Parkin deficiency accelerates consequences of mitochondrial DNA deletions and Parkinsonism

Parkinson's disease (PD) is a neurodegenerative condition caused by age-related death of dopaminergic (DA) neurons in the substantia nigra (SN). Mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) deletions rise exponentially with age in humans and reach their highest levels approaching 60% in dopaminergic neurons of the substantia nigra and overlap with dying neurons. Parkin deletion causes Parkinsonism in humans, presumably through a decrease in mitochondrial quality...