Sonustun Berkiye, Vahsen Björn F, Ledesma-Terrón Mario, Li Zhuoning, Tuffery Laura, Xu Nan, Calder Elizabeth L, Jungverdorben Johannes, Weber Leslie, Zhong Aaron, Miguez David G, Monetti Mara, Zhou Ting, Giacomelli Elisa, Studer Lorenz
Developmental Biology Program & Center for Stem Cell Biology, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York, NY 10065, USA; Weill Cornell Graduate School of Medical Sciences, Cornell University, New York, NY 10065, USA.
Oxford Motor Neuron Disease Centre, Nuffield Department of Clinical Neurosciences, University of Oxford, John Radcliffe Hospital, Oxford OX3 9DU, UK; Kavli Institute for Nanoscience Discovery, University of Oxford, Dorothy Crowfoot Hodgkin Building, OX1 3QU Oxford, UK.
Stem Cell Reports. 2025 Jul 8;20(7):102535. doi: 10.1016/j.stemcr.2025.102535. Epub 2025 Jun 19.
Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is a fatal neurodegenerative disease characterized by progressive motor neuron (MN) loss. The most common genetic cause, a hexanucleotide repeat expansion in C9orf72 (C9-ALS), disrupts microglial function, contributing to neuroinflammation, a key disease driver. To investigate this, we developed a three-dimensional spinal microtissue (SM) model incorporating human induced pluripotent stem cell (hiPSC)-derived MNs, astrocytes, and microglia. Screening 190 Food and Drug Administration (FDA)-approved compounds, we identified sartans-angiotensin II receptor I blockers (ARBs)-as potent inhibitors of neuroinflammation. Telmisartan, a highly brain-penetrant ARB, significantly reduced the levels of pro-inflammatory cytokines interleukin (IL)-6 and IL-8 and rescued MN loss in C9-ALS SMs. Our findings suggest that C9-ALS microglia drive MN toxicity and that telmisartan can effectively mitigate inflammation and preserve MN viability. This work lays the groundwork for modeling disease-related neuroinflammation and points to telmisartan as a therapeutic candidate worth further exploration for treating C9-ALS.
肌萎缩侧索硬化症(ALS)是一种致命的神经退行性疾病,其特征是运动神经元(MN)进行性丧失。最常见的遗传病因是C9orf72基因中的六核苷酸重复扩增(C9-ALS),它会破坏小胶质细胞功能,导致神经炎症,而神经炎症是该疾病的关键驱动因素。为了对此进行研究,我们构建了一种三维脊髓微组织(SM)模型,该模型包含人诱导多能干细胞(hiPSC)衍生的运动神经元、星形胶质细胞和小胶质细胞。通过筛选190种美国食品药品监督管理局(FDA)批准的化合物,我们确定了沙坦类药物——血管紧张素II受体I阻滞剂(ARBs)——是神经炎症的有效抑制剂。替米沙坦是一种具有高度脑渗透性的ARB,它能显著降低促炎细胞因子白细胞介素(IL)-6和IL-8的水平,并挽救C9-ALS脊髓微组织中的运动神经元损失。我们的研究结果表明,C9-ALS小胶质细胞会导致运动神经元毒性,而替米沙坦可以有效减轻炎症并维持运动神经元的活力。这项工作为模拟疾病相关的神经炎症奠定了基础,并指出替米沙坦是一种值得进一步探索用于治疗C9-ALS的候选治疗药物。