title: Altered expression of the synuclein family mRNA in Lewy body and Alzheimer's disease.
abstract: The main objective of this study was to determine if levels of alpha-, beta- and/or gamma-synuclein mRNAs are differentially affected in brains of Lewy body disease (LBD) and Alzheimer's disease (AD) patients, compared to controls. In control cases, highest levels of expression were observed in the neocortex and the lowest in basal ganglia and substantia nigra. beta-Synuclein was the most abundant message (75-80%), followed by gamma-synuclein (10-15%) and alpha-synuclein (8-10%). Analysis of the superior temporal cortex, a region selectively affected in LBD and AD, showed that compared to controls, levels of alpha-synuclein were increased in cases of diffuse LBD (DLBD), levels of beta-synuclein were decreased in AD and DLBD, and levels of gamma-synuclein were increased in AD cases. This study suggests that a critical balance among products of the synuclein gene is important to maintain normal brain function and that alterations in this balance might be associated with neurodegenerative disorders.
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurosciences, University of California, San Diego, School of Medicine, La Jolla, CA 92093-0624, USA.
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Rockenstein
authors.forename: L A
authors.initials: LA
authors.lastname: Hansen
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Mallory
authors.forename: J Q
authors.initials: JQ
authors.lastname: Trojanowski
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Galasko
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Masliah
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000544:Alzheimer Disease / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism / Q000503:physiopathology; D001921:Brain / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000503:physiopathology; D015870:Gene Expression / Q000502:physiology*; D006801:Humans; D020961:Lewy Body Disease / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism / Q000503:physiopathology; D016014:Linear Models; D019579:Neocortex / Q000378:metabolism / Q000503:physiopathology; D009419:Nerve Tissue Proteins / Q000235:genetics*; D012333:RNA, Messenger / Q000378:metabolism*; D013223:Statistics as Topic; D013378:Substantia Nigra / Q000378:metabolism / Q000503:physiopathology; D051843:Synucleins; D051844:alpha-Synuclein; D051846:beta-Synuclein; D051845:gamma-Synuclein
chemical_list: D009419:Nerve Tissue Proteins; D012333:RNA, Messenger; C497604:SNCA protein, human; C497607:SNCB protein, human; D051843:Synucleins; D051844:alpha-Synuclein; D051846:beta-Synuclein; D051845:gamma-Synuclein