Shohayeb Belal, Diab Mohamed, Ahmed Mazen, Ng Dominic Chi Hiung
1School of Biomedical Science, Faculty of Medicine, University of Queensland, St Lucia, QLD 4067 Australia.
2Faculty of Pharmacy, Pharos University in Alexandria, P.O. Box Sidi Gaber, Alexandria, 21311 Egypt.
Transl Neurodegener. 2018 Feb 21;7:4. doi: 10.1186/s40035-018-0109-9. eCollection 2018.
Adult neurogenesis involves persistent proliferative neuroprogenitor populations that reside within distinct regions of the brain. This phenomenon was first described over 50 years ago and it is now firmly established that new neurons are continually generated in distinct regions of the adult brain. The potential of enhancing the neurogenic process lies in improved brain cognition and neuronal plasticity particularly in the context of neuronal injury and neurodegenerative disorders. In addition, adult neurogenesis might also play a role in mood and affective disorders. The factors that regulate adult neurogenesis have been broadly studied. However, the underlying molecular mechanisms of regulating neurogenesis are still not fully defined. In this review, we will provide critical analysis of our current understanding of the factors and molecular mechanisms that determine neurogenesis. We will further discuss pre-clinical and clinical studies that have investigated the potential of modulating neurogenesis as therapeutic intervention in neurodegeneration.
成体神经发生涉及存在于大脑不同区域的持续增殖的神经祖细胞群体。这一现象在50多年前首次被描述，现在已经确凿地证实，成体大脑的不同区域不断有新的神经元生成。增强神经发生过程的潜力在于改善大脑认知和神经元可塑性，特别是在神经元损伤和神经退行性疾病的背景下。此外，成体神经发生可能也在情绪和情感障碍中发挥作用。调节成体神经发生的因素已得到广泛研究。然而，调节神经发生的潜在分子机制仍未完全明确。在这篇综述中，我们将对目前对决定神经发生的因素和分子机制的理解进行批判性分析。我们还将进一步讨论临床前和临床研究，这些研究探讨了调节神经发生作为神经退行性疾病治疗干预手段的潜力。
