Genome-wide RNAi screen in fly and mammalian systems related to Parkinson's disease

Ivatt RM, Whitworth AJ. SREBF1 links lipogenesis to mitophagy and sporadic Parkinson disease. Autophagy. 2014 Jun 27;10(8). Review. PubMed PMID: 24991824.

From the abstract: "Mitochondrial quality control has an impact on many diseases, but intense research has focused on the action of 2 genes linked to heritable forms of Parkinson disease (PD), PINK1 and PARK2/parkin, which act in a common pathway to promote mitophagy. However, criticism has been raised that little evidence links this mechanism to sporadic PD. To gain a greater insight into the mechanisms of PINK1-PARK2 mediated mitophagy, we undertook a genome-wide RNAi screen in Drosophila and human cell models. ... Our findings suggest a role for lipid synthesis in PINK1-PARK2 mediated mitophagy, and propose a mechanistic link between familial and sporadic PD, supporting a common etiology."