Alpha-Synuclein Expression in the Oligodendrocyte Lineage: an In Vitro and In Vivo Study Using Rodent and Human Models

• DOI: 10.1016/j.stemcr.2015.07.002
• Publication Date: 2015-07-30T16:13:37Z
• Authors: Mehdi Djelloul; Staffan Holmqvist; Antonio Boza-Serrano; Carla Azevedo; Maggie S. Yeung; Stefano Goldwurm; Jonas Frisén; Tomas Deierborg; Laurent Roybon
• Keywords: 0301 basic medicine; Medicine (General); QH301-705.5; Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells; Cell Differentiation; Mice; Oligodendroglia; 03 medical and health sciences; R5-920; 0302 clinical medicine; Neural Stem Cells; Species Specificity; Report; alpha-Synuclein; Animals; Humans; Cell Lineage; Biology (General); Cell and Molecular Biology; Cells, Cultured; Embryonic Stem Cells

In this study, we sought evidence for alpha-synuclein (ASYN) expression in oligodendrocytes, as a possible endogenous source of ASYN to explain its presence in glial inclusions found in multiple system atrophy (MSA) and Parkinson's disease (PD). We identified ASYN in oligodendrocyte lineage progenitors isolated from the rodent brain, in oligodendrocytes generated from embryonic stem cells, and in induced pluripotent stem cells produced from fibroblasts of a healthy individual and patients diagnosed with MSA or PD, in cultures in vitro. Notably, we observed a significant decrease in ΑSYN during oligodendrocyte maturation. Additionally, we show the presence of transcripts in PDGFRΑ/CD140a(+) cells and SOX10(+) oligodendrocyte lineage nuclei isolated by FACS from rodent and human healthy and diseased brains, respectively. Our work identifies ASYN in oligodendrocyte lineage cells, and it offers additional in vitro cellular models that should provide significant insights of the functional implication of ASYN during oligodendrocyte development and disease.