Immune Proﬁling of Parkinson’s Disease Revealed Its Association With a Subset of Inﬁltrating Cells and Signature Genes

Front. Aging Neurosci., 2021 · DOI: 10.3389/fnagi.2021.605970 · Published: February 9, 2021

Simple Explanation

Parkinson's disease (PD) is a common neurodegenerative disorder, and recent studies suggest that immune cells from the body can enter the brain, causing inflammation and nerve damage. This research aims to understand the types of immune cells and genes involved in this process in PD patients. The study used data from public databases to analyze the immune cell makeup in brain tissue samples from PD patients and healthy individuals. It found that certain immune cells, particularly mast cells, were more prevalent in PD patients. Additionally, two genes, RBM3 and AGTR1, were identified as being linked to mast cells and PD. The identification of mast cells and the RBM3 and AGTR1 genes as key players in the immune response in PD could lead to new therapeutic targets for the disease.

Study Duration

Not specified

Participants

41 PD patients and 25 HCs in internal cohort; 14 PD patients and 14 HCs in external cohort

Evidence Level

Not specified

Key Findings

1
The study identified 10 types of immune cells with significantly different infiltration levels between PD patients and healthy controls, including activated B cells, CD56 bright natural killer cells, and mast cells.
2
Mast cells were found to be the immune cells most strongly associated with the occurrence of PD.
3
Two genes, RBM3 and AGTR1, were identified as being associated with mast cells and the occurrence of PD, with their expression levels being significantly downregulated in PD patients.

Research Summary

This study investigated the role of immune cell infiltration in Parkinson's disease (PD) by analyzing transcriptomic datasets from the substantia nigra of PD patients and healthy controls. The study identified mast cells as the key immunocyte associated with PD and found that RBM3 and AGTR1 were potential signature genes related to the occurrence of PD. The findings suggest that targeting mast cells and modulating the expression of RBM3 and AGTR1 could be potential therapeutic strategies for PD.

Practical Implications

Therapeutic Targets

Mast cells, RBM3, and AGTR1 are potential therapeutic targets for Parkinson's disease.

Diagnostic Markers

RBM3 and AGTR1 may serve as diagnostic markers for PD.

Immunotherapy

The study enhances our understanding of immune cell infiltration heterogeneity and complexity, which may aid in the development of immunotherapy for PD.

Study Limitations

1
The method combined with metagenes and ssGSEA could not accurately identify immune cell subtypes from bulk RNA-Seq data.
2
Lack of correlations between immune infiltration and clinical symptoms due to the lack of complete clinical information in the included datasets.
3
The number of samples in the present study was not large enough, which required further real-world studies to verify the current results.

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