(Press-News.org) Autophagy is essentially the 'rubbish collection' of our cells. If there are problems in this process, which is so important for our health, diseases such as Parkinson's can result. In their latest study, leading cell biologists at the Max Perutz Labs at the University of Vienna investigated mitophagy – a form of autophagy – and came to a remarkable conclusion: the researchers have described a new trigger for mitophagy. This discovery has led to a reassessment of the hierarchy of factors that trigger autophagy. The newly discovered signalling pathways could also open up novel therapeutic options. The study has been published in the renowned journal Nature Cell Biology.
Autophagy is a self-cleaning process of the cell and is crucial for cell health in the human body. A sophisticated molecular surveillance command identifies suspicious substances – broken cell components, clumped proteins or even pathogens – and initiates their removal. Finally, defective cell components are broken down and recycled. Mitophagy is a form of autophagy in which mitochondria within a cell are specifically degraded. Dysregulation of mitophagy is particularly associated with Parkinson's disease. A better understanding of this process is therefore important for combating Parkinson's.
In a new study led by postdoctoral researcher Elias Adriaenssens from Sascha Martens' group at the Max Perutz Labs at the University of Vienna, the scientists reveal a new mechanism for triggering mitophagy. Until now, research has focused heavily on the 'PINK1/Parkin signalling pathway'. Signalling pathways are used to transmit information within cells. These complex networks of molecules control critical cellular functions such as growth, division, cell death and, indeed, mitophagy.
"When we looked at the big picture, it became clear that, apart from the much-studied 'PINK1/Parkin pathway', there were huge gaps in our knowledge of other mitophagy pathways," explains study leader Elias Adriaenssens. "Our laboratory has explored these neglected areas by using biochemical reconstitutions to gain fundamental mechanistic insights."
Newly discovered pathways are no exception
"We found that NIX and BNIP3 – two known mitophagy receptors – can trigger autophagy without binding to FIP200 (a protein), which was quite unexpected," explains Adriaenssens. FIP200 is considered essential for triggering autophagy. "This presented us with a puzzle. Despite extensive testing, we were unable to detect any interaction between FIP200 and either of the two receptors – which raises the crucial question of how they function without this supposedly crucial component," he adds. However, mass spectrometry revealed that other autophagy components, known as WIPI proteins, bind to these mitochondrial receptors. Since WIPI proteins were previously thought to act later in the signalling pathway, their involvement in triggering autophagy was surprising. Follow-up experiments confirmed these interactions and suggested that WIPI-mediated recruitment is not an exception, but may mediate previously unknown pathways in selective autophagy.
"This is an exciting discovery – it reveals a parallel trigger for selective autophagy. Instead of a single, universal mechanism, cells appear to use different molecular strategies depending on the receptor and context. Until now, no one has considered WIPI proteins to be key players in triggering autophagosome formation, but our discovery could change that view," explains Adriaenssens.
Potential for new therapies for Parkinson's disease
Looking ahead, the study raises an important question: How do cells decide between alternative mitophagy signalling pathways – why do some receptors use one and others the other, and what factors determine which pathway is used? Distinguishing between selective mitophagy signalling pathways could pave the way for therapies that specifically activate one pathway to compensate for defects in the other, which has long-term potential for the treatment of Parkinson's disease.
Original Publication in Nature Cell Biology
More information and Video in the Press Room
END
Which signalling pathways in the cell lead to possible therapies for Parkinson's disease
New triggers for mitophagy – a self-cleaning process in cells – discovered
2025-07-25
ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:
Identifying landslide threats using hydrological predictors
2025-07-25
Northwestern University and University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) scientists have developed a new process-based framework that provides a more accurate and dynamic approach to landslide prediction over large areas.
While traditional landslide prediction methods often rely solely on rainfall intensity, the new approach integrates various water-related processes with a machine-learning model. By accounting for diverse and sometimes compounding factors, the framework offers a more robust understanding of what drives these destructive events.
With further development, the new framework could help improve early warning systems, inform hazard ...
First graders who use more educational media spend more time reading
2025-07-25
COLUMBUS, Ohio – An estimated 12% of first graders’ most-used media at home is educational, a new study suggests.
Results also showed that higher use of educational media was associated with both more time spent reading and less overall time in front of a screen – a signal that educational video, app and game use is not replacing reading.
A clearer picture of first graders’ TV or tablet time and factors related to their use of educational media may reveal opportunities for fitting ...
Exploring the meaning in life through phenomenology and philosophy
2025-07-25
Psychological and philosophical studies have long shown that a person's subjective moods and emotions have a significant impact on how they experience the “meaning in life.” Philosopher Matthew Ratcliffe pointed out that a person’s mood vividly operates in the background of perception and plays a major role in how they grasp the meaning of their life.
In psychology as well, there have been empirical studies investigating how mood affects the perception of life’s meaning. Meanwhile, phenomenology has revealed that the lived, first-person experience of the body deeply influences the way we perceive ...
Linking alterations in precursor cells of brain formation with the origin of neuropsychiatric diseases
2025-07-25
The origin of some neuropsychiatric diseases, such as autism, bipolar disorder, or depression, and certain neurodegenerative diseases, Alzheimer's and Parkinson's, can be found in very early stages of brain formation in the fetus. That is, earlier than previously recognized, according to a study by the Hospital del Mar Research Institute and Yale University, published in Nature Communications.
The work focused “on searching for the origin of mental illnesses in the earliest stages of fetal development, especially in the brain stem cells”, explains Dr. Gabriel Santpere, Miguel Servet researcher and coordinator of the Neurogenomics Research Group at ...
