title: Immunotherapy in Parkinson's Disease: Micromanaging Alpha-Synuclein Aggregation.
abstract: Currently, several α-synuclein immunotherapies are being tested in experimental Parkinson's disease models and in clinical trials. Recent research has revealed that α-synuclein is not just an intracellular synaptic protein but also exists extracellularly. Moreover, the transfer of misfolded α-synuclein between cells might be a crucial step in the process leading to a progressive increase in deposition of α-synuclein aggregates throughout the Parkinson's disease brain. The revelation that α-synuclein is present outside cells has increased the interest in antibody-based therapies and opens up for the notion that microglia might play a key role in retarding Parkinson's disease progression. The objectives of this review are to describe and contrast the use of active and passive immunotherapy in treating α-synucleinopathies and highlight the likely important role of microglia in clearing misfolded α-synuclein from the extracellular space.
authors.forename: Sonia
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: George
authors.forename: Patrik
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Brundin
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D000906:Antibodies; D001812:Blood-Brain Barrier / Q000276:immunology; D001921:Brain / Q000276:immunology / Q000378:metabolism; D002986:Clinical Trials as Topic; D004660:Encephalitis / Q000276:immunology / Q000378:metabolism; D006801:Humans; D007167:Immunotherapy; D017628:Microglia / Q000276:immunology / Q000378:metabolism; D009474:Neurons / Q000276:immunology / Q000378:metabolism; D010300:Parkinson Disease / Q000276:immunology / Q000378:metabolism / Q000628:therapy*; D066263:Protein Aggregation, Pathological; D051844:alpha-Synuclein / Q000378:metabolism*
chemical_list: D000906:Antibodies; D051844:alpha-Synuclein
keywords: Parkinson’s disease; alpha synuclein; immunotherapy; microglia