What are Lewey bodies and synuclean - (Mar/23/2006 )

Hi all,

Can any one try to tell about Lewey bodies, Synuclean and their interaction please.....

Thankyou
Usha

The fibrillation and aggregation of α-synuclein is a key process in the formation of ... synuclean, Neurology 51, 887-889. 69.

read that power point too :
http://www1.va.gov/rorc/seminar/Borchelt_A...d_Cognition.pdf

Lewy Bodies are found in the brain cells of Parkinson's disease patients. They are intracellular eosinophilic structures. They are associated with neuronal loss (of pigmented dopaminergic cells from the substantia nigra and of cholinergic cells).

Got a vague recollection that Lewey also refers to recognition units on salycylated glycoproteins involved in cancer biology, blood groups and inflammation. (mm, not sure now, that might be LEWIS). Something to do with lectins? Anyone know?

Hope that helps.

As the other two posts indicated, Lewy bodies are involved in Parkinson's disease, although whether they are innately harmful or an attempted protective response to cellular changes occuring during disease progression is unclear. They are intracytoplasmic, proteinacious, eosinophilic inclusions that include alpha-synuclein and ubiquitin among others.

Hi,

Thankyou very much for your nice responce.

I have a question. How does lewy bodies and Alpha- Synuclean shows affect in Goucher desease

Thankyou
Usha

Gaucher's is a defficiency in glucocerebrosidase which degrades lipids. Patients get fatty brains. Lewey bodies are protein. I don't know how they are related but if you've done the literature search and come up with nothing let's work it up:

Do you know for sure that Lewy bodies do appear in Gauchers? In all Gaucher's patients or only those that also have Parkinsons?

Perhaps the mechanism is that the fatty deposits and Lewy bodies act in a similiar way to serum lipid and apoliproteins (of LDL & HDL fame).

To confirm that we'd need brain material from Gauchers patients & healthy controls. We'd need to confirm that the excess lipid and Lewey bodies are co-located. Probably immunohostochemistry would suffice. We'd also have to characterize the lipids and proteins (HPLC & electrophoresis?).

If the two aren't co-located, is there a transport mechanism between? I'm not sure that I see a phyiological advantage in using energy to separate the two, though.

Anyone else got any ideas. or does someone actually KNOW the answer already?

Alpha-synuclein has a lipid binding domainthrough which it associates to plasma membrane and. It is enriches in presynaptic nerve terminals where it is associated with membrane and vesicles.
Major component of lewy body is a-synculein.

So I guess, in Gaucher's where there is some sort of defective lipid metabolism, could also influence fibrillization of synuclein and eventual Lewy body formation.

But I would like to know if there are Lewy bodies in Gaucher's /