Highlights
- •Both a-synuclein and tau pathology in fetal transplanted tissue in a Parkinson's disease patient.
- •One theory is that α-synuclein and tau pathology spread from host to graft in a neuron-neuron manner.
- •Alternatively host environment could cause native graft proteins to become phosphorylated.
Abstract
Introduction
Transplant of fetal ventral mesencephalic tissue into the striatum of Parkinson's
disease (PD) patients has been performed to increase dopamine production and stimulate
neuronal regeneration. Analysis of fetal graft tissue at autopsy has demonstrated
6 cases of α-synuclein pathology in PD patients, one case with both α-synuclein and
tau pathology in a PD patient, and two cases of tau pathology within a Huntington's
Disease patient.
Methods
A 49 year old man with PD underwent bilateral fetal ventral mesencephalic cell transplants
into the striatum. Autopsy at age 70 included immunohistochemical staining of host
and graft tissue with antibodies to phosphorylated α-synuclein and phosphorylated
tau protein.
Results
Autopsy confirmed the diagnosis of PD. Immunohistochemical staining of graft tissue
demonstrated frequent neuronal perikaryal inclusions of phosphorylated α -synuclein
and tau in the left graft only.
Conclusion
Speculations on the formation of pathology include: 1) α-synuclein and tau pathology
spread from host to the graft in a neuron-neuron manner. 2) The nature of the fetal
cells themselves, or transplantation process, may render fetal tissue more susceptible
to the spontaneous generation of pathology. 3) Factors within host environment caused
native tau and α-synuclein in fetal tissue graft to become phosphorylated.
Keywords
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Article info
Publication history
Published online: January 10, 2020
Accepted:
December 23,
2019
Received in revised form:
December 21,
2019
Received:
March 13,
2019
Identification
Copyright
© 2020 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
