DALLAS: A multidisciplinary team of researchers has recently published a study linking a Parkinson’s disease-causing mutation in the Fbx07 gene with mitophagy.
Mitochondria are essential cell organelles responsible for producing most of the cell’s energy through respiration. They are especially important in nerve cells where the demand for energy is increased. When mitochondria stop working properly, they are a burden to cells and become cytotoxic. However, cells have developed a mechanism to digest these dysfunctional mitochondria called mitophagy.
This study reinforces the idea that non-efficient clearance of dysfunctional mitochondria is causing brain cells’ death in Parkinson’s patients and highlights mitophagy as a target for future therapeutic approaches in Parkinson’s disease.