Lewy body diseases are characterized by aggregates of misfolded α-synuclein within the neuronal cytoplasm. Here, Lee and colleagues review the growing evidence that aberrant α-synuclein is released by neurons into the extracellular milieu and taken up by neighbouring neurons and microglia. They describe how this novel source of α-synuclein could be involved in the pathogenesis of Lewy body diseases, and outline potential therapeutic stratgies to target extracellular α-synuclein.
- He-Jin Lee
- Eun-Jin Bae
- Seung-Jae Lee
