Molecular mechanisms of proteinopathies across neurodegenerative disease: a review

BACKGROUND: Although there is a range of different symptoms across neurodegenerative diseases, they have been noted to have common pathogenic features. An archetypal feature shared between these diseases is protein misfolding; however, the mechanism behind the proteins abnormalities is still under investigation. There is an emerging hypothesis in the literature that the mechanisms that lead to protein misfolding may be shared across neurodegenerative processes, suggesting a common underlying pathology. MAIN BODY: This review discusses the literature to date of the shared features of protein misfolding, failures in proteostasis, and potential propagation pathways across the main neurodegenerative disorders. CONCLUSION: The current data suggests, despite overarching processes being shared, that the molecular events implicated in protein pathology are distinct across common neurodegenerative disorders.