Double-Edged Effects of Venglustat on Behavior and Pathology in Mice Overexpressing α-Synuclein.

BACKGROUND: Venglustat is a brain-penetrant, small molecule inhibitor of glucosylceramide synthase used in clinical testing for treatment of Parkinson's disease (PD). Despite beneficial effects in certain cellular and rodent models, patients with PD with mutations in GBA, the gene for lysosomal glucocerebrosidase, experienced worsening of their motor function under venglustat treatment (NCT02906020, MOVES-PD, phase 2 trial). OBJECTIVE: The objective of this study was to evaluate venglustat in mouse models of PD with overexpression of wild-type α-synuclein. METHODS: Mice overexpressing α-synuclein (Thy1-aSyn line 61) or Gba-mutated mice with viral vector-induced overexpression of α-synuclein in the substantia nigra were administered venglustat as food admixture. Motor and cognitive performance, α-synuclein-related pathology, and microgliosis were compared with untreated controls. RESULTS: Venglustat worsened motor function in Thy1-aSyn transgenics on the challenging beam and the pole test. Although venglustat did not alter the cognitive deficit in the Y-maze test, it alleviated anxiety-related behavior in the novel object recognition test. Venglustat reduced soluble and membrane-bound α-synuclein in the striatum and phosphorylated α-synuclein in limbic brain regions. Although venglustat reversed the loss of parvalbumin immunoreactivity in the basolateral amygdala, it tended to increase microgliosis and phosphorylated α-synuclein in the substantia nigra. Furthermore, venglustat also partially worsened motor performance and tended to increase neurofilament light chain in the cerebrospinal fluid in the Gba-deficient model with nigral α-synuclein overexpression and neurodegeneration. CONCLUSIONS: Venglustat treatment in two mouse models of α-synuclein overexpression showed that glucosylceramide synthase inhibition had differential detrimental or beneficial effects on behavior and neuropathology possibly related to brain region-specific effects. © 2023 The Authors. Movement Disorders published by Wiley Periodicals LLC on behalf of International Parkinson and Movement Disorder Society.

Alpha-synuclein transfers from neurons to oligodendrocytes.

The origin of α-synuclein (α-syn)-positive glial cytoplasmic inclusions found in oligodendrocytes in multiple system atrophy (MSA) is enigmatic, given the fact that oligodendrocytes do not express α-syn mRNA. Recently, neuron-to-neuron transfer of α-syn was suggested to contribute to the pathogenesis of Parkinson's disease. In this study, we explored whether a similar transfer of α-syn might occur from neurons to oligodendrocytes, which conceivably could explain how glial cytoplasmic inclusions are formed. We studied oligodendrocytes in vitro and in vivo and examined their ability to take up different α-syn assemblies. First, we treated oligodendrocytes with monomeric, oligomeric, and fibrillar forms of α-syn proteins and investigated whether α-syn uptake is dynamin-dependent. Second, we injected the same α-syn species into the mouse cortex to assess their uptake in vivo. Finally, we monitored the presence of human α-syn within rat oligodendroglial cells grafted in the striatum of hosts displaying Adeno-Associated Virus-mediated overexpression of human α-syn in the nigro-striatal pathway. Here, we show that oligodendrocytes take up recombinant α-syn monomers, oligomers and, to a lesser extent, fibrils in vitro in a concentration and time-dependent manner, and that this process is inhibited by dynasore. Further, we demonstrate in our injection model that oligodendrocytes also internalize α-syn in vivo. Finally, we provide the first direct evidence that α-syn can transfer to grafted oligodendroglial cells from host rat brain neurons overexpressing human α-syn. Our findings support the hypothesis of a neuron-to-oligodendrocyte transfer of α-syn, a mechanism that may play a crucial role in the progression and pathogenesis of MSA.

Alpha-synuclein cell-to-cell transfer and seeding in grafted dopaminergic neurons in vivo.

