Name: treating sca1 mice with water-soluble compounds to non-specifically boost mitochondrial function
Uploaded: 2017-01-22T13:00:00
Description: Watch this Scientific Journal Video about Treating SCA1 Mice with Water-Soluble Compounds to Non-Specifically Boost Mitochondrial Function at JoVE.com

We would like to thank Dr. Harry Orr at the University of Minnesota for his generous gift of transgenic mice. We would also like to thank the following Skidmore College alum for their work performing the preceding experiments: Monica Villegas, Porter Hall, Mitchell Spring, Nicholas Toker, Jenny Zhang, Chloe Larson and Cheyanne Slocum. Furthermore, we would like to thank Skidmore College for funding the development of these methods.

This protocol follows the IACUC guidelines at Skidmore College for working with mice.
1. Treatment with Water-soluble Compounds
<ol>
	<li>Dissolve succinic acid to a concentration of 0.75 mg/mL in cage drinking water. Note that any water-soluble compound of interest at the desired concentration could be substituted at this stage. Stir solution to make sure that the compound is fully dissolved.</li>
	<li>After mice reach the desired age of treatment, replace the home cage drinking water of the treatment condition...

<ol>
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H. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=Assessment+of+motor+balance+and+coordination+in+mice+using+the+balance+beam.">Assessment of motor balance and coordination in mice using the balance beam.</a> J Vis Exp. (49), (2011).</li><li>Servadio, A., Koshy, B., Armstrong, D., Antalffy, B., Orr, H. T., Zoghbi, H. Y. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=Expression+analysis+of+the+ataxin-1+protein+in+tissues+from+normal+and+spinocerebellar+ataxia+type+1+individuals.">Expression analysis of the ataxin-1 protein in tissues from normal and spinocerebellar ataxia type 1 individuals.</a> Nat Genet. 10 (1), 94-98 (1995).</li><li>Klement, I. A., et al. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=Ataxin-1+nuclear+localization+and+aggregation,+role+in+polyglutamine-induced+disease+in+SCA1+transgenic+mice.">Ataxin-1 nuclear localization and aggregation, role in polyglutamine-induced disease in SCA1 transgenic mice.</a> Cell. 95 (1), 41-53 (1998).</li><li>Serra, H. G., et al. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=Gene+profiling+links+SCA1+pathophysiology+to+glutamate+signaling+in+Purkinje+cells+of+transgenic+mice.">Gene profiling links SCA1 pathophysiology to glutamate signaling in Purkinje cells of transgenic mice.</a> Hum Mol Genet. 13 (20), 2535-2543 (2004).</li><li>Carter, R. 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If these methods are used as described, they are capable of detecting and alleviating oxidative phosphorylation-mediated mitochondrial dysfunction in cerebellar neurodegenerative disease mice models. The combined biochemical and behavioral assays are multifaceted methods for determining the extent of mitochondrial contribution to cerebellar neurodegenerative disease pathology. By treating mice with succinic acid to stimulate metabolism and boost mitochondrial function, we are able to show a rescue of cerebellar behaviora...

