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Accumulating Evidence Suggests that Parkinson’s Disease Is a Prion-Like Disorder

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Proteopathic Seeds and Neurodegenerative Diseases

Part of the book series: Research and Perspectives in Alzheimer's Disease ((ALZHEIMER))

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Abstract

Parkinson’s disease is the second most prevalent neurodegenerative disease, affecting hundreds of thousands of people per year. Although the etiology of the disorder is unclear, recent studies have shown the key involvement of alpha-synuclein in PD. Lewy bodies and Lewy neurites, hallmarks of the disease, contain mostly aggregated alpha-synuclein and develop progressively in the brain in a predictable spatial pattern. It has been proposed that a misfolded form of alpha-synuclein transfers between neighboring cells in a prion-like fashion, acts like a seed, and promotes protein aggregation in those cells, contributing to the progression of the pathology from one brain region to another. Here, we review first the known mechanisms of alpha-synuclein cell-to-cell transfer. We will then discuss the nature of the seed of the aggregation process and, finally, what is missing in the literature to understand the spread of the pathology between brain regions.

Jennifer A. Steiner and Patrik Brundin are co-last authors.

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Acknowledgments

Our work discussed above was supported by a European Research Council Advanced Grant and by the Swedish Research Council, Human Frontier Science Program, Parkinson Foundation in Sweden, ERA-Net NEURON–MIPROTRAN, and by the BAGADILICO Linnaeus environment and MultiPark strategic research area at Lund University, both of which are sponsored by the Swedish Research Council. These funding agencies did not influence the content of this review.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Neuronal Survival Unit, Wallenberg Neuroscience Center, Lund University, BMC B11, 221 84, Lund, Sweden

    Nolwen L. Rey, Elodie Angot, Christopher Dunning & Patrik Brundin

  2. Center for Neurodegenerative Science, Van Andel Research Institute, 333 Bostwick Avenue NE, Grand Rapids, MI, 49503, USA

    Jennifer A. Steiner & Patrik Brundin

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  1. Nolwen L. Rey
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  2. Elodie Angot
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  3. Christopher Dunning
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  4. Jennifer A. Steiner
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  5. Patrik Brundin
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Correspondence to Nolwen L. Rey or Patrik Brundin .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. , Dept. Cellular Neurology, University of Tübingen, Otfried-Mueller-Str. 27, Tübingen, 72076, Germany

    Mathias Jucker

  2. Fondation IPSEN, Quai Georges Gorse 65, Boulogne-Billancourt Cedex, 92650, France

    Yves Christen

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Rey, N.L., Angot, E., Dunning, C., Steiner, J.A., Brundin, P. (2013). Accumulating Evidence Suggests that Parkinson’s Disease Is a Prion-Like Disorder. In: Jucker, M., Christen, Y. (eds) Proteopathic Seeds and Neurodegenerative Diseases. Research and Perspectives in Alzheimer's Disease. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-35491-5_8

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