Abstract
The olfactory bulb (OB) is one of the first brain regions in Parkinson’s disease (PD) to contain alpha-synuclein (α-syn) inclusions, possibly associated with nonmotor symptoms. Mechanisms underlying olfactory synucleinopathy, its contribution to progressive aggregation pathology and nigrostriatal dopaminergic loss observed at later stages, remain unclear. A second hit, such as environmental toxins, is suggestive for α-syn aggregation in olfactory neurons, potentially triggering disease progression. To address the possible pathogenic role of olfactory α-syn accumulation in early PD, we exposed mice with site-specific and inducible overexpression of familial PD-linked mutant α-syn in OB neurons to a low dose of the herbicide paraquat. Here, we found that olfactory α-syn per se elicited structural and behavioral abnormalities, characteristic of an early time point in models with widespread α-syn expression, including hyperactivity and increased striatal dopaminergic marker. Suppression of α-syn reversed the dopaminergic phenotype. In contrast, paraquat treatment synergistically induced degeneration of olfactory dopaminergic cells and opposed the higher reactive phenotype. Neither neurodegeneration nor behavioral abnormalities were detected in paraquat-treated mice with suppressed α-syn expression. By increasing calpain activity, paraquat induced a pathological cascade leading to inhibition of autophagy clearance and accumulation of calpain-cleaved truncated and insoluble α-syn, recapitulating biochemical and structural changes in human PD. Thus our results underscore the primary role of proteolytic failure in aggregation pathology. In addition, we provide novel evidence that olfactory dopaminergic neurons display an increased vulnerability toward neurotoxins in dependence to presence of human α-syn, possibly mediating an olfactory-striatal dopaminergic network dysfunction in mouse models and early PD.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Anderson JP, Walker DE, Goldstein JM et al (2006) Phosphorylation of Ser-129 is the dominant pathological modification of alpha-synuclein in familial and sporadic Lewy body disease. J Biol Chem 281:29739–29752
Bedard A, Parent A (2004) Evidence of newly generated neurons in the human olfactory bulb. Brain Res Dev Brain Res 151:159–168
Berkowicz DA, Trombley PQ (2000) Dopaminergic modulation at the olfactory nerve synapse. Brain Res 855:90–99
Braak H, Del Tredici K, Rub U et al (2003) Staging of brain pathology related to sporadic Parkinson’s disease. Neurobiol Aging 24:197–211
Brodoehl S, Klingner C, Volk GF et al (2012) Decreased olfactory bulb volume in idiopathic Parkinson’s disease detected by 3.0-tesla magnetic resonance imaging. Mov Disord 27:1019–1025
Brooks AI, Chadwick CA, Gelbard HA et al (1999) Paraquat elicited neurobehavioral syndrome caused by dopaminergic neuron loss. Brain Res 823:1–10
Buchman VL, Ninkina N (2008) Modulation of alpha-synuclein expression in transgenic animals for modelling synucleinopathies–is the juice worth the squeeze? Neurotox Res 14:329–341
Cali T, Ottolini D, Brini M (2011) Mitochondria, calcium, and endoplasmic reticulum stress in Parkinson’s disease. Biofactors 37:228–240
Cali T, Ottolini D, Negro A et al (2012) alpha-Synuclein controls mitochondrial calcium homeostasis by enhancing endoplasmic reticulum-mitochondria interactions. J Biol Chem 287:17914–17929
Cappai R, Leck SL, Tew DJ et al (2005) Dopamine promotes alpha-synuclein aggregation into SDS-resistant soluble oligomers via a distinct folding pathway. FASEB J 19:1377–1379
