Genetic screening identifies glial adenosine as a therapeutic target in alpha-synucleinopathy

Abstract

Neuronal alpha-synucleinopathies, including Parkinson's disease (PD) and dementia with Lewy bodies (DLB), lack disease-modifying therapies. We developed a Drosophila model for identifying novel glial-based therapeutic targets for alpha-synucleinopathies. In this model, human alpha-synuclein is expressed in neurons and individual genes are independently knocked down in glia. We performed a forward genetic screen, knocking down the entire Drosophila kinome in glia in alpha-synuclein expressing flies. Among the top hits were five genes (Ak1, Ak6, Adk1, Adk2, and awd) involved in adenosine metabolism. Knockdown of each gene increased brain adenosine levels, improved locomotor dysfunction, reduced alpha-synuclein oligomer levels, and rescued neurodegeneration. We determined that the mechanism of neuroprotection requires adenosine signaling through the neuronal adenosine receptor (AdoR) in Drosophila. These experiments support glial adenosine as a novel therapeutic target in PD.