Opinion: What is the role of protein aggregation in neurodegeneration?

Nat Rev Mol Cell Biol

Division of Neurobiology, Department of Psychiatry at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, CMSC 8-121, 600 North Wolfe Street, Baltimore, Maryland 21287, USA.

Published: November 2005

AI Article Synopsis

  • Neurodegenerative diseases often show the presence of abnormal protein aggregates, known as inclusion bodies, that were once thought to be the main cause of toxicity.
  • However, recent evidence suggests these aggregates may actually serve a protective role within cells rather than directly causing damage.
  • The early stages of protein aggregation are likely the most harmful, as they expose certain chemical groups that can interact negatively with other proteins, indicating that similar underlying mechanisms may drive various neurodegenerative diseases and point to potential shared treatment options.

Article Abstract

Neurodegenerative diseases typically involve deposits of inclusion bodies that contain abnormal aggregated proteins. Therefore, it has been suggested that protein aggregation is pathogenic. However, several lines of evidence indicate that inclusion bodies are not the main cause of toxicity, and probably represent a cellular protective response. Aggregation is a complex multi-step process of protein conformational change and accretion. The early species in this process might be most toxic, perhaps through the exposure of buried moieties such as main chain NH and CO groups that could serve as hydrogen bond donors or acceptors in abnormal interactions with other cellular proteins. This model implies that the pathogenesis of diverse neurodegenerative diseases arises by common mechanisms, and might yield common therapeutic targets.

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Source
http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/nrm1742DOI Listing

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