Prospects for the Development of Pink1 and Parkin Activators for the Treatment of Parkinson’s Disease
Alexander V. Blagov,
Andrey G. Goncharov,
Olga O. Babich,
Viktoriya V. Larina,
Alexander N. Orekhov,
Alexandra A. Melnichenko
Affiliations
Alexander V. Blagov
Laboratory of Angiopathology, Institute of General Pathology and Pathophysiology, 8 Baltiiskaya Street, 125315 Moscow, Russia
Andrey G. Goncharov
Center for Immunology and Cellular Biotechnology, Immanuel Kant Baltic Federal University, 6 Gaidara Street, 236001 Kaliningrad, Russia
Olga O. Babich
Scientific and Educational Center for Industrial Biotechnology, Immanuel Kant Baltic Federal University, 2 Universitetskaya Street, 236040 Kaliningrad, Russia
Viktoriya V. Larina
Scientific and Educational Center for Industrial Biotechnology, Immanuel Kant Baltic Federal University, 2 Universitetskaya Street, 236040 Kaliningrad, Russia
Alexander N. Orekhov
Laboratory of Angiopathology, Institute of General Pathology and Pathophysiology, 8 Baltiiskaya Street, 125315 Moscow, Russia
Alexandra A. Melnichenko
Laboratory of Angiopathology, Institute of General Pathology and Pathophysiology, 8 Baltiiskaya Street, 125315 Moscow, Russia
Impaired mitophagy is one of the hallmarks of the pathogenesis of Parkinson’s disease, which highlights the importance of the proper functioning of mitochondria, as well as the processes of mitochondrial dynamics for the functioning of dopaminergic neurons. At the same time, the main factors leading to disruption of mitophagy in Parkinson’s disease are mutations in the Pink1 and Parkin enzymes. Based on the characterized mutant forms, the marked cellular localization, and the level of expression in neurons, these proteins can be considered promising targets for the development of drugs for Parkinson’s therapy. This review will consider such class of drug compounds as mitophagy activators and these drugs in the treatment of Parkinson’s disease.
