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Related Experiment Videos

Alpha-synuclein expression in the developing human brain.

Ravi Raghavan1, Loes de Kruijff, Monique D Sterrenburg

  • 1Neuropathology Laboratory, Department of Pathology, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, 5323 Harry Hines Blvd., Dallas, TX 75390-9073, USA. rraghavan@ahs.llumc.edu

Pediatric and Developmental Pathology : the Official Journal of the Society for Pediatric Pathology and the Paediatric Pathology Society
|November 18, 2004
PubMed
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Alpha-synuclein, a protein linked to neurodegenerative diseases, shows early expression in the developing human brain. Its presence and location change significantly from gestation through childhood.

Area of Science:

  • Neuroscience
  • Developmental Biology
  • Cellular Biology

Background:

  • Alpha-synuclein is a presynaptic protein implicated in neurodegenerative and neoplastic diseases.
  • Its expression in the developing human central nervous system (CNS) is not well-understood.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the developmental expression patterns of alpha-synuclein in the human CNS.
  • To map the temporal and spatial distribution of alpha-synuclein during human brain development.

Main Methods:

  • Immunohistochemical analysis of alpha-synuclein expression.
  • Examination of 39 human brain samples spanning fetal, perinatal, pediatric, and adolescent stages.

Main Results:

  • Perikaryal alpha-synuclein expression observed as early as 11-week gestation in the cortical plate.

Related Experiment Videos

  • Specific neuronal groups in the hippocampus, basal ganglia, and brain stem show expression by 20-week gestation.
  • Cerebellar expression detected by 21-week gestation, with distinct neuropil patterns persisting into adulthood. Germinal matrix, glia, endothelial cells, and specific neurons were consistently negative.

    • Conclusions:

    • Alpha-synuclein is expressed very early in human gestation with distinct temporal and spatial patterns.
    • Perikaryal expression diminishes in early childhood, with neuropil retaining immunoreactivity into adulthood.
    • Reappearance in adult cytosol may indicate a stress response or reemergence of developmental cues.