Scientists Finally Crack Decades-Old Mystery Behind Parkinson's, Paving Way For Treatment

Melbourne: In a massive breakthrough, Melbourne-based researchers at the Walter and Eliza Hall Institute (WEHI) at the Parkinson's Disease Research Centre have solved a decades-long mystery which is likely to pave the way to the development of new drugs to treat the disease.

What is Parkinson's?

Parkinson's, which is said to be a non-curable disease, is a movement disorder of the nervous system that aggravates over time. The breakthrough could treat, slow, or even halt Parkinson’s disease.

All about PINK1...

PINK1 is a protein that is directly linked to Parkinson's disease - the fastest-growing neurogenerative condition in the world.

So far, no one has observed the structure of human PINK1, the protein, which was discovered 20 years ago. 

Also, details of how it binds to the surface of damaged mitochondria within cells or the mechanism behind its activation remain unknown.

The research could help find new treatments for the disease and also help stop its progression.

The damaged mitochondria, in a healthy individual, trigger the gathering of PINK1 on their membranes that signals via a small protein called 'ubiquitin' that the broken mitochondria need to be removed.

This specific PINK1-ubiquitin signal is exclusive to the damaged mitochondria, and mutations in PINK1 lead to the accumulation of broken mitochondria in cells.

Even though there is a connection between PINK1 with Parkinson’s disease, especially Young Onset Parkinson’s, researchers were unable to directly observe its structure. 

Neither were they able to comprehend how it attaches to the mitochondria nor the way it is activated.

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Initially, PINK1 detects mitochondrial damage and then attaches itself to the damaged mitochondria. Once it is attached, PINK1 tags ubiquitin that binds to a protein called Parkin, signalling that the damaged mitochondria should be recycled.

With the new studies, the researchers aim to develop drugs that could slow or even stop the progression of Parkinson’s in individuals with PINK1 mutations.

Parkinson's key aspect is the death of brain cells. Even though 50 million cells die and are replaced every minute in the body, the brain cells have an extremely low replacement rate.

The damaged mitochondria stop the production of energy and begin to release toxins into the cell. In the case of healthy cells, the damage is

Damaged mitochondria stop producing energy and begin to release toxins into the cell. In healthy cells, this damage is reduced through Mitophagy - a process where the faulty mitochondria are removed.

But, the same process is disrupted in individuals battling with Parkinson's with PINK1 mutation that leads to the accumulation of toxins, which ultimately kill the cell. As the brain cells have high energy demands, they are vulnerable to the effects of this damage.

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