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c-Abl in Neurodegenerative Disease

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Abstract

The c-Abl tyrosine kinase participates in a variety of cellular functions, including regulation of the actin cytoskeleton, regulation of the cell cycle, and the apoptotic/cell cycle arrest response to stress, and the Abl family of kinases has been shown to play a crucial role in development of the central nervous system. Recent studies have shown c-Abl activation in human Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s diseases and c-Abl activation in mouse models and neuronal culture in response to amyloid beta fibrils and oxidative stress. Overexpression of active c-Abl in adult mouse neurons results in neurodegeneration and neuroinflammation. Based on this evidence, a potential role for c-Abl in the pathogenesis of neurodegenerative disease is discussed, and we attempt to place activation of c-Abl in context with other known contributors to neurodegenerative pathology.

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Acknowledgments

Supported by Applied Neurosolutions Inc and by NIMH38623 and AG022102. We thank Dr. Dennis Dickson for the human tauopathy cases used for experiments as shown in Fig. 2.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Pathology, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Bronx, NY, 10461, USA

    Sarah D. Schlatterer, Christopher M. Acker & Peter Davies

  2. Litwin-Zucker Center for Research in Alzheimer’s Disease and Memory Disorders, Feinstein Center for Medical Research, North Shore, Long Island Jewish Health System, Manhasset, NY, 11030, USA

    Peter Davies

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  1. Sarah D. Schlatterer
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  2. Christopher M. Acker
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Correspondence to Peter Davies.

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Schlatterer, S.D., Acker, C.M. & Davies, P. c-Abl in Neurodegenerative Disease. J Mol Neurosci 45, 445–452 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12031-011-9588-1

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