Abstract
The role of metallothioneins (MTs) in cognitive decline associated with intracellular Zn2+ dysregulation remains unclear. Here, we report that hippocampal MT induction defends cognitive decline, which was induced by amyloid β1–42 (Aβ1–42)-mediated excess Zn2+ and functional Zn2+ deficiency. Excess increase in intracellular Zn2+, which was induced by local injection of Aβ1–42 into the dentate granule cell layer, attenuated in vivo perforant pathway LTP, while the attenuation was rescued by preinjection of MT inducers into the same region. Intraperitoneal injection of dexamethasone, which increased hippocampal MT proteins and blocked Aβ1–42-mediated Zn2+ uptake, but not Aβ1–42 uptake, into dentate granule cells, also rescued Aβ1–42-induced impairment of memory via attenuated LTP. The present study indicates that hippocampal MT induction blocks rapid excess increase in intracellular Zn2+ in dentate granule cells, which originates in Zn2+ released from Aβ1–42, followed by rescuing Aβ1–42-induced cognitive decline. Furthermore, LTP was vulnerable to Aβ1–42 in the aged dentate gyrus, consistent with enhanced Aβ1–42-mediated Zn2+ uptake into aged dentate granule cells, suggesting that Aβ1–42-induced cognitive decline, which is caused by excess intracellular Zn2+, can more frequently occur along with aging. On the other hand, attenuated LTP under functional Zn2+ deficiency in dentate granule cells was also rescued by MT induction. Hippocampal MT induction may rescue cognitive decline under lack of cellular transient changes in functional Zn2+ concentration, while its induction is an attractive defense strategy against Aβ1–42-induced cognitive decline.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Frederickson CJ (1989) Neurobiology of zinc and zinc-containing neurons. Int Rev Neurobiol 31:145–238. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0074-7742(08)60279-2
Takeda A, Tamano H (2016) Significance of the degree of synaptic Zn2+ signaling in cognition. Biometals 29(2):177–185. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10534-015-9907-z
Burdette SC, Lippard SJ (2003) Meeting of the minds: metalloneurochemistry. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 100(7):3605–3610. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.0637711100
Takeda A, Tamano H (2016) Insight into cognitive decline from Zn2+ dynamics through extracellular signaling of glutamate and glucocorticoids. Arch Biochem Biophys 611:93–99. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.abb.2016.06.021
Kägi JHR, Kojima Y (1987) Chemistry and biochemistry of metallothionein. Experientia Suppl 52:25–80. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-0348-6784-9_3
Palmiter RD, Findley SD, Whitmore TE, Durnam DM (1992) MT-III, a brain-specific member of the metallothionein gene family. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 89(14):6333–6337. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.89.14.6333
Tsuji S, Kobayashi H, Uchida Y, Ihara Y, Miyatake T (1992) Molecular cloning of human growth inhibitory factor cDNA and its downregulation in Alzheimer’s disease. EMBO J 11(13):4843–4850
Quaife CJ, Findley SD, Erickson JC, Froelick GJ, Kelly EJ, Zambrowicz BP, Palmiter RD (1994) Induction of a new metallothionein isoform (MT-IV) occurs during differentiation of stratified squamous epithelia. Biochemistry 33(23):7250–7259. https://doi.org/10.1021/bi00189a029
Masters BA, Quaife CJ, Erickson JC, Kelly EJ, Froelick GJ, Zambrowicz BP, Brinster RL, Palmiter RD (1994) Metallothionein-III is expressed in neurons that sequester zinc in synaptic vesicles. J Neurosci 14(10):5844–5857
Maret W (2014) Molecular aspects of zinc signals. In: Fukuda T, Kambe T (eds) Zinc signals in cellular functions and disorders. Springer, Tokyo, pp. 7–26
Tamano H, Koike Y, Nakada H, Shakushi Y, Takeda A (2016) Significance of synaptic Zn2+ signaling in zincergic and non-zincergic synapses in the hippocampus in cognition. J Trace Elem Med Biol 38:93–98. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jtemb.2016.03.003
Hardyman JE, Tyson J, Jackson KA, Aldridge C, Cockell SJ, Wakeling LA, Valentine RA, Ford D (2016) Zinc sensing by metal-responsive transcription factor 1 (MTF1) controls metallothionein and ZnT1 expression to buffer the sensitivity of the transcriptome response to zinc. Metallomics 8(3):337–343. https://doi.org/10.1039/C5MT00305A
Erickson JC, Hollopeter G, Thomas SA, Froelick GJ, Palmiter RD (1997) Disruption of the metallothionein-III gene in mice: analysis of brain zinc, behavior, and neuron vulnerability to metals, aging, and seizures. J Neurosci 17(4):1271–1281
