Tag: bacterial

Something LRRKing in the immune system

~ Simon ~ 4 Comments

 

 

Canadian scientists recently reported that mice with a specific genetic variation – in the Parkinson’s-associated LRRK2 gene – differ in how they are able to deal with bacterial and viral infections.

Curiously, mice with the Parkinson’s-associated LRRK2 mutation could handle a bacterial infection better than normal mice, while mice with no LRRK2 protein struggled against the infection. And the researchers found that this effect was most prominent in female mice in particular.

And curiously, when the mice are infected with a dangerous virus, female mice with the Parkinson’s-associated LRRK2 mutation fared worse than their male counterparts.

In today’s post, we will discuss what LRRK2 is, review the new research, and explore what the sex difference could mean in terms of Parkinson’s.

 

Autumn colours. Source: Visitsunlimited

I am a big fan of Autumn.

The colours and the crisp/bracing air. I love the long, slow afternoon strolls and anticipation of the festive season to come.

But most of all I love the license to eat all the good wintery food. After a summer of salads and light food, there is nothing better that entering a warm cottage or pub, and smelling the hearty food (my wife if French – we navigate based on the quality of eateries).

Autumn bliss. Source: Askdrake

But there is a down side to autumn: The start of the flu season.

Luckily, our immune systems are pretty robust – doing battle on a moment-to-moment basis with all manner of pathogenic agents.

Recently, some Canadian scientists discovered something interesing about the immune system and it relates to Parkinson’s.

What did they find?

Continue reading “Something LRRKing in the immune system” →

Bac to the future

~ Simon ~ 34 Comments


Over the last few years, there has been a growing body of research – and tremendous interest – focused on the role/influence of the gastrointestinal system in Parkinson’s.

In today’s post we are going to look at a recent piece of research that suggests some of the bacteria in our gut can influence the availability of the medication we use to treat Parkinson’s. 

In addition, we will look at a novel way researchers are re-engineering bacteria in the gut to correct other medical conditions (such as phenylketonuria) and we will ask if the same can not be applied to Parkinson’s.

 

The Platypus. Source: National geographic

The interesting, but utterly useless fact of the day: The duck-billed Platypus of Australia does not have a stomach.

What?

No really. These oddities of evolution have no stomach. There’s no sac in the middle of their bodies that secrete powerful acids and digestive enzymes. The oesophagus (the tube from the mouth) of the platypus connects directly to its intestines.

The platypus. Source: Topimage

And believe it or not, platypus are not alone on this ‘sans estomac‘ trend. At least a 1/4 of the fish species on this planet do not have a stomach (Source).

What?!?

And this absense of the stomach isn’t even remotely weird in the animal kingdom. Some creatures don’t even have a gastrointestinal system. No mouth. No anus. No intestines. Nothing.

WHAT?!?

The giant tube worm – Riftia pachyptila – lives on the floor of the Pacific Ocean, next to hot hydrothermal vents and can tolerate extremely high levels of hydrogen sulfide (hazardous for you and I). These creatures – which can grow up to 2.4 meters (or 7+ feet) in length – have no gastrointestinal tract whatsoever. Zip, zero, nada.

Rather they have an internal cavity – called a trophosome – filled with bacteria which live symbiotically with them.

Watch this video of Ed Yong explaining it all (great video!):

 

WOW! Fascinating! But what does ANY of this have to do with Parkinson’s?

Continue reading “Bac to the future” →

CRISPR-Cas9: “New CRISPY Parkinson’s research”

~ Simon ~ 16 Comments

Recently a Parkinson’s-associated research report was published that was the first of many to come.

It involves the use of a genetic screening experiment that incorporates new technology called ‘CRISPR’.

There is an absolute tidal wave of CRISPR-related Parkinson’s disease research coming down the pipe towards us, and it is important that the Parkinson’s community understands how this powerful technology works.

In today’s post we will look at what the CRISPR technology is, how it works, what the new research report actually reported, and discuss how this technology can be used to tackle a condition like Parkinson’s.

Me and my mother (and yes, the image is to scale). Source: Openclipart

My mother: Simon, what is all this new ‘crispy’ research for Parkinson’s I heard about on the news?

Me: Huh? (I was not really paying attention to the question. Terrible to ignore one’s mother I know, but what can I say – I am the black sheep of the family)

My mother: Yes, something about ‘crispy’ and Parkinson’s.

Me: Oh! You mean CRISPR. Yeah, it’s really cool stuff.

My mother: Ok, well, can you explain it all to me please, this ‘Crisper’ stuff?

Me: Absolutely.

CRISPR.101 (or CRISPR for beginners)

In almost every cell of your body, there is a nucleus.

It is the command centre for the cell – issuing orders and receiving information concerning everything going on inside and around the cell. The nucleus is also a storage bank for the genetic blueprint that provides most of the instructions for making a physical copy of you. Those grand plans are kept bundled up in 23 pairs of chromosomes, which are densely coiled strings of a molecule called Deoxyribonucleic acid (or DNA).

DNA’s place inside the cell. Source: Kids.Britannica

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