Guest Lecture: Giuseppe Grasso

Neurodegeneration is a worldwide global health emergency: a holistic approach to tackle conformational diseases

Giuseppe Grasso is professor of chemistry at the University of Catania, currently fellow-in-residence at CY AS, invited by BioCIS laboratory

Protein folding is crucial for proper cellular functions, whereas misfolding and/or protein aggregation are often associated with many neurodegenerative diseases. The ubiquitin-proteasome system (UPS) is the first line of defence in degrading soluble misfolded proteins. Substrates selected for the degradation are tagged with ubiquitin (Ub) and then cleaved into short peptides while passing through the narrow chamber of the proteasome. It is well recognized that maintaining steady-state levels of proteasome composition and function is important for the maintenance of proteostasis in neuronal cells and impairment of UPS has been associated with etiopathogenesis of neurodegenerative disorders, such as Alzheimer Disease (AD), leading to the accumulation of toxic proteins in the neurons, which represents a hallmark for the development of neurodegenerative diseases. Moreover, defects and/or dysfunctions of the UPS are also associated with the alteration of neuronal development and, therefore, they may underlie cognitive disorders, such as Rett syndrome and autism. Although it is not clear whether the alteration of proteasome pathway in brain pathologies is the primary cause or is secondary to an alternate etiology (such as mitochondrial damage, oxidative stress, etc.), the interest in investigating the potential utility of proteasome modulation as therapeutic target is increasing. Indeed, the understanding at molecular level of specific alteration of UPS functionality may provide potential insight for the treatment of neuronal disorders. Here, a description of the problem is given and novel holistic approaches targeting the general problem of neurodegenerative diseases and protein misfolding are described.


Date: 23th May 2023 from 12:30 to 14:00

The hybrid guest lecture is organised in person at the Auditorium of MIR in Neuville-sur-Oise and remotely on Zoom.

To attend the remote guest lecture, please connect to Zoom:  https://cyu-fr.zoom.us/j/99150490706

Meeting ID: 991 5049 0706

The video will be online on the CY AS YouTube channel