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Vesicular monoamine transporter 2 mRNA levels are reduced in platelets from patients with Parkinson’s disease

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Abstract

Despite advances in neuroimaging, the diagnosis of idiopathic Parkinson’s disease (PD) remains clinical. The identification of biological markers for an early diagnosis is of great interest to start a neuroprotective therapy aimed at slowing, blocking or reversing the disease progression. Vesicular monoamine transporter 2 (VMAT2) sequesters cytoplasmic dopamine into synaptic vesicles for storage and release. Thus, VMAT2 impairment can regulate intra- and extracellular dopamine levels, influencing oxidative stress and neuronal death. Because in vivo imaging studies have demonstrated a VMAT2 reduction in PD patients greater than would be explained by neuronal loss alone, as an exploratory study we assessed VMAT2 mRNA and protein levels in platelets from 39 PD patients, 39 healthy subjects and 10 patients with vascular parkinsonism (VP) to identify a possible peripheral biomarker for PD. A significant reduction (p < 0.05) of VMAT2 mRNA levels was demonstrated in PD patients versus healthy controls. Patients with VP showed VMAT2 mRNA levels similar to controls. No difference in VMAT2 mRNA levels was found in untreated versus treated patients. No correlation was observed between mRNA levels and demographic or clinical characteristics. Furthermore, eight SNPs tagging the VMAT2 gene did not show effects on VMAT2 mRNA levels. Western blot analysis did not allow the quantification of VMAT2 protein expression in blood platelets. Although further studies in a greater number of cases are needed to confirm our data, the reduction in VMAT2 mRNA in platelets from PD patients suggests the existence of a systemic impairment of this transporter possibly contributing to PD pathology.

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Acknowledgments

This study was supported by Ministero del Lavoro, della Salute e delle Politiche Sociali, Programma Strategico 2007—Convenzione n. 97.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Neuroscience and Biomedical Technologies, University of Milano-Bicocca, via Cadore, 48, 20052, Monza (MI), Italy

    Gessica Sala, Enrico Saracchi, Silvia Fermi, Chiara Riva, Veronica Carrozza, Marta Pirovano & Carlo Ferrarese

  2. Department of Neurology, San Gerardo Hospital, Monza, Italy

    Laura Brighina, Enrico Saracchi, Silvia Fermi, Marta Pirovano & Carlo Ferrarese

  3. Scientific Institute Eugenio Medea, Bosisio Parini, Italy

    Carlo Ferrarese

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  1. Gessica Sala
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  2. Laura Brighina
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  3. Enrico Saracchi
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  4. Silvia Fermi
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  5. Chiara Riva
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  8. Carlo Ferrarese
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Correspondence to Gessica Sala.

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Sala, G., Brighina, L., Saracchi, E. et al. Vesicular monoamine transporter 2 mRNA levels are reduced in platelets from patients with Parkinson’s disease. J Neural Transm 117, 1093–1098 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00702-010-0446-z

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00702-010-0446-z

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