While both WT and mutant α-syn resulted in morphological changes and increased ERK1/2 phosphoryation in our previous studies, a significant increase in GFAP immunofluorescence indicative of activation was only observed in cells treated with the PD-linked A53T α-syn mutant, whereas MSA and DLB are rarely associated with α-syn gene mutations. This evidence concerns the gene MAPK3 and Parkinson disease.