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Loss of dopaminergic neurons is a hallmark of Parkinson’s disease pathology. When dopaminergic neurons are stressed, they send out a call for help to nearby glial cells that are tasked with providing neuronal support, protection and nourishment. Under particular molecular conditions, those calls for help can over-activate the glial cells, resulting in a cascade of inflammatory signaling that eventually contributes to the degradation of these neurons over time. Working in two fruit fly models of Parkinson’s disease, researchers at the Buck Institute have characterized a novel molecular mechanism that orchestrates such a harmful cascade of inflammatory signaling and demonstrated that its disruption protects neurons as they age. The research, published in Cell Reports, provides a new framework for understanding the pathology of Parkinson’s disease and offers an alternative approach for developing preventative treatments for a neurodegenerative disorder that afflicts millions of patients worldwide.

“We have known for some time that different forms of genetic or environmental stress in neurons can trigger a response in glial cells; now we’ve been able to identify a molecular mechanism that explains how neuronal stress can lead to activation of inflammatory signals in glial cells,” said Buck professor Pejmun Haghighi, PhD, senior author of the study. “Working in flies allowed us to identify a vicious cycle: stressed neurons signal to the glia and trigger inflammatory signals in the glia, which become harmful for the neuron as the brain ages.  Interestingly, the genetic components of this crosstalk are conserved between flies and humans, boosting our enthusiasm and confidence that future work might lead to novel therapeutic paradigms.”

To induce Parkinson’s-like neuronal defects, multiple sets of experiments were performed on flies that were genetically engineered to carry Parkinson’s disease-related human genes or others that were exposed to a pesticide known as paraquat. In both cases, researchers identified Furin 1, a catalytic protein, in dopaminergic neurons as the initiator of an inflammatory signaling cascade in glial cells.  Blocking this inflammatory signaling in the glial cells in both models of the disease reduced the toxic cross-talk and ultimately protected the neurons from degeneration.

“Furin 1 is the real culprit in the interaction between the neurons and glial cells. It’s the ‘finger’ that pushes the switch on the signaling cascade,” said postdoctoral fellow Elie Maksoud, PhD, the lead scientist on the study. “Furin 1 is a druggable target. Our hope is that treatments can be developed to reduce this toxic crosstalk before it becomes a serious problem for the dopaminergic neurons.”

“We’re looking at a new way to prevent Parkinson’s, especially in those who have risk factors for the disease,” said Haghighi. “The effects of this toxic signaling are age-dependent, they accumulate over time. The goal is to intervene as early in the disease process as possible.” The researchers plan to use human cell culture models to further test the validity of the interactions.

Citation: “A neuron-glial trans signaling cascade mediates LRRK2-induced neurodegeneration”
DOI: 10.1016/j.celrep.2019.01.077

Buck researcher Edward H. Liao was also involved in the study.

The work was funded by NIH grant R01NS082793

Kaiser Permanente recently announced a grant of $500,000 to rebuild the community park in the Coffey Park neighborhood. The 5.85-acre Coffey Neighborhood Park, a centerpiece for the Coffey Park neighborhood and surrounding area, was destroyed in the Tubbs Fire in October 2017.

“Not only does this park fit Kaiser Permanente’s preventive health strategy of active living, but it also is part of our fire recovery efforts to rebuild the health and vitality of our community” said Kaiser Permanente Community Benefit Manager Alena Wall. “Kaiser Permanente is proud to support these local efforts.”

Coffey Strong, the City of Santa Rosa, and Santa Rosa Parks Foundation are working together to redevelop the park. As part of the predevelopment process, the City of Santa Rosa conducted surveys and engaged residents in listening sessions to ensure community input is included in the design. The local Rotary Club led a play structure design day for fourth graders from Coffey Park’s Shaeffer Charter School. The children recommended fire-resistant native plantings, a dog park, and innovative play structures such as a fire truck seesaw to recognize first responders.

