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Paving the way for potential Parkinson’s treatments

AlphaFold: Impact stories

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From building more effective malaria vaccines to breaking down single-use plastics, AlphaFold is helping scientists accelerate research in nearly every field of biology.

It normally takes four years to identify and characterise one of these small proteins. With the help of AlphaFold we managed 23 in a few months.

Professor Renier van der Hoorn
University of Oxford

AlphaFold has allowed us to take our project to the next level, from a fundamental science stage to the preclinical and clinical development stage.

Professor Matthew Higgins
Biochemist

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Paving the way for potential Parkinson’s treatments
21 September 2022

Paving the way for potential Parkinson’s treatments

The symptoms of Parkinson’s develop when a person’s brain can no longer make enough of the chemical dopamine.

In around 10% of patients, this is caused by a particular genetic mutation that encodes a protein known as ‘PINK1’. PINK1 plays a key role in the breakdown and removal of mitochondria – which are often referred to as the powerhouses of our cells. If this process fails, the mitochondria build up. This eventually leads to the loss of dopamine-producing nerve cells.

Researchers have used AlphaFold to predict the structure of PINK1.
This knowledge has helped them explore what effect other mutations may have, and how those might lead to Parkinson’s. That could help pave the way for new treatments that could impact over 10 million people worldwide.

Research credits

  • Professor David Komander, WEHI
  • Associate Professor Grant Dewson, WEHI
  • Zhong Yan Gan, WEHI