Early diagnosis of Parkinson's disease: Revolutionary study provides new insights!

Early diagnosis of Parkinson's disease: Revolutionary study provides new insights!

A current study by Prof. Dr. Parvana Hajieva and Dr. Ankush Borlepawar, both of whom work at the Institute for Transnational Medicine at the University of Hamburg, has published new findings on the epigenetic regulation of the mitochondrial respiratory chain in Parkinson's models. This research focuses on the inhibition of complex I of the respiratory chain, which is a well-known feature of Parkinson's disease. However, the exact cause of this inhibition remains unknown, so the study plays an important role in research into the disease.

According to the results published in the journalFrontiers in Cell and Developmental Biologyhave been published, inhibition of complex I leads to the production and release of a redox signal from the mitochondria. This signaling system tells the cell nucleus that new proteins are needed to maintain intact respiratory chain complexes. The information is passed on to the cell nucleus through non-specific, broadly acting epigenetic mechanisms. A notable aspect of this study is the efficiency of “spare ordering”: a single signal can request dozens of new proteins in parallel. This impending deployment of new proteins, both in timing and parallelism, was previously unexplored.

Epigenetic changes and Parkinson's disease

Additional perspectives on the topic of Parkinson's research are provided by the results of another study conducted by Dr. O. Windl, Prof. Dr. A. Giese and Prof. Dr. G. Höglinger was carried out. This study, which took place at the German Center for Neurodegenerative Diseases in Munich, focused on epigenetic changes in nerve cells from Parkinson's patients. The main aim was to improve the early diagnosis of the disease before the onset of motor disorders and nerve cell loss.

To achieve this, cell nuclei were isolated from severely affected brain regions and the nucleic acids were examined for DNA methylation and microRNAs. It was shown that certain micro-RNAs are present in lower concentrations in Parkinson's patients in the early phases of the disease. These epigenetic changes could be crucial for disease progression and are possible candidates for earlier diagnoses as well as therapeutic approaches.

The connection between mitophagy and signaling mechanisms

Another aspect that plays a role in Parkinson's research is the process of mitophagy. According to research, this mainly refers to the role of PINK1 (PTEN-induced putative kinase 1) and Parkin, which play a key role in the initiation of mitophagy. Upon loss of mitochondrial membrane potential, PINK1 becomes active to recruit Parkin to mitochondria, thus marking dysfunctional mitochondria for lysosomal degradation. The profiles and interactions of these two molecules are of considerable interest.

What is particularly noteworthy is that in the absence of functional PINK1 or Parkin, mitochondrial signaling (MitoDAMPs) accumulates and thus activates inflammatory signals that can influence both neuronal and glial cell interactions. The interaction between PINK1, Parkin and the associated signaling mechanisms is at the center of Parkinson's research and can have a decisive influence on therapeutic approaches.

These findings underline the complexity and multifaceted nature of Parkinson's disease, with epigenetic mechanisms, mitochondrial signaling and early diagnosis being closely linked. Continued research in these areas could potentially pave the way for new treatment strategies to significantly improve patients' quality of life.

For more details: Medical School Hamburg, PubMed, Parkinson's Fund.