, it is all part of the same package.

In Down Syndrome (DS) IQ is usually between 45 and 71 and worsens with age. MR/ID is defined as an IQ less than 70 and accounts for 2.3% of the general population. An IQ of 100 would put you in the middle of the IQ bell curve. People with DS tend to be very happy and contented, without the problematic behaviors that can occur in autism. 
The good news is that cognitive dysfunction (MR/ID) is likely to be treatable, as some readers of this blog have discovered. You just need to figure out how, which in itself is more about your perseverance than your IQ. You do not need to be an Einstein (IQ > 160), rather a marathon runner.
I just had the uncanny experience at school during the parent-teacher meetings, to be told that other class members could learn from my younger son Monty, aged 14 with autism; that he has the neatest handwriting in class, his essay had the best structure and that when his geography teacher told his assistant to skip the final question in the test (using longitude and latitude) because it was hard, the assistant said just let him try it; he was the only one to get it right. 
So from aged 8 to 14 he has gone from “retardé” to being something quite different.  The teachers do love his assistants, who are great; but he has had an assistant from the age of 4 and back then things moved forward extremely slowly. He learnt to read and write the very hard way, with a vast amount of 1:1 instruction and the school was amazed when his then assistant taught him to read; I don’t think they expected it ever to happen. By treating cognitive dysfunction pharmacologically for five years normal learning became possible and remains a big surprise to everyone.  His new English teacher knows him from back in the darker old days and seemed more shocked than surprised, after a month of teaching him. "Is this the same boy?"
For the first time at school I am being told to be proud of my younger son’s academic achievements, rather than how talented my older son is. Big brother certainly did not expect such a day and his response was along the lines of “well the others in his class must be really thick then” (like it or not, this is a typical teenage male comment). Little brother still has autism, but it is much less disabling. Big brother is currently teaching him to fence (sword fighting), which he would not have bothered to try doing until recently, because it would not have ended well. Years ago Monty did learn to ski, play basketball and soccer, but that all took a lot of effort with very patient (mostly female) instruction; he initially had no idea what to do if a ball was rolled towards him.  Last week he happily sat through the new Blade Runner film, which is nearly three hours long with the trailers. 
Perhaps there is no need for further “breakthroughs” with my Polypill therapy.  It may be good enough already.
It just seems a pity that more people with cognitive dysfunctions are not treated. There are some extremely intelligent parents with children who have severe autism, indeed an ironic twist of genetics. Some even write autism research, or indeed fund it. Even these people are not treating it.   Their fear of quackery blinds them. There certainly are quacks and there are also those who straddle the line, some of what they say is nonsense, but other ideas may not be.

Imagine having a conversation with Bill Gates, who is using his billions to use vaccines to save millions of lives in poor countries, about the possibility that in some people vaccines might trigger mitochondrial disease and autism.  Any organization talking about autism in relation to vaccines, chelation, aluminium, heavy metals etc and anyone who associates with them are in effect blacklisted.
Why does the global head of neuroscience at Novartis not attend the Autism One or TACA conferences? He does have a son with severe autism. It would be very difficult for him to apply any therapy promoted by anyone who attends these events.
Why does a Professor of Medicine from the US Ivy League apply ideas from this blog to his son, but never leave a comment? It is very clear to me why.
As our reader Roger has commented, why do some leading autism researchers still go on about vaccines? It does their interests much more harm than good. 
I think Roger could teach Dr Naviaux a thing or two about getting his Suramin research funded.  


Enhancing Cognition
The first area I came across where serious research is underway to treat MR/ID concerns RASopathies, a group of disorders that share disturbed levels of a protein called RAS. It was actually French research.
In Down Syndrome (DS) I highlighted research that aims to increase cognitive function by targeting the alpha 5 subunit of the GABAA receptor. We also saw that the same abnormal level of chloride within in cells that exists in much autism also occurs in Down Syndrome (DS); this is why the Frenchman Ben Ari has patented Bumetanide as a therapy for DS. 
In schizophrenia and bipolar there is also reduced cognitive function, but only in schizophrenia has there been much research and clinical trials to improve it. Histamine receptors were one target of this research. 

