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| LETTER TO THE EDITOR |
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| Year : 2020 | Volume
: 3
| Issue : 2 | Page : 123-124 |
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Role of DJ-1 and Apo A1 as biomarkers in Parkinson’s disease: an observational case–control study
Ritu Shree, Sahil Mehta
Department of Neurology, Postgraduate Institute of Medical Education and Research (PGIMER), Chandigarh, Punjab, India
| Date of Submission | 13-Mar-2020 |
| Date of Acceptance | 18-Apr-2020 |
| Date of Web Publication | 28-Jul-2020 |
Correspondence Address:
Dr. Sahil Mehta
Level 1, Room Number 13, Department of Neurology, Nehru Hospital, Postgraduate Institute of Medical Education and Research (PGIMER), Sector 12, 160012, Chandigarh.
India
 Source of Support: None, Conflict of Interest: None
DOI: 10.4103/AOMD.AOMD_10_20
How to cite this article:
Shree R, Mehta S. Role of DJ-1 and Apo A1 as biomarkers in Parkinson’s disease: an observational case–control study. Ann Mov Disord 2020;3:123-4 |
How to cite this URL:
Shree R, Mehta S. Role of DJ-1 and Apo A1 as biomarkers in Parkinson’s disease: an observational case–control study. Ann Mov Disord [serial online] 2020 [cited 2023 May 31];3:123-4. Available from: https://www.aomd.in/text.asp?2020/3/2/123/291073 |
Dear Editor
We thank the authors for their interest in our article entitled “Role of DJ-1 and apolipoprotein (Apo) A1 as biomarkers in Parkinson’s disease: an observational case control study” and appreciate their comments.[1] We agree that various studies, which have assessed the correlation between these biomarkers and disease severity, have shown conflicting results. Similar to Maita et al.,[2] we also did not find any correlation between plasma levels of DJ-1 and the stage of the disease, whereas Waragai et al.[3] showed a positive correlation. Among the apolipoproteins, Apo A1 is the most extensively studied biomarker in Parkinson’s disease. Low Apo A1 levels are associated with earlier age of onset and more severe disease both clinically and on Dopamine transporter (DAT) imaging.[4] However, we did not find any correlation between Apo A1 and stage of the disease. One of the contributing factors could be lack of clinical and biochemical assessments of these biomarkers on follow-up in our study.
As rightly pointed by the authors, these biomarkers have also been assessed in various other biological fluids such as cerebrospinal fluid, besides plasma. We chose to study these biomarkers in plasma as it is minimally invasive and easily accessible. Novel methods of DJ-1 estimation such as oxidized DJ-1 and assessment in red blood cells (RBCs) rather than plasma have been carried out in various studies. In addition to total DJ-1, its isoforms in whole blood have also been studied as potential biomarkers in Parkinson’s disease.[5]
Our study has also shed some light on the association between these biomarkers and non-motor symptoms. For example, we found negative correlation between cognitive impairment and DJ-1 levels.[1]
Assessment of these biomarkers has been studied in other neurodegenerative diseases as well, such as Alzheimer’s disease, Huntington’s disease, tauopathies, and synucleinopathies. However, their role in the pathogenesis is still not clear, and the evidence is scarce.
To conclude, we hope our study will give impetus to more studies on biomarkers in Parkinson’s disease from India. Further studies focusing on correlation between these biomarkers and various non-motor symptoms of Parkinson’s disease are required. Estimation of these biomarkers across various stages of Parkinson’s disease would be worthwhile in the future. More sensitive and accurate techniques, such as Luminex assays and quantitative Western blotting, can be used in future trials to refine and validate the results. Metabolomics, proteomics, and gene expression profiling hold a great promise in the discovery of new biomarkers in this inexorably progressive neurodegenerative disease.
Financial support and sponsorship
Nil.
Conflicts of interest
There are no conflicts of interest.
| References | |  |
| 1. | Shree R, Mulagala M, Mehta S, Sood A, Modi M, Goyal MK, et al. Role of DJ-1 and Apo A1 as biomarkers in Parkinson’s disease: An observational case-control study. Ann Mov Disord 2019;2:109-14.  [Full text] |
| 2. | Maita C, Tsuji S, Yabe I, Hamada S, Ogata A, Maita H, et al. Secretion of DJ-1 into the serum of patients with Parkinson’s disease. Neurosci Lett 2008;431:86-9. |
| 3. | Waragai M, Nakai M, Wei J, Fujita M, Mizuno H, Ho G, et al. Plasma levels of DJ-1 as a possible marker for progression of sporadic Parkinson’s disease. Neurosci Lett 2007;425:18-22. |
| 4. | Swanson CR, Berlyand Y, Xie SX, Alcalay RN, Chahine LM, Chen-Plotkin AS Plasma apolipoprotein A1 associates with age at onset and motor severity in early Parkinson’s disease patients. Mov Disord 2015;30:1648-56. |
| 5. | Lin X, Cook TJ, Zabetian CP, Leverenz JB, Peskind ER, Hu SC, et al. DJ-1 isoforms in whole blood as potential biomarkers of Parkinson disease. Sci Rep 2012;2:954. |
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