FDA-approved PDE4 inhibitors alleviate the dominant toxicity of ALS-FTD-associated CHCHD10S59L by reducing the PINK1/Parkin pathway

Mutations in coiled-coil-helix-coiled-coil-helix domain containing 10 (CHCHD10) have been identified as a genetic cause of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis and/or frontotemporal dementia(ALS-FTD). In our previous studies using in vivo Drosophila model expressing CHCHD10S59L, and human cell models expressing CHCHD10S59L, we have identified that the PINK1/Parkin pathway is activated and causes cellular toxicity. Furthermore, we demonstrated that pseudo-substrate inhibitors for PINK1 and mitofusin2 agonists mitigated the cellular toxicity of CHCHD10S59L. Evidences using in vitro, in vivo genetic, and chemical tools indicate that inhibiting PINK1 would be the most promising treatment for CHCHD10S59L-induced diseases.

These findings suggest that PDE4 inhibitors currently available in the market may be repositioned to treat CHCHD10S59L-induced ALS-FTD and possibly other related diseases, and that disease treatment with PDE4 inhibitors should include careful consideration of the PINK1/Parkin pathway, as it is generally recognized as a protective pathway.

An in vivo human cell culture and in vivo Drosophila models expressing CHCHD10S59L mutant were utilized in this study to evaluate the effect of PDE4 inhibitors in PINK-parkin mediated cytotoxicity through immunohistochemical and seahorse assays. Data were analysed using one-way ANOVA and post-hoc Dunnett's test for statistical significance.

We investigated cellular pathways that can modulate the PINK1/Parkin pathway and reduce CHCHD10S59L-induced cytotoxicity. Here, we report that FDA-approved PDE4 inhibitors reduced CHCHD10S59L-induced morphological and functional mitochondrial defects in human cells and an in vivo Drosophila model expressing C2C10HS81L. Multiple PDE4 inhibitors decreased PINK1 accumulation and downstream mitophagy induced by CHCHD10S59L.