Retinoic Acid Prevents α-Synuclein Preformed Fibrils-Induced Toxicity via Inhibiting STAT1-PARP1 Signaling

Parkinson's disease (PD), the second-most prevalent neurodegenerative disorder, is characterized by the aberrant deposition of α-synuclein (α-Syn) aggregation in neurons. Recent reports have shown that retinoic acid (RA) ameliorates motor deficits. However, the underlying molecular mechanisms remain unclear. In this article, we investigated the effects of RA on cellular and animal models of PD. We found that RA is beneficial for neuronal survival in PD-associated models. In α-Syn preformed fibrils-treated mice, RA administration relieved the formation of intracellular inclusions, dopaminergic neuronal loss, and behavioral deficits. α-Syn preformed fibrils-treated SH-SY5Y cells manifested decreased cell viability, apoptosis, α-Syn aggregation, and autophagy defects. All these negative phenomena were alleviated by RA. More importantly, RA could inhibit the neurotoxicity via inhibiting α-Syn preformed fibrils-induced STAT1-PARP1 signaling, which could also be antagonized by IFN-γ. In conclusion, RA could hinder α-Syn preformed fibrils-induced toxicity by inhibiting STAT1-PARP1 signaling. Thus, we present new insight into RA in PD management.