1. The cytoskeleton as a novel therapeutic target for old neurodegenerative disorders
- Author
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Jessica Eira, Mónica Mendes Sousa, Catarina Santos Silva, and Márcia A. Liz
- Subjects
0301 basic medicine ,Aging ,Cytoskeleton organization ,General Neuroscience ,Cyclin-dependent kinase 5 ,Neurodegeneration ,SOD1 ,Neurodegenerative Diseases ,macromolecular substances ,Biology ,HDAC6 ,medicine.disease ,Cell biology ,03 medical and health sciences ,030104 developmental biology ,0302 clinical medicine ,Microtubule ,medicine ,Humans ,Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis ,Cytoskeleton ,Neuroscience ,030217 neurology & neurosurgery - Abstract
Cytoskeleton defects, including alterations in microtubule stability, in axonal transport as well as in actin dynamics, have been characterized in several unrelated neurodegenerative conditions. These observations suggest that defects of cytoskeleton organization may be a common feature contributing to neurodegeneration. In line with this hypothesis, drugs targeting the cytoskeleton are currently being tested in animal models and in human clinical trials, showing promising effects. Drugs that modulate microtubule stability, inhibitors of posttranslational modifications of cytoskeletal components, specifically compounds affecting the levels of tubulin acetylation, and compounds targeting signaling molecules which regulate cytoskeleton dynamics, constitute the mostly addressed therapeutic interventions aiming at preventing cytoskeleton damage in neurodegenerative disorders. In this review, we will discuss in a critical perspective the current knowledge on cytoskeleton damage pathways as well as therapeutic strategies designed to revert cytoskeleton-related defects mainly focusing on the following neurodegenerative disorders: Alzheimer's Disease, Parkinson's Disease, Huntington's Disease, Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis and Charcot-Marie-Tooth Disease.
- Published
- 2015