title: From neurodegeneration to neurohomeostasis: the role of ubiquitin.
abstract: Several years ago ubiquitin immunocytochemistry first demonstrated that ubiquitin protein conjugates are present in intraneuronal inclusions in all the major human chronic neurodegenerative diseases, as well as in inclusions in cerebellar astrocytomas and in hepatocytes in alcoholic liver disease. Unexpectedly, further studies showed that Lewy bodies are present in the cortex. Lewy bodies were originally described in the brain stem and are pathogonomic in the neuropathological diagnosis of Parkinson's disease. A balanced interpretation of further elegant experimental approaches, including transgenesis, suggests that the formation of intraneuronal inclusions is cytoprotective. Putative oligomeric proaggregates (prefibrillar entities) of cellular proteins inhibit the 26S proteasome and promote apoptosis. In the last few years a clutch of distinct experimental approaches have focused on the roles of ubiquitin-related processes in the development of the nervous system and neurohomeostasis. It is now clear that the ubiquitin/proteasome system (UPP) has a pivotal role in synaptogenesis, the formation of neuromuscular junctions and neurotransmitter receptor function. The inhibitory GABA(A) receptor, alpha1 glycine receptor, beta(2)-adrenergic receptor and arrestin, opiate receptors and the excitatory metabotropic glutamate receptor (mGluR1alpha) are regulated by the UPP. It is also increasingly clear that the regulation of long-term synaptic plasticity, and therefore memory, is dependent on both protein synthesis and protein degradation. Therefore, for the first time we have the opportunity to dissect the substrate of memory and the basis of cognitive decline in aging and in chronic neurodegenerative disease. Clearly, further understanding will provide a platform for novel drug development to treat chronic neurodegenerative diseases, including Alzheimer- and Parkinson-related conditions, and possibly psychiatric disorders.
authors.affiliation: School of Biomedical Sciences, University of Nottingham Medical School, Queen's Medical Centre, UK. john.mayer@nottingham.ac.uk
authors.forename: R John
authors.initials: RJ
authors.lastname: Mayer
mesh_terms: D000375:Aging; D000544:Alzheimer Disease / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology; D003546:Cysteine Endopeptidases / Q000378:metabolism*; D006706:Homeostasis; D006801:Humans; D016631:Lewy Bodies / Q000473:pathology; D008025:Ligases / Q000037:antagonists & inhibitors / Q000378:metabolism; D008568:Memory; D009097:Multienzyme Complexes / Q000037:antagonists & inhibitors / Q000378:metabolism*; D009410:Nerve Degeneration / Q000201:enzymology*; D019636:Neurodegenerative Diseases / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000473:pathology; D017096:Prion Diseases / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology; D046988:Proteasome Endopeptidase Complex; D044767:Ubiquitin-Protein Ligases; D014452:Ubiquitins / Q000378:metabolism*
chemical_list: D009097:Multienzyme Complexes; D014452:Ubiquitins; D044767:Ubiquitin-Protein Ligases; D003546:Cysteine Endopeptidases; D046988:Proteasome Endopeptidase Complex; D008025:Ligases