DNA Methylation of α-Synuclein Intron 1 Is Significantly Decreased in the Frontal Cortex of Parkinson's Individuals with Mutations.

Parkinson's disease (PD) is a common movement disorder, estimated to affect 4% of individuals by the age of 80. Mutations in the glucocerebrosidase 1 () gene represent the most common genetic risk factor for PD, with at least 7-10% of non-Ashkenazi PD individuals carrying a mutation (PD-). Although similar to idiopathic PD, the clinical presentation of PD- includes a slightly younger age of onset, a higher incidence of neuropsychiatric symptoms, and a tendency to earlier, more prevalent and more significant cognitive impairment. The pathophysiological mechanisms underlying PD- are incompletely understood, but, as in idiopathic PD, α-synuclein accumulation is thought to play a key role. It has been hypothesized that this overexpression of α-synuclein is caused by epigenetic modifications. In this paper, we analyze DNA methylation levels at 17 CpG sites located within intron 1 and the promoter of the α-synuclein () gene in three different brain regions (frontal cortex, putamen and substantia nigra) in idiopathic PD, PD- and elderly non-PD controls. In all three brain regions we find a tendency towards a decrease in DNA methylation within an eight CpG region of intron 1 in both idiopathic PD and PD-. The trend towards a reduction in DNA methylation was more pronounced in PD-, with a significant decrease in the frontal cortex. This suggests that PD- and idiopathic PD have distinct epigenetic profiles, and highlights the importance of separating idiopathic PD and PD- cases. This work also provides initial evidence that different genetic subtypes might exist within PD, each characterized by its own pathological mechanism. This may have important implications for how PD is diagnosed and treated.