1 week Ago By Korea Bizwire
Discovery of RNA editing’s role in brain inflammation brings new hope to millions of patients worldwide. (Image created by ChatGPT) DAEJEON, April 28 (Korea Bizwire) — A collaborative team of South Korean and British scientists has identified a critical enzyme involved in the progression of Parkinson’s disease, offering a potential breakthrough for future therapeutic strategies. On April 27, the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST) announced that Professor Choi Min-hee’s team from the Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences, together with researchers from University College London’s National Hospital for Neurology and Neurosurgery and the Francis Crick Institute, has discovered that the RNA editing enzyme ADAR1 plays a central role in the pathology of Parkinson’s disease.
Parkinson’s disease is a degenerative neurological disorder marked by the abnormal aggregation of the alpha-synuclein protein in the brain, which triggers inflammatory responses that damage nerve cells. The research team utilized human-induced pluripotent stem cells (hiPSCs) derived from Parkinson’s patients to generate astrocytes, a type of immune cell found in the brain. By exposing these cells to aggregates of alpha-synuclein, the researchers meticulously analyzed the inflammatory response at the cellular and molecular levels.
Their findings revealed that the early pathological form of alpha-synuclein — the monomer — activates immune responses within astrocytes. Crucially, the team demonstrated for the first time that RNA editing acts as a key mechanism in regulating this immune activation. RNA editing refers to molecular processes that alter the nucleotide sequence of RNA after transcription, with adenosine-to-inosine (A-to-I) editing being the most common type.
ADAR1 is the primary enzyme responsible for facilitating A-to-I RNA editing. New Study Identifies RNA Editing Enzyme as Key Driver of Parkinson’s Disease (Image created by ChatGPT) The researchers found that expression of ADAR1 led to structural and functional modifications of the protein, resulting in the formation of distinct isoforms. Moreover, RNA editing activity was significantly elevated in patient-derived stem cells — a phenomenon also observed in post-mortem brain tissues from Parkinson’s patients.
The discovery suggests that abnormal RNA editing may be a viable target for new treatment approaches to Parkinson’s disease, diverging sharply from existing therapeutic methods. “This study proposes an entirely new therapeutic strategy for Parkinson’s disease,” said Professor Choi. “RNA editing technology could become a critical turning point in the development of treatments for neuroinflammation.
” The study was published in the April 11 edition of the international journal Science Advances . Kevin Lee ([email protected]).
