Prokineticin‐2 Is Highly Expressed in Colonic Mucosa of Early Parkinson's Disease Patients

• Published in: Movement disorders Vol. 39; no. 11; pp. 2091 - 2097
• Main Authors: Bellini, Gabriele, Rettura, Francesco, Palermo, Giovanni, Ippolito, Chiara, Segnani, Cristina, Pierucci, Clarissa, Fontanelli, Lorenzo, Frosini, Daniela, Nardini, Vincenzo, Lambiase, Christian, Bernardini, Nunzia, Pellegrini, Carolina, Ceravolo, Roberto
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Hoboken, USA John Wiley & Sons, Inc 01.11.2024; Wiley Subscription Services, Inc
• Subjects: Aged; Biopsy; Colon - metabolism; Colon - pathology; Dysbacteriosis; Enteric nervous system; Female; Gastrointestinal Hormones - metabolism; Glial cells; Gut-brain axis; gutgut‐brainneuroinflammationParkinson's diseaseprokineticin‐2; Humans; Immunofluorescence; Inflammation; Intestinal Mucosa - metabolism; Intestinal Mucosa - pathology; Macrophages; Macrophages - metabolism; Male; Middle Aged; Movement disorders; Mucosa; Neurodegenerative diseases; Neuroglia - metabolism; Neuroglia - pathology; Neuronal-glial interactions; Neuropeptides - metabolism; Olfactory neurons; Parkinson Disease - metabolism; Parkinson Disease - pathology; Parkinson's disease; Substantia nigra; gutgut‐brainneuroinflammationParkinson's diseaseprokineticin‐2
• ISSN: 0885-3185; 1531-8257; 1531-8257
• DOI: 10.1002/mds.29937

Background Elevated levels of prokineticin‐2 (PK2), regarded as a protein involved in modulating immune/inflammatory responses, have been detected in the substantia nigra, serum, and olfactory neurons of Parkinson's disease (PD) patients. Of note, emerging evidence suggests that gut alterations, including dysbiosis and enteric inflammation, play a role in PD via the gut‐brain axis. Objectives Our goal was to investigate the expression of PK2 in colonic biopsies of PD patients. Methods Mucosal biopsies from the descending colon were obtained in 11 PD patients and five asymptomatic subjects. Biopsy samples were processed for PK2 immunofluorescence and western blot. Results We revealed an increased PK2 expression in colonic mucosa from PD patients in the early stages compared to controls. In addition, we found that PK2 was expressed by activated enteric glial cells and macrophages. Conclusions PK2 is highly expressed within neurogenic/inflammatory cells of colonic mucosa from early PD patients, suggesting a potential role of PK2 in gut inflammation, especially in the early stages of PD. © 2024 International Parkinson and Movement Disorder Society.