Identification of transmission pathway of pathological alpha-synuclein in non-transgenic mouse.

2015 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 26870494
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Young Scientists (B)
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Research Field: General anatomy (including histology/embryology); Nerve anatomy/Neuropathology
• Research Institution: Kyoto Prefectural University of Medicine
• Principal Investigator: Taguchi Katsutoshi 京都府立医科大学, 医学(系)研究科(研究院), 助教 (60462701)
• Project Period (FY): 2014-04-01 – 2016-03-31
• Keywords: alpha-Synuclein / Parkinson's disease / expression / inhibitory neuron / excitatory neuron

Outline of Final Research Achievements

alpha-Synuclein (aSyn), the major component of Lewy bodies, is normally expressed in presynapses and is involved in synaptic function. Accumulated evidence suggests that abundant intracellular expression of aSyn is one of the risk factors for pathological aggregation. Here we investigated the precise expression profile in the adult mouse brain with special reference to vulnerable regions along the progression of idiopathic Parkinson’s disease (PD). Our results show that aSyn was highly expressed in the neuronal cell bodies of some early PD-affected brain regions. Synaptic expression of aSyn was mostly accompanied by expression of excitatory presynaptic marker. In contrast, expression of aSyn in the inhibitory synapses was different among brain regions. These results suggest that some neurons in early PD-affected human brain regions express high levels of perikaryal aSyn, as happens in the mouse brain. Additionally, synaptic profiles expressing aSyn are different in various regions.

Free Research Field

細胞生物学