# Molecular Segregation of Parkinson’s Disease by Patient-Derived Neurons

> **NIH NIH R01** · STATE UNIVERSITY OF NEW YORK AT BUFFALO · 2024 · $435,515

## Abstract

Parkinson’s disease (PD) is defined by its hallmark locomotor symptoms including tremor, rigidity,
bradykinesia and postural instability, which are caused by a progressive loss of nigral dopaminergic (DA)
neurons. A well-recognized categorization of Parkinson’s disease is based on whether rest tremor is present or
not at disease onset. PD patients who have rest tremor at onset generally have slower progression and better
prognosis than PD patients without rest tremor at onset. Our preliminary study showed that the expression of
genes controlling dopamine synthesis, sequestration and degradation was significantly different between
midbrain DA neurons derived from induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSC) of normal subjects vs. idiopathic PD
patients. Expression of some of these genes was also significantly different between idiopathic PD patients
with or without rest tremor at onset. We have developed a series of new technologies including the
differentiation of iPSCs to A9 DA neurons and the direct conversion of human skin fibroblasts and urinary track
cells (UTCs) to midbrain DA neurons. Using these innovative technologies, the proposal aims to identify
molecular signatures that can segregate PD patients and normal subjects, and distinguish PD patients with or
without rest tremor at onset. The converging development of stem cell technologies enables this project to
identify molecular signatures of idiopathic Parkinson’s disease, which will significantly advance PD diagnosis,
research and therapeutic development.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10843294
- **Project number:** 5R01NS113763-05
- **Recipient organization:** STATE UNIVERSITY OF NEW YORK AT BUFFALO
- **Principal Investigator:** JIAN FENG
- **Activity code:** R01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2024
- **Award amount:** $435,515
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2020-06-01 → 2026-05-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10843294

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10843294, Molecular Segregation of Parkinson’s Disease by Patient-Derived Neurons (5R01NS113763-05). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-22 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10843294. Licensed CC0.

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