Molecular Mechanisms of Neurodegeneration Group: our group is interested in a series of neurodegenerative diseases, such as Alzheimer’s, or brain tumors that are mostly associated with age. From the beginning our studies focused first on neuronal neurodegeneration initiated by amyloid accumulation in Alzheimer's disease (AD); and second on glia-glioma transformation.
Specifically, in the field of autophagy, we have been able to verify, in a transgenic model of Alzheimer’s amyloidosis, that the inhibition of the complex called mTORC1 has a therapeutic effect both in vivo and ex vivo (in primary cultures of neurons and glia). This inhibition produces an activation of autophagy that leads to a reduction in the amyloid load either in transgenic mice, or in neurons and glia obtained from these mice.

Currently our work focuses on the analysis of how different autophagy regulators can modify the generation/secretion of amyloid in this transgenic model.