Transcriptional analysis of peripheral memory T cells reveals Parkinson’s disease-specific gene signatures

Parkinson’s disease (PD) is a multi-stage neurodegenerative disorder with largely unknown etiology. To further characterize the role of T cells in PD associated autoimmunity, we performed RNA sequencing on PBMC and peripheral CD4 and CD8 memory T cell subsets derived from PD patients and age-matched healthy controls. Considering T cell reactivity to -syn, the study revealed a broad differential gene expression profile in memory T cell subsets and a specific PD associated gene signature. This study found a significant enrichment of transcriptomic signatures previously associated with PD, such as oxidative stress and phosphorylation, autophagy of mitochondria, cholesterol metabolism, and inflammation. We also identified novel genes associated with PD, including xx. Altogether, the findings in this study suggest that the study of circulating T cells from PD subjects with an ongoing -syn-specific T cell response may provide new insights to understand the complexity of the disease and suggest potential intervention targets. PBMCs (PD n=32; HC= n=14), CD4 memory (PD n=34; HC= n=19) and CD8 memory (PD n=36; HC n=20) T cells from PD and HC subjects were sorted and RNA was extracted. >>>Submitter states that raw data are not available due to patient privacy concerns<<<