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Researchers Identify Protein Which Could
Help Protect Against Neuro-Degenerative Conditions
EurekAlert May 30, 2003
A
team of researchers from Imperial College London, the Charing Cross
Hospital and University College London have identified a protein which
could be used to protect against neuro-degenerative conditions such as
Alzheimer's, Parkinson's, Huntington's, motor neurone diseases and the
damage caused by strokes. According to
research published today in The Journal of Biological Chemistry, the
researchers discovered that the naturally occurring protein, 27-kDa heat
shock protein (HSP27) was able to reduce cell death in the brain. Professor Jacqueline
de Belleroche, senior author on the paper, from Imperial College London
and the Charing Cross Hospital, comments: "At present, there is no
cure for neuro-degenerative diseases, such as Alzheimer's and Parkinson's,
but the discovery of the beneficial effects of this protein in the brain
may provide us with a way to at least slow down the disease process."
For the experiment,
the researchers used transgenic mice, which had high levels of HSP27
throughout the brain, spinal cord and other tissues. This was found to
reduce mortality rate and neuronal cell death in the hippocampus, a part
of the brain affected by neurological diseases. Similar results were also
obtained when HSP27 was injected directly into the brain. Professor de
Belleroche adds: "Although this is unlikely to provide a cure for
neuro-degenerative disorders, it could be vital in slowing their progress.
Eventually it may be possible to use a drug to increase levels of HSP27 in
the brain which could be given to those suffering from neuro-degenerative
diseases." Heat shock proteins
(HSPs) are a group of proteins present in all cells in all life forms, and
are induced when a cell undergoes environmental stresses such as heat,
cold and oxygen deprivation. They are also present in cells under normal conditions, and act like 'chaperones' to make sure the cell's proteins are in the right place and shape at the right time. Copyright
© 2002 Global Action on Aging
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