Journal: bioRxiv
Article Title: WDR44 drives de novo α-synuclein aggregation at the lysosomal membrane and promotes neuronal dysfunction in Parkinson’s Disease
doi: 10.64898/2026.04.03.716340
Figure Lengend Snippet: Validation of WDR44 knockdown and confirmation of WDR44 colocalization with α -SYN in vivo and neuronal culture. a , b , c , Knockdown validation for WDR44 KD induced by shRNA at the mRNA level ( a ) and at the protein level with a representative Western blot (b) and its relative quantification (c, scatter dot plot represented as mean ± SEM, n=3). d , e , f Knockdown validation for IGF2R KD induced by shRNA at the mRNA level (d) and at the protein level with a representative Western blot (e) and its relative quantification (f, scatter dot plot represented as mean ± SEM, N=3). g , h , i Knockdown validation for BLTP3A KD induced by shRNA at the mRNA level (g) and at the protein level with a representative Western blot (h) and its relative quantification (i, scatter dot plot represented as mean ± SEM, N=3, 2-way ANOVA with Dunnett’s multiple comparisons test comparing all conditions to the WT (WB)). j , Representative Western blot membrane showing the specificity of the antibodies targeting WDR44 used in this study (Bethyl for biochemistry, Invitrogen for IF). Samples loaded were HEK293T lysates (WT or shRNA KD) or RPE-E1 knockout for WDR44 (through CRISPR-KO ). k , Quantification of total mCherry protein levels for the filter retardation assay related to and showing equal loaded protein levels (scatter dot plot represented as mean ± SEM, n=3, 2-way ANOVA with Dunnett’s multiple comparisons test). l , Representative confocal images showing HEK293T transfected with LIPA-TDP-43 (top panel) or LIPA-EMPTY (bottom panel), exposed to 90 min blue light and stained for endogenous LAMP2 (yellow) and WDR44 (cyan). The small panels on the right show magnified views of the region highlighted by the red box. Intensity profiles (right) are displayed over the red-dotted line in the small panels. Scale bar, 5 µm. m , Representative confocal images showing HEK293T transfected with 3K-α-SYN exposed to 24 hrs of doxycycline and stained for endogenous LAMP2 (yellow) and WDR44 (cyan). The small panels on the right show magnified views of the region highlighted by the red box. Intensity profiles (right) are displayed over the red-dotted line in the small panels. Scale bar, 5 µm. n , Representative confocal images showing iDA neurons transfected with either LIPA-α-SYN exposed to 90 min blue light and stained for endogenous TH (white), LAMP2 (yellow) and WDR44 (cyan). The small panels on the right show magnified views of the region highlighted by the red box. Intensity profiles (right) are displayed over the red-dotted line in the small panels. Scale bar, 5 µm. o , Representative confocal images showing mouse dopaminergic neurons infected with an AAV-LIPA-α-SYN, exposed to the blue light for 1h/day for 7 days and stained for endogenous TH (white) and WDR44 (green). The small panels on the right show magnified views of the region highlighted by the red box. Intensity profiles (right) are displayed over the red-dotted line in the small panels. Scale bar, 5 µm. Each experiment was independently replicated at least three times, and results were reproducible across replicates. * p < 0.05, ** p < 0.01, *** p < 0.001, **** p < 0.0001.
Article Snippet: Total RNA was extracted from HEK293T cells stably expressing either scramble or shRNA constructs using the RNeasy Mini Kit (Qiagen, cat. 74104).
Techniques: Biomarker Discovery, Knockdown, In Vivo, shRNA, Western Blot, Quantitative Proteomics, Membrane, Knock-Out, CRISPR, Transfection, Staining, Infection