<p>Parkinson’s disease (PD), common neurodegenerative disorder, involves substantia nigra dopaminergic neuron loss and α-synuclein accumulation in Lewy bodies. While pathogenesis remains unclear, dysregulated urea metabolism may play a central role. This study detected elevated serum urea levels in PD patients with upregulated urea cycle enzymes. In MPTP-induced PD mice, urea accumulated in the substantia nigra and striatum, alongside increased activity of urea cycle enzymes (ODC1, ARG1, OTC) and urea transporter UT-B. Mechanistically, brain urea accumulation likely stems from imbalanced urea cycle activity and impaired UT-B-mediated clearance, with compensatory UT-B upregulation specifically in the substantia nigra. In vitro, MPTP-treated neuronal cells showed increased enzyme and UT-B expression, while high urea directly suppressed tyrosine hydroxylase (TH). Importantly, ODC1 knockdown reversed urea dysmetabolism, restored TH, and alleviated neuronal damage. These findings establish ODC1-mediated urea cycle dysregulation as a core metabolic feature of PD, proposing ODC1 or urea metabolism as novel therapeutic targets.</p><p></p>

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Urea cycle dysregulation drives metabolic stress and neurodegeneration in Parkinson’s disease

  • Shengyao Zhang,
  • Guoran Wan,
  • Yu Qiu,
  • Meng Zhang,
  • Hongmei Deng,
  • Qiongfang Wang,
  • Junyi Hu,
  • Jie Gui,
  • Dilong Chen,
  • Boyue Huang,
  • Jianhua Ran

摘要

Parkinson’s disease (PD), common neurodegenerative disorder, involves substantia nigra dopaminergic neuron loss and α-synuclein accumulation in Lewy bodies. While pathogenesis remains unclear, dysregulated urea metabolism may play a central role. This study detected elevated serum urea levels in PD patients with upregulated urea cycle enzymes. In MPTP-induced PD mice, urea accumulated in the substantia nigra and striatum, alongside increased activity of urea cycle enzymes (ODC1, ARG1, OTC) and urea transporter UT-B. Mechanistically, brain urea accumulation likely stems from imbalanced urea cycle activity and impaired UT-B-mediated clearance, with compensatory UT-B upregulation specifically in the substantia nigra. In vitro, MPTP-treated neuronal cells showed increased enzyme and UT-B expression, while high urea directly suppressed tyrosine hydroxylase (TH). Importantly, ODC1 knockdown reversed urea dysmetabolism, restored TH, and alleviated neuronal damage. These findings establish ODC1-mediated urea cycle dysregulation as a core metabolic feature of PD, proposing ODC1 or urea metabolism as novel therapeutic targets.