LRRK2 mutations produce end-stage Parkinson’s disease (PD) with reduced nigrostriatal dopamine, whereas, asymptomatic carriers have increased dopamine turnover and altered brain connectivity. LRRK2 pathophysiology remains unclear, but reduced dopamine and mitochondrial abnormalities occur in aged G2019S mutant knock-in (GKI) mice. Conversely, cultured GKI neurons exhibit increased synaptic transmission. We assessed behavior and synaptic glutamate and dopamine function across a range of ages. Young GKI mice exhibit more vertical exploration, elevated glutamate and dopamine transmission, and aberrant D2-receptor responses. These phenomena decline with age, but are stable in littermates. In young GKI mice, dopamine transients are slower, independent of dopamine transporter (DAT), increasing the lifetime of extracellular dopamine. Slowing of dopamine transients is observed with age in littermates, suggesting premature ageing of dopamine synapses in GKI mice. Thus, GKI mice exhibit early, but declining, synaptic and behavioral phenotypes, making them amenable to investigation of early pathophysiological, and later parkinsonian-like, alterations. This model will prove valuable in efforts to develop neuroprotection for PD.

The synaptic pathways in the striatum are central to basal ganglia functions including motor control, learning and organization, action selection, acquisition of motor skills, cognitive function, and emotion. Here, we review the role of the striatum and its connections in motor learning and performance. The development of new techniques to record neuronal activity and animal models of motor disorders using neurotoxin, pharmacological, and genetic manipulations are revealing pathways that underlie motor performance and motor learning, as well as how they are altered by pathophysiological mechanisms. We discuss approaches that can be used to analyze complex motor skills, particularly in rodents, and identify specific questions central to understanding how striatal circuits mediate motor learning.

Significance: We report a long-sought& in vivo& physiological role for& α-synuclein (α-syn) in dopamine signaling. The results indicate that& α-syn is critical for activity-dependent dopamine plasticity, and that short repeated burst activity produces rapid presynaptic facilitation, while prolonged burst activity slowly depresses evoked dopamine release. We propose that the rapid facilitation is due to an enhanced fusion of synaptic vesicles at active zones during exocytosis while the depression is due to synaptic exhaustion. These results identify a& dynamic role of& α-syn, and are critical for defining& molecular mechanisms and therapeutic targets for various neurological disorders, where the firing properties of neurons are severely altered.

Vacuolar protein sorting 35 (VPS35) is a core component of the retromer trimer required for endosomal membrane-associated protein trafficking. The discovery of a missense mutation, Vps35 p.D620N implicates retromer dysfunction in the pathogenesis of Parkinson’s disease (PD). We have characterized a knock-in mouse with a Vps35 p.D620N substitution (hereafter referred to as VKI) at 3 months of age. Standardized behavioral testing did not observe overt movement disorder. Tyrosine hydroxylase (TH)-positive nigral neuron counts and terminal expression in striata were comparable across genotypes. Fast scan cyclic voltammetry revealed increased dopamine release in VKI striatal slices. While extracellular dopamine collected via striatal microdialysis of freely moving animals was comparable across genotypes, the ratio of dopamine metabolites to dopamine suggests increased dopamine turnover in VKI homozygous mice. Western blot of striatal proteins revealed a genotype-dependent decrease in dopamine transporter (DAT) along with an increase in vesicular monoamine transporter 2 (VMAT2), albeit independent of changes in other synaptic markers. The reduction in DAT was further supported by immunohistochemical analysis. The data show that the dopaminergic system of VKI mice is profoundly altered relative to wild-type littermates. We conclude early synaptic dysfunction contributes to age-related pathophysiology in the nigrostriatal system that may lead to parkinsonism in man.

A major risk-factor for developing Parkinson's disease (PD) is genetic variability in leucine-rich repeat kinase 2 (LRRK2), most notably the p.G2019S mutation. Examination of the effects of this mutation is necessary to determine the etiology of PD and to guide therapeutic development. Assess the behavioral consequences of LRRK2 p.G2019S overexpression in transgenic rats as they age and test the functional integrity of the nigro-striatal dopamine system. Conduct positron emission tomography (PET) neuroimaging to compare transgenic rats with previous data from human LRRK2 mutation carriers. Rats overexpressing human LRRK2 p.G2019S were generated by BAC transgenesis and compared to non-transgenic (NT) littermates. Motor skill tests were performed at 3, 6 and 12 months-of-age. PET, performed at 12 months, assessed the density of dopamine and vesicular monoamine transporters (DAT and VMAT2, respectively) and measured dopamine synthesis, storage and availability. Brain tissue was assayed for D2, DAT, dopamine and cAMP-regulated phosphoprotein (DARPP32) and tyrosine hydroxylase (TH) expression by Western blot, and TH by immunohistochemistry. Transgenic rats had no abnormalities in measures of striatal dopamine function at 12 months. A behavioral phenotype was present, with LRRK2 p.G2019S rats performing significantly worse on the rotarod than non-transgenic littermates (26% reduction in average running duration at 6 months), but with normal performance in other motor tests. Neuroimaging using dopaminergic PET did not recapitulate prior studies in human LRRK2 mutation carriers. Consistently, LRRK2 p.G2019S rats do not develop overt neurodegeneration; however, they do exhibit behavioral abnormalities.