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da Silva LPD, da Cruz Guedes E, Fernandes ICO, Pedroza LAL, da Silva Pereira GJ, Gubert P. Exploring Caenorhabditis elegans as Parkinson's Disease Model: Neurotoxins and Genetic Implications. Neurotox Res 2024; 42:11. [PMID: 38319410 DOI: 10.1007/s12640-024-00686-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/06/2023] [Revised: 12/19/2023] [Accepted: 01/05/2024] [Indexed: 02/07/2024]
Abstract
Parkinson's disease (PD) is the second most common neurodegenerative disease in the world, the first being Alzheimer's disease. Patients with PD have a loss of dopaminergic neurons in the substantia nigra of the basal ganglia, which controls voluntary movements, causing a motor impairment as a result of dopaminergic signaling impairment. Studies have shown that mutations in several genes, such as SNCA, PARK2, PINK1, DJ-1, ATP13A2, and LRRK2, and the exposure to neurotoxic agents can potentially increase the chances of PD development. The nematode Caenorhabditis elegans (C. elegans) plays an important role in studying the risk factors, such as genetic factors, aging, exposure to chemicals, disease progression, and drug treatments for PD. C. elegans has a conserved neurotransmission system during evolution; it produces dopamine, through the eight dopaminergic neurons; it can be used to study the effect of neurotoxins and also has strains that express human α-synuclein. Furthermore, the human PD-related genes, LRK-1, PINK-1, PDR-1, DJR-1.1, and CATP-6, are present and functional in this model. Therefore, this review focuses on highlighting and discussing the use of C. elegans an in vivo model in PD-related studies. Here, we identified that nematodes exposed to the neurotoxins, such as 6-OHDA, MPTP, paraquat, and rotenone, had a progressive loss of dopaminergic neurons, dopamine deficits, and decreased survival rate. Several studies have reported that expression of human LRRK2 (G2019S) caused neurodegeneration and pink-1, pdr-1, and djr-1.1 deletion caused several effects PD-related in C. elegans, including mitochondrial dysfunctions. Of note, the deletion of catp-6 in nematodes caused behavioral dysfunction, mitochondrial damage, and reduced survival. In addition, nematodes expressing α-synuclein had neurodegeneration and dopamine-dependent deficits. Therefore, C. elegans can be considered an accurate animal model of PD that can be used to elucidate to assess the underlying mechanisms implicated in PD to find novel therapeutic targets.
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Affiliation(s)
- Larissa Pereira Dantas da Silva
- Keizo Asami Institute, iLIKA, Universidade Federal de Pernambuco, Moraes Rego Avenue, 1235, Recife, Pernambuco, 50670-901, Brazil
| | - Erika da Cruz Guedes
- Department of Pharmacology, Escola Paulista de Medicina, Universidade Federal de São Paulo, São Paulo, SP, Brazil
| | - Isabel Cristina Oliveira Fernandes
- Keizo Asami Institute, iLIKA, Universidade Federal de Pernambuco, Moraes Rego Avenue, 1235, Recife, Pernambuco, 50670-901, Brazil
- Postgraduate Program in Biological Science, Universidade Federal de Pernambuco, Pernambuco, Recife, Brazil
| | - Lucas Aleixo Leal Pedroza
- Keizo Asami Institute, iLIKA, Universidade Federal de Pernambuco, Moraes Rego Avenue, 1235, Recife, Pernambuco, 50670-901, Brazil
| | | | - Priscila Gubert
- Keizo Asami Institute, iLIKA, Universidade Federal de Pernambuco, Moraes Rego Avenue, 1235, Recife, Pernambuco, 50670-901, Brazil.
- Postgraduate Program in Biological Science, Universidade Federal de Pernambuco, Pernambuco, Recife, Brazil.
- Postgraduate Program in Pure and Applied Chemistry, Universidade Federal do Oeste da Bahia, Bahia, Brazil.
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da Cruz Guedes E, Erustes AG, Leão AHFF, Carneiro CA, Abílio VC, Zuardi AW, Hallak JEC, Crippa JA, Bincoletto C, Smaili SS, Reckziegel P, Pereira GJS. Cannabidiol Recovers Dopaminergic Neuronal Damage Induced by Reserpine or α-synuclein in Caenorhabditis elegans. Neurochem Res 2023:10.1007/s11064-023-03905-z. [PMID: 36964823 DOI: 10.1007/s11064-023-03905-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/05/2022] [Revised: 02/27/2023] [Accepted: 03/01/2023] [Indexed: 03/26/2023]
Abstract
Progressive neurodegenerative disorders such as Parkinson Disease (PD) lack curative or long-term treatments. At the same time, the increase of the worldwide elderly population and, consequently, the extension in the prevalence of age-related diseases have promoted research interest in neurodegenerative disorders. Caenorhabditis elegans is a free-living nematode widely used as an animal model in studies of human diseases. Here we evaluated cannabidiol (CBD) as a possible neuroprotective compound in PD using the C. elegans models exposed to reserpine. Our results demonstrated that CBD reversed the reserpine-induced locomotor alterations and this response was independent of the NPR-19 receptors, an orthologous receptor for central cannabinoid receptor type 1. Morphological alterations of cephalic sensilla (CEP) dopaminergic neurons indicated that CBD also protects neurons from reserpine-induced degeneration. That is, CBD attenuates the reserpine-induced increase of worms with shrunken soma and dendrites loss, increasing the number of worms with intact CEP neurons. Finally, we found that CBD also reduced ROS formation and α-syn protein accumulation in mutant worms. Our findings collectively provide new evidence that CBD acts as neuroprotector in dopaminergic neurons, reducing neurotoxicity and α-syn accumulation highlighting its potential in the treatment of PD.
