scholarly journals Safety, Pharmacokinetics, and Pharmacodynamics of Oral Venglustat in Patients with Parkinson’s Disease and a GBA Mutation: Results from Part 1 of the Randomized, Double-Blinded, Placebo-Controlled MOVES-PD Trial

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-14
Author(s):  
M. Judith Peterschmitt ◽  
Hidemoto Saiki ◽  
Taku Hatano ◽  
Thomas Gasser ◽  
Stuart H. Isaacson ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Parkinson’S Disease ◽  
Parkinson's Disease ◽  
Japanese Patients ◽  
Dependent Manner ◽  
Pharmacokinetics And Pharmacodynamics ◽  
Dose Escalation Study ◽  
Synthase Inhibitor ◽  
Double Blinded ◽  
Favorable Safety ◽  
Gba Mutations

Background: Glucocerebrosidase gene (GBA) mutations influence risk and prognosis of Parkinson’s disease (PD), possibly through accumulation of glycosphingolipids, including glucosylceramide (GL-1). Venglustat is a novel, brain penetrant glucosylceramide synthase inhibitor. Objective: Evaluate venglustat pharmacology, safety, and tolerability in patients with PD and GBA mutations (GBA-PD). Methods: Part 1 of the phase 2 MOVES-PD trial (NCT02906020) was a randomized, double-blinded, placebo-controlled, dose-escalation study performed in six countries. Eligible participants included Japanese and non-Japanese patients aged 18–80 years with PD diagnosis and heterozygous GBA mutation. Participants were randomized to three doses of once-daily oral venglustat or placebo and were followed up to 36 weeks (Japanese participants: 52 weeks). Primary endpoint was venglustat safety and tolerability versus placebo. Secondary and exploratory endpoints included venglustat pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics. Results: Participants (N = 29) received venglustat (Japanese, n = 9; non-Japanese, n = 13) or placebo (n = 3; n = 4). Eight (89%) Japanese and 12 (92%) non-Japanese venglustat-treated participants experienced at least one adverse event (AE) versus two (67%) and four (100%) participants from the respective placebo groups. Most AEs were mild or moderate; no serious AEs or deaths occurred. Two venglustat-treated non-Japanese participants discontinued due to AEs (confusional state and panic attack). Over 4 weeks, venglustat exposure in plasma and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) increased, and GL-1 levels in plasma and CSF decreased, both in a dose-dependent manner. At the highest dose, CSF GL-1 decreased by 72.0% in Japanese and 74.3% in non-Japanese participants. Conclusion: Venglustat showed favorable safety and tolerability in MOVES-PD Part 1 and target engagement was achieved in CSF.

scholarly journals Phenotypic manifestation of α-synuclein strains derived from Parkinson’s disease and multiple system atrophy in human dopaminergic neurons

2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Benedict Tanudjojo ◽  
Samiha S. Shaikh ◽  
Alexis Fenyi ◽  
Luc Bousset ◽  
Devika Agarwal ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Parkinson’S Disease ◽  
Parkinson's Disease ◽  
Multiple System Atrophy ◽  
Neuronal Death ◽  
Dopaminergic Neurons ◽  
De Novo ◽  
Dependent Manner ◽  
Human Neurons ◽  
Phenotypic Manifestation ◽  
Induced Aggregation

Abstractα-Synuclein is critical in the pathogenesis of Parkinson’s disease and related disorders, yet it remains unclear how its aggregation causes degeneration of human dopaminergic neurons. In this study, we induced α-synuclein aggregation in human iPSC-derived dopaminergic neurons using fibrils generated de novo or amplified in the presence of brain homogenates from Parkinson’s disease or multiple system atrophy. Increased α-synuclein monomer levels promote seeded aggregation in a dose and time-dependent manner, which is associated with a further increase in α-synuclein gene expression. Progressive neuronal death is observed with brain-amplified fibrils and reversed by reduction of intraneuronal α-synuclein abundance. We identified 56 proteins differentially interacting with aggregates triggered by brain-amplified fibrils, including evasion of Parkinson’s disease-associated deglycase DJ-1. Knockout of DJ-1 in iPSC-derived dopaminergic neurons enhance fibril-induced aggregation and neuronal death. Taken together, our results show that the toxicity of α-synuclein strains depends on aggregate burden, which is determined by monomer levels and conformation which dictates differential interactomes. Our study demonstrates how Parkinson’s disease-associated genes influence the phenotypic manifestation of strains in human neurons.

