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Updated: Jul 15, 2025
Analyzing the Parkinson's Disease Mouse Model Induced by Adeno-associated Viral Vectors Encoding Human α-Synuclein
Published on: July 29, 2022
Optogenetic induction of alpha-synuclein aggregation in human dopaminergic neurons to model Parkinson's disease
Eun A Ra1, Min Seong Kim1, Gabsang Lee2
1Institute 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.
Abstract:
Alpha-synuclein (α-syn) aggregation is a principal factor in Parkinson's disease (PD) onset. Here, we present a protocol for optogenetic induction of α-syn aggregation in human midbrain dopaminergic (mDA) neurons, facilitating a detailed PD pathology study. We describe steps for nucleofection of the opto-α-syn construct, single colony selection and validation, alongside mDA neuron differentiation and rapid induction of toxic α-syn aggregates via blue light. This establishes a potent human induced pluripotent-stem-cell-based platform for PD drug testing and validation. For complete details on the use and execution of this protocol, please refer to Kim et al. (2023).1.
