Grant: Operating Grant: Joint Programme on Neurodegenerative Disease Research (JPND)

Neurodegenerative and neurodevelopmental disorders like Alzheimer's, prion, Parkinson's and Charcot-Marie-Tooth diseases and autism spectrum disorders bare a heavy socio-economic burden all around the world, since up to day there are no cures for these diseases. Protein synthesis (mRNA translation), a complex and essential process in all organisms, is shown to be dysregulated in these disorders, but the mechanisms controlling this process are poorly understood. The goal of this project is to indentify molecular mechanisms underlying disturbed protein synthesis and to study overlapping/common processes between above-mention disorders. We have assembled a team of world-renowned experts in their respective fields and we will use novel and state-of-the-art methods. We will use cell, mouse and fly models of the respective diseases and will identify cell-type specific protein synthesis as well as genome-wide proteomic changes selectively in the affected populations of nerve cells. We expect to gain unprecedented insights into the molecular mechanisms and translational defects of these dreadful diseases, including insights into the cell type specific nature and late adult age of onset of neurodegenerative disorders. This will allow us to identify potential targets and help to the development of specific drugs to correct several aspects of these disorders.