Synphilin-1 is present in Lewy bodies in Parkinson's disease

Alpha-synuclein is believed to play an important role in Parkinson's disease (PD). Mutations in the alpha-synuclein gene are responsible for familial forms of PD and alpha-synuclein protein is a major component of Lewy bodies in patients with sporadic PD. Synphilin-1 is a novel protein that we have previously found to associate in vivo with alpha-synuclein. We now show that synphilin-1 is present in Lewy bodies of patients with PD. Our data suggest that synphilin-1 could play a role in Lewy body formation and the pathogenesis of PD.