A light-inducible protein clustering system for in vivo analysis of α-synuclein aggregation in Parkinson disease

Abstract

AU Neurodegenerative: Pleaseconfirmthatallheadinglevelsarerepresentedcorrectly disorders refer to a group of diseases commonly : associated with abnormal protein accumulation and aggregation in the central nervous system. However, the exact role of protein aggregation in the pathophysiology of these disorders remains unclear. This gap in knowledge is due to the lack of experimental models that allow for the spatiotemporal control of protein aggregation, and the investigation of early dynamic events associated with inclusion formation. Here, we report on the development of a light-inducible protein aggregation (LIPA) system that enables spatiotemporal control of α-synuclein (αsyn) aggregation into insoluble deposits called Lewy bodies (LBs), the pathological hallmark of Parkinson disease (PD) and other proteinopathies. We demonstrate that LIPA-α-syn inclusions mimic key biochemical, biophysical, and ultrastructural features of authentic LBs observed in PD-diseased brains. In vivo, LIPA-α-syn aggregates compromise nigrostriatal transmission, induce neurodegeneration and PD-like motor impairments. Collectively, our findings provide a new tool for the generation, visualization, and dissection of the role of αsyn aggregation in PD. © 2022 Bérard et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.