Yu Zhenwei, Liu Genliang, Zheng Yuanchu, Huang Guoshi, Feng Tao
Beijing Neurosurgical Institute, Capital Medical University, Beijing, China.
Department of Neurology, Beijing Tiantan Hospital, Center for Movement Disorders, Capital Medical University, Beijing, China.
Front Neurol. 2023 Aug 24;14:1173074. doi: 10.3389/fneur.2023.1173074. eCollection 2023.
The differentiation between essential tremor (ET) and Parkinson's disease (PD) can be difficult because of the symptom overlaps. Erythrocytes are the major source of peripheral α-synuclein (α-syn), which is the most studied pathological molecular of PD. We have reported that erythrocytic α-syn levels in PD patients are significantly increased compared to those in healthy controls (HCs). However, little is known about the levels of erythrocytic α-syn species in ET patients.
This study includes 15 patients with ET, 64 patients with PD, and 49 age and sex matched HCs. A well-established electrochemiluminescence assay was used to measure the erythrocytic total and aggregated α-syn levels. The receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis was applied to evaluate the diagnostic values of erythrocytic α-syn for ET diagnosis and differentiation. The correlations of erythrocytic α-syn levels with disease durations were tested using Spearman's Rank Correlation analysis.
We found that both erythrocytic total and aggregated α-syn concentrations are significantly increased in PD and ET patients compared to those in HCs. Erythrocytic total α-syn levels are significantly higher in ET patients than those in PD group. Furthermore, the ratios of erythrocytic aggregated to total α-syn levels in ET patients are significantly decreased than those in PD and HC subjects. We also found a significant association of erythrocytic aggregated α-syn levels with the disease duration of ET patients.
Our findings suggest new insight into the changes of erythrocytic total and aggregated α-syn levels as potential biomarkers for ET patients.
由于症状重叠，原发性震颤（ET）和帕金森病（PD）的鉴别可能存在困难。红细胞是外周α-突触核蛋白（α-syn）的主要来源，α-syn是PD研究最多的病理分子。我们曾报道，与健康对照（HCs）相比，PD患者红细胞中的α-syn水平显著升高。然而，关于ET患者红细胞中α-syn种类的水平知之甚少。
本研究纳入15例ET患者、64例PD患者以及49例年龄和性别匹配的HCs。采用成熟的电化学发光分析法测量红细胞中α-syn的总量和聚集量。应用受试者工作特征（ROC）曲线分析评估红细胞α-syn对ET诊断和鉴别的诊断价值。采用Spearman等级相关分析检验红细胞α-syn水平与病程的相关性。
我们发现，与HCs相比，PD和ET患者红细胞中α-syn的总量和聚集量均显著增加。ET患者红细胞中α-syn的总量显著高于PD组。此外，ET患者红细胞中α-syn聚集量与总量的比值显著低于PD患者和HCs。我们还发现ET患者红细胞中α-syn聚集量与病程显著相关。
我们的研究结果为红细胞中α-syn总量和聚集量的变化作为ET患者潜在生物标志物提供了新的见解。
