Mutations in PARK7/DJ-1 are associated with autosomal recessive, early onset Parkinson disease (PD). DJ-1 is an atypical peroxiredoxin-like peroxidase that may act as a redox-dependent chaperone and a regulator of transcription. Here we show that DJ-1 plays an essential role in the expression of rearranged during transfection (RET), a receptor for the glial cell line-derived neurotrophic factor...

The DJ-1 superfamily comprises a mysterious assortment of proteins whose functions have been surprisingly difficult to elucidate. These diverse proteins are present in most organisms and are often associated with stress response; however, the biochemical mechanisms of only a few have been clearly established. Interest in this superfamily has been driven primarily by the involvement of human DJ-...

Parkinson's disease (PD) is a common chronic and progressive neurodegenerative disorder. Although the cause of PD is still poorly understood, mutations in many genes including SNCA, parkin, PINK1, LRRK2, and DJ-1 have been identified in the familial forms of PD. It was recently proposed that alterations in lipid rafts may cause the neurodegeneration shown in PD. Here, we observe that DJ-1 defic...

DJ-1 is one of the causative genes for early onset familiar Parkinson's disease (PD) and is also considered to influence the pathogenesis of sporadic PD. DJ-1 has various physiological functions which converge on controlling intracellular reactive oxygen species (ROS) levels. In RNA-sequencing analyses searching for novel anti-oxidant genes downstream of DJ-1, a gene encoding NADP+-dependent is...

Previously, we reported that DJ-1, encoded by a Parkinson's disease (PD)-associated gene, inhibits expression of proinflammatory mediators in interferon-gamma (IFN-γ)-treated astrocytes and microglia through inhibition of STAT1 activation. Here, using microglia and astrocytes cultured from wild-type (WT) and DJ-1-knockout (KO) mouse brains, we examined how DJ-1 regulates suppressor of cytokine ...

The oxidation of a key cysteine residue (Cys106) in the parkinsonism-associated protein DJ-1 regulates its ability to protect against oxidative stress and mitochondrial damage. Cys106 interacts with a neighboring protonated Glu18 residue, stabilizing the Cys106-SO2 (-) (sulfinic acid) form of DJ-1. To study this important post-translational modification, we previously designed several Glu18 mut...

Citation for published version: Innocent, GT, Mellor, DJ, McEwen, SA, Reilly, WJ, Smallwood, J, Locking, ME, Shaw, DJ, Michel, P, Taylor, DJ, Steele, WB, Gunn, GJ, Ternent, HE, Woolhouse, MEJ, Reid, SWJ & Wellcome Trust-funded IPRAVE Consortium 2005, 'Spatial and temporal epidemiology of sporadic human cases of Escherichia coli O157 in Scotland, 1996-1999' Epidemiology and Infection, vol 133, n...

A hallmark feature of type 1 and type 2 diabetes mellitus is the progressive dysfunction and loss of insulin-producing pancreatic beta cells, and inflammatory cytokines are known to trigger beta cell death. Here we asked whether the anti-oxidant protein DJ-1 encoded by the Parkinson's disease gene PARK7 protects islet cells from cytokine- and streptozotocin-mediated cell death. Wild type and DJ...

The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of six weeks of depth jump (DJ) vs. countermovement jump (CMJ) training on sand on muscle soreness, jump, sprint, agility and leg press strength. Thirty healthy men (age 20.4±1.1 years; height 177.4±5.1 cm; mass 72.8±9.7 kg) volunteered to participate and were randomly assigned to one of three groups: DJ training group (n=10), CMJ training gr...