Department of Medical Neurobiology, Graduate School of Medicine, Dentistry and Pharmaceutical Sciences, Okayama University, Okayama 700-8558, Japan.
Cells. 2020 Dec 7;9(12):2623. doi: 10.3390/cells9122623.
Parkinson's disease (PD) is the second most common neurodegenerative disease. PD patients exhibit motor symptoms such as akinesia/bradykinesia, tremor, rigidity, and postural instability due to a loss of nigrostriatal dopaminergic neurons. Although the pathogenesis in sporadic PD remains unknown, there is a consensus on the involvement of non-neuronal cells in the progression of PD pathology. Astrocytes are the most numerous glial cells in the central nervous system. Normally, astrocytes protect neurons by releasing neurotrophic factors, producing antioxidants, and disposing of neuronal waste products. However, in pathological situations, astrocytes are known to produce inflammatory cytokines. In addition, various studies have reported that astrocyte dysfunction also leads to neurodegeneration in PD. In this article, we summarize the interaction of astrocytes and dopaminergic neurons, review the pathogenic role of astrocytes in PD, and discuss therapeutic strategies for the prevention of dopaminergic neurodegeneration. This review highlights neuron-astrocyte interaction as a target for the development of disease-modifying drugs for PD in the future.
帕金森病（PD）是第二常见的神经退行性疾病。由于黑质纹状体多巴胺能神经元的丧失，PD 患者表现出运动症状，如运动迟缓/运动不能、震颤、僵硬和姿势不稳。尽管散发性 PD 的发病机制仍不清楚，但人们普遍认为非神经元细胞参与了 PD 病理的进展。星形胶质细胞是中枢神经系统中数量最多的神经胶质细胞。正常情况下，星形胶质细胞通过释放神经营养因子、产生抗氧化剂和清除神经元代谢废物来保护神经元。然而，在病理情况下，星形胶质细胞已知会产生炎症细胞因子。此外，多项研究报告称，星形胶质细胞功能障碍也导致 PD 中的神经退行性变。在本文中，我们总结了星形胶质细胞与多巴胺能神经元的相互作用，综述了星形胶质细胞在 PD 中的致病作用，并讨论了预防多巴胺能神经退行性变的治疗策略。这篇综述强调了神经元-星形胶质细胞相互作用作为未来开发 PD 疾病修饰药物的靶点。
