Cytokines and Gaucher Biomarkers in Glucocerebrosidase Carriers with and Without Parkinson Disease

BACKGROUND: Homozygous and compound heterozygous variants in glucocerebrosidase (GBA) can cause Gaucher disease (GD), whereas heterozygous variants increase the risk of developing Parkinson's disease (PD).

GD patients display altered peripheral immune proteins.

However, it is unknown if these are altered in GBA carriers with PD.

OBJECTIVES: To determine whether plasma cytokines and immune biomarkers associated with GD are also altered in GBA carriers with or without PD.

METHODS: Inflammatory cytokines and established GD biomarkers, ferritin, CD162, CCL18, and chitotriosidase (28 biomarkers) were measured in GBA pathogenic variant carriers with (n = 135) and without (n = 83) PD, and non‐carriers with (n = 75) and without PD (n = 77).

RESULTS: PD patients with biallelic pathogenic variants in GBA had elevated plasma levels of ferritin, CCL18, and MIP1α.

These biomarkers were not elevated in heterozygous GBA carriers.

CONCLUSION: GD plasma biomarkers are not promising candidates for stratifying the risk for PD in carriers of heterozygous GBA pathogenic variants.

© 2021 The Authors.

Movement Disorders published by Wiley Periodicals LLC on behalf of International Parkinson and Movement Disorder Society