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  • the Korean Society for Brain and Neural Sciences

Article

Review Article

Exp Neurobiol 2014; 23(4): 314-323

Published online December 31, 2014

https://doi.org/10.5607/en.2014.23.4.314

© The Korean Society for Brain and Neural Sciences

ATP13A2 and Alpha-synuclein: a Metal Taste in Autophagy

Tomás Lopes da Fonseca1,2 and Tiago Fleming Outeiro1,2*

1Department of Neurodegeneration and Restorative Research, Center for Nanoscale Microscopy and
Molecular Physiology of the Brain, University Medical Center Göttingen, 37073 Göttingen, Germany,
2Instituto de Medicina Molecular, Faculdade de Medicina, Universidade de Lisboa, Portugal

Correspondence to: *To whom correspondence should be addressed.
FAX: 495513913544
e-mail: touteir@gwdg.de

Received: August 31, 2014; Revised: October 14, 2014

Abstract

Parkinson's Disease (PD) is a complex and multifactorial disorder of both idiopathic and genetic origin. Thus far, more than 20 genes have been linked to familial forms of PD. Two of these genes encode for ATP13A2 and alpha-synuclein (asyn), proteins that seem to be members of a common network in both physiological and disease conditions. Thus, two different hypotheses have emerged supporting a role of ATP13A2 and asyn in metal homeostasis or in autophagy. Interestingly, an appealing theory might combine these two cellular pathways. Here we review the novel findings in the interaction between these two proteins and debate the exciting roads still ahead.

Keywords: ATP13A2, alpha-synuclein, Parkinson’s Disease, autophagy, metal homeostasis