Related Experiment Videos
Alpha synuclein is present in Lewy bodies in sporadic Parkinson's disease
E Mezey1, A M Dehejia, G Harta
1Basic Neuroscience Program, National Institute of Neurological Disease and Stroke, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD 20892-1430, USA.
Molecular Psychiatry
|December 19, 1998
Abstract:
A missense mutation in the human alpha synuclein gene was recently identified in some cases of familial Parkinson's disease (FPD). We have developed an antibody that recognizes the C-terminal 12 amino acids of the human alpha synuclein protein and have demonstrated that alpha synuclein is an abundant component of the Lewy bodies found within the degenerating neurons of patients with Parkinson's disease (PD). The presence of alpha synuclein in Lewy bodies of sporadic PD patients suggests a central role for alpha synuclein in the pathogenesis of PD.