New insight in how cells regulate gene activity
2025-07-25
Apart from carrying the information to encode proteins in, RNA molecules can adopt intricate 2D and 3D structures. Specifically, the same RNA molecule can switch between ON and OFF structures, modulating the ability of ribosomes to bind to the RNA and translate it into proteins. A new study, led by University of Groningen molecular biologist Danny Incarnato and authored by postdoctoral researcher Dr Ivana Borovska, identifies hundreds of such regulatory RNA switches in E.coli bacteria and human cells. It was published in Nature Biotechnology on 25 July.
Several years ago, Incarnato developed a method to ...
Gut microbiome may predict “invisible” chronic fatigue syndrome and long COVID
2025-07-25
Millions suffering from myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS), a debilitating condition often overlooked due to the lack of diagnostic tools, may be closer to personalized care, according to new research that shows how the disease disrupts interactions between the microbiome, immune system, and metabolism.
The findings—potentially relevant to long COVID due to its similarity with ME/CFS—come from data on 249 individuals analyzed using a new artificial intelligence (AI) platform that identifies disease biomarkers from stool, blood, and other routine lab tests.
“Our study achieved 90% ...
New AI tool accelerates mRNA-based treatments for viruses, cancers, genetic disorders
2025-07-25
A new artificial intelligence model can improve the process of drug and vaccine discovery by predicting how efficiently specific mRNA sequences will produce proteins, both generally and in various cell types. The new advance, developed through an academic-industrial partnership between The University of Texas at Austin and Sanofi, helps predict how much protein cells will produce, which can minimize the need for trial-and-error experimentation, accelerating the next generation of mRNA therapeutics.
Messenger RNA (mRNA) contains instructions for which proteins to make and how to make them, enabling our bodies to grow and carry out the day-to-day ...
Automated speed enforcement significantly reduces speeding in Toronto school zones
2025-07-25
Despite lower speed limits in school zones, child pedestrian injuries are most common near schools. Now, a new study led by researchers at The Hospital for Sick Children (SickKids) and Toronto Metropolitan University (TMU) has found that automated speed enforcement (ASE) cameras reduced the number of speeding vehicles by 45 per cent in urban school zones.
The study, published in Injury Prevention, evaluated the impact of mobile ASE cameras deployed across 250 school zones in the City of Toronto between July 2020 and December 2022. The results showed that in addition to a ...
Persistently, intensely grieving relations are nearly twice as likely to die within 10 years after losing a loved one
2025-07-25
Grief after the loss of a loved one is a natural response – an inevitable part of living and loving. But in a minority of the bereaved, grief is so overwhelming that it can lead to physical and mental illnes, even if they don’t necessarily qualify for a diagnosis with the mental health condition ‘prolonged grief disorder’. For example, studies have shown that people who recently lost a loved one use healthcare services more often, and have an increased mortality rate, over the short term.
Now, researchers from Denmark have shown that bereaved people with persistent high levels of intense grief used more healthcare services and were ...
Media–public disconnect on wild meat narratives in central Africa during COVID-19
2025-07-25
A new study published by researchers from the University of Oxford, the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS), CIFOR-ICRAF, and institutional partners reveals a disconnect between media and public perceptions on the risks of consuming wild meat in Central Africa during COVID-19 and sheds light on the complex relationship between media reporting, community beliefs, and behaviour change — offering important lessons for wildlife management and public health strategies.
Key findings:
COVID-19 increased media coverage of wild meat, and the discourse focused on disease risk.
The news sometimes influenced people in Central Africa to shift ...
LAST 30 PRESS RELEASES:
DNA nanospring measures cellular motor power
Elsevier Foundation and RIKEN launch “Envisioning Futures” report: paving the way for gender equity and women’s leadership in Japanese research
Researchers discover enlarged areas of the spinal cord in fish, previously found only in four-limbed vertebrates
Bipolar disorder heterogeneity decoded: transforming global psychiatric treatment approaches
Catching Alport syndrome through universal age-3 urine screening
Instructions help you remember something better than emotions or a good night’s sleep
Solar energy is now the world’s cheapest source of power, a Surrey study finds
Scientists reverse Alzheimer’s in mice using nanoparticles
‘Good’ gut bacteria boosts placenta for healthier pregnancy
USC team demonstrates first optical device based on “optical thermodynamics”
Microplastics found to change gut microbiome in first human-sample study
Artificially sweetened and sugary drinks are both associated with an increased risk of liver disease, study finds
Plastic in the soil, but not as we know it: Biodegradable microplastics rewire carbon storage in farm fields
Yeast proteins reveal the secrets of drought resistance
Psychiatry, primary care, and OB/GYN subspecialties hit hardest by physician attrition
New Canadian study reveals where HIV hides in different parts of the body
Lidocaine poisonings rise despite overall drop in local anesthetic toxicity
Politics follow you on the road
Scientists blaze new path to fighting viral diseases
The mouse eye as a window to spotting systemic disease
AI and the Future of Cancer Research and Cancer Care to headline October 24 gathering of global oncology leaders at the National Press Club: NFCR Global Summit to feature top scientists, entrepreneurs
FDA clears UCLA heart tissue regeneration drug AD-NP1 for clinical trials
Exploring the therapeutic potential of cannabidiol for Alzheimer's
We need a solar sail probe to detect space tornadoes earlier, more accurately, U-M researchers say
Acute myeloid leukemia (AML): Disease risk but not remission status determines transplant outcomes – new ASAP long-term results
Sperm microRNAs: Key regulators of the paternal transmission of exercise capacity
Seeing double: Clever images open doors for brain research
Inhaler-related greenhouse gas emissions in the US
UCLA Health study finds inhalers for asthma and COPD drive significant greenhouse gas emissions
A surgical handover system for patient physiology and safety
[Press-News.org] Which signalling pathways in the cell lead to possible therapies for Parkinson's diseaseNew triggers for mitophagy – a self-cleaning process in cells – discovered