α-synuclein aggregates induce c-Abl activation and dopaminergic neuronal loss by a feed-forward redox stress mechanism
Document Type
Article
Abstract
Oxidative stress and α-synuclein aggregation both drive neurodegeneration in Parkinson's disease, and the protein kinase c-Abl provides a potential amplifying link between these pathogenic factors. Suppressing interactions between these factors may thus be a viable therapeutic approach for this disorder. To evaluate this possibility, pre-formed α-synuclein fibrils (PFFs) were used to induce α-synuclein aggregation in neuronal cultures. Exposure to PFFs induced oxidative stress and c-Abl activation in wild-type neurons. By contrast, α-synuclein - deficient neurons, which cannot form α-synuclein aggregates, failed to exhibit either oxidative stress or c-Abl activation. N-acetyl cysteine, a thiol repletion agent that supports neuronal glutathione metabolism, suppressed the PFF - induced redox stress and c-Abl activation in the wild-type neurons, and likewise suppressed α-synuclein aggregation. Parallel findings were observed in mouse brain: PFF-induced α-synuclein aggregation in the substantia nigra was associated with redox stress, c-Abl activation, and dopaminergic neuronal loss, along with microglial activation and motor impairment, all of which were attenuated with oral N-acetyl cysteine. Similar results were obtained using AAV-mediated α-synuclein overexpression as an alternative means of driving α-synuclein aggregation in vivo. These findings show that α-synuclein aggregates induce c-Abl activation by a redox stress mechanism. c-Abl activation in turn promotes α-synuclein aggregation, in a feed-forward interaction. The capacity of N-acetyl cysteine to interrupt this interaction adds mechanistic support its consideration as a therapeutic in Parkinson's disease.
Keywords
Excitatory amino acid transporter 3, Gene-Environment interaction, Glutathione, Parkinson's disease, SLC1A1
Publication Date
7-1-2021
Publication Title
Progress in Neurobiology
ISSN
03010082
E-ISSN
18735118
Volume
202
PubMed ID
33951536
Digital Object Identifier (DOI)
10.1016/j.pneurobio.2021.102070
Recommended Citation
Ghosh, Soumitra; Won, Seok Joon; Wang, Jiejie; Fong, Rebecca; Butler, Nicholas J.M.; Moss, Arianna; Wong, Candance; Pan, June; Sanchez, Jennifer; Huynh, Annie; Wu, Long; Manfredsson, Fredric P.; and Swanson, Raymond A., "α-synuclein aggregates induce c-Abl activation and dopaminergic neuronal loss by a feed-forward redox stress mechanism" (2021). Translational Neuroscience. 1468.
https://scholar.barrowneuro.org/neurobiology/1468