Berwick, DC;
Harvey, K;
(2014)
The regulation and deregulation of Wnt signalling by PARK genes in health and disease.
J Mol Cell Biol
, 6
(1)
pp. 3-12.
10.1093/jmcb/mjt037.
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Abstract
Wingless/Int (Wnt) signalling pathways are signal transduction mechanisms that have been widely studied in the field of embryogenesis. Recent work has established a critical role for these pathways in brain development, especially of midbrain dopaminergic neurones. However, the fundamental importance of Wnt signalling for the normal function of mature neurones in the adult central nervous system has also lately been demonstrated by an increasing number of studies. Parkinson's disease (PD) is the second most prevalent neurodegenerative disease worldwide and is currently incurable. This debilitating disease is characterized by the progressive loss of a subset of midbrain dopaminergic neurones in the substantia nigra leading to typical extrapyramidal motor symptoms. The aetiology of PD is poorly understood but work performed over the last two decades has identified a growing number of genetic defects that underlie this condition. Here we review a growing body of data connecting genes implicated in PD-most notably the PARK genes-with Wnt signalling. These observations provide clues to the normal function of these proteins in healthy neurones and suggest that deregulated Wnt signalling might be a frequent pathomechanism leading to PD. These observations have implications for the pathogenesis and treatment of neurodegenerative diseases in general.
Type: | Article |
---|---|
Title: | The regulation and deregulation of Wnt signalling by PARK genes in health and disease. |
Open access status: | An open access version is available from UCL Discovery |
DOI: | 10.1093/jmcb/mjt037 |
Publisher version: | http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/jmcb/mjt037 |
Additional information: | © The Author (2013). Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of Journal of Molecular Cell Biology, IBCB, SIBS, CAS. This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/), which permits unrestricted reuse, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. |
Keywords: | LRRK2, Parkinson's disease, Wnt signalling, genetics of Parkinson's disease, neurodegeneration, treatment |
UCL classification: | UCL UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences > Faculty of Life Sciences UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences > Faculty of Life Sciences > UCL School of Pharmacy UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences > Faculty of Life Sciences > UCL School of Pharmacy > Pharmacology |
URI: | https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/1417723 |
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