Medicina Molecular e Genética

Participation of Rabs during Neuronal Development and Disease

Abstract

Rozés-Salvador V and Conde C

Membrane traffic has been widely studied in recent decades, and now it is clear that its participation in biological processes such as cellular migration, mitosis, and immune response, among others, is crucial and determinant. During the development of the nervous system, membrane trafficking organizes both the differential distribution and degradation of specific components, among others. Failures in these functions lead to the development of neurological pathologies that can be progressive, chronic or even lethal such as Alzheimer's, Huntington's and Parkinson's diseases. These pathologies have significant health and economic costs in many countries. For this reason, research is being focused on the study of those components (mainly proteins) involved in membrane traffic during health and disease. In this short communication, we summarize main findings and state of the art discussion about the functions of some membrane trafficking components during development, as well as the implications of their dysfunction into the progression of neurological pathologies.