scholarly journals Boxing vs Sensory Exercise for Parkinson’s Disease: A Double-Blinded Randomized Controlled Trial

2021 ◽  
pp. 154596832110231
Author(s):  
Kishoree Sangarapillai ◽  
Benjamin M. Norman ◽  
Quincy J. Almeida
Keyword(s):  
Parkinson’S Disease ◽  
Parkinson's Disease ◽  
Randomized Controlled Trial ◽  
Repeated Measures ◽  
Rating Scale ◽  
Controlled Trial ◽  
Motor Symptoms ◽  
Post Intervention ◽  
Randomized Controlled ◽  
Double Blinded

Background. Exercise is increasingly becoming recognized as an important adjunct to medications in the clinical management of Parkinson’s disease (PD). Boxing and sensory exercise have shown immediate benefits, but whether they continue beyond program completion is unknown. This study aimed to investigate the effects of boxing and sensory training on motor symptoms of PD, and whether these benefits remain upon completion of the intervention. Methods. In this 20-week double-blinded randomized controlled trial, 40 participants with idiopathic PD were randomized into 2 treatment groups, (n = 20) boxing or (n = 20) sensory exercise. Participants completed 10 weeks of intervention. Motor symptoms were assessed at (week 0, 10, and 20) using the Unified Parkinson’s Disease Rating Scale (UPDRS-III). Data were analyzed using SPSS, and repeated-measures ANOVA was conducted. Results. A significant interaction effect between groups and time were observed F(1, 39) = 4.566, P = .036, where the sensory group improved in comparison to the boxing group. Post hoc analysis revealed that in comparison to boxing, the effects of exercise did not wear off at washout (week 20) P < .006. Conclusion. Future rehabilitation research should incorporate similar measures to explore whether effects of exercise wear off post intervention.

scholarly journals Relationships of gut microbiota, short-chain fatty acids, inflammation, and the gut barrier in Parkinson’s disease

2021 ◽  
Vol 16 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Velma T. E. Aho ◽  
Madelyn C. Houser ◽  
Pedro A. B. Pereira ◽  
Jianjun Chang ◽  
Knut Rudi ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Parkinson’S Disease ◽  
Fatty Acids ◽  
Parkinson's Disease ◽  
Gut Microbiota ◽  
Inflammatory Responses ◽  
Disease Onset ◽  
Short Chain Fatty Acids ◽  
Short Chain ◽  
Dependent Manner ◽  
Chain Fatty Acids

Abstract Background Previous studies have reported that gut microbiota, permeability, short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs), and inflammation are altered in Parkinson’s disease (PD), but how these factors are linked and how they contribute to disease processes and symptoms remains uncertain. This study sought to compare and identify associations among these factors in PD patients and controls to elucidate their interrelations and links to clinical manifestations of PD. Methods Stool and plasma samples and clinical data were collected from 55 PD patients and 56 controls. Levels of stool SCFAs and stool and plasma inflammatory and permeability markers were compared between patients and controls and related to one another and to the gut microbiota. Results Calprotectin was increased and SCFAs decreased in stool in PD in a sex-dependent manner. Inflammatory markers in plasma and stool were neither intercorrelated nor strongly associated with SCFA levels. Age at PD onset was positively correlated with SCFAs and negatively correlated with CXCL8 and IL-1β in stool. Fecal zonulin correlated positively with fecal NGAL and negatively with PD motor and non-motor symptoms. Microbiota diversity and composition were linked to levels of SCFAs, inflammatory factors, and zonulin in stool. Certain relationships differed between patients and controls and by sex. Conclusions Intestinal inflammatory responses and reductions in fecal SCFAs occur in PD, are related to the microbiota and to disease onset, and are not reflected in plasma inflammatory profiles. Some of these relationships are distinct in PD and are sex-dependent. This study revealed potential alterations in microbiota-host interactions and links between earlier PD onset and intestinal inflammatory responses and reduced SCFA levels, highlighting candidate molecules and pathways which may contribute to PD pathogenesis and clinical presentation and which warrant further investigation.

