TY  - JOUR
A1  - McFleder, Rhonda L.
A1  - Makhotkina, Anastasiia
A1  - Groh, Janos
A1  - Keber, Ursula
A1  - Imdahl, Fabian
A1  - Peña Mosca, Josefina
A1  - Peteranderl, Alina
A1  - Wu, Jingjing
A1  - Tabuchi, Sawako
A1  - Hoffmann, Jan
A1  - Karl, Ann-Kathrin
A1  - Pagenstecher, Axel
A1  - Vogel, Jörg
A1  - Beilhack, Andreas
A1  - Koprich, James B.
A1  - Brotchie, Jonathan M.
A1  - Saliba, Antoine-Emmanuel
A1  - Volkmann, Jens
A1  - Ip, Chi Wang
T1  - Brain-to-gut trafficking of alpha-synuclein by CD11c\(^+\) cells in a mouse model of Parkinson’s disease
JF  - Nature Communications
N2  - Inflammation in the brain and gut is a critical component of several neurological diseases, such as Parkinson’s disease (PD). One trigger of the immune system in PD is aggregation of the pre-synaptic protein, α-synuclein (αSyn). Understanding the mechanism of propagation of αSyn aggregates is essential to developing disease-modifying therapeutics. Using a brain-first mouse model of PD, we demonstrate αSyn trafficking from the brain to the ileum of male mice. Immunohistochemistry revealed that the ileal αSyn aggregations are contained within CD11c+ cells. Using single-cell RNA sequencing, we demonstrate that ileal CD11c\(^+\) cells are microglia-like and the same subtype of cells is activated in the brain and ileum of PD mice. Moreover, by utilizing mice expressing the photo-convertible protein, Dendra2, we show that CD11c\(^+\) cells traffic from the brain to the ileum. Together these data provide a mechanism of αSyn trafficking between the brain and gut.
KW  - antigen-presenting cells
KW  - neuroimmunology
KW  - Parkinson's disease
Y1  - 2023
U6  - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-357696
VL  - 14
ER  - 
TY  - JOUR
A1  - Karikari, Akua A.
A1  - McFleder, Rhonda L.
A1  - Ribechini, Eliana
A1  - Blum, Robert
A1  - Bruttel, Valentin
A1  - Knorr, Susanne
A1  - Gehmeyr, Mona
A1  - Volkmann, Jens
A1  - Brotchie, Jonathan M.
A1  - Ahsan, Fadhil
A1  - Haack, Beatrice
A1  - Monoranu, Camelia-Maria
A1  - Keber, Ursula
A1  - Yeghiazaryan, Rima
A1  - Pagenstecher, Axel
A1  - Heckel, Tobias
A1  - Bischler, Thorsten
A1  - Wischhusen, Jörg
A1  - Koprich, James B.
A1  - Lutz, Manfred B.
A1  - Ip, Chi Wang
T1  - Neurodegeneration by α-synuclein-specific T cells in AAV-A53T-α-synuclein Parkinson’s disease mice
JF  - Brain, Behavior, and Immunity
N2  - Background
Antigen-specific neuroinflammation and neurodegeneration are characteristic for neuroimmunological diseases. In Parkinson’s disease (PD) pathogenesis, α-synuclein is a known culprit. Evidence for α-synuclein-specific T cell responses was recently obtained in PD. Still, a causative link between these α-synuclein responses and dopaminergic neurodegeneration had been lacking. We thus addressed the functional relevance of α-synuclein-specific immune responses in PD in a mouse model.
Methods
We utilized a mouse model of PD in which an Adeno-associated Vector 1/2 serotype (AAV1/2) expressing human mutated A53T-α-Synuclein was stereotactically injected into the substantia nigra (SN) of either wildtype C57BL/6 or Recombination-activating gene 1 (RAG1)\(^{-/-}\) mice. Brain, spleen, and lymph node tissues from different time points following injection were then analyzed via FACS, cytokine bead assay, immunohistochemistry and RNA-sequencing to determine the role of T cells and inflammation in this model. Bone marrow transfer from either CD4\(^{+}\)/CD8\(^{-}\), CD4\(^{-}\)/CD8\(^{+}\), or CD4\(^{+}\)/CD8\(^{+}\) (JHD\(^{-/-}\)) mice into the RAG-1\(^{-/-}\) mice was also employed. In addition to the in vivo studies, a newly developed A53T-α-synuclein-expressing neuronal cell culture/immune cell assay was utilized.
Results
AAV-based overexpression of pathogenic human A53T-α-synuclein in dopaminergic neurons of the SN stimulated T cell infiltration. RNA-sequencing of immune cells from PD mouse brains confirmed a pro-inflammatory gene profile. T cell responses were directed against A53T-α-synuclein-peptides in the vicinity of position 53 (68–78) and surrounding the pathogenically relevant S129 (120–134). T cells were required for α-synuclein-induced neurodegeneration in vivo and in vitro, while B cell deficiency did not protect from dopaminergic neurodegeneration.
Conclusions
Using T cell and/or B cell deficient mice and a newly developed A53T-α-synuclein-expressing neuronal cell culture/immune cell assay, we confirmed in vivo and in vitro that pathogenic α-synuclein peptide-specific T cell responses can cause dopaminergic neurodegeneration and thereby contribute to PD-like pathology.
KW  - Parkinson’s disease
KW  - α-synuclein-specific T cells
KW  - neurodegeneration
Y1  - 2022
U6  - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-300600
VL  - 101
SP  - 194
EP  - 210
ER  -