Passive Immunization Reduces Behavioral and Neuropathological Deficits in an Alpha-Synuclein Transgenic Model of Lewy Body Disease

Troy Rohn, Boise State University

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This document was originally published by PLOS ONE (Public Library of Science) in PLOS ONE. Copyright restrictions may apply. DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0019338

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Abstract

Dementia with Lewy bodies (DLB) and Parkinson's Disease (PD) are common causes of motor and cognitive deficits and are associated with the abnormal accumulation of alpha-synuclein (α-syn). This study investigated whether passive immunization with a novel monoclonal α-syn antibody (9E4) against the C-terminus (CT) of α-syn was able to cross into the CNS and ameliorate the deficits associated with α-syn accumulation. In this study we demonstrate that 9E4 was effective at reducing behavioral deficits in the water maze, moreover, immunization with 9E4 reduced the accumulation of calpain-cleaved α-syn in axons and synapses and the associated neurodegenerative deficits. In vivo studies demonstrated that 9E4 traffics into the CNS, binds to cells that display α-syn accumulation and promotes α-syn clearance via the lysosomal pathway. These results suggest that passive immunization with monoclonal antibodies against the CT of α-syn may be of therapeutic relevance in patients with PD and DLB.