Comparative proteomic analysis of plasma exosomes reveals the functional contribution of N-acetyl-alpha-glucosaminidase to Parkinson’s disease

Parkinson’s disease is the second most common progressive neurodegenerative disorder, and few reliable biomarkers are available to track disease progression. The proteins, DNA, mRNA, and lipids carried by exosomes reflect intracellular changes, and thus can serve as biomarkers for a variety of condi...

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Main Authors: Yuan Zhao, Yidan Zhang, Xin Liu, Jian Zhang, Ya Gao, Shuyue Li, Cui Chang, Xiang Liu, Guofeng Yang
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Wolters Kluwer Medknow Publications 2025-10-01
Series:Neural Regeneration Research
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Online Access:https://journals.lww.com/10.4103/NRR.NRR-D-23-01500
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author Yuan Zhao
Yidan Zhang
Xin Liu
Jian Zhang
Ya Gao
Shuyue Li
Cui Chang
Xiang Liu
Guofeng Yang
author_facet Yuan Zhao
Yidan Zhang
Xin Liu
Jian Zhang
Ya Gao
Shuyue Li
Cui Chang
Xiang Liu
Guofeng Yang
author_sort Yuan Zhao
collection DOAJ
description Parkinson’s disease is the second most common progressive neurodegenerative disorder, and few reliable biomarkers are available to track disease progression. The proteins, DNA, mRNA, and lipids carried by exosomes reflect intracellular changes, and thus can serve as biomarkers for a variety of conditions. In this study, we investigated alterations in the protein content of plasma exosomes derived from patients with Parkinson’s disease and the potential therapeutic roles of these proteins in Parkinson’s disease. Using a tandem mass tag-based quantitative proteomics approach, we characterized the proteomes of plasma exosomes derived from individual patients, identified exosomal protein signatures specific to patients with Parkinson’s disease, and identified N-acetyl-alpha-glucosaminidase as a differentially expressed protein. N-acetyl-alpha-glucosaminidase expression levels in exosomes from the plasma of patients and healthy controls were validated by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay and western blot. The results demonstrated that the exosomal N-acetyl-alpha-glucosaminidase concentration was not only lower in Parkinson’s disease, but also decreased with increasing Hoehn–Yahr stage, suggesting that N-acetyl-alpha-glucosaminidase could be used to rapidly evaluate Parkinson’s disease severity. Furthermore, western blot and immunohistochemistry analysis showed that N-acetyl-alpha-glucosaminidase levels were markedly reduced both in cells treated with 1-methyl-4-phenylpyridinium and cells overexpressing α-synuclein compared with control cells. Additionally, N-acetyl-alpha-glucosaminidase overexpression significantly increased cell viability and inhibited α-synuclein expression in 1-methyl-4-phenylpyridinium-treated cells. Taken together, our findings demonstrate for the first time that exosomal N-acetyl-alpha-glucosaminidase may serve as a biomarker for Parkinson’s disease diagnosis, and that N-acetyl-alpha-glucosaminidase may reduce α-synuclein expression and 1-methyl-4-phenylpyridinium-induced neurotoxicity, thus providing a new therapeutic target for Parkinson’s disease.
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spelling doaj-art-e630de86363f470f858a9496f4bd33c52025-08-20T02:30:42ZengWolters Kluwer Medknow PublicationsNeural Regeneration Research1673-53741876-79582025-10-0120102998301210.4103/NRR.NRR-D-23-01500Comparative proteomic analysis of plasma exosomes reveals the functional contribution of N-acetyl-alpha-glucosaminidase to Parkinson’s diseaseYuan ZhaoYidan ZhangXin LiuJian ZhangYa GaoShuyue LiCui ChangXiang LiuGuofeng YangParkinson’s disease is the second most common progressive neurodegenerative disorder, and few reliable biomarkers are available to track disease progression. The proteins, DNA, mRNA, and lipids carried by exosomes reflect intracellular changes, and thus can serve as biomarkers for a variety of conditions. In this study, we investigated alterations in the protein content of plasma exosomes derived from patients with Parkinson’s disease and the potential therapeutic roles of these proteins in Parkinson’s disease. Using a tandem mass tag-based quantitative proteomics approach, we characterized the proteomes of plasma exosomes derived from individual patients, identified exosomal protein signatures specific to patients with Parkinson’s disease, and identified N-acetyl-alpha-glucosaminidase as a differentially expressed protein. N-acetyl-alpha-glucosaminidase expression levels in exosomes from the plasma of patients and healthy controls were validated by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay and western blot. The results demonstrated that the exosomal N-acetyl-alpha-glucosaminidase concentration was not only lower in Parkinson’s disease, but also decreased with increasing Hoehn–Yahr stage, suggesting that N-acetyl-alpha-glucosaminidase could be used to rapidly evaluate Parkinson’s disease severity. Furthermore, western blot and immunohistochemistry analysis showed that N-acetyl-alpha-glucosaminidase levels were markedly reduced both in cells treated with 1-methyl-4-phenylpyridinium and cells overexpressing α-synuclein compared with control cells. Additionally, N-acetyl-alpha-glucosaminidase overexpression significantly increased cell viability and inhibited α-synuclein expression in 1-methyl-4-phenylpyridinium-treated cells. Taken together, our findings demonstrate for the first time that exosomal N-acetyl-alpha-glucosaminidase may serve as a biomarker for Parkinson’s disease diagnosis, and that N-acetyl-alpha-glucosaminidase may reduce α-synuclein expression and 1-methyl-4-phenylpyridinium-induced neurotoxicity, thus providing a new therapeutic target for Parkinson’s disease.https://journals.lww.com/10.4103/NRR.NRR-D-23-01500biomarkerdiagnosisexosomesn-acetyl-alpha-glucosaminidaseparkinson’s diseaseproteomicα-synuclein
spellingShingle Yuan Zhao
Yidan Zhang
Xin Liu
Jian Zhang
Ya Gao
Shuyue Li
Cui Chang
Xiang Liu
Guofeng Yang
Comparative proteomic analysis of plasma exosomes reveals the functional contribution of N-acetyl-alpha-glucosaminidase to Parkinson’s disease
Neural Regeneration Research
biomarker
diagnosis
exosomes
n-acetyl-alpha-glucosaminidase
parkinson’s disease
proteomic
α-synuclein
title Comparative proteomic analysis of plasma exosomes reveals the functional contribution of N-acetyl-alpha-glucosaminidase to Parkinson’s disease
title_full Comparative proteomic analysis of plasma exosomes reveals the functional contribution of N-acetyl-alpha-glucosaminidase to Parkinson’s disease
title_fullStr Comparative proteomic analysis of plasma exosomes reveals the functional contribution of N-acetyl-alpha-glucosaminidase to Parkinson’s disease
title_full_unstemmed Comparative proteomic analysis of plasma exosomes reveals the functional contribution of N-acetyl-alpha-glucosaminidase to Parkinson’s disease
title_short Comparative proteomic analysis of plasma exosomes reveals the functional contribution of N-acetyl-alpha-glucosaminidase to Parkinson’s disease
title_sort comparative proteomic analysis of plasma exosomes reveals the functional contribution of n acetyl alpha glucosaminidase to parkinson s disease
topic biomarker
diagnosis
exosomes
n-acetyl-alpha-glucosaminidase
parkinson’s disease
proteomic
α-synuclein
url https://journals.lww.com/10.4103/NRR.NRR-D-23-01500
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