Astrocytes: The Stars in Neurodegeneration?

Today, neurodegenerative disorders like Alzheimer’s disease (AD), Parkinson’s disease (PD), frontotemporal dementia (FTD) and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) affect millions of people worldwide, and as the average human lifespan increases, similarly grows the number of patients. For many decades...

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Main Authors: Katarina Stoklund Dittlau, Kristine Freude
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2024-02-01
Series:Biomolecules
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.mdpi.com/2218-273X/14/3/289
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author Katarina Stoklund Dittlau
Kristine Freude
author_facet Katarina Stoklund Dittlau
Kristine Freude
author_sort Katarina Stoklund Dittlau
collection DOAJ
description Today, neurodegenerative disorders like Alzheimer’s disease (AD), Parkinson’s disease (PD), frontotemporal dementia (FTD) and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) affect millions of people worldwide, and as the average human lifespan increases, similarly grows the number of patients. For many decades, cognitive and motoric decline has been explained by the very apparent deterioration of neurons in various regions of the brain and spinal cord. However, more recent studies show that disease progression is greatly influenced by the vast population of glial cells. Astrocytes are traditionally considered star-shaped cells on which neurons rely heavily for their optimal homeostasis and survival. Increasing amounts of evidence depict how astrocytes lose their supportive functions while simultaneously gaining toxic properties during neurodegeneration. Many of these changes are similar across various neurodegenerative diseases, and in this review, we highlight these commonalities. We discuss how astrocyte dysfunction drives neuronal demise across a wide range of neurodegenerative diseases, but rather than categorizing based on disease, we aim to provide an overview based on currently known mechanisms. As such, this review delivers a different perspective on the disease causes of neurodegeneration in the hope to encourage further cross-disease studies into shared disease mechanisms, which might ultimately disclose potentially common therapeutic entry points across a wide panel of neurodegenerative diseases.
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spelling doaj.art-43f14399fcf94854877ed2fe9e81df012024-03-27T13:27:52ZengMDPI AGBiomolecules2218-273X2024-02-0114328910.3390/biom14030289Astrocytes: The Stars in Neurodegeneration?Katarina Stoklund Dittlau0Kristine Freude1Department of Veterinary and Animal Sciences, Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, University of Copenhagen, 1870 Frederiksberg, DenmarkDepartment of Veterinary and Animal Sciences, Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, University of Copenhagen, 1870 Frederiksberg, DenmarkToday, neurodegenerative disorders like Alzheimer’s disease (AD), Parkinson’s disease (PD), frontotemporal dementia (FTD) and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) affect millions of people worldwide, and as the average human lifespan increases, similarly grows the number of patients. For many decades, cognitive and motoric decline has been explained by the very apparent deterioration of neurons in various regions of the brain and spinal cord. However, more recent studies show that disease progression is greatly influenced by the vast population of glial cells. Astrocytes are traditionally considered star-shaped cells on which neurons rely heavily for their optimal homeostasis and survival. Increasing amounts of evidence depict how astrocytes lose their supportive functions while simultaneously gaining toxic properties during neurodegeneration. Many of these changes are similar across various neurodegenerative diseases, and in this review, we highlight these commonalities. We discuss how astrocyte dysfunction drives neuronal demise across a wide range of neurodegenerative diseases, but rather than categorizing based on disease, we aim to provide an overview based on currently known mechanisms. As such, this review delivers a different perspective on the disease causes of neurodegeneration in the hope to encourage further cross-disease studies into shared disease mechanisms, which might ultimately disclose potentially common therapeutic entry points across a wide panel of neurodegenerative diseases.https://www.mdpi.com/2218-273X/14/3/289astrocyteneurodegenerationreactivitynon-cell autonomouscell autonomouscross-disease
spellingShingle Katarina Stoklund Dittlau
Kristine Freude
Astrocytes: The Stars in Neurodegeneration?
Biomolecules
astrocyte
neurodegeneration
reactivity
non-cell autonomous
cell autonomous
cross-disease
title Astrocytes: The Stars in Neurodegeneration?
title_full Astrocytes: The Stars in Neurodegeneration?
title_fullStr Astrocytes: The Stars in Neurodegeneration?
title_full_unstemmed Astrocytes: The Stars in Neurodegeneration?
title_short Astrocytes: The Stars in Neurodegeneration?
title_sort astrocytes the stars in neurodegeneration
topic astrocyte
neurodegeneration
reactivity
non-cell autonomous
cell autonomous
cross-disease
url https://www.mdpi.com/2218-273X/14/3/289
work_keys_str_mv AT katarinastoklunddittlau astrocytesthestarsinneurodegeneration
AT kristinefreude astrocytesthestarsinneurodegeneration