Abstract
Fused in sarcoma (FUS)-immunoreactive neuronal and glial inclusions define a novel molecular pathology called FUS proteinopathy. FUS has been shown to be a component of inclusions of familial amyotrophic lateral sclerosis with FUS mutation and three frontotemporal lobar degeneration entities, including neuronal intermediate filament inclusion disease (NIFID). The pathogenic role of FUS is unknown. In addition to FUS, many neuronal cytoplasmic inclusions (NCI) of NIFID contain aggregates of α-internexin and neurofilament proteins. Herein, we have shown that: (1) FUS becomes relatively insoluble in NIFID and there are no apparent posttranslational modifications, (2) there are no pathogenic abnormalities in the FUS gene in NIFID, and (3) immunoelectron microscopy demonstrates the fine structural localization of FUS in NIFID which has not previously been described. FUS localized to euchromatin, and strongly with paraspeckles, in nuclei, consistent with its RNA/DNA-binding functions. NCI of varying morphologies were observed. Most frequent were the “loosely aggregated cytoplasmic inclusions,” 81% of which had moderate or high levels of FUS immunoreactivity. Much rarer “compact cytoplasmic inclusions” and “tangled twine ball inclusions” were FUS-immunoreactive at their granular peripheries, or heavily FUS-positive throughout, respectively. Thus, FUS may aggregate in the cytoplasm and then admix with neuronal intermediate filament accumulations.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Andersson MK, Stahlberg A, Arvidsson Y, Olofsson A, Semb H, Stenman G, Nilsson O, Aman P (2008) The multifunctional FUS, EWS and TAF15 proto-oncoproteins show cell type-specific expression patterns and involvement in cell spreading and stress response. BMC Cell Biol 9:37
Armstrong RA, Gearing M, Bigio EH, Cruz-Sanchez FF, Duyckaerts C, Mackenzie IR, Perry RH, Skullerud K, Yokoo H, Cairns NJ (2010) The spectrum and severity of FUS-immunoreactive inclusions in the frontal and temporal lobes of ten cases of neuronal intermediate filament inclusion disease. Acta Neuropathol 121:219–228
Baechtold H, Kuroda M, Sok J, Ron D, Lopez BS, Akhmedov AT (1999) Human 75-kDa DNA-pairing protein is identical to the pro-oncoprotein TLS/FUS and is able to promote D-loop formation. J Biol Chem 274:34337–34342
Benajiba L, Le Ber I, Camuzat A, Lacoste M, Thomas-Anterion C, Couratier P, Legallic S, Salachas F, Hannequin D, Decousus M, Lacomblez L, Guedj E, Golfier V, Camu W, Dubois B, Campion D, Meininger V, Brice A (2009) TARDBP mutations in motoneuron disease with frontotemporal lobar degeneration. Ann Neurol 65:470–473
Bertrand P, Akhmedov AT, Delacote F, Durrbach A, Lopez BS (1999) Human POMp75 is identified as the pro-oncoprotein TLS/FUS: both POMp75 and POMp100 DNA homologous pairing activities are associated to cell proliferation. Oncogene 18:4515–4521
Bigio EH, Lipton AM, White CL III, Dickson DW, Hirano A (2003) Frontotemporal and motor neurone degeneration with neurofilament inclusion bodies: additional evidence for overlap between FTD and ALS. Neuropathol Appl Neurobiol 29:239–253
Bond CS, Fox AH (2009) Paraspeckles: nuclear bodies built on long noncoding RNA. J Cell Biol 186:637–644
Buratti E, Baralle FE (2001) Characterization and functional implications of the RNA binding properties of nuclear factor TDP-43, a novel splicing regulator of CFTR exon 9. J Biol Chem 276:36337–36343
Buratti E, Dork T, Zuccato E, Pagani F, Romano M, Baralle FE (2001) Nuclear factor TDP-43 and SR proteins promote in vitro and in vivo CFTR exon 9 skipping. EMBO J 20:1774–1784
Cairns NJ, Perry RH, Jaros E, Burn D, McKeith IG, Lowe JS, Holton J, Rossor MN, Skullerud K, Duyckaerts C, Cruz-Sanchez FF, Lantos PL (2003) Patients with a novel neurofilamentopathy: dementia with neurofilament inclusions. Neurosci Lett 341:177–180
