APOE2, E3 and E4 differentially modulate cellular homeostasis, cholesterol metabolism and inflammatory response in isogenic iPSC-derived astrocytes

Apolipoprotein E (APOE) is the principal lipid carrier in the CNS and mainly expressed by astrocytes. The three different APOE alleles (E2, E3, and E4) impose differential risk to Alzheimer’s disease (AD); E2 is protective, E3 is defined as average risk, while E4 is the major genetic risk factor for sporadic AD. Despite recent advances, the fundamental role of different APOE alleles in brain homeostasis is still poorly understood. To uncover the functional role of APOE in human astrocytes, we differentiated human APOE -isogenic iPSCs (E4, E3, E2 and APOE-knockout (KO)) to functional astrocytes (hereafter “iAstrocytes”), with a resting, non-proliferating phenotype. Functional assays indicated that polymorphisms in APOE (APOE4>E3>E2=KO) reduced iAstrocyte metabolic and clearance functions including glutamate uptake and receptor-mediated uptake of β-amyloid aggregates. We performed unlabelled mass spectrometry-based proteomic analysis of iAstrocytes at baseline and after activation with interleukin-1β (IL-1β) showing a reduction of cholesterol and lipid metabolic and biosynthetic pathways, and an increase of immunoregulatory pathways at baseline (E4>E3>E2). Cholesterol efflux and biosynthesis were reduced in E4 iAstrocytes, and subcellular localization of cholesterol in lysosomes was increased. In APOE -KO iAstrocytes, APOE-independent mechanisms showed to be proficient in mediating cholesterol biosynthesis and efflux. Proteomic analysis of IL-1β-treated iAstrocytes showed an increase of cholesterol/lipid metabolism and biosynthesis as well as inflammatory pathways. Furthermore, cholesterol efflux, which was reduced in APOE4 iAstrocytes at baseline, was alleviated in activated E4 iAstrocytes. Inflammatory cytokine release was exacerbated upon IL-1β treatment in E4 iAstrocytes (E4>E3>E2>KO), in line with the proteomic data. Taken together, we show that APOE plays a major role in several physiological and metabolic processes in human astrocytes with APOE4 pushing iAstrocytes to a disease-relevant phenotype, causing dysregulated cholesterol/lipid homeostasis, increased inflammatory signalling and reduced β-amyloid uptake while APOE2 iAstrocytes show opposing effects. Our study provides a new reference for AD-relevant proteomic and metabolic changes, mediated by the three main APOE isoforms in human astrocytes. ### Competing Interest Statement The authors have declared no competing interest.