Abstract

Cellular uptake and membrane trafficking are ubiquitous processes of all eukaryotic cells that collectively function to sort, transport, degrade, and communicate proteins and other cargoes within and between cells. Dysfunctions to membrane trafficking systems are common findings in neurodegenerative disease, and processes such as endocytosis, exocytosis, and exosome release seem to play a role in cell-cell transfer of amyloid proteins and aggregates. My group focuses on understanding how amyloid proteins interact with cellular machineries for uptake and trafficking. In this talk I will present data on how the uptake and cell interactions of Aβ and α-synuclein species depend on their aggregation state, but also show recent work on fluorescent TDP -43 cell models to study prion-like propagation related to ALS . Membrane trafficking processes can also be utilised for drug delivery purposes, as the main route of uptake of biological drugs (e.g. proteins and nucleic acids); we currently study this in the context of lipid-mediated mRNA delivery and in this talk I will show some recent results and strategies focused on understanding mechanisms of uptake and endosomal escape.