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Updated: Mar 15, 2026

Analyzing the Parkinson's Disease Mouse Model Induced by Adeno-associated Viral Vectors Encoding Human α-Synuclein
Published on: July 29, 2022
Alpha-Synuclein in Parkinson's Disease: From Pathogenetic Dysfunction to Potential Clinical Application
1Department of Neurology, 2nd Affiliated Hospital, School of Medicine, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, Zhejiang 310009, China.
Abstract:
Parkinson's disease is a neurodegenerative disease/synucleinopathy that develops slowly; however, there is no efficient method of early diagnosis, nor is there a cure. Progressive dopaminergic neuronal cell loss in the substantia nigra pars compacta and widespread aggregation of the α-synuclein protein (encoded by the SNCA gene) in the form of Lewy bodies and Lewy neurites are the neuropathological hallmarks of Parkinson's disease. The SNCA gene has undergone gene duplications, triplications, and point mutations. However, the specific mechanism of α-synuclein in Parkinson's disease remains obscure. Recent research showed that various α-synuclein oligomers, pathological aggregation, and propagation appear to be harmful in certain areas in Parkinson's disease patients. This review summarizes our current knowledge of the pathogenetic dysfunction of α-synuclein associated with Parkinson's disease and highlights current approaches that seek to develop this protein as a possible diagnostic biomarker and therapeutic target.
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