Ambroxol reverses tau and α-synuclein accumulation in a cholinergic N370S GBA1 mutation model

Cognitive impairment is a common non-motor complication of Parkinson’s disease (PD). Glucocerebrosidase gene (GBA1) variants are found in 10–15% of PD cases and are numerically the most important risk factor for PD and dementia with Lewy bodies. Accumulation of α-synuclein and tau pathology is thought to underlie cognitive impairment in PD and likely involves cholinergic as well as dopaminergic neurons. Neural crest stem cells were isolated from both PD patients with the common heterozygous N370S GBA1 mutation and normal subjects without GBA1 mutations. The stem cells were used to generate a cholinergic neuronal cell model. The effects of the GBA1 variant on glucocerebrosidase (GCase) protein and activity, and cathepsin D, tau and α-synuclein protein levels in cholinergic neurons were examined. Ambroxol, a GCase chaperone, was used to investigate whether GCase enhancement was able to reverse the effects of the GBA1 variant on cholinergic neurons. Significant reductions in GCase protein and activity, as well as in cathepsin D levels, were found in GBA1 mutant (N370S/WT) cholinergic neurons. Both tau and α-synuclein levels were significantly increased in GBA1 mutant (N370S/WT) cholinergic neurons. Ambroxol significantly enhanced GCase activity and decreased both tau and α-synuclein levels in cholinergic neurons. GBA1 mutations interfere with the metabolism of α-synuclein and tau proteins and induce higher levels of α-synuclein and tau proteins in cholinergic neurons. The GCase pathway provides a potential therapeutic target for neurodegenerative disorders related to pathological α-synuclein or tau accumulation.