Sarah Jung
experienced researcher on the subject of neurodegenerative diseases and public health
Title: Navigating brain maps to test gene expression similarity across brain regions and species for drug target genes of Parkinson’s Disease
Biography
Biography: Sarah Jung
Abstract
There have been many endeavors to find an effective drug for Parkinson’s disease. However, when the drug development process comes across humans in clinical trials, it frequently encounters serious side effects or no curative effects. Failures are often attributed to the widespread use of animals such as mice for drug discovery. Using mice has been the conventional way to embark on developing a new drug. However, the fact that mice are not accurate models must be taken into deep consideration to reduce the risk of undesired medicinal results in humans. To better understand the extent to which humans and mice differ, a careful comparison in a comprehensive level is critical. Here, we investigated the expression pattern of 5 drug target genes for Parkinson’s disease (SNCA, LRRK2, GBA, PINK1, NR4A2) using brain maps of normal humans and mice. This comparative analysis revealed gene expression patterns similar or different between humans and mice, and across a hundred different brain regions. Notably, we observed variations in a key brain structures related to the motor or non-motor symptoms of Parkinson’s disease, including the cerebellar cortex, basal ganglia, claustrum, and hippocampus. By analyzing brain maps, this research could help the drug development process be more effective and safer for common PD drug target genes. Existing medications can also be improved by reducing possible side effects through predicting human consequences more accurately with the knowledge we obtained from such gene expression study.