Summary
The substantia nigra (SN) in 11 Parkinson's disease (PD) patients and 5 neurologically normal controls was examined immunohistochemically using antibodies to various proteins of the complement system. In PD, but not in control SN, intra-and extraneuronal Lewy bodies and dendritic spheroid bodies were stained with anti-human C3d, C4d, C7 and C9 antibodies, but not with antibodies to C1q, fraction Bb of factor B or properdin. Axonal spheroid bodies in the nigrostriatal tract were not stained by any of the complement antibodies. However, complement-activated oligodendroglia were revealed by anti-C3d and anti-C4d antibodies in the PD substantia nigral area. These data indicate that some pathological structures in PD activate the classical complement pathway.
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Supported by grants from the Medical Research Council of Canada and the Parkinson's Disease Foundation of Canada, as well as donations from individual British Columbians.
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Yamada, T., McGeer, P.L. & McGeer, E.G. Lewy bodies in Parkinson's disease are recognized by antibodies to complement proteins. Acta Neuropathol 84, 100–104 (1992). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00427222
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00427222