Journal: bioRxiv
Article Title: α-Synuclein aggregates induce mitochondrial damage and trigger innate immunity to drive neuron–microglia communication
doi: 10.1101/2025.06.23.661105
Figure Lengend Snippet: 𝜶 -Syn spread to microglia via TNTs. (a) Representative confocal images of neuronal cells loaded with α-Syn (donors) in co-culture for 24h with microglial cells (acceptors) in the presence of the STING activator diABZI alone, or alongside the STING inhibitor H-151. Cyan asterisks highlight acceptor microglial cells positive for α- Syn. (b) Quantification of the percentage of acceptor microglial cells positive for α-Syn. N=3 independent experiments, n=25-26 fields of views. Statistical significance was analyzed using Kruskal Wallis test with Dunn’s multiple comparison. ns: p>0.05, ***p<0.001. (c) Quantification of the number of α-Syn aggregates per acceptor microglial cell as in (b). n=106 cells for control, 177 cells for diABZI-treated group, and 92 cells for diABZI+H-151 co-treated group. Statistical significance was analyzed using Kruskal Wallis test with Dunn’s multiple comparison. ns: p>0.05, *p<0.05. (d) Quantification of the extent of α-Syn transfer via secretion (CM: conditioned media). N=3 independent experiments, n=15 fields of views. Statistical significance was analyzed using Kruskal Wallis test with Dunn’s multiple comparison. ns: p>0.05. (e) Representative confocal images of neuronal cells loaded with α- Syn (donors) in co-culture for 24h with microglial cells (acceptors) in the presence of pro- inflammatory cytokines alone (upper panels) or co-treated with the NF-κB inhibitor JSH-23 (lower panels). Cyan asterisks highlight acceptor microglial cells positive for α-Syn. (f) Quantification of the percentage of acceptor microglial cells positive for α-Syn. N=3 independent experiments, n=24-25 fields of views. Statistical significance was analyzed using Two-Way ANOVA with Šídák’s multiple comparison. *p<0.05, **p<0.01, ****p<0.0001. (g) Quantification of the number of α-Syn aggregates per acceptor microglial cell as in (f). n=126 (Control –JSH-23), 124 (control +JSH-23), 227 (IL-1α –JSH-23), 163 (IL-1α +JSH-23), 223 (IL-1𝛽 –JSH-23), 144 (IL-1𝛽 +JSH-23), 188 (TNFα –JSH-23), and 134 (TNFα +JSH-23) cells. Statistical significance was analyzed using Two-Way ANOVA with Šídák’s multiple comparison. ns: p>0.05, ***p<0.001, ****p<0.0001. (h) Quantification of the extent of α-Syn transfer via secretion (CM: conditioned media). N=3 independent experiments, n=14-16 fields of views. Statistical significance was analyzed using Two-Way ANOVA with Šídák’s multiple comparison. ns: p>0.05, *p<0.05. Data in all the graphs are represented as median and quartiles. Mean values are mentioned within the graphs.
Article Snippet: For inflammatory modulations, following reagents were used with associated treatment concentration and durations: STING activator – diABZI (SelleckChem – compound 3, S8796; 2.5 μM for 2h towards the end of experiment), STING inhibitor – H-151 (Invivogen InvitroFit TM , inh-h151; 0.5 μg/mL for 16h for TNT assessment experiments, and 24h for α-Syn transfer experiments), NF-κB inhibitor – JSH-23 (Sigma, J4455; 10 μM for 16h for TNT assessment experiments, and 24h for α-Syn transfer experiments), human cGAS inhibitor – G140 (Invivogen InvitroFit TM , inh-g140; 10 μM for 16h), Bcl-2 inhibitor – ABT-737 (Sigma, 197333; 10 μM for 6h, 12h, or 24h) co-treated with pan-caspase inhibitor – Q-VD-OPh (Non-O- methylated, Sigma, 551476, 10 μM), human IL-1α (Sigma, I2778; 3 ng/mL for 24h), human IL-1β (Sigma, H6291; 20 ng/mL for 24h), human TNF-α (Merck Millipore, 654205; 50 ng/mL for 24h), TLR4 inhibitor – TAK-242 (Tocris, 6587; 10 μM for 16h), TLR2 inhibitor – TL2-C29 (Invivogen InvitroFit TM , inh-C29; 100 μM for 16h), lysosomotropic agent LLOMe (Sigma, L7393; 1 mM for 1h towards the end of experiment), mitochondrial electron transport chain uncoupler CCCP (Sigma, C2759; 20 μM for 2h).
Techniques: Co-Culture Assay, Comparison, Control