scholarly journals The Small Molecule Alpha-Synuclein Aggregator, FN075, Enhances Alpha-Synuclein Pathology in Subclinical AAV Rat Models

Biomolecules ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (11) ◽  
pp. 1685
Author(s):  
Rachel Kelly ◽  
Andrew G. Cairns ◽  
Jörgen Ådén ◽  
Fredrik Almqvist ◽  
Alexis-Pierre Bemelmans ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Viral Vectors ◽  
Alpha Synuclein ◽  
Human Condition ◽  
Motor Dysfunction ◽  
Nigrostriatal Pathway ◽  
Wild Type ◽  
Behavioral Testing ◽  
Rat Models ◽  
Sequential Administration ◽  
Nigrostriatal Degeneration

Animal models of Parkinson’s disease, in which the human α-synuclein transgene is overexpressed in the nigrostriatal pathway using viral vectors, are widely considered to be the most relevant models of the human condition. However, although highly valid, these models have major limitations related to reliability and variability, with many animals exhibiting pronounced α-synuclein expression failing to demonstrate nigrostriatal neurodegeneration or motor dysfunction. Therefore, the aim of this study was to determine if sequential intra-nigral administration of AAV-α-synuclein followed by the small α-synuclein aggregating molecule, FN075, would enhance or precipitate the associated α-synucleinopathy, nigrostriatal pathology and motor dysfunction in subclinical models. Rats were given unilateral intra-nigral injections of AAV-α-synuclein (either wild-type or A53T mutant) followed four weeks later by a unilateral intra-nigral injection of FN075, after which they underwent behavioral testing for lateralized motor functionality until they were sacrificed for immunohistological assessment at 20 weeks after AAV administration. In line with expectations, both of the AAV vectors induced widespread overexpression of human α-synuclein in the substantia nigra and striatum. Sequential administration of FN075 significantly enhanced the α-synuclein pathology with increased density and accumulation of the pathological form of the protein phosphorylated at serine 129 (pS129-α-synuclein). However, despite this enhanced α-synuclein pathology, FN075 did not precipitate nigrostriatal degeneration or motor dysfunction in these subclinical AAV models. In conclusion, FN075 holds significant promise as an approach to enhancing the α-synuclein pathology in viral overexpression models, but further studies are required to determine if alternative administration regimes for this molecule could improve the reliability and variability in these models.

scholarly journals In vivo electrophysiology of nigral and thalamic neurons in alpha-synuclein-overexpressing mice highlights differences from toxin-based models of parkinsonism

2013 ◽  
Vol 110 (12) ◽  
pp. 2792-2805 ◽  
Author(s):  
C. J. Lobb ◽  
A. K. Zaheer ◽  
Y. Smith ◽  
D. Jaeger
Keyword(s):  
Primary Motor Cortex ◽  
Alpha Synuclein ◽  
Motor Dysfunction ◽  
Motor Deficits ◽  
Dopamine Depletion ◽  
Wild Type ◽  
Beta Oscillations ◽  
Nigrostriatal Dopamine ◽  
6 Hydroxydopamine

Numerous studies have suggested that alpha-synuclein plays a prominent role in both familial and idiopathic Parkinson's disease (PD). Mice in which human alpha-synuclein is overexpressed (ASO) display progressive motor deficits and many nonmotor features of PD. However, it is unclear what in vivo pathophysiological mechanisms drive these motor deficits. It is also unknown whether previously proposed pathophysiological features (i.e., increased beta oscillations, bursting, and synchronization) described in toxin-based, nigrostriatal dopamine-depletion models are also present in ASO mice. To address these issues, we first confirmed that 5- to 6-mo-old ASO mice have robust motor dysfunction, despite the absence of significant nigrostriatal dopamine degeneration. In the same animals, we then recorded simultaneous single units and local field potentials (LFPs) in the substantia nigra pars reticulata (SNpr), the main basal ganglia output nucleus, and one of its main thalamic targets, the ventromedial nucleus, as well as LFPs in the primary motor cortex in anesthetized ASO mice and their age-matched, wild-type littermates. Neural activity was examined during slow wave activity and desynchronized cortical states, as previously described in 6-hydroxydopamine-lesioned rats. In contrast to toxin-based models, we found a small decrease, rather than an increase, in beta oscillations in the desynchronized state. Similarly, synchronized burst firing of nigral neurons observed in toxin-based models was not observed in ASO mice. Instead, we found more subtle changes in pauses of SNpr firing compared with wild-type control mice. Our results suggest that the pathophysiology underlying motor dysfunction in ASO mice is distinctly different from striatal dopamine-depletion models of parkinsonism.

