Detection and assessment of alpha-synuclein in Parkinson disease.

Purpose: Different studies have reported varying alpha-synuclein values in the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF), serum, and plasma, making determination of the alpha-synuclein cutoff value for Parkinson's disease difficult and rendering identifying the cause of variation essential.

Method: We searched PubMed from inception to June 2021 and identified 76 eligible studies. Included studies reported data on total, phosphorylated, and oligomeric alpha-synuclein in the CSF, serum, or plasma from individuals with Parkinson's disease and healthy controls. The mean or median alpha-synuclein values from the included studies were summarized and categorized through laboratory assays to visualize potential trends.

Results: The enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) is the most common assay used to determine alpha-synuclein concentrations. Less common assays include Luminex, single molecule arrays, electrochemiluminescence, and immunomagnetic reduction (IMR). IMR is a single-antibody and wash-free immunoassay designed for determining the extremely low concentration of bio-molecules. For patients with Parkinson's disease, the median or mean testing values ranged from 60.9 to 55,000 pg/mL in the CSF, 0.446 to 1,777,100 pg/mL in plasma, and 0.0292 to 38,200,000 pg/mL in serum. The antibody selection was diverse between studies. The tendency of distribution was more centralized among studies that used the same kit. Studies adopting specific antibodies or in-house assays contribute to the extreme values. Only a few studies on phosphorylated and oligomeric alpha-synuclein were included.

Conclusion: The type of assay and antibody selection in the laboratory played major roles in the alpha-synuclein variation. Studies that used the same assay and kit yielded relatively unanimous results. Furthermore, IMR may be a promising assay for plasma and serum alpha-synuclein quantification. A consensus on sample preparation and testing protocol unification is warranted in the future.