Prion-like mechanisms in the pathogenesis of tauopathies and synucleinopathies

Neurodegenerative diseases, including Alzheimer's disease and Parkinson's disease, are characterized by the abnormal aggregation of a small number of intracellular proteins, with tau and α-synuclein being the most commonly affected. Until recently, the events leading to aggregate formation were believed to be entirely cell-autonomous, with protein misfolding occurring independently in many cells. It is now believed that protein aggregates form in a small number of brain cells, from which they propagate intercellularly through templated recruitment, reminiscent of the mechanisms by which prions spread through the nervous system.