Mitochondria are the key producers of adenosine triphosphate (ATP), an essential coenzyme for cellular energy, with the majority of mitochondrial ATP produced through oxidative phosphorylation (OXPHOS) using the electron transport chain. The brain, given its high metabolic demands and its reliance on oxidative phosphorylation for powering neural activity, is highly susceptible to mitochondrial dysfunction. As a result, mitochondrial dysfunction is triggered during the aging process 1 and is implicated in the pathogenesis of multiple neurodegenerative diseases 2,3,4. Therefore, it follows that mitochondria are attractive therapeutic targets for neurodegeneration.
In this protocol, we have adopted the use of Spinocerebellar ataxia type 1 (SCA1) as a model neurodegenerative disease for the study of mitochondrial dysfunction and the development of mitochondrial-targeted therapies. SCA1 is caused by a polyglutamine (polyQ) repeat expansion mutation in the ataxin-1 gene product which triggers progressive degeneration of the Purkinje neurons of the cerebellum and neurons of other brain regions. The transgenic mouse line used here (designated as the SCA1 mouse), which expresses a polyQ-mutant ataxin-1 transgene under the control of a Purkinje-cell specific promoter, allows for the targeted analysis of the Purkinje-cell component of SCA1 5. SCA1 mice undergo gradual Purkinje cell degeneration and develop ataxic gait 6.
Mitochondrial complex dysfunction and mitochondrial-targeted treatment efficacy can be evaluated with a battery of molecular and behavioral assays. Mitochondrial complex dysfunction is measured ex vivo by respiration assays that detect altered oxygen consumption within cerebellar tissue in the presence of electron transport chain substrates and inhibitors 7. Respiration assays have previously been used with permeabilized tissue, mitochondrial isolates, and whole tissue 7,8,9. They allow for direct assessment of mitochondrial function unlike morphological data collection methods such as transmission electron microscopy or immunofluorescence staining. The use of whole tissue rather than isolated mitochondria prevents biased selection of healthy mitochondria that may occur during the isolation process 7. When adapted to the protocol as shown, the respiration assay is a valuable method for detecting mitochondrial dysfunction in cerebellar neurodegenerative disease states.
Non-specific activators of metabolism can be used to infer mitochondrial dysfunction in transgenic mice models of neurodegenerative disease and aid in the development of new therapies. Quercetin, coenzyme q10 and creatine have all been shown to ameliorate neurodegenerative disease pathology in patients and in animal models of neurodegenerative disease 10,11,12,13,14,15,16. Here we present a novel metabolic activator, succinic acid, to stimulate metabolism and boost mitochondrial function in neurodegenerative disease. To ensure that the activator is crossing the blood brain barrier, HPLC was employed to detect delivery to neural tissue in treated mice 17.
To evaluate the therapeutic effects of metabolically targeted water soluble compounds such as succinic acid, a battery of behavioral paradigms and immunopathological studies can be used. Due to the motor coordination deficits found in cerebellar neurodegenerative disease, the footprint runway assay, beam assay and accelerating rotating rod assay are used to detect rescue of behavioral pathology 6, 18, 19. These measures are supplemented with immunopathological assessment of cerebellar cytoarchitecture by assessing molecular layer thickness (defined as Purkinje cell dendritic arbor length) and Purkinje cell soma counts within a defined lobule of cerebellar tissue 6, 20, 21. Here we present multiple neuropathological and behavioral methods for detection and treatment of mitochondrial dysfunction with metabolically targeted water soluble compounds.
We use ex vivo analysis of mitochondrial respiration to analyze mitochondrial dysfunction in the SCA1 transgenic mouse. Furthermore, we show that disease symptoms and pathology are improved by the water-soluble mitochondrial booster succinic acid, further implicating mitochondrial dysfunction in SCA1 disease progression.

<table border="1" fo:keep-together.within-page="1" fo:keep-with-next.within-page="always">
	<tbody>
		<tr>
			<td>Adenosine diphosphate</td>
			<td>Sigma Aldrich</td>
			<td>A2754</td>
			<td>ADP</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Ascorbate</td>
			<td>Sigma Aldrich</td>
			<td>A7631</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Bovine serum albumin</td>
			<td>Sigma Aldrich</td>
			<td>A2153</td>
			<td>BSA</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>4&#39;,6-Diamidino-2-phenylindole</td>
			<td>Sigma Aldrich</td>
			<td>D9542</td>
			<td>DAPI</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Digitonin</td>
			<td>Sigma Aldrich</td>
			<td>D141</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Dithiothreitol</td>
			<td>Sigma Aldrich</td>
			<td>D0632</td>
			<td>DTT</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Donkey serum</td>
			<td>Sigma Aldrich</td>
			<td>D9663</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Glutamate</td>
			<td>Sigma Aldrich</td>
			<td>1446600</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Malate</td>
			<td>Sigma Aldrich</td>
			<td>6994</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Mannitol</td>
			<td>Sigma Aldrich</td>
			<td>M4125</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Paraformaldehyde</td>
			<td>Sigma Aldrich</td>
			<td>P6148</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Potassium-lactobionate</td>
			<td>Bio-Sugars</td>
			<td>69313-67-3</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Rotenone</td>
			<td>Sigma Aldrich</td>
			<td>R8875</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Saponin</td>
			<td>Sigma Aldrich</td>
			<td>47036</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Succinic Acid</td>
			<td>Sigma Aldrich</td>
			<td>S3674</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>N,N,N&#8242;,N&#8242;-Tetramethyl-p-phenylenediamine</td>
			<td>Sigma Aldrich</td>
			<td>T7394</td>
			<td>TMPD</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Triton X-100</td>
			<td>Sigma Aldrich</td>
			<td>T9284</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Urea</td>
			<td>Sigma Aldrich</td>
			<td>U0631</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Vectashield mounting medium</td>
			<td>Vector Labs</td>
			<td>H-1000</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Antibodies</td>
			<td></td>
			<td></td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>11NQ antibody (anti-ataxin-1 )</td>
			<td></td>
			<td></td>
			<td>Servadio, et al. 1995, PMID: 7647801</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Alexa Fluor 488 anti-mouse secondary antibody</td>
			<td>Life Technologies</td>
			<td>A-11015</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Alexa Fluor 594 anti-rabbit secondary antibody</td>
			<td>Life Technologies</td>
			<td>A-11012</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Calbindin antibody (goat)</td>
			<td>Santa Cruz</td>
			<td>C-20</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Animals</td>
			<td></td>
			<td></td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Control transgenic mice</td>
			<td>Harry Orr, Ph.D.</td>
			<td>A02</td>
			<td>Burright, et al. 1997, PMID: 9217978</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>SCA1 mice</td>
			<td>Harry Orr, Ph.D.</td>
			<td>B05</td>
			<td>Burright, et al. 1997, PMID: 9217978</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Wildtype mice</td>
			<td>The Jackson Laboratory</td>
			<td>001800</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Equipment</td>
			<td></td>
			<td></td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>ESM-100L microtome</td>
			<td>ERMA</td>
			<td></td>
			<td>Sledge microtome</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Fluoview FV1200 Confocal Microscope</td>
			<td>Olympus</td>
			<td></td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Glycerol-gelatin slides</td>
			<td>FD Neuro Technologies</td>
			<td>PO101</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Hamilton syringe</td>
			<td>Sigma Aldrich</td>
			<td>VCAT 80465</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>OXYT1 Oxytherm Electrode Control Unit</td>
			<td>Hansatech Instruments</td>
			<td></td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>P.T.F.E. paper</td>
			<td>Cole-Parmer</td>
			<td>UX-08277-15</td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Rotallion Rotarod</td>
			<td>PPP&#38;G</td>
			<td></td>
			<td>contact corresponding author for information</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Ultimate 3000 HPLC</td>
			<td>Dionex</td>
			<td></td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Software</td>
			<td></td>
			<td></td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>ImageJ</td>
			<td>National Institute of Health</td>
			<td></td>
			<td><a href="http://imagej.nih.gov/ij/">http://imagej.nih.gov/ij/</a></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Cell counter plugin (for ImageJ)</td>
			<td>National Institute of Health</td>
			<td></td>
			<td><a href="http://rsb.info.nih.gov/ij/plugins/cell-counter.html">http://rsb.info.nih.gov/ij/plugins/cell-counter.html</a></td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>3P&#38;G Rota-Rod v3.3.3 (rotarod software)</td>
			<td>PPP&#38;G</td>
			<td></td>
			<td>contact corresponding author for information</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Phidget21.dll (required for rotarod software)</td>
			<td>DLL-Files.com</td>
			<td></td>
			<td><a href="https://www.dll-files.com/phidget21.dll.html">https://www.dll-files.com/phidget21.dll.html</a></td>
		</tr>
	</tbody>
</table>