Too much or too little CBS (Cystathionine-β-synthase )
One known cause of cognitive dysfunction that has not been mentioned in my posts is CBS and since it was raised in a comment I thought it should be included.
All you need to know if you want to rule out a CBS problem is your level of homocysteine. If it is normal you do not have a problem with CBS. If homocysteine is high you have a case of Hyper-homocystinuria, which may be caused by too little CBS, or for a different reason. If you have very low levels of homocysteine (Hypo-homocystinuria) that may be caused by too much CBS and if you have Down Syndrome elevated CBS is inevitable.
Normalizing CBS is very likely to help cognition.
Cystathionine-β-synthase, also known as CBS, is an enzyme that in humans is encoded by the CBS gene. It catalyzes the first step of the transsulfuration pathway, from homocysteine to cystathionine:

L-serine + L-homocysteine    <------>     L-cystathionine + H2O


Down syndrome is a medical condition characterized by an overexpression of cystathionine beta synthase (CBS) and so a low level of homocysteine in the blood. It has been speculated that cystathionine beta synthase overexpression could be the major culprit in this disease (along with dysfunctioning of GABAA and Dyrk1a). The phenotype of down syndrome is the opposite of Hyperhomocysteinemia (described below). Pharmacological inhibitors of CBS have been patented by the Jerome Lejeune Foundation and trials are planned.


Down's syndrome (DS) or trisomy 21 is the most common genetic cause of mental retardation, and adults with DS develop Alzheimer type of disease (AD). Cystathionine beta-synthase (CBS) is encoded on chromosome 21 and deficiency in its activity causes homocystinuria, the most common inborn error of sulfur amino acid metabolism and characterized by mental retardation and vascular disease. Here, we show that the levels of CBS in DS brains are approximately three times greater than those in the normal individuals. CBS is localized to astrocytes and those surrounding senile plaques in the brains of DS patients with AD. The over-expression of CBS may cause the developmental abnormality in cognition in DS children and that may lead to AD in DS

It is a French foundation that is funding research is develop CBS inhibitors to improve cognition in Down Syndrome.


NovAliX will use its expertise and capabilities in medicinal chemistry and structural biology to develop small molecule lead candidates targeting the cystathionine-beta-synthase (CBS). Indeed inhibition of CBS over-expression has been associated with restoration of cognitive impairment in animal models afflicted with trisomy. 

People with DS have a low incidence of coronary atherosclerotic disease (CAD), which would seem to be linked to their low level of homocysteine (high CBS), but their high level of DYRK1A (see later) may be the cause of their early onset Alzheimer’s. 
Some background on homocystinuria, courtesy of Wikipedia:- 

Classical homocystinuria, also known as cystathionine beta synthase deficiency or CBS deficiency, is an inherited disorder of the metabolism of the amino acid methionine, often involving cystathionine beta synthase.
Homocystinuria represents a group of hereditary metabolic disorders characterized by an accumulation of the amino acid homocysteine in the serum and an increased excretion of homocysteine in the urine.
Signs and symptoms of homocystinuria that may be seen include the following:


The term homocystinuria describes an increased excretion of homocysteine in urine (and incidentally, also an increased concentration in plasma). The source of this increase may be one of many metabolic factors, only one of which is CBS deficiency. Others include the re-methylation defects (cobalamin defects, methionine sythase deficiency, MTHFR) and vitamin deficiencies (cobalamin (vitamin B12) deficiency, folate (vitamin B9) deficiency, riboflavin deficiency (vitamin B2), pyridoxal phosphate deficiency (vitamin B6)). In light of this information, a combined approach to laboratory diagnosis is required to reach a differential diagnosis.  

DYRK1A
You may have noticed that DYRK1A was mentioned as another cause of cognitive loss in Down Syndrome.  DYRK1A is yet another autism gene; it encodes an enzyme that is important in how the brain develops. Too much DYRK1A also leads to reduced levels of homocysteine. 
An OTC DYRK1A inhibitor exists today, epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG).



DYRK1A is important in neuronal development and function, and its excessive activity is considered a significant pathogenic factor in Down syndrome and Alzheimer's disease. Thus, inhibition of DYRK1A has been suggested to be a new strategy to modify the disease. Very few compounds, however, have been reported to act as inhibitors, and their potential clinical uses require further evaluation. Here, we newly identify CX-4945, the safety of which has been already proven in the clinical setting, as a potent inhibitor of DYRK1A that acts in an ATP-competitive manner. The inhibitory potency of CX-4945 on DYRK1A (IC50=6.8 nM) in vitro was higher than that of harmine, INDY or proINDY, which are well-known potent inhibitors of DYRK1A. CX-4945 effectively reverses the aberrant phosphorylation of Tau, amyloid precursor protein (APP) and presenilin 1 (PS1) in mammalian cells. To our surprise, feeding with CX-4945 significantly restored the neurological and phenotypic defects induced by the overexpression of minibrain, an ortholog of human DYRK1A, in the Drosophila model. Moreover, oral administration of CX-4945 acutely suppressed Tau hyperphosphorylation in the hippocampus of DYRK1A-overexpressing mice. Our research results demonstrate that CX-4945 is a potent DYRK1A inhibitor and also suggest that it has therapeutic potential for DYRK1A-associated diseases

