Zebrafish Show the Way to Brain Cell Regeneration in Parkinson's
Complete the form below to unlock access to ALL audio articles.
Research using zebrafish has revealed how key brain cells that are damaged in people with Parkinson’s disease can be regenerated. The findings offer clues that could one day lead to treatments for the neurological condition, which causes movement problems and tremors.
Brain cells
Parkinson’s occurs when specialised nerve cells in the brain are destroyed. These cells are responsible for producing an important chemical called dopamine. When these cells die, or become damaged, the loss of dopamine causes body movements to become impaired. Once these cells are lost from the human brain, they cannot be repaired or replaced.
Stem cells
In zebrafish, however, dopamine-producing nerve cells are constantly replaced by dedicated stem cells in the brain, the researchers found. The team, led by the University of Edinburgh, found the immune system plays a key role in this process. In some regions of a zebrafish’s brain, the process does not work, however.
Chemical signals
Researchers say understanding the immune signals that facilitate replacement of these nerve cells could hold vital clues to developing treatments for people. The study, published in the Journal of Neuroscience, was funded by the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council and the Medical Research Council.
Dr Thomas Becker of the Centre for Discovery Brain Sciences at the University of Edinburgh said, "We were excited to find that zebrafish have a much higher regenerative capacity for dopamine neurons than humans. Understanding the signals that underpin regeneration of these nerve cells could be important for identifying future treatments for Parkinson’s disease."
This article has been republished from materials provided by the University of Edinburgh. Note: material may have been edited for length and content. For further information, please contact the cited source.
Reference: Caldwell, L. J., Davies, N. O., Cavone, L., Mysiak, K. S., Semenova, S. A., Panula, P., … Becker, T. (2019). Regeneration of dopaminergic neurons in adult zebrafish depends on immune system activation and differs for distinct populations. Journal of Neuroscience, 2706–2718. https://doi.org/10.1523/JNEUROSCI.2706-18.2019
