McLean, Pamela J.

Objective Excessive inflammation in the central nervous system (CNS) and the periphery can result in neurodegeneration and parkinsonism. Recent evidence suggests that immune responses in Parkinson disease patients are dysregulated, leading to an increased inflammatory reaction to unspecific triggers. Although α‐synuclein pathology is the hallmark of Parkinson disease, it has not been investigated whether pathologic α‐synuclein is a specific trigger for excessive inflammatory responses in Parkinson disease. Methods We investigated the immune response of primary human monocytes and a microglial cell line to pathologic forms of α‐synuclein by assessing cytokine release upon exposure. Results We show that pathologic α‐synuclein (mutations, aggregation) results in a robust inflammatory activation of human monocytes and microglial BV2 cells. The activation is conformation‐ dependent, with increasing fibrillation and early onset mutations having the strongest effect on immune activation. We also found that activation of immune cells by extracellular α‐synuclein is potentiated by extracellular vesicles, possibly by facilitating the uptake of α‐synuclein. Blood extracellular vesicles from Parkinson disease patients induce a stronger activation of monocytes than blood extracellular vesicles from healthy controls. Most importantly, monocytes from Parkinson disease patients are dysregulated and hyperactive in response to stimulation with pathologic α‐synuclein. Furthermore, we demonstrate that α‐synuclein pathology in the CNS is sufficient to induce the monocyte dysregulation in the periphery of a mouse model. Interpretation Taken together, our data suggest that α‐synuclein pathology and dysregulation of monocytes in Parkinson disease can act together to induce excessive inflammatory responses to α‐synuclein. ANN NEUROL 2019;86:593–606

AbstractMisfolding and aggregation of alpha‐synuclein (α‐synuclein) with concomitant cytotoxicity is a hallmark of Lewy body related disorders such as Parkinson’s disease, dementia with Lewy bodies, and multiple system atrophy. Although it plays a pivotal role in pathogenesis and disease progression, the function of α‐synuclein and the molecular mechanisms underlying α‐synuclein‐induced neurotoxicity in these diseases are still elusive. Many in vitro and in vivo experimental models mimicking α‐synuclein pathology such as oligomerization, toxicity and more recently neuronal propagation have been generated over the years. In particular, cellular models have been crucial for our comprehension of the pathogenic process of the disease and are beneficial for screening of molecules capable of modulating α‐synuclein toxicity. Here, we review α‐synuclein based cell culture models that reproduce some features of the neuronal populations affected in patients, from basic unicellular organisms to mammalian cell lines and primary neurons, to the cutting edge models of patient‐specific cell lines. These reprogrammed cells known as induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) have garnered attention because they closely reproduce the characteristics of neurons found in patients and provide a valuable tool for mechanistic studies. We also discuss how different cell models may constitute powerful tools for high‐throughput screening of molecules capable of modulating α‐synuclein toxicity and prevention of its propagation. image This article is part of the Special Issue “Synuclein”.

Significance Aberrant protein homeostasis (proteostasis) is increasingly recognized as a major causal factor in the development of protein aggregates, including aggregation of α-synuclein in Parkinson’s disease. Cellular proteins known as chaperones control proteostatic processes and are strongly associated with many different neurodegenerative diseases. We show here that an abundant brain- and endocrine-specific secretory chaperone known as proSAAS (named after four residues in the amino terminal region) exhibits potent antiaggregant effects on α-synuclein aggregation, and we identify a region of the protein that is necessary for this antiaggregant effect. We further show that proSAAS expression is able to stop α-synuclein from killing dopaminergic cells in a nigral cell model of Parkinson’s disease. This work demonstrates an important role for the proSAAS protein in blocking aggregation in neurodegeneration.

BackgroundRecently, a novel mutation in exon 24 of DNAJC13 gene (p.Asn855Ser, rs387907571) has been reported to cause autosomal dominant Parkinson's disease (PD) in a multi‐incident Mennonite family.MethodsIn the present study the mutation containing exon of the DNAJC13 gene has been sequenced in a Caucasian series consisting of 1938 patients with clinical PD and 838 with pathologically diagnosed Lewy body disease (LBD).ResultsOur sequence analysis did not identify any coding variants in exon 24 of DNAJC13. Two previously described variants in intron 23 (rs200204728 and rs2369796) were observed.ConclusionOur results indicate that the region surrounding the DNAJC13 p.Asn855Ser substitution is highly conserved and mutations in this exon are not a common cause of PD or LBD among Caucasian populations.