Neurodevelopmental alterations and cognitive disability are constant features of Down syndrome (DS), a genetic condition due to triplication of chromosome 21. DYRK1A is one of the triplicated genes that is thought to be strongly involved in brain alterations. Treatment of Dyrk1A transgenic mice with epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG), an inhibitor of DYRK1A, improves cognitive performance, suggesting that EGCG may represent a suitable treatment of DS. Evidence in the Ts65Dn mouse model of DS shows that EGCG restores hippocampal development, although this effect is ephemeral. Other studies, however, show no effects of treatment on hippocampus-dependent memory. On the other hand, a pilot study in young adults with DS shows that EGCG transiently improves some aspects of memory. Interestingly, EGCG plus cognitive training engenders effects that are more prolonged. Studies in various rodent models show a positive impact of EGCG on brain and behavior, but other studies show no effect. In spite of these discrepancies, possibly due to heterogeneity of protocols/timing/species, EGCG seems to exert some beneficial effects on the brain. It is possible that protocols of periodic EGCG administration to individuals with DS (alone or in conjunction with other treatments) may prevent the disappearance of its effects.


Conclusion

Understanding emerging therapies that treat various types of MR/ID, and also the various types of dementia, should unlock interesting avenues to raise cognitive function in many types of autism.
Homocysteine levels are very easy to measure. 
Because the gene miss-expression in Down Syndrome (DS) is fully understood, it makes sense that treatment is more advanced than in autism, which is so heterogenous. There are a lot of people in the world with DS and so there is a big market for drug makers.
The potential drug therapies to improve cognition in Down Syndrome (DS) appear to be:- 

·        Basmisanil, a negative allosteric modulator of α5 subunit-containing GABAA receptors. It appears that sodium benzoate may have a similar effect.

·        Bumetanide, an NKCC1 inhibitor

·        Potassium bromide, Br- displaces Cl- to lower intracellular Cl-

·        CBS inhibitor

·        DYRK1A inhibitor, like Epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG), but a more potent inhibitor like CX-4945 (Silmitasertib) might be better.

There is mouse model research to show that a single dose just after birth of a drug that stimulates the sonic hedgehog signaling pathway results in a "normal" adult brain.

The risk of Down Syndrome (DS), caused by a third copy of chromosome 21 (trisomy 21), rises rapidly with increasing maternal age, nonetheless the number of births is stable to falling in most developed countries, due to increased prenatal testing and termination of pregnancy for fetal anomaly (TOPFA). TOPFA is not practiced in countries like Poland and Ireland. In Denmark screening has long been free and TOPFA has risen to 98%. In the UK two thirds of mothers opt for their free DS screening and 90% of those who test positive, opt for their free TOPFA. The one third letting nature take its course are probably mainly younger mothers.
In Catholic countries you have both extremes - in Cork, Ireland DS is present 30 times per 10,000 births, but in Zagreb Croatia it is just 6 per 10,000. In the US the CDC say it 14, while in the UK it is 10.  In South Africa 20 cases of DS occur per 10,000 births; mothers are younger than in Ireland.
In developed countries, the natural prevalence of DS looks to be 0.3%, which is the same as the incidence of strictly defined autism (SDA), which I estimated in an earlier post to be 0.3%. It is just that in developed countries most people with DS are never born. 

I would have thought CX-4945 should be trialed by some clever Alzheimer's researcher and indeed for any Tauopathy. In the meantime perhaps Grandad should drink a lot of green tea to get his dose of EGCG.







Monday 22 May 2017

Green Tea Catechin EGCG in Down Syndrome, but Autism? and Cerebrolysin



In a recent comment a reader from Poland highlighted the popularity there of a drug called cerebrolysin to treat autism and Down syndrome.  It turns out that this treatment in also widespread in the former Soviet Union.

Green tea as a source of Epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG)

Cerebrolysin is a mixture of peptides purified from pig brains, including  brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF), glial cell line-derived neurotrophic factor (GDNF), nerve growth factor (NGF), and ciliary neurotrophic factor (CNTF).

