title: Expression of alpha-synuclein, a presynaptic protein implicated in Parkinson's disease, in erythropoietic lineage.
abstract: The present study investigated expression of alpha-synuclein (alpha-syn), a presynaptic protein involved in the pathogenesis of Parkinson's disease, in erythroid cells. Using various immunological procedures, immunoreactivity of alpha-syn was unambiguously demonstrated in erythroid lineage in murine bone marrows and peripheral erythrocytes. Expression of alpha-syn mRNA was also confirmed by in situ hybridization. Furthermore, flow cytometry analysis revealed that approximately 80% of erythroid cells in murine bone marrows expressed alpha-syn, while more than 90% of peripheral erythrocytes expressed alpha-syn. Nonetheless, alpha-syn null mice exhibited apparently no phenotypic changes in erythroid cells as was the case in their brains, suggesting that there might be underlying some redundant mechanisms. Together with previous reports showing the expression of alpha-syn in lymphocytes and platelets, the present finding supports a contention that alpha-syn might play some important functions in hematopoietic system.
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemistry and Metabolism, Tokyo Metropolitan Institute for Neuroscience, Tokyo 183-8526, Japan. mnakai@tmin.ac.jp
authors.forename: Masaaki
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Nakai
authors.forename: Masayo
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Fujita
authors.forename: Masaaki
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Waragai
authors.forename: Shuei
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Sugama
authors.forename: Jianshe
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Wei
authors.forename: Hiroyasu
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Akatsu
authors.forename: Chiaki
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Ohtaka-Maruyama
authors.forename: Haruo
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Okado
authors.forename: Makoto
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Hashimoto
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001853:Bone Marrow / Q000378:metabolism; D001921:Brain / Q000378:metabolism; D019070:Cell Lineage / Q000502:physiology*; D004912:Erythrocytes / Q000378:metabolism; D041905:Erythroid Cells / Q000378:metabolism*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D051379:Mice; D008810:Mice, Inbred C57BL; D018345:Mice, Knockout; D010300:Parkinson Disease / Q000378:metabolism*; D051844:alpha-Synuclein / Q000096:biosynthesis* / Q000235:genetics
chemical_list: D051844:alpha-Synuclein