This diagram demonstrates how the neuropeptide Prokineticin-2 (PK2) is rapidly induced during early stages of neurotoxic stress and secreted into extracellular spaces. ISU biomedical scientists have published new research indicating PK2 may act as a protective mechanism that helps neurons cope with Parkinson’s disease. Credit: Anumantha Kanthasamy
A protein that may safeguard neurons from the ravages of Parkinson’s disease has been identified by a team of scientists. Parkinson’s disease is a progressive disorder that takes years to develop. A better understanding of Prokineticin-2 could turn up a means of slowing development of the disease or lead to new therapies, say the investigators. “The neurons use PK2 to cope with stress. It’s an in-built protective mechanism,” said Prof. Anumantha Kanthasamy.
Prokineticin-2 stimulates the neurons to produce more mitochondria. The resulting improved energy production helps neurons withstand the ravages of the disease, which is a neurological disorder that results in insufficient levels of dopamine in the brain. A better understanding of Prokineticin-2 could turn up a means of slowing development of the disease or lead to new therapies. For instance, there may be ways to stimulate more production of the protein or protein analogs to bind with its receptors on neurons, he said.
The scientists studied cultured brain cells, a rodent model and post-mortem human brains to track changes brought on by Parkinson’s disease, and they confirmed a high expression of Prokineticin-2 in each facet of the study. It was this team effort that resulted in a comprehensive finding, Arthi Kanthasamy noted.
The discovery prompted the research team to investigate more thoroughly. “Of the thousands and thousands of factors we tracked in our experiments, why was this protein expressed so highly?” Arthi Kanthasamy said. Finding the answer to that question poses a challenge that will take time to overcome, but the potential appears to be significant, she said. http://www.news.iastate.edu/news/2016/10/05/pk2
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