“Coffey Strong is beyond thrilled to be the recipient of this wonderful grant. With the kindness and generosity of Kaiser Permanente our community will be able to rebuild our park faster and more beautiful. We cannot thank Kaiser enough,” said Jeff Okrepkie, Founder and President of Coffey Strong. “The ability to team public, private, andmnonprofit to accomplish such an amazing feat is truly something all resilient communities should aspire to.”

Coffey Strong, Inc., is a neighborhood non-profit organization dedicated to helping residents rebuild their lives and homes in Coffey Park. The neighborhood park has been a cornerstone of recreational activity for the residents of the area for over 30 years. Its reconstruction will not only provide those recreational opportunities again, but also help in the healing process as residents rebuild their lives. The Coffey Park neighborhood park reconstruction is truly a community effort.

Reconstruction of the park is slated for completion in early 2020.

For more information on this joint effort, please visit Coffey Strong, City of Santa Rosa Parks and Recreation Department, and the Santa Rosa Parks Foundation.

Catholic Charities, Sonoma County’s leading provider of homeless services, is advancing its ambitious plans to build a health and housing campus in downtown Santa Rosa and two of the area’s largest health care providers, St. Joseph Health and Kaiser Permanente, have each donated $1 million to the effort.

Called Caritas Village, the project is slated to include a 128-unit affordable housing complex, a family emergency shelter, a childcare center, a drop-in site for homeless services and possibly a health clinic. Set for completion by 2022, the campus managed by Catholic Charities would replace the organization’s family emergency shelter and homeless services center on Morgan and A streets, which serves 2,000 people a year.

The village has been the longtime vision of dozens of people working in the health field and those who take care of the local homeless population, said Jennielynn Holmes, director of shelter and housing for Catholic Charities of Santa Rosa.

“Understanding how we solve homelessness means we need to understand the health aspect,” said Holmes, who has worked locally assisting homeless people for over 10 years.

It will cost $90 million to complete the village, and that money will come from public grants, private donations and tax credits, Holmes said. Nonprofit Burbank Housing is a partner in the project.

The $1 million donations from St. Joseph Health and Kaiser Permanente were a welcome surprise to Holmes and her team, she said, and serve as validation of their vision to take care of the county’s burgeoning homeless population. Last year, Sonoma County had one of the nation’s largest homeless populations among largely suburban communities, according to an annual homeless assessment report prepared by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.

The donation by St. Joseph Health was its largest single gift to a local organization, said health investment manager Daniel Schurman.

“I cannot overemphasize how much of a need it is to have this project,” Schurman said. “We have a lot of confidence in them (Catholic Charities) since they have been leading this effort for quite a while.”

The North Bay health care provider has a long history of partnering with Catholic Charities on mobile dental and health clinics and placing social workers from the nonprofit in hospital emergency rooms, Schurman said.

Recently, St. Joseph Health recognized the need to tackle the related challenges of homelessness and chronic illness, rather than treating them separately.

Kaiser’s community benefit manager Alena Wall said the Caritas project’s focus on permanent and affordable housing aligns with Kaiser’s work to support homeless people. The health care system’s donation is specifically for the planned family emergency shelter on the Caritas campus, Wall said.

“Our conversations around donating to this project started late last year because we believe that the first step in living a healthy life is being housed,” Wall said.

During the past several years, health providers have been focusing on what is driving homeless people to seek treatment in hospitals, Schurman said.

“There are many social determinants that hospitals failed to look at for so long in regards to homelessness,” he said. “Education, immigration status and things like that can cause stress in people’s lives, which manifest in health issues, and that’s what we’re trying to address.”

For years, Holmes has been discussing the effects of homeless on every aspect of society — from law enforcement and neighborhoods to affordable housing and health care. She noted the 2017 fires added to the county’s homeless population, estimated at more than 3,000 people at the beginning of this year.

Life expectancy of homeless individuals is well below the average adult life span, Holmes said, because common illnesses and minor injuries often are life threatening for those living on the street.

“A homeless person’s life expectancy is 40 years and they are dying prematurely because they don’t have the resources they need to survive,” she said.

