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Is the Mitochondrial Protein Mortalin Associated with the Progression of Parkinson’s Disease

Jing Zhang, M.D., Ph.D.
Department of Pathology, University of Washington School of Medicine
NIEHS Grant R01ES12703

Using combined proteomic and labeling techniques, NIEHS supported researchers have identified a protein, mortalin, that may be involved in the progression of Parkinson’s disease. Using brain tissue samples from deceased Parkinson’s patients at various stages of the disease and comparing those to samples from age matched controls, they isolated many proteins that had differential expression. Mortalin was found to be decreased in late stages of the disease.

Parkinson’s disease is a progressive neurodegenerative condition that currently afflicts more than one million people in the United States alone. It is estimated that about one percent of all people over the age of 60 have the condition. Parkinson’s is characterized by four main features: rigidity or stiffness of the arns, legs or neck, tremor usually of the hands, slowness of movement, and loss of balance. Other symptoms may accompany these features including depression, dementia and confusion, and speech and swallowing difficulty.

Mortalin is a multifunctional protein involved in mitochondrial energy generation but also in protection from oxidative stress. In previous work, these investigators demonstrated that mortalin expression is associated with other proteins thought to be involved in Parkinson’s disease including alpha-synuclein.

This study demonstrates a novel proteomic method to study the mechanisms of Parkinson’s disease progression. Using pathological samples from diseased Parkinson’s patients, the study verified that mortalin is decreased in brain tissue at advanced stages of the disease. Further studies are necessary to determine its role and mechanism of action in the progression of Parkinson’s disease.

Citation: Shi M, Jin J, Wang Y, Beyer RP, Kitsou E, Albin RL, Gearing M, Pan C, Zhang J. Mortalin: a protein associated with progression of Parkinson disease? J Neuropathol Exp Neurol. 2008 Feb;67(2):117-24.

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Last Reviewed: April 24, 2008