July 2015

July 2015: ‘Switching on the Light’

Loss of the PINK1 protein function causes rare inherited forms of Parkinson's disease. By working out how PINK1 functions, researchers can learn how PINK1 protects the brain from Parkinson’s  “switching the light” on better ways to treat, diagnose and hopefully in the long term prevent Parkinson’s disease.

Submitted by: Rachel Furlong, Cora O’Neill

Rachel Furlong is a BSc graduate from the Department of Anatomy and Neuroscience, UCC. She recently obtained an MSc in Molecular Cell Biology with Bioinnovation from the School of Biochemistry and Cell Biology UCC,  conducting a research project in Parkinson’s disease supervised by Dr. Cora O’Neill. Rachel was awarded an Irish Research Council PhD postgraduate scholarship in 2015, and began her PhD under the supervision of Dr Cora O'Neill and Prof Aideen Sullivan in October 2015. Her PhD research project is investigating the mechanisms by which PINK1 protects against Parkinson’s disease: to develop better biomarkers and treatment targets for the disease.

The image above shows cells with no PINK1 (left of image) have reduced levels of a key signalling protein (labelled in green) in the PI3-kinase/Akt pathway, a major signalling hub for cell survival and cellular health. In contrast healthy cells containing the PINK1 protein (right of image) have ample amounts of this key survival signalling protein. Our research indicates that the interaction of PINK1 protein and this key survival signalling pathway is important in balancing cell survival and cell death decisions in Parkinson's disease. By elucidating how PINK1 and this survival pathway interact we hope to apply this knowledge to better understand, diagnose and treat Parkinson’s."  

This image was recently exhibited as part of the BRAINTALK Parkinson’s Community Meeting and Art Exhibition, held in the Glucksman Gallery University College Cork. This event was organised by Dr Shane Hegarty and Professor Aideen Sullivan of the Department of Anatomy and Neuroscience, UCC, as part of the BRAINTALK project (www.ucc.ie/en/braintalk).

The purpose of the meeting was to bring together People with Parkinson's, Parkinson's researchers and clinicians, to create an interconnected Parkinson's Community in Ireland. Over 200 participants, the majority of whom were People with Parkinson’s and their carers, gathered in the Glucksman Gallery for a variety of presentations by Parkinson’s advocacy groups, People with Parkinson’s, therapists, neurologists and neuroscientists.

 ‘Parkinson’s Community’ art exhibition was launched after the meeting. This included paintings made by People with Parkinson’s in an ‘Exploring Parkinson’s with Art’ workshop , as well as photomicrographs showing the ongoing scientific work by Parkinson’s researchers in the Department of Anatomy and Neuroscience, UCC.

For full details see BRAINTALK website  http://www.ucc.ie/en/braintalk/.