Serum Oligomeric α-Synuclein and p-tau181 in Progressive Supranuclear Palsy and Parkinson's Disease

Abstract

Clinical differentiation of progressive supranuclear palsy (PSP) from Parkinson's disease (PD) is challenging due to overlapping phenotypes and the late onset of specific atypical signs. Therefore, easily assessable diagnostic biomarkers are highly needed. Since PD is a synucleopathy while PSP is a tauopathy, here, we investigated the clinical usefulness of serum oligomeric-α-synuclein (o-α-synuclein) and 181Thr-phosphorylated tau (p-tau181), which are considered as the most important pathological protein forms in distinguishing between these two parkinsonisms. We assessed serum o-α-synuclein and p-tau181 by ELISA and SIMOA, respectively, in 27 PSP patients, 43 PD patients, and 39 healthy controls (HC). Moreover, we evaluated the correlation between serum biomarkers and biological and clinical features of these subjects. We did not find any difference in serum concentrations of p-tau181 and o-α-synuclein nor in the o-α-synuclein/p-tau181 ratio between groups. However, we observed that serum p-tau181 positively correlated with age in HC and PD, while serum o-α-synuclein correlated positively with disease severity in PD and negatively with age in PSP. Finally, the o-α-synuclein/p-tau181 ratio showed a negative correlation with age in PD.

Keywords: Parkinson’s disease; oligomeric α-synuclein; p-tau181; progressive supranuclear palsy.

Figure 1

Serum concentration of o-α-synuclein (A) and p-tau181 (B) as well as the o-α-synuclein/p-tau181 ratio (C) in PSP patients (n = 27), PD patients (n = 43), and HCs (n = 39). Data are summarized as box plots, in which the lower, upper, and middle lines of the boxes represent the 25th percentile, 75th percentile, and median, respectively, while the limits of vertical lines indicate ranges. Shown p-values were obtained by a Kruskal–Wallis test followed by Bonferroni’s correction. o-α-synuclein = oligomeric α-synuclein; p-tau181 = 181Thr-phosphorylated tau; PSP = progressive supranuclear palsy; PD = Parkinson’s disease; HC = healthy control.