Alzheimer’s disease protective allele ofClusterinmodulates neuronal excitability through lipid-droplet-mediated neuron-glia communication

Abstract

SummaryGenome-wide association studies (GWAS) of Alzheimer’s disease (AD) have identified a plethora of risk loci. However, the disease variants/genes and the underlying mechanisms remain largely unknown. For a strong AD-associated locus nearClusterin(CLU), we tied an AD protective allele to a role of neuronal CLU in promoting neuron excitability through lipid-mediated neuron-glia communication. We identified a putative causal SNP ofCLUthat impacts neuron-specific chromatin accessibility to transcription-factor(s), with the AD protective allele upregulating neuronalCLUand promoting neuron excitability. Transcriptomic analysis and functional studies in induced pluripotent stem cell (iPSC)-derived neurons co-cultured with mouse astrocytes show that neuronal CLU facilitates neuron-to-glia lipid transfer and astrocytic lipid droplet formation coupled with reactive oxygen species (ROS) accumulation. These changes cause astrocytes to uptake less glutamate thereby altering neuron excitability. Our study provides insights into how CLU confers resilience to AD through neuron-glia interactions.