Tyrosine hydroxylase protein in Lewy bodies of parkinsonian and senile brains.

Immunohistochemistry with the antisera against tyrosine hydroxylase (TH) was performed on the neurons with Lewy bodies (LBs) in the sections at the level of the basal ganglia, midbrain, pons, medulla oblongata and spinal cord. These were obtained from 3 autopsy cases with Parkinson's disease and 2 senile brains without parkinsonism. In catecholamine neurons, stained positively with the antisera to TH, specific immunoreactions were found in the LBs. These specific stainings were accentuated and/or restricted to the peripheral, less dense, zone of the LBs in the neurons of catecholaminergic regions. LBs in the neurons of the innominate substance, raphe nuclei of the brain stem and spinal cord did not stain positively with TH antisera. This suggests that the production of LBs is complicated, but that it is also closely correlated to the biochemical properties of each neuron in the various regions. In catecholamine neurons in which LBs frequently occurred, TH enzyme protein might play an important part in the productions of LBs.