A neurodegeneratív kórképekre jellemző fehérjék eloszlása az agyban és perifériás szervekben
Danics Krisztina
János Szentágothai Neurosciences
Dr. Bereczki Dániel
SE Patológiai, Igazságügyi és Biztosítási Orvostani Intézet
2024-05-14 14:00:00
Klinikai idegtudományok
Dr. Kovács Gábor
Dr. Folyovich András
Dr. Lovas Gábor
Dr. Harsányi László
Dr. Rácz Gergely
Dr. Kristóf István
The significance of neurodegenerative diseases characterised by the progressive degeneration of nerve cells, the accumulation of pathological proteins and selective vulnerability, has increased in recent decades, partly due to their economic and societal impact, and partly because their prevalence has increased in the population aged 65 and over. The aetiology of these diseases is complex, involving in their development genetic factors as well as environmental factors, pathogens, neuroinflammation, trauma, and processes leading to oxidative stress (Vellingiri et al., 2022). The latest research also attributes a role to the activation of the innate immune response in the pathogenesis of these conditions.
Currently, the most appropriate classification for these conditions is based on protein deposition, according to which one may distinguish tauopathies, α-synucleinopathies, TDP43-proteinopathies, FUS/FET proteinopathies, amyloid-β and tauopathies ("Alzheimer’s disease, AD"), PrP proteinopathies ("prion diseases"), and trinucleotide repeat diseases.
In our own studies, we focused on AD, Parkinson’s disease, and human prion diseases, aiming to investigate the role of certain aetiological factors and propagation pathways of pathological proteins, taking into consideration that each condition may involve the presence of multiple pathological proteins, which may be associated with different clinical phenotypes.
In our first study, we explored the relationship between neuroinflammation and neurodegeneration; in the second study, we investigated the role of environmental factors and the spread of pathological proteins; while in our third study, we focused on whether sCJD can originate from the periphery, similar to iCJD or vCJD, where the "PNS-first" pathway has already been clarified.
In summary, neurodegenerative diseases represent heterogeneous groups in terms of etiology, genotype, and phenotype. While some areas have been clarified, many other areas require further research. Research on neurodegenerative diseases is analogous to a puzzle where not all the pieces have been put in their place yet. Our goal was to incorporate our own research findings into this puzzle and to contribute to the field and lay the foundation for further research.
