A monocyte gene expression signature in the early clinical course of Parkinson's disease

Recent studies suggest that the activation of the innate immune system is an integral part of Parkinson's disease (PD) pathology. Monocytes have a critical role as effectors and regulators of the innate immune system, and a recent expression quantitative trait locus (eQTL) study links monocytes to PD. Patients diagnosed with PD according to the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke diagnostic criteria for PD were included. We applied a standardized procedure with blood drawing from fasting participants. PD patients with Hoehn and Yahr > 2 and/or cognitive impairment were not recruited. Participants with a history of cancer, infectious diseases within the past three months, or taking anti-inflammatory drugs were excluded. Altogether, we analyzed the monocytic transcriptome profiles of 10 PD patients and 9 age- and sex-matched controls using mRNA sequencing. Overall design: Monocyte mRNA profiles of 10 early stage Parkinson's disease patients and 9 age-and-sex-matched controls