Home
Resources
Publications
The Vermiform Appendix Impacts the Risk of Developing Parkinson's Disease

The Vermiform Appendix Impacts the Risk of Developing Parkinson's Disease

Bryan A Killinger, Zachary Madaj, Jacek W Sikora, Nolwen Rey, Alec J Haas, Yamini Vepa, Daniel Lindqvist, Honglei Chen, Paul M Thomas, Patrik Brundin, Lena Brundin, Viviane Labrie

Sci Transl Med. 2018 Oct 31;10(465):eaar5280.

PMID: 30381408

Abstract:

The pathogenesis of Parkinson's disease (PD) involves the accumulation of aggregated α-synuclein, which has been suggested to begin in the gastrointestinal tract. Here, we determined the capacity of the appendix to modify PD risk and influence pathogenesis. In two independent epidemiological datasets, involving more than 1.6 million individuals and over 91 million person-years, we observed that removal of the appendix decades before PD onset was associated with a lower risk for PD, particularly for individuals living in rural areas, and delayed the age of PD onset. We also found that the healthy human appendix contained intraneuronal α-synuclein aggregates and an abundance of PD pathology-associated α-synuclein truncation products that are known to accumulate in Lewy bodies, the pathological hallmark of PD. Lysates of human appendix tissue induced the rapid cleavage and oligomerization of full-length recombinant α-synuclein. Together, we propose that the normal human appendix contains pathogenic forms of α-synuclein that affect the risk of developing PD.

Chemicals Related in the Paper:

Catalog Number	Product Name	Structure	CAS Number	Price
IAR4248207	α-Synuclein human			Price

As a specialist in analytical chemical Products, Alfa Chemistry offers consumers a wealth of raw materials and a full range of technologies and services.

QUICK LINKS

HEADQUARTERS

Tel:

Fax:

Email: