Antibodies that target a protein associated with Parkinson's disease reverse some symptoms in a mouse model of the neurodegenerative disorder.

In the brains of patients with Parkinson's, the α-synuclein protein clumps together and spreads between cells. Eliezer Masliah at the University of California, San Diego, and his colleagues made various antibodies that bind to one end of the protein, and injected them into transgenic mice that overexpress α-synuclein. Some of the antibodies reduced the accumulation of α-synuclein in the animals, improved their memory and movement, and, in cell culture, reduced the spreading of α-synuclein between cells.

By binding to one end of α-synuclein, the antibodies prevent the protein from aggregating and propagating, the authors suggest.

J. Neurosci. 34, 9441–9454 (2014)