Abstract
Introduction: Parkinson’s disease is characterized by non-motor/motor dysfunction midbrain neuronal death and α-synuclein deposits. The accepted hypothesis is that unknown environmental factors induce α-synuclein accumulation in the brain via the enteric nervous system. Material and Methods: Monoclonal antibodies made against recombinant α-synuclein protein or α-synuclein epitope 118–123 were applied to the antigens of 180 frequently consumed food products. The specificity of those antibody-antigen reactions was confirmed by serial dilution and inhibition studies. The Basic Local Alignment Search Tool sequence matching program was used for sequence homologies. Results: While the antibody made against recombinant α-synuclein reacted significantly with 86/180 specific food antigens, the antibody made against α-synuclein epitope 118–123 reacted with only 32/180 tested food antigens. The food proteins with the greatest number of peptides that matched with α-synuclein were yeast, soybean, latex hevein, wheat germ agglutinin, potato, peanut, bean agglutinin, pea lectin, shrimp, bromelain, and lentil lectin. Conclusions: The cross-reactivity and sequence homology between α-synuclein and frequently consumed foods, reinforces the autoimmune aspect of Parkinson’s disease. It is hypothesized that luminal food peptides that share cross-reactive epitopes with human α-synuclein and have molecular similarity with brain antigens are involved in the synucleinopathy. The findings deserve further confirmation by extensive research.
Highlights
Parkinson’s disease is characterized by non-motor/motor dysfunction midbrain neuronal death and α-synuclein deposits
Nutrients impact the human microbiome, prokaryotic constituents or their mobilome could penetrate the defense mechanisms and impact human health [5,6] If everything works perfectly, the resulting anti-food antibodies are directed to neutralize the foreign protein by forming a complex that will be eliminated by the cellular immune cells
Based on earlier studies about the cross reactivity of food components and human tissue antigens [7,45,46,47,48,49], the present study explored the reactivity of acid residues with α-synuclein (aSN) antibody with 180 different commonly used food products
Summary
Parkinson’s disease is characterized by non-motor/motor dysfunction midbrain neuronal death and α-synuclein deposits. Material and Methods: Monoclonal antibodies made against recombinant α-synuclein protein or α-synuclein epitope 118–123 were applied to the antigens of 180 frequently consumed food products. The specificity of those antibody-antigen reactions was confirmed by serial dilution and inhibition studies. Conclusions: The cross-reactivity and sequence homology between α-synuclein and frequently consumed foods, reinforces the autoimmune aspect of Parkinson’s disease. It is hypothesized that luminal food peptides that share cross-reactive epitopes with human α-synuclein and have molecular similarity with brain antigens are involved in the synucleinopathy. Nutrients impact the human microbiome, prokaryotic constituents or their mobilome could penetrate the defense mechanisms and impact human health [5,6] If everything works perfectly, the resulting anti-food antibodies are directed to neutralize the foreign protein by forming a complex that will be eliminated by the cellular immune cells
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