Finding a cure for Parkinson’s depends on our ability to understand it. For the first time, we have been able to provide a mechanistic description of the initial, molecular events that can ultimately result in the development of the disease
- Celine Galvagnion
The circumstances in which a protein closely associated with Parkinson’s Disease begins to malfunction and aggregate in the brain have been pinpointed in a quantitative manner for the first time in a new study.
The research, by a team at the University of Cambridge, identified a critical threshold in the levels of a protein called alpha-synuclein, which normally plays an important role in the smooth flow of chemical signals in the brain.
Once that threshold is exceeded, the researchers found that the chances that alpha-synuclein proteins will aggregate into potentially toxic structures are dramatically enhanced. This process, known as nucleation, is the first, critical step in the chain of events that scientists think leads to the development of Parkinson’s Disease.
The findings represent another important step towards understanding how and why people develop Parkinson’s. According to the charity Parkinson’s UK, one in every 500 people in the UK – an estimated 127,000 in all – currently has the condition, but as yet it remains incurable.
Dr Celine Galvagnion, a Research Associate at St John’s College, University of Cambridge, and the lead author of the study, said: “Finding a cure for Parkinson’s depends on our ability to understand it. For the first time, we have been able to provide a mechanistic description of the initial, molecular events that can ultimately result in the development of the disease.”
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Image: Detail of an atomic force microscopy image which shows amyloid fibrils of alpha-synuclein grown out of synthetic lipid vesicles
Credit: A.K. Buell
Reproduced courtesy of the University of Cambridge
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