Female Sex and Brain-Selective Estrogen Benefit α-Synuclein Tetramerization and the PD-like Motor Syndrome in 3K Transgenic Mice

Many studies report a higher risk for Parkinson's disease (PD) and younger age of onset in men. This, and the fact that the neuropathological process underlying PD symptoms may begin before menopause, suggests that estrogen-based hormone therapy could modify this higher risk in males. However, the effects of female sex or estrogen on alpha-synuclein (alpha S) homeostasis and related PD neuropathology remain unknown. Here, we used an alpha S tetramer-abrogating mouse model of PD (3K) that amplifies the familial E46K PD mutation to investigate the effects of female sex and brain-selective estrogen treatment on alpha S tetramerization and solubility, formation of vesicle-rich alpha S + aggregates, dopaminergic and cortical fiber integrity, and associated motor deficits. In male 3K mice, the motor phenotype became apparent at similar to 10 weeks and increased to age 6 months, paralleled by PD-like neuropathology, whereas 3K females showed a significant delay in onset. At 6 months, this beneficial phenotypic effect in 3K females was associated with a higher alpha S tetramer-to-monomer ratio and less decrease in dopaminergic and cortical fiber length and quantity. Brain-selective estrogen treatment in symptomatic 3K mice significantly increased the tetramer-to-monomer ratio, turnover by autophagy of aggregate-prone monomers, and neurite complexity of surviving DAergic and cortical neurons, in parallel with benefits in motor performance. Our findings support an upstream role for alpha S tetramer loss in PD phenotypes and a role for estrogen in mitigating PD-like neuropathology in vivo. Brain-selective estrogen therapy may be useful in delaying or reducing PD symptoms in men and postmenopausal women.