CSPα reduces aggregates and rescues striatal dopamine release in α-synuclein transgenic mice.

α-Synuclein aggregation at the synapse is an early event in Parkinson's disease and is associated with impaired striatal synaptic function and dopaminergic neuronal death. The cysteine string protein (CSPα) and α-synuclein have partially overlapping roles in maintaining synaptic function and mutations in each cause neurodegenerative diseases. CSPα is a member of the DNAJ/HSP40 family of co-chaperones and like α-synuclein, chaperones the SNARE complex assembly and controls neurotransmitter release. α-Synuclein can rescue neurodegeneration in CSPαKO mice. However, whether α-synuclein aggregation alters CSPα expression and function is unknown. Here we show that α-synuclein aggregation at the synapse is associated with a decrease in synaptic CSPα and a reduction in the complexes that CSPα forms with HSC70 and STGa. We further show that viral delivery of CSPα rescues in vitro the impaired vesicle recycling in PC12 cells with α-synuclein aggregates and in vivo reduces synaptic α-synuclein aggregates increasing monomeric α-synuclein and restoring normal dopamine release in 1-120hαSyn mice. These novel findings reveal a mechanism by which α-synuclein aggregation alters CSPα at the synapse, and show that CSPα rescues α-synuclein aggregation-related phenotype in 1-120hαSyn mice similar to the effect of α-synuclein in CSPαKO mice. These results implicate CSPα as a potential therapeutic target for the treatment of early-stage Parkinson's disease.

Preclinical development of a high affinity α-synuclein antibody, MEDI1341, that can enter the brain, sequester extracellular α-synuclein and attenuate α-synuclein spreading in vivo.

There are no approved drug therapies that can prevent or slow the progression of Parkinson's disease (PD). Accumulation and aggregation of α-synuclein protein is observed throughout the nervous system in PD. α-Synuclein is a core component of Lewy bodies and neurites that neuropathologically define PD, suggesting that α-synuclein may be a key causative agent in PD. Recent experimental data suggest that PD progression may arise due to spreading of pathological forms of extracellular α-synuclein throughout the brain via a cellular release, uptake and seeding mechanism. We have developed a high affinity α-synuclein antibody, MEDI1341, that can enter the brain, sequester extracellular α-synuclein and attenuate α-synuclein spreading in vivo. MEDI1341 binds both monomeric and aggregated forms of α-synuclein. In vitro, MEDI1341 blocks cell-to-cell transmission of pathologically relevant α-synuclein preformed fibrils (pffs). After intravenous injection into rats and cynomolgus monkeys, MEDI1341 rapidly enters the central nervous system and lowers free extracellular α-synuclein levels in the interstitial fluid (ISF) and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) compartments. Using a novel lentiviral-based in vivo mouse model of α-synuclein spreading in the brain, we show that treatment with MEDI1341 significantly reduces α-synuclein accumulation and propagation along axons. In this same model, we demonstrate that an effector-null version of the antibody was equally as effective as one with effector function. MEDI1341 is now in Phase 1 human clinical trial testing as a novel treatment for α-synucleinopathies including PD with the aim to slow or halt disease progression.

Depopulation of dense α-synuclein aggregates is associated with rescue of dopamine neuron dysfunction and death in a new Parkinson's disease model.

Parkinson's disease (PD) is characterized by the presence of α-synuclein aggregates known as Lewy bodies and Lewy neurites, whose formation is linked to disease development. The causal relation between α-synuclein aggregates and PD is not well understood. We generated a new transgenic mouse line (MI2) expressing human, aggregation-prone truncated 1-120 α-synuclein under the control of the tyrosine hydroxylase promoter. MI2 mice exhibit progressive aggregation of α-synuclein in dopaminergic neurons of the substantia nigra pars compacta and their striatal terminals. This is associated with a progressive reduction of striatal dopamine release, reduced striatal innervation and significant nigral dopaminergic nerve cell death starting from 6 and 12 months of age, respectively. In the MI2 mice, alterations in gait impairment can be detected by the DigiGait test from 9 months of age, while gross motor deficit was detected by rotarod test at 20 months of age when 50% of dopaminergic neurons in the substantia nigra pars compacta are lost. These changes were associated with an increase in the number and density of 20-500 nm α-synuclein species as shown by dSTORM. Treatment with the oligomer modulator anle138b, from 9 to 12 months of age, restored striatal dopamine release, prevented dopaminergic cell death and gait impairment. These effects were associated with a reduction of the inner density of large α-synuclein aggregates and an increase in dispersed small α-synuclein species as revealed by dSTORM. The MI2 mouse model recapitulates the progressive dopaminergic deficit observed in PD, showing that early synaptic dysfunction is associated to fine behavioral motor alterations, precedes dopaminergic axonal loss and neuronal death that become associated with a more consistent motor deficit upon reaching a certain threshold. Our data also provide new mechanistic insight for the effect of anle138b's function in vivo supporting that targeting α-synuclein aggregation is a promising therapeutic approach for PD.

