Ettle B, Kerman BE, Valera E, Gillmann C, Schlachetzki J, Reiprich S, Büttner C, Ekici AB, Reis A, Wegner M, Bäuerle T, Riemenschneider MJ, Masliah E, Gage FH, Winkler J (2016)
Publication Type: Journal article
Publication year: 2016
Publisher: Springer Verlag (Germany)
Book Volume: 132
Pages Range: 59-75
Journal Issue: 1
DOI: 10.1007/s00401-016-1572-y
Multiple system atrophy (MSA) is a rare atypical parkinsonian disorder characterized by a rapidly progressing clinical course and at present without any efficient therapy. Neuropathologically, myelin loss and neurodegeneration are associated with ?-synuclein accumulation in oligodendrocytes, but underlying pathomechanisms are poorly understood. Here, we analyzed the impact of oligodendrocytic ?-synuclein on the formation of myelin sheaths to define a potential interventional target for MSA. Post-mortem analyses of MSA patients and controls were performed to quantify myelin and oligodendrocyte numbers. As pre-clinical models, we used transgenic MSA mice, a myelinating stem cell-derived oligodendrocyte-neuron co-culture, and primary oligodendrocytes to determine functional consequences of oligodendrocytic ?-synuclein overexpression on myelination. We detected myelin loss accompanied by preserved or even increased numbers of oligodendrocytes in post-mortem MSA brains or transgenic mouse forebrains, respectively, indicating an oligodendrocytic dysfunction in myelin formation. Corroborating this observation, overexpression of ?-synuclein in primary and stem cell-derived oligodendrocytes severely impaired myelin formation, defining a novel ?-synuclein-linked pathomechanism in MSA. We used the pro-myelinating activity of the muscarinic acetylcholine receptor antagonist benztropine to analyze the reversibility of the myelination deficit. Transcriptome profiling of primary pre-myelinating oligodendrocytes demonstrated that benztropine readjusts myelination-related processes such as cholesterol and membrane biogenesis, being compromised by oligodendrocytic ?-synuclein. Additionally, benztropine restored the ?-synuclein-induced myelination deficit of stem cell-derived oligodendrocytes. Strikingly, benztropine also ameliorated the myelin deficit in transgenic MSA mice, resulting in a prevention of neuronal cell loss. In conclusion, this study defines the ?-synuclein-induced myelination deficit as a novel and crucial pathomechanism in MSA. Importantly, the reversible nature of this oligodendrocytic dysfunction opens a novel avenue for an intervention in MSA.
APA:
Ettle, B., Kerman, B.E., Valera, E., Gillmann, C., Schlachetzki, J., Reiprich, S.,... Winkler, J. (2016). ?-Synuclein-induced myelination deficit defines a novel interventional target for multiple system atrophy. Acta Neuropathologica, 132(1), 59-75. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00401-016-1572-y
MLA:
Ettle, Benjamin, et al. "?-Synuclein-induced myelination deficit defines a novel interventional target for multiple system atrophy." Acta Neuropathologica 132.1 (2016): 59-75.
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