A research team led by Dr. Tania Rizo and Prof. Dr. Beate Winner have developed an innovative approach: they take skin cells from those affected, reprogram them into stem cells, then subsequently reprogram these cells into brain cells that they can use for research purposes.
With the support of the Förderverein für HSP Forschung, the researchers, Dr. Tania Rizo and Prof. Dr. Beate Winner from the Department of Stem Cell Biology at FAU, have discovered that the changed quantities of spastin play a key role for the vital regulation of calcium ions in cells. This specific type of calcium regulation is referred to as “store-operated calcium entry”, or SOCE for short. It is also thought that when this mechanism malfunctions it contributes to other neurodegenerative diseases such as Parkinson’s or Alzheimer’s.
Read the full story: https://www.eurekalert.org/news-releases/964115
