Functional relevance of ceruloplasmin mutations in Parkinson's disease

Increased iron levels of the substantia nigra and the discovery of ceruloplasmin mutations in patients with Parkinson's disease (PD) imply impaired iron metabolism in this neurodegenerative disorder. Ceruloplasmin has ferroxidase activity oxidizing iron(II) to iron(III). In the present study, we analyzed the amount of ceruloplasmin, iron, ferritin, and transferrin and the ceruloplasmin ferroxidase activity in serum of patients with the diagnosis of PD carrying the ceruloplasmin mutations I63T, D544E, and R793H. The impact of these missense mutations on the biosynthesis of holo-ceruloplasmin was investigated in cell culture experiments. Functional relevance was found for the ceruloplasmin mutations I63T and D544E. In vivo, the I63T mutation resulted in half the normal ceruloplasmin concentration and markedly reduced ferroxidase activity in serum from a heteroallelic PD patient. In cell culture, the I63T glycosylphosphatidylinositol (GPI)-linked ceruloplasmin isoform was retained in the endoplasmatic reticulum of human embryonic kidney cells. Furthermore, the D544E polymorphism resulted in significantly reduced serum ceruloplasmin levels and ferroxidase activity in heteroallelic patients and in expression of mainly apo-ceruloplasmin in cell culture. Our studies indicate that altered activity of ceruloplasmin may present a vulnerability factor for iron induced oxidative stress in PD.