Evidence map›Paper›PMID 34301719›Full record

ArticleeNeuro

SCD Inhibition Protects from α-Synuclein-Induced Neurotoxicity But Is Toxic to Early Neuron Cultures.

Justin W Nicholatos, Joost Groot, Shekhar Dhokai, David Tran, Lori Hrdlicka, Thomas M Carlile, Melissa Bennion, Isin Dalkilic-Liddle, Warren D Hirst, Andreas Weihofen

Open access · goldAbstract read
In one paragraph

Article in eNeuro. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 13 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
13citing papers in PubMed
1.3field-weighted citation impact, top 17% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

13 citing papers in PubMed, 17 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Article
  2. Elevation of Stearoyl-Coenzyme A Desaturase and Monounsaturated Fatty Acids in Parkinson's Disease Serum.Movement disorders : official journal of the Movement Disorder Society · 2026
    Article
  3. Review
  4. Article
  5. Parkinson disease is a fatty acidopathy.Nature reviews. Neurology · 2025
    Review
  6. Dysregulation of Monounsaturated Fatty Acids is Related to α-Synuclein in Multiple System Atrophy.Movement disorders : official journal of the Movement Disorder Society · 2025
    Article
  7. Article
  8. Review
  9. Review
  10. Article
  11. Article
  12. Pathogenic Mechanisms of Cytosolic and Membrane-Enriched α-Synuclein Converge on Fatty Acid Homeostasis.The Journal of neuroscience : the official journal of the Society for Neuroscience · 2022
    Article
  13. Review
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

10 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.

Justin W NicholatosNeurodegeneration Research Unit, Biogen, Cambridge, MA 02142.
Joost GrootTranslational Genome Sciences, Biogen, Cambridge, MA 02142.
Shekhar DhokaiBiologics Drug Discovery, Biogen, Cambridge, MA 02142.
David TranNeurodegeneration Research Unit, Biogen, Cambridge, MA 02142.
Lori HrdlickaNeurodegeneration Research Unit, Biogen, Cambridge, MA 02142.
Thomas M CarlileTranslational Genome Sciences, Biogen, Cambridge, MA 02142.
Melissa BennionBioassays and High-Throughput Screens, Biogen, Cambridge, MA 02142.
Isin Dalkilic-LiddleBiologics Drug Discovery, Biogen, Cambridge, MA 02142.
Warren D HirstNeurodegeneration Research Unit, Biogen, Cambridge, MA 02142.
Andreas WeihofenNeurodegeneration Research Unit, Biogen, Cambridge, MA 02142 andreas.weihofen@biogen.com.ORCID 0000-0001-6265-9087
Biogen (United States) · US

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Here, we report the independent discovery and validation of stearoyl-CoA desaturase (SCD) as a modulator of α-synuclein (αSyn)-induced pathology and toxicity in cell-based Parkinson's disease (PD) models. We identified SCD as top altered gene from transcriptional profiling in primary neurons exogenously expressing αSyn with the amplified familial PD mutation 3K. Thus, we sought to further explore SCD as a therapeutic target in neurodegeneration. We report that SCD inhibitors are toxic to early human and rat neuron cultures while displaying minimal toxicity to late cultures. The fatty acid product of SCD, oleic acid (OLA), fully rescues this toxicity in early cultures, suggesting on-target toxicity. Furthermore, SCD inhibition rescues αSyn 3K-induced toxicity in late primary neurons. We also confirm that SCD inhibitors reduce formation of αSyn accumulations, while OLA increases these accumulations in an αSyn 3K neuroblastoma model. However, we identify a caveat with this model where αSyn 3K levels can be suppressed by high SCD inhibitor concentrations, obscuring true effect size. Further, we show that both SCD1 or SCD5 knock-down reduce αSyn 3K accumulations and toxicity, making both a putative drug target. Overall, we confirm key findings of published data on SCD inhibition and its benefits in αSyn accumulation and stress models. The differential neurotoxicity induced by SCD inhibition based on neuron culture age must be accounted for when researching SCD in neuron models and has potential clinical implications. Lastly, our gene profiling studies also revealed novel putative genes connected to αSyn neurotoxicity that are worth further study.

Indexed as

NeuroblastomaParkinson Diseasealpha-SynucleinAnimalsHumansNeuronsRatsStearoyl-CoA Desaturasealpha-SynucleinStearoyl-CoA Desaturasecell-based assayslipidsneurotoxicityParkinson’s diseaseSCDsynuclein

Identifiers

PMID34301719
PMCPMC8387157
OpenAlexW3185020507

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.