Nicole Pavoncello

Parkinson’s disease (PD) is a common neurodegenerative disorder marked by progressive loss of dopaminergic neurons in the substantia nigra pars compacta and the accumulation of Lewy bodies, intracellular inclusions enriched in α-synuclein. Synphilin-1 interacts with α-synuclein, localizes to Lewy bodies, and has been implicated in inclusion formation and neuroprotection in cellular and animal models; however, its physiological function in vivo remains poorly defined. Here, we generated and characterized a synphilin-1 knockout (Sph-1 KO) mouse by targeted genetic deletion of the Sph-1 locus and performed a comprehensive phenotyping battery including behavioral testing as well as biochemical, histological, structural, and ultrastructural analyses. Sph-1 KO mice survived to nearly two years of age and showed normal body weight, lifespan, motor performance, learning and memory, anxiety-like behavior, attention, and gross brain morphology. Western blot analyses indicated that levels of α-synuclein and synaptic proteins were largely unchanged. While outer mitochondrial membrane proteins were unaffected, the mitochondrial matrix protein HSP60 was reduced, consistent with altered mitochondrial proteostasis in the absence of synphilin-1. Strikingly, histochemical analyses, magnetic resonance imaging, and electron microscopy revealed early-onset hydrocephalus in Sph-1 KO mice associated with severe loss and disorganization of motile ependymal cilia in the ventricular lining, a cell type that normally expresses high levels of synphilin-1. Ultrastructural and immunohistochemical analyses revealed disrupted ependymal architecture, mislocalization of acetylated α-tubulin to the cytoplasm, cellular swelling, and enlarged, aberrant mitochondria, whereas cortical neurons appeared largely structurally unaffected. Together, these findings identify synphilin-1 as a key regulator of microtubule organization and cytoskeletal/organelle homeostasis in ependymal cells, required to maintain motile ciliogenesis, cerebrospinal fluid flow, and ventricular integrity. This unexpected role for synphilin-1 in ciliated brain epithelia, along with a reduction in the critical mitochondrial chaperone HSP60, broadens our understanding of synphilin-1 biology and provides a new framework for its potential relevance to PD-associated pathology.

Parkinson’s disease (PD) is characterized by the loss of dopaminergic neurons in the substantia nigra and the presence of α-synuclein-positive inclusions known as Lewy bodies. Synphilin-1 is a protein of unknown function that interacts with α-synuclein and has been shown to exhibit cytoprotective effects in both in vitro and in vivo models. In this study, we investigated whether synphilin-1 is phosphorylated by pathological CDK5 and explored the consequences of this modification. Pathological activation of CDK5 occurs mainly through its association with the calpain-cleaved protein p25. Although CDK5 inhibition protects against neurodegeneration in pharmacological PD models, we now show that p25 levels are increased in PD brains. Furthermore, we demonstrate that CDK5, in conjunction with p25, directly phosphorylates synphilin-1, mainly at serine 566. This phosphorylation reduces synphilin-1′s interaction with SIAH1, leading to reduced ubiquitination and subsequent accumulation. We also observed that CDK5-phosphorylated synphilin-1 exhibits a reduced ability to interact with PINK1 and to promote basal levels of mitophagy. Consistent with these findings, the phosphorylation-mimicking synphilin-1 S566E shows decreased translocation to mitochondria, and synphilin-1 levels are reduced in the mitochondria of PD brains compared to age-matched controls. Finally, synphilin-1 S566E promotes retraction of neuronal processes. Taken together, our results suggest that phosphorylation by CDK5 disrupts synphilin-1′s interactions with its protein partners, rendering it more toxic and impairing its ability to support mitophagy and maintain neuronal process homeostasis. We hypothesize that phosphorylation of synphilin-1 by CDK5 may contribute to the pathogenesis of PD.