scholarly journals Low-level overexpression of wild type TDP-43 causes late-onset, progressive neurodegeneration and paralysis in mice

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chunxing Yang ◽  
Tao Qiao ◽  
Jia Yu ◽  
Hongyan Wang ◽  
Yansu Guo ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Spinal Cord ◽  
Neurological Disorders ◽  
Late Onset ◽  
Early Death ◽  
Human Condition ◽  
Motor Dysfunction ◽  
Lumbar Spinal Cord ◽  
Wild Type ◽  
Preclinical Trial ◽  
Low Level

Modestly increased expression of transactive response DNA binding protein (TDP-43) gene have been reported in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), frontotemporal dementia (FTD), and other neuromuscular diseases. However, whether this modest elevation triggers neurodegeneration is not known. Although high levels of TDP-43 overexpression have been modeled in mice and shown to cause early death, models with low-level overexpression that mimic the human condition have not been established. In this study, transgenic mice overexpressing wild type TDP-43 at less than 60% above the endogenous CNS levels were constructed, and their phenotypes analyzed by a variety of techniques, including biochemical, molecular, histological, behavioral techniques and electromyography. The TDP-43 transgene was expressed in neurons, astrocytes, and oligodendrocytes in the cortex and predominantly in astrocytes and oligodendrocytes in the spinal cord. The mice developed a reproducible progressive weakness ending in paralysis in mid-life. Detailed analysis showed ~30% loss of large pyramidal neurons in the layer V motor cortex; in the spinal cord, severe demyelination was accompanied by oligodendrocyte injury, protein aggregation, astrogliosis and microgliosis, and elevation of neuroinflammation. Surprisingly, there was no loss of lower motor neurons in the lumbar spinal cord despite the complete paralysis of the hindlimbs. However, denervation was detected at the neuromuscular junction. These results demonstrate that low-level TDP-43 overexpression can cause diverse aspects of ALS, including late-onset and progressive motor dysfunction, neuroinflammation, and neurodegeneration. Our findings suggest that persistent modest elevations in TDP-43 expression can lead to ALS and other neurological disorders involving TDP-43 proteinopathy. Because of the predictable and progressive clinical paralytic phenotype, this transgenic mouse model will be useful in preclinical trial of therapeutics targeting neurological disorders associated with elevated levels of TDP-43.

scholarly journals Altered Emotional Phenotypes in Chronic Kidney Disease Following 5/6 Nephrectomy

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (7) ◽  
pp. 882
Author(s):  
Yeon Hee Yu ◽  
Seong-Wook Kim ◽  
Dae-Kyoon Park ◽  
Ho-Yeon Song ◽  
Duk-Soo Kim ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Chronic Kidney Disease ◽  
Kidney Disease ◽  
Local Field ◽  
Smooth Muscle Actin ◽  
Local Field Potentials ◽  
Renal Tissue ◽  
Field Potentials ◽  
Wild Type ◽  
Sprague Dawley ◽  
Rat Models

Increased prevalence of chronic kidney disease (CKD) and neurological disorders including cerebrovascular disease, cognitive impairment, peripheral neuropathy, and dysfunction of central nervous system have been reported during the natural history of CKD. Psychological distress and depression are serious concerns in patients with CKD. However, the relevance of CKD due to decline in renal function and the pathophysiology of emotional deterioration is not clear. Male Sprague Dawley rats were divided into three groups: sham control, 5/6 nephrectomy at 4 weeks, and 5/6 nephrectomy at 10 weeks. Behavior tests, local field potentials, and histology and laboratory tests were conducted and investigated. We provided direct evidence showing that CKD rat models exhibited anxiogenic behaviors and depression-like phenotypes, along with altered hippocampal neural oscillations at 1–12 Hz. We generated CKD rat models by performing 5/6 nephrectomy, and identified higher level of serum creatinine and blood urea nitrogen (BUN) in CKD rats than in wild-type, depending on time. In addition, the level of α-smooth muscle actin (α-SMA) and collagen I for renal tissue was markedly elevated, with worsening fibrosis due to renal failures. The level of anxiety and depression-like behaviors increased in the 10-week CKD rat models compared with the 4-week rat models. In the recording of local field potentials, the power of delta (1–4 Hz), theta (4–7 Hz), and alpha rhythm (7–12 Hz) was significantly increased in the hippocampus of CKD rats compared with wild-type rats. Together, our findings indicated that anxiogenic behaviors and depression can be induced by CKD, and these abnormal symptoms can be worsened as the onset of CKD was prolonged. In conclusion, our results show that the hippocampus is vulnerable to uremia.

