Cargando…

The Biology of Glial Cells and Their Complex Roles in Alzheimer’s Disease: New Opportunities in Therapy

Even though Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is of significant interest to the scientific community, its pathogenesis is very complicated and not well-understood. A great deal of progress has been made in AD research recently and with the advent of these new insights more therapeutic benefits may be identif...

Descripción completa

Detalles Bibliográficos
Autores principales: Nirzhor, Saif Shahriar Rahman, Khan, Rubayat Islam, Neelotpol, Sharmind
Formato: Online Artículo Texto
Lenguaje:English
Publicado: MDPI 2018
Materias:
Acceso en línea:https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6164719/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/30201881
http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/biom8030093
_version_ 1783359667785695232
author Nirzhor, Saif Shahriar Rahman
Khan, Rubayat Islam
Neelotpol, Sharmind
author_facet Nirzhor, Saif Shahriar Rahman
Khan, Rubayat Islam
Neelotpol, Sharmind
author_sort Nirzhor, Saif Shahriar Rahman
collection PubMed
description Even though Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is of significant interest to the scientific community, its pathogenesis is very complicated and not well-understood. A great deal of progress has been made in AD research recently and with the advent of these new insights more therapeutic benefits may be identified that could help patients around the world. Much of the research in AD thus far has been very neuron-oriented; however, recent studies suggest that glial cells, i.e., microglia, astrocytes, oligodendrocytes, and oligodendrocyte progenitor cells (NG2 glia), are linked to the pathogenesis of AD and may offer several potential therapeutic targets against AD. In addition to a number of other functions, glial cells are responsible for maintaining homeostasis (i.e., concentration of ions, neurotransmitters, etc.) within the central nervous system (CNS) and are crucial to the structural integrity of neurons. This review explores the: (i) role of glial cells in AD pathogenesis; (ii) complex functionalities of the components involved; and (iii) potential therapeutic targets that could eventually lead to a better quality of life for AD patients.
format Online
Article
Text
id pubmed-6164719
institution National Center for Biotechnology Information
language English
publishDate 2018
publisher MDPI
record_format MEDLINE/PubMed
spelling pubmed-61647192018-10-10 The Biology of Glial Cells and Their Complex Roles in Alzheimer’s Disease: New Opportunities in Therapy Nirzhor, Saif Shahriar Rahman Khan, Rubayat Islam Neelotpol, Sharmind Biomolecules Review Even though Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is of significant interest to the scientific community, its pathogenesis is very complicated and not well-understood. A great deal of progress has been made in AD research recently and with the advent of these new insights more therapeutic benefits may be identified that could help patients around the world. Much of the research in AD thus far has been very neuron-oriented; however, recent studies suggest that glial cells, i.e., microglia, astrocytes, oligodendrocytes, and oligodendrocyte progenitor cells (NG2 glia), are linked to the pathogenesis of AD and may offer several potential therapeutic targets against AD. In addition to a number of other functions, glial cells are responsible for maintaining homeostasis (i.e., concentration of ions, neurotransmitters, etc.) within the central nervous system (CNS) and are crucial to the structural integrity of neurons. This review explores the: (i) role of glial cells in AD pathogenesis; (ii) complex functionalities of the components involved; and (iii) potential therapeutic targets that could eventually lead to a better quality of life for AD patients. MDPI 2018-09-10 /pmc/articles/PMC6164719/ /pubmed/30201881 http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/biom8030093 Text en © 2018 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).
spellingShingle Review
Nirzhor, Saif Shahriar Rahman
Khan, Rubayat Islam
Neelotpol, Sharmind
The Biology of Glial Cells and Their Complex Roles in Alzheimer’s Disease: New Opportunities in Therapy
title The Biology of Glial Cells and Their Complex Roles in Alzheimer’s Disease: New Opportunities in Therapy
title_full The Biology of Glial Cells and Their Complex Roles in Alzheimer’s Disease: New Opportunities in Therapy
title_fullStr The Biology of Glial Cells and Their Complex Roles in Alzheimer’s Disease: New Opportunities in Therapy
title_full_unstemmed The Biology of Glial Cells and Their Complex Roles in Alzheimer’s Disease: New Opportunities in Therapy
title_short The Biology of Glial Cells and Their Complex Roles in Alzheimer’s Disease: New Opportunities in Therapy
title_sort biology of glial cells and their complex roles in alzheimer’s disease: new opportunities in therapy
topic Review
url https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6164719/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/30201881
http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/biom8030093
work_keys_str_mv AT nirzhorsaifshahriarrahman thebiologyofglialcellsandtheircomplexrolesinalzheimersdiseasenewopportunitiesintherapy
AT khanrubayatislam thebiologyofglialcellsandtheircomplexrolesinalzheimersdiseasenewopportunitiesintherapy
AT neelotpolsharmind thebiologyofglialcellsandtheircomplexrolesinalzheimersdiseasenewopportunitiesintherapy
AT nirzhorsaifshahriarrahman biologyofglialcellsandtheircomplexrolesinalzheimersdiseasenewopportunitiesintherapy
AT khanrubayatislam biologyofglialcellsandtheircomplexrolesinalzheimersdiseasenewopportunitiesintherapy
AT neelotpolsharmind biologyofglialcellsandtheircomplexrolesinalzheimersdiseasenewopportunitiesintherapy