Evelina Chieregatti

Impaired adult neurogenesis and axon traumatic injury participate in the severity of neurodegenerative diseases. Alpha-synuclein, a cytosolic protein involved in Parkinson’s disease, may be released from neurons, suggesting a role for excess secreted alpha-synuclein in the onset and spread of the pathology. Here we provide evidence that long term exposure of young neurons to extracellular alpha-synuclein hampers axon elongation and growth cone turning. We show that actin turnover and the rate of movement of actin waves along the axon are altered, due to alpha-synuclein-induced inactivation of cofilin. Upon laser disruption of microfilaments, healing of axons is favored by the increased phosphorylation of cofilin, however, at later time points; the defect in neurite extension prevails, being lost the regulation of cofilin activity. Importantly, overexpression of the active form of cofilin in neurons exposed to alpha-synuclein is able to restore the movement of actin waves, physiological axon elongation and growth cone turning. Our study reveals the molecular basis of alpha-synuclein-driven deficits in growth and migration of newborn neurons and in elongation and regeneration of adult neurons.

Maintenance of neuronal polarity and regulation of cytoskeletal dynamics are vital during development and to uphold synaptic activity in neuronal networks. Here we show that soluble β-amyloid (Aβ) disrupts actin and microtubule (MT) dynamics via activation of RhoA and inhibition of histone deacetylase 6 (HDAC6) in cultured hippocampal neurons. The contact of Aβ with the extracellular membrane promotes RhoA activation, leading to growth cone collapse and neurite retraction, which might be responsible for hampered neuronal pathfinding and migration in Alzheimer’s disease (AD). The inhibition of HDAC6 by Aβ increases the level of heterodimeric acetylated tubulin and acetylated tau, both of which have been found altered in AD. We also find that the loss of HDAC6 activity perturbs the integrity of axon initial segment (AIS), resulting in mislocalization of ankyrin G and increased MT instability in the AIS concomitant with loss of polarized localization of tau and impairment of action potential firing.

Mutations and duplication/triplication of the alpha-synuclein (αSyn)-coding gene have been found to cause familial Parkinson’s disease (PD), while genetic polymorphisms in the region controlling the expression level and stability of αSyn have been identified as risk factors for idiopathic PD, pointing to the importance of wild-type (wt) αSyn dosage in the disease. Evidence that αSyn is present in the cerebrospinal fluid and interstitial brain tissue and that healthy neuronal grafts transplanted into PD patients often degenerate suggests that extracellularly-released αSyn plays a role in triggering the neurodegenerative process. αSyn’s role in neurotransmission has been shown in various cell culture models in which the protein was upregulated or deleted and in knock out and transgenic animal, with different results on αSyn’s effect on synaptic vesicle pool size and mobilization, αSyn being proposed as a negative or positive regulator of neurotransmitter release. In this review, we discuss the effect of αSyn on pre- and post-synaptic compartments in terms of synaptic vesicle trafficking, calcium entry and channel activity, and we focus on the process of exocytosis and internalization of αSyn and on the spreading of αSyn-driven effects due to the presence of the protein in the extracellular milieu.

Trace Amine-Associated Receptor 1 (TAAR1) is a G protein-coupled receptor expressed in the mammalian brain and known to influence subcortical monoaminergic transmission. Monoamines, such as dopamine, play also an important role within the prefrontal cortex (PFC) circuitry, which is critically involved in high order cognitive processes. TAAR1 selective ligands have shown potential antipsychotic, antidepressant and pro-cognitive effects in experimental animal models; however, it remains unclear if TAAR1 can affect PFC-related processes and functions. In this study, we document distinct pattern of expression of TAAR1 in the PFC, as well as altered subunit composition and deficient functionality of the glutamate N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) receptors in the pyramidal neurons of layer V of PFC in mice lacking TAAR1. The dysregulated cortical glutamate transmission in TAAR1-KO mice was associated with aberrant behaviors in several tests, indicating a perseverative and impulsive phenotype of mutants. Conversely, pharmacological activation of TAAR1 with selective agonists reduced premature impulsive responses observed in the fixed-interval conditioning schedule in normal mice. Our study indicates that TAAR1 plays an important role in the modulation of NMDA receptor-mediated glutamate transmission in the PFC and related functions. Furthermore, these data suggest that development of TAAR1-based drugs could provide a novel therapeutic approach for the treatment of disorders related to aberrant cortical functions.

Although loss-of-function mutations in thePARK2gene, the gene that encodes the protein parkin, cause autosomal recessive juvenile parkinsonism, the responsible molecular mechanisms remain unclear. Evidence suggests that a loss of parkin dysregulates excitatory synapses. Here we show that parkin interacts with the kainate receptor (KAR) GluK2 subunit and regulates KAR function. Loss of parkin function in primary cultured neurons causes GluK2 protein to accumulate in the plasma membrane, potentiates KAR currents and increases KAR-dependent excitotoxicity. Expression in the mouse brain of a parkin mutant causing autosomal recessive juvenile parkinsonism results in GluK2 protein accumulation and excitotoxicity. These findings show that parkin regulates KAR functionin vitroandin vivo, and suggest that KAR upregulation may have a pathogenetic role in parkin-related autosomal recessive juvenile parkinsonism.

Mutation or multiplication of the alpha-synuclein (Syn)-encoding gene is frequent cause of early onset Parkinson’s disease (PD). Recent evidences point to the pathogenic role of excess Syn also in sporadic PD. Syn is a cytosolic protein, which has been shown to be released from neurons. Here we provide evidence that extracellular Syn induces an increase in surface-exposed glucose-related protein of 78 kDa (GRP78), which becomes clustered in microdomains of the neuronal plasma membrane. Upon interacting with Syn, GRP78 activates a signaling cascade leading to cofilin 1 inactivation and stabilization of microfilaments, thus affecting morphology and dynamics of actin cytoskeleton in cultured neurons. Downregulation of GRP78 abolishes the activity of exogenous Syn, indicating that it is the primary target of Syn. Inactivation of cofilin 1 and stabilization of actin cytoskeleton are present also in fibroblasts derived from genetic PD patients, which show a dramatic increase in stress fibers. Similar changes are displayed by control cells incubated with the medium of PD fibroblasts, only when Syn is present. The accumulation of Syn in the extracellular milieu, its interaction with the plasma membrane and Syn-driven clustering of GRP78 appear, therefore, responsible for the dysregulation of actin turnover, leading to early deficits in synaptic function that precede neurodegeneration.

α-Synuclein is thought to regulate neurotransmitter release through multiple interactions with presynaptic proteins, cytoskeletal elements, ion channels, and synaptic vesicles membrane. α-Synuclein is abundant in the presynaptic compartment, and its release from neurons and glia has been described as responsible for spreading of α-synuclein-derived pathology. α-Synuclein-dependent dysregulation of neurotransmitter release might occur via its action on surface-exposed calcium channels. Here, we provide electrophysiological and biochemical evidence to show that α-synuclein, applied to rat neurons in culture or striatal slices, selectively activates Ca_v2.2 channels, and said activation correlates with increased neurotransmitter release. Furthermore, in vivo perfusion of α-synuclein into the striatum also leads to acute dopamine release. We further demonstrate that α-synuclein reduces the amount of plasma membrane cholesterol and alters the partitioning of Ca_v2.2 channels, which move from raft to cholesterol-poor areas of the plasma membrane. We provide evidence for a novel mechanism through which α-synuclein acts from the extracellular milieu to modulate neurotransmitter release and propose a unifying hypothesis for the mechanism of α-synuclein action on multiple targets: the reorganization of plasma membrane microdomains.