Baicalein alleviates anxiety symptom in Parkinson's disease by targeting Sema3A-mediated parvalbumin interneuron...

Anxiety is a common non-motor symptom of Parkinson's disease (PD), affecting 20 %-50 % of the patients, with an unmet need for effective therapies. Although perineuronal net (PNN) abnormalities have been implicated in both PD and anxiety, the underlying mechanisms and potential treatments remain poorly characterised.

In this study, we investigated whether baicalein ameliorates PD-associated anxiety via modulation of parvalbumin (PV) interneuron function by targeting semaphorin 3A (Sema3A).

Unilateral 6-hydroxydopamine (6-OHDA) lesioning of the substantia nigra pars compacta (SNc) was used to establish a PD rat model. Motor behaviours were assessed via gait analysis, rotarod test, and open field test (OFT). Anxiety-like phenotypes associated with PD were evaluated using the elevated plus maze (EPM) and marble burying test (MBT). The effects of baicalein on PNN level, PV neuron activity, and inhibitory synaptic markers (GABRA1, VGAT, and gephyrin) were examined via immunofluorescence (IF). Baicalein-Sema3A interactions were characterised through molecular docking, molecular dynamics simulation (MDS) and microscale thermophoresis (MST). The effects of baicalein on Sema3A/plexinA1 (PLXNA1)/neuropilin-1 (Nrp1) pathway were assessed using western blotting and qRT-PCR. Sema3A was knocked down to establish its link to PD-associated anxiety and PV interneuron dysfunction.

Baicalein significantly ameliorated both anxiety-like behaviors and motor deficits in PD rats. It markedly reduced aggrecan expression and enhanced the inhibitory function of PV interneuron, as evidenced by up-regulation of GABRA1, VGAT, and gephyrin in the perirhinal cortex (PRh). Baicalein bound to Sema3A with high affinity (Kd = 0.86 ± 0.12 μM). Moreover, baicalein suppressed Sema3A/PLXNA1/Nrp1 signalling at both transcriptional and protein levels in the PRh. Furthermore, Sema3A knockdown in the PRh recapitulated the anxiolytic effects of baicalein by down-regulating aggrecan expression and rescuing the inhibitory function of PV interneuron, although its effects on motor deficits were limited.

This study unravels a novel mechanism by which baicalein alleviates PD-associated anxiety probably via modulation of Sema3A-dependent PV interneuron dysfunction. The findings highlight the potential of Sema3A as a promising therapeutic target for PD-associated anxiety.