ScienceDaily (Aug. 15, 2008) — Researchers at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine have identified a protein from a most unlikely source — baker’s yeast — that might protect against Parkinson’s disease. More than a million Americans suffer from Parkinson’s disease, and no treatments are available that fundamentally alter the course of the condition.
By introducing the yeast protein Hsp104 into animal models of Parkinson’s disease, researchers prevented protein clumping that leads to nerve cell death characteristic of the disorder.
“Yeast express a protein called Hsp104, which is able to reverse protein aggregation,” says James Shorter, PhD, Assistant Professor of Biochemistry and Biophysics. “However, for reasons that are unclear (more…)
