Objective: In the current study we report mutations, particularly inPARK-7 gene and their impact on understanding the pathophysiology of Parkinson’s disease (PD); it also lays down implications that this might solve various problems in therapeutic approaches.

Background: In the Human brain, astrocytes are the most populous glial subtype supporting cells of the brain and are critical for various brain functions. Classical PD is manifested as a complex motor disorder which results from the reduced dopaminergic input of the substantia nigra to the striatum, and the resultant altered basal ganglia modulation of motor control. PD is characterized mainly by the degeneration of dopaminergic neurons in the Substantia Nigra pars compacta (SNc) due to the fact of neuro-inflammation in the SNc seen consistently in PD cases. Lipid rafts comprise a highly dynamic clustering of proteins and lipids playing a central role in signal transduction and intercellular communication, and their alterations have been associated with altered neuronal function, synaptic transmission and neurotransmitter signalling.

Methods: The study mainly concentrates on the screening procedures that evident the presence of PARK-7 mutations with respect to lipid raft fractions, in 27 late onset PD cohort’s native to Coimbatore and surrounding regions.

Results: The current study reveals the functional roles of eight proteins in astrocyte biology involved in the onset of late onset PD, among them DJ-1 which is encoded by the PARK-7 gene is associated with the regulation of lipid rafts in astrocytes. We also focused on factors that show mutations in PARK-7 gene, resulting in the increased degradation of the lipid raft proteins flotillin-1 and caveolin-1.

Conclusions: Lipid rafts play central role in many cellular processes such as membrane sorting and trafficking, cell polarization, and signal transduction processes. Caveolae are small surface invaginations seen in many cell types. Numerous caveolae are seen in plasma membranes of cells such as adipocytes, endothelial cells, and smooth muscle cells, and these have been assumed to be formed by the clustering of raft proteins on the cell surface. Caveolar invagination is processes that is carried out by the polymerization of caveolins, and are of three variations namely: caveolin-1, -2, and – 3. Flotilin compounds are also a class of lipid raft proteins which are similar to that of the caveolins, their functions are unknown and the current study mainly reveals the main characteristic features of these proteins.

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MDS Abstracts - https://www.mdsabstracts.org/abstract/computational-and-biochemical-analysis-of-lipid-raft-proteins-a-new-perspective-approach-to-understand-the-progression-of-late-onset-parkinsons-disease/