Lessons from yeast: A possible cure for Parkinson's disease?

Several previous studies have suggested that the alpha-syn aggregates contribute to PD pathology, so it is possible that an agent that inhibits and/or, better yet, reverses alpha-syn aggregation could be eventually used as a therapy for PD.

Evidence to suggest that agents that disrupt alpha-syn aggregation might have beneficial effects in individuals with PD has now been provided by a team of researchers, at the Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne, Switzerland, and the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, Philadelphia, who studied a rat model of the disease.

In the study, it was found that a protein that yeast uses to protect itself from protein aggregation (there is no similar protein in mammals), called Hsp104, dramatically reduced both the formation of alpha-syn aggregates and the degeneration of neurons in the brain in a rat mdoel of PD. In vitro studies showed that Hsp104 not only inhibited alpha-syn aggregate formation, but also interacted with mammalian proteins to disassemble them. The authors therefore suggest that Hsp104 should be considered as a potential strategy for the treatment of individuals with PD, after further studies on the safety of introducing Hsp104 into the brain.

Citation: Hsp104 antagonizes alpha-synuclein aggregation and reduces dopaminergic degeneration in a rat model of Parkinson disease, Journal of Clinical Investigation; https://www.the-jc … php?id=35781

Source: Journal of Clinical Investigation