Total and Proteinase K-Resistant α-Synuclein Levels in Erythrocytes, Determined by their Ability to Bind Phospholipids, Associate with Parkinson’s Disease

• Published in: Scientific reports 2015-06, Vol.5 (1), p.11120-11120, Article 11120
• Main Authors: Abd-Elhadi, Suaad, Honig, Asaf, Simhi-Haham, Dganit, Schechter, Meir, Linetsky, Eduard, Ben-Hur, Tamir, Sharon, Ronit
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: 13; 631/378; 631/45/882; 82; 82/80; Adult; Aged; alpha-Synuclein - blood; Endopeptidase K - chemistry; Erythrocytes - metabolism; Erythrocytes - pathology; Female; Gene Expression Regulation; Humanities and Social Sciences; Humans; Male; Middle Aged; multidisciplinary; Parkinson Disease - blood; Parkinson Disease - pathology; Phospholipids - blood; Protein Binding; Science
• ISSN: 2045-2322; 2045-2322
• DOI: 10.1038/srep11120

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.