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SUMMARY:LMB Seminar - Alpha-Synuclein and its aggregation: Past\, Present 
 and Future - Maria Grazia Spillantini\, University of Cambridge\, Dept of 
 Clinical Neurosciences
DTSTART:20250210T110000Z
DTEND:20250210T120000Z
UID:TALK225700@talks.cam.ac.uk
CONTACT:Scientific Meetings Co-ordinator
DESCRIPTION:Most neurodegenerative diseases are characterised by the prese
 nce of abnormal intracellular protein inclusions. These inclusions were de
 scribed at the beginning of last century as the defining neuropathological
  features of diseases\, such as Alzheimer’s\, Pick’s and Parkinson’s
 . In Alzheimer’s\, Pick’s and several other diseases\, the inclusions 
 are made of the microtubule-associated protein tau. The filamentous inclus
 ions of Parkinson’s disease\, in the form of Lewy bodies and Lewy neurit
 es\, are made of the protein alpha-synuclein\; the same is true of the Lew
 y pathology of dementia with Lewy bodies and the glial cytoplasmic inclusi
 ons of multiple system atrophy. Alpha-synuclein aggregates can be also fou
 nd in about  60% of Alzheimer’s cases. The importance of the assembly of
  alpha-synuclein in these diseases is supported by the finding that mutati
 ons in its gene (SNCA) cause disease and these disorders are now also know
 n as alpha-synucleinopathies. Studies on the distribution of Lewy patholog
 y have suggested that in Parkinson’s disease alpha-synuclein aggregation
  begins in the periphery and spreads to the brain\, resulting in pre-motor
  and then motor symptoms. Besides the Lewy bodies in the substantia nigra 
 and other brain areas\, smaller alpha-synuclein aggregates are present at 
 synapses in the striatum\, where they impair neurotransmitter release and 
 contribute to the early stages of neurodegeneration. We have generated tra
 nsgenic mouse models with alpha-synuclein aggregates that reproduce the ch
 aracteristic features of disease and that can be used for testing new ther
 apeutic approaches. Alpha-synuclein aggregation is a promising target for 
 therapy.    
LOCATION:In person in the Max Perutz Lecture Theatre (CB2 0QH) and via Zoo
 m link https://mrc-lmb-cam-ac-uk.zoom.us/j/98728840077?pwd=Z0MZ2xWLsyUC6fI
 31cIklaUbSYALwy.1
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