A collaborative international project involving University Medical Center Göttingen (UMG) is set to receive around 7.7€ million in funding over the next three years from the ‘Aligning Science Across Parkinson’s’ research initiative. Of this total, just under 1.8€ million will be awarded to UMG, the project’s sole German partner. The study aims to improve our understanding of the molecular mechanisms that contribute to the development of Parkinson’s disease. In the long term, these findings could pave the way for new therapeutic approaches.
The research work of the UMG team, comprising Prof. Dr. Christine Stadelmann-Nessler and Prof. Dr. Rubén Fernández-Busnadiego from the Institute of Neuropathology (both members of the MBExC), and Prof. Dr. Brit Mollenhauer from the Department of Neurology and Paracelsus Clinic in Kassel, focuses on the molecular and structural characterisation of mitochondria in the brains of patients with Parkinson’s disease. State-of-the-art technologies such as spatial transcriptomics are employed to this end. This works like a ‘molecular GPS’: the researchers can see which genes are ‘switched on’ in specific cells, how these cells are distributed within the tissue, and how they influence one another. Cryo-electron tomography is also employed to examine the structure of mitochondria at near-atomic resolution. In this imaging technique, tissue samples are flash-frozen in their original state at temperatures below -150°C. This enables three-dimensional visualisation of mitochondria and other cellular components, as the samples can be photographed from various angles.
You can find the press release (in German) here.
The UMG research team: Prof. Dr. Christine Stadelmann-Nessler, Institute of Neuropathology; Prof. Dr. Rubén Fernández-Busnadiego, Institute of Neuropathology; and Prof. Dr. Brit Mollenhauer, Department of Neurology and Head of the Paracelsus Elena Clinic in Kassel (from left to right). Photos: umg/Frank Stefan Kimmel (left); umg/Samer Al Mhethawi (centre); Paracelsus Elena Clinic (right)