While cerebrolysin is used for stroke and vascular dementia, it is used by some as a nootropic. 

There are two Russian studies supporting the use of Cerebrolysin:



 
I was informed that cerebrolysin is prescribed off-label in Poland to treat autism, with some good results.
Three other substances were then mentioned.
MemoProve, an oral OTC product made by the same Austrian company that produces cerebrolysin, and then two research compounds P6 and P21. The P21 research is also part funded by the same Austrians. People in the US are using intranasal P21 as a nootropic.
It does seem that some people with autism do indeed benefit from cerebrolysin. 
As we have seen in previous posts the various growth factors (BDNF, NGF, IGF-1 etc) are disturbed in autism and they play a key role in various signaling cascades. There certainly is logic in using growth factors as autism therapies, but it would be important to use the right ones. In Rett syndrome there is almost no nerve growth factor (NGF), whereas in much autism there are elevated levels. Insulin-like growth factor IGF-1 already is a target autism therapy.
The disadvantage of cerebrolysin is that it is made from pigs’ brains and you need to inject it every day.
Unless you live in Poland, Russia or Romania, I doubt you will be able to try cerebrolysin, even if you want to.
Another therapy I am told is used in Poland is EGCG, which stands for Epigallocatechin gallate, or just green tea. 

Epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG)

EGCG is another natural substance like resveratrol, curcumin and indeed quercetin that has potent properties in lab, but never quite makes it in the human world.
The normal problem is low bioavailability and the lack of funding to do conclusive clinical trials.
In the case of EGCG there are now some serious studies being done in Spain. 


There is a mounting evidence of the modulation properties of the major catechin in green tea, epigallocatechin-3-gallate (EGCG), on dual specificity tyrosine-phosphorylation-regulated kinase 1A (DYRK1A) gene overexpression in the brains of DS mouse models. The aims are to investigate the clinical benefits and safety of EGCG administration in young adults with DS, to establish short-term EGCG effects (three months) on neurocognitive performance, and to determine the persistency or reversibility of EGCG related effects after three months of discontinued use. 


The flavonoid epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG) is a modulator of neuronal plasticity useful in other neurodevelopmental diseases. A recent study showed that EGCG is a promising tool for cognitive and health related quality of life improvement in Down's syndrome.

The objective is to determine the efficacy of EGCG as a therapeutic candidate for the improvement of cognitive performance in FAS patients  


Fragile X syndrome (FXS) present alterations in synaptic plasticity that produce intellectual disability. can produce improvement. Estrogens (targeting Estrogen Receptors beta (ER-β) can act as neuroprotective agents, promoting synaptic plasticity and neurite outgrowth, and health benefits derived from flavonoids, as the flavonol epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG), phytoestrogens of natural origin are partially explained by their interaction with membrane ER. Selective ER-β flavonoids are thus good candidates for their therapeutic evaluation in intellectual disabilities. EGCG also targets central intracellular transduction signals altered in FXS and improves memory recognition in a FXS animal model(adenosine triphosphate (ATP)-inhibitor of phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase (PI3K)and mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) and extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK1/2). This study targets the synaptic plasticity alterations that underlie the learning and memory impairment but also the computational disability in FXS. The hypothesis is that EGCG can act by favoring the physiological processes involved in cognition. 

The Spanish Science.

You might wonder why a hospital in Barcelona is doing all this research into a green tea extract.

EGCG has numerous biological effects and in the three trials they are not claiming the same mode of action.  In the fragile X trial it is the effect on Estrogen receptor beta, while in Down syndrome it is the effect on DYRK1A gene overexpression. 

Trial results

The only trial to have yet published results is the one on Down Syndrome.  Here the results were pretty good, given that this is a cheap supplement and the dose was modest.

The easy reading version:-

What were the basic results?


For most of the tests (21 of 24) there were no differences between the groups.

However, in three tests people who'd taken EGCG did better. This improvement lasted for six months after the study ended.

These were:

·         remembering and recognizing patterns

·         inhibitory control – the ability to override instinct to follow instructions; for example; in this test, to say "cat" when shown a picture of a dog, and vice versa

·         ability to carry out everyday living tasks (adaptive behaviour)   

I am very surprised that the benefit lasted six months after the study ended.  It would be great if they could validate that in their phase 3 trial. 

