Principal Investigators


V.Baekelandt, R.Melki, M.Heneka, S.Hunot

Institution


Multiple

Contact information of lead PI


Country


Belgium|France|Germany

Title of project or programme


SYNACTION: Unravelling the pathophysiological role of alpha-synuclein aggregation, transmission and neuroinflammation in neurodegeneration

Source of funding information


JPND-JPcofuND

Total sum awarded (Euro)


€ 948,291

Start date of award


01/01/2016

Total duration of award in years


3.0

The project/programme is most relevant to:


Parkinson's disease and PD-related disorders|Alzheimer's disease & other dementias

Keywords


Research Abstract


Several neurodegenerative disorders, including Parkinson?s disease (PD), dementia with Lewy bodies (DLB) and multiple system atrophy (MSA) are caused by aggregates of a single protein, known as alpha-synuclein, in different brain regions and cell types.

For a long time, researchers have been puzzled by how a single protein can be involved in these different di- seases. Now, recent intriguing findings by our consortium (Peelaerts et al. 2015, Nature) propose that the shape of the alpha-synuclein aggregates might explain this clinical heterogeneity. Moreover, these diseases are accompanied by different neuroinflammation profiles in humans and in animal models.

In this project, we will use alpha-synuclein aggregates from human brain samples of PD, DLB and MSA pa- tients and study their pathological and inflammatory effects in advanced experimental rodent and non- human primate models. These new insights will contribute to early diagnosis, prevention and the develop- ment of novel therapeutic strategies for alpha-synuclein-related disorders

Lay Summary


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