Endosomal Recycling Defects and Neurodevelopmental Disorders

Abstract

The quality and quantity of membrane proteins are precisely and dynamically maintained through an endosomal recycling process. This endosomal recycling is executed by two protein complexes: retromer and recently identified retriever. Defects in the function of retromer or retriever cause dysregulation of many membrane proteins and result in several human disorders, including neurodegenerative disorders such as Alzheimer’s disease and Parkinson’s disease. Recently, neurodevelopmental disorders caused by pathogenic variants in genes associated with retriever were identified. This review focuses on the two recycling complexes and discuss their biological and developmental roles and the consequences of defects in endosomal recycling, especially in the nervous system. We also discuss future perspectives of a possible relationship of the dysfunction of retromer and retriever with neurodevelopmental disorders.