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Affiliation(s)
- Erika da Cruz Guedes
- Department of Pharmacology, Escola Paulista de Medicina, Universidade Federal de São Paulo, Três de Maio Street, 100, São Paulo, SP, 04044-020, Brazil
| | - Adolfo Garcia Erustes
- Department of Pharmacology, Escola Paulista de Medicina, Universidade Federal de São Paulo, Três de Maio Street, 100, São Paulo, SP, 04044-020, Brazil
| | - Anderson H F F Leão
- Department of Pharmacology, Escola Paulista de Medicina, Universidade Federal de São Paulo, Três de Maio Street, 100, São Paulo, SP, 04044-020, Brazil
| | - César Alves Carneiro
- Department of Pharmacology, Escola Paulista de Medicina, Universidade Federal de São Paulo, Três de Maio Street, 100, São Paulo, SP, 04044-020, Brazil
| | - Vanessa C Abílio
- Department of Pharmacology, Escola Paulista de Medicina, Universidade Federal de São Paulo, Três de Maio Street, 100, São Paulo, SP, 04044-020, Brazil
- National Institute for Translational Medicine (INCT-TM, CNPq), Ribeirão Preto, Brazil
| | - Antonio W Zuardi
- National Institute for Translational Medicine (INCT-TM, CNPq), Ribeirão Preto, Brazil
- Department of Neuroscience and Behavior, Universidade de São Paulo, USP, Ribeirão Preto, Brazil
| | - Jaime Eduardo C Hallak
- National Institute for Translational Medicine (INCT-TM, CNPq), Ribeirão Preto, Brazil
- Department of Neuroscience and Behavior, Universidade de São Paulo, USP, Ribeirão Preto, Brazil
| | - José Alexandre Crippa
- National Institute for Translational Medicine (INCT-TM, CNPq), Ribeirão Preto, Brazil
- Department of Neuroscience and Behavior, Universidade de São Paulo, USP, Ribeirão Preto, Brazil
| | - Claudia Bincoletto
- Department of Pharmacology, Escola Paulista de Medicina, Universidade Federal de São Paulo, Três de Maio Street, 100, São Paulo, SP, 04044-020, Brazil
| | - Soraya S Smaili
- Department of Pharmacology, Escola Paulista de Medicina, Universidade Federal de São Paulo, Três de Maio Street, 100, São Paulo, SP, 04044-020, Brazil
| | - Patrícia Reckziegel
- Department of Clinical and Toxicological Analyses, School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of São Paulo, São Paulo, SP, Brazil
| | - Gustavo J S Pereira
- Department of Pharmacology, Escola Paulista de Medicina, Universidade Federal de São Paulo, Três de Maio Street, 100, São Paulo, SP, 04044-020, Brazil.
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Erustes AG, Guarache GC, Guedes EDC, Leão AHFF, Pereira GJDS, Smaili SS. α-Synuclein Interactions in Mitochondria-ER Contacts: A Possible Role in Parkinson's Disease. Contact (Thousand Oaks) 2022; 5:25152564221119347. [PMID: 37366506 PMCID: PMC10243560 DOI: 10.1177/25152564221119347] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/28/2023]
Abstract
Endoplasmic reticulum-mitochondria contact sites regulate various biological processes, such as mitochondrial dynamics, calcium homeostasis, autophagy and lipid metabolism. Notably, dysfunctions in these contact sites are closely related to neurodegenerative diseases, including Parkinson's disease, Alzheimer's disease and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. However, details about the role of endoplasmic reticulum-mitochondria contact sites in neurodegenerative diseases remain unknown. In Parkinson's disease, interactions between α-synuclein in the contact sites and components of tether complexes that connect organelles can lead to various dysfunctions, especially with regards to calcium homeostasis. This review will summarize the main tether complexes present in endoplasmic reticulum-mitochondria contact sites, and their roles in calcium homeostasis and trafficking. We will discuss the impact of α-synuclein accumulation, its interaction with tethering complex components and the implications in Parkinson's disease pathology.
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Affiliation(s)
- Adolfo Garcia Erustes
- Department of Pharmacology, Escola Paulista
de Medicina, Universidade Federal de São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil
| | - Gabriel Cicolin Guarache
- Department of Pharmacology, Escola Paulista
de Medicina, Universidade Federal de São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil
| | - Erika da Cruz Guedes
- Department of Pharmacology, Escola Paulista
de Medicina, Universidade Federal de São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil
| | | | | | - Soraya Soubhi Smaili
- Department of Pharmacology, Escola Paulista
de Medicina, Universidade Federal de São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil
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