Similar α-Synuclein staining in the colon mucosa in patients with Parkinson's disease and controls.
The gut is proposed as a starting point of idiopathic IPD, but the presence of α-synuclein in the IPD colon mucosa is debated.



The objective of this study was to evaluate if α-synuclein in the colon mucosa can serve as a biomarker of IPD.



Immunohistochemistry was used to locate and quantify in a blinded approach α-synuclein in the mucosa from biopsies of the right and left colon in 19 IPD patients and 8 controls.



Total α-synuclein was present in all but 1 IPD patients and in all controls; phosphorylated α-synuclein was present in all subjects. There was no intensity difference depending on disease status. Staining of total α-synuclein was stronger in the right colon (p = .04).



Conventional immunohistochemistry α-synuclein staining in colon mucosal biopsies cannot serve as a biomarker of idiopathic PD. These findings do not contradict the assumption of disease starting in the colon, and a colon segment-specific risk for disease initiation can still be hypothesized. © 2016 International Parkinson and Movement Disorder Society.
Department of Pathology, Integrated Biobank of Luxembourg, Luxembourg-City, Luxembourg.
Laurent
L
Antunes
Department of Pathology, Integrated Biobank of Luxembourg, Luxembourg-City, Luxembourg.
Sonia
S
Frasquilho
Department of Pathology, Integrated Biobank of Luxembourg, Luxembourg-City, Luxembourg.|Department of Gastroenterology, Centre Hospitalier de Luxembourg, Luxembourg-City, Luxembourg.
Marek
M
Ostaszewski
Luxembourg Centre of Systems Biomedicine, University of Luxembourg, Esch-sur-Alzette, Luxembourg.
Jos
J
Weber
Department of Neurology, Centre Hospitalier de Luxembourg, Luxembourg-City, Luxembourg.
Laura
L
Longhino
Department of Gastroenterology, Centre Hospitalier de Luxembourg, Luxembourg-City, Luxembourg.
Paul
P
Antony
Department of Gastroenterology, Centre Hospitalier de Luxembourg, Luxembourg-City, Luxembourg.
Aidos
A
Baumuratov
Department of Gastroenterology, Centre Hospitalier de Luxembourg, Luxembourg-City, Luxembourg.
Manuel
M
Buttini
Department of Neurological Sciences, Rush University, Chicago, Illinois, USA.
Kathleen M
KM
Shannon
Department of Gastroenterology, Centre Hospitalier de Luxembourg, Luxembourg-City, Luxembourg.
Rudi
R
Balling
Department of Gastroenterology, Centre Hospitalier de Luxembourg, Luxembourg-City, Luxembourg. diederdn@pt.lu.|Department of Neurology, Centre Hospitalier de Luxembourg, Luxembourg-City, Luxembourg. diederdn@pt.lu.
Nico J
NJ
Diederich
D000368:Aged; D015415:Biomarkers / Q000378:metabolism; D003106:Colon / Q000378:metabolism*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007413:Intestinal Mucosa / Q000378:metabolism*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010300:Parkinson Disease / Q000378:metabolism*; D051844:alpha-Synuclein / Q000378:metabolism*
D015415:Biomarkers; D051844:alpha-Synuclein
Parkinson's disease; alpha-synuclein; biomarker; colon; mucosa