title: Low alpha-synuclein 126 mRNA levels in dementia with Lewy bodies and Alzheimer disease.
abstract: Alpha-synuclein, a main component of Lewy bodies in synucleinopathies and senile plaques in Alzheimer disease, is centrally involved in neurodegeneration. Three different isoforms (alpha-synuclein 112, 126, and 140) resulting from alternative splicing have been described so far. The present study explores alpha-synuclein 126 mRNA expression levels in the prefrontal cortex of six patients with dementia with Lewy bodies, eight patients with Lewy body variant of Alzheimer disease, eight patients with Alzheimer disease, and 10 controls. Relative alpha-synuclein 126 expression levels were determined by real-time polymerase chain reaction with competimer technology. Alpha-synuclein 126 mRNA expression was markedly decreased in the three dementias in comparison with controls, suggesting an important role of this alpha-synuclein isoform in the normal brain.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pathology, Hospital Universitari Germans Trias i Pujol, Autonomous University of Barcelona, Badalona, Spain. katrinbeyer@hotmail.com
authors.forename: Katrin
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Beyer
authors.forename: Jordi
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Humbert
authors.forename: Anna
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Ferrer
authors.forename: José I
authors.initials: JI
authors.lastname: Lao
authors.forename: Cristina
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Carrato
authors.forename: Dolores
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: López
authors.forename: Isidro
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Ferrer
authors.forename: Aurelio
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Ariza
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000544:Alzheimer Disease / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D005260:Female; D005786:Gene Expression Regulation / Q000502:physiology*; D006801:Humans; D020961:Lewy Body Disease / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011180:Postmortem Changes; D017397:Prefrontal Cortex / Q000378:metabolism*; D020033:Protein Isoforms / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D012333:RNA, Messenger / Q000378:metabolism*; D020133:Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction / Q000379:methods; D016415:Sequence Alignment; D051844:alpha-Synuclein / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*
chemical_list: D020033:Protein Isoforms; D012333:RNA, Messenger; D051844:alpha-Synuclein