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Detka J, Płachtij N, Strzelec M, Manik A, Sałat K. p38α Mitogen-Activated Protein Kinase-An Emerging Drug Target for the Treatment of Alzheimer's Disease. Molecules 2024; 29:4354. [PMID: 39339348 PMCID: PMC11433989 DOI: 10.3390/molecules29184354] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/10/2024] [Revised: 09/10/2024] [Accepted: 09/11/2024] [Indexed: 09/30/2024] Open
Abstract
Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a neurodegenerative disorder, characterized by the formation of amyloid β and tau protein aggregates in the brain, neuroinflammation, impaired cholinergic neurotransmission, and oxidative stress, resulting in the gradual loss of neurons and neuronal function, which leads to cognitive and memory deficits in AD patients. Chronic neuroinflammation plays a particularly important role in the progression of AD since the excessive release of proinflammatory cytokines from glial cells (microglia and astrocytes) induces neuronal damage, which subsequently causes microglial activation, thus facilitating further neurodegenerative changes. Mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) p38α is one of the key enzymes involved in the control of innate immune response. The increased activation of the p38α MAPK pathway, observed in AD, has been for a long time associated not only with the maintenance of excessive inflammatory process but is also linked with pathophysiological hallmarks of this disease, and therefore is currently considered an attractive drug target for novel AD therapeutics. This review aims to summarize the current state of knowledge about the involvement of p38α MAPK in different aspects of AD pathophysiology and also provides insight into the possible therapeutic effects of novel p38α MAPK inhibitors, which are currently studied as potential drug candidates for AD treatment.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jan Detka
- Department of Pharmacodynamics, Chair of Pharmacodynamics, Jagiellonian University Medical College, 9 Medyczna St., 30-688 Krakow, Poland
| | - Natalia Płachtij
- Department of Pharmacodynamics, Chair of Pharmacodynamics, Jagiellonian University Medical College, 9 Medyczna St., 30-688 Krakow, Poland
| | - Martyna Strzelec
- Department of Transplantation, Institute of Pediatrics, Faculty of Medicine, Jagiellonian University Medical College, 265 Wielicka St., 30-663 Krakow, Poland
| | - Aleksandra Manik
- Department of Pharmacodynamics, Chair of Pharmacodynamics, Jagiellonian University Medical College, 9 Medyczna St., 30-688 Krakow, Poland
| | - Kinga Sałat
- Department of Pharmacodynamics, Chair of Pharmacodynamics, Jagiellonian University Medical College, 9 Medyczna St., 30-688 Krakow, Poland
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Arshavsky YI. Autoimmune hypothesis of Alzheimer's disease: unanswered question. J Neurophysiol 2024; 132:929-942. [PMID: 39163023 DOI: 10.1152/jn.00259.2024] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/18/2024] [Revised: 07/24/2024] [Accepted: 07/25/2024] [Indexed: 08/21/2024] Open
Abstract
Alzheimer's disease (AD) was described more than a century ago. However, there are still no effective approaches to its treatment, which may suggest that the search for the cure is not being conducted in the most productive direction. AD begins as selective impairments of declarative memory with no deficits in other cognitive functions. Therefore, understanding of the AD pathogenesis has to include the understanding of this selectivity. Currently, the main efforts aimed at prevention and treatment of AD are based on the dominating hypothesis for the AD pathogenesis: the amyloid hypothesis. But this hypothesis does not explain selective memory impairments since β-amyloid accumulates extracellularly and should be toxic to all types of cerebral neurons, not only to "memory engram neurons." To explain selective memory impairment, I propose the autoimmune hypothesis of AD, based on the analysis of risk factors for AD and molecular mechanisms of memory formation. Memory formation is associated with epigenetic modifications of chromatin in memory engram neurons and, therefore, might be accompanied by the expression of memory-specific proteins recognized by the adaptive immune system as "non-self" antigens. Normally, the brain is protected by the blood-brain barrier (BBB). All risk factors for AD provoke BBB disruptions, possibly leading to an autoimmune reaction against memory engram neurons. This reaction would make them selectively sensitive to tauopathy. If this hypothesis is confirmed, the strategies for AD prevention and treatment would be radically changed.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yuri I Arshavsky
