The majority of Parkinson’s disease (PD) cases have no known cause, but have been associated with increased oxidative stress and mitochondrial dysfunction. Of the small proportion of hereditary cases, a number of defective genes have been identified including LRRK2 (PARK8),…
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Stressful ‘Lifestyle’ is Bad for Neurons
Parkinson’s disease is characterised by loss of dopaminergic neurons in the area of the midbrain known as the substantia nigra. Although mitochondrial stress – an accumulation of damaging superoxide and free radicals – is believed to be the cause of…
LRRK2 Inhibitor Protective in Parkinson’s Disease Model
The main symptoms of Parkinson’s disease are tremor, rigidity and involuntary movement, caused by loss of dopaminergic neurons in the brain. Leucine-rich repeat protein kinase-2 (LRRK2) is mutated in a significant number of Parkinson’s disease cases, both familial and sporadic…
Neuroprotective Small Molecule TrkB Agonist
Roles have been suggested for brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) – which helps to support neurons and also stimulates and controls neurogenesis – in preventing or treating degenerative diseases such amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, Parkinson’s disease, and Alzheimer’s disease. The use of…
Statins Protect Mice from Symptoms of Parkinson’s Disease
Statins lower cholesterol by inhibiting HMG-CoA reductase, the rate-limiting step in cholesterol biosynthesis, and new indications have continued to emerge for these medicines since their introduction in the late 1980s. The association between cholesterol levels, statin use, and Parkinson’s disease…
Phosphorylation Modulates α-Synuclein Neurotoxicity
α-Synuclein, expressed primarily in neural tissue, is normally an unstructured, soluble, protein. Under some circumstances, however, it has the ability to aggregate and form insoluble fibrils. A missense mutation in α-synuclein, A53T, was the first defined genetic lesion in familial…
Yeast Cells: Drug Discovery Factories
Whitehead Institute researchers have described a new drug discovery technique which uses yeast cells to both synthesise and screen novel compounds. Writing in the journal Nature Chemical Biology, the team have demonstrated that they can negate the toxic effects of…
E3 Ubiquitin Ligase CHIP Regulates LRRK2 Stability
Although mutations in the gene for leucine-rich repeat kinase 2 (LRRK2) have been linked to both familial and sporadic cases of Parkinson’s disease, the exact cellular function of LRRK2 remains unclear. The mechanisms by which mutated LRRK2 variants contribute to…
New Brain Delivery Strategy for Parkinson’s Disease
The blood-brain barrier (BBB) fulfills an essential role by restricting the entry of potentially neurotoxic chemicals into brain tissue. The downside of this protective function is that entry of therapeutic molecules into the brain may also be severely restricted; delivering…
