The Cell Biology of Parkinson's Disease

Overview

Journal J Cell Biol

Specialty Cell Biology

Date 2021 Mar 22

PMID 33749710

Citations 52

Authors

Nikhil Panicker

Preston Ge

Valina L Dawson

Ted M Dawson

Affiliations

Soon will be listed here.

Abstract

Parkinson's disease (PD) is a progressive neurodegenerative disorder resulting from the death of dopamine neurons in the substantia nigra pars compacta. Our understanding of PD biology has been enriched by the identification of genes involved in its rare, inheritable forms, termed PARK genes. These genes encode proteins including α-syn, LRRK2, VPS35, parkin, PINK1, and DJ1, which can cause monogenetic PD when mutated. Investigating the cellular functions of these proteins has been instrumental in identifying signaling pathways that mediate pathology in PD and neuroprotective mechanisms active during homeostatic and pathological conditions. It is now evident that many PD-associated proteins perform multiple functions in PD-associated signaling pathways in neurons. Furthermore, several PARK proteins contribute to non-cell-autonomous mechanisms of neuron death, such as neuroinflammation. A comprehensive understanding of cell-autonomous and non-cell-autonomous pathways involved in PD is essential for developing therapeutics that may slow or halt its progression.

Citing Articles

LRRK2 in Drosophila Melanogaster Model: Insights into Cellular Dysfunction and Neuroinflammation in Parkinson's Disease.

Ciampelli C, Galleri G, Galioto M, Mereu P, Pirastru M, Bernardoni R Int J Mol Sci. 2025; 26(5).

PMID: 40076730 PMC: 11900240. DOI: 10.3390/ijms26052093.

Dual regulation of mitochondrial fusion by Parkin-PINK1 and OMA1.

Yamada T, Ikeda A, Murata D, Wang H, Zhang C, Khare P Nature. 2025; .

PMID: 39972141 DOI: 10.1038/s41586-025-08590-2.

Investigating the link between microplastic exposure (benzyl butyl phthalate) and neurodegenerative diseases using high-performance computational toxicology.

Abdulrahman A Toxicol Res (Camb). 2025; 14(1):tfae211.

PMID: 39830890 PMC: 11741681. DOI: 10.1093/toxres/tfae211.

Ultrastructural membrane dynamics of mouse and human cortical synapses.

Eddings C, Fan M, Imoto Y, Itoh K, McDonald X, Eilers J bioRxiv. 2025; .

PMID: 39763840 PMC: 11703259. DOI: 10.1101/2024.12.26.630393.

Biomarkers of Parkinson's Disease.

Sahai A, Saxena K Ann Neurosci. 2024; :09727531241301878.

PMID: 39712433 PMC: 11656457. DOI: 10.1177/09727531241301878.

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