The cause of most Parkinson's disease cases is unknown. However, it is well documented that mitochondrial dysfunction and misfolded α synuclein aggregation are important cellular abnormalities associated with the disease. In this paper, we use the microcompetition model to show how latent viruses, which infect the central and peripheral nervous systems, can cause the observed mitochondrial dysfunction and excess α synuclein aggregation, and eventually, Parkinson's disease.
Keywords: Autophagy; Dopaminergic neurons; GABP; Latent virus; Microcompetition; Mitochondrial dysfunction; Parkinson’s disease; Susbstantia nigra; p300/cbp; α synuclein.