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Updated: Mar 14, 2026
Technique for Intranasal Administration of α-Synuclein Aggregates
Published on: November 8, 2024
Pathological α-synuclein transmission initiated by binding lymphocyte-activation gene 3
Xiaobo Mao1, Michael Tianhao Ou2, Senthilkumar S Karuppagounder1
1Neuroregeneration and Stem Cell Programs, Institute for Cell Engineering, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD 21205, USA. Department of Neurology, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD 21205, USA. Adrienne Helis Malvin Medical Research Foundation, New Orleans, LA 70130-2685, USA.
Abstract:
Emerging evidence indicates that the pathogenesis of Parkinson's disease (PD) may be due to cell-to-cell transmission of misfolded preformed fibrils (PFF) of α-synuclein (α-syn). The mechanism by which α-syn PFF spreads from neuron to neuron is not known. Here, we show that LAG3 (lymphocyte-activation gene 3) binds α-syn PFF with high affinity (dissociation constant = 77 nanomolar), whereas the α-syn monomer exhibited minimal binding. α-Syn-biotin PFF binding to LAG3 initiated α-syn PFF endocytosis, transmission, and toxicity. Lack of LAG3 substantially delayed α-syn PFF-induced loss of dopamine neurons, as well as biochemical and behavioral deficits in vivo. The identification of LAG3 as a receptor that binds α-syn PFF provides a target for developing therapeutics designed to slow the progression of PD and related α-synucleinopathies.
