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Brain Cholesterol Metabolism and Its Defects: Linkage to Neurodegenerative Diseases and Synaptic Dysfunction
- Source :
- Acta Naturae. 8:58-73
- Publication Year :
- 2016
- Publisher :
- Acta Naturae Ltd, 2016.
-
Abstract
- Cholesterol is an important constituent of cell membranes and plays a crucial role in the compartmentalization of the plasma membrane and signaling. Brain cholesterol accounts for a large proportion of the bodys total cholesterol, existing in two pools: the plasma membranes of neurons and glial cells and the myelin membranes . Cholesterol has been recently shown to be important for synaptic transmission, and a link between cholesterol metabolism defects and neurodegenerative disorders is now recognized. Many neurodegenerative diseases are characterized by impaired cholesterol turnover in the brain. However, at which stage the cholesterol biosynthetic pathway is perturbed and how this contributes to pathogenesis remains unknown. Cognitive deficits and neurodegeneration may be associated with impaired synaptic transduction. Defects in cholesterol biosynthesis can trigger dysfunction of synaptic transmission. In this review, an overview of cholesterol turnover under physiological and pathological conditions is presented (Huntingtons, Niemann-Pick type C diseases, Smith-Lemli-Opitz syndrome). We will discuss possible mechanisms by which cholesterol content in the plasma membrane influences synaptic processes. Changes in cholesterol metabolism in Alzheimers disease, Parkinsons disease, and autistic disorders are beyond the scope of this review and will be summarized in our next paper.
- Subjects :
- 0301 basic medicine
Apolipoprotein E
medicine.medical_specialty
Neurotransmission
Biology
Biochemistry
Pathogenesis
03 medical and health sciences
chemistry.chemical_compound
Myelin
0302 clinical medicine
Internal medicine
medicine
Liver X receptor
Molecular Biology
Lipid raft
Cholesterol
Neurodegeneration
medicine.disease
030104 developmental biology
Endocrinology
medicine.anatomical_structure
chemistry
Molecular Medicine
lipids (amino acids, peptides, and proteins)
Neuroscience
030217 neurology & neurosurgery
Biotechnology
Subjects
Details
- ISSN :
- 20758251
- Volume :
- 8
- Database :
- OpenAIRE
- Journal :
- Acta Naturae
- Accession number :
- edsair.doi...........6a0427d92d4ff71185c786c7ab289ccb