The newest paper from our lab (a collaboration with the Kurzchalia group) is out this month in the open access journal Biology Open.
Toyoda Y, Erkut C, Pan-Montojo F, Boland S, Stewart MP, Müller DJ, Wurst W, Hyman AA, Kurzchalia T. Products of the Parkinson’s disease-related glyoxalase DJ-1, D-lactate and glycolate, support mitochondrial membrane potential and neuronal survival. Biol Open. 2014 Jul 25. pii: BIO20149399.
[MPI-CBG Press Release. Article in the Sächsische Zeitung newspaper.]
This work links the metabolic products of the glyoxalase DJ-1 with mitochondrial health during cellular stress. DJ-1 has previously been linked to the onset of Parkinson’s disease, which is associated with mitochondrial decline in dopaminergic neurons. In this paper, we show that the products of DJ-1 enhance the survival of cultured dopaminergic neurons, indicating that they are a potential therapeutic route for treatment or prevention of Parkinson’s disease.