Results from a recent study suggest that protein tyrosine phosphatase, receptor type C (PTPRC) expression may be useful for distinguishing patients with Parkinson disease (PD) from those with progressive supranuclear palsy (PSP) as part of a biosignature. Researchers tested the phosphatases dual specificity phosphatase 8 (DUSP8) and PTPRC for their diagnostic potential in blood of 138 samples from participants nested in the Parkinson’s Disease Biomarkers Program. They found:

• Relative abundance of PTPRC mRNA was downregulated in PSP patients compared to PD and healthy controls, whereas there was no significant difference in the expression of DUSP8.
• Interestingly, PTPRC mRNA correlated with the Movement Disorder Society Unified Parkinson’s Disease Rating Scale (MDS-UPDRS) total score and MDS-UPDRS- part III, thus indicating it might be useful as part of a biosignature to stratify patients according to disease severity and progression.