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DJ-1 is a protein that is associated with Parkinson disease and cancer, and the reduction of DJ-1 function and expression is also thought to be a cause of diabetes and hypertension. However, little is known about the association between the plasma concentration of DJ-1 and risk of metabolic syndrome. We hypothesized that a lifestyle intervention would increase serum DJ-1 and that up-regulated DJ-1 functions will result in the prevention of metabolic syndrome. The objective of our study is to examine whether the level of serum DJ-1 is associated with the risk of metabolic syndrome. Therefore, to reveal the association between DJ-1 and metabolic syndrome, this study investigated lifestyle intervention in a control group (n = 37) and intervention group (n = 45). The results showed that body mass index, body fat ratio, waist-hip ratio, waist circumference, blood pressure, and plasma glucose level were improved in the intervention group, as compared with those in the control group. Furthermore, serum levels of DJ-1 were increased in the intervention group, when compared with those in the control group. These results suggest that serum DJ-1 is increased by lifestyle intervention and that increased serum DJ-1 prevents metabolic syndrome. Thus, the level of serum DJ-1 will become one of the indexes for the risk of metabolic syndrome., (Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Previous studies demonstrated decreased levels of DJ-1 and α-synuclein (αSYN) in human cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) in patients with Parkinson's disease (PD), but neither marker correlated with PD severity, raising the possibility that they may be excellent progression markers during early or preclinical phases of PD. Individuals carrying the leucine-rich repeat kinase 2 (LRRK2) gene mutation are at increased risk for PD, and the phenotype of LRRK2 patients is almost identical to sporadic PD. To determine whether dopaminergic dysfunction in the basal ganglia, as determined by positron emission tomography (PET) scans, correlates with CSF levels of DJ-1 and αSYN during preclinical stages, Luminex assays were used to analyze CSF samples from asymptomatic LRRK2 mutation carriers, along with carriers who presented with a clinical diagnosis of PD. The data revealed no statistically significant relationship between PET scan evidence of loss of striatal dopaminergic function and the CSF biomarkers DJ-1 and αSYN, except for a weak correlation between DJ-1 and methylphenidate binding, suggesting that the use of these potential biomarkers on their own to screen LRRK2 gene mutation carriers for PD is not appropriate., (Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)