Proteopathy: the next therapeutic frontier?
The abnormal conformation and assembly of proteins is a probable cause of many degenerative diseases of old age. These proteopathies include such clinically disparate neurological disorders as Alzheimer's disease. Parkinson's disease and Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease, as well as a variety of non-neurological maladies. The involvement of protein pathology in these diseases is well established and we are beginning to understand the process whereby proteins self-assemble and injure tissues; however, we remain largely in the dark regarding the fundamental origins of the proteopathies. Our present knowledge suggests three broad therapeutic approaches to abrogating the proteopathic cascade: reduce the production of the offending proteins, prevent their self-assembly, or promote their removal.
Walker
Lary C
LC
CNS Pharmacology, Pfizer Ann Arbor Laboratories, MI 48105, USA. lary.walker@pfizer.com
LeVine
Harry
H
D000544:Alzheimer Disease / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology; D000682:Amyloid / Q000737:chemistry / Q000378:metabolism; D000818:Animals; D006801:Humans; D019636:Neurodegenerative Diseases / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000473:pathology; D011487:Protein Conformation; D017510:Protein Folding; D011506:Proteins / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000378:metabolism
D000682:Amyloid; D011506:Proteins