Researchers at the University of Nebraska Medical Center (UNMC) have taken a significant step forward in developing a vaccine approach to reverse the neurological damage seen with Parkinson’s disease. Parkinson’s results from the loss of neurons that produce dopamine, a nerve-signaling chemical that controls movement and balance. Neurodegeneration occurs when a normal protein called alpha synuclein becomes clumped, changes shape, and accumulates in the brain. The body subsequently attacks the protein through inflammation and causes destruction of dopamine-producing nerve cells. Degeneration and loss of these dopamine-producing neurons typically occur after age 60, and it is estimated that one person in 20 over the age of 80 has Parkinson’s.
UNMC researchers reversed the neurodegenerative effects of alpha synuclein by changing immune responses to it. The vaccine strategy trains the immune system to elicit neuroprotective responses in damaged brain regions. In mice with an experimental form of Parkinson’s, injection of the vaccine produced cells that were able to reverse the disease. After receiving the treatment, these mice were found to have a similar number of dopamine-producing nerve cells and fibers as mice without Parkinson’s. The findings appear in the Journal of Immunology. “We believe this could be a revolutionary means for Parkinson’s disease therapeutics,” says Howard Gendelman, MD, professor and chair of UNMC’s department of pharmacology and experimental neuroscience (PEN).
Gendelman and R. Lee Mosley, PhD, associate professor in the PEN department, led the research team, which found that the vaccine enabled T-cells in the treated mice to migrate to the damaged area of the brain and triggered a neuroprotective response that reduced disease-linked reactions in the brain. “The identical immune deficits seen in mice are being looked at in humans with Parkinson’s disease,” Mosley says. “Early results are encouraging. This should pave the way for researchers to begin follow-up studies on the Parkinson’s treatments and open up new opportunities to realize an immunization approach for other neurodegenerative disorders.” Human studies are being conducted at the University of Alabama-Birmingham and UNMC to determine if the immune deficits seen in mice also are present in humans with Parkinson’s. UNeMed, UNMC’s TTO, has filed a patent application on the vaccine and will soon commence discussions with commercial partners on bringing the vaccine to the clinical setting.
Source: Medical News Today