Molecular Genetics in Neurodegenerative Disorders 2.0

Dear Colleagues,

Neurodegenerative disorders (NDs) are characterized by the progressive and inevitable loss of selected neuronal populations in the peripheral or central nervous system, which leads to impairments in motor, behavioral and/or cognitive function. NDs mainly include Alzheimer’s disease (AD), Parkinson’s disease (PD), Huntington’s disease (HD) and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). Previous studies have indicated that NDs are caused by multiple pathomechanisms, although each ND has different clinical characteristics, neuropathological targets and losses of selected neuronal populations. Among the pathomechanisms underlying NDs are genetic mutations, micro- and long-RNA (miRNA and lnRNA) network alterations, glutamate excitotoxicity, redox imbalance, neuroinflammation, mitochondria dysfunction, endoplasmic reticulum stress, autophagy dysfunction and, more recently, epigenetics. However, the exact causes of most NDs are still unknown, and recent studies suggest that therapeutic options in ND management remain limited.

With this Special Issue, we intend to collect both original contributions and review articles focused on recent advances in: i) genetic research on new gene-specific therapeutic approaches in treating ND patients; ii) the investigation of the mechanisms of epigenetic regulation (DNA methylation, coding and non-coding RNA, chromatin remodeling and histone post-translational modifications); iii) the identification of biomarkers able to predict disease progression; iv) the understanding of specific molecular mechanisms, including DNA damage repair, genome instability and RNA metabolism.

Dr. Orietta Pansarasa
Dr. Matteo Bordoni
Guest Editors

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