α-Synuclein is a protein with a molecular weight of 14.5 kDa and consists of 140 amino acids encoded by the
gene. Missense mutations and gene duplications in the
gene cause hereditary Parkinson's ...disease. Highly phosphorylated and abnormally aggregated α-synuclein is a major component of Lewy bodies found in neuronal cells of patients with sporadic Parkinson's disease, dementia with Lewy bodies, and glial cytoplasmic inclusion bodies in oligodendrocytes with multiple system atrophy. Aggregated α-synuclein is cytotoxic and plays a central role in the pathogenesis of the above-mentioned synucleinopathies. In a healthy brain, most α-synuclein is unphosphorylated; however, more than 90% of abnormally aggregated α-synuclein in Lewy bodies of patients with Parkinson's disease is phosphorylated at Ser129, which is presumed to be of pathological significance. Several kinases catalyze Ser129 phosphorylation, but the role of phosphorylation enzymes in disease pathogenesis and their relationship to cellular toxicity from phosphorylation are not fully understood in α-synucleinopathy. Consequently, this review focuses on the pathogenic impact of α-synuclein phosphorylation and its kinases during the neurodegeneration process in α-synucleinopathy.
Electroactive materials have been investigated as next-generation neuronal tissue engineering scaffolds to enhance neuronal regeneration and functional recovery after brain injury. Graphene, an ...emerging neuronal scaffold material with charge transfer properties, has shown promising results for neuronal cell survival and differentiation in vitro. In this in vivo work, electrospun microfiber scaffolds coated with self-assembled colloidal graphene, were implanted into the striatum or into the subventricular zone of adult rats. Microglia and astrocyte activation levels were suppressed with graphene functionalization. In addition, self-assembled graphene implants prevented glial scarring in the brain 7 weeks following implantation. Astrocyte guidance within the scaffold and redirection of neuroblasts from the subventricular zone along the implants was also demonstrated. These findings provide new functional evidence for the potential use of graphene scaffolds as a therapeutic platform to support central nervous system regeneration.
Expression of A53T mutant human alpha-synuclein under the mouse prion promoter is among the most successful transgenic models of Parkinson's disease. Accumulation of A53T alpha-synuclein causes adult ...mice to develop severe motor impairment resulting in early death at 8-12 months of age. In younger, pre-symptomatic animals, altered motor activity and anxiety-like behaviors have also been reported. These behavioral changes, which precede severe neuropathology, may stem from non-pathological functions of alpha-synuclein, including modulation of monoamine neurotransmission. Our analysis over the adult life-span of motor activity, anxiety-like, and depressive-like behaviors identifies perturbations both before and after the onset of disease. Young A53T mice had increased distribution of the dopamine transporter (DAT) to the membrane that was associated with increased striatal re-uptake function. DAT function decreased with aging, and was associated with neurochemical alterations that included increased expression of beta-synuclein and gamma synuclein. Prior to normalization of dopamine uptake, transient activation of Tau kinases and hyperphosphorylation of Tau in the striatum were also observed. Aged A53T mice had reduced neuron counts in the substantia nigra pars compacta, yet striatal medium spiny neuron dendritic spine density was largely maintained. These findings highlight the involvement of the synuclein family of proteins and phosphorylation of Tau in the response to dopaminergic dysfunction of the nigrostriatal pathway.
Symptoms of Parkinson's disease arise due to neuronal loss in multiple brain regions, especially dopaminergic neurons in the substantia nigra pars compacta. Current therapies aim to restore dopamine ...levels in the brain, but while these provide symptomatic benefit, they do not prevent ongoing neurodegeneration. Preventing neuronal death is a major strategy for disease-modifying therapies; however, while many pathogenic factors have been identified, it is currently unknown how neurons die in the disease. Ferroptosis, a recently identified iron-dependent cell death pathway, involves several molecular events that have previously been implicated in PD. This review will discuss ferroptosis and other cell death pathways implicated in PD neurodegeneration, with a focus on the potential to therapeutically target these pathways to slow the progression of this disease.
•Cell death pathways potentially involved in Parkinson's disease are discussed.•Targeting cell death pathways for disease-modification in Parkinson's is discussed.•Research that implicates ferroptosis in Parkinsonian neurodegeneration is profiled.
