RXR Activation: Hope for New Parkinson's Disease Treatment

Parkinson’s disease is a neurodegenerative disease, which effects the dopamine-releasing cells in the brain. There has been a few experiments run attempting to rescue the dopamine neurons. This is done using chemicals that interact with the retinoid X receptor (RXR). The chemicals that will be investigated to interact with these receptors are known as RXR ligands. The article, which was published in journal BMC Neuroscience, describes the use of two cellular events which lead to the neuronal damage due to Parkinson’s disease. The two ligands examined in the experiment were the two RXR ligands LG268 and XCT. Specifically, they were studied to determine the neuroprotective function of the two.

Susanna Kjellander worked with a team of researchers from the Ludwig Institute for Cancer Research, Sweden, to test both the ligands and the two destructive Parkinson’s pathways. As a result she was able to make the following conclusion; "Nuclear hormone receptors like RXR and the Nurr1-RXR receptor heterodimer are emerging as interesting factors in Parkinson's research. It is unclear exactly how neurons are damaged in Parkinson's disease, but it is suggested that oxidative damage and energy depletion in the brain are involved. By activating RXR, neurons can be rescued from this degeneration."

In the study, there were two different dopaminergic cells (DA cells) to resemble the conditions present in persons with Parkinson’s. After studying these models, the researchers discovered the two RXR-activating ligands studied were able to selectively protect dopaminergic neurons from the stress induced in the model itself.

The results of this experiement were then confirmed to be accurate in a novel system in which dopaminergic neurons generated from mouse embryonic stem cells were treated with the neurotoxin. From this information they were able to theorize that "The regulation of RXR activity holds promise to contribute to a novel, alternative strategy to treat Parkinson's disease."

To reference the original article, it can be reached at http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/12/091210193158.htm. The article may also be searched by "RXR Activation: Hope for New Parkinson's Disease Treatment" ScienceDaily (Dec. 11, 2009).