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Heterogeneity in α-synuclein fibril activity correlates to disease phenotypes in Lewy body dementia

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Abstract

α-Synuclein aggregation underlies pathological changes in Lewy body dementia. Recent studies highlight structural variabilities associated with α-synuclein aggregates in patient populations. Here, we develop a quantitative real-time quaking-induced conversion (qRT-QuIC) assay to measure permissive α-synuclein fibril-templating activity in tissues and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF). The assay is anchored through reference panels of stabilized ultra-short fibril particles. In humanized α-synuclein transgenic mice, qRT-QuIC identifies differential levels of fibril activity across the brain months before the deposition of phosphorylated α-synuclein in susceptible neurons. α-Synuclein fibril activity in cortical brain extracts from dementia with Lewy bodies (DLB) correlates with activity in matched ventricular CSF. Elevated α-synuclein fibril activity in CSF corresponds to reduced survival in DLB. α-Synuclein fibril particles amplified from cases with high fibril activity show superior templating in the formation of new inclusions in neurons relative to the same number of fibril particles amplified from DLB cases with low fibril activity. Our results highlight a previously unknown broad heterogeneity of fibril-templating activities in DLB that may contribute to disease phenotypes. We predict that quantitative assessments of fibril activities in CSF that correlate to fibril activities in brain tissue will help stratify patient populations as well as measure therapeutic responses to facilitate the development of α-synuclein-targeted therapeutics.

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Acknowledgements

These studies have been supported by the National Institutes of Health grants P50 NS108675 and R01 NS064934. The authors acknowledge the generous contributions made by study participants and their families to further research into the causes of DLB and to help find treatments. The authors are indebted to the Duke Kathleen Price Bryan Brain Bank and Biorepository, a component of the Joseph and Kathleen Bryan Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center at Duke University. The authors thank Valentina Krendelchtchikova for her technical assistance, and Sara Miller and Ricardo Vancini for assistance with electron microscopy carried out with the Duke Electron Microscopy Service.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Pharmacology and Cancer Biology, Duke Center for Neurodegeneration Research, Duke University, 3 Genome Court, Durham, NC, 27710, USA

    Arpine Sokratian, Julia Ziaee, Kaela Kelly, Allison Chang, Nicole Bryant, Shijie Wang, Enquan Xu, Joshua Y. Li & Andrew B. West

  2. Department of Neurology, Duke Center for Neurodegeneration Research, Duke University, Durham, NC, USA

    Shih-Hsiu Wang, John Ervin & Andrew B. West

  3. Department of Pathology, Duke Center for Neurodegeneration Research, Duke University, Durham, NC, USA

    Shih-Hsiu Wang & John Ervin

  4. Department of Medicine, Duke Center for Neurodegeneration Research, Duke University, Durham, NC, USA

    Sandip M. Swain & Rodger A. Liddle

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  1. Arpine Sokratian
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Sokratian, A., Ziaee, J., Kelly, K. et al. Heterogeneity in α-synuclein fibril activity correlates to disease phenotypes in Lewy body dementia. Acta Neuropathol 141, 547–564 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00401-021-02288-1

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