alpha-Synuclein and ubiquitin are two Lewy body protein components that may play 
antagonistic roles in the pathogenesis of Lewy bodies. We examined the 
relationship between alpha-synuclein, ubiquitin, and lipids in Lewy bodies of 
fixed brain sections or isolated from cortical tissues of dementia with Lewy 
bodies. Lewy bodies exhibited a range of labeling patterns for alpha-synuclein 
and ubiquitin, from a homogeneous pattern in which alpha-synuclein and ubiquitin 
were evenly distributed and overlapped across the inclusion body to a concentric 
pattern in which alpha-synuclein and ubiquitin were partially segregated, with 
alpha-synuclein labeling concentrated in the peripheral domain and ubiquitin in 
the central domain of the Lewy body. Lipids represented a significant component 
in both homogeneous and concentric Lewy bodies. These results suggest that Lewy 
bodies are heterogeneous in their subregional composition. The segregation of 
alpha-synuclein to Lewy body peripheral domain is consistent with the hypothesis 
that alpha-synuclein is continually deposited onto Lewy bodies.