?-Synuclein impairs ferritinophagy in the retinal pigment epithelium: Implications for retinal iron dyshomeostasis in Parkinson's disease.
Ontology highlight
ABSTRACT: Retinal degeneration is prominent in Parkinson's disease (PD), a neuromotor disorder associated with aggregation of ?-synuclein (?-syn) in the substantia-nigra (SN). Although ?-syn is expressed in the neuroretina, absence of prominent aggregates suggests altered function as the likely cause of retinal pathology. We demonstrate that ?-syn impairs ferritinophagy, resulting in the accumulation of iron-rich ferritin in the outer retina in-vivo and retinal-pigment-epithelial (RPE) cells in-vitro. Over-expression of Rab1a restores ferritinophagy, suggesting that ?-syn impairs lysosomal function by disrupting the trafficking of lysosomal hydrolases. Surprisingly, upregulation of ferritin in RPE cells by exogenous iron in-vitro stimulated the release of ferritin and ?-syn in exosomes, suggesting that iron overload due to impaired ferritinophagy or other cause(s) is likely to initiate prion-like spread of ?-syn and ferritin, creating retinal iron dyshomeostasis and associated cytotoxicity. Since over-expression of ?-syn is a known cause of PD, these results explain the likely cause of PD-associated retinal degeneration.
SUBMITTER: Baksi S
PROVIDER: S-EPMC5634503 | biostudies-literature | 2017 Oct
REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature
ACCESS DATA