Pharmacological Inhibition of Necroptosis Protects from Dopaminergic Neuronal Cell Death in Parkinson ’s Disease Models

Publication date: 20 February 2018 Source:Cell Reports, Volume 22, Issue 8 Author(s): Angelo Iannielli, Simone Bido, Lucrezia Folladori, Alice Segnali, Cinzia Cancellieri, Alessandra Maresca, Luca Massimino, Alicia Rubio, Giuseppe Morabito, Leonardo Caporali, Francesca Tagliavini, Olimpia Musumeci, Giuliana Gregato, Erwan Bezard, Valerio Carelli, Valeria Tiranti, Vania Broccoli Dysfunctions in mitochondrial dynamics and metabolism are common pathological processes associated with Parkinson’s disease (PD). It was recently shown that an inherited form of PD and dementia is caused by mutations in the OPA1 gene, which encodes for a key player in mitochondrial fusion and structure. iPSC-derived neural cells from these patients exhibited severe mitochondrial fragmentation, respiration impairment, ATP deficits, and heightened oxidative stress. Reconstitution of normal levels of OPA1 in PD-derived neural cells normalized mitochondria morphology and function. OPA1-mutated neuronal cultures showed reduced survival in vitro. Intriguingly, selective inhibition of necroptosis effectively rescued this survival deficit. Additionally, dampening necroptosis in MPTP-treated mice protected from DA neuronal cell loss. This human iPSC-based model captures both early pathological events in OPA1 mutant neural cells and the beneficial effects of blocking necroptosis, highlighting this cell death process as a potential therapeutic target for PD. Graphical abstract Teaser Iannie...
Source: Cell Reports - Category: Cytology Source Type: research