Repurposing the NRF2 activator dimethyl fumarate as therapy against synucleinopathy in Parkinson's disease

Aims: This preclinical study was aimed at determining whether pharmacological targeting of transcription factor NRF2, a master controller of many homeostatic genes, might provide a disease-modifying therapy in the animal model of Parkinson's disease (PD) that best reproduces the main hallmark o...

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Detalles Bibliográficos
Autores: Lastres Becker, Isabel, García Yagüe, Ángel Juan, Scannevin, Robert H., Casarejos, María José, Kügler, Sebastian, Rábano, Alberto, Cuadrado Pastor, Antonio
Tipo de recurso: artículo
Fecha de publicación:2016
País:España
Institución:Universidad Autónoma de Madrid
Repositorio:Biblos-e Archivo. Repositorio Institucional de la UAM
Idioma:inglés
OAI Identifier:oai:repositorio.uam.es:10486/729020
Acceso en línea:https://hdl.handle.net/10486/729020
https://dx.doi.org/10.1089/ars.2015.6549
Access Level:acceso abierto
Palabra clave:NRF2
synucleinopathy
Parkinson disease
Medicina
Química
Descripción
Sumario:Aims: This preclinical study was aimed at determining whether pharmacological targeting of transcription factor NRF2, a master controller of many homeostatic genes, might provide a disease-modifying therapy in the animal model of Parkinson's disease (PD) that best reproduces the main hallmark of this pathology, that is, α-synucleinopathy, and associated events, including nigral dopaminergic cell death, oxidative stress, and neuroinflammation. Results: Pharmacological activation of NRF2 was achieved at the basal ganglia by repurposing dimethyl fumarate (DMF), a drug already in use for the treatment of multiple sclerosis. Daily oral gavage of DMF protected nigral dopaminergic neurons against α-SYN toxicity and decreased astrocytosis and microgliosis after 1, 3, and 8 weeks from stereotaxic delivery to the ventral midbrain of recombinant adeno-associated viral vector expressing human α-synuclein. This protective effect was not observed in Nrf2-knockout mice. In vitro studies indicated that this neuroprotective effect was correlated with altered regulation of autophagy markers SQTSM1/p62 and LC3 in MN9D, BV2, and IMA 2.1 and with a shift in microglial dynamics toward a less pro-inflammatory and a more wound-healing phenotype. In postmortem samples of PD patients, the cytoprotective proteins associated with NRF2 expression, NQO1 and p62, were partly sequestered in Lewy bodies, suggesting impaired neuroprotective capacity of the NRF2 signature. Innovation: These experiments provide a compelling rationale for targeting NRF2 with DMF as a therapeutic strategy to reinforce endogenous brain defense mechanisms against PD-associated synucleinopathy. Conclusion: DMF is ready for clinical validation in PD