On the ROS

More than 10 million people worldwide are living with Parkinson’s disease. A brain condition that progressively worsens and primarily impacts movement but can also cause issues such as insomnia and mental health problems. Despite a considerable back catalogue of research, what causes Parkinson’s disease isn’t clear. Possible culprits, however, are mitochondria which produce the energy currency that powers the cell. Within the mitochondria are a series of five complexes – helpfully named one to five – that form this production line. But this process also produces a by-product called reactive oxygen species (ROS; highlighted in orange in these images of fruit fly brains) which causes damage to the cell. Researchers have now discovered that mutations in mitochondrial complex IV lead to increased levels of ROS (bottom left) compared to ‘normal’ levels (the other three images). With more damage-inducing ROS around, it could explain what causes Parkinson’s and why it gets worse with time.

Written by Sophie Arthur

Sophie Arthur

former Science Communications Officer MRC LMS

Formerly a stem cell biologist, Sophie has since moved into science communication working at the MRC LMS. She also writes an award winning science and education blog Soph talks science.

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• Image from work by Maria E. O'Hanlon and colleagues
• School of Health & Life Sciences, Teesside University, Middlesbrough, UK
• Image originally published with a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0)
• Published in Neurobiology of Disease, September 2022