Application of serum SNCA gene in the diagnosis of Parkinson’s disease

Abstract Background: SNCA plays an important role in the development of Parkinson's disease. However, the mechanism in PD is still unclear. We integrate multi-omics data for systematic analysis to explore the potential mechanism and therapeutic target of SNCA in PD.Materials and methods: We download the gene expression, miRNA expression, and methylation data sets from GEO. After integration and standardization, analyze the diagnostic value and potential function of SNCA. Furthermore, according to the expression of SNCA, the important role of the genetic and epigenetic mechanism of SNCA co-expression in PD was analyzed by RNA-Seq, miRNA-Seq, and methylation data.Results: Six expression profiling data sets showed that SNCA is lowly expressed in PD and could be used as a potential PD marker. SNCA co-expressed genes in serum and substantia nigra samples have significant differences. The lncRNAs which most relevant to SNCA expression are related to a variety of tumors and nerve-related diseases meanwhile the miRNA which most relevant to SNCA expression is related to multiple neurodegenerative disease pathways. There are multiple CpG methylation sites in the SNCA promoter region, of which cg15133208 is significantly hypomethylated in PD.Conclusion: This study proposes low expression of SNCA as a diagnostic biomarker for PD, explores the unique genome and apparent landscape associated with expression of SNCA, provides ideas for a better understanding of the molecular basis of PD, and serves as a diagnostic biomarker for expression of SNCA or as a potential therapeutic target for PD patients which provides more direct evidence.