Yerba mate (Ilex paraguariensis) as a neuroprotective agent in Parkinson’s disease models

BALLESTERO, PEDRO; TSCHOPP, LORENA; HAUCHE, HERNÁN; ROMANO, SEBASTIÁN A.; BORDONE, MELINA; FERRARIO, JUAN; MURARO, NARA I.

Congreso; Congreso Anual XXXVIII de la Sociedad Argentina de Neurociencias; 2023

Parkinson’s disease (PD) is the second most prevalent neurodegenerative disorder andits hallmark is the gradual deterioration of dopamine-releasing neurons in the Substantianigra. A study conducted in Argentina uncovered a link between the consumption ofyerba mate (YM) and a reduced risk of PD development (Gatto, 2015). Our owninvestigations have revealed that YM extract exhibits a robust ability to safeguarddopaminergic neurons in vitro (Bernardi, 2019). These findings encourage us to explorewhether YM extract could also protect neurons from the detrimental consequencesassociated with the expression of human alpha synuclein (aSyn) in a Drosophila m.model of PD. We settled down the conditions to feed flies with YM and evaluated bothbehavioral and molecular parameters. Although we have not observed behavioralchanges in YM-treated flies, Western blot analysis exhibited a reduction in the levels ofaSyn in flies treated with YM. Moreover, employing the GRASP method, we detected anelevated GFP signal—an indicator of synaptic connections—between a population ofdopaminergic and the Ventral Lateral neurons in aging flies feeded with YM, suggestinga potential preservation of synaptic connectivity. Finally, we explored regulation of geneexpression for aSyn, AMPK and downstream expression markers of autophagy from flyheads by q-RT-PCR. Our preliminary data shows that YM treatment modulates thesegenes giving cues about the cellular mechanisms potentially involved.