Effects of Environmental Toxicants on α-Synuclein Aggregation in Parkinson’s Disease

Loading...
Thumbnail Image
Penn collection
Interdisciplinary Centers, Units and Projects::Center for Undergraduate Research and Fellowships (CURF)::Fall Research Expo
Degree type
Discipline
Neuroscience and Neurobiology
Subject
Parkinson's
Funder
Grant number
Copyright date
2025-09-12
Distributor
Related resources
Author
Jin, Kaitlyn
Curtis, Ezra
Kannarkat, George T.
Contributor
Gibson, Danae
Um, Angela
Abstract

Parkinson’s disease (PD) is a progressive neurodegenerative disorder characterized by dopaminergic neuron loss in the substantia nigra and the presence of intraneuronal inclusions of α-synuclein (αSyn) aggregates known as Lewy bodies. Epidemiological evidence has linked environmental toxicant exposures to elevated PD risk, but their mechanistic effects on αSyn pathology remain largely unknown. This study examined the influence of industrial solvents trichloroethylene (TCE) and perchloroethylene (PCE), as well as pesticides permethrin, simazine, atrazine, lindane, and trifluralin on αSyn aggregation in vitro and in SK-MEL-28 human melanoma cells. Cytotoxicity was assessed using the MTT assay, which revealed dose-dependent toxicity of all toxicants and identified subtoxic concentrations. The seed amplification assay (SAA) was then used to evaluate direct effects of toxicants on αSyn fibrillization. While TCE, PCE, permethrin, and atrazine did not alter seeding activity, lindane, simazine, and trifluralin were found to inhibit fibril formation at 1 µM. Immunofluorescence was used to analyze toxicant effects on preformed fibril (PFF)-induced inclusion formation in SK-MEL-28 cells. Notably, PCE (1 and 10 µM) and atrazine (0.25 and 1 µM) increased the number of αSyn inclusions per cell and TCE (0.1, 1, and 10 µM) increased average αSyn inclusion size despite having no observable effects in the SAA, suggesting indirect promotion of αSyn pathology via disrupted proteostasis or clearance mechanisms that can be further explored.

Advisor
Date of presentation
2025-09-15
Conference name
Conference dates
Conference location
Date Range for Data Collection (Start Date)
Date Range for Data Collection (End Date)
Digital Object Identifier
Series name and number
Volume number
Issue number
Publisher
Publisher DOI
Journal Issue
Comments
Penn Undergraduate Research Mentoring (PURM) Program
Recommended citation
Collection