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LOS ANGELES, July 30 (Xinhua) – A small protein previously badociated with cell dysfunction and death plays a vital role in repairing DNA breaks, according to a new study by scientists at the University of Hawaii. University of Health and Sciences of Oregon (OHSU).
The discovery, published Monday in the journal Scientific Reports, marked the first demonstration of the role that the alpha-synuclein protein plays in preventing the death of neurons in brain diseases such as Parkinson's disease, which affects 1.5 million people in the United States.
The findings suggest that it may be possible to design new therapies to replace or stimulate the function of alpha-synuclein in people with Parkinson's disease and other neurodegenerative disorders, according to the findings. l & # 39; study.
Aggregates of alpha-synuclein, known as Lewy bodies, have long been badociated with Parkinson's disease and other forms of dementia. The study sheds new light on this process.
The role of alpha-synuclein in DNA repair can be crucial in preventing cell death. This function can be lost in brain diseases such as Parkinson's disease, leading to the widespread death of neurons.
The researchers found that alpha-synuclein protein was rapidly recruited to the site of DNA damage in mouse neurons. In addition, they found an increase in the number of double-strand breaks in the DNA of human and mouse tissues in which the protein was pooled as Lewy bodies in the cytoplasm surrounding the nucleus of the cell. The results suggest that alpha-synuclein plays a crucial role in binding broken DNA strands in the cell nucleus.
Vivek Unni, badociate professor of neurology at the OHSU School of Medicine, said he hoped these findings would lead to the development of methods to introduce alpha-synuclein proteins into the nucleus of cells or to devise methods to replace the function.
"It's the first time anyone finds out that one of its functions is DNA repair," Unni said. "It's essential for cell survival and it seems like it's a lost function in Parkinson's disease." Enditem
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