How Parkinson's Disease Causes Cell Death and Dyskinesia

Scientists at Johns Hopkins University may have figured out how Parkinson's Disease is able to destroy and damage nerve cells in patients. This discovery in turn may lead to new treatments that can make life easier for both the patients and their families. The nerve damage is caused by mutations in the LRRK2 gene. These mutations "tag" the proteins that make up ribosomes, which causes them to work in overdrive and synthesize so much protein that the cell they are in dies. PD affects nerve cells, especially ones in a brain region called the substantia nigra, which controls the release of dopamine. Because dopamine is important in movement, people affected by PD have difficulty controlling their movements and develop dyskinesia. The most common mutation to the LRRK2 gene has been found to be the cause of 30 to 40 percent of all cases affecting people of north African and Arabic descent. Using both rats and fruit flies as test subjects, scientists used the LRRK2 gene as a type of "bait" to find which proteins the mutation normally tags. The mutation causes increased tagging of the s11 and s15 proteins. It also causes the s15 protein to be phosphorylated more often. This is a process that helps cells function regularly, but too much of it can also lead to cell death. This is what scientists believe is the cause of most PD related cell death. Hopefully, controlling the phosphorylation of the s15 in the future will provide a new way to treat people with this disease.

Secondary Article: http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/info/parkinsons-disease/