Eryptosis as a marker of Parkinson's disease

TLDR

Parkinson’s disease research increasingly seeks biomarkers, with inflammation recognized as a hallmark and key signaling molecules implicated in both PD pathophysiology and coagulation abnormalities. The study investigates how aberrant inflammatory signaling molecules in Parkinson’s disease may influence erythrocytes, using a systems approach to test this hypothesis. The authors analyze the roles of cyclooxygenases, prostaglandins, thromboxanes, and iron in Parkinson’s disease, applying a systems biology framework to explore their impact on erythrocyte function. RBCs from Parkinson’s patients display pronounced eryptosis and altered morphology compared to healthy controls, suggesting this change could serve as a diagnostic and prognostic marker.

Abstract

A major trend in recent Parkinson's disease (PD) research is the investigation of biological markers that could help in identifying at-risk individuals or to track disease progression and response to therapies. Central to this is the knowledge that inflammation is a known hallmark of PD and of many other degenerative diseases. In the current work, we focus on inflammatory signalling in PD, using a systems approach that allows us to look at the disease in a more holistic way. We discuss cyclooxygenases, prostaglandins, thromboxanes and also iron in PD. These particular signalling molecules are involved in PD pathophysiology, but are also very important in an aberrant coagulation/hematology system. We present and discuss a hypothesis regarding the possible interaction of these aberrant signalling molecules implicated in PD, and suggest that these molecules may affect the erythrocytes of PD patients. This would be observable as changes in the morphology of the RBCs and of PD patients relative to healthy controls. We then show that the RBCs of PD patients are indeed rather dramatically deranged in their morphology, exhibiting eryptosis (a kind of programmed cell death). This morphological indicator may have useful diagnostic and prognostic significance.