The Role of KCa3.1 in Microglial function and in Parkinsons disease pathogenesis

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Abstract Recent studies have begun to uncover the central role of microglia-mediated neuroinflammation in Parkinson’s disease (PD) pathogenesis. Increasing evidence suggests that microglia-driven innate immunity could further potentiate deleterious α-synuclein (αSyn) aggregation and progressive neurodegeneration. However, we lack an in-depth understanding of the cellular mechanisms regulating αSyn-induced innate immunity. Therefore, identifying signaling mechanisms that regulate microglial function in response to Parkinsonian pathology may lead to the development of novel immunomodulatory therapies for PD. We recently discovered that the transcript and protein expression levels of the calcium-activated potassium channel KCa3.1, best known for its role in immune cell calcium signaling, are elevated in activated microglia in both postmortem PD brains and in preclinical models of PD. We further identified that disruption of either FYN or STAT1 dampens reactive microglia activation responses via modulation of inflammatory mediators in aggregated αSyn (αSynagg)-stimulated primary microglia. Importantly, the highly selective and orally active KCa3.1 inhibitor Senicapoc reduced neuroinflammation and nigral dopamin(DA)ergic neurotoxicity in a preclinical mouse model of PD, suggesting that KCa3.1 plays a multifaceted role by governing disease pathology. Despite these encouraging findings, the exact cellular mechanisms by which KCa3.1 regulates microglial function in the context of synucleinopathy remain poorly characterized. Herein, we propose three integrated aims to test the central hypothesis that KCa3.1 promotes αSynagg-mediated progressive nigral DAergic neurodegenerative processes via activation of the microglial Fyn- STAT1 signaling axis and that the in vivo inhibition of KCa3.1 restores microglial homeostasis and affords DAergic neuroprotection in the context of synucleinopathy. In Aim-1, we will test the hypothesis that upregulation of KCa3.1 induces the proinflammatory microglial activation phenotype and nigral DAergic neuronal loss in the context of synucleinopathy. In Aim-2, we will test the hypothesis that the Fyn-STAT1 signaling axis drives microglial responses to PD-like pathology in a KCa3.1-dependent manner. In Aim-3, we will test the hypothesis that inhibiting KCa3.1 activation is efficacious in reducing reactive microglial activation and progressive PD-like disease pathology. The proposed studies are innovative, utilizing a combination of transcriptomic profiling, RNA in situ hybridization (ISH), imaging analysis, the RT QuIC assay for αSynagg seeding, CRISPR/Cas9 KCNN4 knockout (KO) mice, transgenic conditional KO mouse models, and electrophysiological recordings to test how microglial KCa3.1 influences progressive neurodegenerative processes in PD. These studies address key mechanistic aspects regarding the functional roles of KCa3.1 in PD pathogenesis and may aid in the identification of new molecular determinants that can be targeted for slowing or halting PD progression and/or repurposing Senicapoc for PD therapy. 1