treating sca1 mice with water-soluble compounds to non-specifically boost mitochondrial function

Mitochondrial dysfunction plays a significant role in the aging process and in neurodegenerative diseases including several hereditary spinocerebellar ataxias and other movement disorders marked by progressive degeneration of the cerebellum. The goal of this protocol is to assess mitochondrial dysfunction in Spinocerebellar ataxia type 1 (SCA1) and assess the efficacy of pharmacological targeting of metabolic respiration via the water-soluble compound succinic acid to slow disease progression. This approach is applicable to other cerebellar diseases and can be adapted to a host of water-soluble therapies.
Ex vivo analysis of mitochondrial respiration is used to detect and quantify disease-related changes in mitochondrial function. With genetic evidence (unpublished data) and proteomic evidence of mitochondrial dysfunction in the SCA1 mouse model, we evaluate the efficacy of treatment with the water-soluble metabolic booster succinic acid by dissolving this compound directly into the home cage drinking water. The ability of the drug to pass the blood brain barrier can be deduced using high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). The efficacy of these compounds can then be tested using multiple behavioral paradigms including the accelerating rotarod, balance beam test and footprint analysis. Cytoarchitectural integrity of the cerebellum can be assessed using immunofluorescence assays that detect Purkinje cell nuclei and Purkinje cell dendrites and soma. These methods are robust techniques for determining mitochondrial dysfunction and the efficacy of treatment with water-soluble compounds in cerebellar neurodegenerative disease.

Through pharmacological targeting of cerebellar mitochondria with succinic acid we are able to prevent mitochondrial dysfunction in a mouse model of the cerebellar neurodegenerative disease SCA1. The canonical electron donor of succinate dehydrogenase, succinic acid, was dissolved in home cage drinking water of SCA1 mice for one month, with behavioral assessment beginning during the second week of treatment and neuropathological assessment following treatment (Figure...

Watch this Scientific Journal Video about Treating SCA1 Mice with Water-Soluble Compounds to Non-Specifically Boost Mitochondrial Function at JoVE.com

Treating SCA1 Mice with Water-Soluble Compounds to Non-Specifically Boost Mitochondrial Function

We present a biochemical and behavioral protocol to evaluate the efficacy of mitochondria-targeted water-soluble compounds for the treatment of Spinocerebellar ataxia type 1 (SCA1) and other cerebellar neurodegenerative diseases.

Mitochondrial dysfunction plays a significant role in the aging process and in neurodegenerative diseases including several hereditary spinocerebellar ...

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