Casadei N, Pohler AM, Tomas-Zapico C et al (2014) Overexpression of synphilin-1 promotes clearance of soluble and misfolded alpha-synuclein without restoring the motor phenotype in aged A30P transgenic mice. Hum Mol Genet 23:767–781
Cattarelli M (1982) The role of the medial olfactory pathways in olfaction: behavioral and electrophysiological data. Behav Brain Res 6:339–364
Choi BK, Choi MG, Kim JY et al (2013) Large alpha-synuclein oligomers inhibit neuronal SNARE-mediated vesicle docking. Proc Natl Acad Sci USA 110:4087–4092
Chu Y, Kordower JH (2007) Age-associated increases of alpha-synuclein in monkeys and humans are associated with nigrostriatal dopamine depletion: is this the target for Parkinson’s disease? Neurobiol Dis 25:134–149
Conway KA, Harper JD, Lansbury PT (1998) Accelerated in vitro fibril formation by a mutant alpha-synuclein linked to early-onset Parkinson disease. Nat Med 4:1318–1320
Conway KA, Rochet JC, Bieganski RM et al (2001) Kinetic stabilization of the alpha-synuclein protofibril by a dopamine-alpha-synuclein adduct. Science 294:1346–1349
Cookson MR, van der Brug M (2008) Cell systems and the toxic mechanism(s) of alpha-synuclein. Exp Neurol 209:5–11
Crews L, Spencer B, Desplats P et al (2010) Selective molecular alterations in the autophagy pathway in patients with Lewy body disease and in models of alpha-synucleinopathy. PLoS One 5:e9313
Cuervo AM, Dice JF (2000) Regulation of lamp2a levels in the lysosomal membrane. Traffic 1:570–583
Daher JP, Ying M, Banerjee R et al (2009) Conditional transgenic mice expressing C-terminally truncated human alpha-synuclein (alphaSyn119) exhibit reduced striatal dopamine without loss of nigrostriatal pathway dopaminergic neurons. Mol Neurodegener 4:34
Dauer W, Kholodilov N, Vila M et al (2002) Resistance of alpha -synuclein null mice to the parkinsonian neurotoxin MPTP. Proc Natl Acad Sci USA 99:14524–14529
De Tullio R, Cantoni C, Broggio C et al (2009) Involvement of exon 6-mediated calpastatin intracellular movements in the modulation of calpain activation. Biochim Biophys Acta 1790:182–187
Di Monte D, Sandy MS, Ekstrom G et al (1986) Comparative studies on the mechanisms of paraquat and 1-methyl-4-phenylpyridine (MPP+) cytotoxicity. Biochem Biophys Res Commun 137:303–309
Doty RL (2008) The olfactory vector hypothesis of neurodegenerative disease: is it viable? Ann Neurol 63:7–15
Doty RL (2012) Olfaction in Parkinson’s disease and related disorders. Neurobiol Dis 46:527–552
Dufty BM, Warner LR, Hou ST et al (2007) Calpain-cleavage of alpha-synuclein: connecting proteolytic processing to disease-linked aggregation. Am J Pathol 170:1725–1738
Feng LR, Maguire-Zeiss KA (2011) Dopamine and paraquat enhance alpha-synuclein-induced alterations in membrane conductance. Neurotox Res 20:387–401
Fernagut PO, Hutson CB, Fleming SM et al (2007) Behavioral and histopathological consequences of paraquat intoxication in mice: effects of alpha-synuclein over-expression. Synapse 61:991–1001
Fleming SM, Salcedo J, Fernagut PO et al (2004) Early and progressive sensorimotor anomalies in mice overexpressing wild-type human alpha-synuclein. J Neurosci 24:9434–9440
Freichel C, Neumann M, Ballard T et al (2007) Age-dependent cognitive decline and amygdala pathology in alpha-synuclein transgenic mice. Neurobiol Aging 28:1421–1435
Games D, Seubert P, Rockenstein E et al (2013) Axonopathy in an alpha-synuclein transgenic model of Lewy body disease is associated with extensive accumulation of C-terminal-truncated alpha-synuclein. Am J Pathol 182:940–953
Gasser T (2009) Molecular pathogenesis of Parkinson disease: insights from genetic studies. Expert Rev Mol Med 11:e22