scholarly journals Adeno-Associated Viral Delivery of GDNF Promotes Recovery of Dopaminergic Phenotype following a Unilateral 6-Hydroxydopamine Lesion

2002 ◽  
Vol 11 (3) ◽  
pp. 215-227 ◽  
Author(s):  
John Mcgrath ◽  
Elishia Lintz ◽  
Barry J. Hoffer ◽  
Greg A. Gerhardt ◽  
E. Matthew Quintero ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Neurotrophic Factor ◽  
Viral Vectors ◽  
Medial Forebrain Bundle ◽  
Therapeutic Potential ◽  
Clinical Situation ◽  
Dopamine Neurons ◽  
Nigrostriatal System ◽  
Nigrostriatal Pathway ◽  
Neurotoxic Lesion ◽  
6 Hydroxydopamine

Glial cell line-derived neurotrophic factor (GDNF) is a potent neurotrophic factor for dopamine neurons that has been proposed for use in the treatment of Parkinson's disease (PD). Previous studies using viral vectors to deliver GDNF in rodent models of PD have entailed administering the virus either prior to or immediately after neurotoxin-induced lesions, when the nigrostriatal pathway is largely intact, a paradigm that does not accurately reflect the clinical situation encountered with Parkinson's patients. In this study, recombinant adeno-associated virus carrying the gene encoding GDNF (rAAV-GDNF) was administered to animals bearing a maximal lesion in the nigrostriatal system, more closely resembling fully developed PD. Rats were treated with 6-hydroxydopamine into the medial forebrain bundle and assessed by apomorphine-induced rotational behavior for 5 weeks prior to virus administration. Within 4 weeks of a single intrastriatal injection of rAAV-GDNF, unilaterally lesioned animals exhibited significant behavioral recovery, which correlated with increased expression of dopaminergic markers in the substantia nigra, the medial forebrain bundle, and the striatum. Our findings demonstrate that rAAV-GDNF is capable of rescuing adult dopaminergic neurons from near complete phenotypic loss following a neurotoxic lesion, effectively restoring a functional dopaminergic pathway and diminishing motoric deficits. These data provide further support for the therapeutic potential of rAAV-GDNF-based gene therapy in the treatment of PD.

scholarly journals Aged xCT-Deficient Mice Are Less Susceptible for Lactacystin-, but Not 1-Methyl-4-Phenyl-1,2,3,6- Tetrahydropyridine-, Induced Degeneration of the Nigrostriatal Pathway

2021 ◽  
Vol 15 ◽  
Author(s):  
Eduard Bentea ◽  
Laura De Pauw ◽  
Lise Verbruggen ◽  
Lila C. Winfrey ◽  
Lauren Deneyer ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Dopaminergic Neurons ◽  
Proteasome Inhibition ◽  
Cell Loss ◽  
Redox Balance ◽  
Nigrostriatal Pathway ◽  
Knock Out ◽  
Aged Mice ◽  
Adult Mice ◽  
Age Related ◽  
Nigrostriatal Degeneration

The astrocytic cystine/glutamate antiporter system xc– (with xCT as the specific subunit) imports cystine in exchange for glutamate and has been shown to interact with multiple pathways in the brain that are dysregulated in age-related neurological disorders, including glutamate homeostasis, redox balance, and neuroinflammation. In the current study, we investigated the effect of genetic xCT deletion on lactacystin (LAC)- and 1-methyl-4-phenyl-1,2,3,6-tetrahydropyridine (MPTP)-induced degeneration of the nigrostriatal pathway, as models for Parkinson’s disease (PD). Dopaminergic neurons of adult xCT knock-out mice (xCT–/–) demonstrated an equal susceptibility to intranigral injection of the proteasome inhibitor LAC, as their wild-type (xCT+/+) littermates. Contrary to adult mice, aged xCT–/– mice showed a significant decrease in LAC-induced degeneration of nigral dopaminergic neurons, depletion of striatal dopamine (DA) and neuroinflammatory reaction, compared to age-matched xCT+/+ littermates. Given this age-related protection, we further investigated the sensitivity of aged xCT–/– mice to chronic and progressive MPTP treatment. However, in accordance with our previous observations in adult mice (Bentea et al., 2015a), xCT deletion did not confer protection against MPTP-induced nigrostriatal degeneration in aged mice. We observed an increased loss of nigral dopaminergic neurons, but equal striatal DA denervation, in MPTP-treated aged xCT–/– mice when compared to age-matched xCT+/+ littermates. To conclude, we reveal age-related protection against proteasome inhibition-induced nigrostriatal degeneration in xCT–/– mice, while xCT deletion failed to protect nigral dopaminergic neurons of aged mice against MPTP-induced toxicity. Our findings thereby provide new insights into the role of system xc– in mechanisms of dopaminergic cell loss and its interaction with aging.

