Zhang Juan, Liu Qiang
Chinese Academy of Sciences Key Laboratory of Brain Function and Disease, and School of Life Sciences, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei, 230026, China.
Protein Cell. 2015 Apr;6(4):254-64. doi: 10.1007/s13238-014-0131-3. Epub 2015 Feb 15.
Cholesterol is an essential component for neuronal physiology not only during development stage but also in the adult life. Cholesterol metabolism in brain is independent from that in peripheral tissues due to blood-brain barrier. The content of cholesterol in brain must be accurately maintained in order to keep brain function well. Defects in brain cholesterol metabolism has been shown to be implicated in neurodegenerative diseases, such as Alzheimer's disease (AD), Huntington's disease (HD), Parkinson's disease (PD), and some cognitive deficits typical of the old age. The brain contains large amount of cholesterol, but the cholesterol metabolism and its complex homeostasis regulation are currently poorly understood. This review will seek to integrate current knowledge about the brain cholesterol metabolism with molecular mechanisms.
胆固醇不仅在发育阶段，而且在成年期都是神经元生理的重要组成部分。由于血脑屏障的存在，大脑中的胆固醇代谢与外周组织的胆固醇代谢相互独立。大脑中胆固醇的含量必须精确维持，以保持大脑功能正常。大脑胆固醇代谢缺陷已被证明与神经退行性疾病有关，如阿尔茨海默病（AD）、亨廷顿舞蹈症（HD）、帕金森病（PD）以及一些典型的老年认知缺陷。大脑含有大量胆固醇，但目前对胆固醇代谢及其复杂的稳态调节知之甚少。本综述将试图将目前关于大脑胆固醇代谢的知识与分子机制结合起来。