Gomez-Isla T, Irizarry MC, Mariash A et al (2003) Motor dysfunction and gliosis with preserved dopaminergic markers in human alpha-synuclein A30P transgenic mice. Neurobiol Aging 24:245–258
Graham DR, Sidhu A (2010) Mice expressing the A53T mutant form of human alpha-synuclein exhibit hyperactivity and reduced anxiety-like behavior. J Neurosci Res 88:1777–1783
Hawkes CH, Shephard BC, Daniel SE (1997) Olfactory dysfunction in Parkinson’s disease. J Neurol Neurosurg Psychiatry 62:436–446
Huisman E, Uylings HB, Hoogland PV (2008) Gender-related changes in increase of dopaminergic neurons in the olfactory bulb of Parkinson’s disease patients. Mov Disord 23:1407–1413
Kabeya Y, Mizushima N, Ueno T et al (2000) LC3, a mammalian homologue of yeast Apg8p, is localized in autophagosome membranes after processing. EMBO J 19:5720–5728
Katzenschlager R, Lees AJ (2004) Olfaction and Parkinson’s syndromes: its role in differential diagnosis. Curr Opin Neurol 17:417–423
Kertelge L, Bruggemann N, Schmidt A et al (2010) Impaired sense of smell and color discrimination in monogenic and idiopathic Parkinson’s disease. Mov Disord 25:2665–2669
Kirik D, Rosenblad C, Burger C et al (2002) Parkinson-like neurodegeneration induced by targeted overexpression of alpha-synuclein in the nigrostriatal system. J Neurosci 22:2780–2791
Koprich JB, Johnston TH, Huot P et al (2011) Progressive neurodegeneration or endogenous compensation in an animal model of Parkinson’s disease produced by decreasing doses of alpha-synuclein. PLoS One 6:e17698
Kordower JH, Bjorklund A (2013) Trophic factor gene therapy for Parkinson’s disease. Mov Disord 28:96–109
Kurz A, Double KL, Lastres-Becker I et al (2010) A53T-alpha-synuclein overexpression impairs dopamine signaling and striatal synaptic plasticity in old mice. PLoS One 5:e11464
Lam HA, Wu N, Cely I et al (2011) Elevated tonic extracellular dopamine concentration and altered dopamine modulation of synaptic activity precede dopamine loss in the striatum of mice overexpressing human alpha-synuclein. J Neurosci Res 89:1091–1102
Lelan F, Boyer C, Thinard R et al (2011) Effects of human alpha-synuclein A53T-A30P mutations on SVZ and local olfactory bulb cell proliferation in a transgenic rat model of Parkinson disease. Parkinsons Dis 2011:987084
Li W, West N, Colla E et al (2005) Aggregation promoting C-terminal truncation of alpha-synuclein is a normal cellular process and is enhanced by the familial Parkinson’s disease-linked mutations. Proc Natl Acad Sci USA 102:2162–2167
Lindvall O (2013) Developing dopaminergic cell therapy for Parkinson’s disease—give up or move forward? Mov Disord 28:268–273
Liu CW, Giasson BI, Lewis KA et al (2005) A precipitating role for truncated alpha-synuclein and the proteasome in alpha-synuclein aggregation: implications for pathogenesis of Parkinson disease. J Biol Chem 280:22670–22678
Lo Bianco C, Schneider BL, Bauer M et al (2004) Lentiviral vector delivery of parkin prevents dopaminergic degeneration in an alpha-synuclein rat model of Parkinson’s disease. Proc Natl Acad Sci USA 101:17510–17515
Lonskaya I, Hebron ML, Algarzae NK et al (2012) Decreased parkin solubility is associated with impairment of autophagy in the nigrostriatum of sporadic Parkinson’s disease. Neuroscience 232C:90
Mai S, Muster B, Bereiter-Hahn J et al (2012) Autophagy proteins LC3B, ATG5 and ATG12 participate in quality control after mitochondrial damage and influence lifespan. Autophagy 8:47–62
Makino S, Smith MA, Gold PW (2002) Regulatory role of glucocorticoids and glucocorticoid receptor mRNA levels on tyrosine hydroxylase gene expression in the locus coeruleus during repeated immobilization stress. Brain Res 943:216–223
