Many neurodegenerative disorders such as Alzheimer's disease (AD) Parkinson's disease (PD), amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) and Huntington's disease (HD) are characterized by neuronal damage that may be caused by toxic, abnormal, aggregation-prone proteins. The purpose of this review is threefold: 1) to provide the reader with an overview of the genes involved in the abnormal processing and accumulation of misfolded proteins in neurodegenerative diseases using PD as a model disease; 2) to understand the cellular mechanisms for disposal of abnormal proteins, and the effects of toxic protein accumulation on ubiquitin proteasome system (UPS) and neuronal survival and 3) to discuss the development and challenges of cell culture and animal models for a rational and effective treatment for these disorders.

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