Cintia Roodveldt

Immune signaling in neurodegenerative diseases

Protein misfolding diseases, e.g. Parkinson’s, Alzheimer’s and ALS, are incurable neurodegenerative disorders characterized by the aberrant aggregation of specific proteins in the brain or CNS, leading to neuron death. Even the pathogenic mechanisms are still poorly understood, dysregulated immune responses are thought to play a major role. The aim of  our research is to elucidate the roles and molecular mechanisms of misfolding proteins and immunofunctional heat-shock proteins in immune dysregulation associated to these disorders.