Abstract
We examined the immunohistochemical localization of p35nck5a, the regulatory subunit of cyclin-dependent kinase 5 (cdk5), in brains obtained postmortem from patients with Parkinson’s disease (PD) and controls. We found p35nck5a immunoreactivity in Lewy bodies (LB) in the substantia nigra, locus ceruleus, and neocortex of brains from patients with PD. In addition, p35nck5a was colocalized with cdk5 immunoreactivity in LB. Cdk5 is the kinase most likely to be responsible for the phosphorylation of neurofilament proteins of LB, which is a crucial step for the formation of the insoluble LB fibrils. Since p35nck5a regulates the catalytic activity of cdk5 by forming a heterodimer with cdk5, the present results strongly support the hypothesis that a cdk5-p35nck5a complex is involved in the formation of LB fibrils.
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Received: 6 December 1996 / Revised, accepted: 31 January 1997
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Nakamura, S., Kawamoto, Y., Nakano, S. et al. p35nck5a and cyclin-dependent kinase 5 colocalize in Lewy bodies of brains with Parkinson’s disease. Acta Neuropathol 94, 153–157 (1997). https://doi.org/10.1007/s004010050687
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s004010050687