July 2005

News tips from the journal of Neuroscience

Myeloperoxidase and MPTP-Induced Degeneration

Dong-Kug Choi, Subramaniam Pennathur, Celine Perrier, Kim Tieu, Peter Teismann, Du-Chu Wu, Vernice Jackson-Lewis, Miquel Vila, Jean-Paul Vonsattel, Jay W. Heinecke, and Serge Przeddborski

Dopaminergic neurons are lost in Parkinson's disease (PD) and after 1-methyl-4-phenyl-1,2,3,6-tetrahydropyridine (MPTP) treatment, a neurotoxin that is the standard animal model of this neurodegenrative disorder. This week, Choi et al. show that in both circumstances, myeloperoxidase (MPO) is active and potentially detrimental. Although MPO produces oxidants during inflammation, it was not previously considered to be a contributor to cell damage in PD. MPO may prove to be a therapeutic target in PD.