With more and more scientific discoveries and technologies scientists are able to find better answers to how they can combat some of the tough diseases and health issues. Now, scientists at the National Institutes of Health have mentioned that they have used RNA interference (RNAi) technology that reveals that dozens of genes can be represented for treating Parkinson’s disease. The new findings that have come to light also reveal that there are several other diseases that also occur because of the damage to mitochondria which are biological power plants that are used by the body to fight such health issues.
The scientists also said that in some cases of Parkinson’s disease there is link to mutations in the genes that codes for parkin, a protein that roams inside the cells and tags the damaged mitochondria as a waste. The damaged mitochondria are then degraded by the cells lysosomes that dispose it from the system. It was revealed that using the RNAi technology regulates the genes and helps to investigate gene function and their involvement in health and disease.
NIH scientists used RNA interference to find genes that interact with parkin (green), a protein that tags damaged mitochondria (red). Mutations in parkin are linked to Parkinson’s disease and other mitochondrial disorders. Courtesy of Youle lab, NINDS, Bethesda, Md.
Source by : nih.gov
For the new study that they have been doing scientists made use of human cells to identify genes that help parkin tag damaged mitochondria. They found that at least four genes called TOMM7, HSPAI1L, BAG4 and SIAH3 have acted as helpers and they can help the scientists to find better answers to the riddle. The genes work like quality control agents that ensure that the genes are working find and any non-functioning cells are disposed out of the system biologically.
