Synaptic vesicle endocytosis deficits underlie cognitive dysfunction in mouse models of GBA-linked Parkinson’s disease and dementia with Lewy bodiesShow others and affiliations
2025 (English)In: Nature Communications, E-ISSN 2041-1723, Vol. 16, no 1, article id 8484Article in journal (Refereed) Published
Abstract [en]
GBA is the major risk gene for Parkinson’s disease (PD) and dementia with Lewy bodies (DLB), two common α-synucleinopathies with cognitive deficits. Here we investigate the role of mutant GBA in cognitive decline by utilizing Gba (L444P) mutant, SNCA transgenic (tg), and Gba-SNCA double mutant mice. Notably, Gba mutant mice show cognitive decline but lack PD-like motor deficits or α-synuclein pathology. Conversely, SNCA tg mice display age-related motor deficits, without cognitive abnormalities. Gba-SNCA mice exhibit both cognitive decline and exacerbated motor deficits, accompanied by greater cortical phospho-α-synuclein pathology, especially in layer 5 neurons. Single-nucleus RNA sequencing of the cortex uncovered synaptic vesicle (SV) endocytosis pathway defects in excitatory neurons of Gba mutant and Gba-SNCA mice, via downregulation of genes regulating SV cycle and synapse assembly. Immunohistochemistry and electron microscopy validate these findings. Our results indicate that Gba mutations, while exacerbating pre-existing α-synuclein aggregation and PD-like motor deficits, contribute to cognitive deficits through α-synuclein-independent mechanisms, involving dysfunction in SV endocytosis.
Place, publisher, year, edition, pages
Springer Nature, 2025. Vol. 16, no 1, article id 8484
National Category
Neurosciences
Identifiers
URN: urn:nbn:se:umu:diva-245351DOI: 10.1038/s41467-025-63444-9ISI: 001582507700022PubMedID: 41006254Scopus ID: 2-s2.0-105017417213OAI: oai:DiVA.org:umu-245351DiVA, id: diva2:2005540
Funder
NIH (National Institutes of Health), 1RF1NS110354-012025-10-102025-10-102025-10-10Bibliographically approved