Video Blog: Vesicular transport demonstrates a potential disease mechanism in Parkinson’s disease

New research published in Acta Neuropathologica Communications identifies a potential disease mechanism in the initiation and development of Parkinson’s disease. It is known that the aggregation of the protein α-synuclein is the primary cause of this widespread disease. However, it remains unclear how a naturally occurring protein, normally restricted to red blood cells, can enter the brain, causing disease? In this study, researchers attached fluorescent labels to tag transport vesicles, containing α-synuclein, to track their movements in mice. Under conditions of inflammation, these vesicles could bypass the blood brain barrier with ease, entering the brain and triggering the cellular responses seen in Parkinson’s disease. However, whether Parkinson’s blood vessel are contagious remains to be investigated.

Click here to display content from YouTube.
Learn more in YouTube’s privacy policy.

Lizzie Anderson

Journal Development Editor at Biomed Central
Lizzie completed her BSc in Biomedical Science at the University of Kent in 2015. She then gained her MSc in Neuroscience, with a specialism in Neural Stem Cells & Nervous System Repair, from King's College London in 2016. After a year working in production for Scientific Reports she joined Biomed's Life Sciences team in October 2017.

View the latest posts on the On Biology homepage

Comments