In a thrilling find by immunologists at the University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center in Oklahoma City, it has been brought to light about how the protein, α-synuclein (αS), an actual good guy who in the course of the story- as the story gradually unfolds, happens to somehow turn into a dark character.
Alpha synuclein protein has previously been indicted as the cause for Parkinson’s disease. This protein is found in patients of Parkinson’s in the form of toxic clumps in the brain and the nerves of the gut wall. But the question of what the normal function of this molecule could be still remains a mystery.
Well not so much now, thanks to a bunch of immunologists who set out on the path to find answers to this question.
The scientists spent nearly a decade trying to figure out the actual purpose of this protein in our body.
They first collected biopsies of the duodenum of the intestine from 42 children who had abdominal pain, diarrhea, vomiting, and other gastrointestinal symptoms; as duodenum is normally the place where very little of this protein is produced, and kids were chosen as they are highly unlikely to have the Parkinson’s disease
. Upon analyzing, they found that the αS protein was indeed present in the nerves of the inflamed intestine, and the more intensely inflamed the tissue was, all the more αS the team found.This observation further triggered a spectrum of doubts. The scientists next investigated whether the presence of the αS a cause or an effect of the inflammation.
So they now biopsied the intestines of 14 children and 2 adults, who had received intestinal transplants and had later, developed infections with norovirus. The scientists observed an abundance of the proteins during the infection and noticed that the protein presence had significantly increased during and after the infection when compared to the amount prior the infection.
They took the study a step higher and next, decided to study if this alpha synuclein protein was acting as a magnet for inflammatory cells, which are a key part of a normal immune response, using a noninvasive method. They found that these proteins strongly attracted the WBCs and also activated dendritic cells, which led to lasting immunity by presenting bits of foreign invaders to lymphocytes.
Thus, finding out that these proteins indeed are the causes and the effects of inflammation.
Additionally, the team notes that people with multiple copies of the gene that directs the production of αS inevitably develop Parkinson’s disease. In a nutshell, production of αS overwhelms the body’s ability to clear it, and it forms the toxic aggregates that cause Parkinson’s.
“This is an early part of a new emerging understanding of what this molecule potentially does. And I think it’s eventually going to lead us in the correct direction as to what’s going wrong in Parkinson’s disease—and potentially to how can we prevent it.” Says the lead researcher of the study, Michael Zasloff.
