Department of Neuroscience, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA 15260, USA.
Cells. 2024 Oct 11;13(20):1684. doi: 10.3390/cells13201684.
Motor ability decline remains a major threat to the quality of life of the elderly. Although the later stages of aging co-exist with degenerative pathologies, the long process of aging is more complicated than a simple and gradual degeneration. To combat senescence and the associated late-stage degeneration of the neuromuscular system, it is imperative to examine changes that occur during the long process of aging. Prior to late-stage degeneration, age-induced changes in the neuromuscular system trigger homeostatic plasticity. This unique phenomenon may be important for the maintenance of the neuromuscular system during the early stages of aging. In this review, we will focus on age-induced changes in neurotransmission at the neuromuscular junction, providing the potential mechanisms responsible for these changes. The goal is to highlight these key elements and their role in regulating neurotransmission, facilitating future research efforts to combat late-stage degeneration in the neuromuscular system by preserving the functional and structural integrity of these elements prior to the late stage of aging.
运动能力下降仍然是老年人生活质量的主要威胁。尽管衰老的后期阶段与退行性病变并存，但衰老的漫长过程比简单的逐渐退化要复杂得多。为了对抗衰老和相关的神经肌肉系统的晚期退行性变，必须检查在漫长的衰老过程中发生的变化。在晚期退行性变之前，神经肌肉系统的年龄相关性变化会引发体内平衡可塑性。这种独特的现象可能对衰老早期神经肌肉系统的维持很重要。在这篇综述中，我们将重点关注神经肌肉接头处的神经传递的年龄相关性变化，并提供导致这些变化的潜在机制。目的是突出这些关键因素及其在调节神经传递中的作用，为未来的研究工作提供便利，通过在衰老晚期之前保存这些因素的功能和结构完整性来对抗神经肌肉系统的晚期退行性变。