The full study:- 


We enrolled adults (aged 16–34 years) with Down's syndrome from outpatient settings in Catalonia, Spain, with any of the Down's syndrome genetic variations (trisomy 21, partial trisomy, mosaic, or translocation) in a double-blind, placebo-controlled, phase 2, single centre trial (TESDAD). Participants were randomly assigned at the IMIM-Hospital del Mar Medical Research Institute to receive EGCG (9 mg/kg per day) or placebo and cognitive training for 12 months. We followed up participants for 6 months after treatment discontinuation. We randomly assigned participants using random-number tables and balanced allocation by sex and intellectual quotient. Participants, families, and researchers assessing the participants were masked to treatment allocation. The primary endpoint was cognitive improvement assessed by neuropsychologists with a battery of cognitive tests for episodic memory, executive function, and functional measurements. Analysis was on an intention-to-treat basis. This trial is registered with ClinicalTrials.gov, number NCT01699711.

Findings

The study was done between June 5, 2012, and June 6, 2014. 84 of 87 participants with Down's syndrome were included in the intention-to-treat analysis at 12 months (43 in the EGCG and cognitive training group and 41 in the placebo and cognitive training group). Differences between the groups were not significant on 13 of 15 tests in the TESDAD battery and eight of nine adaptive skills in the Adaptive Behavior Assessment System II (ABAS-II). At 12 months, participants treated with EGCG and cognitive training had significantly higher scores in visual recognition memory (Pattern Recognition Memory test immediate recall, adjusted mean difference: 6·23 percentage points [95% CI 0·31 to 12·14], p=0·039; d 0·4 [0·05 to 0·84]), inhibitory control (Cats and Dogs total score, adjusted mean difference: 0·48 [0·02 to 0·93], p=0·041; d 0·28 [0·19 to 0·74]; Cats and Dogs total response time, adjusted mean difference: −4·58 s [–8·54 to −0·62], p=0·024; d −0·27 [–0·72 to −0·20]), and adaptive behaviour (ABAS-II functional academics score, adjusted mean difference: 5·49 [2·13 to 8·86], p=0·002; d 0·39 [–0·06 to 0·84]). No differences were noted in adverse effects between the two treatment groups.

Interpretation

EGCG and cognitive training for 12 months was significantly more effective than placebo and cognitive training at improving visual recognition memory, inhibitory control, and adaptive behaviour. Phase 3 trials with a larger population of individuals with Down's syndrome will be needed to assess and confirm the long-term efficacy of EGCG and cognitive training.  



The science behind EGCG


An expanding body of preclinical evidence suggests EGCG, the major catechin found in green tea (Camellia sinensis), has the potential to impact a variety of human diseases. Apparently, EGCG functions as a powerful antioxidant, preventing oxidative damage in healthy cells, but also as an antiangiogenic and antitumor agent and as a modulator of tumor cell response to chemotherapy. Much of the cancer chemopreventive properties of green tea are mediated by EGCG that induces apoptosis and promotes cell growth arrest by altering the expression of cell cycle regulatory proteins, activating killer caspases, and suppressing oncogenic transcription factors and pluripotency maintain factors. In vitro studies have demonstrated that EGCG blocks carcinogenesis by affecting a wide array of signal transduction pathways including JAK/STAT, MAPK, PI3K/AKT, Wnt and Notch. EGCG stimulates telomere fragmentation through inhibiting telomerase activity. Various clinical studies have revealed that treatment by EGCG inhibits tumor incidence and multiplicity in different organ sites such as liver, stomach, skin, lung, mammary gland and colon. Recent work demonstrated that EGCG reduced DNMTs, proteases, and DHFR activities, which would affect transcription of TSGs and protein synthesis. EGCG has great potential in cancer prevention because of it’s safety, low cost and bioavailability. In this review, we discuss its cancer preventive properties and it’s mechanism of action at numerous points regulating cancer cell growth, survival, angiogenesis and metastasis. Therefore, non-toxic natural agent could be useful either alone or in combination with conventional therapeutics for the prevention of tumor progression and/or treatment of human malignancies.















Mast Cells and EGCG
One interesting effect of EGCG, at least in the lab, is that it can stabilize mast cells. This would mean that it might he helpful in treating allergy and some types of GI problems, if you have enough of it.

Epigallocatechin-3-gallate Reduces Mast Cells Activity TNF-α and NFKB in Colitis by Interrupting an Inflammatory Cascade (MUC2P.827)


Epigallocatechin-3-gallate inhibits mast cell degranulation, leukotriene C4 secretion, and calcium influx via mitochondrial calcium dysfunction.


