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posted by cmn32480 on Saturday October 01 2016, @07:14AM   Printer-friendly
from the watch-out-for-the-toll-booth dept.

Researchers at Johns Hopkins report they have identified a protein that enables a toxic natural aggregate to spread from cell to cell in a mammal's brain -- and a way to block that protein's action. Their study in mice and cultured cells suggests that an immunotherapy already in clinical trials as a cancer therapy should also be tested as a way to slow the progress of Parkinson's disease, the researchers say.

A report on the study appears Sept. 30 in the journal Science.

Ted Dawson, M.D., Ph.D., director of the Institute for Cell Engineering at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine and one of the study's leaders, says the new findings hinge on how aggregates of α-synuclein protein enter brain cells. Abnormal clumps of α-synuclein protein are often found in autopsies of people with Parkinson's disease and are thought to cause the death of dopamine-producing brain cells.

The scientists genetically engineered mice to lack a key transmembrane receptor, LAG3, that attracts the protein aggregates responsible for Parkinson's. The mice proved immune. Antibodies that targeted LAG3 also shielded subjects from the aggregates.

Pathological α-synuclein transmission initiated by binding lymphocyte-activation gene 3 (DOI: 10.1126/science.aah3374) (DX)


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  • (Score: 2) by nishi.b on Saturday October 01 2016, @01:41PM

    by nishi.b (4243) on Saturday October 01 2016, @01:41PM (#408761)

    This seems to be a new approach to avoid the death of dopaminergic neurons, and not too far off from human testing. Not sure how well this will translate to humans, because they are working on a model of the disease in mice which may not match the way the disease develops in humans, but very interesting nonetheless. Thanks for the submission !

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