UK Dementia Research Institute, Institute of Neurology, University College London, London WC1E 6BT, UK.
Science. 2020 Oct 2;370(6512):66-69. doi: 10.1126/science.abb8587.
Dementia is a rapidly rising global health crisis that silently disables families and ends lives and livelihoods around the world. To date, however, no early biomarkers or effective therapies exist. It is now clear that brain microglia are more than mere bystanders or amyloid phagocytes; they can act as governors of neuronal function and homeostasis in the adult brain. Here, we highlight the fundamental role of microglia as tissue-resident macrophages in neuronal health. Then, we suggest how chronic impairment in microglia-neuron cross-talk may secure the permanence of the failure of synaptic and neuronal function and health in Alzheimer's and Parkinson's diseases. Understanding how to assess and modulate microglia-neuron interactions critical for brain health will be key to developing effective therapies for dementia.
痴呆症是一种迅速上升的全球健康危机，它无声地使世界各地的家庭丧失能力并结束生命和生计。然而，迄今为止，尚无早期生物标志物或有效的治疗方法。现在很明显，脑小胶质细胞不仅仅是旁观者或淀粉样蛋白吞噬细胞; 它们可以作为成年大脑中神经元功能和体内平衡的管理者。在这里，我们强调小胶质细胞作为组织驻留巨噬细胞在神经元健康中的基本作用。然后，我们建议小胶质细胞-神经元相互作用的慢性损伤如何确保阿尔茨海默病和帕金森病中突触和神经元功能及健康的失败永久化。了解如何评估和调节对大脑健康至关重要的小胶质细胞-神经元相互作用将是开发痴呆症有效疗法的关键。
