Brain HealthYale Scientists Identify Two Proteins That Drive Parkinson's Spread in the Brain
Yale researchers have identified two proteins on the surface of brain cells — mGluR4 and NPDC1 — that appear to help the toxic protein linked to Parkinson's disease spread from neuron to neuron. Using a massive screen of 4,400 engineered cell lines, scientists found these proteins act as entry points for misfolded alpha-synuclein, the hallmark of Parkinson's. When mice were genetically engineered to lack these proteins and then exposed to misfolded alpha-synuclein, they showed dramatically less disease progression and preserved dopamine-producing neurons compared to normal mice. The findings, published in Nature Communications, could point toward therapies designed to slow or halt Parkinson's rather than merely managing symptoms.
