A NEW POTENTIAL TARGET FOR ANTI-AGING DISCOVERED IN PROTECTIVE PROTEIN
Posted by Scintillon Institute on November 07, 2016
Research from the Scintillon Institute identifies a promising new target for future drug treatments for neurodegenerative disorders, including Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s disease.
In a new study published today in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, scientists at the Scintillon Institute in San Diego report for the first time that a particular enzyme called sulfiredoxin acts as a master regulator of oxidative and nitrosative stress in nerve cells. Free radical forms of oxygen and nitrogen cause oxidative and nitrosative stress, believed to contribute to the processes of normal aging as well as to diseases associated with aging, such as Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s.
The scientific group led by Stuart A. Lipton, M.D. Ph.D., Distinguished Professor and Hannah and Eugene Step Chair at the Scintillon Institute, reports a particular enzyme called sulfiredoxin acts as a master regulator of oxidative and nitrosative stress in nerve cells. “We found that a novel chemical reaction, whereby the enzyme sulfiredoxin removes both nitrogen and oxygen-based stressors, thus enables a cascade of additional enzymes to detoxify these free radical or “redox” species,” stated Lipton. Employing an interdisciplinary approach, the research team performed experiments in mice, human postmortem brains, and human induced pluripotent stem cell (hiPSC)-deprived nerve cells to explore the molecular, chemical, and physiological significance of this discovery.
The new results suggest that sulfiredoxin may be an important drug target for treatment of neurodegenerative disorders and could even ameliorate the normal aging process. To find potential medical treatments, the team will next screen for drugs that can turbocharge sulfiredoxin to increase the removal of damaging stress reactions in the brain.
Other authors on the study include Carmen R. Sunico, Abdullah Sultan, Tomohiro Nakamura, Nima Dolatabadi, James Parker, Rajesh Ambasudhan, and Nobuki Nakanishi, as well as collaborators from The Scripps Research Institute in La Jolla (Bing Shan, Xuemei Han, and John R. Yates III), and from UC San Diego (Eliezer Masliah).
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ABOUT SCINTILLON INSTITUTE
Scintillon Institute founded in 2012 as an independent non-profit science research institute with the goal of discovering and developing new biologically based technologies that address the fundamental needs of a growing civilization. Research projects include novel tools for biological imaging, new perspectives on aging and cancer research as well as innovative approaches to developing sustainable energy and food sources. Focused on catalyzing key advances in biological research, it seeks to contribute broadly to improving public health, treating disease, and producing sustainable energy and food for our growing world population.
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