Downregulation of glob1 suppresses pathogenesis of human neuronal tauopathies in Drosophila by regulating tau phosphorylation and ROS generation

• Published in: Neurochemistry international 2021-06, Vol.146, p.105040, Article 105040
• Main Authors: Nisha, Sarkar, Surajit
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Animals; Animals, Genetically Modified; Down-Regulation - physiology; Drosophila; glob1; Globins - deficiency; Globins - genetics; Humans; Neurodegeneration; Neurons - metabolism; Neurons - pathology; Phosphorylation - physiology; Reactive Oxygen Species - metabolism; ROS; tau Proteins - genetics; tau Proteins - metabolism; Tauopathies; Tauopathies - genetics; Tauopathies - metabolism; Tauopathies - pathology
• ISSN: 0197-0186; 1872-9754
• DOI: 10.1016/j.neuint.2021.105040

Human tauopathies represent a group of neurodegenerative disorders, characterized by abnormal hyperphosphorylation and aggregation of tau protein, which ultimately cause neurodegeneration. The aberrant tau hyperphosphorylation is mostly attributed to the kinases/phosphatases imbalance, which is majorly contributed by the generation of reactive oxygen species (ROS). Globin(s) represent a well-conserved group of proteins which are involved in O2 management, regulation of cellular ROS in different cell types. Similarly, Drosophila globin1 (a homologue of human globin) with its known roles in oxygen management and development of nervous system exhibits striking similarities with the mammalian neuroglobin. Several recent evidences support the hypothesis that neuroglobins are associated with Alzheimer's disease pathogenesis. We herein noted that targeted expression of human-tau induces the cellular level of Glob1 protein in Drosophila tauopathy models. Subsequently, RNAi mediated restored level of Glob1 restricts the pathogenic effect of human-tau by minimizing its hyperphosphorylation via GSK-3β/p-Akt and p-JNK pathways. In addition, it also activates the Nrf2-keap1-ARE cascade to stabilize the tau-mediated increased level of ROS. These two parallel cellular events provide a significant rescue against human tau-mediated neurotoxicity in the fly models. For the first time we report a direct involvement of an oxygen sensing globin gene in tau etiology. In view of the fact that human genome encodes for the multiple Globin proteins including a nervous system specific neuroglobin; and therefore, our findings may pave the way to investigate if the conserved oxygen sensing globin gene(s) can be exploited in devising novel therapeutic strategies against tauopathies. [Display omitted] •Human tau (h-tau) driven neurotoxicity induces expression of Glob1 (a Drosophila homologue of human globin).•RNAi mediated restored level of glob1 mitigates h-tau mediated neurotoxicity.•Downregulation of glob1 prevents hyperphosphorylation of tau via GSK-3β/p-Akt and p-JNK pathways.•Downregulation of glob1activates Nrf2-keap1-ARE cascade to stabilize the level of ROS in h-tau expressing cells.•These two parallel events provide a significant rescue against h-tau mediated neurotoxicity in Drosophila.