Lewy pathology in Parkinson’s disease consists of crowded organelles and lipid membranes

A peek inside Parkinson’s brain clumps

28 November 2019

A study of brain tissue from people with Parkinson’s disease, the most common age-related movement disorder, has challenged long-held assumptions about what is inside abnormal brain deposits known as Lewy bodies.

Using cutting-edge imaging techniques, a team co-led by Roche scientists discovered that Lewy bodies consist mostly of membrane fragments, fat-like substances and other debris from cellular organelles — not from fibrous sheets of the protein α-synuclein, as commonly believed.

Although the researchers saw some α-synuclein mixed in among the membranous gunk of the neuronal aggregates, the findings call into question the role of this pathogenic protein in forming Lewy bodies and contributing to neurodegeneration.

A better understanding of how α-synuclein and distorted organelles contribute to Lewy body development could point to new drug targets for Parkinson’s and related diseases.

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References

1. Nature Neuroscience 22, 1099–1109 (2019). doi: 10.1038/s41593-019-0423-2