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Dynamic physiological alpha-synuclein S129 phosphorylation is driven by neuronal activity

Ramalingam, Nagendran; Jin, Shan-Xue; Moors, Tim E; Fonseca-Ornelas, Luis; Shimanaka, Kazuma; Lei, Shi; Cam, Hugh P; ... Dettmer, Ulf; + view all (2023) Dynamic physiological alpha-synuclein S129 phosphorylation is driven by neuronal activity. npj Parkinson's Disease , 9 (1) 10.1038/s41531-023-00444-w. Green open access

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Abstract

In Parkinson’s disease and other synucleinopathies, the elevation of α-synuclein phosphorylated at Serine129 (pS129) is a widely cited marker of pathology. However, the physiological role for pS129 has remained undefined. Here we use multiple approaches to show for the first time that pS129 functions as a physiological regulator of neuronal activity. Neuronal activity triggers a sustained increase of pS129 in cultured neurons (200% within 4 h). In accord, brain pS129 is elevated in environmentally enriched mice exhibiting enhanced long-term potentiation. Activity-dependent α-synuclein phosphorylation is S129-specific, reversible, confers no cytotoxicity, and accumulates at synapsin-containing presynaptic boutons. Mechanistically, our findings are consistent with a model in which neuronal stimulation enhances Plk2 kinase activity via a calcium/calcineurin pathway to counteract PP2A phosphatase activity for efficient phosphorylation of membrane-bound α-synuclein. Patch clamping of rat SNCA−/− neurons expressing exogenous wild-type or phospho-incompetent (S129A) α-synuclein suggests that pS129 fine-tunes the balance between excitatory and inhibitory neuronal currents. Consistently, our novel S129A knock-in (S129AKI) mice exhibit impaired hippocampal plasticity. The discovery of a key physiological function for pS129 has implications for understanding the role of α-synuclein in neurotransmission and adds nuance to the interpretation of pS129 as a synucleinopathy biomarker.

Type: Article
Title: Dynamic physiological alpha-synuclein S129 phosphorylation is driven by neuronal activity
Location: United States
Open access status: An open access version is available from UCL Discovery
DOI: 10.1038/s41531-023-00444-w
Publisher version: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41531-023-00444-w
Language: English
Additional information: © 2023 Springer Nature Limited. This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).
UCL classification: UCL
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences > Faculty of Brain Sciences
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences > Faculty of Brain Sciences > UCL Queen Square Institute of Neurology
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences > Faculty of Brain Sciences > UCL Queen Square Institute of Neurology > UK Dementia Research Institute
URI: https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/10172467
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