Episode 27: The Development and Application of the Alpha-Synuclein Seed Amplification Assay with Claudio Soto

Dr. Claudio Soto discusses his work in this area and how it has opened the doors for a variety of potential uses of the alpha-synuclein seed amplification assay.

Experimental blood test may detect Parkinson’s before symptom onset

An experimental blood test measuring levels of alpha-synuclein, a Parkinson's biomarker, may help detect the disease before tell-tale symptoms appear.

Desulfovibrio bacteria enhance alpha-synuclein aggregation in a Caenorhabditis elegans model of Parkinson’s disease

IntroductionThe aggregation of the neuronal protein alpha-synuclein (alpha-syn) is a key feature in the pathology of Parkinson’s disease (PD). Alpha-syn aggregation has been suggested to be induced in the gut cells by pathogenic gut microbes such as Desulfovibrio bacteria, which has been shown to be associated with PD. This study aimed to investigate whether Desulfovibrio bacteria induce alpha-syn aggregation.MethodsFecal samples of ten PD patients and their healthy spouses were collected for molecular detection of Desulfovibrio species, followed by bacterial isolation. Isolated Desulfovibrio strains were used as diets to feed Caenorhabditis elegans nematodes which overexpress human alpha-syn fused with yellow fluorescence protein. Curli-producing Escherichia coli MC4100, which has been shown to facilitate alpha-syn aggregation in animal models, was used as a control bacterial strain, and E. coli LSR11, incapable of producing curli, was used as another control strain. The head sections of the worms were imaged using confocal microscopy. We also performed survival assay to determine the effect of Desulfovibrio bacteria on the survival of the nematodes.Results and DiscussionStatistical analysis revealed that worms fed Desulfovibrio bacteria from PD patients harbored significantly more (P<0.001, Kruskal-Wallis and Mann-Whitney U test) and larger alpha-syn aggregates (P<0.001) than worms fed Desulfovibrio bacteria from healthy individuals or worms fed E. coli strains. In addit...

Neuer Test erkennt Parkinson vor dem Ausbruch

Potenzieller Durchbruch: Dank eines neuen Tests könnte Parkinson künftig schon vor dem Auftreten der typischen Symptome diagnostiziert werden. Möglich

Long COVID resembles similar historic post-viral afflictions

Long COVID isn't novel: other viruses in history have had similar “long” arcs — with devastating repercussions

New SNCA mutation and structures of α-synuclein filaments from juvenile-onset synucleinopathy

Yves Zenger on Twitter

“Betrifft auch Anwohner:innen. #Pestizide #AlphaSynuclein #Parkinson @LebenstattGift @2xJa_LSG_TWI https://t.co/wxBumgXoyi”