Characterization of Lewy body pathology in 12‐ and 16‐year‐old intrastriatal mesencephalic grafts surviving in a patient with Parkinson's disease |
| |
Authors: | Jia‐Yi Li MD PhD Elisabet Englund MD Håkan Widner MD PhD Stig Rehncrona MD Anders Björklund MD Olle Lindvall MD PhD Patrik Brundin MD PhD |
| |
Affiliation: | 1. Neuronal Survival Unit, Wallenberg Neuroscience Center, Lund University, Lund, Sweden;2. Department of Neuropathology, Lund University, Lund, Sweden;3. Division of Neurology, Department of Clinical Sciences, Lund University, Lund, Sweden;4. Neurosurgery, Department of Clinical Sciences, Lund University, Lund, Sweden;5. Neurobiology Unit, Wallenberg Neuroscience Center, Lund University, Lund, Sweden;6. Section of Restorative Neurology, Wallenberg Neuroscience Center, Lund University, Lund, Sweden;7. The last two authors contributed equally to this work. |
| |
Abstract: | We previously reported the occurrence of Lewy bodies in grafted human fetal mesencephalic neurons in two patients with Parkinson's disease. Here, we have used immunohistochemistry and electron microscopy to characterize the development of Lewy bodies in one of these cases. This patient was operated in putamen on both sides at 12 or 16 years before death, respectively. We demonstrate that 2% of the 12‐year‐old and 5% of the 16‐year‐old grafted, presumed dopaminergic neurons contained Lewy bodies immunoreactive for α‐synuclein. Based on morphological analysis, two forms of α‐synuclein‐positive aggregates were distinguished in the grafts, the first a classical and compact Lewy body, the other a loose meshwork aggregate. Lewy bodies in the grafts stained positively for ubiquitin and thioflavin‐S, and contained characteristic α‐synuclein immunoreactive electron dense fibrillar structures on electron microscopy. Our data indicate that Lewy bodies develop gradually in transplanted dopaminergic neurons in a fashion similar to that in dopaminergic neurons in the host substantia nigra. © 2010 Movement Disorder Society |
| |
Keywords: | neural transplantation Lewy body protein aggregation α ‐synuclein transmissible neurological disease |
|
|