Brief overview of neurodegenerative diseases: a bioinorganic point of view. Alzheimer’s disease. Parkinson disease. Prion diseases. Catabolism of aggregation-prone proteins. Aβ, α-synuclein and prion protein. Protein-metal ions binding. Chemical factors regulating the clearance of proteins by metalloproteases: oxidative stress, small molecules and metal ions. Metal ions and metalloproteases at physiological conditions and in neurodegeneration. Some of the most commonly used experimental techniques to study metal binding to proteins.
Learning outcomes
The student will know the main biomolecular mechanisms involved with neurodegenerative diseases and the role that metal ions have in these diseases. Possible therapeutical strategies to tackle those diseases will be defined. The student will get to know the most recent literature on this field and the current experimental research strategies applied to study the biomolecular mechanisms of these diseases.
