Neonatal AAV delivery of alpha-synuclein induces pathology in the adult mouse brain

Abnormal accumulation of alpha-synuclein (αsyn) is a pathological hallmark of Lewy body related disorders such as Parkinson’s disease and Dementia with Lewy body disease. During the past two decades, a myriad of animal models have been developed to mimic pathological features of synucleinopathies by over-expressing human αsyn. Although different strategies have been used, most models have little or no reliable and predictive phenotype. Novel animal models are a valuable tool for understanding neuronal pathology and to facilitate development of new therapeutics for these diseases. Here, we report the development and characterization of a novel model in which mice rapidly express wild-type αsyn via somatic brain transgenesis mediated by adeno-associated virus (AAV). At 1, 3, and 6 months of age following intracerebroventricular (ICV) injection, mice were subjected to a battery of behavioral tests followed by pathological analyses of the brains. Remarkably, significant levels of αsyn expression are detected throughout the brain as early as 1 month old, including olfactory bulb, hippocampus, thalamic regions and midbrain. Immunostaining with a phospho-αsyn (pS129) specific antibody reveals abundant pS129 expression in specific regions. Also, pathologic αsyn is detected using the disease specific antibody 5G4. However, this model did not recapitulate behavioral phenotypes characteristic of rodent models of synucleinopathies. In fact no deficits in motor function or cognition were observed at 3 or 6 months of age. Taken together, these findings show that transduction of neonatal mouse with AAV-αsyn can successfully lead to rapid, whole brain transduction of wild-type human αsyn, but increased levels of wildtype αsyn do not induce behavior changes at an early time point (6 months), despite pathological changes in several neurons populations as early as 1 month. ELECTRONIC SUPPLEMENTARY MATERIAL: The online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s40478-017-0455-3) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.