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Dissecting the role of glial lysosome function in neurodegeneration

Year:
2019
Duration:
54 months
Approved budget:
$1,199,417.30
Researchers:
Professor Stephanie Hughes
Health issue:
Neurological (CNS)
Proposal type:
Project
Lay summary
Maintaining a healthy brain requires a fully functional cellular recycling system. The lysosome is the final destination of cellular waste and its dysfunction is a common feature of many neurological diseases including Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s disease. Understanding how the lysosomal system functions in health and disease is critical for the development of therapies for these diseases. Most of our current understanding is based on analysis of lysosomes in neurons, however there are other important cells in the brain that have received little attention. Our goal is to determine the specific roles of these support cells in the brain on the development of neurodegenerative disease and how defects in the lysosomal system in these cells impacts on normal function of neurons.