Redwood Credit Union (RCU) has recently been ranked the 4^th healthiest credit union in the United States (out of approximately 5,400 credit unions), according to Glatt Consulting’s Credit Union HealthScore, which measures credit union strength and growth.

Glatt Consulting, an independent firm that studies the financial health of credit unions, uses 17 performance metrics to calculate its Credit Union HealthScore, including financial and operational strength and growth, asset quality, asset/liability management, and productivity. RCU is the only credit union to have been ranked in the top five in each of the last five years.

“Financial strength and stability are key factors for any financial institution. As a credit union, our continued strength and growth allow us to return even greater value to our Members and community, and further help them succeed,” says Brett Martinez, President & CEO.

RCU experienced strong growth in 2018, reaching more than $4.5 billion in assets and over 335,000 Members. In addition to traditional banking services such as checking, savings, and loans, Redwood Credit Union also offers wealth management and financial planning services, insurance, Small Business Administration (SBA) loans, and auto sales. RCU is currently the 42^nd largest credit union in asset size in the United States, and 8^th largest in California.

About Redwood Credit Union

Founded in 1950, Redwood Credit Union is a full-service financial institution providing personal and business banking to consumers and businesses in the North Bay and San Francisco. RCU offers complete financial services including checking and savings accounts, auto and home loans, credit cards, online and mobile banking, business services, commercial and SBA lending, wealth management and investment services, and more. The credit union also offers insurance and discount auto sales through its wholly owned subsidiary. RCU has over $4.5 billion in assets and serves more than 335,000 members with full-service branches from San Francisco to Ukiah, more than 30,000 fee-free network ATMs nationwide and convenient, free online and mobile banking. For more information, call 1 (800) 479-7928, visit www.redwoodcu.org, or follow RCU on Facebook at facebook.com/redwoodcu and Twitter at @Redwoodcu for news and updates.

Redwood Credit Union (RCU) is celebrating Credit Union Youth Month in April with giveaways and two contests that promote good savings habits for children and teenagers.

Jr. Rangers (RCU members ages 12 and under) are invited to participate in a coloring contest that features Reddy the Redwood picturing his future (a brand new bike). One winner from each branch will receive $100.

Jr. Partners (RCU members ages 13-17) are invited to show how they picture their futures by submitting a photo, drawing, painting, or collage. One winner will be selected to receive $250.

In addition, youth who open a new RCU savings account or deposit $100 into an existing savings account during April will receive:

• Reddy drawstring bag with water bottle (Jr. Rangers)
• RCU green notebook with pen (Jr. Partners)

“We love helping our young members learn about financial wellness at an early age,” said Matt Martin, senior vice president of community and government relations. “We’ve learned that helping them set positive savings habits when they’re young sets them up for success throughout their lives.”

As part of the Jr. Rangers and Jr. Partners program, young members receive dividends on the funds they save (on balances of $10 or more), a quarterly newsletter, online banking, and access to an educational website with games and articles that teach about money. They also get free gifts at $100 (Jr. Ranger) and $250 (Jr. Partner) savings milestones.

Credit Union Youth Month contest rules and a downloadable coloring sheet are available at redwoodcu.org/youth.

About Redwood Credit Union

Founded in 1950, Redwood Credit Union is a full-service financial institution providing personal and business banking to consumers and businesses in the North Bay and San Francisco. RCU offers complete financial services, including checking and savings accounts, auto and home loans, credit cards, online and mobile banking, business services, commercial and SBA lending, wealth management and investment services, and more. The credit union also offers insurance and discount auto sales through its wholly owned subsidiary. RCU has over $4.5 billion in assets and serves more than 335,000 members with full-service branches from San Francisco to Ukiah, more than 30,000 fee-free network ATMs nationwide and convenient, free online and mobile banking. For more information, call 1 (800) 479-7928, visit www.redwoodcu.org, or follow RCU on Facebook at facebook.com/redwoodcu and Twitter at @Redwoodcu for news and updates.