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  • KSBNS 2024

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Original Article

Exp Neurobiol 2023; 32(3): 147-156

Published online June 30, 2023

https://doi.org/10.5607/en23007

© The Korean Society for Brain and Neural Sciences

Monitoring α-synuclein Aggregation Induced by Preformed α-synuclein Fibrils in an In Vitro Model System

Beom Jin Kim1,2,3, Hye Rin Noh1,2,3, Hyongjun Jeon2,3 and Sang Myun Park1,2,3*

1Department of Pharmacology, Ajou University School of Medicine, Suwon 16499, 2Center for Convergence Research of Neurological Disorders, Ajou University School of Medicine, Suwon 16499, 3Neuroscience Graduate Program, Department of Biomedical Sciences, Ajou University School of Medicine, Suwon 16499, Korea

Correspondence to: *To whom correspondence should be addressed.
TEL: 82-31-219-5063, FAX: 82-31-219-5069
e-mail: sangmyun@ajou.ac.kr

Received: February 8, 2023; Revised: April 3, 2023; Accepted: April 25, 2023

This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0) which permits unrestricted non-commercial use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

Parkinson’s disease (PD) is characterized by the presence of α-synuclein (α-syn) inclusions in the brain and the degeneration of dopamine-producing neurons. There is evidence to suggest that the progression of PD may be due to the prion-like spread of α-syn aggregates, so understanding and limiting α-syn propagation is a key area of research for developing PD treatments. Several cellular and animal model systems have been established to monitor α-syn aggregation and propagation. In this study, we developed an in vitro model using A53T α-syn-EGFP overexpressing SH-SY5Y cells and validated its usefulness for high-throughput screening of potential therapeutic targets. Treatment with preformed recombinant α-syn fibrils induced the formation of aggregation puncta of A53T α-syn-EGFP in these cells, which were analyzed using four indices: number of dots per cell, size of dots, intensity of dots, and percentage of cells containing aggregation puncta. Four indices are reliable indicators of the effectiveness of interventions against α-syn propagation in a one-day treatment model to minimize the screening time. This simple and efficient in vitro model system can be used for high-throughput screening to discover new targets for inhibiting α-syn propagation.

Graphical Abstract


Keywords: Parkinson disease, α-synuclein, Protein aggregation, In vitro techniques