Conclusion
The green tea extract EGCG is inexpensive and widely available. It is often taken for its antioxidant properties. In most trials so-called phytoestrogens like EGCG have almost no estrogen-like effect in humans, so I doubt this mode of action.
The trials all used a dosage of 9mg/kg of EGCG which is easy to achieve with OTC supplements.
Given the positive results from the small trial in Down Syndrome (DS), it would fall into the “no-brainer” category to make a home trial, if you have a child with DS.
This is quite different to injecting your child with Cerebrolysin from pig’s brains, where there are some drawbacks.
Will EGCG help in Fragile-X or Fetal Alcohol Syndrome? I have no idea; but being having well established antioxidant properties, I expect it is almost guaranteed to help a least marginally.
Will EGCG help in autism? Given its safety profile, price and availability, it really should have a place on your to-do list. It is an antioxidant with numerous other possible effects, some of which hopefully may be evident in humans.  Compared to some exotic antioxidants that people buy, it is cheap.
With no great expectations, I will see if EGCG has any effect. It might help an as antioxidant, it might help stabilize mast cells and, if has enough potency as an estrogen, it would help via RORa. As you can see in the chart above it actually has dozens of potential effects.
Some natural substances like quercetin have undoubted positive effects, but after continued usage can give side effects.  The EGCG trial was 12 months long and they did not find adverse effects compared to the placebo.
The amount of EGCG in green tea varies wildly, making standardized supplements a safer bet.  Apparently, Lipton Green Tea bags contain about 70mg of EGCG per serving. So my son would need to drink 6 cups of green tea a day to match the trial dose.




Monday 28 November 2016

Leukemia, IL-6 IL-10 and an Autism Flare-up


   
Leukemia/Leukaemia  is cancer that begins in the bone marrow and result in high numbers of abnormal white blood cells.

I received a comment on this blog a long time ago from a parent whose child had initially responded well to some of the autism therapies suggested on this blog. Later on all the therapies stopped working.  That child also has leukemia.

We now know this is a common event when you start treating autism, some comorbidity arises that blocks the effects of those therapies.  In my son’s case it is a simple pollen allergy, but it can be all kinds of inflammatory conditions such as colitis, IBS, IBD, GERD, celiac disease, juvenile arthritis, mastocytosis etc.  This list goes on, but now I know why it includes leukemia.

I do not consider epilepsy, or indeed cognitive dysfunction, as comorbidities.  Epilepsy is periodic extreme neuronal hyper-excitability, whereas in much autism there is chronic neuronal hyper-excitability.  Not surprisingly, chronic neuronal hyper-excitability can develop to periodic extreme neuronal hyper-excitability.  So I see epilepsy as a natural progression from childhood autism, but one that perhaps could and should be prevented.

Earlier on writing this blog I thought that genetics and cancer pathways would be beyond its scope, but in apparent absence of anyone much else publicizing the connections with autism I revised my view.

It has been known since 1930 that leukemia is comorbid with Down Syndrome (DS).  DS is caused by caused by the presence of all, or part of a third copy of chromosome 21 this leads to over expression of 300+ genes.  DS is usually easy to diagnose based on physical appearance .  The gene over-expression frequently leads to autistic behaviors and somewhat less frequently to various types of leukemia and in later years early onset Alzheimer’s.  The good news is that DS  children with acute myeloid leukemia (AML), and in particular the acute megakaryocytic leukemia (AMkL) subtype, have exceptionally high cure rates.

The particular gene that is over-expressed in DS and can cause leukemia is called HMGN1.

DS is increasingly rare in Europe, but quite common in the US due to differences in parental choice regarding the termination of pregnancies identified as high risk of Down Syndrome.

I think it only fair to consider leukemia as a possible comorbidity of autism, since may people with DS do indeed exhibit autistic behaviors.

There is no quality data to say how common leukemia is in non-DS autism.
 

Leukemia and Cytokines IL-6 and IL-10

I do consider the pro-inflammatory cytokine IL-6 to be public enemy number one of autism, while the anti-inflammatory cytokine is a potential friend.

There are different types of Leukemia, but it appears that IL-6 and IL-10 play a key role and at least in acute myeloid leukemia can predict the outcome.  Generally speaking leukemia is associated with elevated IL-6 and in particular when there is a relapse.

