title: Total and Proteinase K-Resistant α-Synuclein Levels in Erythrocytes, Determined by their Ability to Bind Phospholipids, Associate with Parkinson's Disease.
abstract: A marker for diagnosis of Parkinson's disease (PD), which reflects on the occurrence of peripheral pathogenic mechanisms, would potentially improve therapy. The significance of α-Synuclein (α-Syn) expression in red blood cells (RBC) is currently unclear. Here we investigated whether RBC's-expressed α-Syn may associate with PD. To this aim, we determined the levels of total and proteinase K-resistant α-Syn in samples of packed red blood cells (PRBCs). Twenty-one individuals with PD at various disease stages and 15 healthy controls, with similar demographic features, were recruited to this study. α-Syn levels were determined by their biochemical property to bind phospholipids, using a phospholipid-ELISA assay. A significantly lower ratio of total-to-proteinase K-resistant α-Syn levels was detected in PD patients than in the healthy control group. However, there was considerable overlap between the two groups. Suggesting a need for additional markers to be tested in combination with α-Syn levels. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first evidence for an association between RBCs-expressed α-Syn and pathogenic mechanisms involved in PD.
authors.affiliation: Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, IMRIC, The Hebrew University-Hadassah Medical School.
authors.forename: Suaad
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Abd-Elhadi
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology, The Agnes Ginges Center for Human Neurogenetics, Hadassah - Hebrew University medical Center.
authors.forename: Asaf
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Honig
authors.affiliation: Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, IMRIC, The Hebrew University-Hadassah Medical School.
authors.forename: Dganit
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Simhi-Haham
authors.affiliation: Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, IMRIC, The Hebrew University-Hadassah Medical School.
authors.forename: Meir
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Schechter
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology, The Agnes Ginges Center for Human Neurogenetics, Hadassah - Hebrew University medical Center.
authors.forename: Eduard
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Linetsky
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology, The Agnes Ginges Center for Human Neurogenetics, Hadassah - Hebrew University medical Center.
authors.forename: Tamir
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Ben-Hur
authors.affiliation: Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, IMRIC, The Hebrew University-Hadassah Medical School.
authors.forename: Ronit
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Sharon
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D019286:Endopeptidase K / Q000737:chemistry*; D004912:Erythrocytes / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000473:pathology; D005260:Female; D005786:Gene Expression Regulation; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010300:Parkinson Disease / Q000097:blood* / Q000473:pathology; D010743:Phospholipids / Q000097:blood*; D011485:Protein Binding; D051844:alpha-Synuclein / Q000097:blood*
chemical_list: D010743:Phospholipids; C497604:SNCA protein, human; D051844:alpha-Synuclein; D019286:Endopeptidase K