Testing The Prion Hypothesis In Parkinson’s Disease Using A Novel In Vivo Model Of Α-synuclein Transmission
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$622,555.00
Summary
Parkinson’s Disease (PD) is a debilitating neurological disease with no cure. Recently it has been discovered that the disease can spread through the brain. We have developed the worlds first animal model to study exactly how the disease propagates inside of neurons during this spread. We will use the model to answer key questions about this critical stage of disease spread, knowledge that is essential for the development of successful therapies to prevent disease progression.
The Functional Interplay Between Alpha Synuclein And Synaptophysin In Synaptic Vesicle Recycling
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$405,461.00
Summary
Parkinson’s Disease (PD) is the second most common neurodegenerative disorder, affecting 7 million people worldwide. ?-synuclein is a protein in that brain that is likely to contribute to the death of brain cells in PD, but the normal role of the protein remains unknown. This study will investigate the function of ?-synuclein in maintaining normal healthy brain activity. In addition, this work will help us understand the processes that go awry in neurodegenerative disease states such as PD.
The Role Of Long Noncoding RNAs In Parkinson’s Disease
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$692,699.00
Summary
Parkinson's disease is a complex neurodegenerative disorder. For 90% of patients there is no known cause and for all patients there is no cure. The development of genome studies and transcriptome sequencing has revealed a class of noncoding RNAs whose regulation or dysregulation may lay at the heart of what goes wrong for PD sufferers. Our laboratory focuses on critical PD genes and their regulation by long noncoding RNAs.
The Role Of PARK9 And Autophagy In Parkinson's Disease.
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$396,198.00
Summary
With an ageing population, the health burdens of neurodegenerative diseases such as Parkinson's disease (PD) are numerous. We have found a role for a PD suspectibility gene, PARK9, in autophagy- a neuroprotective degradative pathway, that may also be involved in keeping ÎSyn, a pivitol protein in PD, levels in check.
Targeting Small Heat Shock Proteins In Diseases Associated With Alpha-synuclein Aggregation
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Summary
This research will provide fundamental insight into processes that control the onset and progression of neurological diseases such as Parkinson’s disease, and may lead to the development of novel drugs to treat these disorders. The work will increase Australia's international research standing and provide high-quality multi-disciplinary training to research students.
Unveiling The Origin Of Munc18-1 And Alpha-synuclein Co-aggregation At Nanoscale
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$620,005.00
Summary
Our recent work on Munc18-1 mutations leading to a severe form of human early infantile epileptic encephalopathy (EIEE) led us to uncover a critical role for Munc18-1 in controlling the formation of toxic protein aggregates containing ?-Synuclein. Targeting the Munc18-1 ?-Synuclein interaction may have therapeutic values not only for EIEE but also for other neurological diseases characterised by protein aggregations.
Viral Targeting Of STAT Proteins: Roles In Disease
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$536,985.00
Summary
The capacity of viruses to evade the host immune response is critical to the development of disease. We recently showed that interaction of specific viral proteins with host immune proteins called STATs is vital to lethal disease caused by lyssaviruses. In this project, we aim to define in detail the functions of these interactions in viral modification of host biology and evasion of the immune response, and to use this information to develop new vaccines against highly pathogenic human viruses.
Understanding Neuroinflammation In Alzheimer's Disease
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$1,043,216.00
Summary
This project opens a new line of enquiry into the cellular signalling mechanisms involved in the progression of AD and establishes whether targeting the involvement of type-1 IFN signalling influences the evolution of AD. New and novel approaches are clearly required to treat AD. Importantly, we believe that neuroinflammation is common to all causes of dementia and targeting the neuroinflammatory pathways has much wider implications than targeting the primary causative pathway.
Controlling Neuroinflammation In Alzheimer's Disease
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Summary
Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is the most common neurodegenerative disorder worldwide, with 269,000 Australians currently diagnosed with AD and is expected to soar to about 981,000 by 2050. AD accounts for greater than 60% of all cases of dementia. This grant investigates the role that neuroinflammation plays in the progression and exacerbation of AD and will identify new therapeutic strategies to combat this insidious disease.
Interleukin 38: Uncoupling Innate Inflammation From Interferons In Lupus
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$1,048,669.00
Summary
Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) is an incurable autoimmune disease that affects 5 million patients worldwide, mostly young women. Grave multi-organ inflammation and substantial loss of life expectancy render SLE a critical unmet medical need. We found that the immune system protein interleukin 38 disables several signalling pathways essential for SLE progress. We will explore regulation and function of this protein in cells from healthy people and SLE patients and in models of the disease.