The Cain Foundation Laboratories, Texas Children's Hospital, Houston, TX 77030, USA; Jan and Dan Duncan Neurological Research Institute at Texas Children's Hospital, Houston, TX 77030, USA; Department of Pediatrics, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX 77030, USA.
Trends Neurosci. 2013 Nov;36(11):632-40. doi: 10.1016/j.tins.2013.07.002. Epub 2013 Aug 20.
Proper brain function requires neuronal homeostasis over a range of environmental challenges. Neuronal activity, injury, and aging stress the nervous system, and lead to neuronal dysfunction and degeneration. Nevertheless, most organisms maintain healthy neurons throughout life, implying the existence of active maintenance mechanisms. Recent studies have revealed a key neuronal maintenance and protective function for nicotinamide mononucleotide adenylyl transferases (NMNATs). We review evidence that NMNATs protect neurons through multiple mechanisms in different contexts, and highlight functions that either require or are independent of NMNAT catalytic activity. We then summarize data supporting a role for NMNATs in neuronal maintenance and raise intriguing questions on how NMNATs preserve neuronal integrity and facilitate proper neural function throughout life.
正常的大脑功能需要神经元在一系列环境挑战中保持内稳。神经元活动、损伤和衰老会给神经系统带来压力，导致神经元功能障碍和退化。然而，大多数生物体在其一生中都能保持健康的神经元，这意味着存在着积极的维持机制。最近的研究揭示了烟酰胺单核苷酸腺苷酰转移酶（NMNATs）在神经元维持和保护方面的关键作用。我们综述了证据表明，NMNATs 通过多种机制在不同的情况下保护神经元，并强调了需要或不依赖 NMNAT 催化活性的功能。然后，我们总结了支持 NMNATs 在神经元维持中的作用的数据，并提出了一些有趣的问题，即 NMNATs 如何在整个生命周期中保持神经元的完整性并促进适当的神经功能。
