Further Investigation of Parkinson’s Mechanisms

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Researchers are further uncovering how Parkinson's disease kills brain cells: "Neurologists have observed for decades that Lewy bodies, clumps of aggregated proteins inside cells, appear in the brains of patients with Parkinson's disease and other neurodegenerative diseases. The presence of Lewy bodies suggests underlying problems in protein recycling and waste disposal, leading to the puzzle: how does disrupting those processes kill brain cells? One possible answer: by breaking a survival circuit called MEF2D. ... MEF2D is sensitive to the main component of Lewy bodies, a protein called alpha-synuclein. In cell cultures and animal models of Parkinson's, an accumulation of alpha-synuclein interferes with the cell's recycling of MEF2D, leading to cell death. MEF2D is especially abundant in the brains of people with Parkinson's. ... MEF2D is a transcription factor, a protein that controls whether several genes are turned on or off. Previous studies have shown MEF2D is needed for proper development and survival of brain cells. To function, MEF2D must be able to bind DNA. ... most of the accumulated MEF2D [in cases of Parkinson's disease] can't bind DNA. This may indicate that the protein is improperly folded or otherwise modified."

Link: http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2009-01/eu-tmi122908.php