Preferential microglial activation associated with pathological alpha synuclein transmission

Abstract

Self-proliferation of the pathological form of a-synuclein was identified as one of the main pathophysiological presentations of Parkinson’s disease (PD) a decade ago. Although inflammation has also been suggested to contribute to PD pathogenesis, it is unclear whether this is associated with the pathological spread of a-synuclein aggregation. Herein, we evaluated two main neuroinflammatory processes in the striatum—microgliosis and astrogliosis—after the injection of preformed fibrils of a-synuclein into the mouse striatum. Thus, our study demonstrated that microgliosis accompanied a-synuclein propagation, while astrogliosis did not. Therefore, we report a preferential association between microglia and the process of a-synuclein proliferation.