Neuroinflammation and neuroprotection in schizophrenia and autism spectrum disorder

Microtubules are dynamic polymers essential in the proper development and maintenance of a healthy nervous system. Previously, increasing evidence linked the defective regulation of microtubules to a spectrum of disorders from neurodevelopmental to neurodegenerative diseases. Acetylation of tubulin determines the biochemical and biophysical diversity of microtubules, regulates their function, and has been recently related to the molecular events underlying different disorders including schizophrenia, autism, and Alzheimer's disease. Here, we critically look at the experimental data coming from in vitro to in vivo disease models and patients with the aim of understanding whether targeting tubulin acetylation could be a promising strategy for neuroprotection. We conclude that this is a feasible road, but in the future, a more comprehensive analysis of molecular details at the base of tubulin acetylation and, most important, the consequent determination of novel compounds targeting this process are the condition sine qua non for moving toward therapeutic interventions.