Pyrethroid and organophosphate insecticide exposure in the 1-methyl-4-phenyl-1,2,3,6-tetrahydropyridine mouse model of Parkinson’s disease: an immunohistochemical analysis of tyrosine hydroxylase and glial fibrillary acidic protein in dorsolateral striatum

2009 ◽  
Vol 25 (1) ◽  
pp. 25-39 ◽  
Author(s):  
CA Dodd ◽  
BG Klein
Keyword(s):  
Parkinson’S Disease ◽  
Parkinson's Disease ◽  
Tyrosine Hydroxylase ◽  
Mouse Model ◽  
Glial Fibrillary Acidic Protein ◽  
Immunohistochemical Analysis ◽  
Acidic Protein ◽  
Nigrostriatal Pathway ◽  
Organophosphate Insecticide ◽  
Nigrostriatal Degeneration

The pyrethroid insecticide permethrin and the organophosphate insecticide chlorpyrifos can experimentally produce Parkinson’s disease (PD)-associated changes in the dopaminergic nigrostriatal pathway, short of frank degeneration, although at doses considerably higher than from a likely environmental exposure. The ability of permethrin (200 mg/kg), chlorpyrifos (50 mg/kg), or combined permethrin + chlorpyrifos to facilitate nigrostriatal damage in the 1-methyl-4-phenyl-1,2,3,6-tetrahydropyridine (MPTP) (30 mg/kg) C57BL/6 mouse model of PD was investigated in three separate experiments. Tyrosine hydroxylase (TH) and glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP) immunohistochemistry assessed nigrostriatal degeneration or nigrostriatal damage more subtle than frank degeneration. Four fields in the dorsolateral caudate-putamen were examined at two rostrocaudal locations. The dopaminergic neurotoxin MPTP decreased striatal TH immunopositive neuropil and increased GFAP immunopositive neuropil. Neither permethrin nor chlorpyrifos, alone or in combination, altered the effects of MPTP upon TH or GFAP immunostaining. Permethrin alone increased striatal GFAP immunopositive neuropil but not when combined with chlorpyrifos treatment. Therefore, combined administration of the two insecticides appeared to protect against an increase in a neuropathological indicator of striatal damage seen with permethrin treatment alone. Differences compared with analysis of entire striatum emphasize the value of varying the topographic focus used to assess nigrostriatal degeneration in studies of insecticides in PD.

scholarly journals Chronic MPTP in Mice Damage-specific Neuronal Phenotypes within Dorsal Laminae of the Spinal Cord

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Francesca Biagioni ◽  
Giorgio Vivacqua ◽  
Gloria Lazzeri ◽  
Rosangela Ferese ◽  
Simone Iannacone ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Spinal Cord ◽  
Neuronal Damage ◽  
Alpha Synuclein ◽  
Pain Modulation ◽  
Nigrostriatal Pathway ◽  
Experimental Conditions ◽  
Dorsal Spinal Cord ◽  
Lamina I ◽  
Experimental Parkinsonism ◽  
Dorsal Spinal

