Adaptive Immunity and Parkinson's Disease

Adaptive immunity plays a key role in the pathogenesis of Parkinson's disease (PD) and related conditions. This paper reviews the involvement of CD4⁺ and CD8⁺ T cells in PD development as well as the effect of PD genetic susceptibility variants and aging. Specifically, the major histocompatibility complex is associated with PD, influencing antigen presentation and, consequently, the T-cell receptor repertoire, believed to contribute to disease susceptibility and progression. Moreover, aging-a major risk factor for PD-also shapes T-cell dynamics, with immunosenescence impacting the adaptive immune system, and potentially exacerbating neuroinflammatory responses in PD. These T-cell-mediated immune responses hold substantial influence over brain physiopathology, dictating the degenerative processes seen in PD. Understanding these interactions offers insights into early immunotherapy intervention during the prodromal phase using engineered regulatory T cells for antigen-specific immunomodulation against pathogenic proteins such as α-synuclein.