Scholars@Duke
Claudia Gonzalez-Hunt

Claudia Gonzalez-Hunt

Research Associate, Senior
Neurology, Behavioral Neurology
claudia.gonzalez@duke.edu
311 Research Drive, Box 2900, Durham, NC 27710

Selected Publications

G2019S selective LRRK2 kinase inhibitor abrogates mitochondrial DNA damage.

Journal Article NPJ Parkinsons Dis · March 1, 2024 Pathogenic mutations in LRRK2 cause Parkinson's disease (PD). The G2019S variant is the most common, which results in abnormally high kinase activity. Compounds that target LRRK2 kinase activity are currently being developed and tested in clinical trials. ... Full text Link to item Cite

A blood-based marker of mitochondrial DNA damage in Parkinson's disease.

Journal Article Sci Transl Med · August 30, 2023 Parkinson's disease (PD) is the most common neurodegenerative movement disorder, and neuroprotective or disease-modifying interventions remain elusive. High-throughput markers aimed at stratifying patients on the basis of shared etiology are required to en ... Full text Link to item Cite

Multiple metabolic changes mediate the response of Caenorhabditis elegans to the complex I inhibitor rotenone.

Journal Article Toxicology · January 15, 2021 Rotenone, a mitochondrial complex I inhibitor, has been widely used to study the effects of mitochondrial dysfunction on dopaminergic neurons in the context of Parkinson's disease. Although the deleterious effects of rotenone are well documented, we found ... Full text Link to item Cite

DNA damage and repair in Parkinson's disease: Recent advances and new opportunities.

Journal Article J Neurosci Res · January 2021 Parkinson's disease (PD) is the most common movement neurodegenerative disorder. Although our understanding of the underlying mechanisms of pathogenesis in PD has greatly expanded, this knowledge thus far has failed to translate into disease-modifying ther ... Full text Link to item Cite

Somatic Mutations in LRRK2 Identify a Subset of Invasive Mammary Carcinomas Associated with High Mutation Burden.

Journal Article Am J Pathol · December 2020 Mutations in the leucine-rich repeat kinase 2 (LRRK2) gene are the most common cause of familial Parkinson disease. Although LRRK2-related Parkinson disease patients have a heightened risk of certain nonskin cancers, including breast cancer, it is unknown ... Full text Link to item Cite

Mitochondrial DNA damage as a potential biomarker of LRRK2 kinase activity in LRRK2 Parkinson's disease.

Journal Article Sci Rep · October 14, 2020 Leucine-rich repeat kinase 2 (LRRK2) is a promising therapeutic target for the treatment of Parkinson's disease (PD) and LRRK2 kinase inhibitors are currently being tested in early phase clinical trials. In order to ensure the highest chance of success, a ... Full text Link to item Cite

Genetic Defects in Mitochondrial Dynamics in Caenorhabditis elegans Impact Ultraviolet C Radiation- and 6-hydroxydopamine-Induced Neurodegeneration.

Journal Article International journal of molecular sciences · June 2019 BackgroundParkinson's disease (PD) is one of the most common neurodegenerative disorders involving devastating loss of dopaminergic neurons in the substantia nigra. Early steps in PD pathogenesis include mitochondrial dysfunction, and mutations in ... Full text Cite

DNA damage by oxidative stress: Measurement strategies for two genomes

Journal Article Current Opinion in Toxicology · February 1, 2018 DNA damage is any modification to the structure of DNA that alters its coding properties and/or interferes with cell processes. One major consequence of oxidative stress is DNA damage, which include base modifications, abasic sites, and strand breaks. A wi ... Full text Cite

PCR-Based Analysis of Mitochondrial DNA Copy Number, Mitochondrial DNA Damage, and Nuclear DNA Damage.

Journal Article Current protocols in toxicology · February 2016 Because of the role that DNA damage and depletion play in human disease, it is important to develop and improve tools to assess these endpoints. This unit describes PCR-based methods to measure nuclear and mitochondrial DNA damage and copy number. Long amp ... Full text Open Access Cite

Mitochondrial Morphology and Fundamental Parameters of the Mitochondrial Respiratory Chain Are Altered in Caenorhabditis elegans Strains Deficient in Mitochondrial Dynamics and Homeostasis Processes.

Journal Article PloS one · January 2015 Mitochondrial dysfunction has been linked to myriad human diseases and toxicant exposures, highlighting the need for assays capable of rapidly assessing mitochondrial health in vivo. Here, using the Seahorse XFe24 Analyzer and the pharmacological inhibitor ... Full text Cite

Effects of 5'-fluoro-2-deoxyuridine on mitochondrial biology in Caenorhabditis elegans.

Journal Article Experimental gerontology · August 2014 5-Fluoro-2'-deoxyuridine (FUdR) is a DNA synthesis inhibitor commonly used to sterilize Caenorhabditis elegans in order to maintain a synchronized aging population of nematodes, without contamination by their progeny, in lifespan experiments. All somatic c ... Full text Cite

Exposure to mitochondrial genotoxins and dopaminergic neurodegeneration in Caenorhabditis elegans.

Journal Article PloS one · January 2014 Neurodegeneration has been correlated with mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) damage and exposure to environmental toxins, but causation is unclear. We investigated the ability of several known environmental genotoxins and neurotoxins to cause mtDNA damage, mtDNA d ... Full text Cite