Cairns NJ, Grossman M, Arnold SE, Burn DJ, Jaros E, Perry RH, Duyckaerts C, Stankoff B, Pillon B, Skullerud K, Cruz-Sanchez FF, Bigio EH, Mackenzie IR, Gearing M, Juncos JL, Glass JD, Yokoo H, Nakazato Y, Mosaheb S, Thorpe JR, Uryu K, Lee VM, Trojanowski JQ (2004a) Clinical and neuropathologic variation in neuronal intermediate filament inclusion disease. Neurology 63:1376–1384
Cairns NJ, Uryu K, Bigio EH, Mackenzie IR, Gearing M, Duyckaerts C, Yokoo H, Nakazato Y, Jaros E, Perry RH, Arnold SE, Lee VM, Trojanowski JQ (2004b) α-Internexin aggregates are abundant in neuronal intermediate filament inclusion disease (NIFID) but rare in other neurodegenerative diseases. Acta Neuropathol (Berl) 108:213–223
Cairns NJ, Zhukareva V, Uryu K, Zhang B, Bigio E, Mackenzie IR, Gearing M, Duyckaerts C, Yokoo H, Nakazato Y, Jaros E, Perry RH, Lee VM, Trojanowski JQ (2004c) α-Internexin is present in the pathological inclusions of neuronal intermediate filament inclusion disease. Am J Pathol 164:2153–2161
Crozat A, Aman P, Mandahl N, Ron D (1993) Fusion of CHOP to a novel RNA-binding protein in human myxoid liposarcoma. Nature 363:640–644
Dequen F, Cairns NJ, Bigio EH, Julien JP (2009) Gigaxonin mutation analysis in patients with NIFID. doi:10.1016/j.neurobiolaging.2009.08.018
Doi H, Koyano S, Suzuki Y, Nukina N, Kuroiwa Y (2010) The RNA-binding protein FUS/TLS is a common aggregate-interacting protein in polyglutamine diseases. Neurosci Res 66:131–133
Forman MS, Trojanowski JQ, Lee VM (2004) Neurodegenerative diseases: a decade of discoveries paves the way for therapeutic breakthroughs. Nat Med 10:1055–1063
Fox AH, Lam YW, Leung AK, Lyon CE, Andersen J, Mann M, Lamond AI (2002) Paraspeckles: a novel nuclear domain. Curr Biol 12:13–25
Gitcho MA, Baloh RH, Chakraverty S, Mayo K, Norton JB, Levitch D, Hatanpaa KJ, White CL III, Bigio EH, Caselli R, Baker M, Al Lozi MT, Morris JC, Pestronk A, Rademakers R, Goate AM, Cairns NJ (2008) TDP-43 A315T mutation in familial motor neuron disease. Ann Neurol 63:535–538
Gitcho MA, Bigio EH, Mishra M, Johnson N, Weintraub S, Mesulam M, Rademakers R, Chakraverty S, Cruchaga C, Morris JC, Goate AM, Cairns NJ (2009a) TARDBP 3′-UTR variant in autopsy-confirmed frontotemporal lobar degeneration with TDP-43 proteinopathy. Acta Neuropathol 118:633–645
Gitcho MA, Strider J, Carter D, Taylor-Reinwald L, Forman MS, Goate AM, Cairns NJ (2009b) VCP mutations causing frontotemporal lobar degeneration disrupt localization of TDP-43 and induce cell death. J Biol Chem 284:12384–12398
Josephs KA, Holton JL, Rossor MN, Braendgaard H, Ozawa T, Fox NC, Petersen RC, Pearl GS, Ganguly M, Rosa P, Laursen H, Parisi JE, Waldemar G, Quinn NP, Dickson DW, Revesz T (2003) Neurofilament inclusion body disease: a new proteinopathy? Brain 126:2291–2303
Josephs KA, Uchikado H, McComb RD, Bashir R, Wszolek Z, Swanson J, Matsumoto J, Shaw G, Dickson DW (2005) Extending the clinicopathological spectrum of neurofilament inclusion disease. Acta Neuropathol 109:427–432
Kabashi E, Valdmanis PN, Dion P, Spiegelman D, McConkey BJ, Vande VC, Bouchard JP, Lacomblez L, Pochigaeva K, Salachas F, Pradat PF, Camu W, Meininger V, Dupre N, Rouleau GA (2008) TARDBP mutations in individuals with sporadic and familial amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. Nat Genet 40:572–574
Kwiatkowski TJ Jr, Bosco DA, Leclerc AL, Tamrazian E, Vanderburg CR, Russ C, Davis A, Gilchrist J, Kasarskis EJ, Munsat T, Valdmanis P, Rouleau GA, Hosler BA, Cortelli P, de Jong PJ, Yoshinaga Y, Haines JL, Pericak-Vance MA, Yan J, Ticozzi N, Siddique T, McKenna-Yasek D, Sapp PC, Horvitz HR, Landers JE, Brown RH Jr (2009) Mutations in the FUS/TLS gene on chromosome 16 cause familial amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. Science 323:1205–1208
Lagier-Tourenne C, Cleveland DW (2009) Rethinking ALS: the FUS about TDP-43. Cell 136:1001–1004
