Recent research from Northwestern Medicine sheds light on why only some people with genetic variants for Parkinson's disease (PD) actually develop the disorder. Utilizing CRISPR interference technology, the study examined every human gene and identified several previously unrecognized genes contributing to PD risk. The findings emphasize that a combination of genetic factors likely influences disease manifestation, suggesting that therapies should target multiple pathways. Moreover, a specific group of proteins named Commander plays a critical role in transporting proteins to the lysosome, a key cellular recycling center, further underscoring therapeutic targets for PD.
Our study reveals that a combination of genetic factors plays a role in the manifestation of diseases like Parkinson's disease, which means that therapeutic targeting of several key pathways will have to be considered for such disorders.
Instead, we used a genome-wide CRISPR interference screen to silence each of the protein-coding human genes in cells and identified those important for PD pathogenesis.
It also is possible to identify such genetic factors in susceptible individuals by studying tens of thousands of patients, which is challenging and costly.
A group of 16 proteins, called Commander, comes together to play a previously unrecognized role in delivering specific proteins to the lysosome, a part of the cell that acts like a recycling center.
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