The molecular mechanisms that regulate the rapid transcriptional changes that occur during cytotoxic T lymphocyte (CTL) proliferation and differentiation in response to infection are poorly ...understood. We have utilized ChIP-seq to assess histone H3 methylation dynamics within naive, effector, and memory virus-specific T cells isolated directly ex vivo after influenza A virus infection. Our results show that within naive T cells, codeposition of the permissive H3K4me3 and repressive H3K27me3 modifications is a signature of gene loci associated with gene transcription, replication, and cellular differentiation. Upon differentiation into effector and/or memory CTLs, the majority of these gene loci lose repressive H3K27me3 while retaining the permissive H3K4me3 modification. In contrast, immune-related effector gene promoters within naive T cells lacked the permissive H3K4me3 modification, with acquisition of this modification occurring upon differentiation into effector/memory CTLs. Thus, coordinate transcriptional regulation of CTL genes with related functions is achieved via distinct epigenetic mechanisms.
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•Specific H3K4me3 and H3K27me3 patterns identify functionally related CTL genes•Many CTL-specific transcription factors are bivalent for H3K4me3 and H3K27me3•Bivalent loci largely resolve to a permissive signature rapidly after activation•H3K4me2 identifies a subset of rapidly transcribed immune-specific gene loci
It is unclear how changes in genome-wide histone methylation status regulate distinct transcriptional signatures observed in naive, effector, and memory virus-specific cytotoxic lymphocytes. Russ et al. identify key epigenetic signatures that delineate distinct transcriptional programs that underpin CD8+ T cell differentiation during infection.
The quest for new and improved therapies for Parkinson's disease (PD) remains of paramount importance, despite previous trial failures. There is a current debate regarding the potential of stem cell ...research as a therapeutic approach for PD. The studies of dopaminergic fetal stem cells for PD treatment, their design, and the results of the initial surgical placebo-controlled trials were reviewed in this study. Some of the fundamental methodological challenges and possible strategies to resolve them were proposed. In this article, we argue that the most important impact lies in the proof-of-principle demonstrated by clinical trials for cell replacement strategies in reconstructing the human brain. While some researchers argue that the considerable technical challenges associated with cell therapies for PD warrant the discontinuation of further development using stem cells, we believe that the opposing viewpoints are instrumental in identifying a series of methodological misunderstandings. Here, we propose to expose key challenges to ensure the advancement of the field and unlock the potential of stem cell therapies in PD treatment. Overall, this review underscores the need for further research and innovation to overcome the hurdles in realizing the potential of stem cell-based therapies for PD.
Zinc transporter-3 (ZnT3) protein controls synaptic vesicular Zn(2+) levels, which is predicted to regulate normal cognitive function. Surprisingly, previous studies found that 6- to 10-week-old ZnT3 ...knock-out (KO) mice did not show impairment in the Morris water maze. We hypothesized that older ZnT3 KO animals would display a cognitive phenotype. Here, we report that ZnT3 KO mice exhibit age-dependent deficits in learning and memory that are manifest at 6 months but not at 3 months of age. These deficits are associated with significant alterations in key hippocampal proteins involved in learning and memory, as assessed by Western blot. These include decreased levels of the presynaptic protein SNAP25 (-46%; p < 0.01); the postsynaptic protein PSD95 (-37%; p < 0.01); the glutamate receptors AMPAR (-34%; p < 0.01), NMDAR2a (-64%; p < 0.001), and NMDAR2b (-49%; p < 0.05); the surrogate marker of neurogenesis doublecortin (-31%; p < 0.001); and elements of the BDNF pathway, pro-BDNF (-30%; p < 0.05) and TrkB (-22%; p < 0.01). In addition, there is a concomitant decrease in neuronal spine density (-6%; p < 0.05). We also found that cortical ZnT3 levels fall with age in wild-type mice (-50%; p < 0.01) in healthy older humans (ages, 48-91 years; r(2) = 0.47; p = 0.00019) and particularly in Alzheimer's disease (AD) (-36%; p < 0.0001). Thus, age-dependent loss of transsynaptic Zn(2+) movement leads to cognitive loss, and since extracellular beta-amyloid is aggregated by and traps this pool of Zn(2+), the genetic ablation of ZnT3 may represent a phenocopy for the synaptic and memory deficits of AD.
