Alterations in mGluR5 expression and signaling in Lewy body disease and in transgenic models of alpha-synucleinopathy--implications for excitotoxicity.

ABSTRACT: Dementia with Lewy bodies (DLB) and Parkinson's Disease (PD) are neurodegenerative disorders of the aging population characterized by the abnormal accumulation of alpha-synuclein (alpha-syn). Previous studies have suggested that excitotoxicity may contribute to neurodegeneration in these disorders, however the underlying mechanisms and their relationship to alpha-syn remain unclear. For this study we proposed that accumulation of alpha-syn might result in alterations in metabotropic glutamate receptors (mGluR), particularly mGluR5 which has been linked to deficits in murine models of PD. In this context, levels of mGluR5 were analyzed in the brains of PD and DLB human cases and alpha-syn transgenic (tg) mice and compared to age-matched, unimpaired controls, we report a 40% increase in the

SUBMITTER: Price DL 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC2982819 | biostudies-literature | 2010 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature