Objective: We aimed to explore whether there were different distributions of α-synuclein at a genetic and/or protein level in patients with iRBD.
Background: α-Synuclein has been related to the pathogenesis of Parkinson’s disease (PD), but it has not been investigated in idiopathic rapid eye movement sleep behavior disorder (iRBD).
Method: We included 30 patients with iRBD, 30 patients with PD, and 30 age- and sex-matched healthy controls (HCs) in this study. The SNCA methylation and mRNA levels were determined using bisulfite sequencing and quantitative reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction. The plasma levels of exosome α-synuclein were measured using Meso Scale Discovery.
Results: Compared with HCs, SNCA methylation was significantly decreased in both the iRBD (p=0.011) and PD groups (p<0.001). However, plasma exosomal α-synuclein levels were only elevated in patients with PD compared to those in HCs (p=0.027), and were associated with the SNCA methylation only in the PD group (p=0.030, r=-0.397).
Conclusion: SNCA hypomethylation in leukocytes existed both in patients with iRBD and those with PD, indicating that SNCA methylation could be a potential biomarker for early PD diagnosis.
To cite this abstract in AMA style:
A. Zhao, Y. Li, M. Niu, G. Li, L. Zhou, N. Luo, W. Kang, J. Liu. SNCA hypomethylation in rapid eye movement sleep behavior disorder is a potential biomarker for Parkinson’s disease [abstract]. Mov Disord. 2020; 35 (suppl 1). https://www.mdsabstracts.org/abstract/snca-hypomethylation-in-rapid-eye-movement-sleep-behavior-disorder-is-a-potential-biomarker-for-parkinsons-disease/. Accessed June 15, 2025.« Back to MDS Virtual Congress 2020
MDS Abstracts - https://www.mdsabstracts.org/abstract/snca-hypomethylation-in-rapid-eye-movement-sleep-behavior-disorder-is-a-potential-biomarker-for-parkinsons-disease/