Della Notte, Salvatore (2022) Pharmacological improvement of mitochondrial function as strategy to prevent neuronal damage in parkinson's disease. [Tesi di dottorato]

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Parkinson’s disease is characterized by the loss of dopaminergic neurons in the substantia nigra pars compacta causing a deficiency of dopamine in the striatum. Specific neuropathological hallmarks of disease are represented by the presence of intraneuronal protein aggregates called Lewy bodies and Lewy neurites. The exact mechanism that leads to the selective loss of dopaminergic neurons is not yet completely clear. Some of the proposed cellular mechanisms include α-synuclein accumulation, oxidative stress, alterations of mitochondrial calcium homeostasis and mitochondrial dysfunctions. The present study was adresssed to investigate the intracellular pathways affected by ornithine treatment in in vitro and in vivo models of PD with particular regards to cellular metabolism and mitochondrial function in order to identify new and selective therapeutic strategies to prevent neuronal dysfunction occurring in PD and consequently to slow down disease progression. This aspect is extremely relevant considering the key role played by mitochondria in regulating synaptic activity. Therefore, a therapeutic strategy able to promote mitochondrial function might results useful to counteract the early synaptic dysfunction and the functional and pathological changes occurring in the brain of PD-affected patients. To this aim in vitro experiments have been performed to evaluate the effect of L-Ornithine L-Aspartate (LOLA) on mitochondrial function in two cellular models of PD represented by SH-SY5Y cells treated with rotenone (ROT), an inhibitor of mitochondrial complex I, and 6-hydroxydopamine (6-OHDA), an inducer of oxidative stress. Parallel in vivo experiments have been performed in mice expressing the mutation A53T of human α-synuclein (A53T-α-Syn) during aging, to evaluate the relationship between α-synuclein accumulation, mitochondrial dysfunction and behavioral phenotype of A53T-α-Syn-mice compared to WT, with particular regard to the motor and non-motor symptoms. These experiments will allow to identify an animal model recapitulating the prodromal phase of PD potentially useful to investigate the effect of drugs able to improve mitochondria function in animal models of PD progression.

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