Several people with Parkinson's disease have been treated with intrastriatal grafts of fetal dopaminergic neurons. Following autopsy, 10-22 years after surgery, some of the grafted neurons contained Lewy bodies similar to those observed in the host brain. Numerous studies have attempted to explain these findings in cell and animal models. In cell culture, α-synuclein has been found to transfer from one cell to another, via mechanisms that include exosomal transport and endocytosis, and in certain cases seed aggregation in the recipient cell. In animal models, transfer of α-synuclein from host brain cells to grafted neurons has been shown, but the reported frequency of the event has been relatively low and little is known about the underlying mechanisms as well as the fate of the transferred α-synuclein. We now demonstrate frequent transfer of α-synuclein from a rat brain engineered to overexpress human α-synuclein to grafted dopaminergic neurons. Further, we show that this model can be used to explore mechanisms underlying cell-to-cell transfer of α-synuclein. Thus, we present evidence both for the involvement of endocytosis in α-synuclein uptake in vivo, and for seeding of aggregation of endogenous α-synuclein in the recipient neuron by the transferred α-synuclein. Finally, we show that, at least in a subset of the studied cells, the transmitted α-synuclein is sensitive to proteinase K. Our new model system could be used to test compounds that inhibit cell-to-cell transfer of α-synuclein and therefore might retard progression of Parkinson neuropathology.

[Shh signal and its functional roles in normal and diseased brain]. / Sonic Hedgehog, un morphogène en quête de fonction dans le cerveau adulte.

The identification of a Sonic Hedgehog (Shh) signaling pathway in the adult vertebrate central nervous system has paved the way to the characterization of the functional roles of Shh signals in normal and diseased brain. This morphogen is proposed to play a key role in the establishment and maintenance of adult neurogenic niches and to modulate the proliferation of neuronal or glial precursors. Consistent with its role during embryogenesis, alteration of Shh signaling is associated with tumorigenesis while its recruitment in damaged neural tissue might be part of the regenerating process. We will discuss the most recent data of the Hedgehog pathway in the adult brain and its relevance as a novel therapeutic approach for brain diseases including brain tumors.

α-Synuclein propagates from mouse brain to grafted dopaminergic neurons and seeds aggregation in cultured human cells.

Post-mortem analyses of brains from patients with Parkinson disease who received fetal mesencephalic transplants show that α-synuclein-containing (α-syn-containing) Lewy bodies gradually appear in grafted neurons. Here, we explored whether intercellular transfer of α-syn from host to graft, followed by seeding of α-syn aggregation in recipient neurons, can contribute to this phenomenon. We assessed α-syn cell-to-cell transfer using microscopy, flow cytometry, and high-content screening in several coculture model systems. Coculturing cells engineered to express either GFP- or DsRed-tagged α-syn resulted in a gradual increase in double-labeled cells. Importantly, α-syn-GFP derived from 1 neuroblastoma cell line localized to red fluorescent aggregates in other cells expressing DsRed-α-syn, suggesting a seeding effect of transmitted α-syn. Extracellular α-syn was taken up by cells through endocytosis and interacted with intracellular α-syn. Next, following intracortical injection of recombinant α-syn in rats, we found neuronal uptake was attenuated by coinjection of an endocytosis inhibitor. Finally, we demonstrated in vivo transfer of α-syn between host cells and grafted dopaminergic neurons in mice overexpressing human α-syn. In summary, intercellularly transferred α-syn interacts with cytoplasmic α-syn and can propagate α-syn pathology. These results suggest that α-syn propagation is a key element in the progression of Parkinson disease pathology.

Are synucleinopathies prion-like disorders?

