Research in the last two decades has unveiled an important role for neuroinflammation in the degeneration of the nigrostriatal dopaminergic pathway that constitutes the pathological basis of the prevailing movement disorder, Parkinson's disease (PD). Neuroinflammation is characterized by the activation of brain glial cells, primarily microglia and astrocytes that release various soluble factors that include free radicals (reactive oxygen and nitrogen species), cytokines, and lipid metabolites. The majority of these glia-derived factors are proinflammatory and neurotoxic and are particularly deleterious to oxidative damage-vulnerable nigral dopaminergic neurons. As a proof of concept, various immunologic stimuli have been employed to directly induce glial activation to model dopaminergic neurodegeneration in Parkinson's disease. The bacterial endotoxin, lipopolysaccharide (LPS), has been the most extensively utilized glial activator for the induction of inflammatory dopaminergic neurodegeneration. In this review, we will summarize the various in vitro and in vivo LPS PD models. Furthermore, we will highlight the contribution of the LPS PD models to the mechanistic studies of PD pathogenesis and the search for neuroprotective agents for the treatment of PD.

Abnormal accumulation and propagation of the neuronal protein α-synuclein has been hypothesized to underlie the pathogenesis of Parkinson's disease, dementia with Lewy bodies and multiple system atrophy. Here we report a de novo-developed compound (NPT100-18A) that reduces α-synuclein toxicity through a novel mechanism that involves displacing α-synuclein from the membrane. This compound interacts with a domain in the C-terminus of α-synuclein. The E83R mutation reduces the compound interaction with the 80-90 amino acid region of α-synuclein and prevents the effects of NPT100-18A. In vitro studies showed that NPT100-18A reduced the formation of wild-type α-synuclein oligomers in membranes, reduced the neuronal accumulation of α-synuclein, and decreased markers of cell toxicity. In vivo studies were conducted in three different α-synuclein transgenic rodent models. Treatment with NPT100-18A ameliorated motor deficits in mThy1 wild-type α-synuclein transgenic mice in a dose-dependent manner at two independent institutions. Neuropathological examination showed that NPT100-18A decreased the accumulation of proteinase K-resistant α-synuclein aggregates in the CNS and was accompanied by the normalization of neuronal and inflammatory markers. These results were confirmed in a mutant line of α-synuclein transgenic mice that is prone to generate oligomers. In vivo imaging studies of α-synuclein-GFP transgenic mice using two-photon microscopy showed that NPT100-18A reduced the cortical synaptic accumulation of α-synuclein within 1 h post-administration. Taken together, these studies support the notion that altering the interaction of α-synuclein with the membrane might be a feasible therapeutic approach for developing new disease-modifying treatments of Parkinson's disease and other synucleinopathies.

Previous studies have demonstrated that modest, physiologically relevant increases in maternal cortisol in late gestation result in enlargement of the fetal heart. In this study, we investigated the role of mineralocorticoid receptor (MR) or glucocorticoid receptor (GR) in this enlargement. Ewes with single fetuses were randomly assigned at w120 days of gestation to one of four groups: maternal cortisol infusion (1 mg/kg per day, cortisol); maternal cortisol infusion with fetal intrapericardial infusion of the MR antagonist (MRa) potassium canrenoate (600 mg/day; cortisolCMRa); maternal cortisol infusion with fetal intrapericardial infusion of the GR antagonist (GRa) mifepristone (50 mg/day, cortisolCGRa); and maternal saline infusion (control). At w130 days of gestation, fetal heart to body weight ratio and right ventricular (RV) and left ventricular (LV) free wall thicknesses were increased in the cortisol group when compared with control group. Fetal hearts from the cortisolCMRa group weighed significantly less, with thinner LV, RV, and interventricular septum walls, when compared with the cortisol group. Fetal hearts from the cortisolCGRa group had significantly thinner RV walls than the cortisol group. Fetal arterial pressure and heart rate were not different among groups at 130 days. Picrosirius red staining of fetal hearts indicated that the increased size was not accompanied by cardiac fibrosis. These results suggest that physiologic increases in maternal cortisol in late gestation induce fetal cardiac enlargement via MR and, to a lesser extent, by GR, and indicate that the enlargement is not secondary to an increase in fetal blood pressure or an increase in fibrosis within the fetal heart.

J. Neurochem. (2012) 122, 752–763. Abstract Factors released from injured dopaminergic (DA) neurons may trigger microglial activation and set in motion a vicious cycle of neuronal injury and inflammation that fuels progressive DA neurodegeneration in Parkinson’s disease. In this study, using proteomic and immunoblotting analysis, we detected elevated levels of cystatin C in conditioned media (CM) from 1‐methyl‐4‐phenylpyridinium and dieldrin‐injured rat DA neuronal cells. Immunodepletion of cystatin C significantly reduced the ability of DA neuronal CM to induce activation of rat microglial cells as determined by up‐regulation of inducible nitric oxide synthase, production of free radicals and release of proinflammatory cytokines as well as activated microglia‐mediated DA neurotoxicity. Treatment of the cystatin C‐containing CM with enzymes that remove O‐ and sialic acid‐, but not N‐linked carbohydrate moieties markedly reduced the ability of the DA neuronal CM to activate microglia. Taken together, these results suggest that DA neuronal cystatin C plays a role in the neuronal injury‐induced microglial activation and neurotoxicity. These findings from the rat DA neuron‐microglia in vitro model may help guide continued investigation to define the precise role of cystatin C in the complex interplay among neurons and glia in the pathogenesis of Parkinson’s disease.

In addition to dopaminergic and motor deficits, patients with Parkinson's disease (PD) suffer from non-motor symptoms, including early cognitive and social impairment, that do not respond well to dopaminergic therapy. Cholinergic deficits may contribute to these problems, but cholinesterase inhibitors have limited efficacy. Mice over-expressing α-synuclein, a protein critically associated with PD, show deficits in cognitive and social interaction tests, as well as a decrease in cortical acetylcholine. We have evaluated the effects of chronic administration of nicotine in mice over-expressing wild type human α-synuclein under the Thy1-promoter (Thy1-aSyn mice). Nicotine was administered subcutaneously by osmotic minipump for 6 months from 2 to 8 months of age at 0.4 mg/kg/h and 2.0 mg/kg/h. The higher dose was toxic in the Thy1-aSyn mice, but the low dose was well tolerated and both doses ameliorated cognitive impairment in Y-maze performance after 5 months of treatment. In a separate cohort of Thy1-aSyn mice, nicotine was administered at the lower dose for one month beginning at 5 months of age. This treatment partially eliminated the cognitive deficit in novel object recognition and social impairment. In contrast, chronic nicotine did not improve motor deficits after 2, 4 or 6 months of treatment, nor modified α-synuclein aggregation, tyrosine hydroxylase immunostaining, synaptic and dendritic markers, or microglial activation in Thy1-aSyn mice. These results suggest that cognitive and social impairment in synucleinopathies like PD may result from deficits in cholinergic neurotransmission and may benefit from chronic administration of nicotinic agonists.