Dataset Information

The Overcrowded Crossroads: Mitochondria, Alpha-Synuclein, and the Endo-Lysosomal System Interaction in Parkinson's Disease.

ABSTRACT: Parkinson's disease (PD) is the second most common neurodegenerative disorder worldwide, mainly affecting the elderly. The disease progresses gradually, with core motor presentations and a multitude of non-motor manifestations. There are two neuropathological hallmarks of PD, the dopaminergic neuronal loss and the alpha-synuclein-containing Lewy body inclusions in the substantia nigra. While the exact pathomechanisms of PD remain unclear, genetic investigations have revealed evidence of the involvement of mitochondrial function, alpha-synuclein (?-syn) aggregation, and the endo-lysosomal system, in disease pathogenesis. Due to the high energy demand of dopaminergic neurons, mitochondria are of special importance acting as the cellular powerhouse. Mitochondrial dynamic fusion and fission, and autophagy quality control keep the mitochondrial network in a healthy state. Should defects of the organelle occur, a variety of reactions would ensue at the cellular level, including disrupted mitochondrial respiratory network and perturbed calcium homeostasis, possibly resulting in cellular death. Meanwhile, ?-syn is a presynaptic protein that helps regulate synaptic vesicle transportation and endocytosis. Its misfolding into oligomeric sheets and fibrillation is toxic to the mitochondria and neurons. Increased cellular oxidative stress leads to ?-syn accumulation, causing mitochondrial dysfunction. The proteasome and endo-lysosomal systems function to regulate damage and unwanted waste management within the cell while facilitating the quality control of mitochondria and ?-syn. This review will analyze the biological functions and interactions between mitochondria, ?-syn, and the endo-lysosomal system in the pathogenesis of PD.

SUBMITTER: Lin KJ

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6862467 | biostudies-literature | 2019 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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The Overcrowded Crossroads: Mitochondria, Alpha-Synuclein, and the Endo-Lysosomal System Interaction in Parkinson's Disease.

Lin Kai-Jung KJ Lin Kai-Lieh KL Chen Shang-Der SD Liou Chia-Wei CW Chuang Yao-Chung YC Lin Hung-Yu HY Lin Tsu-Kung TK

International journal of molecular sciences 20191025 21

Parkinson's disease (PD) is the second most common neurodegenerative disorder worldwide, mainly affecting the elderly. The disease progresses gradually, with core motor presentations and a multitude of non-motor manifestations. There are two neuropathological hallmarks of PD, the dopaminergic neuronal loss and the alpha-synuclein-containing Lewy body inclusions in the substantia nigra. While the exact pathomechanisms of PD remain unclear, genetic investigations have revealed evidence of the invo ...[more]

PMID: 31731450

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Project description:Synucleinopathies are neurodegenerative diseases that are associated with the misfolding and aggregation of α-synuclein, including Parkinson's disease, dementia with Lewy bodies and multiple system atrophy1. Clinically, it is challenging to differentiate Parkinson's disease and multiple system atrophy, especially at the early stages of disease2. Aggregates of α-synuclein in distinct synucleinopathies have been proposed to represent different conformational strains of α-synuclein that can self-propagate and spread from cell to cell3-6. Protein misfolding cyclic amplification (PMCA) is a technique that has previously been used to detect α-synuclein aggregates in samples of cerebrospinal fluid with high sensitivity and specificity7,8. Here we show that the α-synuclein-PMCA assay can discriminate between samples of cerebrospinal fluid from patients diagnosed with Parkinson's disease and samples from patients with multiple system atrophy, with an overall sensitivity of 95.4%. We used a combination of biochemical, biophysical and biological methods to analyse the product of α-synuclein-PMCA, and found that the characteristics of the α-synuclein aggregates in the cerebrospinal fluid could be used to readily distinguish between Parkinson's disease and multiple system atrophy. We also found that the properties of aggregates that were amplified from the cerebrospinal fluid were similar to those of aggregates that were amplified from the brain. These findings suggest that α-synuclein aggregates that are associated with Parkinson's disease and multiple system atrophy correspond to different conformational strains of α-synuclein, which can be amplified and detected by α-synuclein-PMCA. Our results may help to improve our understanding of the mechanism of α-synuclein misfolding and the structures of the aggregates that are implicated in different synucleinopathies, and may also enable the development of a biochemical assay to discriminate between Parkinson's disease and multiple system atrophy.

Project description:The aberrant accumulation of alpha-synuclein (?-syn) is believed to contribute to the onset and pathogenesis of Parkinson's disease (PD). The autophagy-lysosome pathway (ALP) is responsible for the high capacity clearance of ?-syn. ALP dysfunction is documented in PD and pre-clinical evidence suggests that inhibiting the ALP promotes the pathological accumulation of ?-syn. We previously identified the pathological accumulation of ?-syn in the brains of mice deficient for the soluble lysosomal enzyme alpha-Galactosidase A (?-Gal A), a member of the glycosphingolipid metabolism pathway. In the present study, we quantified ?-Gal A activity and levels of its glycosphingolipid metabolites in postmortem temporal cortex specimens from control individuals and in PD individuals staged with respect to ?-syn containing Lewy body pathology. In late-state PD temporal cortex we observed significant decreases in ?-Gal A activity and the 46kDa "active" species of ?-Gal A as determined respectively by fluorometric activity assay and western blot analysis. These decreases in ?-Gal A activity/levels correlated significantly with increased ?-syn phosphorylated at serine 129 (p129S-?-syn) that was maximal in late-stage PD temporal cortex. Mass spectrometric analysis of 29 different isoforms of globotriaosylceramide (Gb3), a substrate of ?-Gal A indicated no significant differences with respect to different stages of PD temporal cortex. However, significant correlations were observed between increased levels of several Gb3 isoforms and with decreased ?-Gal A activity and/or increased p129S-?-syn. Deacylated Gb3 (globotriaosylsphingosine or lyso-Gb3) was also analyzed in PD brain tissue but was below the limit of detection of 20pmol/g. Analysis of other lysosomal enzymes revealed a significant decrease in activity for the lysosomal aspartic acid protease cathepsin D but not for glucocerebrosidase (GCase) or cathepsin B in late-stage PD temporal cortex. However, a significant correlation was observed between decreasing GCase activity and increasing p129S-?-syn. Together our findings indicate ?-Gal A deficiency in late-stage PD brain that correlates significantly with the pathological accumulation of ?-syn, and further suggest the potential for ?-Gal A and its glycosphingolipid substrates as putative biomarkers for PD.

Dataset Information

The Overcrowded Crossroads: Mitochondria, Alpha-Synuclein, and the Endo-Lysosomal System Interaction in Parkinson's Disease.

Publications

The Overcrowded Crossroads: Mitochondria, Alpha-Synuclein, and the Endo-Lysosomal System Interaction in Parkinson's Disease.

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