Aligning Science Across Parkinson’s | ASAP

Funding reminder - LOIs for the Scientific Track open in January 2025 🚨 This competitive funding initiative aims to accelerate breakthroughs in #ParkinsonsDisease research by supporting high-risk, large-scale projects. Funded teams will join the international and multidisciplinary Collaborative Research Network, a community of investigators working together to answer critical research questions and drive new discoveries.  Learn more and apply today: https://bit.ly/3YL2hCA #CRNFundingOpportunity #grants

Funding Opportunity Reminder 🔬 Applications for the Scientific Track open in January 2025! This competitive funding initiative accelerates breakthroughs in #ParkinsonsDisease research by supporting high-risk, large-scale projects. With a focus on PD heterogeneity and tool development, this is your chance to join the Collaborative Research Network (CRN) —a global, multidisciplinary community of investigators tackling critical research questions to drive new discoveries. 📅 Mark your calendar and prepare to apply: https://bit.ly/3OER9lY #CRNFundingOpportunity #grants

Autophagy dysfunction is a classical feature of many #neurodegenerative diseases. In their latest work, Team Hurley provides evidence that neurons containing the #Parkinsons disease-associated mutation LRRK2 G2019S may enhance the secretion of autophagosomes and exosomes to compensate for the resulting dysfunction and maintain cellular homeostasis 🧠 Check out the team's recent #preprint: https://bit.ly/4eVE1DS

Clusterin, a conserved secretory glycoprotein abundant in blood plasma and cerebrospinal fluid, functions as a molecular chaperone that inhibits the aggregation of amyloid-beta, tau, and alpha-synuclein aggregation 🧪 In this preprint, Team Harper determined the crystal structure of human clusterin, with a discontinuous three-domain architecture. They demonstrate that the hydrophobic peptide tails are critical for its chaperone function. This work provides insight into the mechanism of action of this chaperone protein, which may have implications for #PD. Read the full Team Harper #preprint: https://bit.ly/3Zz32QG

The genome is shaped across the lifespan by somatic (acquired) mutations that affect a tiny number of cells, or even a single cell. In order to detect these mutations, amplification of single-cell genomes followed by sequencing is required. In this preprint from CRN Team Voet, the authors developed a lab and computational workflow that can resolve a wide range of mutations, from single letter "spelling mistakes" to DNA chunks inserted or deleted, all at the single cell level. Read Team Voet's recent #preprint 🧬: https://bit.ly/3B8AIvc

Team Wood has developed POLCAM, a simplified method for single-molecule orientation localization microscopy that is based on polarized detection. POLCAM is designed to be an accessible tool that allows researchers to study molecular orientation. Check out CRN Team Wood's recent #publication 🔬: https://lnkd.in/ekdh_A8J

This Thanksgiving, we’re grateful for every spark of curiosity, every hypothesis tested, and every breakthrough that brings us closer to unlocking the mysteries of #ParkinsonsDisease 🍂 🦃 Your commitment to discovery drives change. Together, we forge new paths forward for science and community. Thank you for being part of our journey!

Astrocytes, the most abundant glial cell in the brain, ramify into thousands of fine distal processes that interact with the brain parenchyma to regulate fundamental processes of brain development such as synapse formation and blood-brain barrier establishment 🧠 In this paper, the authors found that astrocyte mitochondria decrease in size during morphogenesis, enabling them to occupy these developing fine processes. To learn more, read the complete #preprint from Team Calakos: https://lnkd.in/eK8eurp2

α-Synuclein pathology impacts many regions of the brain in #Parkinsonsdisease. However, it has been unclear why certain regions are vulnerable to developing α-synuclein pathology while others are not. In this study, the authors examined the progression of α-synuclein pathology in over 1000 brain regions and 8 timepoints in mice following injection of pre-formed fibrils 🔬 Check out Team Biederer's recent #preprint: https://lnkd.in/e5gcfqic

The relative distributions and proportions of neurotransmitter-defined cell types across VTA and SNc remains unclear. In their recent publication, Team Awatramani used fluorescent in situ hybridization to label VTA and SNc neurons encoding VMAT2, VGAT, and VGLUT2. 🧠 These data complement recent single-cell RNAseq studies and support a more diverse landscape of neurotransmitter-defined cell types in VTA and SNc than is typically appreciated. Read the full #publication to get the details: https://lnkd.in/edSqEdhs