Person:

Hyman, Bradley

Parkinson's disease is a neurodegenerative disorder characterized by Lewy bodies, a pathological hallmark comprised mostly of aggregated alpha synuclein. Accumulating evidence demonstrates the association of smaller oligomeric aggregates to disease etiology and many therapeutic approaches are aimed at inhibiting and reducing the aggregation process. Molecular chaperones and co-chaperones play a key role in protein homeostasis and have potential as therapeutics to inhibit alpha synuclein associated toxicity. Here we use a gene therapy approach to evaluate the applicability of the Hsp70 co-chaperone CHIP (C-terminal Hsp70 interacting protein) as a therapeutic candidate and examine its direct effect on alpha synuclein aggregates in vivo. Utilizing a novel viral vector mediated rat model to directly detect alpha synuclein aggregates, we show that CHIP can mediate the degradation of alpha synuclein aggregates in vivo. However, our studies also reveal that CHIP may potentially degrade tyrosine hydroxylase which would compromise the applicability of CHIP as a therapeutic approach for Parkinson's disease.

3D volume imaging using iDISCO+ was applied to observe the spatial and temporal progression of tau pathology in deep structures of the brain of a mouse model that recapitulates the earliest stages of Alzheimer’s disease (AD). Tau pathology was compared at four timepoints, up to 34 months as it spread through the hippocampal formation and out into the neocortex along an anatomically connected route. Tau pathology was associated with significant gliosis. No evidence for uptake and accumulation of tau by glia was observed. Neuronal cells did appear to have internalized tau, including in extrahippocampal areas as a small proportion of cells that had accumulated human tau protein did not express detectible levels of human tau mRNA. At the oldest timepoint, mature tau pathology in the entorhinal cortex (EC) was associated with significant cell loss. As in human AD, mature tau pathology in the EC and the presence of tau pathology in the neocortex correlated with cognitive impairment. 3D volume imaging is an ideal technique to easily monitor the spread of pathology over time in models of disease progression.