Abstract
AbstractThe presence of α-synuclein aggregates in the retina of Parkinson’s disease patients has been associated with vision impairment. In this study we sought to determine the effects of α-synuclein overexpression on the survival and function of dopaminergic amacrine cells (DACs) in the retina. Adult mice were intravitreally injected with an adeno-associated viral (AAV) vector to overexpress human wild-type α-synuclein in the inner retina. Before and after systemic injections of levodopa (L-DOPA), retinal responses and visual acuity-driven behavior were measured by electroretinography (ERG) and a water maze task, respectively. Amacrine cells and ganglion cells were counted at different time points after the injection. α-synuclein overexpression led to an early loss of DACs associated with a decrease of light-adapted ERG responses and visual acuity that could be rescued by systemic injections of L-DOPA. The data show that α-synuclein overexpression affects dopamine neurons in the retina. The approach provides a novel accessible method to model the underlying mechanisms implicated in the pathogenesis of synucleinopathies and for testing novel treatments.
Publisher
Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Cited by
31 articles.
订阅此论文施引文献
订阅此论文施引文献,注册后可以免费订阅5篇论文的施引文献,订阅后可以查看论文全部施引文献