Acute myeloid leukemia (AML) blast cells frequently produce interleukin-6 (IL-6) 



Cytokine profiles in acute myeloid leukemia patients at diagnosis: survival is inversely correlated with IL-6 and directly correlated with IL-10 levels

An aberrant production of the pro-inflammatory cytokines IL-6 and TNF-α and the anti-inflammatory cytokine IL-10 is observed in AML patients. Low levels of IL-6 and high levels of IL-10 represent favorable prognostic factors for survival in AML patients. These results support the idea that cytokine deregulation may be useful as a marker for predicting clinical evolution in AML patients.

So we can infer that a leukemia relapse will likely lead to a worsening of autism driven by an elevation in the level of the pro-inflammatory cytokine IL-6.  This would account for why the autism drugs “stopped working” in the case of our reader.

We could then ponder that a therapy that reduces IL-6 and increases IL-10 might help keep some types of leukemia in remission.

This is altering the Th1/Th2 balance which was the target of our reader Alli from Switzerland who did decide to spend many hours reading the oncology research to understand all those cellular signaling pathways.

For those interested in why DS increases the risk of leukemia, scientists at the Dana-Farber Institute in Boston have figured this out, at least in the case of one common form of Leukemia.





If only some more of the clever people studied autism.






Wednesday 15 June 2016

Treating KCC2 Down-Regulation in Autism, Rett/Down Syndromes, Epilepsy and Neuronal Trauma ?



In this composite image, a human nerve cell derived from a patient with Rett syndrome shows significantly decreased levels of KCC2 compared to a control cell.  This will be equally true of about 50% people with classic autism, people with Down syndrome, many with TBI and many with epilepsy


In a recent post I highlighted an idea from the epilepsy research to treat a common phenomenon also found in much classic autism.  Neurons are in an immature state with too much intracellular chloride, the transporter that brings it in, called NKCC1, is over-expressed and the one that takes it out, KCC2, is under-expressed.  The net result is high levels of intracellular chloride and this leaves the brain in an over-excited state (GABA working in reverse) reducing cognitive function and with a reduced threshold to seizures.

The epilepsy research noted that increased BDNF is one factor that down regulates KCC2, which would have taken chloride out of the cells.  So it was suggested to block BDNF, or something closely related called trkB.

Unfortunately there is no easy way to this.  But I did some more digging and found various other ways to upregulate KCC2.

There is indeed a clever safe way that may achieve this and it is a therapy that I have already suggested for other reasons, intranasal insulin.

BDNF is a neurotrophin and other neurothrophins also have the ability to regulate KCC2. IGF-1 is another such neurotrophin and we even have very recent experimental data showing its effect on KCC2.

Regular readers will know that several trials with IGF-1, or analogs thereof, are underway.

I actually am rather biased against IGF-1 as a therapy, since in my son’s case the level of IGF-1 in blood is already high.  So I do not want to inject him with IGF-1 or even give him an oral analog.

However by using intranasal insulin the effect would be just within the CNS and insulin binds at the same receptors as IGF-1. So if IGF-1 upregulates KCC2 so will insulin.

We know from extensive existing trial data and direct feedback from one researcher that intranasal insulin is well tolerated and has no effect outside the CNS.

So rather to my surprise there seems to be a safe, cheap way to treat KCC2 down-regulation and this would also be applicable in epilepsy, traumatic brain injury (TBI) and any other condition involving immature neurons or neuronal trauma. 


The Science

There is a very thorough recent review paper that looks at all the ways that KCC2 expression is regulated.




The epilepsy researchers consider trkB, top left in the figure below.  But just next to it is IGFR which can be activated by both insulin and IGF-1.

In Rett syndrome they are already using IGF-1 to modulate KCC2.  The research is done at Penn State.

As you can see in the figure the mechanism for IGF-1 and insulin is not the same as BNDF/trkb, but Penn State have already shown that IGF-1 works in vitro.

We saw in early posts regarding intranasal insulin that this was a safe way to deliver insulin to the brain without effects in the rest of the body.

So we know it is safe and in theory it should achieve the same thing that the Penn State researchers are trying to achieve.








