Molecular Neurodegeneration: Basic biology and disease pathways

The field of neurodegeneration research has been advancing rapidly over the past few years, and has provided intriguing new insights into the normal physiological functions and pathogenic roles of a wide range of molecules associated with several devastating neurodegenerative disorders, including Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, frontotemporal dementia, Huntington’s disease, and Down syndrome. Recent developments have also facilitated initial efforts to translate preclinical discoveries toward novel therapeutic approaches and clinical trials in humans.

These recent developments are reviewed in this current Article Collection in a number of state-of-the-art manuscripts that cover themes presented at the Third International Conference on “Molecular Neurodegeneration: Basic biology and disease pathways” held in Cannes, France, September, 2013.

Content Type:Review
Synaptic dysfunction and septin protein family members in neurodegenerative diseases
Cognitive decline and disease progression in different neurodegenerative diseases typically involves synaptic dysfunction preceding the neuronal loss. The synaptic dysfunction is suggested to be caused by imba...
Authors:Mikael Marttinen, Kaisa MA Kurkinen, Hilkka Soininen, Annakaisa Haapasalo and Mikko Hiltunen
Citation:Molecular Neurodegeneration 2015 10:16
Published on: 3 April 2015
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Content Type:Review
Structural biology of presenilin 1 complexes
The presenilin genes were first identified as the site of missense mutations causing early onset autosomal dominant familial Alzheimer's disease. Subsequent work has shown that the presenilin proteins are the ...
Authors:Yi Li, Christopher Bohm, Roger Dodd, Fusheng Chen, Seema Qamar, Gerold Schmitt-Ulms, Paul E Fraser and Peter H St George-Hyslop
Citation:Molecular Neurodegeneration 2014 9:59
Published on: 18 December 2014
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Content Type:Editorial
Molecular neurodegeneration: basic biology and disease pathways
The field of neurodegeneration research has been advancing rapidly over the past few years, and has provided intriguing new insights into the normal physiological functions and pathogenic roles of a wide range...
Authors:Robert Vassar and Hui Zheng
Citation:Molecular Neurodegeneration 2014 9:34
Published on: 23 September 2014
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Content Type:Review
The transcription factor X-box binding protein-1 in neurodegenerative diseases
Endoplasmic reticulum (ER) is the cellular compartment where secreted and integral membrane proteins are folded and matured. The accumulation of unfolded or misfolded proteins triggers a stress that is physiol...
Authors:Julie Dunys, Eric Duplan and Frédéric Checler
Citation:Molecular Neurodegeneration 2014 9:35
Published on: 12 September 2014
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Content Type:Review
Dysregulation of protein trafficking in neurodegeneration
Intracellular protein trafficking plays an important role in neuronal function and survival. Protein misfolding is a common theme found in many neurodegenerative diseases, and intracellular trafficking machine...
Authors:Xin Wang, Timothy Huang, Guojun Bu and Huaxi Xu
Citation:Molecular Neurodegeneration 2014 9:31
Published on: 25 August 2014
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