Two gene-regulating molecules have been found to have a protective effect in the set of neurons most affected by the disease, and when their activity wanes, disease sets in. This discovery suggests new avenues by which the disease might be prevented or treated.
METHOD: They used genetically engineering mice to capture the genetic messages being translated into proteins in a specific population of cells. They then mapped the interactions of regulator genes with their target genes in the mouse brain, and used this new tool to interpret the changes they documented between normal mice and those suffering from Parkinson’s-like degeneration.
This led them to 2 molecules: proteins SATB1 and ZDHHC2, which are more abundant in the dopaminergic neurons in the SNpc (Substantia Nigra pars compac...
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