Repository logo
 

Metabolomics Fingerprint Induced by the Intranigral Inoculation of Exogenous Human Alpha-Synuclein Oligomers in a Rat Model of Parkinson's Disease.

Published version
Peer-reviewed

Change log

Authors

Murgia, Federica 
Carboni, Ezio 
Santoru, Maria Laura 
Hendren, Aran 

Abstract

Parkinson's disease (PD) is considered a synucleinopathy because of the intraneuronal accumulation of aggregated α-synuclein (αSyn). Recent evidence points to soluble αSyn-oligomers (αSynO) as the main cytotoxic species responsible for cell death. Given the pivotal role of αSyn in PD, αSyn-based models are crucial for the investigation of toxic mechanisms and the identification of new therapeutic targets in PD. By using a metabolomics approach, we evaluated the metabolic profile of brain and serum samples of rats infused unilaterally with preformed human αSynOs (HαSynOs), or vehicle, into the substantia nigra pars compacta (SNpc). Three months postinfusion, the striatum was dissected for striatal dopamine (DA) measurements via High Pressure Liquid Chromatography (HPLC) analysis and mesencephalon and serum samples were collected for the evaluation of metabolite content via gas chromatography mass spectrometry analysis. Multivariate, univariate and correlation statistics were applied. A 40% decrease of DA content was measured in the HαSynO-infused striatum as compared to the contralateral and the vehicle-infused striata. Decreased levels of dehydroascorbic acid, myo-inositol, and glycine, and increased levels of threonine, were found in the mesencephalon, while increased contents of fructose and mannose, and a decrease in glycine and urea, were found in the serum of HαSynO-infused rats. The significant correlation between DA and metabolite content indicated that metabolic variations reflected the nigrostriatal degeneration. Collectively, the metabolomic fingerprint of HαSynO-infused rats points to an increase of oxidative stress markers, in line with PD neuropathology, and provides hints for potential biomarkers of PD.

Description

Keywords

Parkinson model, biomarkers, gas chromatography mass spectrometry, mesencephalic tissue, metabolomics, serum, α-synuclein oligomers, Animals, Biomarkers, Corpus Striatum, Disease Models, Animal, Dopamine, Humans, Male, Metabolome, Metabolomics, Neurons, Oxidative Stress, Parkinson Disease, Rats, Rats, Sprague-Dawley, Substantia Nigra, alpha-Synuclein

Journal Title

Int J Mol Sci

Conference Name

Journal ISSN

1422-0067
1422-0067

Volume Title

21

Publisher

MDPI AG