Immunotherapy to slow the development of Parkinson’s

A research team from the Institut de Neurociències of the Autonomous University of Barcelona (INc-UAB) has shown that treatment with immunotherapy could prevent the elimination of neurons in Parkinson’s.

Published in npj Parkinson’s Diseasethe study, carried out in patient samples, animal models and cellular models, shows that the cells in defense of the nervous system become reactive and “overexpress” receptors that promote the elimination of dopaminergic neurons, even if they are still functional.

When the system is working correctly, the receivers Fc gamma They are one of the proteins responsible for recognizing damaged cells or substances that must be eliminated from the brain so that microglial cells can begin the cleaning process.

However, the research team at INc-UAB suggests that, in patients with Parkinson’s disease, Fc gamma receptors identify as damaged cells that “are still functional, and initiate an improper elimination process.”

The activation of Fc gamma receptors when detecting a dopaminergic neuron (although it still works) promotes the microglia cell to change its shape by activating a protein in its cytoskeleton called Cdc42, and this allows the cell to “eat” it, in a process called phagocytosis.

These results suggest that regulating microglial phagocytosis by immunotherapy targeting the Fc gamma receptor or the Cdc42 protein “could slow disease progression and protect the function of dopaminergic neurons.”