Intermediates and final products of protein aggregation play crucial role in the development of degenerative changes in a number of neurological diseases. Pathological protein aggregation is currently regarded as one of the most promising therapeutic targets for treatment of these diseases. Transgenic mouse models of proteinopathies are an effective tool for screening and validation of compounds, which can selectively affect metabolism of aggregate-prone proteins. In this study, we assessed effects of dimebon, a compound with known neuroprotective properties, on a recently established transgenic mouse model recapitulating key pathological features of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) as the consequence of neuron-specific overexpression of γ-synuclein. Cohorts of experimental transgenic mice received dimebon in drinking water with this chronic treatment starting either before or after the onset of clinical signs of pathology. We detected statistically significant improvement of motor performance in a rotarod test in both dimebon-treated animal groups, with more pronounced effect in a group that received dimebon from an earlier age. We also revealed substantially reduced number of amyloid inclusions, decreased amount of insoluble γ-synuclein species and a notable amelioration of astrogliosis in the spinal cord of dimebon-treated compared with control transgenic animals. However, dimebon did not prevent the loss of spinal motor neurons in this model. Our results demonstrated that chronic dimebon administration is able to slow down but not halt progression of γ-synucleinopathy and resulting signs of pathology in transgenic animals, suggesting potential therapeutic use of this drug for treatment of this currently incurable disease.

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Abstract. Phase composition and microstructure of initial WC, BK8 (powder alloy 92 wt.% WC-8 wt.% Co), Co powders, ball-milled powders with four different compositions (1) 25 wt.% WC-75 wt.% Co, (2) 30 wt.% BK8-70 wt.% Co, (3) 50 wt.% WC-50 wt.% Co, (4) 94 wt.% WC-6 wt.% Co, and bulk alloys obtained by selective laser melting (SLM) from as-milled powders in as-melted state and after heat treatment were investigated by scanning electron microscopy and X-ray diffraction analysis. Initial and ball-milled powders consist of WC, hexagonal a-Co and face-centered cubic b-Co. The SLM leads to the formation of major new phases W 3 Co 3 C, W 4 Co 2 C and face-centered cubic b-Co-based solid solution. During the heat treatment, there occurs partial decomposition of the face-centered cubic b-Co-based solid solution with the formation of W 2 C and hexagonal a-Co solid solution. The microstructure of obtained bulk samples, in general, corresponds to the observed phase composition.

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Alpha-synuclein is a presynaptic protein of vertebrates that belongs to the family of synucleins. Normal functions of synucleins remain unknown. Alpha-synuclein is one of the causative factors of the familial and idiopathic forms of Parkinson's disease (PD). The progressive loss of dopaminergic (DA) neurons is characteristic of PD and the most severe damage occurs in the substantia nigra (SN). This leads to an erraticism of the synthesis and synaptic secretion of the neurotransmitters, subsequently resulting in the loss of the connections between brain areas. This work shows that alpha-synuclein is directly involved in the formation of the mature DA neurons of the midbrain at different stages of the ontogenesis and these findings are consistent with data obtained in other studies. Thus, alpha-synuclein may have a varying modulating effect on the growth dynamics and the fate of populations of DA neurons.