Signaling pathways controlling KCC2 function. The regulation of KCC2 activity is mediated by many proteins including kinases and phosphatases. It affects either the steady state protein expression at the plasma membrane or the KCC2 protein recycling. All the different pathways are explained and discussed in the main text. The schematic drawings of KCC2 as well as other membrane molecules do not reflect their oligomeric structure. GRFα2, GDNF family receptor α2; BDNF, Brain-derived neurotrophic factor; TrKB, Tropomyosin receptor kinase B; Insulin, Insulin-like growth factor 1 (IGF-1); IGFR, Insulin-like growth factor 1 receptor; mGluR1, Group I metabotropic glutamate receptor; 5-HT-2A, 5-hydroxytryptamine (5-HT) type 2A receptor; mAChR, Muscarinic acetylcholine receptor; NMDAR, N-methyl-D-aspartate receptor; mZnR, Metabotropic zinc-sensing receptor (mZnR); GPR39, G-protein-coupled receptor (GPR39); ERK-1,2, Extracellular signal-regulated kinases 1, 2; PKC, Protein kinase C; Src-TK, cytosolic Scr tyrosine kinase; WNKs1–4, with-no-lysine [K] kinase 1–4; SPAK, Ste20p-related proline/alanine-rich kinase; OSR1, oxidative stress-responsive kinase -1; Tph, Tyrosine phosphatase; PP1, protein phosphatase 1; Egr4, Early growth response transcription factor 4; USF 1/2, Upstream stimulating factor 1, 2.




The Penn State research on using IGF-1 to increase KCC2 in Rett Syndrome



The researchers also showed that treating diseased nerve cells with insulin-like growth factor 1 (IGF1) elevated the level of KCC2 and corrected the function of the GABA neurotransmitter. IGF1 is a molecule that has been shown to alleviate symptoms in a mouse model of Rett Syndrome and is the subject of an ongoing phase-2 clinical trial for the treatment of the disease in humans.
"The finding that IGF1 can rescue the impaired KCC2 level in Rett neurons is important not only because it provides an explanation for the action of IGF1," said Xin Tang, a graduate student in Chen's Lab and the first-listed author of the paper, "but also because it opens the possibility of finding more small molecules that can act on KCC2 to treat Rett syndrome and other autism spectrum disorders."





More Melatonin?

As Agnieszka pointed out in the previous post it appears that extremely high doses of melatonin can increase KCC2 in traumatic brain injury (TBI). In this example BDNF was increased by the therapy, so I think TBI may be a specific case.  In most autism BDNF starts out elevated and in epilepsy, seizures are known to increase BDNF and that process is seen as down regulating KCC2 expression.  So in much autism and epilepsy you want less BDNF.

Melatonin attenuates neuronal apoptosis through up-regulation of K+ -Cl- cotransporter KCC2 expression following traumatic brain injury in rats



Compared with the vehicle group, melatonin treatment altered the down-regulation of KCC2 expression in both mRNA and protein levels after TBI. Also, melatonin treatment increased the protein levels of brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) and phosphorylated extracellular signal-regulated kinase (p-ERK). Simultaneously, melatonin administration ameliorated cortical neuronal apoptosis, reduced brain edema, and attenuated neurological deficits after TBI. In conclusion, our findings suggested that melatonin restores KCC2 expression, inhibits neuronal apoptosis and attenuates secondary brain injury after TBI, partially through activation of BDNF/ERK pathway.



More Science

There is plenty more science on this subject.

It is suggested that in addition to IGF-1/insulin it may be necessary to involve Protein tyrosine kinase (PTK).




Protein tyrosine kinase (PTK) phosphorylation is considered a key biochemical event in numerous cellular processes, including proliferation, growth, and differentiation, and has also been implicated in synaptogenesis. Protein tyrosine kinases are subdivided into the cytosolic nonreceptor family and the transmembrane growth factor receptor family, which includes receptors for insulin and insulin-like growth factor (IGF-1). The maturation of postsynaptic inhibition may require both a cytoplasmic PTK, which increases GABAA receptor-mediated currents, and insulin, which was shown to induce a rapid translocation of GABAA receptors from intracellular compartments to the plasma membrane. KCC2 is also known to have a C-terminal PTK consensus site. Therefore, the maturation of postsynaptic inhibition may, in addition to other mechanisms, also involve the effects of PTK and insulin acting on KCC2.








Conclusion

I would infer from all this science that intranasal insulin is likely to increase KCC2 expression in the brain, certainly worthy of investigation.

Protein tyrosine kinase (PTK) phosphorylation is considered a key biochemical event in numerous cellular processes.  This might be a limiting factor on the effectiveness of insulin in raising KCC2.  This would then add yet more complexity.

Protein kinases are enzymes that add a phosphate(PO4) group to a protein, and can modulate its function.  A protein kinase inhibitor is a type of enzyme inhibitor that blocks the action of one or more protein kinases.

Abnormal protein tyrosine kinases (PTKs) cause many human leukaemias, so there is research into PTK inhibitors (PTK-Is).

As we know from Abha Chauhan’s mammoth book, oxidative stress controls the activities of PTK.