title: Alpha-synuclein, Parkinson's disease, and Alzheimer's disease.
abstract: Alpha synuclein (alpha-SN) is a ubiquitous protein that is especially abundant in the brain and has been postulated to play a central role in the pathogenesis of Parkinson's disease (PD), Alzheimer's disease, and other neurodegenerative disorders. Here, we show that alpha-SN plays dual role of neuroprotection and neurotoxicity depending on its concentration or level of expression. In addition, our study shows that alpha-synuclein is differentially expressed in human peripheral blood mononuclear cells. PD patients expressed more alpha-synuclein than healthy controls. Thus, the alpha-synuclein expression in the peripheral immune system might be one of the primary causes of immune abnormalities in PD patients.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pharmacology, College of Medicine, Neuroscience Research Institute, MRC, National Creative Research Initiative Center for Alzheimer's Dementia, Seoul National University, 28 Yongon-dong, Chongno-gu, Seoul 110-799, South Korea.
authors.forename: Seonghan
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.forename: Ji-Heui
authors.initials: JH
authors.lastname: Seo
authors.forename: Yoo-Hun
authors.initials: YH
authors.lastname: Suh
mesh_terms: D000544:Alzheimer Disease / Q000276:immunology* / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000517:prevention & control; D000818:Animals; D006801:Humans; D009419:Nerve Tissue Proteins / Q000276:immunology / Q000502:physiology* / Q000627:therapeutic use; D010300:Parkinson Disease / Q000276:immunology* / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000517:prevention & control; D051843:Synucleins; D051844:alpha-Synuclein
chemical_list: D009419:Nerve Tissue Proteins; C497604:SNCA protein, human; D051843:Synucleins; D051844:alpha-Synuclein