Elevated LRRK2 and α-synuclein levels in CSF of infectious meningitis patients

Neurodegenerative diseases such as Parkinson’s (PD) have a complex aetiology consisting of an interplay of genetic and environmental factors. Inflammation and infection are proposed external factors that trigger disease progression. Tuberculous and cryptococcal meningitis frequently lead to long-term neurological sequelae but their association with the development of PD are unexplored. In this study, we protein profiled the CSF from 76 patients with or without infectious meningitis and found that proteins commonly associated with PD (LRRK2, tau and alpha-synuclein) were significantly elevated, establishing a link between neuroinflammation and infection. Importantly, these findings suggest that LRRK2, tau and alpha-synuclein could represent biomarkers of neuroinflammation.