Page 7 - SFRBM dot - April 2015

FREE RADICAL METABOLISM GROUP - NIEHS

by Steven Qian, Ph.D., North Dakota State University

Drs. Ashutosh Kumar and Thomas van ’t Erve are postdoctoral fellows radical formation and subsequent neuronal death in the midbrains of

in Inlammation, Immunity and Disease Laboratory, National Institute of Maneb- and paraquat-coexposed mice.

Environmental Health Sciences, National Institutes of Health. They are
The availability of epidemiological data linking pesticide exposure to
both working in Dr. Ronald Mason’s Free Radical Metabolism Group.
Parkinson’s disease as well as the central role of protein aggregates
Dr. Mason is one of the most well-known experts in Free Radical
in Parkinson’s disease prompted us to
Research and a recipient of the SFRBM
investigate protein radical formation as a
Lifetime Achievement Award in 2007. His
key step that dictates aggregation in our

pesticide-induced model of Parkinson’s postdocs and visiting fellows have received

a total of seven SFRBM YIAs since 2001
disease. This project was primarily
and made great contributions to the FRBM
designed to lead us to better understand
society. Many of them have successfully
novel aspects of the disease progression in
developed their SFRBM-honored research
order to deine new protein radical-derived
projects into NIH Career Transition Grants
therapeutic targets. Understanding the

(e.g., K-22 and K99), and consequently
protein radical-derived mechanisms during
become independent researchers with their
the onset and progression of Parkinson’s
own free radical research laboratories.
disease is important for deining protein

radical-derived therapeutics that might be DOT: Introduce your SFRBM YIA 2014

useful in minimizing or halting the process
research project, and tell us what motivated

you to conduct and select the project.
Drs. Ashutosh Kumar (AK, left) , Ronald Mason (middle) and of neurodegeneration.
Thomas van ’t Erve (TV, right)

Kumar: I felt honored to be selected as a
van’t Erve: The project I presented at

speaker in one of the afternoon sessions of SFRBM 2014. I presented the 2014 SFRBM conference was to investigate the oxidative stress

my work, entitled “Immuno-spin trapping of alpha-synuclein radical biomarker 8-iso-prostaglandin F2α and how this marker could be made

formed in Maneb- and paraquat-induced models of Parkinson’s in vivo through alternative pathways to those originally discovered.

disease,” which was further recognized with a prestigious Young We proposed a new method that can account for this alternative

Investigator Award (YIA).This project primarily involves the formation, pathway and thus become a more accurate biomarker of oxidative

detection and consequences of protein radicals in the onset and stress in human diseases and environmental exposures.

progression of Parkinson’s disease. We used a very relevant mouse
This project was of huge interest to me. Since graduate school,
model of Parkinson’s disease induced by pesticides (Maneb and
University of Iowa, I have been interested in biomarkers of disease
paraquat) to show for the irst time that protein radicals are formed within
and how they can be most accurately measured and interpreted.
dopaminergic neurons, which preferentially die during the progression
Upon joining Dr. Mason’s group at NIEHS, I was fortunate enough
of Parkinson’s disease. We showed for the irst time the formation
to work with him as well as Dr. Maria Kadiiska, both of whom are

and detection of the alpha-synuclein radical, which suggested that
leaders in investigating and validating biomarkers for oxidative
NADPH oxidase and iNOS play roles in peroxynitrite-mediated protein
stress. They presented me with a curious phenomenon they observed

SFRBM Newsletter // April 2015 // Free Radical Metabolism Group

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