Mackenzie IR, Feldman H (2004) Neurofilament inclusion body disease with early onset frontotemporal dementia and primary lateral sclerosis. Clin Neuropathol 23:183–193
Mackenzie IR, Neumann M, Bigio EH, Cairns NJ, Alafuzoff I, Kril J, Kovacs GG, Ghetti B, Halliday G, Holm IE, Ince PG, Kamphorst W, Revesz T, Rozemuller AJ, Kumar-Singh S, Akiyama H, Baborie A, Spina S, Dickson DW, Trojanowski JQ, Mann DM (2010) Nomenclature and nosology for neuropathologic subtypes of frontotemporal lobar degeneration: an update. Acta Neuropathol 119:1–4
Molina-Porcel L, Llado A, Rey MJ, Molinuevo JL, Martinez-Lage M, Esteve FX, Ferrer I, Tolosa E, Blesa R (2008) Clinical and pathological heterogeneity of neuronal intermediate filament inclusion disease. Arch Neurol 65:272–275
Momeni P, Cairns NJ, Perry RH, Bigio EH, Gearing M, Singleton AB, Hardy J (2006) Mutation analysis of patients with neuronal intermediate filament inclusion disease (NIFID). Neurobiol Aging 27:778–778
Mosaheb S, Thorpe JR, Hashemzadeh-Bonehi L, Bigio EH, Gearing M, Cairns NJ (2005) Neuronal intranuclear inclusions are ultrastructurally and immunologically distinct from cytoplasmic inclusions of neuronal intermediate filament inclusion disease. Acta Neuropathol (Berl) 110:360–368
Munoz DG, Neumann M, Kusaka H, Yokota O, Ishihara K, Terada S, Kuroda S, Mackenzie IR (2009) FUS pathology in basophilic inclusion body disease. Acta Neuropathol 118:629–631
Neumann M, Sampathu DM, Kwong LK, Truax AC, Micsenyi MC, Chou TT, Bruce J, Schuck T, Grossman M, Clark CM, McCluskey LF, Miller BL, Masliah E, Mackenzie IR, Feldman H, Feiden W, Kretzschmar HA, Trojanowski JQ, Lee VM (2006) Ubiquitinated TDP-43 in frontotemporal lobar degeneration and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. Science 314:130–133
Neumann M, Rademakers R, Roeber S, Baker M, Kretzschmar HA, Mackenzie IR (2009a) A new subtype of frontotemporal lobar degeneration with FUS pathology. Brain 132:2922–2931
Neumann M, Roeber S, Kretzschmar HA, Rademakers R, Baker M, Mackenzie IRA (2009b) Abundant FUS-immunoreactive pathology in neuronal intermediate filament inclusion disease. Acta Neuropathol 118:605–616
Perrotti D, Bonatti S, Trotta R, Martinez R, Skorski T, Salomoni P, Grassilli E, Lozzo RV, Cooper DR, Calabretta B (1998) TLS/FUS, a pro-oncogene involved in multiple chromosomal translocations, is a novel regulator of BCR/ABL-mediated leukemogenesis. EMBO J 17:4442–4455
Sreedharan J, Blair IP, Tripathi VB, Hu X, Vance C, Rogelj B, Ackerley S, Durnall JC, Williams KL, Buratti E, Baralle F, de Belleroche J, Mitchell JD, Leigh PN, Al Chalabi A, Miller CC, Nicholson G, Shaw CE (2008) TDP-43 mutations in familial and sporadic amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. Science 319:1668–1672
Thorpe JR (1999) The application of LR gold resin for immunogold labeling. Methods Mol Biol 117:99–110
Thorpe JR, Rulten SL, Kay JE (1999) The binding of a putative and a known chaperone protein revealed by immunogold labelling transmission electron microscopy: a suggested use of chaperones as probes for the distribution of their target proteins. J Histochem Cytochem 47:1633–1640
Thorpe JR, Mosaheb S, Hashemzadeh-Bonehi L, Cairns NJ, Kay JE, Morley SJ, Rulten SL (2004) Shortfalls in the peptidyl-prolyl cis-trans isomerase protein Pin1 in neurons are associated with frontotemporal dementias. Neurobiol Dis 17:237–249
Thorpe JR, Tang H, Atherton J, Cairns NJ (2008) Fine structural analysis of the neuronal inclusions of frontotemporal lobar degeneration with TDP-43 proteinopathy. J Neural Transm 115:1661–1671
Uchikado H, Li A, Lin WL, Dickson DW (2006) Heterogeneous inclusions in neurofilament inclusion disease. Neuropathology 26:417–421