McAuliffe JJ, Joseph B, Hughes E, Miles L, Vorhees CV (2008) Metallothionein I,II deficient mice do not exhibit significantly worse long-term behavioral outcomes following neonatal hypoxia-ischemia: MT-I,II deficient mice have inherent behavioral impairments. Brain Res 1190:175–185. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.brainres.2007.11.038
Takeda A, Tamano H (2017) Significance of low nanomolar concentration of Zn2+ in artificial cerebrospinal fluid. Mol Neurobiol 54(4):2477–2482. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12035-016-9816-3
Tamano H, Nishio R, Shakushi Y, Sasaki M, Koike Y, Osawa M, Takeda A (2017) In vitro and in vivo physiology of low nanomolar concentrations of Zn2+ in artificial cerebrospinal fluid. Sci Rep 7:42897. https://doi.org/10.1038/srep42897
Takeda A, Tamano H, Hisatsune M, Murakami T, Nakada H, Fujii H (2017) Maintained LTP and memory are lost by Zn2+ influx into dentate granule cells, but not Ca2+ influx. Mol Neurobiol. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12035-017-0428-3
Takeda A, Koike Y, Osawa M, Tamano H (2017) Characteristic of extracellular Zn2+ influx in the middle-aged dentate gyrus and its involvement in attenuation of LTP. Mol Neurobiol. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12035-017-0472-z
Suzuki M, Fujise Y, Tsuchiya Y, Tamano H, Takeda A (2015) Excess influx of Zn2+ into dentate granule cells affects object recognition memory via attenuated LTP. Neurochem Int 87:60–65. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neuint.2015.05.006
Takeda A, Nakamura M, Fujii H, Uematsu C, Minamino T, Adlard PA, Bush AI, Tamano H (2014) Amyloid β-mediated Zn2+ influx into dentate granule cells transiently induces a short-term cognitive deficit. PLoS One 9(12):e115923. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0115923
Takeda A, Tamano H, Tempaku M, Sasaki M, Uematsu C, Sato S, Kanazawa H, Datki ZL et al (2017) Extracellular Zn2+ is essential for amyloid β1-42-induced cognitive decline in the normal brain and its rescue. J Neurosci 37(30):7253–7262. https://doi.org/10.1523/JNEUROSCI.0954-17.2017
Vasák M, Kägi JH (1983) Spectroscopic properties of metallothionein. In: Sigel H (ed) Metal Ions in Biological Systems, vol 15. Marcel Dekker, New York, pp. 213–273
Hirano T, Kikuchi K, Urano Y, Nagano T (2002) Improvement and biological applications of fluorescent probes for zinc, ZnAFs. J Am Chem Soc 124(23):6555–6562. https://doi.org/10.1021/ja025567p
Ueno S, Tsukamoto M, Hirano T, Kikuchi K, Yamada MK, Nishiyama N, Nagano T, Matsuki N et al (2002) Mossy fiber Zn2+ spillover modulates heterosynaptic N-methyl-D-aspartate receptor activity in hippocampal CA3 circuits. J Cell Biol 158(2):215–220. https://doi.org/10.1083/jcb.200204066
Takeda A, Tamano H, Ogawa T, Takada S, Nakamura M, Fujii H, Ando M (2014) Intracellular Zn2+ signaling in the dentate gyrus is required for object recognition memory. Hippocampus 24(11):1404–1412. https://doi.org/10.1002/hipo.22322
Aschner M, Cherian MG, Klaassen CD, Palmiter RD, Erickson JC, Bush AI (1997) Metallothioneins in brain—the role in physiology and pathology. Toxicol Appl Pharmacol 142(2):229–242. https://doi.org/10.1006/taap.1996.8054
Yanagitani S, Miyazaki H, Nakahashi Y, Kuno K, Ueno Y, Matsushita M, Naitoh Y, Taketani S et al (1999) Ischemia induces metallothionein III expression in neurons of rat brain. Life Sci 64(8):707–715. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0024-3205(98)00612-2
Penkowa M, Giralt M, Camats J, Hidalgo J (2002) Metallothionein 1+2 protect the CNS during neuroglial degeneration induced by 6-aminonicotinamide. J Comp Neurol 444(2):174–189. https://doi.org/10.1002/cne.10149
Helal GK, Aleisa AM, Helal OK, Al-Rejaie SS, Al-Yahya AA, Al-Majed AA, Al-Shabanah OA (2009) Metallothionein induction reduces caspase-3 activity and TNFalpha levels with preservation of cognitive function and intact hippocampal neurons in carmustine-treated rats. Oxidative Med Cell Longev 2(1):26–35. https://doi.org/10.4161/oxim.2.1.7901
Sensi SL, Canzoniero LM, Yu SP, Ying HS, Koh JY, Kerchner GA, Choi DW (1997) Measurement of intracellular free zinc in living cortical neurons: routes of entry. J Neurosci 17(24):9554–9564
Colvin RA, Bush AI, Volitakis I, Fontaine CP, Thomas D, Kikuchi K, Holmes WR (2008) Insights into Zn2+ homeostasis in neurons from experimental and modeling studies. Am J Physiol Cell Physiol 294(3):C726–C742. https://doi.org/10.1152/ajpcell.00541.2007
