title: Prion-like mechanisms in the pathogenesis of tauopathies and synucleinopathies.
abstract: Neurodegenerative diseases, including Alzheimer's disease and Parkinson's disease, are characterized by the abnormal aggregation of a small number of intracellular proteins, with tau and α-synuclein being the most commonly affected. Until recently, the events leading to aggregate formation were believed to be entirely cell-autonomous, with protein misfolding occurring independently in many cells. It is now believed that protein aggregates form in a small number of brain cells, from which they propagate intercellularly through templated recruitment, reminiscent of the mechanisms by which prions spread through the nervous system.
authors.affiliation: MRC Laboratory of Molecular Biology, Francis Crick Avenue, Cambridge, CB2 0QH, UK, mg@mrc-lmb.cam.ac.uk.
authors.forename: Michel
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Goedert
authors.forename: Ben
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Falcon
authors.forename: Florence
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Clavaguera
authors.forename: Markus
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Tolnay
mesh_terms: D002490:Central Nervous System / Q000378:metabolism*; D006801:Humans; D019636:Neurodegenerative Diseases / Q000209:etiology / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000473:pathology; D011328:Prions / Q000378:metabolism*; D057165:Proteostasis Deficiencies / Q000150:complications; D051844:alpha-Synuclein / Q000378:metabolism*; D016875:tau Proteins / Q000378:metabolism*
chemical_list: D011328:Prions; D051844:alpha-Synuclein; D016875:tau Proteins