Bee venom phospholipase A2 ameliorates motor dysfunction and modulates microglia activation in Parkinson's disease alpha-synuclein transgenic mice

Exp Mol Med. 2016 Jul 8;48(7):e244. doi: 10.1038/emm.2016.49.

Abstract

α-Synuclein (α-Syn) has a critical role in microglia-mediated neuroinflammation, which leads to the development of Parkinson's disease (PD). Recent studies have shown that bee venom (BV) has beneficial effects on PD symptoms in human patients or 1-methyl-4-phenyl-1,2,3,6-tetrahydropyridine (MPTP) toxin-induced PD mice. This study investigated whether treatment with BV-derived phospholipase A2 (bvPLA2) would improve the motor dysfunction and pathological features of PD in human A53T α-Syn mutant transgenic (A53T Tg) mice. The motor dysfunction of A53T Tg mice was assessed using the pole test. The levels of α-Syn, microglia and the M1/M2 phenotype in the spinal cord were evaluated by immunofluorescence. bvPLA2 treatment significantly ameliorated motor dysfunction in A53T Tg mice. In addition, bvPLA2 significantly reduced the expression of α-Syn, the activation and numbers of microglia, and the ratio of M1/M2 in A53T Tg mice. These results suggest that bvPLA2 could be a promising treatment option for PD.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Animals
  • Bee Venoms / enzymology*
  • Bees
  • Disease Models, Animal
  • Enzyme Therapy
  • Humans
  • Mice
  • Mice, Transgenic
  • Microglia / drug effects
  • Microglia / pathology
  • Motor Activity / drug effects*
  • Parkinson Disease / drug therapy*
  • Parkinson Disease / genetics
  • Parkinson Disease / physiopathology*
  • Phospholipases A2 / therapeutic use*
  • Point Mutation
  • Spinal Cord / drug effects
  • Spinal Cord / physiopathology
  • alpha-Synuclein / analysis
  • alpha-Synuclein / genetics

Substances

  • Bee Venoms
  • SNCA protein, human
  • alpha-Synuclein
  • Phospholipases A2