Frederickson CJ, Koh JY, Bush AI (2005) The neurobiology of zinc in health and disease. Nat Rev Neurosci 6(6):449–462. https://doi.org/10.1038/nrn1671
Krężel A, Maret W (2006) Zinc buffering capacity of a eukaryotic cell at physiological pZn. J Biol Inorg Chem 11(8):1049–1062. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00775-006-0150-5
Krężel A, Hao Q, Maret W (2007) The zinc/thiolate redox biochemistry of metallothionein and the control of zinc ion fluctuations in cell signaling. Arch Biochem Biophys 463(2):188–200. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.abb.2007.02.017
Frederickson CJ, Giblin LJ, Krezel A, McAdoo DJ, Muelle RN, Zeng Y, Balaji RV, Masalha R et al (2006) Concentrations of extracellular free zinc (pZn)e in the central nervous system during simple anesthetization, ischemia and reperfusion. Exp Neurol 198(2):285–293. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.expneurol.2005.08.030
Krężel A, Maret W (2017) The functions of metamorphic metallothioneins in zinc and copper metabolism. Int J Mol Sci 18. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms18061237
Krężel A, Maret W (2007) Dual nanomolar and picomolar Zn(II) binding properties of metallothionein. J Am Chem Soc 129(35):10911–10921. https://doi.org/10.1021/ja071979s
Meloni G, Sonois V, Delaine T, Guilloreau L, Gillet A, Teissié J, Faller P, Vasák M (2008) Metal swap between Zn7-metallothionein-3 and amyloid-beta-cu protects against amyloid-beta toxicity. Nat Chem Biol 4(6):366–372. https://doi.org/10.1038/nchembio.89
Kim JH, Nam YP, Jeon SM, Han HS, Suk K (2012) Amyloid neurotoxicity is attenuated by metallothionein: dual mechanisms at work. J Neurochem 121(5):751–762. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1471-4159.2012.07725.x
Takeda A, Tamano H, Murakami T, Nakada H, Minamino T, Koike Y (2017) Weakened intracellular Zn2+-buffering in the aged dentate gyrus and its involvement in erasure of maintained LTP. Mol Neurobiol. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12035-017-0615-2
Cirrito JR, Yamada KA, Finn MB, Sloviter RS, Bales KR, May PC, Schoepp DD, Paul SM et al (2005) Synaptic activity regulates interstitial fluid amyloid-beta levels in vivo. Neuron 48(6):913–922. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neuron.2005.10.028
Kim SH, Fraser PE, Westaway D, St George-Hyslop PH, Ehrlich ME, Gandy S (2010) Group II metabotropic glutamate receptor stimulation triggers production and release of Alzheimer’s amyloid(beta)42 from isolated intact nerve terminals. J Neurosci 30(11):3870–3875. https://doi.org/10.1523/JNEUROSCI.4717-09.2010
Ha C, Ryu J (2007) Park CB (2007) metal ions differentially influence the aggregation and deposition of Alzheimer’s beta-amyloid on a solid template. Biochemistry 46(20):6118–6125. https://doi.org/10.1021/bi7000032
Wang T, Wang CY, Shan ZY, Teng WP, Wang ZY (2012) Clioquinol reduces zinc accumulation in neuritic plaques and inhibits the amyloidogenic pathway in AβPP/PS1 transgenic mouse brain. J Alzheimers Dis 29(3):549–559. https://doi.org/10.3233/JAD-2011-111874
Matlack KE, Tardiff DF, Narayan P, Hamamichi S, Caldwell KA, Caldwell GA, Lindquist S (2014) Clioquinol promotes the degradation of metal-dependent amyloid-β (Aβ) oligomers to restore endocytosis and ameliorate Aβ toxicity. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 111(11):4013–4018. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1402228111
Lannfelt L, Blennow K, Zetterberg H, Batsman S, Ames D, Harrison J, Masters CL, Targum S et al (2008) Safety, efficacy, and biomarker findings of PBT2 in targeting Abeta as a modifying therapy for Alzheimer’s disease: a phase IIa, double-blind, randomised, placebocontrolled trial. Lancet Neurol 7(9):779–786. https://doi.org/10.1016/S1474-4422(08)70167-4
Faux NG, Ritchie CW, Gunn A, Rembach A, Tsatsanis A, Bedo J, Harrison J, Lannfelt L et al (2010) PBT2 rapidly improves cognition in Alzheimer’s disease: additional phase II analyses. J Alzheimers Dis 20(2):509–516. https://doi.org/10.3233/JAD-2010-1390
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Ethics declarations
Conflict of Interest
The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Takeda, A., Tamano, H., Hashimoto, W. et al. Novel Defense by Metallothionein Induction Against Cognitive Decline: From Amyloid β1–42-Induced Excess Zn2+ to Functional Zn2+ Deficiency. Mol Neurobiol 55, 7775–7788 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12035-018-0948-5
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12035-018-0948-5