Familial Parkinson's disease (PD) has been linked to point mutations and duplication of the α-synuclein (α-syn) gene. Mutant α-syn expression increases the vulnerability of neurons to exogenous insults. In this study, we developed a new PD model in the transgenic mice expressing mutant hemizygous (hemi) or homozygous (homo) A53T α-synuclein (α-syn Tg) and their wildtype (WT) littermates by trea...

α-Synuclein (α-syn) is a synaptic protein in which four mutations (A53T, A30P, E46K and gene triplication) have been found to cause an autosomal dominant form of Parkinson's disease (PD). It is also the major component of intraneuronal protein aggregates, designated as Lewy bodies (LBs), a prominent pathological hallmark of PD. How α-syn contributes to LB formation and PD is still not well-unde...

Accumulation of α‑synuclein (α‑SYN) is a common pathology for Parkinson's disease (PD). There is abundant evidence that the toxic‑gain‑of‑function of α‑SYN's is associated with aggregation and consequent effects. To assess the potential of chondroitin sulfate (CS) in this regard, the present study investigated its neuroprotective on SH‑SY5Y cells overexpressing wild‑type (WT) or A53T mutant α‑S...

R-(-)-β-O-methylsynephrine (OMe-Syn) is a naturally occurring small molecule that was identified in a previous screen as an inhibitor of angiogenesis. In this study, we conducted two animal model experiments to investigate the in vivo antiangiogenic activity of OMe-Syn. OMe-Syn significantly inhibited angiogenesis in a transgenic zebrafish model as well as in a mouse retinopathy model. To eluci...

OBJECTIVE Progressive accumulation of α-synuclein (α-syn) has been associated with Parkinson's disease (PD) and Dementia with Lewy body (DLB). The mechanisms through which α-syn leads to neurodegeneration are not completely clear; however, the formation of various oligomeric species have been proposed to play a role. Antibody therapy has shown effectiveness at reducing α-syn accumulation in the...

Many lines of evidence suggest that the Parkinson's disease (PD)-related protein α-synuclein (α-SYN) can propagate from cell to cell in a prion-like manner. However, the cellular mechanisms behind the spreading remain elusive. Here, we show that human astrocytes derived from embryonic stem cells actively transfer aggregated α-SYN to nearby astrocytes via direct contact and tunneling nanotubes (...

The misfolding and aggregation of specific proteins are a common neuropathological hallmark of many neurodegenerative disorders including Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, Huntington’s, and prion diseases [39]. Parkinson’s disease (PD), a neurodegenerative disorder related to aging, is characterized by intracellular deposits of aggregated α-synuclein (α-syn) known as Lewy bodies and Lewy neurites [12]....

The types of thirty-two nominal weevil species described by Johann Christian Fabricius are reviewed and lecto- and paralectotypes are designated for twenty-two of them. A neotype is designated for Curculiosticticus Fabricius, 1777. Protapionvaripes (Germar, 1817) is declared a nomen protectum over Curculioflavipes Fabricius, 1775. Based on a study of syntypes, Rhinomacercurculioides Fabricius, ...

A taxonomic review of 23 species of the subgenus Pseudoophonus Motschulsky, 1844, the genus Harpalus Latreille, 1802, occurring in China is given, and a key to these species is provided. The species are divided in three species groups and five subgroups, the distinctive characters of which are listed. The following new synonyms are established: Harpalus calceatus Duftschmid, 1812 = Anisodactylu...