Alpha-synuclein cell-to-cell transfer and seeding in grafted dopaminergic neurons in vivo.

ABSTRACT: Several people with Parkinson's disease have been treated with intrastriatal grafts of fetal dopaminergic neurons. Following autopsy, 10-22 years after surgery, some of the grafted neurons contained Lewy bodies similar to those observed in the host brain. Numerous studies have attempted to explain these findings in cell and animal models. In cell culture, α-synuclein has been found to transfer from one cell to another, via mechanisms that include exosomal transport and endocytosis, and in certain cases seed aggregation in the recipient cell. In animal models, transfer of α-synuclein from host brain cells to grafted neurons has been shown, but the reported frequency of the event has been relatively low and little is known about the underlying mechanisms as well as the fate of the transferre

SUBMITTER: Angot E 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3380846 | biostudies-literature | 2012

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature