Fragile X syndrome, the most frequent form of hereditary mental retardation, is due to a mutation of the fragile X mental retardation 1 (FMR1) gene on the X chromosome. Like fragile X patients, FMR1-knockout (FMR1-KO) mice lack the normal fragile X mental retardation protein (FMRP) and show both cognitive alterations and an immature neuronal morphology. We reared FMR1-KO mice in a C57BL͞6 background in enriched environmental conditions to examine the possibility that experience-dependent stimulation alleviates their behavioral and neuronal abnormalities. FMR1-KO mice kept in standard cages were hyperactive, displayed an altered pattern of open field exploration, and did not show habituation. Quantitative morphological analyses revealed a reduction in basal dendrite length and branching together with more immatureappearing spines along apical dendrites of layer five pyramidal neurons in the visual cortex. Enrichment largely rescued these behavioral and neuronal abnormalities while increasing ␣-amino-3-hydroxy-5-methyl-4-isoxazolepropionic acid (AMPA) glutamate receptor subunit 1 (GluR1) levels in both genotypes. Enrichment did not, however, affect FMRP levels in the WT mice. These data suggest that FMRP-independent pathways activating glutamatergic signaling are preserved in FMR1-KO mice and that they can be elicited by environmental stimulation.fragile X mental retardation protein ͉ mental retardation ͉ FMR1 gene ͉ AMPA receptor ͉ dendritic spines S everal genes associated with mental retardation have been mapped on the X chromosome and, among them is the fragile X mental retardation 1 (FMR1) gene. The fragile X mental retardation protein (FMRP) absence or mutation is responsible for the fragile X syndrome (FXS), which is the most common form of inherited mental retardation. Most of the individuals affected carry a trinucleotide repeat that, after methylation, leads to transcriptional silencing of the FMR1 gene (1). Patients with the FXS do not express FMRP and exhibit phenotypic traits ranging from severe (IQ 20) to moderate (IQ 60) mental retardation, defective attention, autistic behavior, and physical features including an elongated face, large ears, joint laxity, and macroorchidism (2-5).FMR1 is highly conserved between human and mouse, with a nucleotide and amino acid identity of 95% and 97%, respectively (6). The expression pattern of mouse FMR1 is similar to its human counterpart in both tissue specificity and timing (7). Interestingly, FMR1-knockout (FMR1-KO) mice, the mouse model for the FXS, lack the normal FMRP and show macroorchidism, hyperactivity, and mild learning deficits (8, 9) reminiscent of the human syndrome.One common brain feature of fragile X patients and of the mouse model for the syndrome is the presence of long and thin immature dendritic spines indicative of defective pruning during development (10)(11)(12)(13)(14). At the molecular level, it has been shown that protein synthesis triggered by the type I metabotropic glutamate receptor (mGluR1) agonist dihydroxyphenylglycine is dramati...

Leucine-rich repeat kinase 2 (LRRK2) is enriched in the striatal projection neurons (SPNs). Here we show that LRRK2 negatively regulates protein kinase A (PKA) activity in the SPNs during synaptogenesis and in response to dopamine receptor Drd1 activation. LRRK2 interacted with PKA regulatory subunit IIβ (PKARIIβ). A lack of LRRK2 promoted the synaptic translocation of PKA and increased PKA-mediated phosphorylation of actin-disassembling enzyme cofilin and glutamate receptor GluR1, resulting in abnormal synaptogenesis and transmission in the developing SPNs. Furthermore, PKA-dependent phosphorylation of GluR1 was also aberrantly enhanced in the striatum of young and aged LRRK2-null mice after treatment with a Drd1 agonist. Notably, a Parkinson’s disease-related LRRK2 R1441C missense mutation that impaired the interaction of LRRK2 with PKARIIβ also induced excessive PKA activity in the SPNs. Our findings reveal a new regulatory role of LRRK2 in PKA signaling, and provide a new pathogenic mechanism of SPN dysfunction in Parkinson’s disease.

α-synuclein(α-syn) plays a prominent role in the degeneration of midbrain dopaminergic (mDA) neurons in Parkinson disease (PD). However, only a few studies on α-syn have been carried out in the mDA neurons in vivo, which may be attributed to a lack of α-syn transgenic mice that develop PD-like severe degeneration of mDA neurons. To gain mechanistic insights into the α-syn-induced mDA neurodegeneration, we generated a new line of tetracycline-regulated inducible transgenic mice that overexpressed the PD-related α-syn A53T missense mutation in the mDA neurons. Here we show that the mutant mice developed profound motor disabilities and robust mDA neurodegeneration, resembling some key motor and pathological phenotypes of PD. We further systematically examined the subcellular abnormalities appeared in the mDA neurons of mutant mice, and observed a profound decrease of dopamine release, the fragmentation of Golgi apparatus, and impairments of autophagy/lysosome degradation pathways in these neurons. To further understand the specific molecular events leading to the α-syn-dependent degeneration of mDA neurons, we found that over-expression of α-syn promoted a proteasome-dependent degradation of nuclear receptor related 1 protein (Nurr1); while inhibition of Nurr1 degradation ameliorated the α-syn-induced loss of mDA neurons. Given that Nurr1 plays an essential role in maintaining the normal function and survival of mDA neurons, our studies suggest that the α-syn-mediated suppression of Nurr1 protein expression may contribute to the preferential vulnerability of mDA neurons in the pathogenesis of PD.

