α-Synuclein is a pathological link and therapeutic target for Parkinson's disease and traumatic brain injury.
Parkinson's disease (PD) affects more than 1% of population over 65 and it is characterized by gradual loss of nigrostriatal dopaminergic neurons and wide spread accumulation of α-synuclein. Collectively 30% of familial and 3-5% of sporadic form of PD are associated with genetic mutation. Compelling evidence implicates that in addition to inherited factors, acquired co-morbidities contribute to PD pathology. Here, we hypothesize that traumatic brain injury (TBI) exacerbates nigrostriatal dopaminergic degeneration by modulating PD-associated genes including α-synuclein, DJ-1, LRRK2, among others. Thus this article will present speculative arguments of a genetic component contributing to this TBI and PD pathological overlap.
Center of Excellence for Aging & Brain Repair, Department of Neurosurgery and Brain Repair, University of South Florida Morsani College of Medicine, Tampa, FL, USA. Electronic address: mshahad@health.usf.edu.
Md
M
Shahaduzzaman
Sandra
S
Acosta
Paula C
PC
Bickford
Cesar V
CV
Borlongan
D001930:Brain Injuries / Q000378:metabolism / Q000503:physiopathology*; D059290:Dopaminergic Neurons / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology*; D006801:Humans; D047908:Intracellular Signaling Peptides and Proteins / Q000378:metabolism; D000071158:Leucine-Rich Repeat Serine-Threonine Protein Kinase-2; D008954:Models, Biological; D015513:Oncogene Proteins / Q000378:metabolism; D010300:Parkinson Disease / Q000378:metabolism / Q000503:physiopathology*; D000071617:Protein Deglycase DJ-1; D017346:Protein Serine-Threonine Kinases / Q000378:metabolism; D051844:alpha-Synuclein / Q000378:metabolism*
D047908:Intracellular Signaling Peptides and Proteins; D015513:Oncogene Proteins; D051844:alpha-Synuclein; C495280:LRRK2 protein, human; D000071158:Leucine-Rich Repeat Serine-Threonine Protein Kinase-2; D017346:Protein Serine-Threonine Kinases; C105131:PARK7 protein, human; D000071617:Protein Deglycase DJ-1