Gut macrophages and Parkinson’s disease – Immunology Research

To explore this, the authors compared the onset of αS pathology in the ENS and CNS in the 3KL αS transgenic mouse model of PD. 3KL mice show key features of PD by 8 months of age, including accumulation of pathological αS (S129p⁺; phosphorylated at Ser129) in the brain, selective neuronal loss and motor dysfunction. In the intestinal duodenum, there were significantly increased levels of S129p⁺ αS surrounding enteric neurons in the myenteric plexus of the muscularis externa (ME) of 3-month-old 3KL mice compared with wild-type mice. Gut transit times were also increased in the 3KL mice, which suggests impaired ENS function and constipation. There was no evidence of neuronal death in the 3KL mice, but increased expression of proteins related to autophagy and lysosomal biology.