Distribution of oxidized DJ-1 in Parkinson's disease-related sites in the brain and in the peripheral tissues: effects of aging and a neurotoxin.

DJ-1 plays an important role in antioxidant defenses, and a reactive cysteine at position 106 (Cys106) of DJ-1, a critical residue of its biological function, is oxidized under oxidative stress. DJ-1 oxidation has been reported in patients with Parkinson's disease (PD), but the relationship between DJ-1 oxidation and PD is still unclear. In the present study using specific antibody for Cys106-oxidized DJ-1 (oxDJ-1), we analyzed oxDJ-1 levels in the brain and peripheral tissues in young and aged mice and in a mouse model of PD induced using 1-methyl-4-phenyl-1,2,3,6-tetrahydropyridine (MPTP).