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Twenty years of metallo-neurobiology: where to now?

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Abstract

The redox active transition metals Cu2+ and Fe3+ have been proposed as important factors in the neuropathology of Alzheimer’s disease (AD) and other neurodegenerative diseases. The field that has been called metallo-neurobiology has expanded greatly in the last 20 years. Although there is much experimental evidence on various aspects of the interaction between these metals and the molecular and supramolecular components of the neuropil and the structural biology of metal binding, we are far from fully understanding the part this interaction plays in the normal CNS and in neurodegeneration. This understanding is needed if we are to move beyond the promising, but semi-empirical, approaches to therapies of these diseases based on metal attenuation.

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Abbreviations

AD:

Alzheimer’s disease

Aβ:

Amyloid β peptide

APP:

Amyloid precursor protein

CNS:

Central nervous system

CQ:

Clioquinol (5-chloro-7-iodo-8-hydroxyquinoline)

EPR:

Electron paramagnetic resonance spectroscopy

MMPs:

Matrix metalloproteinases

NMR:

Nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy

PrPc :

Prion protein, cellular isoform

SOD:

Superoxide dismutase

XAFS:

X-ray absorption fine structure

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Declaration of interest

Ashley I. Bush is a shareholder and scientific consultant to Prana Biotechnology Ltd.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Oxidation Disorders Laboratory, Mental Health Research Institute of Victoria, 155 Oak Street, Parkville, VIC, 3052, Australia

    Ashley I. Bush

  2. Department of Psychiatry, Massachusetts General Hospital, Charlestown, MA, USA

    Ashley I. Bush & Cyril C. Curtain

  3. Department of Pathology, and The Bio21 Molecular Biology and Biotechnology Institute, The University of Melbourne, Melbourne, VIC, 3010, Australia

    Cyril C. Curtain

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  1. Ashley I. Bush
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  2. Cyril C. Curtain
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Correspondence to Cyril C. Curtain.

Additional information

Australian Society for Biophysics Special Issue: Metals and Membranes in Neurosciences.

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Bush, A.I., Curtain, C.C. Twenty years of metallo-neurobiology: where to now?. Eur Biophys J 37, 241–245 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00249-007-0228-1

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