Proteolytic cleavage of extracellular α-synuclein by plasmin: implications for Parkinson disease.

ABSTRACT: Parkinson disease (PD) is the second most common neurodegenerative disease characterized by a progressive dopaminergic neuronal loss in association with Lewy body inclusions. Gathering evidence indicates that α-synuclein (α-syn), a major component of the Lewy body, plays an important role in the pathogenesis of PD. Although α-syn is considered to be a cytoplasmic protein, it has been detected in extracellular biological fluids, including human cerebrospinal fluid and blood plasma of healthy and diseased individuals. In addition, a prion-like spread of α-syn aggregates has been recently proposed to contribute to the propagation of Lewy bodies throughout the nervous system during progression of PD, suggesting that the metabolism of extracellular α-syn might play a key role in the pathogenesi

SUBMITTER: Kim KS 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3408156 | biostudies-literature | 2012 Jul

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature