Shared from parkinson.org.
Guanylyl cyclase C (GUCY2C) is protective against dopamine neuron degeneration, a hallmark of Parkinson’s, by helping the cell’s powerhouse.
A new study is the first to identify a brain receptor called GUCY2C as a potential way to fight dopamine loss.
Parkinson’s disease (PD) is caused by the death of neurons that produce dopamine — a feel-good chemical related to movement, mood and more — in the brain. Dopamine neurons are involved in movement and the loss of these neurons disrupts the brain’s ability to regulate movement, leading to hallmark PD symptoms, such as tremors, rigidity and slowness.
One of the reasons that dopamine neurons die is due to dysfunction of mitochondria, the small oxygen-consuming and energy-producing powerhouses inside cells. Recent research has found a receptor on the surfaces of those Parkinson’s-associated dopamine neurons that may provide therapeutic ways to protect the mitochondria and prevent the progression of the disease.
The receptor, called guanylyl cyclase C (GUCY2C), was first discovered on the surfaces of cells in the intestine, but was recently found in a region of the brain called the substantia nigra pars compacta (SNpc). This area of the brain is affected in PD.
A new study led by Scott Waldman, MD, PhD, and funded by the Parkinson’s Foundation 2023 Impact Award, gives a clearer picture of how GUCY2C signaling can provide protection against mitochondrial dysregulation and dopamine neuron degeneration that leads to PD. According to the study, in people with Parkinson’s, dopamine neurons make extra GUCY2C receptors.