A correct interplay between dopamine (DA) and glutamate is essential for corticostriatal synaptic plasticity and motor activity. In an experimental model of Parkinson's disease (PD) obtained in rats, the complete depletion of striatal DA, mimicking advanced stages of the disease, results in the loss of both forms of striatal plasticity: long-term potentiation (LTP) and long-term depression (LTD). However, early PD stages are characterized by an incomplete reduction in striatal DA levels. The mechanism by which this incomplete reduction in DA level affects striatal synaptic plasticity and glutamatergic synapses is unknown. Here we present a model of early PD in which a partial denervation, causing mild motor deficits, selectively affects NMDA-dependent LTP but not LTD and dramatically alters NMDA receptor composition in the postsynaptic density. Our findings show that DA decrease influences corticostriatal synaptic plasticity depending on the level of depletion. The use of the TAT2A cell-permeable peptide, as an innovative therapeutic strategy in early PD, rescues physiological NMDA receptor composition, synaptic plasticity, and motor behavior.

SignificanceHere we describe a role for the synaptic vesicle glycoprotein 2C (SV2C) in dopamine neurotransmission and Parkinson disease (PD). SV2C is expressed on the vesicles of dopamine-producing neurons, and genetic deletion of SV2C causes a reduction in synaptic release of dopamine. The reduced dopamine release is associated with a decrease in motor activity. SV2C is suspected of mediating the neuroprotective effects of nicotine, and we show an ablated neurochemical response to nicotine in SV2C-knockout mice. Last, we demonstrate that SV2C expression is specifically disrupted in mice that express mutated α-synuclein and in humans with PD. Together, these data establish SV2C as an important mediator of dopamine homeostasis and a potential contributor to PD pathogenesis.

The aim of the present study was to evaluate the role of the nitric oxide/cyclic guanosine monophosphate pathway in corticostriatal long-term depression induction in a model of levodopa-induced dyskinesia in experimental parkinsonism. Moreover, we have also analysed the possibility of targeting striatal phosphodiesterases to reduce levodopa-induced dyskinesia. To study synaptic plasticity in sham-operated rats and in 6-hydroxydopamine lesioned animals chronically treated with therapeutic doses of levodopa, recordings from striatal spiny neurons were taken using either intracellular recordings with sharp electrodes or whole-cell patch clamp techniques. Behavioural analysis of levodopa-induced abnormal involuntary movements was performed before and after the treatment with two different inhibitors of phosphodiesterases, zaprinast and UK-343664. Levodopa-induced dyskinesia was associated with the loss of long-term depression expression at glutamatergic striatal synapses onto spiny neurons. Both zaprinast and UK-343664 were able to rescue the induction of this form of synaptic plasticity via a mechanism requiring the modulation of intracellular cyclic guanosine monophosphate levels. This effect on synaptic plasticity was paralleled by a significant reduction of abnormal movements following intrastriatal injection of phosphodiesterase inhibitors. Our findings suggest that drugs selectively targeting phosphodiesterases can ameliorate levodopa-induced dyskinesia, possibly by restoring physiological synaptic plasticity in the striatum. Future studies exploring the possible therapeutic effects of phosphodiesterase inhibitors in non-human primate models of Parkinson's disease and the involvement of striatal synaptic plasticity in these effects remain necessary to validate this hypothesis.

Although patients with Parkinson's disease show impairments in cognitive performance even at the early stage of the disease, the synaptic mechanisms underlying cognitive impairment in this pathology are unknown. Hippocampal long-term potentiation represents the major experimental model for the synaptic changes underlying learning and memory and is controlled by endogenous dopamine. We found that hippocampal long-term potentiation is altered in both a neurotoxic and transgenic model of Parkinson's disease and this plastic alteration is associated with an impaired dopaminergic transmission and a decrease of NR2A/NR2B subunit ratio in synaptic N-methyl-d-aspartic acid receptors. Deficits in hippocampal-dependent learning were also found in hemiparkinsonian and mutant animals. Interestingly, the dopamine precursor l-DOPA was able to restore hippocampal synaptic potentiation via D1/D5 receptors and to ameliorate the cognitive deficit in parkinsonian animals suggesting that dopamine-dependent impairment of hippocampal long-term potentiation may contribute to cognitive deficits in patients with Parkinson's disease.

Striatal medium spiny neurons (MSNs) are divided into two subpopulations exerting distinct effects on motor behavior. Transgenic mice carrying bacterial artificial chromosome (BAC) able to confer cell type-specific expression of enhanced green fluorescent protein (eGFP) for dopamine (DA) receptors have been developed to characterize differences between these subpopulations. Analysis of these mice, in contrast with original pioneering studies, showed that striatal long-term depression (LTD) was expressed in indirect but not in the direct pathway MSNs. To address this mismatch, we applied a new approach using combined BAC technology and receptor immunohistochemistry. We demonstrate that, in physiological conditions, DA-dependent LTD is expressed in both pathways showing that the lack of synaptic plasticity found in D 1 eGFP mice is associated to behavioral deficits. Our findings suggest caution in the use of this tool and indicate that the "striatal segregation" hypothesis might not explain all synaptic dysfunctions in Parkinson's disease.