SCIENTIFIC HUB

Follow the evidence.

SCIENTIFIC LITERATURE · MED

Transferrin protects against Parkinsonian neurotoxicity and is deficient in Parkinson's substantia nigra.

Signal Transduct Target Ther · 2016-09-02

DOI: 10.1038/sigtrans.2016.15PMID: 29263898

Open accessResearch Support, Non-U.S. Gov't; research-article; Journal ArticleOriginal source ↗

Research overview

The text below is the source article’s original abstract under a verified reuse license. cc by

Iron deposition in Parkinson's disease (PD) is a potential disease-modifying target. We previously showed that supplementation of the iron-exporter, ceruloplasmin, selectively corrected nigral iron elevation in the 1-methyl-4-phenyl-1,2,3,6-tetrahydropyridine (MPTP) model. Ceruloplasmin delivers iron to transferrin (Tf), the extracellular iron-transporting protein. We show that Tf protein levels are decreased in the nigra of post-mortem PD brains compared with controls (-35%; n=10 each). Because Tf traffics iron away from iron-replete tissues, we hypothesized that Tf supplementation could selectively facilitate iron export from the nigra in PD. In cultured neurons, Tf treatment corrected iron accumulation, and subcutaneous Tf to mice ameliorated iron accumulation and motor deficits in the MPTP model of PD. Although these data support a role for Tf in the disease mechanism for PD, and its potential use for correcting disorders of iron overload, Tf therapy also caused systemic iron depletion, which could limit its application for PD.

Scientific assessment

01

Research question

Assess the question within the original study’s scope.

02

Methods & sample

Check the source article for study design and sample details.

03

Key findings

An editorially approved findings summary is not yet published for this record.

04

Limitations

Generalizability, bias and clinical meaning require separate assessment.

Methods, samples and clinical conclusions are not inferred from bibliographic metadata.