ELISA method to detect α-synuclein oligomers in cell and animal models

Abstract

Soluble aggregates of α-synuclein, so-called oligomers, are hypothesized to act as neuro-toxic species in Parkinson’s disease, Lewy body dementia and multiple systems atrophy, but specific tools to detect these aggregated species are only slowly appearing. We have developed an α-synuclein oligomer ELISA that allows us to detect and compare α-synuclein oligomer levels in different in vivo and in vitro experiments. The ELISA is based on commercially available antibodies and the epitope of the capture antibody MJF14-6-4-2 is folding- and aggregate-dependent and not present on monomers.