Objective: With next-generation sequencing, we want to get a comprehensive characterization of circulating leukocyte in patients with PD, to interrogate the shared molecular processes perturbed in leukocytes in different exercise modalities.

Background: Parkinson’s disease (PD) is a common neurodegenerative disease with movement and balance impairments. Exercise, including tai chi and a multi-modal exercise (MET), has been shown that it could optimize independence and well-being, thereby enhancing quality of life in patients with PD. Despite extensive effort on studying inflammatory processes in CNS in patients with PD, implications of exercise on peripheral leukocytes are still poorly understood.

Methods: We performed a transcriptome-wide scan in 21 patients with PD before and after two different exercise modalities and it is further validated in a second cohort with 19 patients. Function enrichment analysis for differentially expressed genes (DEGs), including GO analysis and KEGG pathway analysis, was performed by DAVID. DEGs were also applied to weighted gene co-expression network analysis (WGCNA). In addition, cytokine levels of IL6, IL2R and TNF were measured to determine the state of peripheral immune system from PD patients before and after the disease.

Results: Significant differences are observed on UPDRS III (p<0.05), stride length (p<0.05), gait velocity (p<0.05), TUG (p<0.05) and BBS (p<0.05) after exercise in both cohorts. Using RNA-seq sequencing, 1873 DEGs are obtained while 1456 DEGs higher expression levels before exercise and 417 DEGs higher expression levels after exercise. Function enrichment analysis and WGCNAs both highlighted that T cell receptor signaling pathway was the most effected after exercise. We noted that FOS, which have been is thought to be associated with PD, was among the most effected genes. Out study also showed that patients might have higher TNF in their serum after exercise.

Conclusions: Movement rehabilitation (tai chi and MET) could improvement movement and balance function in patients with PD. Patients with PD have different gene signature before and after exercise, while exercise might reversing the abnormal immunity in patients with PD.

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MDS Abstracts - https://www.mdsabstracts.org/abstract/transcriptional-profile-of-blood-leukocyte-in-parkinsons-disease-patients-after-multi-modal-exercise-and-tai-chi-training/