- The Parkin protein plays an important role in maintaining the energy production of cells.
- In the current study, scientists obtained a more detailed overview of the biochemical pathway to which Parkin belongs.
- This new information could help future investigations into treatments for Parkinson’s disease, type 2 diabetes and cancer.
Scientists provide a detailed overview of the biochemical pathway around Parkin – a protein that plays a key role in maintaining cellular energy.
The research, which appears in the journal Scientific progress, can help scientists develop new treatments for Parkinson’s disease, type 2 diabetes and cancer, all of which can occur if Parkin is not functioning properly.
Parkin’s central role is to remove damaged mitochondria, which are the power stations of the cell responsible for generating energy. Cellular stress can damage mitochondria.
Damaged or dysfunctional mitochondria tend to accumulate in the cell, and the body must remove them through a process known as
Researchers have implicated mitochondrial dysfunction in neurodegenerative diseases such as Parkinson’s.
An important question for scientists was how Parkin can respond so quickly to cellular stress. The signal for Parkin to do his job apparently came after it had already started.
In the current study, the scientists gained a better perspective on the biochemical pathway that Parkin indicates to remove damaged mitochondria.
According to prof. Reuben Shaw, director of the Salk Cancer Center in La Jolla, California, and senior author of the study, “our findings are the earliest step in Parkin’s alarm response anyone has ever found.”
“All the other known biochemical events take place at 1 o’clock; we have now found something that happens within five minutes. ”
“The decoding of this important step in the way cells get rid of defective mitochondria has consequences for a number of diseases.”
Based on their previous research, the scientists looked for proteins that activate in response to the enzyme ULK1, which causes the enzyme AMPK. They found Parkin to be an excellent candidate.
The results were surprising, as biochemical pathways are usually very complex and include up to 50 different proteins.
The scientists confirmed the findings using mass spectrometry. This process revealed how ULK1 interacted with Parkin and provides a detailed overview of how the different proteins work together.
It is this chain, from AMPK to ULK1 to Parkin, that takes into account the rate at which Parkin can respond to cellular stress.
By drawing a link between Parkin and AMPK, research can help develop new treatments for different diseases.
For prof. Shaw, “the great takeaway […] is that metabolism and changes in the health of your mitochondria are critical for cancer, it is critical for diabetes and critical for neurodegenerative diseases. ”
“Our finding is that a diabetes drug that activates AMPK, which we have previously shown can suppress cancer, can also help restore the function of patients with neurodegenerative diseases.”
“This is because the general mechanisms that support the health of the cells in our bodies are far more integrated than anyone could have ever imagined.”