Alterations in the autophagosomal–lysosomal pathway are a major pathophysiological feature of CLN3 disease, which is the most common form of childhood-onset neurodegeneration. Accumulating autofluorescent lysosomal storage material in CLN3 disease, consisting of dolichols, lipids, biometals, and a protein that normally resides in the mitochondria, subunit c of the mitochondrial ATPase, provides evidence that autophagosomal–lysosomal turnover of cellular components is disrupted upon loss of CLN3 protein function. Using a murine neuronal cell model of the disease, which accurately mimics the major gene defect and the hallmark features of CLN3 disease, we conducted an unbiased search for modifiers of autophagy, extending previous work by further optimizing a GFP-LC3 based assay and performing a high-content screen on a library of ~2000 bioactive compounds. Here we corroborate our earlier screening results and identify expanded, independent sets of autophagy modifiers that increase or decrease the accumulation of autophagosomes in the CLN3 disease cells, highlighting several pathways of interest, including the regulation of calcium signaling, microtubule dynamics, and the mevalonate pathway. Follow-up analysis on fluspirilene, nicardipine, and verapamil, in particular, confirmed activity in reducing GFP-LC3 vesicle burden, while also demonstrating activity in normalizing lysosomal positioning and, for verapamil, in promoting storage material clearance in CLN3 disease neuronal cells. This study demonstrates the potential for cell-based screening studies to identify candidate molecules and pathways for further work to understand CLN3 disease pathogenesis and in drug development efforts.

Background: Microglia are the primary brain cell type regulating neuroinflammation and they are important for healthy aging. Genes regulating microglial function are associated with an increased risk of neurodegenerative disease. Loss-of-function mutations in CLN3 , which encodes an endolysosomal membrane protein, lead to the most common childhood-onset form of neurodegeneration, featuring early-stage neuroinflammation that long precedes neuronal cell loss. How loss of CLN3 function leads to this early neuroinflammation is not yet understood. Methods: Here, we have comprehensively studied microglia from Cln3 ^Δex7/8 mice, a genetically accurate CLN3 disease model. Microglia were isolated from young and old Cln3 ^Δex7/8 mice for downstream molecular and functional studies. Results: We show that loss of CLN3 function in microglia leads to classic age-dependent CLN3-disease lysosomal storage as well as an altered morphology of the lysosome, mitochonodria and Golgi compartments. Consistent with these morphological alterations, we also discovered pathological proteomic signatures implicating defects in lysosomal function and lipid metabolism processes at an early disease stage. CLN3-deficient microglia were unable to efficiently turnover myelin and metabolize its associated lipids, showing severe defects in lipid droplet formation and significant accumulation of cholesterol, phenotypes that were corrected by treatment with autophagy inducers and cholesterol lowering drugs. Finally, we observed reduced myelination in aging homozygous Cln3 ^Δex7/8 mice suggesting altered myelin turnover by microglia impacts myelination in the CLN3-deficient brain. Conclusion: Our results implicate a cell autonomous defect in CLN3-deficient microglia that impacts the ability of these cells to support neuronal cell health. These results strongly suggest microglial targeted therapies should be considered for CLN3 disease.