Researchers have discovered how to block cells that die, in a finding that could lead to new treatments for neurodegenerative conditions such as Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s.
The Wehi team in Melbourne, Australia, has identified a small molecule that can selectively block cell death.
Posted in Scientific advances, The findings feel the basis for next generation neuroprotective drugs for degenerative conditions, which currently have no cure or treatments to stop their progression.
At a glance
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Researchers have discovered how to block cell death, an important first step towards the slowdown in neurodegenerative conditions.
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The study of the Wehi team, including researchers at the Parkinson Disease Research Center, has revealed a new vision of the mechanisms behind cell death and how it is controlled.
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The discovery was possible through advanced detection technologies of the National Discovery Drug Drug Center.
A new hope in the fight against degenerative conditions
Millions of cells are scheduled to die in our bodies every day. But excessive cell death can cause degenerative conditions, including Parkinson’s disease and Alzheimer’s disease, with the premature death of brain cells as a cause of symptoms in these diseases.
Professor Grant Dewson, co-corresponding author and head of the Wehi Parkinson Disease Research Center, said: “There are currently no treatments that prevent neurons from dying to delay Parkinson’s progression. Any drug that can do this could change the game.”
The new study aimed to find new chemicals that block cell death and could be useful for treating degenerative diseases in the future.
To identify new small molecules, the team worked with researchers at the National Drug Discovery Center, based in Wehi.
A high performance screen of more than 100,000 chemical compounds identified one that was effective to prevent cells from dying, when interfering with a well -understood cell death protein.
The corresponding author, Professor Guillaume Mellene said: “We were delighted to find a small molecule that aims at a murderous protein called Bax and stop working.”
“While it is not the case in most cells, in neurons bax can only be enough to limit cell death.”
Based on decades of pioneer research of cell death
New research is based on decades of Wehi discoveries leaders in the world in cell death. A pioneering discovery in Wehi in 1988 of a protein that stopped programmed cell death caused great interest in the field, and since then has led a new medicine to treat cancer.
While drugs that trigger cell death are transforming the treatment of certain types of cancer, the development of cell death blockers, which could change similarly for neurodegenerative conditions, has proven to be a challenge.
The new molecule goes to a murderous protein called Bax that kills the cells by damaging mitochondria, the power of the cells.
Dewson’s main author and researcher, Kaiming Li, said: “For the first time, we could keep Bax away from mitochondria and keep cells alive using this molecule.
“This could pave the way for next -generation cell death inhibitors to combat degenerative conditions.”
The study demonstrates the potential to identify medications that block cell death and can open a new way to find disease modifiers very necessary for neurodegenerative conditions such as Parkinson and Alzheimer’s Parkinson.
The Wehi Parkinson disease research center is focusing on its experience in cell death, ubiquitin signage, mitochondria and inflammation in the search for disease -modifying therapies for Parkinson’s.
By using a multidisciplinary approach to develop the understanding of the mechanisms behind the disease, the center expects to accelerate the discovery of medicines to stop the progression of the disease, transforming the life of those who live with the condition.
The new research was supported by the Bodhi Education Fund and the National Council for Medical Research and Health.