Prion infection promotes extensive accumulation of α-synuclein in aged human α-synuclein transgenic mice

Abstract

In neurodegenerative disorders of the aging population, misfolded proteins, such as PrPSc, α-synuclein, amyloid β protein and tau, can interact and result in enhanced aggregation, cross seeding and accelerated disease progression. Previous reports have shown that in Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease and scrapie, α-synuclein accumulates near PrPSc deposits. However, it is unclear if pre-existing human α-synuclein aggregates modified prion disease pathogenesis, or if PrPSc exacerbates the α-synuclein pathology. Here, we inoculated infectious prions into aged α-synuclein transgenic (tg) and non-transgenic littermate control mice by the intracerebral route. Remarkably, inoculation of RML and mNS prion strains into α-synuclein tg mice resulted in more extensive and abundant intraneuronal and synaptic α-synuclein accumulation. In addition, infectious prions led to the formation of perineuronal α-synuclein deposits with a neuritic plaque-like appearance. Prion pathology was unmodified by the presence of α-synuclein. However, with the mNS prion strain there was a modest but significant acceleration in the time to terminal prion disease in mice having α-synuclein aggregates as compared to non-tg mice. Taken together, these studies support the notion that PrPSc directly or indirectly promotes α-synuclein pathology.