Altered neurofilament expression does not contribute to Lewy body formation

Lewy bodies (LBs) are cytoskeletal alterations found in several neurodegenerative disorders. Although neurofilaments are the main constituent of the LB, the precise mechanisms that underlie their formation remain speculative. To examine the pathogenesis of this inclusion, we measured the mRNA level of the low molecular weight neurofilament subunit in the nigral dopaminergic neurons of patients with LB disorders and neurologically normal controls. We found a small but significant decrease in the mean mRNA values in the LB group as compared with controls. However, a comparison of LB-bearing and non-LB-bearing neurons on the same section showed no significant difference between these two neuronal populations. We conclude that altered neurofilament expression is not a major contributory event in the pathogenesis of the LB. The decrease in neurofilament mRNA expression observed in the overall nigral dopaminergic neuronal population of LB disorders probably represents a nonspecific response to neuronal injury independent of LB formation.