Dr. Austen Milnerwood, University of British Columbia
Pedalling for Parkinson’s New Investigator Award: $90,000 over two years during the 2015 – 2017 research funding cycle
Project description:
In the last 15 years, researchers have made significant advances in identifying several genetic causes of familial Parkinson’s disease. Genes are the blueprint for proteins, the biological machines that make our cells work. By understanding the function of these proteins and learning what goes wrong when mutations are present, investigators are beginning to unravel the processes that cause Parkinson’s to develop.
Basic research into how brain cells communicate with each other is critical, says Austen Milnerwood, a translational neuroscientist at the University of British Columbia. Traditionally, treatment for Parkinson’s has focused on alleviating symptoms. If Milnerwood and his colleagues can correct the changes that different mutations induce in the brain, they hope to eventually reverse or prevent the onset of the disease.
“We look at the fundamental alterations to brain cell communication that are induced by the presence of these (genetic) mutations, and then try to correct them,” Milnerwood says.
Working with cells cultured from genetic mouse models, Milnerwood studies how proteins with mutations affect communication between brain cells. For example, mutations in LRRK2 (the most common cause of familial Parkinson’s disease) cause brain cells to become hyperactive, transmitting information too rapidly.
Eliminating the activity of the LRRK2 protein appears to improve communication among brain cells containing the mutation by reversing the hyperactive transmission of information. Milnerwood and his colleagues have already administered these compounds to mice without adverse effects. Now, they are testing whether the compounds are safe and beneficial for mice with Parkinson’s disease mutations.
Similar compounds are already being tested in human trials for Huntington’s disease. Milnerwood’s long-term goal is to test whether these drugs can improve the dysfunctional behavior of brain cells involved in Parkinson’s disease.
“I believe Parkinson’s is a whole brain disorder, and in order to stop the progression of this devastating disease, we have to understand what causes it, not just look at the consequences,” Milnerwood says.
He is encouraged by the progress researchers worldwide have made in the last five years in understanding the biological processes involved in Parkinson’s. Charting those processes will enable the intelligent design of therapies to stop the disease or protect the brain from its onslaught.
“We’ve learned so much over the last five years, that what happens in the next five years will be very exciting.”