A shared neuropathological feature of idiopathic Parkinson's disease, dementia with Lewy bodies, and multiple system atrophy is the development of intracellular aggregates of α-synuclein that gradually engage increasing parts of the nervous system. The pathogenetic mechanisms underlying these neurodegenerative disorders, however, are unknown. Several studies have highlighted similarities between classic prion diseases and these neurological proteinopathies. Specifically, identification of Lewy bodies in fetal mesencephalic neurons transplanted in patients with Parkinson's disease raised the hypothesis that α-synuclein, the main component of Lewy bodies, could be transmitted from the host brain to a graft of healthy neurons. These results and others have led to the hypothesis that a prion-like mechanism might underlie progression of synucleinopathy within the nervous system. We review experimental findings showing that misfolded α-synuclein can transfer between cells and, once transferred into a new cell, can act as a seed that recruits endogenous α-synuclein, leading to formation of larger aggregates. This model suggests that strategies aimed at prevention of cell-to-cell transfer of α-synuclein could retard progression of symptoms in Parkinson's disease and other synucleinopathies.

Sonic Hedgehog signaling in the mammalian brain.

The discovery of a Sonic Hedgehog (Shh) signaling pathway in the mature vertebrate CNS has paved the way to the characterization of the functional roles of Shh signals in normal and diseased brain. Shh is proposed to participate in the establishment and maintenance of adult neurogenic niches and to regulate the proliferation of neuronal or glial precursors in several brain areas. Consistent with its role during brain development, misregulation of Shh signaling is associated with tumorigenesis while its recruitement in damaged neural tissue might be part of the regenerating process. This review focuses on the most recent data of the Hedgehog pathway in the adult brain and its relevance as a novel therapeutic approach for brain diseases including brain tumors.

Dissecting the potential molecular mechanisms underlying alpha-synuclein cell-to-cell transfer in Parkinson's disease.

Alpha-synuclein (alpha-syn) aggregation is central to neuropathological changes in Parkinson's disease. The aggregates spread within the central nervous system according to a very predictable pattern. A prion-like transmission of alpha-syn aggregates has been recently proposed to explain this propagation pattern. First, we review the growing evidence for such a mechanism. This process is likely to occur in three consecutive steps: (i) exit of alpha-syn template from the donor cell, (ii) entry to the recipient cell and (iii) initiation of the nucleation. In a second part, we discuss the possible underlying mechanisms for each of these steps, based on our current knowledge about how cells handle alpha-syn but also other proteins involved in neurodegenerative diseases with a prion-like propagation. Finally, we discuss which molecular species of alpha-syn (monomer, oligomer, fibril) could be the seeding-competent species and whether this seeding process could be a common mechanism in neurodegenerative diseases.

Chemoattractive activity of sonic hedgehog in the adult subventricular zone modulates the number of neural precursors reaching the olfactory bulb.

The adult subventricular zone (SVZ) supports neural stem cell self-renewal and differentiation and continually gives rise to new neurons throughout adult life. The mechanisms orienting the migration of neuroblasts from the SVZ to the olfactory bulb (OB) via the rostral migratory stream (RMS) have been extensively studied, but factors controlling neuroblast exit from the SVZ remain poorly explored. The morphogen Sonic Hedgehog (Shh) displays proliferative and survival activities toward neural stem cells and is an axonal chemoattractant implicated in guidance of commissural axons during development. We identify here the presence of Shh protein in SVZ extracts and in the cerebrospinal fluid of adult mice, and we demonstrate that migrating neuroblasts in the SVZ and RMS express the Shh receptor Patched. We show that Shh displays a chemoattractive activity in vitro on SVZ-derived neuronal progenitors, an effect blocked by Cur61414, a Smoothened antagonist. Interestingly, Shh-expressing cells grafted above the RMS of adult mice exert a chemoattractive activity on migrating neuroblasts in vivo, thus inducing their accumulation and deviation from their normal migratory pathway. Furthermore, the adenoviral transfer of Shh into the lateral ventricle or the blocking of Shh present in the SVZ of adult mice using its physiological antagonist Hedgehog interacting protein or neutralizing Shh antibodies provides in vivo evidence that Shh can retain SVZ-derived neuroblasts. The ability to modulate the number of neuroblasts leaving the SVZ and reaching the OB through the chemoattractive activity of Shh suggests a novel degree of plasticity in cell migration of this adult stem cell niche.