Isogenic human SNCA gene dosage induced pluripotent stem cells to model Parkinson's disease

Abstract

Alpha-synuclein overexpression and aggregation are critical factors in the pathogenesis of Parkinson's disease (PD). Clinical cases with alpha-synuclein (SNCA) multiplications or deletions indicate that gene expression levels are essential for neurodegeneration and neurodevelopment. Here, we developed an isogenic SNCA gene dosage model using CRISPR/Cas9 gene editing to introduce frameshift mutations into exon 2 of the SNCA coding region in human induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) from a patient with an SNCA triplication. We derived and characterized clones with different frameshift mutations. This isogenic SNCA gene dosage panel will address the physiological and detrimental effects of varying alpha-synuclein expression levels.

Keywords: Alpha-synuclein; Autism spectrum disorder; CRISPR; Cas9; Clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeat; Developmental delay; Gene editing; Gene regulation; Parkinson’s disease; SNCA.