Venue: FIAS Seminarraum 0.101

Prof. Dr. Rudi Balling (Institute of Molecular Psychiatry) gives a talk with the title "A surprising role of a familial Parkinson's disease gene in glucose metabolism - Is Parkinson the diabetes of the brain?" on 02 July 2024 at 12 noon in the seminar room 0.101.

Abstract:

Many acute and chronic diseases are linked to perturbations in energy metabolism. Although the core pathways involved in the central energy metabolism and the generation of key precursors and substrates for biosynthetic reactions are known, the regulation of cell and organ specific fuel allocation and energetics in the context of temporally and spatially changing needs or in the pathogenesis of diseases are less well understood.

We have identified a key familial Parkinson´s disease gene DJ-1 as a regulator of pyruvate-dehydrogenase (PDH) activity in T-regulatory cells (Treg). To our surprise, loss of function of DJ-1 in mice and in humans led to a T-regulatory cell dysfunction in older, but not in younger mice. These observations not only point to a key role of neuroinflammation in the pathogenesis of neurodegenerative diseases but also in the regulation of cellular energy metabolism.

We are currently developing a mathematical model to simulate the “Ins and Outs of the TCA-cycle” with the goal of getting insight into the complex relationship between the central energy metabolism and neurodegenerative diseases.