Department of Neurology, University Medical Center, Göttingen, Germany.
Cluster of Excellence Nanoscale Microscopy and Molecular Physiology of the Brain (CNMPB), Göttingen, Germany.
Sci Rep. 2020 May 22;10(1):8507. doi: 10.1038/s41598-020-65503-1.
The objective of the study was to estimate if altered levels of alpha-synuclein can be detected in tear fluid of patients with Parkinson's disease (PD). Therefore, tear fluid samples of 75 PD patients, 75 control subjects and 31 atypical Parkinsonian patients were collected and analyzed in triplicates using an ultra-sensitive single molecule array (SIMOA) system and applying a human alpha-synuclein immunoassay. In PD, levels of total soluble alpha-synuclein were significantly increased compared to control subjects (p = 0.03; AUC PD vs. controls 0.60). There was no difference comparing PD patients stratified by Hoehn & Yahr stages and atypical Parkinsonian syndromes stratified by tauopathies and non-PD-synucleinopathies against each other (p > 0.05). In conclusion, alpha-synuclein can be detected and quantified in tear fluid, revealing small but significant differences in total alpha-synuclein levels between PD and control subjects. Tear fluid can be collected non-invasively and risk-free, therefore presenting a promising source for further biomarker research.
本研究旨在评估帕金森病（PD）患者的泪液中是否存在α-突触核蛋白水平的改变。因此，收集了 75 名 PD 患者、75 名对照者和 31 名非典型帕金森病患者的泪液样本，并使用超灵敏单分子阵列（SIMOA）系统和人α-突触核蛋白免疫分析法进行了三重分析。在 PD 中，总可溶性α-突触核蛋白水平与对照组相比显著增加（p=0.03；PD 与对照组的 AUC 为 0.60）。按 Hoehn 和 Yahr 分期分层的 PD 患者之间以及按 tau 病变和非 PD-突触核蛋白病变分层的非典型帕金森病患者之间无差异（p＞0.05）。总之，α-突触核蛋白可以在泪液中被检测和定量，揭示了 PD 患者和对照组之间总α-突触核蛋白水平的微小但显著差异。泪液可以无创、安全地采集，因此是进一步生物标志物研究的有前途的来源。
