Kanazawa I
Dept of Neurology, University of Tokyo Hospital, 113-8655, Tokyo, Japan.
Trends Mol Med. 2001 Aug;7(8):339-44. doi: 10.1016/s1471-4914(01)02017-2.
Given that neurons are post-mitotic cells, their life span is generally long enough to reach that of humans. However, sometimes neurons die without recognizable causes, as a result of a process called neurodegeneration. Apart from when gene mutations can be correlated with disease, it is difficult to pinpoint molecules that are responsible for neuronal death. Therefore, neurons living in a 'sick state' for many years might reveal important information about neuronal death. Systematic and extensive single-neuron analysis of 'sick' neurons is expected to provide clues to the mechanisms of neurodegeneration. Moreover, the elimination of putative triggering and promoting factors involved in neurodegenerative disease might prevent disease progression.
鉴于神经元是有丝分裂后细胞，它们的寿命通常足够长，能够达到人类的寿命。然而，有时神经元会在没有可识别原因的情况下死亡，这是一种称为神经退行性变的过程导致的。除了基因突变与疾病相关的情况外，很难确定导致神经元死亡的分子。因此，处于“病态”多年的神经元可能会揭示有关神经元死亡的重要信息。对“病态”神经元进行系统而广泛的单神经元分析有望为神经退行性变的机制提供线索。此外，消除神经退行性疾病中假定的触发和促进因素可能会阻止疾病进展。
