Thomas Edlund

Biography

Professor Umeå Center for Molecular Medicine (UCMM)

Research Interest

Autophagy, cellular self-degradation, is a cellular process that mediates the breakdown of proteins and organs with a variety of connections to disease and physiology, including neurodegeneration. A variety of neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease, Huntington's disease, ALS and prion diseases are associated with the formation of protein aggregates. These aggregates or their precursors are considered to be toxic and disease-causing. Autophagia is the ability to break down protein aggregates, including those associated with neurodegenerative diseases. Induction of autophagy in cell and animal models protects against the harmful effects of protein aggregates by increasing their degradation. The ultimate form of energy renewal is to revert proteins, protein aggregates and organelles. It is therefore not surprising that AMPK activation induces autophagia in a variety of cell types including nerve cells. Substances that activate AMPK could therefore be developed to treat neurodegenerative diseases.