Probe For Parkinson’s Disease

About

About Neurodegenerative diseases, autoimmune disorders and certain cancers are incurable and often debilitating, with a devastating impact on the lives of sufferers. The onset of these diseases are associated with the activity of a protein enzyme family known as E3 ubiquitin ligases. In spite of the extreme importance of this class of enzyme, there are currently nochemical probes for profiling their activity. New insight into E3 activity could revolutionise the understanding, diagnosis and treatment of diseases like Parkinson’s and cancer. Researchers at the University of Dundee have developed an activity based probe that enables direct and quantitative measurement of E3 ubiquitin ligase activity, such as parkin, an enzyme linked to Parkinson’s disease. Their probe is capable of profiling the parkin signalling pathways that could provide a much needed clinical tool in the diagnosis of Parkinson’s and in patient stratification. The new activity-based probes can also be used to gain insight into the roles of other enzyme systems in disease, introducing the potential for identifying novel biomarkers and new therapeutic targets. Key Benefits Profile pathways linked to Parkinson’s and other diseases Applications Identification of novel biomarkers and new therapeutic targets IP Status This technology is protected by patent application (PCT/GB2015/052860).