[HTML][HTML] Protein aggregation and dysfunction of autophagy-lysosomal pathway: a vicious cycle in lysosomal storage diseases

A Monaco, A Fraldi - Frontiers in Molecular Neuroscience, 2020 - frontiersin.org
A Monaco, A Fraldi
Frontiers in Molecular Neuroscience, 2020frontiersin.org
Many neurodegenerative conditions are characterized by the deposition of protein
aggregates (mainly amyloid-like) in the central nervous system (CNS). In post-mitotic CNS
cells protein aggregation causes cytotoxicity by interfering with various cellular functions.
Mutations in different genes may directly cause protein aggregation. However, genetic
factors together with aging may contribute to the onset of protein aggregation also by
affecting cellular degradative functions, in particular the autophagy-lysosomal pathway …
Many neurodegenerative conditions are characterized by the deposition of protein aggregates (mainly amyloid-like) in the central nervous system (CNS). In post-mitotic CNS cells protein aggregation causes cytotoxicity by interfering with various cellular functions. Mutations in different genes may directly cause protein aggregation. However, genetic factors together with aging may contribute to the onset of protein aggregation also by affecting cellular degradative functions, in particular the autophagy-lysosomal pathway (ALP). Increasing body of evidence show that ALP dysfunction and protein aggregation are functionally interconnected and induce each other during neurodegenerative processes. We will summarize the findings supporting these concepts by focusing on lysosomal storage diseases (LSDs), a class of metabolic inherited conditions characterized by global lysosomal dysfunction and often associated to a severe neurodegenerative course. We propose a model by which the inherited lysosomal defects initiate aggregate-prone protein deposition, which, in turns, worsen ALP degradation function, thus generating a vicious cycle, which boost neurodegenerative cascades.
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