title: Alpha-synuclein pathology affecting Bergmann glia of the cerebellum in patients with alpha-synucleinopathies.
abstract: We carried out immunohistochemical examinations of the brains (cerebella) of patients who had suffered from Parkinson's disease (PD), diffuse Lewy body disease (DLBD) or multiple system atrophy (MSA), using antibodies specific for alpha-synuclein. Alpha-synuclein-positive doughnut-shaped structures were found occasionally in the cerebellar molecular layer in some of these patients. Double-labeling immunofluorescence and immunoelectron microscopy studies revealed that these alpha-synuclein-positive doughnut-shaped structures were located in the glial fibrillary acidic protein-positive radial processes of Bergmann glia, corresponding to the outer area of Lewy body-like inclusions, and consisted of granulo-filamentous structures. These findings indicate that, although not frequently, Bergmann glia of the cerebellum are also the targets of alpha-synuclein pathology in alpha-synucleinopathies such as PD, DLBD and MSA.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pathology, Brain Research Institute, Niigata University, 1-757 Asahimachi, 951-8585 Niigata, Japan. piao@bri.niigata-u.ac.jp
authors.forename: Yue-Shan
authors.initials: YS
authors.lastname: Piao
authors.forename: Fumiaki
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Mori
authors.forename: Shintaro
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Hayashi
authors.forename: Kunikazu
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Tanji
authors.forename: Makoto
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Yoshimoto
authors.forename: Akiyoshi
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Kakita
authors.forename: Koichi
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Wakabayashi
authors.forename: Hitoshi
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Takahashi
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D002531:Cerebellum / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology* / Q000648:ultrastructure; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007150:Immunohistochemistry; D020961:Lewy Body Disease / Q000473:pathology; D008297:Male; D017628:Microglia / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology* / Q000648:ultrastructure; D016253:Microscopy, Immunoelectron; D008875:Middle Aged; D019578:Multiple System Atrophy / Q000473:pathology; D009419:Nerve Tissue Proteins / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000648:ultrastructure; D019636:Neurodegenerative Diseases / Q000473:pathology*; D010300:Parkinson Disease / Q000473:pathology; D051843:Synucleins; D051844:alpha-Synuclein
chemical_list: D009419:Nerve Tissue Proteins; C497604:SNCA protein, human; D051843:Synucleins; D051844:alpha-Synuclein