Convergence of Synapses, Endosomes, and Prions in the Biology of Neurodegenerative Diseases.
Author
Summary, in English
Age-related misfolding and aggregation of disease-linked proteins in selective brain regions is a characteristic of neurodegenerative diseases. Although neuropathological aggregates that characterize these various diseases are found at sites other than synapses, increasing evidence supports the idea that synapses are where the pathogenesis begins. Understanding these diseases is hampered by our lack of knowledge of what the normal functions of these proteins are and how they are affected by aging. Evidence has supported the idea that neurodegenerative disease-linked proteins have a common propensity for prion protein-like cell-to-cell propagation. However, it is not thought that the prion-like quality of these proteins/peptides that allows their cell-to-cell transmission implies a role for human-to-human spread in common age-related neurodegenerative diseases. It will be important to better understand the molecular and cellular mechanisms governing the role of these aggregating proteins in neural function, especially at synapses, how their propagation occurs and how pathogenesis is promoted by aging.
Department/s
Publishing year
2013
Language
English
Publication/Series
International Journal of Cell Biology
Volume
2013
Full text
Links
Document type
Journal article review
Publisher
Hindawi Limited
Topic
- Neurosciences
Status
Published
Research group
- Experimental Dementia Research
ISBN/ISSN/Other
- ISSN: 1687-8876