An immunoassay for the quantification of phosphorylated α-synuclein at serine 129 in human cerebrospinal fluid.

The link between alpha Synuclein (α-Syn) phosphorylation and Parkinson's disease pathogenesis has not been fully elucidated, in part due to analytical methods with finite specificity and sensitivity, resulting in conflicting data on pathophysiological levels of the protein.One factor hindering the assessment of the role of pSer129 α-Syn is the lack of a fit for purpose assay. Antibodies were assessed for quantification of pSer129 α-Syn, resulting in a sensitive and specific assay suitable for use in Parkinson's disease and control CSF, with no significant difference found between the two populations. Total α-Syn was measured using a commercial kit, demonstrating a positive correlation between total and pSer129 α-Syn.This adds to available methods for pSer129 α-Syn in support of α-synucleinopathy research.