Nigrostriatal {alpha}-synucleinopathy induced by viral vector-mediated overexpression of human {alpha}-synuclein: A new primate model of Parkinson's disease.
We used a high-titer recombinant adeno-associated virus (rAAV) vector to express WT or mutant human alpha -synuclein in the substantia nigra of adult marmosets. The alpha -synuclein protein was expressed in 90-95% of all nigral dopamine neurons and distributed by anterograde transport throughout their axonal and dendritic projections. The transduced neurons developed severe neuronal pathology, inc