In Parkinson disease (PD) brain, a progressive loss of dopaminergic neurons leads to
dopamine depletion in the striatum and reduced motor function. Lewy bodies, the
characteristic neuropathological lesions found in the brain of PD patients, are composed
mainly of α-synuclein protein. Three point mutations in the α-synuclein gene are associated
with familial PD. In addition, genome-wide association studies indicate that α-synuclein and
Tau protein synergistically increase disease susceptibility in the human population. To …