Millions of cells are programmed to die in our bodies every day. But excessive cell death can cause degenerative conditions including Parkinson’s disease and Alzheimer’s disease, with the premature death of brain cells a cause of symptoms in these diseases.

Professor Grant Dewson, co-corresponding author and head of the WEHI Parkinson’s Disease Research Centre, said: “Currently there are no treatments that prevent neurons from dying to slow the progression of Parkinson’s. Any drugs that could be able to do this could be game changing.”

The new study aimed to find new chemicals that block cell death and could be useful to treat degenerative diseases in the future.

To identify novel small molecules, the team worked with researchers in the National Drug Discovery Centre, headquartered at WEHI.

A high-throughput screen of over 100,000 chemical compounds identified one that was effective at stopping cells from dying, by interfering with a well-understood cell death protein.

Co-corresponding author Professor Guillaume Lessene said: “We were thrilled to find a small molecule that targets a killer protein called BAX and stops it working.

“While not the case in most cells, in neurons turning off BAX alone may be sufficient to limit cell death.”

The new research builds on decades of world-leading WEHI discoveries in cell death. A pioneering discovery at WEHI in 1988 of a protein that stopped programmed cell death sparked huge interest in the field, and has since led to a new drug to treat cancer.

While drugs that trigger cell death are transforming treatment of certain cancers, the development of cell death blockers – that could be similarly game-changing for neurodegenerative conditions – has proven challenging.

The new molecule targets a killer protein called BAX which kills cells by damaging mitochondria, the powerhouse of cells.

Lead author and Dewson Lab researcher Kaiming Li said: “For the first time we could keep BAX away from mitochondria and keep cells alive using this molecule.

“This could pave the way for next-generation cell death inhibitors to combat degenerative conditions.”

The study demonstrates the potential to identify drugs that block cell death and may open a new avenue to find much-needed disease-modifying drugs for neurodegenerative conditions such as Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s.

The WEHI Parkinson’s Disease Research Centre is focusing on its expertise in cell death, ubiquitin signalling, mitochondria and inflammation in the hunt for disease-modifying therapies for Parkinson’s.

By using a multidisciplinary approach to build understanding of the mechanisms behind the disease, the centre hopes to accelerate the discovery of drugs to stop disease progression, transforming the lives of those living with the condition.

The new research was supported by the Bodhi Education Fund and the National Health and Medical Research Council.
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Header image: The structure of the ‘cell killer’ protein called BAX, that WEHI researchers have discovered how to block.