Detection of Phosphorylated Alpha-Synuclein in the Muscularis Propria of the Gastrointestinal Tract Is a Sensitive Predictor for Parkinson’s Disease

Figure 1

Immunohistochemical analyses of control patients. Immunohistochemistry for α-synuclein (αSyn) (a, d, g, i), phosphorylated α-synuclein (pαSyn) (b, e, h), and PGP9.5 (c, f). (a–c) Sections of the stomach of patient C1; (d–f) sections of the colon of patient C3; (g, h) sections of the colon of patient C13; (i) sections of the stomach of patient C6. (a–f) Serial sections. Black circles indicate the myenteric plexus (a–c) and submucosal plexus (d–f). MP, muscularis propria; SM, submucosa. Accumulations of αSyn are observed in gastric myenteric plexus (a), intramuscular nerve fibers (small arrows in (d)), and colonic submucosal plexus (arrow in (g)), but not observed in the mucosa (i). Depositions of pαSyn are visible neither in the gastric myenteric plexus (b) nor in the colonic submucosal plexus ((e) and arrowhead in (h)). Components of the enteric nervous systems are visualized with PGP9.5 (c, f). Scale bar: 50 μm (a–c, h, i), 100 μm (d–f), and 20 μm (g).

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