title: Proteases at work: cues for understanding neural development and degeneration.
abstract: Proteolytical processing of membrane bound molecules is a fundamental mechanism for the degradation of these proteins as well as for controlling cell-to-cell communication, which is at the basis of tissue development and homeostasis. Members of families of metalloproteinases and intra-membrane proteases are major effectors of these events. A recent workshop in Baeza, Spain, was devoted to discuss how this mechanism coordinates brain development and how its dysfunction leads to brain pathologies. Herein we summarize the findings presented during this workshop, which illuminate the role of metalloproteinases, including matrix metalloproteinase, A Disintegrin and Metalloproteinase-proteases and intra-membrane proteases, in the regulation of neurogenesis, axon guidance, and synaptogenesis as well as in neurodegeneration. Indeed, there is increasing evidence that proteolysis at the membrane is directly linked to neuropathologies such as Alzheimer Disease and autism spectrum or prion disorders. These proteolytic events are tightly regulated and we are just at the beginning of understanding how these processes could be exploited to design therapeutic treatments aimed at alleviating psychiatric and neurodegenerative pathologies.
authors.affiliation: Institut für Biochemie, Christian-Albrechts-Universität zu Kiel, Kiel Germany.
authors.forename: Paul
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Saftig
authors.affiliation: Centro de Biología Molecular "Severo Ochoa", Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas - Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, Madrid Spain ; Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red de Enfermedades Raras, Madrid Spain.
authors.forename: Paola
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Bovolenta
keywords: ADAM; axon guidance; neurodegeneration; neurogenesis; presenilin; prion; stem cells; synapse formation