title: Cerebrospinal fluid alpha-synuclein in neurodegenerative disorders-a marker of synapse loss?
abstract: The association of alpha-synuclein (alpha-syn) neuropathology with Parkinson's disease (PD) and several related disorders has led to an intense research effort to develop cerebrospinal fluid (CSF)- or blood-based alpha-syn biomarkers for these types of diseases. Recent studies show that alpha-syn is present in CSF and possible to measure using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). Here, we describe a novel ELISA that allows for quantification of alpha-syn in CSF down to 50pg/mL. The diagnostic value of the test was assessed using CSF samples from 66 Alzheimer's disease (AD) patients, 15PD patients, 15 patients with dementia with Lewy bodies (DLB) and 55 cognitively normal controls. PD and DLB patients and controls displayed similar CSF alpha-syn levels. AD patients had significantly lower alpha-syn levels than controls (median [inter-quartile range] 296 [234-372] and 395 [298-452], respectively, p<0.001). Moreover, AD patients with mini-mental state examination (MMSE) scores below 20 had significantly lower alpha-syn than AD patients with MMSE scores of 20 or higher (p=0.02). There was also a tendency towards a negative correlation between alpha-syn levels and disease duration in the AD group (r=-0.247, p=0.06). Altogether, our results speak against CSF alpha-syn as a reliable biomarker for PD and DLB. The lower alpha-syn levels in AD, as well as the association of alpha-syn reduction with AD severity, approximated by MMSE, suggests that it may be a general marker of synapse loss, a hypothesis that warrants further investigation.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Neuroscience and Physiology, Department of Psychiatry and Neurochemistry, The Sahlgrenska Academy at University of Gothenburg, Mölndal, Sweden.
authors.forename: Annika
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Ohrfelt
authors.forename: Pierre
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Grognet
authors.forename: Niels
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Andreasen
authors.forename: Anders
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Wallin
authors.forename: Eugeen
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Vanmechelen
authors.forename: Kaj
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Blennow
authors.forename: Henrik
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Zetterberg
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000544:Alzheimer Disease / Q000134:cerebrospinal fluid / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000503:physiopathology; D015415:Biomarkers / Q000032:analysis / Q000134:cerebrospinal fluid; D001921:Brain / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000473:pathology / Q000503:physiopathology; D015536:Down-Regulation / Q000502:physiology; D004797:Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay / Q000379:methods*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D020961:Lewy Body Disease / Q000134:cerebrospinal fluid / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000503:physiopathology; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D019636:Neurodegenerative Diseases / Q000134:cerebrospinal fluid* / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000503:physiopathology; D009483:Neuropsychological Tests; D010300:Parkinson Disease / Q000134:cerebrospinal fluid / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000503:physiopathology; D011237:Predictive Value of Tests; D013569:Synapses / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000473:pathology; D051844:alpha-Synuclein / Q000032:analysis* / Q000134:cerebrospinal fluid*
chemical_list: D015415:Biomarkers; D051844:alpha-Synuclein