Molecular Mechanisms in Lysosomal Storage Diseases: From Pathogenesis to Therapeutic Strategies 2.0

A special issue of Biomedicines (ISSN 2227-9059). This special issue belongs to the section "Cell Biology and Pathology".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 May 2023) | Viewed by 4163

Special Issue Editors


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Guest Editor
Department Molecular Medicines and Medical Biotechnology, University of Naples Federico II, Via S Pansini 5, I-80131 Naples, Italy
Interests: lysosomal storage diseases; mucopolysaccharidoses; heparan sulfate proteoglycans; growth factors; cytokine; cathepsin proteases; metabolism; autophagy; cell signaling; metabolic diseases
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Guest Editor
Department of Veterinary Medicine and Animal Production, University of Naples Federico II, Unina, Italy
Interests: lysosomal storage diseases; mucopolysaccharidoses; heparan sulfate proteoglycans; growth factors; cytokine; cathepsin proteases; metabolism; autophagy; cell signalling; metabolic diseases
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Lysosomal storage disorders (LSDs) are a group of inherited metabolic diseases that are characterized by the accumulation of undegraded products within the lysosomes, resulting in the formation of large intracellular vacuoles. Although individually rare, the lysosomal storage disorders as a group have a frequency of about 1/5000 live births, thus representing a major challenge for the healthcare system.

Over the last two decades, there has been a huge expansion of investigations in the field of LSDs, which has greatly increased our understanding of their pathogenic mechanisms. These studies have disclosed the important role of the altered autophagy flux and mitochondrial function, which along with the stimulation of inflammatory responses appear to represent a common feature of many LSDs. In addition, the interplay between the accumulation/mislocalization of substrates and the alteration of many signaling pathways is also gaining attention in the context of LSDs. Despite that, current therapeutic options, mostly consisting of enzyme replacement therapies, are only available for a few LSDs. These therapies show poor efficacy in the rescue of neurological manifestations. Hence, the identification and validation of novel therapeutic approaches exhibiting improved efficacy and the ability to target the central nervous system represent an urgent need.

This Special Issue is devoted to publishing results on any features of LSDs, including basic research on the molecular mechanisms of LSDs, translational studies on novel therapies, and clinical investigations. Review articles on all these aspects are also welcome, as well as any study including the relationship between LSDs and more common neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer’s or Parkinson’s. This Special Issue will provide a comprehensive view of the molecular aspects of various LSDs, as well as their pathomechanisms and therapeutic strategies. This Special Issue comprehensively covers many areas in the field of LSDs, and could be of interest to a broad range of readers, including physicians, scientists, students, pharmaceutical companies, and LSD communities.

Dr. Luigi Pavone
Dr. Valeria De Pasquale
Guest Editors

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Keywords

  • lysosomal storage disorders
  • novel therapies for genetic diseases
  • molecular diagnosis
  • biomarkers
  • substrate storage
  • autophagy
  • cell signaling
  • molecular mechanisms of genetic disorders
  • neurodegeneration
  • metabolic diseases

Published Papers (2 papers)

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Research

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21 pages, 3479 KiB  
Article
Mechanotransduction Impairment in Primary Fibroblast Model of Krabbe Disease
by Roberta Mezzena, Ambra Del Grosso, Roberto Maria Pellegrino, Husam B. R. Alabed, Carla Emiliani, Ilaria Tonazzini and Marco Cecchini
Biomedicines 2023, 11(3), 927; https://doi.org/10.3390/biomedicines11030927 - 16 Mar 2023
Cited by 4 | Viewed by 1527
Abstract
Krabbe disease (KD) is a genetic disorder caused by the absence of the galactosylceramidase (GALC) functional enzyme. No cure is currently available. Here, we investigate the mechanotransduction process in primary fibroblasts collected from the twitcher mouse, a natural KD murine model. Thanks to [...] Read more.
Krabbe disease (KD) is a genetic disorder caused by the absence of the galactosylceramidase (GALC) functional enzyme. No cure is currently available. Here, we investigate the mechanotransduction process in primary fibroblasts collected from the twitcher mouse, a natural KD murine model. Thanks to mechanotransduction, cells can sense their environment and convert external mechanical stimuli into biochemical signals that result in intracellular changes. In GALC-deficient fibroblasts, we show that focal adhesions (FAs), the protein clusters necessary to adhere and migrate, are increased, and that single-cell migration and wound healing are impaired. We also investigate the involvement of the autophagic process in this framework. We show a dysregulation in the FA turnover: here, the treatment with the autophagy activator rapamycin boosts cell migration and improves the clearance of FAs in GALC-deficient fibroblasts. We propose mechanosensing impairment as a novel potential pathological mechanism in twitcher fibroblasts, and more in general in Krabbe disease. Full article
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Review

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29 pages, 4247 KiB  
Review
Neurological Disease Modeling Using Pluripotent and Multipotent Stem Cells: A Key Step towards Understanding and Treating Mucopolysaccharidoses
by Sofia Carvalho, Juliana Inês Santos, Luciana Moreira, Mariana Gonçalves, Hugo David, Liliana Matos, Marisa Encarnação, Sandra Alves and Maria Francisca Coutinho
Biomedicines 2023, 11(4), 1234; https://doi.org/10.3390/biomedicines11041234 - 21 Apr 2023
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 2312
Abstract
Despite extensive research, the links between the accumulation of glycosaminoglycans (GAGs) and the clinical features seen in patients suffering from various forms of mucopolysaccharidoses (MPSs) have yet to be further elucidated. This is particularly true for the neuropathology of these disorders; the neurological [...] Read more.
Despite extensive research, the links between the accumulation of glycosaminoglycans (GAGs) and the clinical features seen in patients suffering from various forms of mucopolysaccharidoses (MPSs) have yet to be further elucidated. This is particularly true for the neuropathology of these disorders; the neurological symptoms are currently incurable, even in the cases where a disease-specific therapeutic approach does exist. One of the best ways to get insights on the molecular mechanisms driving that pathogenesis is the analysis of patient-derived cells. Yet, not every patient-derived cell recapitulates relevant disease features. For the neuronopathic forms of MPSs, for example, this is particularly evident because of the obvious inability to access live neurons. This scenario changed significantly with the advent of induced pluripotent stem cell (iPSC) technologies. From then on, a series of differentiation protocols to generate neurons from iPSC was developed and extensively used for disease modeling. Currently, human iPSC and iPSC-derived cell models have been generated for several MPSs and numerous lessons were learnt from their analysis. Here we review most of those studies, not only listing the currently available MPS iPSC lines and their derived models, but also summarizing how they were generated and the major information different groups have gathered from their analyses. Finally, and taking into account that iPSC generation is a laborious/expensive protocol that holds significant limitations, we also hypothesize on a tempting alternative to establish MPS patient-derived neuronal cells in a much more expedite way, by taking advantage of the existence of a population of multipotent stem cells in human dental pulp to establish mixed neuronal and glial cultures. Full article
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