Nanoscopic Characterisation of Individual Endogenous Protein Aggregates in Human Neuronal Cells.

The aberrant misfolding and subsequent conversion of monomeric protein into amyloid aggregates characterises many neurodegenerative disorders, including Parkinson's and Alzheimer's diseases. These aggregates are highly heterogeneous in structure, generally of low abundance and typically smaller than the diffraction limit of light (≈250 nm). To overcome the challenges these characteristics pose to the study of endogenous aggregates formed in cells, we have developed a method to characterise them at the nanometre scale without the need for a conjugated fluorophore. Using a combination of DNA PAINT and an amyloid-specific aptamer, we demonstrate that this technique is able to detect and super-resolve a range of aggregated species, including those formed by α-synuclein and amyloid-ß. Additionally, this method enables endogenous protein aggregates within cells to be characterised. We found that neuronal cells derived from patients with Parkinson's disease contain a larger number of protein aggregates than those from healthy controls.

Synaptic failure and α-synuclein.

Although the physiological function of α-synuclein is not fully understood, it has been suggested to primarily localize to the presynaptic terminals of mature neurons, where it fulfills roles in synaptic function and plasticity. Based on current knowledge, α-synuclein (αSYN) is thought to be involved in maintaining neurotransmitter homeostasis by regulating synaptic vesicle fusion, clustering, and trafficking between the reserve and ready-releasable pools, as well as interacting with neurotransmitter membrane transporters. In this review, we focus on evidence proposing synapses as the main site of αSYN pathology and its propagation in Parkinson's disease and dementia with Lewy bodies, which belong to a group of neurodegenerative diseases known as α-synucleinopathies. We provide an overview of the evidence supporting presynaptic dysfunction as the primary event in the pathogenesis of these conditions.

The novel MAPT mutation K298E: mechanisms of mutant tau toxicity, brain pathology and tau expression in induced fibroblast-derived neurons.

Frontotemporal lobar degeneration (FTLD) consists of a group of neurodegenerative diseases characterized by behavioural and executive impairment, language disorders and motor dysfunction. About 20-30% of cases are inherited in a dominant manner. Mutations in the microtubule-associated protein tau gene (MAPT) cause frontotemporal dementia and parkinsonism linked to chromosome 17 (FTDP-17T). Here we report a novel MAPT mutation (K298E) in exon 10 in a patient with FTDP-17T. Neuropathological studies of post-mortem brain showed widespread neuronal loss and gliosis and abundant deposition of hyperphosphorylated tau in neurons and glia. Molecular studies demonstrated that the K298E mutation affects both protein function and alternative mRNA splicing. Fibroblasts from a skin biopsy of the proband taken at post-mortem were directly induced into neurons (iNs) and expressed both 3-repeat and 4-repeat tau isoforms. As well as contributing new knowledge on MAPT mutations in FTDP-17T, this is the first example of the successful generation of iNs from skin cells retrieved post-mortem.

Interaction between Ephrins and mGlu5 metabotropic glutamate receptors in the induction of long-term synaptic depression in the hippocampus.

We applied the group-I metabotropic glutamate (mGlu) receptor agonist, 3,5-dihydroxyphenylglycine (DHPG), to neonatal or adult rat hippocampal slices at concentrations (10 microM) that induced a short-term depression (STD) of excitatory synaptic transmission at the Schaffer collateral/CA1 synapses. DHPG-induced STD was entirely mediated by the activation of mGlu5 receptors because it was abrogated by the mGlu5 receptor antagonist, MPEP [2-methyl-6-(phenylethynyl)pyridine], but not by the mGlu1 receptor antagonist, CPCCOEt [7-(hydroxyimino)cyclopropa[b]chromen-1a-carboxylate ethyl ester]. Knowing that ephrin-Bs functionally interact with group-I mGlu receptors (Calò et al., 2005), we examined whether pharmacological activation of ephrin-Bs could affect DHPG-induced STD. We activated ephrin-Bs using their cognate receptor, EphB1, under the form of a preclustered EphB1/Fc chimera. Addition of clustered EphB1/Fc alone to the slices induced a small but nondecremental depression of excitatory synaptic transmission, which differed from the depression induced by 10 microM DHPG. Surprisingly, EphB1/Fc-induced synaptic depression was abolished by MPEP (but not by CPCCOEt) suggesting that it required the endogenous activation of mGlu5 receptors. In addition, coapplication of DHPG and EphB1/Fc, resulted in a large and nondecremental long-term depression. The effect of clustered EphB1/Fc was specific because it was not mimicked by unclustered EphB1/Fc or clustered EphA1/Fc. These findings raise the intriguing possibility that changes in synaptic efficacy mediated by mGlu5 receptors are under the control of the ephrin/Eph receptor system, and that the neuronal actions of ephrins can be targeted by drugs that attenuate mGlu5 receptor signaling.

