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A review of the current research on in vivo and in vitro detection for alpha-synuclein: a biomarker of Parkinson’s disease

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Abstract

Parkinson’s disease is a health-threatening neurodegenerative disease of the elderly with clinical manifestations of motor and non-motor deficits such as tremor palsy and loss of smell. Alpha-synuclein (α-Syn) is the pathological basis of PD, it can abnormally aggregate into insoluble forms such as oligomers, fibrils, and plaques, causing degeneration of nigrostriatal dopaminergic neurons in the substantia nigra in the patient’s brain and the formation of Lewy bodies (LBs) and Lewy neuritis (LN) inclusions. As a result, achieving α-Syn aggregate detection in the early stages of PD can effectively stop or delay the progression of the disease. In this paper, we provide a brief overview and analysis of the molecular structures and α-Syn in vivo and in vitro detection methods, such as mass spectrometry, antigen–antibody recognition, electrochemical sensors, and imaging techniques, intending to provide more technological support for detecting α-Syn early in the disease and intervening in the progression of Parkinson’s disease.

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Acknowledgements

We thank Prof. Yanjun Zhang, Prof. Pengwei Zhuang, and Associate Prof. Hong Guo for their valuable comments and suggestions on this manuscript.

Funding

This study has been partially funded by the Tianjin Science and Technology Planning Project (21JCQNJC01350) and co-funded by the Tianjin University of Traditional Chinese Medicine Scientific Research Support Project and Tianjin University of Traditional Chinese Medicine twelfth College Students Science and Technology Innovation Fund (ZR19). The funders had no role in the study design or decision to publish this article.

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  1. Rui Wang and Shu-chao Pang contributed equally to this work and should be considered co-first authors.

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  1. First Teaching Hospital of Tianjin University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, National Clinical Research Center for Chinese Medicine Acupuncture and Moxibustion, Tianjin, 300381, China

    Rui Wang & Shu-chao Pang

  2. College of Chinese Materia Medica, Tianjin University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Tianjin, 301617, China

    Rui Wang, Jing-ya Li, Chan-lian Li, Jun-miao Liu, Yu-ming Wang, Mei-ling Chen & Yu-bo Li

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Dr. Mei-ling Chen and Dr. Yu-bo Li conceived the idea. Rui Wang, Jing-ya Li, Chan-lian Li, and Jun-miao Liu completed the work of literature retrieval. Dr. Shun-chao Pang and Rui Wang provided written input on the scientific content of drafts. Dr. Mei-ling Chen, Rui Wang, and Yu-ming Wang revised the manuscript and approved the final draft for submission. All authors approved the final version of the manuscript.

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Wang, R., Pang, Sc., Li, Jy. et al. A review of the current research on in vivo and in vitro detection for alpha-synuclein: a biomarker of Parkinson’s disease. Anal Bioanal Chem 415, 1589–1605 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00216-023-04520-1

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