mangostin and Parkinson-Disease

Parkinson's disease (PD) is a multi-factorial neurodegenerative disease affecting motor function of patients. The hall markers of PD are dopaminergic neuron loss in the midbrain and the presence of intra-neuronal inclusion bodies mainly composed of aggregation-prone protein alpha-synuclein (α-syn). Ubiquitin-proteasome system (UPS) is a multi-step reaction process responsible for more than 80% intracellular protein degradation. Impairment of UPS function has been observed in the brain tissue of PD patients. PDE4 inhibitors have been shown to activate cAMP-PKA pathway and promote UPS activity in Alzheimer's disease model. α-mangostin is a natural xanthonoid with broad biological activities, such as antioxidant, antimicrobial and antitumour activities. Structure-based optimizations based on α-mangostin produced a potent PDE4 inhibitor, 4e. Herein, we studied whether 4e could promote proteasomal degradation of α-syn in Parkinson's disease models through PKA activation.. cAMP Assay was conducted to quantify cAMP levels in samples. Model UPS substrates (Ub-G76V-GFP and Ub-R-GFP) were used to monitor UPS-dependent activity. Proteasome activity was investigated by short peptide substrate, Suc-LLVY-AMC, cleavage of which by the proteasome increases fluorescence sensitivity. Tet-on WT, A30P, and A53T α-syn-inducible PC12 cells and primary mouse cortical neurons from A53T transgenic mice were used to evaluate the effect of 4e against α-syn in vitro. Heterozygous A53T transgenic mice were employed to assess the effect of 4e on the clearance of α-syn in vivo, and further validations were applied by western blotting and immunohistochemistry.. Taken together, α-mangostin derivative 4e, a PDE4 inhibitor, efficiently activated the cAMP/PKA pathway in neuronal cells, and promoted UPS activity as evidenced by enhanced degradation of UPS substrate Ub-G76V-GFP and Ub-R-GFP, as well as elevated proteasomal enzyme activity. Interestingly, 4e dramatically accelerated degradation of inducibly-expressed WT and mutant α-syn in PC12 cells, in a UPS dependent manner. Besides, 4e consistently activated PKA in primary neuron and A53T mice brain, restored UPS inhibition and alleviated α-syn accumulation in the A53T mice brain.. 4e is a natural compound derived highly potent PDE4 inhibitor. We revealed its potential effect in promoting UPS activity to degrade pathogenic proteins associated with PD.

Topics: alpha-Synuclein; Animals; Cyclic AMP-Dependent Protein Kinases; Dopaminergic Neurons; Enzyme Activation; Humans; Mice; Mice, Transgenic; Neurodegenerative Diseases; Parkinson Disease; Phosphodiesterase 4 Inhibitors; Proteasome Endopeptidase Complex; Rats; Ubiquitin; Xanthones

Alpha-Synuclein (α-Syn) accumulation is central to the pathogenesis of Parkinson's disease (PD), hence the quest for finding potential therapeutics that may promote the α-Syn clearance is the need of the hour. To this, activation of the evolutionarily conserved protein and key regulator of the autophagy, 5'AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK) is well-known to induce autophagy and subsequently the clearance of α-Syn aggregates. Alpha-mangostin (AM) a polyphenolic xanthone obtained from Garcinia Mangostana L. was previously reported to activate AMPK-dependent autophagy in various pre-clinical cancer models. However, no studies evidenced the effect of AM on AMPK-dependent autophagy activation in the PD. Therefore, the present study aimed to investigate the neuroprotective activity of AM in the chronic rotenone mouse model of PD against rotenone-induced α-Syn accumulation and to dissect molecular mechanisms underlying the observed neuroprotection. The findings showed that AM exerts neuroprotection against rotenone-induced α-Syn accumulation in the striatum and cortex by activating AMPK, upregulating autophagy (LC3II/I, Beclin-1), and lysosomal (TFEB) markers. Of note, an in-vitro study utilizing rat pheochromocytoma cells verified that AM conferred the neuroprotection only through AMPK activation, as the presence of inhibitors of AMPK (dorsomorphin) and autophagy (3-methyl adenine) failed to mitigate rotenone-induced α-Syn accumulation. Moreover, AM also counteracted rotenone-induced behavioral deficits, oxidative stress, and degeneration of nigro-striatal dopaminergic neurons. In conclusion, AM provided neuroprotection by ameliorating the rotenone-induced α-Syn accumulation through AMPK-dependent autophagy activation and it can be considered as a therapeutic agent which might be having a higher translational value in the treatment of PD.

Topics: alpha-Synuclein; AMP-Activated Protein Kinases; Animals; Autophagy; Mice; Neuroprotection; Parkinson Disease; Rats; Rotenone

The study was designed to evaluate the protective effect of α-mangostin and explore its mechanism in an in vitro model of Parkinson's disease (PD) induced by rotenone. SH-SY5Y cells were treated with rotenone and α-mangostin for 24 h. α-Mangostin significantly and concentration-dependently inhibited rotenone-induced cytotoxicity. The rotenone-induced aggregation of α-synuclein and loss of TH were alleviated by α-mangostin. α-Mangostin treatment also reversed the rotenone-induced overproduction of reactive oxygen species, activation of caspases (-8 and -3) and mitochondrial dysfunction, reflected by decrease in mitochondrial membrane potential and cellular ATP levels. These findings suggest that α-mangostin has neuroprotective effects against PD-related neuronal injury.

Topics: alpha-Synuclein; Apoptosis; Autophagy; Cell Survival; Dose-Response Relationship, Drug; Humans; Membrane Potential, Mitochondrial; Molecular Structure; Neuroprotective Agents; Parkinson Disease; Reactive Oxygen Species; Rotenone; Xanthones

Microglia-mediated neuroinflammation induced by α-synuclein in the substantianigra likely either initiates or aggravates nigral neuro degeneration in Parkinson's disease (PD). We aimed to explore the effects of α-mangostin (α-M), a polyphenolicxanthone derivative from mangosteen on α-synuclein-stimulated DA neurodegeneration. Primary microglia, mesencephalic neuron, mesencephalic neuron-glianeuronal cultures, and transwell co-cultures were prepared separately. Liquid scintillation counting was used to determine the radioactivity in DA uptake. Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) was performed in the IL-1β, IL-6, and TNF-α assay. The expression of proteins was analyzed by Western blot. α-M inhibited the increased levels of pro-inflammatory cytokines, NO, and ROS in α-synuclein-stimulated primary microglia. Mechanistic study revealed that α-M functioned by inhibition of nuclear factor kappa B (NF-κB) and NADPH oxidase. Further, α-M protected α-synuclein-induced microglial and direct neurotoxicity. Although detailed mechanisms remain to be defined, our observations suggest a potential compound, which inhibits microglial activation induced by α-synuclein by targeting NADPH oxidase, might be a therapeutic possibility in preventing PD progression.

Topics: alpha-Synuclein; Animals; Cells, Cultured; Dopamine; Humans; Mesencephalon; Microglia; NADPH Oxidases; Nerve Degeneration; Neurons; Parkinson Disease; Rats, Sprague-Dawley; Xanthones