Molecular mechanisms of neurodegeneration

The Neurobiology Unit investigates molecular mechanisms of neuronal death with the aim of identifying targets for therapeutic intervention in neurodegenerative diseases. Our team is also part of CIBERNED. The general lines of research are: 1) Molecular mechanisms of synapse elimination in models of Alzheimer's disease, 2) Regulation of mitochondrial DNA transcription and replication in genetic models of neurodegeneration. 3) Mitochondrial DNA as a biomarker in early stages of Parkinson's disease. This last line financed by the Michael J. Fox Foundation. Neurons depend largely on the energy provided by the mitochondria, whose dysfunction activates the neuronal death program. Our objective is to identify the influence of mitochondrial fusion/fission processes on the loss of neuronal synapses and the role of mitochondrial DNA as a biomarker in the initial stages of neurodegeneration.