Alteration of autophagy-related proteins in peripheral blood mononuclear cells of patients with Parkinson's disease

Previous postmortem studies demonstrated dysregulation of autophagy in patients with Parkinson's disease (PD). To clarify whether this alteration reflects a fundamental aspect of PD or represents the final stage of autophagy dysregulation resulting from a long neurodegenerative process, we focused on basal autophagy in peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) of PD patients (n = 35) and controls (n = 23). The whole-transcriptome assay revealed down-regulation of mRNAs for six core regulators of autophagy (UNC-51-like kinase (ULK) 3, autophagy-related (Atg) 2A, Atg4B, Atg5, Atg16L1, histone deacetylase 6).

Source: Neurobiology of Aging - November 20, 2017 Category: Neuroscience Authors: Yasuo Miki, Shuji Shimoyama, Tomoya Kon, Tatsuya Ueno, Ryo Hayakari, Kunikazu Tanji, Tomoh Matsumiya, Eiki Tsushima, Fumiaki Mori, Koichi Wakabayashi, Masahiko Tomiyama Source Type: research