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Updated: Aug 11, 2026

The Use of Primary Human Fibroblasts for Monitoring Mitochondrial Phenotypes in the Field of Parkinson's Disease
Published on: October 3, 2012
On the question of apoptosis in the parkinsonian substantia nigra
S Kösel1, R Egensperger, U von Eitzen
1Molecular Neuropathology Laboratory, Ludwig-Maximilians University, Munich, Germany.
Abstract:
Apoptosis has been postulated as a mechanism of nerve cell death in Parkinson's disease. In the present study, the substantia nigra of 22 neuropathologically confirmed Parkinson cases and 8 control brains was studied using the in situ end-labeling (TUNEL) method. About 50% of parkinsonian brains showed a small number of TUNEL-positive glial cells in the substantia nigra, whereas no neurons showed convincing TUNEL positivity or any morphological signs of apoptosis. No correlation was observed between the number of TUNEL-positive glial cells and microglial activation. Our results fail to demonstrate apoptosis as a mechanism of cell death in Parkinson's disease.
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