• HOME
  • NEWS
  • EXPLORE
    • CAREER
      • Companies
      • Jobs
    • EVENTS
    • iGEM
      • News
      • Team
    • PHOTOS
    • VIDEO
    • WIKI
  • BLOG
  • COMMUNITY
    • FACEBOOK
    • INSTAGRAM
    • TWITTER
Wednesday, August 27, 2025
BIOENGINEER.ORG
No Result
View All Result
  • Login
  • HOME
  • NEWS
  • EXPLORE
    • CAREER
      • Companies
      • Jobs
        • Lecturer
        • PhD Studentship
        • Postdoc
        • Research Assistant
    • EVENTS
    • iGEM
      • News
      • Team
    • PHOTOS
    • VIDEO
    • WIKI
  • BLOG
  • COMMUNITY
    • FACEBOOK
    • INSTAGRAM
    • TWITTER
  • HOME
  • NEWS
  • EXPLORE
    • CAREER
      • Companies
      • Jobs
        • Lecturer
        • PhD Studentship
        • Postdoc
        • Research Assistant
    • EVENTS
    • iGEM
      • News
      • Team
    • PHOTOS
    • VIDEO
    • WIKI
  • BLOG
  • COMMUNITY
    • FACEBOOK
    • INSTAGRAM
    • TWITTER
No Result
View All Result
Bioengineer.org
No Result
View All Result
Home NEWS Science News Chemistry

Inactivated protein complex linked to Parkinson-like symptoms

Bioengineer by Bioengineer
August 29, 2022
in Chemistry
Reading Time: 3 mins read
0
Share on FacebookShare on TwitterShare on LinkedinShare on RedditShare on Telegram

Inactivation of a particular protein complex that plays a key role in keeping genes switched off leads to nerve cells not producing enough essential neurotransmitters. This could be part of the explanation for diseases such as Parkinson’s and anxiety disorders. This is the result of a discovery by researchers at Umeå University, Lund University and Karolinska Institutet, Sweden.

Johan Holmberg

Credit: Mattias Pettersson

Inactivation of a particular protein complex that plays a key role in keeping genes switched off leads to nerve cells not producing enough essential neurotransmitters. This could be part of the explanation for diseases such as Parkinson’s and anxiety disorders. This is the result of a discovery by researchers at Umeå University, Lund University and Karolinska Institutet, Sweden.

“We have seen that if this protein complex is inactivated, the ability to keep genes that control other functions switched off is impaired. This, in turn, shuts down genes needed to maintain the function of nerve cells. In animal studies, we can see a change in the animals’ behaviour that is similar to those that occur in Parkinson’s disease,’ says Johan Holmberg,” professor at the Department of Molecular Biology, Umeå University and one of the study’s lead authors.

After neurons are formed during fetal development, they often retain their identity and function for the rest of life. In addition to the need for gene programmes necessary to form and maintain the nerve cell to be active, genes controlling other properties are also required to be permanently “silenced”. The current study shows that this silencing of irrelevant genes depends on a specific protein complex, PRC2.

Without a functioning PRC2 complex, mature neurons that produce the important neurotransmitters dopamine and serotonin gradually lose their identity and function. In Parkinson’s disease, the cells that produce dopamine die, while a lack of serotonin is associated with mental health problems. When tested on mice the researchers observed a progressive change in the behaviour of the mice, such as motor symptoms typical of Parkinson’s disease.

“If we can see that mechanisms controlling the regulation of genes are part of the reason why diseases that damage the nervous system occur, this could open up interesting new possibilities for diagnosis and treatment, but there is still a long way to go,” says Johan Holmberg.

The study was done by knocking out a vital component of the PRC2 protein complex in the nerve cell types of interest in mice. The effects were then investigated using microscopy, behavioural studies, electrophysiology and a combined analysis of gene expression and modifications of histones, the proteins around which the long DNA coils of chromosomes are wound.

The researchers now plan to go further and investigate whether the mechanisms studied in mouse models are indeed involved in neurodegenerative or mental disorders. In addition, the researchers want to find out what exactly controls the downregulation of genes when the PRC2 complex is inactivated. An interesting observation made in the study is that the very subtype of dopamine-producing neurons that die in Parkinson’s disease exhibit a particular sensitivity to loss of PRC2 activity, and they exhibited significantly greater changes in gene expression than other neurons. The mechanisms behind this selective sensitivity are one of the things they want to explain.



Journal

Science Advances

DOI

10.1126/sciadv.abo1543

Method of Research

Experimental study

Subject of Research

Animals

Article Title

PRC2-mediated repression is essential to maintain identity and function of differentiate dopaminergic and serotonergic neurons

Article Publication Date

26-Aug-2022

Share12Tweet8Share2ShareShareShare2

Related Posts

Why Beer Foam Stays So Stable: The Science Behind the Perfect Pour

Why Beer Foam Stays So Stable: The Science Behind the Perfect Pour

August 26, 2025
SwRI Scientist Heads Science Team for New NASA Heliophysics AI Foundation Model

SwRI Scientist Heads Science Team for New NASA Heliophysics AI Foundation Model

August 26, 2025

Expanding Azole Chemistry with Precise N-Alkylation

August 26, 2025

Advancing Green Technology with More Efficient and Reliable SiC Devices

August 26, 2025

POPULAR NEWS

  • blank

    Breakthrough in Computer Hardware Advances Solves Complex Optimization Challenges

    148 shares
    Share 59 Tweet 37
  • Molecules in Focus: Capturing the Timeless Dance of Particles

    142 shares
    Share 57 Tweet 36
  • New Drug Formulation Transforms Intravenous Treatments into Rapid Injections

    115 shares
    Share 46 Tweet 29
  • Neuropsychiatric Risks Linked to COVID-19 Revealed

    81 shares
    Share 32 Tweet 20

About

We bring you the latest biotechnology news from best research centers and universities around the world. Check our website.

Follow us

Recent News

METTL3-Driven m6A Boosts Sorafenib’s Antitumor Effects

Blood and Fluid Signatures Predict IVF Embryo Success

Enhancing 3D-Printed Biphasic Scaffolds with Hourglass Design

  • Contact Us

Bioengineer.org © Copyright 2023 All Rights Reserved.

Welcome Back!

Login to your account below

Forgotten Password?

Retrieve your password

Please enter your username or email address to reset your password.

Log In
No Result
View All Result
  • Homepages
    • Home Page 1
    • Home Page 2
  • News
  • National
  • Business
  • Health
  • Lifestyle
  • Science

Bioengineer.org © Copyright 2023 All Rights Reserved.