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Aqp4 stop codon readthrough facilitates amyloid-β clearance from the brain
Brain. 2022 Aug 24;awac199. doi: 10.1093/brain/awac199.
Darshan Sapkota 1 2 3, Colin Florian 1 2, Brookelyn M Doherty 4, Kelli M White 1 2, Kate M Reardon 4, Xia Ge 5 6, Joel R Garbow 5 6 7, Carla M Yuede 1, John R Cirrito 4, Joseph D Dougherty 1 2
Abstract:
...In the brain, the astrocytic water channel Aquaporin 4 is involved in clearance of amyloid beta, and the fraction of Aquaporin 4 found perivascularly is decreased in Alzheimer's disease. Further, an unusual stop codon readthrough event generates a conserved C-terminally elongated variant of Aquaporin 4 (AQP4X), which is exclusively perivascular. However, it is unclear whether the AQP4X variant specifically mediates amyloid beta clearance. Here, using Aquaporin 4 readthrough-specific knockout mice that still express normal Aquaporin 4, we determine that this isoform indeed mediates amyloid beta clearance. Further, with high-throughput screening and counterscreening, we identify small molecule compounds that enhance readthrough of the Aquaporin 4 sequence and validate a subset on endogenous astrocyte Aquaporin 4. Finally, we demonstrate these compounds enhance brain amyloid-β clearance in vivo, which depends on AQP4X. This suggests derivatives of these compounds may provide a viable pharmaceutical approach to enhance clearance of amyloid beta and potentially other aggregating proteins in neurodegenerative disease.