Van Deerlin VM, Leverenz JB, Bekris LM, Bird TD, Yuan W, Elman LB, Clay D, Wood EM, Chen-Plotkin AS, Martinez-Lage M, Steinbart E, McCluskey L, Grossman M, Neumann M, Wu IL, Yang WS, Kalb R, Galasko DR, Montine TJ, Trojanowski JQ, Lee VM, Schellenberg GD, Yu CE (2008) TARDBP mutations in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis with TDP-43 neuropathology: a genetic and histopathological analysis. Lancet Neurol 7:409–416
Van Langenhove T, van der Zee J, Sleegers K, Engelborghs S, Vandenberghe R, Gijselinck I, Van den Broeck M, Mattheijssens M, Peeters K, De Deyn PP, Cruts M, Van Broeckhoven C (2010) Genetic contribution of FUS to frontotemporal lobar degeneration. Neurology 74:366–371
Vance C, Rogelj B, Hortobagyi T, De Vos KJ, Nishimura AL, Sreedharan J, Hu X, Smith B, Ruddy D, Wright P, Ganesalingam J, Williams KL, Tripathi V, Al Saraj S, Al Chalabi A, Leigh PN, Blair IP, Nicholson G, de Belleroche J, Gallo JM, Miller CC, Shaw CE (2009) Mutations in FUS, an RNA processing protein, cause familial amyotrophic lateral sclerosis type 6. Science 323:1208–1211
Wang X, Arai S, Song X, Reichart D, Du K, Pascual G, Tempst P, Rosenfeld MG, Glass CK, Kurokawa R (2008) Induced ncRNAs allosterically modify RNA-binding proteins in cis to inhibit transcription. Nature 454:126–130
Winklhofer KF, Tatzelt J, Haass C (2008) The two faces of protein misfolding: gain- and loss-of-function in neurodegenerative diseases. EMBO J 27:336–349
Woulfe J, Gray DA, Mackenzie IR (2010) FUS-immunoreactive intranuclear inclusions in neurodegenerative disease. Brain Pathol 20:589–597
Xie SQ, Martin S, Guillot PV, Bentley DL, Pombo A (2006) Splicing speckles are not reservoirs of RNA polymerase II, but contain an inactive form, phosphorylated on serine2 residues of the C-terminal domain. Mol Biol Cell 17:1723–1733
Yang L, Embree LJ, Tsai S, Hickstein DD (1998) Oncoprotein TLS interacts with serine-arginine proteins involved in RNA splicing. J Biol Chem 273:27761–27764
Zhang Z, Carmichael GG (2001) The fate of dsRNA in the nucleus: a p54(nrb)-containing complex mediates the nuclear retention of promiscuously A-to-I edited RNAs. Cell 106:465–475
Zinszner H, Sok J, Immanuel D, Yin Y, Ron D (1997) TLS (FUS) binds RNA in vivo and engages in nucleo-cytoplasmic shuttling. J Cell Sci 110(Pt 15):1741–1750
Zolotukhin AS, Michalowski D, Bear J, Smulevitch SV, Traish AM, Peng R, Patton J, Shatsky IN, Felber BK (2003) PSF acts through the human immunodeficiency virus type 1 mRNA instability elements to regulate virus expression. Mol Cell Biol 23:6618–6630
Acknowledgments
A preliminary report of these data was presented at the 7th International Conference on Frontotemporal Dementias 2010, Indianapolis, IN, USA. We thank the families of patients whose generosity made this research possible. We acknowledge the staff of the Charles F. and Joanne Knight Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center Neuropathology Laboratory and the Departments of Neurology and Pathology and Immunology, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, Missouri, USA, for the technical assistance. Support for this work was provided by a grant from the Jean Shanks Foundation to TP and grants from the Wellcome Trust, UK, (GR066166AIA) to JRT and NJC, and the National Institute on Aging of the National Institutes of Health (P50 AG05681 and P01 AG03991) and the Friedman Award to NJC.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Additional information
Tristan Page and Michael A. Gitcho contributed equally to this work.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Page, T., Gitcho, M.A., Mosaheb, S. et al. FUS Immunogold Labeling TEM Analysis of the Neuronal Cytoplasmic Inclusions of Neuronal Intermediate Filament Inclusion Disease: A Frontotemporal Lobar Degeneration with FUS Proteinopathy. J Mol Neurosci 45, 409–421 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12031-011-9549-8
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12031-011-9549-8