Chris Long

All Publications

• APOE4/4 is linked to damaging lipid droplets in Alzheimer's microglia. bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology Haney, M. S., Pálovics, R., Munson, C. N., Long, C., Johansson, P., Yip, O., Dong, W., Rawat, E., West, E., Schlachetzki, J. C., Tsai, A., Guldner, I. H., Lamichhane, B. S., Smith, A., Schaum, N., Calcuttawala, K., Shin, A., Wang, Y. H., Wang, C., Koutsodendris, N., Serrano, G. E., Beach, T. G., Reiman, E. M., Glass, C. K., Abu-Remaileh, M., Enejder, A., Huang, Y., Wyss-Coray, T. 2023

  Abstract

  Several genetic risk factors for Alzheimer's Disease (AD) implicate genes involved in lipid metabolism and many of these lipid genes are highly expressed in glial cells. However, the relationship between lipid metabolism in glia and AD pathology remains poorly understood. Through single-nucleus RNA-sequencing of AD brain tissue, we have identified a microglial state defined by the expression of the lipid droplet (LD) associated enzyme ACSL1 with ACSL1-positive microglia most abundant in AD patients with the APOE4/4 genotype. In human iPSC-derived microglia (iMG) fibrillar Aβ (fAβ) induces ACSL1 expression, triglyceride synthesis, and LD accumulation in an APOE-dependent manner. Additionally, conditioned media from LD-containing microglia leads to Tau phosphorylation and neurotoxicity in an APOE-dependent manner. Our findings suggest a link between genetic risk factors for AD with microglial LD accumulation and neurotoxic microglial-derived factors, potentially providing novel therapeutic strategies for AD.

  View details for DOI 10.1101/2023.07.21.549930

  View details for PubMedID 37546938

  View details for PubMedCentralID PMC10401952

• Tuning Polymer Hydrophilicity to Regulate Gel Mechanics and Encapsulated Cell Morphology. Advanced healthcare materials Navarro, R. S., Huang, M. S., Roth, J. G., Hubka, K. M., Long, C. M., Enejder, A., Heilshorn, S. C. 2022: e2200011

  Abstract

  Mechanically tunable hydrogels are attractive platforms for three-dimensional cell culture, as hydrogel stiffness plays an important role in cell behavior. Traditionally, hydrogel stiffness has been controlled through altering either the polymer concentration or the stoichiometry between crosslinker reactive groups. Here, we present an alternative strategy based upon tuning the hydrophilicity of an elastin-like protein (ELP). ELPs undergo a phase transition that leads to protein aggregation at increasing temperatures. We hypothesize that increasing this transition temperature through bioconjugation with azide-containing molecules of increasing hydrophilicity will allow direct control of the resulting gel stiffness by making the crosslinking groups more accessible. These azide-modified ELPs are crosslinked into hydrogels with bicyclononyne-modified hyaluronic acid (HA-BCN) using bioorthogonal, click chemistry, resulting in hydrogels with tunable storage moduli (100-1000Pa). Human mesenchymal stromal cells, human umbilical vein endothelial cells, and human neural progenitor cells are all observed to alter their cell morphology when encapsulated within hydrogels of varying stiffness. Taken together, we demonstrate the use of protein hydrophilicity as a lever to tune hydrogel mechanical properties. These hydrogels have tunable moduli over a stiffness range relevant to soft tissues, support the viability of encapsulated cells, and modify cell spreading as a consequence of gel stiffness. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.

  View details for DOI 10.1002/adhm.202200011

  View details for PubMedID 35373510