Mechanisms of Neurodegeneration in Various Forms of Parkinsonism-Similarities and Differences

• Published in: Cells (Basel, Switzerland) Vol. 10; no. 3; p. 656
• Main Authors: Koziorowski, Dariusz, Figura, Monika, Milanowski, Łukasz M, Szlufik, Stanisław, Alster, Piotr, Madetko, Natalia, Friedman, Andrzej
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Switzerland MDPI AG 16-03-2021; MDPI
• Subjects: Age; Aging; Atrophy; Basal ganglia; Central nervous system diseases; Cognitive ability; Cytoplasm; Dementia; Dementia disorders; Disease; DLB; Dopamine; Gene expression; Glial cells; Inflammation; Lewy bodies; MicroRNAs; Mitochondria; Movement disorders; MSA; Mutation; Nervous system; Neurodegeneration; Neurodegenerative diseases; Neuronal-glial interactions; Neuropathology; Oxidative stress; Paralysis; Parkinson's disease; Pathology; Pathophysiology; Posture; Progressive supranuclear palsy; Protein folding; Proteins; PSP; Quality control; Review; SNCA; Synuclein; Tau protein; Traumatic brain injury; Tremor (Muscular contraction); mitophagy; PD; neurodegeneration; MSA; DLB; MAPT; PSP; oxidative stress; SNCA
• ISSN: 2073-4409; 2073-4409
• DOI: 10.3390/cells10030656

Parkinson's disease (PD), dementia with Lewy body (DLB), progressive supranuclear palsy (PSP), corticobasal degeneration (CBD) and multiple system atrophy (MSA) belong to a group of neurodegenerative diseases called parkinsonian syndromes. They share several clinical, neuropathological and genetic features. Neurodegenerative diseases are characterized by the progressive dysfunction of specific populations of neurons, determining clinical presentation. Neuronal loss is associated with extra- and intracellular accumulation of misfolded proteins. The parkinsonian diseases affect distinct areas of the brain. PD and MSA belong to a group of synucleinopathies that are characterized by the presence of fibrillary aggregates of α-synuclein protein in the cytoplasm of selected populations of neurons and glial cells. PSP is a tauopathy associated with the pathological aggregation of the microtubule associated tau protein. Although PD is common in the world's aging population and has been extensively studied, the exact mechanisms of the neurodegeneration are still not fully understood. Growing evidence indicates that parkinsonian disorders to some extent share a genetic background, with two key components identified so far: the microtubule associated tau protein gene (
) and the α-synuclein gene (
). The main pathways of parkinsonian neurodegeneration described in the literature are the protein and mitochondrial pathways. The factors that lead to neurodegeneration are primarily environmental toxins, inflammatory factors, oxidative stress and traumatic brain injury.