A new study identifies a mechanism responsible for the degeneration of Purkinje cells in the cerebellum in Spinocerebellar ataxia type 1, a rare neurodegenerative disease.
Researchers identified 21 proteins that specifically bind to a protein called ataxin-1. Twelve of these proteins enhance the misfolding of ataxin-1 and thus promote the formation of harmful protein aggregate structures, whereas nine of them prevent the misfolding.
