Updated project metadata. Physical activity is thought to provide clinical benefit in Parkinson’s diseas (PD). Irisin is a blood-brain barrier permeable exercise-induced polypeptide secreted by muscle that mediates, in part, the beneficial effects of exercise. Here we show that irisin prevents pathologic -synuclein (-syn) induced neurodegeneration in the -syn preformed fibril mouse model of sporadic PD. Intravenous delivery of adenoviral irisin in vivo after the stereotaxic intrastriatal injection of -syn pre-formed fibrils reduced the formation of pathologic -syn and prevented the loss of dopamine neurons and reductions in striatal dopamine. Irisin also reduced the -syn pre-formed fibril induced motor deficits as assessed by the pole test and grip strength test. Administration of recombinant irisin in primary cortical neurons prevented pathologic -syn toxicity. Tandem mass spectrometry and biochemical analysis revealed that irisin reduced pathologic -syn by enhancing endolysosomal degradation of pathologic -syn. Our findings highlight the potential for therapeutic disease modification of irisin in PD.