scholarly journals The Parkinson’s Disease-Associated Protein DJ-1 Protects Dictyostelium Cells from AMPK-Dependent Outcomes of Oxidative Stress

Cells ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (8) ◽  
pp. 1874
Author(s):  
Suwei Chen ◽  
Sarah J. Annesley ◽  
Rasha A. F. Jasim ◽  
Paul R. Fisher
Keyword(s):  
Oxidative Stress ◽  
Parkinson’S Disease ◽  
Parkinson's Disease ◽  
Mitochondrial Dysfunction ◽  
Mitochondrial Respiration ◽  
Cysteine Residue ◽  
Reduced Form ◽  
Dependent Manner ◽  
Loss Of Function ◽  
Cellular Pathology

Mitochondrial dysfunction has been implicated in the pathology of Parkinson’s disease (PD). In Dictyostelium discoideum, strains with mitochondrial dysfunction present consistent, AMPK-dependent phenotypes. This provides an opportunity to investigate if the loss of function of specific PD-associated genes produces cellular pathology by causing mitochondrial dysfunction with AMPK-mediated consequences. DJ-1 is a PD-associated, cytosolic protein with a conserved oxidizable cysteine residue that is important for the protein’s ability to protect cells from the pathological consequences of oxidative stress. Dictyostelium DJ-1 (encoded by the gene deeJ) is located in the cytosol from where it indirectly inhibits mitochondrial respiration and also exerts a positive, nonmitochondrial role in endocytosis (particularly phagocytosis). Its loss in unstressed cells impairs endocytosis and causes correspondingly slower growth, while also stimulating mitochondrial respiration. We report here that oxidative stress in Dictyostelium cells inhibits mitochondrial respiration and impairs phagocytosis in an AMPK-dependent manner. This adds to the separate impairment of phagocytosis caused by DJ-1 knockdown. Oxidative stress also combines with DJ-1 loss in an AMPK-dependent manner to impair or exacerbate defects in phototaxis, morphogenesis and growth. It thereby phenocopies mitochondrial dysfunction. These results support a model in which the oxidized but not the reduced form of DJ-1 inhibits AMPK in the cytosol, thereby protecting cells from the adverse consequences of oxidative stress, mitochondrial dysfunction and the resulting AMPK hyperactivity.

Clinical profiles associated with LRRK2 and GBA mutations in Brazilians with Parkinson's disease

2017 ◽  
Vol 381 ◽  
pp. 160-164 ◽  
Author(s):  
Camilla P. da Silva ◽  
Gabriella de M. Abreu ◽  
Pedro H. Cabello Acero ◽  
Mário Campos ◽  
João S. Pereira ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Parkinson’S Disease ◽  
Parkinson's Disease ◽  
Clinical Profiles ◽  
Gba Mutations

scholarly journals A Card-type Odor Identification Test for Japanese Patients with Parkinson's Disease and Related Disorders

2017 ◽  
Vol 56 (21) ◽  
pp. 2871-2878 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yuji Watanabe ◽  
Keisuke Suzuki ◽  
Tomoyuki Miyamoto ◽  
Masayuki Miyamoto ◽  
Ayaka Numao ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Parkinson’S Disease ◽  
Parkinson's Disease ◽  
Japanese Patients ◽  
Odor Identification ◽  
Identification Test

scholarly journals Dermal fibroblasts from patients with Parkinson’s disease have normal GCase activity and autophagy compared to patients with PD and GBA mutations

