Proteomic analysis of exosomes from healthy and Parkinson’s disease patient samples
18.12.2025
Parkinson’s disease (PD) is a multisystem disorder, with 10 million worldwide. There is no cure and only symptomatic treatment exists. The motor symptoms are due to loss of brain neurons. However, PD also affects peripheral organs, gut and blood, where inflammatory signs occur years before motor symptoms. The disease may thus commence outside the brain e.g. in the gut. Here, we will investigate whether exosomes deliver inflammatory signals and pathogens to the brain using new technology that allows separation of exosomes based on light scattering and fluorescence. Using mass spectrometry, we will identify misfolded proteins, pathogens and immune signals that are carried in exosomes from blood to brain. This is enabled by new software developed by the Coffey lab with the Michael J Fox Foundation. The results will promise insight on the trajectory of inflammatory and pathogen signals from blood to brain in Parkinson’s and mechanistic insight on infectious and inflammatory mechanisms.
