1. Academic Validation
  2. Development of an α-synuclein knockdown peptide and evaluation of its efficacy in Parkinson's disease models

Development of an α-synuclein knockdown peptide and evaluation of its efficacy in Parkinson's disease models

  • Commun Biol. 2021 Feb 19;4(1):232. doi: 10.1038/s42003-021-01746-6.
Jack Wuyang Jin # 1 Xuelai Fan # 1 Esther Del Cid-Pellitero # 2 Xing-Xing Liu 2 Limin Zhou 3 4 5 6 Chunfang Dai 3 4 5 6 Ebrima Gibbs 1 Wenting He 3 4 5 6 Hongjie Li 3 4 5 6 Xiaobin Wu 3 4 5 6 Austin Hill 7 Blair R Leavitt 7 Neil Cashman 1 Lidong Liu 1 Jie Lu 1 Thomas M Durcan 2 Zhifang Dong 8 9 10 11 Edward A Fon 12 Yu Tian Wang 13
Affiliations

Affiliations

  • 1 The Djavad Mowafaghian Centre for Brain Health and Department of Medicine, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada.
  • 2 McGill Parkinson Program, Neurodegenerative Diseases Group, Department of Neurology and Neurosurgery, Montreal Neurological Institute, McGill University, Montreal, QC, Canada.
  • 3 Ministry of Education Key Laboratory of Child Development and Disorders, Children's Hospital of Chongqing Medical University, Chongqing, China.
  • 4 National Clinical Research Center for Child Health and Disorders, Children's Hospital of Chongqing Medical University, Chongqing, China.
  • 5 China International Science and Technology Cooperation Base of Child Development and Critical Disorders, Children's Hospital of Chongqing Medical University, Chongqing, China.
  • 6 Chongqing Key Laboratory of Translational Medical Research in Cognitive Development and Learning and Memory Disorders, Children's Hospital of Chongqing Medical University, Chongqing, China.
  • 7 Department of Medical Genetics, Centre for Molecular Medicine and Therapeutics, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada.
  • 8 Ministry of Education Key Laboratory of Child Development and Disorders, Children's Hospital of Chongqing Medical University, Chongqing, China. zfdong@aliyun.com.
  • 9 National Clinical Research Center for Child Health and Disorders, Children's Hospital of Chongqing Medical University, Chongqing, China. zfdong@aliyun.com.
  • 10 China International Science and Technology Cooperation Base of Child Development and Critical Disorders, Children's Hospital of Chongqing Medical University, Chongqing, China. zfdong@aliyun.com.
  • 11 Chongqing Key Laboratory of Translational Medical Research in Cognitive Development and Learning and Memory Disorders, Children's Hospital of Chongqing Medical University, Chongqing, China. zfdong@aliyun.com.
  • 12 McGill Parkinson Program, Neurodegenerative Diseases Group, Department of Neurology and Neurosurgery, Montreal Neurological Institute, McGill University, Montreal, QC, Canada. ted.fon@mcgill.ca.
  • 13 The Djavad Mowafaghian Centre for Brain Health and Department of Medicine, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada. ytwang@brain.ubc.ca.
  • # Contributed equally.
Abstract

Convincing evidence supports the premise that reducing α-synuclein levels may be an effective therapy for Parkinson's disease (PD); however, there has been lack of a clinically applicable α-synuclein reducing therapeutic strategy. This study was undertaken to develop a blood-brain barrier and plasma membrane-permeable α-synuclein knockdown peptide, Tat-βsyn-degron, that may have therapeutic potential. The peptide effectively reduced the level of α-synuclein via proteasomal degradation both in cell cultures and in Animals. Tat-βsyn-degron decreased α-synuclein aggregates and microglial activation in an α-synuclein pre-formed fibril model of spreading synucleinopathy in transgenic mice overexpressing human A53T α-synuclein. Moreover, Tat-βsyn-degron reduced α-synuclein levels and significantly decreased the parkinsonian toxin-induced neuronal damage and motor impairment in a mouse toxicity model of PD. These results show the promising efficacy of Tat-βsyn-degron in two different animal models of PD and suggest its potential use as an effective PD therapeutic that directly targets the disease-causing process.

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