Examining a Link between Paraquat, Alpha-Synuclein Fibrillation and Neurodegeneration: A Review

Parkinson’s disease is a progressive and chronic disorder that causes motor system dysfunction due to a lack of dopamine in the central nervous system. Although this disorder has been researched extensively, the etiology of Parkinson’s disease remains unknown. Paraquat, a commonly used pesticide, is a known neurotoxin and is used extensively worldwide. In order to determine if people who live in agricultural regions that use paraquat are more susceptible to Parkinson’s disease I examined a possible link between paraquat, the fibrillation of the protein alpha-synuclein and neurodegeneration. To conduct this review, I analyzed epidemiological studies on the correlation between pesticides and Parkinson’s disease, research on the link between pesticides and the protein alpha-synuclein and research on the link between alpha-synuclein and Parkinson’s disease. From this review, I found that areas that are exposed to high levels of paraquat experience elevated rates of Parkinson’s disease in their populations, that paraquat is positively correlated with the aggregation of alpha-synuclein, and that an increase in alpha-synuclein causes neurodegeneration due to an imposed neurotoxicity or through an oxidative stress pathway. This review clearly points to a strong correlation between paraquat exposure and the pathogenesis of Parkinson’s disease. This review leads to the recommendation of future research that solely tests the effect of paraquat on alpha-synuclein fibrillation and neurodegeneration in mice. This work would clarify the definitive link between paraquat and the pathogenesis of Parkinson’s disease thus informing the practices of those who use pesticides.https://scholarscompass.vcu.edu/uresposters/1045/thumbnail.jp