Lamp1 Deficiency Enhances Sensitivity to α-Synuclein and Oxidative Stress in Drosophila Models of Parkinson Disease

Zohra Rahmani, Satya Surabhi, Francisca Rojo-Cortés, Amina Dulac, Andreas Jenny, Serge Birman

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

4 Scopus citations

Abstract

Parkinson disease (PD) is a common neurodegenerative condition affecting people predominantly at old age that is characterized by a progressive loss of midbrain dopaminergic neurons and by the accumulation of α-synuclein-containing intraneuronal inclusions known as Lewy bodies. Defects in cellular degradation processes such as the autophagy-lysosomal pathway are suspected to be involved in PD progression. The mammalian Lysosomal-associated membrane proteins LAMP1 and LAMP2 are transmembrane glycoproteins localized in lysosomes and late endosomes that are involved in autophagosome/lysosome maturation and function. Here, we show that the lack of Drosophila Lamp1, the homolog of LAMP1 and LAMP2, severely increased fly susceptibility to paraquat, a pro-oxidant compound known as a potential PD inducer in humans. Moreover, the loss of Lamp1 also exacerbated the progressive locomotor defects induced by the expression of PD-associated mutant α-synuclein A30P (α-synA30P) in dopaminergic neurons. Remarkably, the ubiquitous re-expression of Lamp1 in a mutant context fully suppressed all these defects and conferred significant resistance towards both PD factors above that of wild-type flies. Immunostaining analysis showed that the brain levels of α-synA30P were unexpectedly decreased in young adult Lamp1-deficient flies expressing this protein in comparison to non-mutant controls. This suggests that Lamp1 could neutralize α-synuclein toxicity by promoting the formation of non-pathogenic aggregates in neurons. Overall, our findings reveal a novel role for Drosophila Lamp1 in protecting against oxidative stress and α-synuclein neurotoxicity in PD models, thus furthering our understanding of the function of its mammalian homologs.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Article number13078
JournalInternational Journal of Molecular Sciences
Volume23
Issue number21
DOIs
StatePublished - Nov 2022

Keywords

  • Drosophila
  • Lamp1
  • Parkinson disease
  • paraquat
  • α-synuclein

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Catalysis
  • Molecular Biology
  • Spectroscopy
  • Computer Science Applications
  • Physical and Theoretical Chemistry
  • Organic Chemistry
  • Inorganic Chemistry

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'Lamp1 Deficiency Enhances Sensitivity to α-Synuclein and Oxidative Stress in Drosophila Models of Parkinson Disease'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this