Alterations in autophagy-regulating miRNAs and oligodendroglial accumulation of α-synuclein in Multiple System Atrophy

The addition of the study of miRNA deregulation across synucleopathies to include Multiple System Atrophy (MSA) to our research portfolio comes as a natural expansion that enables our lab to perform a comprehensive research covering the major epigenetic mechanisms across the spectra of neurodegenerative diseases, and leveraging findings from different projects.

After the identification of autophagy-regulating microRNAs altered in MSA we are now interested in understating how alterations in miRNAs that regulate vesicle sorting and autophagy contribute to pathological accumulation of α-synuclein in oligodendrocytes in MSA, a project funded by the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS). Moreover, we are evaluating the potential of modulating miRNAs as a therapeutic approach for this devastating disease.