title: Eryptosis as a marker of Parkinson's disease.
abstract: A major trend in recent Parkinson's disease (PD) research is the investigation of biological markers that could help in identifying at-risk individuals or to track disease progression and response to therapies. Central to this is the knowledge that inflammation is a known hallmark of PD and of many other degenerative diseases. In the current work, we focus on inflammatory signalling in PD, using a systems approach that allows us to look at the disease in a more holistic way. We discuss cyclooxygenases, prostaglandins, thromboxanes and also iron in PD. These particular signalling molecules are involved in PD pathophysiology, but are also very important in an aberrant coagulation/hematology system. We present and discuss a hypothesis regarding the possible interaction of these aberrant signalling molecules implicated in PD, and suggest that these molecules may affect the erythrocytes of PD patients. This would be observable as changes in the morphology of the RBCs and of PD patients relative to healthy controls. We then show that the RBCs of PD patients are indeed rather dramatically deranged in their morphology, exhibiting eryptosis (a kind of programmed cell death). This morphological indicator may have useful diagnostic and prognostic significance.
authors.affiliation: Department of Physiology, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Pretoria, Arcadia 0007, South Africa.
authors.forename: Etheresia
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Pretorius
authors.affiliation: Department of Physiology, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Pretoria, Arcadia 0007, South Africa.
authors.forename: Albe C
authors.initials: AC
authors.lastname: Swanepoel
authors.affiliation: Microscopy and Microanalysis Unit, University of Pretoria, Arcadia 0007, South Africa.
authors.forename: Antoinette V
authors.initials: AV
authors.lastname: Buys
authors.affiliation: Department of Physiology, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Pretoria, Arcadia 0007, South Africa.
authors.forename: Natasha
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Vermeulen
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Pretoria, Arcadia 0007, South Africa.
authors.forename: Wiebren
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Duim
authors.affiliation: School of Chemistry and The Manchester Institute of Biotechnology, The University of Manchester, Manchester M1 7DN, Lancs, UK.
authors.forename: Douglas B
authors.initials: DB
authors.lastname: Kell
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D015415:Biomarkers / Q000097:blood; D004912:Erythrocytes / Q000473:pathology*; D005260:Female; D005293:Ferritins / Q000097:blood*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D018625:Microscopy, Atomic Force; D008855:Microscopy, Electron, Scanning; D008875:Middle Aged; D010300:Parkinson Disease / Q000097:blood* / Q000473:pathology*
chemical_list: D015415:Biomarkers; D005293:Ferritins