title: Lewy bodies.
abstract: Lewy bodies (LB) in the substantia nigra are a cardinal pathological feature of Parkinson's disease, but they occur in a number of neurodegenerative diseases and can be widespread in the nervous system. The characteristics, locations, and composition of LB are reviewed, with particular attention to alpha-synuclein (alpha-SYN), which appears to be the major component of LB. The propensity for alpha-SYN, a presynaptic protein widely expressed in the brain, to aggregate is because of an amyloidogenic central region. The factors that favor the aggregation of alpha-SYN and mechanisms of toxicity are examined, and a mechanism through which aggregates of alpha-SYN could induce mitochondrial dysfunction and/or release of proapoptotic molecules is proposed.
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurosciences, University of California at San Diego, La Jolla, CA 92093, USA. cshults@ucsd.edu
authors.forename: Clifford W
authors.initials: CW
authors.lastname: Shults
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D006801:Humans; D016631:Lewy Bodies / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000648:ultrastructure; D010084:Oxidation-Reduction; D010766:Phosphorylation; D051844:alpha-Synuclein / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D051844:alpha-Synuclein