Next invited talk:

Giampietro Schiavo

UK Dementia Research Institute, London, UK

Elucidating the mechanisms of axonal transport regulation and tau dynamics in neurons

The Schiavo Lab's research programme aims to elucidate the mechanisms of axonal transport regulation and tau dynamics in healthy and diseased neurons, while identifying new targets to treat amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) and frontotemporal dementia (FTD) and other neurodegenerative diseases characterised by impaired axonal transport.

Several lines of evidence point to the endolysosomal pathway as an essential process that is altered in ALS and FTD as well as other neurodegenerative conditions. Importantly, endolysosomal dysfunctions have far reaching consequences, since this pathway plays a major role in neuronal homeostasis by impacting key cellular processes, such as receptor trafficking, signalling and degradation. Accordingly, deficits in the axonal transport of endolysosomal organelles have been found at pre-symptomatic stages in models of ALS and other neurodegenerative disorders, suggesting that these impairments play a causative role in disease. 

The team is testing the central hypothesis that counteracting axonal transport deficits represents a novel therapeutic strategy for treating neurodegeneration. The identification of signalling nodes modulating axonal transport and the endo-exocytosis of key pathological proteins, such as mutant tau, will enable crucial progress in the group's understanding of how axonal transport is regulated in healthy neurons and which of these mechanisms are affected in disease. Furthermore, uncovering how axonal transport is controlled in different neuronal subtypes will help the Schiavo Lab to address the mechanism conferring specific vulnerability to distinct neuronal populations.