Lipid level alteration in human and cellular models of alpha synuclein mutations

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Abstract
Lipid profiles in biological fluids from patients with Parkinson’s disease (PD) are increasingly investigated in search of biomarkers. However, the lipid profiles in genetic PD remain to be determined, a gap of knowledge of particular interest in PD associated with mutant α-synuclein (SNCA), given the known relationship between this protein and lipids. The objective of this research is to identify serum lipid composition fromSNCAA53T mutation carriers and to compare these alterations to those found in cells and transgenic mice carrying the same genetic mutation. We conducted an unbiased lipidomic analysis of 530 lipid species from 34 lipid classes in serum of 30 participants withSNCAmutation with and without PD and 30 healthy controls. The primary analysis was done between 22 PD patients withSNCA+ (SNCA+/PD+) and 30 controls using machine-learning algorithms and traditional statistics. We also analyzed the lipid composition of human clonal-cell lines and tissue from transgenic mice overexpressing the sameSNCAmutation. We identified specific lipid classes that best discriminate betweenSNCA+/PD+ patients and healthy controls and found certain lipid species, mainly from the glycerophosphatidylcholine and triradylglycerol classes, that are most contributory to this discrimination. Most of these alterations were also present in human derived cells and transgenic mice carrying the same mutation. Our combination of lipidomic and machine learning analyses revealed alterations in glycerophosphatidylcholine and triradylglycerol in sera from PD patients as well as cells and tissues expressing mutant α-Syn. Further investigations are needed to establish the pathogenic significance of these α-Syn-associated lipid changes.
Funding Information
  • Parkinson's Foundation (Stanley Fahn Junior Faculty Award)
  • U.S. Department of Health & Human Services | NIH | National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (K02NS080915, AG056387)
  • U.S. Department of Health & Human Services | NIH | National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke

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