Scientists have discovered that the immune system may play a crucial role in triggering Parkinson’s disease, even in people without genetic risk factors. This finding fundamentally shifts our understanding of how this devastating neurological condition develops and opens new avenues for potential treatments.
Published in Nature Neuroscience | Estimated reading time: 4 minutes
Using an innovative technique with lab-grown human brain cells, researchers at The Neuro (Montreal Neurological Institute-Hospital) at McGill University have achieved what was previously impossible: creating and observing the formation of Lewy bodies – toxic protein clusters characteristic of Parkinson’s disease – in living human neurons.
The research team, led by Peter McPherson, Distinguished James McGill Professor of Neurology and Neurosurgery and Anatomy and Cell Biology, made a crucial discovery: Lewy bodies only form when two specific conditions are met. The cells must contain a protein called α-synuclein and experience an immune response. Intriguingly, these protein clusters appeared exclusively in dopamine-producing neurons, the specific brain cells affected in Parkinson’s disease.
Until this advance, scientists could only study Lewy bodies in brain tissue after death, severely limiting their ability to understand how these structures develop. The new technique allows researchers to watch these disease markers form in real-time, providing unprecedented insights into the disease process.
The study revealed another surprising finding: Lewy bodies are more complex than previously thought, containing various cellular components beyond just misfolded proteins. This new understanding of their composition, combined with the ability to study their formation as it happens, provides researchers with potential new targets for developing treatments to slow disease progression.
First author Armin Bayati, a PhD candidate in McPherson’s lab, emphasizes that their findings support mounting evidence of the immune system’s critical role in Parkinson’s disease. The research suggests that environmental factors triggering immune responses – such as chronic inflammation, exposure to toxins, or prolonged stress – could potentially initiate the disease process, even without genetic predisposition.
Glossary
- Lewy bodies
- Toxic protein clusters that form inside brain cells in Parkinson’s disease
- α-synuclein
- A protein that plays a key role in the formation of Lewy bodies and Parkinson’s disease development
- Dopamine-producing neurons
- Specialized brain cells that produce dopamine, a crucial chemical messenger affected in Parkinson’s disease
Test Your Knowledge
What are the two conditions needed for Lewy bodies to form in brain cells?
The presence of α-synuclein protein and an immune response.
Which specific type of brain cells developed Lewy bodies in the study?
Dopamine-producing neurons, the cells affected in Parkinson’s disease.
How does this research change our understanding of who might develop Parkinson’s disease?
It suggests that environmental factors triggering immune responses could cause Parkinson’s disease even without genetic predisposition.
What new discovery did researchers make about Lewy bodies’ composition?
They contain additional cellular components beyond misfolded proteins as previously thought, and are membrane-bound structures related to autophagy dysfunction.
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