ObjectiveAggregation of α‐synuclein (α‐syn) and α‐syn cytotoxicity are hallmarks of sporadic and familial Parkinson disease (PD), with accumulating evidence that prefibrillar oligomers and protofibrils are the pathogenic species in PD and related synucleinopathies. Peroxisome proliferator‐activated receptor γ coactivator 1α (PGC‐1α), a key regulator of mitochondrial biogenesis and cellular energy metabolism, has recently been associated with the pathophysiology of PD. Despite extensive effort on studying the function of PGC‐1α in mitochondria, no studies have addressed whether PGC‐1α directly influences oligomerization of α‐syn or whether α‐syn oligomers impact PGC‐1α expression.Materials and MethodsWe tested whether pharmacological or genetic activation of PGC‐1α or PGC‐11α knockdown could modulate the oligomerization of α‐syn in vitro by using an α‐syn ‐fragment complementation assay.ResultsIn this study, we found that both PGC‐1α reference gene (RG‐PGC‐1α) and the central nervous system (CNS)‐specific PGC‐1α (CNS‐PGC‐1α) are downregulated in human PD brain, in A30P α‐syn transgenic animals, and in a cell culture model for α‐syn oligomerization. Importantly, downregulation of both RG‐PGC‐1α and CNS‐PGC‐1α in cell culture or neurons from RG‐PGC‐1α–deficient mice leads to a strong induction of α‐syn oligomerization and toxicity. In contrast, pharmacological activation or genetic overexpression of RG‐PGC‐1α reduced α‐syn oligomerization and rescued α‐syn–mediated toxicity.InterpretationBased on our results, we propose that PGC‐1α downregulation and α‐syn oligomerization form a vicious circle, thereby influencing and/or potentiating each other. Our data indicate that restoration of PGC‐1α is a promising approach for development of effective drugs for the treatment of PD and related synucleinopathies. ANN NEUROL 2015;77:15–32

Many neurodegenerative disorders including Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease, Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis and Polyglutamine disorders are characterized by conformational change in proteins that result in misfolding, aggregation and accumulation of amyloid fibrils. These misfolded species result in toxicity in cells and ultimately lead to the death of specific neuronal populations. The cellular pathways involved in these neurological disorders are still unclear but a large body of evidence suggests that molecular chaperones, regulators of cellular protein quality control, may play a critical role in neurodegeneration. Indeed in patient post-mortem brain, chaperones are found in the hallmark neuronal inclusions. Molecular chaperones are able to inhibit the aggregation of denatured proteins and facilitate refolding of different disease-causing proteins. Experimental approaches in animal and cellular models have shown prevention of protein misfolding and facilitation of clearance mechanisms via up-regulation of molecular chaperones. Therefore manipulating the molecular chaperone system may be a successful strategy to counter the conformational changes occurring in protein misfolding diseases and may offer new therapeutic promise. Here we review the evidence for the involvement of various molecular chaperones in several neurodegenerative disorders and examine the current research investigating the role of the chaperones as novel targets for therapy of these devastating diseases.

Parkinson’s disease is a slowly progressive neurodegenerative disorder typically characterized by the loss of dopaminergic neurons within the substantia nigra pars compacta, and the intraneuronal deposition of insoluble protein aggregates chiefly comprised of α-synuclein. Patients experience debilitating symptoms including bradykinesia, rigidity and postural instability. No curative treatment currently exists and therapeutic strategies are restricted to symptomatic treatment only. Over the past decade a class of molecular chaperones called the heat shock proteins has emerged as a potentially promising therapeutic target. Heat shock proteins aid in the folding and refolding of proteins, and target denatured proteins to degradation systems. By targeting heat shock proteins through various means including overexpression and pharmacological enhancement, researchers have shown that α-synuclein aggregation and its associated cytotoxicity can be therapeutically modulated in an array of cell and animal models. This review highlights the relevant progress in this field and discusses the relevance of heat shock proteins as therapeutic modulators of α-synuclein toxicity to the rapidly evolving understanding of Parkinson’s disease pathogenesis.