AbstractThe neurotoxin 1-methyl, 4-phenyl, 1, 2, 3, 6-tetrahydropiridine (MPTP) is widely used to produce experimental parkinsonism. Such a disease is characterized by neuronal damage in multiple regions beyond the nigrostriatal pathway including the spinal cord. The neurotoxin MPTP damages spinal motor neurons. So far, in Parkinson’s disease (PD) patients alpha-synuclein aggregates are described in the dorsal horn of the spinal cord. Nonetheless, no experimental investigation was carried out to document whether MPTP affects the sensory compartment of the spinal cord. Thus, in the present study, we investigated whether chronic exposure to small doses of MPTP (5 mg/kg/X2, daily, for 21 days) produces any pathological effect within dorsal spinal cord. This mild neurotoxic protocol produces a damage only to nigrostriatal dopamine (DA) axon terminals with no decrease in DA nigral neurons assessed by quantitative stereology. In these experimental conditions we documented a decrease in enkephalin-, calretinin-, calbindin D28K-, and parvalbumin-positive neurons within lamina I and II and the outer lamina III. Met-Enkephalin and substance P positive fibers are reduced in laminae I and II of chronically MPTP-treated mice. In contrast, as reported in PD patients, alpha-synuclein is markedly increased within spared neurons and fibers of lamina I and II after MPTP exposure. This is the first evidence that experimental parkinsonism produces the loss of specific neurons of the dorsal spinal cord, which are likely to be involved in sensory transmission and in pain modulation providing an experimental correlate for sensory and pain alterations in PD.

scholarly journals Alpha-synuclein stepwise aggregation reveals features of an early onset mutation in Parkinson’s disease

2019 ◽  
Vol 2 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Guilherme A. P. de Oliveira ◽  
Jerson L. Silva
Keyword(s):  
Parkinson’S Disease ◽  
Parkinson's Disease ◽  
Early Onset ◽  
Point Mutations ◽  
Alpha Synuclein ◽  
Amyloid Formation ◽  
Wild Type ◽  
Cryo Electron Microscopy ◽  
Familial Parkinson’S Disease ◽  
Direct Detector

Abstract Amyloid formation is a process involving interconverting protein species and results in toxic oligomers and fibrils. Aggregated alpha-synuclein (αS) participates in neurodegenerative maladies, but a closer understanding of the early αS polymerization stages and polymorphism of heritable αS variants is sparse still. Here, we distinguished αS oligomer and protofibril interconversions in Thioflavin T polymerization reactions. The results support a hypothesis reconciling the nucleation-polymerization and nucleation-conversion-polymerization models to explain the dissimilar behaviors of wild-type and the A53T mutant. Cryo-electron microscopy with a direct detector shows the polymorphic nature of αS fibrils formed by heritable A30P, E46K, and A53T point mutations. By showing that A53T rapidly nucleates competent species, continuously elongates fibrils in the presence of increasing amounts of seeds, and overcomes wild-type surface requirements for growth, our findings place A53T with features that may explain the early onset of familial Parkinson’s disease cases bearing this mutation.

scholarly journals Mouse Model for Human Arginase Deficiency

2002 ◽  
Vol 22 (13) ◽  
pp. 4491-4498 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ramaswamy K. Iyer ◽  
Paul K. Yoo ◽  
Rita M. Kern ◽  
Nora Rozengurt ◽  
Rosemarie Tsoa ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Treatment Options ◽  
Branched Chain Amino Acids ◽  
Human Condition ◽  
Cell Swelling ◽  
Wild Type ◽  
Disease Mechanism ◽  
Mental Impairment ◽  
Arginase Deficiency ◽  
The Mean ◽  
Branched Chain

ABSTRACT Deficiency of liver arginase (AI) causes hyperargininemia (OMIM 207800), a disorder characterized by progressive mental impairment, growth retardation, and spasticity and punctuated by sometimes fatal episodes of hyperammonemia. We constructed a knockout mouse strain carrying a nonfunctional AI gene by homologous recombination. Arginase AI knockout mice completely lacked liver arginase (AI) activity, exhibited severe symptoms of hyperammonemia, and died between postnatal days 10 and 14. During hyperammonemic crisis, plasma ammonia levels of these mice increased >10-fold compared to those for normal animals. Livers of AI-deficient animals showed hepatocyte abnormalities, including cell swelling and inclusions. Plasma amino acid analysis showed the mean arginine level in knockouts to be approximately fourfold greater than that for the wild type and threefold greater than that for heterozygotes; the mean proline level was approximately one-third and the ornithine level was one-half of the proline and ornithine levels, respectively, for wild-type or heterozygote mice—understandable biochemical consequences of arginase deficiency. Glutamic acid, citrulline, and histidine levels were about 1.5-fold higher than those seen in the phenotypically normal animals. Concentrations of the branched-chain amino acids valine, isoleucine, and leucine were 0.4 to 0.5 times the concentrations seen in phenotypically normal animals. In summary, the AI-deficient mouse duplicates several pathobiological aspects of the human condition and should prove to be a useful model for further study of the disease mechanism(s) and to explore treatment options, such as pharmaceutical administration of sodium phenylbutyrate and/or ornithine and development of gene therapy protocols.

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