Glucocerebrosidase reduces the spread of protein aggregation in a Drosophila melanogaster model of neurodegeneration by regulating proteins trafficked by extracellular vesicles

Abnormal protein aggregation within neurons is a key pathologic feature of Parkinson’s disease (PD). The spread of brain protein aggregates is associated with clinical disease progression, but how this occurs remains unclear. Mutations in glucosidase, beta acid 1 (GBA), which encodes glucocerebrosidase (GCase), are the most penetrant common genetic risk factor for PD and dementia with Lewy bodies and associate with faster disease progression. To explore how GBA mutations influence pathogenesis, we previously created a Drosophila model of GBA deficiency (Gba1b) that manifests neurodegeneration and accelerated protein aggregation. Proteomic analysis of Gba1b mutants revealed dysregulation of proteins involved in extracellular vesicle (EV) biology, and we found altered protein composition of EVs from Gba1b mutants. Accordingly, we hypothesized that GBA may influence pathogenic protein aggregate spread via EVs. We found that accumulation of ubiquitinated proteins and Ref(2)P, Drosophila homologue of mammalian p62, were reduced in muscle and brain tissue of Gba1b flies by ectopic expression of wildtype GCase in muscle. Neuronal GCase expression also rescued protein aggregation both cell-autonomously in brain and non-cell-autonomously in muscle. Muscle-specific GBA expression reduced the elevated levels of EV-intrinsic proteins and Ref(2)P found in EVs from Gba1b flies. Perturbing EV biogenesis through neutral sphingomyelinase (nSMase), an enzyme important for EV release and ceramide metabolism, enhanced protein aggregation when knocked down in muscle, but did not modify Gba1b mutant protein aggregation when knocked down in neurons. Lipidomic analysis of nSMase knockdown on ceramide and glucosylceramide levels suggested that Gba1b mutant protein aggregation may depend on relative depletion of specific ceramide species often enriched in EVs. Finally, we identified ectopically expressed GCase within isolated EVs. Together, our findings suggest that GCase deficiency promotes accelerated protein aggregate spread between cells and tissues via dysregulated EVs, and EV-mediated trafficking of GCase may partially account for the reduction in aggregate spread.Author summary: Parkinson’s disease (PD) is a common neurodegenerative disease characterized by abnormal clumps of proteins (aggregates) within the brain and other tissues which can lead to cellular dysfunction and death. Mutations in the gene GBA, which encodes glucocerebrosidase (GCase), are the strongest genetic risk factor for PD, and are associated with faster disease progression. GCase-deficient mutant flies display features suggestive of PD including increased protein aggregation in brain and muscle. We found that restoring GCase protein in the muscle of mutant flies reduced protein aggregation in muscle and the brain, suggesting a mechanism involving interaction between tissues. Previous work indicated that GBA influences extracellular vesicles (EVs)–small membrane-bound structures released by cells to communicate and/or transport cargo from cell to cell. Here, we found increased aggregated proteins within EVs of mutant flies, which was reduced by restoring GCase in muscle. In addition, we found GCase within the EVs, possibly explaining how GCase in one tissue such as muscle could reduce protein aggregation in a distant tissue like the brain. Our findings suggest that GCase influences proteins within EVs, affecting the spread of protein aggregation. This may be important to understanding PD progression and could uncover new targets to slow neurodegeneration.