Talk by Prof. Dr. Rudi Balling
March 14, 2023 2023-03-16 14:08On Wednesday, June 12th 2019, Prof. Dr. Rudi Balling will hold a talk as part of our ZBI “Distinguished Speaker Series” about the topic of “The pathogenesis of chronic diseases: Common mechanisms at play?”.
Abstract
Many of the chronic, age related diseases such as cancer, metabolic or neurodegenerative diseases share certain hallmarks. These include evidence for mitochondrial dysfunction, inflammatory signatures or disturbances in proteostasis or secretory function. We have obtained evidence for a key role of DJ-1, a familial Parkinson’s disease gene, as a regulator of the enzyme pyruvate dehydrogenase (PDH), influencing the ability of a cell to switch between glycolysis and oxidative phosphorylation. Based on the central nature of this switch in cellular and energy metabolism I will present a hypothesis and potential explanation for the concomitant increase in the prevalence of different chronic diseases and their comorbidities, including neuropsychiatric diseases.