Manning-Bog AB, McCormack AL, Li J et al (2002) The herbicide paraquat causes up-regulation and aggregation of alpha-synuclein in mice: paraquat and alpha-synuclein. J Biol Chem 277:1641–1644
Markey KA, Towle AC, Sze PY (1982) Glucocorticoid influence on tyrosine hydroxylase activity in mouse locus coeruleus during postnatal development. Endocrinology 111:1519–1523
Markopoulou K, Larsen KW, Wszolek EK et al (1997) Olfactory dysfunction in familial Parkinsonism. Neurology 49:1262–1267
Marxreiter F, Nuber S, Kandasamy M et al (2009) Changes in adult olfactory bulb neurogenesis in mice expressing the A30P mutant form of alpha-synuclein. Eur J Neurosci 29:879–890
Masini CV, Holmes PV, Freeman KG et al (2004) Dopamine overflow is increased in olfactory bulbectomized rats: an in vivo microdialysis study. Physiol Behav 81:111–119
Masliah E, Rockenstein E, Veinbergs I et al (2000) Dopaminergic loss and inclusion body formation in alpha-synuclein mice: implications for neurodegenerative disorders. Science 287:1265–1269
May VE, Nuber S, Marxreiter F et al (2012) Impaired olfactory bulb neurogenesis depends on the presence of human wild-type alpha-synuclein. Neuroscience 222:343–355
McArthur S, McHale E, Gillies GE (2007) The size and distribution of midbrain dopaminergic populations are permanently altered by perinatal glucocorticoid exposure in a sex- region- and time-specific manner. Neuropsychopharmacology 32:1462–1476
Melachroinou K, Xilouri M, Emmanouilidou E et al (2013) Deregulation of calcium homeostasis mediates secreted alpha-synuclein-induced neurotoxicity. Neurobiol Aging 34:2853–2865
Mishizen-Eberz AJ, Norris EH, Giasson BI et al (2005) Cleavage of alpha-synuclein by calpain: potential role in degradation of fibrillized and nitrated species of alpha-synuclein. Biochemistry 44:7818–7829
Mosharov EV, Larsen KE, Kanter E et al (2009) Interplay between cytosolic dopamine, calcium, and alpha-synuclein causes selective death of substantia nigra neurons. Neuron 62:218–229
Mouatt-Prigent A, Karlsson JO, Agid Y et al (1996) Increased M-calpain expression in the mesencephalon of patients with Parkinson’s disease but not in other neurodegenerative disorders involving the mesencephalon: a role in nerve cell death? Neuroscience 73:979–987
Muller T, Fuchs G, Hahne M et al (2006) Diagnostic aspects of early Parkinson’s disease. J Neurol 253(Suppl 4):IV29–IV31
Mundinano IC, Caballero MC, Ordonez C et al (2011) Increased dopaminergic cells and protein aggregates in the olfactory bulb of patients with neurodegenerative disorders. Acta Neuropathol 122:61–74
Muntane G, Ferrer I, Martinez-Vicente M (2012) alpha-Synuclein phosphorylation and truncation are normal events in the adult human brain. Neuroscience 200:106–119
Nemani VM, Lu W, Berge V et al (2010) Increased expression of alpha-synuclein reduces neurotransmitter release by inhibiting synaptic vesicle reclustering after endocytosis. Neuron 65:66–79
Norris EH, Uryu K, Leight S et al (2007) Pesticide exposure exacerbates alpha-synucleinopathy in an A53T transgenic mouse model. Am J Pathol 170:658–666
Nuber S, Harmuth F, Kohl Z et al (2013) A progressive dopaminergic phenotype associated with neurotoxic conversion of alpha-synuclein in BAC-transgenic rats. Brain 136:412–432
Nuber S, Petrasch-Parwez E, Arias-Carrion O et al (2011) Olfactory neuron-specific expression of A30P alpha-synuclein exacerbates dopamine deficiency and hyperactivity in a novel conditional model of early Parkinson’s disease stages. Neurobiol Dis 44:192–204
Ortiz J, Fitzgerald LW, Lane S et al (1996) Biochemical adaptations in the mesolimbic dopamine system in response to repeated stress. Neuropsychopharmacology 14:443–452
