Modulating the catalytic activity of AMPK has neuroprotective effects against α-synuclein toxicity

BACKGROUND: Metabolic perturbations and slower renewal of cellular components associated with aging increase the risk of Parkinson’s disease (PD). Declining activity of AMPK, a critical cellular energy sensor, may therefore contribute to neurodegeneration. METHODS: Here, we overexpress various genetic variants of the catalytic AMPKα subunit to determine how AMPK activity affects the survival and function of neurons overexpressing human α-synuclein in vivo. RESULTS: Both AMPKα1 and α2 subunits have neuroprotective effects against human α-synuclein toxicity in nigral dopaminergic neurons. Remarkably, a modified variant of AMPKα1 (T172Dα1) with constitutive low activity most effectively prevents the loss of dopamine neurons, as well as the motor impairments caused by α-synuclein accumulation. In the striatum, T172Dα1 decreases the formation of dystrophic axons, which contain aggregated α-synuclein. In primary cortical neurons, overexpression of human α-synuclein perturbs mitochondrial and lysosomal activities. Co-expressing AMPKα with α-synuclein induces compensatory changes, which limit the accumulation of lysosomal material and increase the mitochondrial mass. CONCLUSIONS: Together, these results indicate that modulating AMPK activity can mitigate α-synuclein toxicity in nigral dopamine neurons, which may have implications for the development of neuroprotective treatments against PD. ELECTRONIC SUPPLEMENTARY MATERIAL: The online version of this article (10.1186/s13024-017-0220-x) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.