Deep brain stimulation-associated brain tissue imprints: a new in vivo approach to biological research in human Parkinson’s disease

BACKGROUND: Deep brain stimulation (DBS) of the subthalamic nucleus (STN) or the internal segment of the globus pallidus (GPi) has been established as a highly effective symptomatic therapy for Parkinson’s disease (PD). An intriguing biological aspect related to the DBS procedure is that a temporary contact establishes between surgical instruments and the surrounding brain tissue. In this exploratory study, we took advantage of this unique context to harvest brain material adhering to the stylet routinely used during surgery, and to examine the biological value of these samples, here referred to as “brain tissue imprints” (BTIs). RESULTS: Nineteen BTIs from 12 STN- or GPi-electrode implanted patients were obtained in vivo during DBS surgery, without any modification of the surgical procedure. Immunofluorescence analyses confirmed that our approach allowed the harvesting of many neural cells including neurons harboring distinct neurotransmitter markers. Shotgun proteomic and transcriptomic analyses provided for the first time molecular information from DBS-associated brain samples, and confirmed the compatibility of this new type of sample with poly-omic approaches. The method appears to be safe and results consistent. CONCLUSIONS: We here propose BTIs as original and highly valuable brain samples, and DBS-related brain imprinting as a new conceptual approach to biological research in living patients with PD. ELECTRONIC SUPPLEMENTARY MATERIAL: The online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s13024-016-0077-4) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.