Synaptic vesicle endocytosis deficits underlie cognitive dysfunction in mouse models of GBA-linked Parkinson’s disease and dementia with Lewy bodies

GBA is the major risk gene for Parkinson’s disease (PD) and dementia with Lewy bodies (DLB), two common α-synucleinopathies with cognitive deficits. Here we investigate the role of mutant GBA in cognitive decline by utilizing Gba (L444P) mutant, SNCA transgenic (tg), and Gba-SNCA double mutant mice. Notably, Gba mutant mice show cognitive decline but lack PD-like motor deficits or α-synuclein pathology. Conversely, SNCA tg mice display age-related motor deficits, without cognitive abnormalities. Gba-SNCA mice exhibit both cognitive decline and exacerbated motor deficits, accompanied by greater cortical phospho-α-synuclein pathology, especially in layer 5 neurons. Single-nucleus RNA sequencing of the cortex uncovered synaptic vesicle (SV) endocytosis pathway defects in excitatory neurons of Gba mutant and Gba-SNCA mice, via downregulation of genes regulating SV cycle and synapse assembly. Immunohistochemistry and electron microscopy validate these findings. Our results indicate that Gba mutations, while exacerbating pre-existing α-synuclein aggregation and PD-like motor deficits, contribute to cognitive deficits through α-synuclein-independent mechanisms, involving dysfunction in SV endocytosis.