RT Journal Article SR Electronic T1 α-Synuclein pathology and reduced neurogenesis in the olfactory system affect olfaction in a mouse model of Parkinson’s disease JF bioRxiv FD Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory SP 2022.08.19.504562 DO 10.1101/2022.08.19.504562 A1 Eduardo Martin-Lopez A1 D.J. Vidyadhara A1 Teresa Liberia A1 Sarah J. Meller A1 Leah E. Harmon A1 Ryan M. Hsu A1 Kimberly Han A1 Betül Yücel A1 Sreeganga S. Chandra A1 Charles A. Greer YR 2022 UL http://biorxiv.org/content/early/2022/08/22/2022.08.19.504562.abstract AB Parkinson’s Disease (PD) is characterized by multiple symptoms including olfactory dysfunction, whose underlying mechanisms remain unclear. Here, we explored pathological changes in the olfactory pathway of transgenic (Tg) mice expressing the human A30P mutant α-synuclein (α-syn) (α-syn-Tg mice) at 6-7 and 12-14 months of age, representing early and late-stages of motor progression, respectively. α-Syn-Tg mice at late stages exhibited olfactory behavioral deficits, which correlated with severe α-syn pathology in projection neurons of the olfactory pathway. In parallel, olfactory bulb (OB) neurogenesis in α-syn-Tg mice was reduced in the OB granule cells at 6-7 months, and OB periglomerular cells at 12-14 months, respectively, both of which could contribute to olfactory dysfunction. Proteomic analyses showed a disruption in endo- and exocytic pathways in the OB during the early stages which appeared exacerbated at the synaptic terminals when the mice developed olfactory deficits at 12-14 months. Our data suggest that, 1) the α-syn-Tg mice recapitulate the olfactory functional deficits seen in PD; 2) olfactory structures exhibit spatiotemporal disparities for vulnerability to α-syn pathology; 3) α-syn pathology is restricted to projection neurons in the olfactory pathway; 4) neurogenesis in adult α-syn-Tg mice is reduced in the OB; and 5) synaptic endo- and exocytosis defects in the OB may further explain olfactory deficits.Competing Interest StatementThe authors have declared no competing interest.