title: Role of alpha-synuclein in autophagy modulation of primary human T lymphocytes.
abstract: It has been demonstrated that α-synuclein can aggregate and contribute to the pathogenesis of some neurodegenerative diseases and it is capable of hindering autophagy in neuronal cells. Here, we investigated the implication of α-synuclein in the autophagy process in primary human T lymphocytes. We provide evidence that: (i) knocking down of the α-synuclein gene resulted in increased autophagy, (ii) autophagy induction by energy deprivation was associated with a significant decrease of α-synuclein levels, (iii) autophagy inhibition by 3-methyladenine or by ATG5 knocking down led to a significant increase of α-synuclein levels, and (iv) autophagy impairment, constitutive in T lymphocytes from patients with systemic lupus erythematosus, was associated with abnormal accumulation of α-synuclein aggregates. These results suggest that α-synuclein could be considered as an autophagy-related marker of peripheral blood lymphocytes, potentially suitable for use in the clinical practice.
authors.affiliation: 1] Department of Cell Biology and Neurosciences, Istituto Superiore di Sanità, Rome, Italy [2] Department of Medical Sciences, San Raffaele Institute Pisana, Rome, Italy.
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Colasanti
authors.affiliation: Department of Cell Biology and Neurosciences, Istituto Superiore di Sanità, Rome, Italy.
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Vomero
authors.affiliation: Lupus Clinic, Department of Internal Medicine, "La Sapienza" University, Rome, Italy.
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Alessandri
authors.affiliation: 1] Department of Cell Biology and Neurosciences, Istituto Superiore di Sanità, Rome, Italy [2] Department of Medical Sciences, San Raffaele Institute Sulmona, L'Aquila, Italy.
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Barbati
authors.affiliation: Department of Cell Biology and Neurosciences, Istituto Superiore di Sanità, Rome, Italy.
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Maselli
authors.affiliation: Istituto Pasteur-Fondazione Cenci Bolognetti, Department of Biology and Biotechnology "C. Darwin", "La Sapienza" University, Rome, Italy.
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Camperio
authors.affiliation: Lupus Clinic, Department of Internal Medicine, "La Sapienza" University, Rome, Italy.
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Conti
authors.affiliation: Department of Technology and Health, Istituto Superiore di Sanità, Rome, Italy.
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Tinari
authors.affiliation: 1] Department of Oncology and Hematology, Humanitas Cancer Center, Humanitas Clinical and Research Center, Rozzano (MI), Italy [2] Department of Medical Biotechnology and Translational Medicine, University of Milan, Italy.
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Carlo-Stella
authors.affiliation: Istituto Pasteur-Fondazione Cenci Bolognetti, Department of Biology and Biotechnology "C. Darwin", "La Sapienza" University, Rome, Italy.
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Tuosto
authors.affiliation: 1] Laboratory of Clinical and Behavioral Neurology, IRCCS Fondazione Santa Lucia, Rome, Italy [2] Movement Disorder Unit, Sant'Andrea Hospital "La Sapienza" University, Rome, Italy.
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Benincasa
authors.affiliation: Lupus Clinic, Department of Internal Medicine, "La Sapienza" University, Rome, Italy.
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Valesini
authors.affiliation: 1] Department of Medical Sciences, San Raffaele Institute Sulmona, L'Aquila, Italy [2] Department of Therapeutic Research and Medicine Evaluation, Istituto Superiore di Sanità, Rome, Italy.
authors.forename: W
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Malorni
authors.affiliation: Department of Cell Biology and Neurosciences, Istituto Superiore di Sanità, Rome, Italy.
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Pierdominici
authors.affiliation: 1] Department of Cell Biology and Neurosciences, Istituto Superiore di Sanità, Rome, Italy [2] Department of Medical Sciences, San Raffaele Institute Sulmona, L'Aquila, Italy.
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Ortona
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D001343:Autophagy; D015415:Biomarkers / Q000378:metabolism; D005260:Female; D055785:Gene Knockdown Techniques; D006801:Humans; D008180:Lupus Erythematosus, Systemic / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000473:pathology; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D013601:T-Lymphocytes / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000473:pathology; D051844:alpha-Synuclein / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*
chemical_list: D015415:Biomarkers; C497604:SNCA protein, human; D051844:alpha-Synuclein