Detection and Assessment of α-Synuclein Oligomers in the Urine of Parkinson's Disease Patients

α-Synuclein (α-syn) is a major component of Lewy bodies, a pathologic marker of Parkinson's disease (PD) in post-mortem studies. The use of α-syn as a practical PD biomarker has been investigated by numerous researchers. However, reports of differences in α-syn levels in biofluids, such as cerebrospinal fluid, plasma, and saliva, between PD patients and controls are inconsistent. Recently, the measurement of α-syn oligomer levels has emerged as a novel approach to diagnose PD.

Lysates and culture media from two different types of dopaminergic neuronal cells or urine samples from 11 non-PD and 21 PD patients were collected and analyzed.

We developed and performed an enzyme-linked immuno-absorbent assay (ELISA) to detect various oligomeric α-syn using distinct pairs of antibodies.

We validated our ELISA using rotenone-induced alterations of α-syn levels in human dopaminergic neurons. Total urinary α-syn levels, measured using our ELISA method, showed no difference between PD and non-PD individuals, but a higher level of α-syn oligomer recognized by MJFR-14-6-5-2 in PD urine samples was observed. Levels of distinct oligomeric α-syn detected by ASyO5 were lower in PD urine samples. Three different α-syn ELISA results were analyzed with respect to the severity of PD, but only the correlation between total α-syn levels and PD index was significant.

Our findings suggest that detection of distinct oligomeric formations of α-syn and measurement of their levels in urine might be feasible for use in PD diagnostics.