Outeiro TF, Klucken J, Bercury K et al (2009) Dopamine-induced conformational changes in alpha-synuclein. PLoS One 4:e6906
Pearce RK, Hawkes CH, Daniel SE (1995) The anterior olfactory nucleus in Parkinson’s disease. Mov Disord 10:283–287
Perez RG, Waymire JC, Lin E et al (2002) A role for alpha-synuclein in the regulation of dopamine biosynthesis. J Neurosci 22:3090–3099
Perrin RJ, Payton JE, Barnett DH et al (2003) Epitope mapping and specificity of the anti-alpha-synuclein monoclonal antibody Syn-1 in mouse brain and cultured cell lines. Neurosci Lett 349:133–135
Pinching AJ, Powell TP (1971) The neuron types of the glomerular layer of the olfactory bulb. J Cell Sci 9:305–345
Prediger RD, Aguiar AS Jr, Matheus FC et al (2012) Intranasal administration of neurotoxicants in animals: support for the olfactory vector hypothesis of Parkinson’s disease. Neurotox Res 21:90–116
Recchia A, Rota D, Debetto P et al (2008) Generation of a alpha-synuclein-based rat model of Parkinson’s disease. Neurobiol Dis 30:8–18
Ricaurte GA, Guillery RW, Seiden LS et al (1982) Dopamine nerve terminal degeneration produced by high doses of methylamphetamine in the rat brain. Brain Res 235:93–103
Rothman SM, Griffioen KJ, Vranis N et al (2013) Neuronal expression of familial Parkinson’s disease A53T alpha-synuclein causes early motor impairment, reduced anxiety and potential sleep disturbances in mice. J Parkinsons Dis 3:215–229
Seidel K, Schols L, Nuber S et al (2010) First appraisal of brain pathology owing to A30P mutant alpha-synuclein. Ann Neurol 67:684–689
Sekine T, Kagaya H, Funayama M et al (2010) Clinical course of the first Asian family with Parkinsonism related to SNCA triplication. Mov Disord 25:2871–2875
Sengoku R, Saito Y, Ikemura M et al (2008) Incidence and extent of Lewy body-related alpha-synucleinopathy in aging human olfactory bulb. J Neuropathol Exp Neurol 67:1072–1083
Singleton AB, Farrer M, Johnson J et al (2003) alpha-Synuclein locus triplication causes Parkinson’s disease. Science 302:841
Stifanese R, Averna M, De Tullio R et al (2010) Adaptive modifications in the calpain/calpastatin system in brain cells after persistent alteration in Ca2+ homeostasis. J Biol Chem 285:631–643
Tamamizu-Kato S, Kosaraju MG, Kato H et al (2006) Calcium-triggered membrane interaction of the alpha-synuclein acidic tail. Biochemistry 45:10947–10956
Tiscornia G, Singer O, Verma IM (2006) Production and purification of lentiviral vectors. Nat Protoc 1:241–245
Tofaris GK, Razzaq A, Ghetti B et al (2003) Ubiquitination of alpha-synuclein in Lewy bodies is a pathological event not associated with impairment of proteasome function. J Biol Chem 278:44405–44411
Ubhi K, Rockenstein E, Mante M et al (2010) Neurodegeneration in a transgenic mouse model of multiple system atrophy is associated with altered expression of oligodendroglial-derived neurotrophic factors. J Neurosci 30:6236–6246
Ulusoy A, Febbraro F, Jensen PH et al (2010) Co-expression of C-terminal truncated alpha-synuclein enhances full-length alpha-synuclein-induced pathology. Eur J Neurosci 32:409–422
Unger EL, Eve DJ, Perez XA et al (2006) Locomotor hyperactivity and alterations in dopamine neurotransmission are associated with overexpression of A53T mutant human alpha-synuclein in mice. Neurobiol Dis 21:431–443
Uversky VN, Li J, Fink AL (2001) Pesticides directly accelerate the rate of alpha-synuclein fibril formation: a possible factor in Parkinson’s disease. FEBS Lett 500:105–108
Volles MJ, Lee SJ, Rochet JC et al (2001) Vesicle permeabilization by protofibrillar alpha-synuclein: implications for the pathogenesis and treatment of Parkinson’s disease. Biochemistry 40:7812–7819
