Alpha-Synuclein (α-syn) is by far the most highly vetted pathogenic and therapeutic target in Parkinson's disease. Aggregated α-syn is present in sporadic Parkinson's disease, both in the central nervous system (CNS) and peripheral nervous system (PNS). The enteric division of the PNS is of particular interest because 1) gastric dysfunction is a key clinical manifestation of Parkinson's disease, and 2) Lewy pathology in myenteric and submucosal neurons of the enteric nervous system (ENS) has been referred to as stage zero in the Braak pathological staging of Parkinson's disease. The presence of Lewy pathology in the ENS and the fact that patients often experience enteric dysfunction before the onset of motor symptoms has led to the hypothesis that α-syn pathology starts in the periphery, after which it spreads to the CNS via interconnected neural pathways. Here we sought to directly test this hypothesis in rodents and non-human primates (NHP) using two distinct models of α-syn pathology: the α-syn viral overexpression model and the preformed fibril (PFF) model. Subjects (rat and NHP) received targeted enteric injections of PFFs or adeno-associated virus overexpressing the Parkinson's disease associated A53T α-syn mutant. Rats were evaluated for colonic motility monthly and sacrificed at 1, 6, or 12 months, whereas NHPs were sacrificed 12 months following inoculation, after which the time course and spread of pathology was examined in all animals. Rats exhibited a transient GI phenotype that resolved after four months. Minor α-syn pathology was observed in the brainstem (dorsal motor nucleus of the vagus and locus coeruleus) 1 month after PFF injections; however, no pathology was observed at later time points (nor in saline or monomer treated animals). Similarly, a histopathological analysis of the NHP brains revealed no pathology despite the presence of robust α-syn pathology throughout the ENS which persisted for the entirety of the study (12 months). Our study shows that induction of α-syn pathology in the ENS is sufficient to induce GI dysfunction. Moreover, our data suggest that sustained spread of α-syn pathology from the periphery to the CNS and subsequent propagation is a rare event, and that the presence of enteric α-syn pathology and dysfunction may represent an epiphenomenon.

Recombinant adeno-associated virus (AAV) vectors are one of the most widely used gene transfer systems in research and clinical trials. AAV can transduce a wide range of biological tissues, however to date, there has been no investigation on targeted AAV transduction of the enteric nervous system (ENS). Here, we examined the efficiency, tropism, spread, and immunogenicity of AAV transduction in the ENS. Rats received direct injections of various AAV serotypes expressing green fluorescent protein (GFP) into the descending colon. AAV serotypes tested included; AAV 1, 2, 5, 6, 8, or 9 and the AAV2 and AAV8 capsid mutants, AAV2-Y444F, AAV2-tripleY-F, AAV2-tripleY-F+T-V, AAV8-Y733F, and AAV8-doubeY-F+T-V. Transduction, as determined by GFP-positive cells, occurred in neurons and enteric glia within the myenteric and submucosal plexuses of the ENS. AAV6 and AAV9 showed the highest levels of transduction within the ENS. Transduction efficiency scaled with titer and time, was translated to the murine ENS, and produced no vector-related immune response. A single injection of AAV into the colon covered an area of ~47 mm2. AAV9 primarily transduced neurons, while AAV6 transduced enteric glia and neurons. This is the first report on targeted AAV transduction of neurons and glia in the ENS.

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The major routes of excretion of mercury by animals thus far studied are the kidney and gastrointestinal tract. However, lungs and mammary glands have also been known to excrete mercury (1). The mammary gland has been reported to contain radioactivity when mice were intravenously injected with 203HgC12 (2). Women (3, 4), guinea pigs2 and rats (5-7) have also been reported to secrete milk containing mercury. To our knowledge, studies to determine the quantitative transfer of mercury from lactating mothers to the nursing animals have not been reported although Trenholm et al. found from indirect evidences, insignificant concentration of mercury in guinea pigs' milk.2 Thus, our objectives were to determine quantitatively the transfer of 203Hg from mother to nursing pup and to determine the distribution of the 203Hg in various parts of maternal and pup brain.Methods. Four litters of 8 pups each of Sprague-Dawley rats at 16 days of age were allowed to suckle their own mothers. Each mother during the 16th day of lactation received a single oral dose of 30 pCi of 203Hg as CH3HgCl dissolved in 1 ml of corn oil. The specific activity of this compound was 2.25 mCi/mg Hg. When the pups were 17, 18, 19, and 21 days of age, 2 from each litter were killed. Mothers were killed at the same time as their last 2 progeny. All were killed by over-etherization and bled by an