Kim Yoo Sung, Jung Hae Myeong, Yoon Bo-Eun
Department of Molecular Biology, Dankook University, Cheonan, Korea.
Anim Cells Syst (Seoul). 2018 Aug 12;22(4):213-218. doi: 10.1080/19768354.2018.1508498. eCollection 2018.
The amyloid-β (Aβ) hypothesis has been the leading explanation for the pathogenesis of Alzheimer's disease (AD). The most common traits of AD are cognitive impairments and memory loss, which are associated with the accumulation of Aβ. Aβ aggregates activate glial cells, which in turn remove Aβ. Because microglia act as immune cells in the brain, most glia-related studies of AD have focused primarily on this cell type. However, astrocytes, another type of glial cell, also participate in the brain immune system, synaptic formation, brain homeostasis, and various other brain functions. Accordingly, many studies on the underlying mechanisms of AD have investigated not only neurons but also glial cells. Although these studies suggest that microglia and astrocytes are effective targets for AD therapeutics, other recent studies have raised questions regarding whether microglial cells and/or astrocytes serve a neuroprotective or neurotoxic function in AD. To gain a better understanding of the mechanisms of AD and identify novel targets for AD treatment, in this review, we consider the role of both microglia and astrocytes in AD.
淀粉样蛋白-β（Aβ）假说一直是阿尔茨海默病（AD）发病机制的主要解释。AD最常见的特征是认知障碍和记忆丧失，这与Aβ的积累有关。Aβ聚集体激活胶质细胞，进而清除Aβ。由于小胶质细胞在大脑中充当免疫细胞，大多数与AD相关的胶质细胞研究主要集中在这种细胞类型上。然而，星形胶质细胞作为另一种胶质细胞，也参与大脑免疫系统、突触形成、大脑内环境稳定以及各种其他大脑功能。因此，许多关于AD潜在机制的研究不仅调查了神经元，还调查了胶质细胞。尽管这些研究表明小胶质细胞和星形胶质细胞是AD治疗的有效靶点，但最近的其他研究对小胶质细胞和/或星形胶质细胞在AD中是发挥神经保护作用还是神经毒性作用提出了疑问。为了更好地理解AD的机制并确定AD治疗的新靶点，在本综述中，我们考虑了小胶质细胞和星形胶质细胞在AD中的作用。
