ISLAMABAD (PEN) : Chinese researchers at Huashan Hospital, an affiliate of Fudan University in Shanghai, has become the world’s first to discover FAM171A2, a new therapeutic target for treating Parkinson’s disease, according to a research published in the journal Science on Friday.
The team, led by Yu Jintai, deputy head of Huashan Hospital’s neurology department, has also found a candidate drug that can slow the progression of Parkinson’s disease based on the new finding, after five years of research.
The research also operated under the National Center for Neurological Diseases and the National Key Laboratory of Brain Function and Brain Diseases.
Parkinson’s disease is the second most common neurodegenerative disease after Alzheimer’s and seriously affects patients’ daily lives. Traditional drugs and surgical treatments only treat the symptoms of Parkinson’s and do not block disease progression.
The finding was published in the journal Science on February 21, 2025.
The number of people with the disease may reach 13 million by 2040, with Chinese patients accounting for nearly half.
The pathological alpha-synuclein is a key pathogenic protein in the disease. Their aggregation can disrupt the normal function of neurons and lead to their death. They can also transmit, damaging adjacent healthy neurons. When they affect different regions of the brain, they can cause motor symptoms such as bradykinesia, resting tremor and rigidity, as well as cognitive impairments like memory decline.
The latest breakthrough identified FAM171A2 as the crucial receptor mediating the transmission of pathological alpha-synuclein. Based on the finding, new drugs could be developed to slow the progression of the disease.
Using artificial intelligence technologies, the team has found that Bemcentinib can be a candidate after screening over 7,000 compounds. Experiments have proved that this molecule could hinder the binding of FAM171A2 protein and pathological alpha-synuclein, and suppress the dopaminergic neuron uptake of pathogenic protein fibrils.
The team has applied for an international patent for treating Parkinson’s disease by targeting FAM171A2. Next, they will carry out preclinical research, hoping to develop effective treatment for patients of Parkinson’s disease.