F1000Research ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 6 ◽  
pp. 1751 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lucy M Collins ◽  
Janelle Drouin-Ouellet ◽  
Wei-Li Kuan ◽  
Timothy Cox ◽  
Roger A Barker
Keyword(s):  
Risk Factors ◽  
Parkinson’S Disease ◽  
Parkinson's Disease ◽  
Genetic Risk ◽  
Gaucher Disease ◽  
Dermal Fibroblasts ◽  
Skin Fibroblasts ◽  
Autophagic Flux ◽  
Clinical Progression ◽  
Gba Mutations

Background: Recently, the development of Parkinson’s disease (PD) has been linked to a number of genetic risk factors, of which the most common is glucocerebrosidase (GBA) mutations. Methods: We investigated PD and Gaucher Disease (GD) patient derived skin fibroblasts using biochemistry assays. Results: PD patient derived skin fibroblasts have normal glucocerebrosidase (GCase) activity, whilst patients with PD and GBA mutations have a selective deficit in GCase enzyme activity and impaired autophagic flux. Conclusions: This data suggests that only PD patients with a GBA mutation have altered GCase activity and autophagy, which may explain their more rapid clinical progression.

scholarly journals Microglial exosomes facilitate α-synuclein transmission in Parkinson’s disease

Brain ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 143 (5) ◽  
pp. 1476-1497 ◽  
Author(s):  
Min Guo ◽  
Jian Wang ◽  
Yanxin Zhao ◽  
Yiwei Feng ◽  
Sida Han ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Parkinson’S Disease ◽  
Parkinson's Disease ◽  
Protein Aggregation ◽  
Brain Regions ◽  
Dependent Manner ◽  
Nigrostriatal Pathway ◽  
Stereotaxic Injection ◽  
Promising Therapeutic Target ◽  
The Brain

Abstract Accumulation of neuronal α-synuclein is a prominent feature in Parkinson’s disease. More recently, such abnormal protein aggregation has been reported to spread from cell to cell and exosomes are considered as important mediators. The focus of such research, however, has been primarily in neurons. Given the increasing recognition of the importance of non-cell autonomous-mediated neurotoxicity, it is critical to investigate the contribution of glia to α-synuclein aggregation and spread. Microglia are the primary phagocytes in the brain and have been well-documented as inducers of neuroinflammation. How and to what extent microglia and their exosomes impact α-synuclein pathology has not been well delineated. We report here that when treated with human α-synuclein preformed fibrils, exosomes containing α-synuclein released by microglia are fully capable of inducing protein aggregation in the recipient neurons. Additionally, when combined with microglial proinflammatory cytokines, these exosomes further increased protein aggregation in neurons. Inhibition of exosome synthesis in microglia reduced α-synuclein transmission. The in vivo significance of these exosomes was demonstrated by stereotaxic injection of exosomes isolated from α-synuclein preformed fibrils treated microglia into the mouse striatum. Phosphorylated α-synuclein was observed in multiple brain regions consistent with their neuronal connectivity. These animals also exhibited neurodegeneration in the nigrostriatal pathway in a time-dependent manner. Depleting microglia in vivo dramatically suppressed the transmission of α-synuclein after stereotaxic injection of preformed fibrils. Mechanistically, we report here that α-synuclein preformed fibrils impaired autophagy flux by upregulating PELI1, which in turn, resulted in degradation of LAMP2 in activated microglia. More importantly, by purifying microglia/macrophage derived exosomes in the CSF of Parkinson’s disease patients, we confirmed the presence of α-synuclein oligomer in CD11b+ exosomes, which were able to induce α-synuclein aggregation in neurons, further supporting the translational aspect of this study. Taken together, our study supports the view that microglial exosomes contribute to the progression of α-synuclein pathology and therefore, they may serve as a promising therapeutic target for Parkinson’s disease.

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