Labeling and identifying cell-specific proteomes in the mouse brain.

We develop an approach to tag proteomes synthesized by specific cell types in dissociated cortex, brain slices, and the brains of live mice. By viral-mediated expression of an orthogonal pyrrolysyl-tRNA synthetase-tRNAXXX pair in a cell type of interest and providing a non-canonical amino acid with a chemical handle, we selectively label neuronal or glial proteomes. The method enables the identification of proteins from spatially and genetically defined regions of the brain.

Synaptic dysfunction in synucleinopathies.

Pathological aggregation of alpha-synuclein as Lewy-bodies and neurites is a hallmark of a group of neurodegenerative disorders named alpha-synucleinopathies. It is becoming apparent that alpha-synuclein facilitates presynaptic neuronal function in the brain, and events leading to its aggregation produce marked disruption of neurotransmitter release mechanism. We discuss here the literature related to the function of alpha-synuclein at the neuronal synapse in synucleinopathies brains and corresponding animal models.

Interaction between ephrins/Eph receptors and excitatory amino acid receptors: possible relevance in the regulation of synaptic plasticity and in the pathophysiology of neuronal degeneration.

There is increasing evidence that Eph receptors and their transmembrane ligands, named ephrins, interact with glutamate receptors in both developing and adult neurons. EphB receptors interact with proteins that regulate the membrane trafficking of alpha-amino-3-hydroxy-5-methylisoxazole-4-propionate (AMPA) receptor subunits, and both ephrins and EphB receptors have been found to co-localize with N-methyl-d-aspartate (NMDA) receptors and to positively modulate NMDA receptor function. Moreover, pharmacologic activation of ephrin-Bs amplifies group-I metabotropic glutamate receptor signaling through mechanisms that involve NMDA receptors. The interaction with ionotropic or metabotropic glutamate receptors provides a substrate for the emerging role of ephrins and Eph receptors in the regulation of activity-dependent forms of synaptic plasticity, such as long-term potentiation and long-term depression, which are established electrophysiologic models of associative learning. In addition, these interactions explain the involvement of ephrins/Eph receptors in the regulation of pain threshold and epileptogenesis, as well as their potential implication in processes of neuronal degeneration. This may stimulate the search for new drugs that might modulate excitatory synaptic transmission by interacting with the ephrin/Eph receptor system.

Nurr1 co-localizes with EphB1 receptors in the developing ventral midbrain, and its expression is enhanced by the EphB1 ligand, ephrinB2.

Both ephrins and the transcription factor, Nurr1, are critically involved in CNS development and, particularly, in the ontogenesis of the nigro-striatal system. Here we examined whether the ephrin receptor, EphB1, and Nurr1 share a similar expression pattern in the embryonic brain and whether expression of Nurr1 is under the control of EphB1 activation. The transcripts of EphB1 receptor and Nurr1 showed a similar pattern of expression in the ventral midbrain of mice at early stages of embryonic development (E11.5 and E12.5). At later stages (E15.5), only Nurr1 mRNA could still be detected in significant amounts in the A9-A10 regions of the ventral midbrain, whereas the two transcripts still showed a similar pattern of expression in discrete regions of the hindbrain. To examine whether activation of EphB1 receptor could induce the expression of Nurr1 in the ventral midbrain, we applied the EphB1 ligand, ephrinB2, to explants of embryonic mouse ventral midbrain. Low concentrations of clustered ephrinB2 (0.25 microg/mL) enhanced Nurr1 mRNA and protein levels, whereas higher concentrations were inactive. We conclude that activation of EphB1 receptors by appropriate concentrations of its ligand ephrinB2 might contribute to the acquisition of a dopaminergic fate in developing midbrain ventral neurones.