Nitration of microtubules blocks axonal mitochondrial transport in a human pluripotent stem cell model of Parkinson's disease.

Neuronal loss in Parkinson's disease (PD) is associated with aberrant mitochondrial function in dopaminergic (DA) neurons of the substantia nigra pars compacta. An association has been reported between PD onset and exposure to mitochondrial toxins, including the agrochemicals paraquat (PQ), maneb (MB), and rotenone (Rot). Here, with the use of a patient-derived stem cell model of PD, allowing comparison of DA neurons harboring a mutation in the α-synuclein (α-syn) gene ( SNCA-A53T) against isogenic, mutation-corrected controls, we describe a novel mechanism whereby NO, generated from SNCA-A53T mutant neurons exposed to Rot or PQ/MB, inhibits anterograde mitochondrial transport through nitration of α-tubulin (α-Tub).