Multiple system atrophy (MSA) is a neurodegenerative disease characterized by the accumulation of misfolded α-synuclein (αSyn) and myelin disruption. However, the mechanism underlying αSyn ...accumulation in MSA brains remains unclear. Here, we aimed to identify epsin-2 as a potential regulator of αSyn propagation in MSA brains. In the MSA mouse model, PLP-hαSyn mice, and FABP7/αSyn hetero-aggregate-injected mice, we initially discovered that fatty acid-binding protein 7 (FABP7) is related to MSA development and forms hetero-aggregates with αSyn, which exhibit stronger toxicity than αSyn aggregates. Moreover, the injected FABP7/αSyn hetero-aggregates in mice selectively accumulated only in oligodendrocytes and Purkinje neurons, causing cerebellar dysfunction. Furthermore, bioinformatic analyses of whole blood from MSA patients and FABP7 knockdown mice revealed that epsin-2, a protein expressed in both oligodendrocytes and Purkinje cells, could potentially regulate FABP7/αSyn hetero-aggregate propagation via clathrin-dependent endocytosis. Lastly, adeno-associated virus type 5-dependent epsin-2 knockdown mice exhibited decreased levels of αSyn aggregate accumulation in Purkinje neurons and oligodendrocytes, as well as improved myelin levels and Purkinje neuron function in the cerebellum and motor performance. These findings suggest that epsin-2 plays a significant role in αSyn accumulation in MSA, and we propose epsin-2 as a novel therapeutic target for MSA.
Multiple System Atrophy (MSA) is a rare neurodegenerative synucleinopathy which leads to severe disability followed by death within 6–9 years of symptom onset. There is compelling evidence suggesting ...that biological trace metals like iron and copper play an important role in synucleinopathies like Parkinson's disease and removing excess brain iron using chelators could slow down the disease progression. In human MSA, there is evidence of increased iron in affected brain regions, but role of iron and therapeutic efficacy of iron-lowering drugs in pre-clinical models of MSA have not been studied.
We studied age-related changes in iron metabolism in different brain regions of the PLP-αsyn mice and tested whether iron-lowering drugs could alleviate disease phenotype in aged PLP-αsyn mice. Iron content, iron-ferritin association, ferritin protein levels and copper-ceruloplasmin association were measured in prefrontal cortex, putamen, substantia nigra and cerebellum of 3, 8, and 20-month-old PLP-αsyn and age-matched non-transgenic mice. Moreover, 12-month-old PLP-αsyn mice were administered deferiprone or ceruloplasmin or vehicle for 2 months. At the end of treatment period, motor testing and stereological analyses were performed.
We found iron accumulation and perturbed iron-ferritin interaction in substantia nigra, putamen and cerebellum of aged PLP-αsyn mice. Furthermore, we found significant reduction in ceruloplasmin-bound copper in substantia nigra and cerebellum of the PLP-αsyn mice. Both deferiprone and ceruloplasmin prevented decline in motor performance in aged PLP-αsyn mice and were associated with higher neuronal survival and reduced density of α-synuclein aggregates in substantia nigra.
This is the first study to report brain iron accumulation in a mouse model of MSA. Our results indicate that elevated iron in MSA mice may result from ceruloplasmin dysfunction and provide evidence that targeting iron in MSA could be a viable therapeutic option.
•Region-specific brain iron accumulation in a mouse model of Multiple System Atrophy.•Aged PLP-αsyn mice accumulate iron in substantia nigra, putamen and cerebellum.•Iron accumulation is accompanied by reduced iron-ferritin association.•Ceruloplasmin dysfunction may cause brain iron accumulation in PLP-αsyn mice.•Deferiprone and ceruloplasmin therapy alleviated disease phenotype in PLP-αsyn mice.
Traumatic brain Injury (TBI) is a significant cause of death and long-term disability for which there are currently no effective pharmacological treatment options. In this study then, we utilized a ...mouse model of TBI to assess the therapeutic potential of the stable disaccharide trehalose, which is known to protect against oxidative stress, increase levels of chaperone molecules and enhance autophagy. Furthermore, trehalose has demonstrated neuroprotective properties in numerous animal models and has been proposed as a potential treatment for neurodegeneration. As TBI (and associated neurodegenerative disorders) is complicated by a sudden and dramatic change in brain metal concentrations, including iron (Fe) and zinc (Zn), the collective accumulation and translocation of which has been hypothesized to contribute to the pathogenesis of TBI, then we also sought to determine whether trehalose modulated the metal dyshomeostasis associated with TBI. In this study three-month-old C57Bl/6 wildtype mice received a controlled cortical impact TBI, and were subsequently treated for one month with trehalose. During this time animals were assessed on multiple behavioral tasks prior to tissue collection. Results showed an overall significant improvement in the Morris water maze, Y-maze and open field behavioral tests in trehalose-treated mice when compared to controls. These functional benefits occurred in the absence of any change in lesion volume or any significant modulation of biometals, as assessed by laser ablation inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry. Western blot analysis, however, revealed an upregulation of synaptophysin, doublecortin and brain derived neurotrophic factor protein in trehalose treated mice in the contralateral cortex. These results indicate that trehalose may be efficacious in improving functional outcomes following TBI by a previously undescribed mechanism of action that has relevance to multiple disorders of the central nervous system.
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