Pesticides may be responsible for the development of Parkinson diseasebut there would be a way to protect against this pathology, according to the results of a study published Environmental Health Perspectives. Conclusions obtained on zebrafish.
The fungicide ziram, a pesticide frequently used in agricultural areas in the United States, is known to cause the loss of the main source of dopamine in the central nervous system, dopaminergic neurons, which is associated with Parkinson disease. These toxic agents increase the concentration of a protein, a-synuclein, which will accumulate and cause damage to neighboring neurons. This mechanism is observable and similar in Parkinson’s disease without exposure to pesticides.
Researchers at the University of California, Los Angeles (USA) used a zebrafish genetically modified to develop Parkinson’s disease to expose it to ziram which deprived it of dopamine. Second, they targeted the a-synuclein protein and exposed the fish to pesticides.
Using the a-synuclein protein to treat Parkinson’s disease
The results of the study showed that the elimination of the protein a-synuclein protects the fish against the loss of dopaminergic neurons caused by exposure to pesticides.
“Most cases of Parkinson disease appear to be at least partially caused by environmental factors such as exposure to pesticides. These results thus support that targeting the a-synuclein protein could slow or arrest disease progression in a large number of affected patients. Getting rid of the protein genetically or breaking up the aggregates with this drug helps protect against the toxicity of the pesticide. However, most environmental toxins act on the same pathway as ziram, so we can test the candidates under development against exposure to ziram,” recalls Dr. Jeff Bronstein, professor of neurology at UCLA.
“While 70% of Parkinson’s cases cannot be explained by genetics, this new understanding of the pathogenesis of Parkinson diseaserelated to environmental factors, is an important step towards “real” treatment”.
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