Background pattern of a brain with neural connections

Team Harper

Mechanisms Overwhelming Protein and Organelle Quality Control in Parkinson’s Disease

2020-Present

Parkinson’s disease, at the molecular level, results from the failure of cellular quality control (QC) mechanisms, and finding ways to maintain (or augment) QC capacity will provide new therapeutic strategies for PD and possibly other neurodegenerative disorders. Using powerful molecular visualization and discovery tools in disease-relevant cells, we will elucidate how individual types of protein aggregates linked with PD strains (including patient-derived aggregates) alter cellular pathways, including effects on cell survival and function. We will also use genetic approaches to understand what cellular proteins promote the processing of PD-related aggregates.

Tags
Alpha-synuclein Autophagy Electron microscopy Organelle Quality Control (QC) Ubiquitin

Leadership

J. Wade Harper

J. Wade Harper

Lead PI (Core Leadership)

Ruben Fernandez-Busnadiego

Ruben Fernandez-Busnadiego

Co-PI (Core Leadership)

Judith Frydman

Judith Frydman

Co-PI (Core Leadership)

Franz-Ulrich Hartl

Franz-Ulrich Hartl

Co-PI (Core Leadership)

Brenda Schulman

Brenda Schulman

Co-PI (Core Leadership)

Frances Hundley

Frances Hundley

Project Manager

Project Highlights

A Novel α-Synuclein K58N Missense Variant in a Patient with Parkinson's Disease

Parkinson's disease (PD) is a complex multifactorial disorder with a genetic component in about 15% of cases. Multiplications and point mutations in *SNCA* gene, encoding α-synuclein (aSyn), are linked to rare familial forms of PD. Our goal was to assess the clinical presentation and the biological effects of a novel K58N aSyn...

Contributions

Here is an overview of how this team’s article findings have contributed to the PD field as of June 2025. There are two different categorizations of these contributions – one by impact to the PD community and a second by scientific category.

Impact

Category

Accolades

Members of the team have been recognized for their contributions.

Team Harper

Open Science Champions

Felix Kraus, Harper Lab, Cristina Capitanio

Awards

2023 Collaborative Meeting

Network Spotlights

Felix Kraus

In the News

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