Volpicelli-Daley LA, Luk KC, Patel TP et al (2011) Exogenous alpha-synuclein fibrils induce Lewy body pathology leading to synaptic dysfunction and neuron death. Neuron 72:57–71
Vosler PS, Brennan CS, Chen J (2008) Calpain-mediated signaling mechanisms in neuronal injury and neurodegeneration. Mol Neurobiol 38:78–100
Watanabe Y, Tatebe H, Taguchi K et al (2012) p62/SQSTM1-dependent autophagy of Lewy body-like alpha-synuclein inclusions. PLoS One 7:e52868
Welberg LA, Seckl JR, Holmes MC (2001) Prenatal glucocorticoid programming of brain corticosteroid receptors and corticotrophin-releasing hormone: possible implications for behaviour. Neuroscience 104:71–79
Wersinger C, Sidhu A (2005) Disruption of the interaction of alpha-synuclein with microtubules enhances cell surface recruitment of the dopamine transporter. Biochemistry 44:13612–13624
West MJ, Slomianka L, Gundersen HJ (1991) Unbiased stereological estimation of the total number of neurons in the subdivisions of the rat hippocampus using the optical fractionator. Anat Rec 231:482–497
Wills J, Credle J, Oaks AW et al (2012) Paraquat, but not maneb, induces synucleinopathy and tauopathy in striata of mice through inhibition of proteasomal and autophagic pathways. PLoS One 7:e30745
Wilson DA, Sullivan RM (1995) The D2 antagonist spiperone mimics the effects of olfactory deprivation on mitral/tufted cell odor response patterns. J Neurosci 15:5574–5581
Wilson DA, Wood JG (1992) Functional consequences of unilateral olfactory deprivation: time-course and age sensitivity. Neuroscience 49:183–192
Winner B, Geyer M, Couillard-Despres S et al (2006) Striatal deafferentation increases dopaminergic neurogenesis in the adult olfactory bulb. Exp Neurol 197:113–121
Xia HG, Zhang L, Chen G et al (2010) Control of basal autophagy by calpain1 mediated cleavage of ATG5. Autophagy 6:61–66
Yamakado H, Moriwaki Y, Yamasaki N et al (2012) alpha-Synuclein BAC transgenic mice as a model for Parkinson’s disease manifested decreased anxiety-like behavior and hyperlocomotion. Neurosci Res 73:173–177
Yang W, Tiffany-Castiglioni E (2008) Paraquat-induced apoptosis in human neuroblastoma SH-SY5Y cells: involvement of p53 and mitochondria. J Toxicol Environ Health A 71:289–299
Yu S, Zuo X, Li Y et al (2004) Inhibition of tyrosine hydroxylase expression in alpha-synuclein-transfected dopaminergic neuronal cells. Neurosci Lett 367:34–39
Acknowledgments
PD human and control brain samples were supplied by the Parkinson’s UK Tissue Bank, funded by Parkinson’s UK, a charity registered in England and Wales (258197) and Scotland (SC037554), from the tissue bank of the Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center (ADRC) at the University of California at San Diego and analyses done in accordance with the Ethics Committee guidelines. PrP-A30P mice were generated at the University of Tuebingen, Germany. S.N. was awarded with the fellowship of the German Parkinson’s Society. The work was supported by National Institutes of Health grants AG 18440, AG022704, NS057096 and AG5131to E.M, and by NGFNplus 01GS08134 to O.R/S.N.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Electronic supplementary material
Below is the link to the electronic supplementary material.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Nuber, S., Tadros, D., Fields, J. et al. Environmental neurotoxic challenge of conditional alpha-synuclein transgenic mice predicts a dopaminergic olfactory-striatal interplay in early PD. Acta Neuropathol 127, 477–494 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00401-014-1255-5
Received:
Revised:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00401-014-1255-5