- BioCircuits Institute, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, California, United States
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Ma Y, Wang W, Liu S, Qiao X, Xing Y, Zhou Q, Zhang Z. Epigenetic Regulation of Neuroinflammation in Alzheimer's Disease. Cells 2023; 13:79. [PMID: 38201283 PMCID: PMC10778497 DOI: 10.3390/cells13010079] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/28/2023] [Revised: 12/25/2023] [Accepted: 12/28/2023] [Indexed: 01/12/2024] Open
Abstract
Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a chronic and progressive neurodegenerative disease and clinically manifests with cognitive decline and behavioral disabilities. Over the past years, mounting studies have demonstrated that the inflammatory response plays a key role in the onset and development of AD, and neuroinflammation has been proposed as the third major pathological driving factor of AD, ranking after the two well-known core pathologies, amyloid β (Aβ) deposits and neurofibrillary tangles (NFTs). Epigenetic mechanisms, referring to heritable changes in gene expression independent of DNA sequence alterations, are crucial regulators of neuroinflammation which have emerged as potential therapeutic targets for AD. Upon regulation of transcriptional repression or activation, epigenetic modification profiles are closely involved in inflammatory gene expression and signaling pathways of neuronal differentiation and cognitive function in central nervous system disorders. In this review, we summarize the current knowledge about epigenetic control mechanisms with a focus on DNA and histone modifications involved in the regulation of inflammatory genes and signaling pathways in AD, and the inhibitors under clinical assessment are also discussed.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yajing Ma
- College of Biology and Food, Shangqiu Normal University, Shangqiu 476000, China;
| | - Wang Wang
- Department of Physiology and Neurobiology, School of Basic Medical Sciences, Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou 450001, China; (W.W.); (Y.X.)
| | - Sufang Liu
- Department of Biomedical Sciences, College of Dentistry, Texas A&M University, Dallas, TX 75246, USA;
| | - Xiaomeng Qiao
- Department of Pathology and Forensic Medicine, School of Basic Medical Sciences, Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou 450001, China;
| | - Ying Xing
- Department of Physiology and Neurobiology, School of Basic Medical Sciences, Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou 450001, China; (W.W.); (Y.X.)
| | - Qingfeng Zhou
- College of Biology and Food, Shangqiu Normal University, Shangqiu 476000, China;
| | - Zhijian Zhang
- College of Biology and Food, Shangqiu Normal University, Shangqiu 476000, China;
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Doroszkiewicz J, Mroczko J, Rutkowski P, Mroczko B. Molecular Aspects of a Diet as a New Pathway in the Prevention and Treatment of Alzheimer's Disease. Int J Mol Sci 2023; 24:10751. [PMID: 37445928 PMCID: PMC10341644 DOI: 10.3390/ijms241310751] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/22/2023] [Revised: 06/19/2023] [Accepted: 06/26/2023] [Indexed: 07/15/2023] Open
Abstract
Alzheimer's disease is the most common cause of dementia in the world. Lack of an established pathology makes it difficult to develop suitable approaches and treatment for the disease. Besides known hallmarks, including amyloid β peptides cumulating in plaques and hyperphosphorylated tau forming NFTs, inflammation also plays an important role, with known connections to the diet. In AD, adhering to reasonable nutrition according to age-related principles is recommended. The diet should be high in neuroprotective foods, such as polyunsaturated fatty acids, antioxidants, and B vitamins. In addition, foods capable of rising BDNF should be considered because of the known profitable results of this molecule in AD. Adhering to beneficial diets might result in improvements in memory, cognition, and biomarkers and might even reduce the risk of developing AD. In this review, we discuss the effects of various diets, foods, and nutrients on brain health and possible connections to Alzheimer's disease.
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Affiliation(s)
- Julia Doroszkiewicz
- Department of Neurodegeneration Diagnostics, Medical University of Bialystok, 15-089 Bialystok, Poland; (J.M.); (B.M.)
| | - Jan Mroczko
- Department of Neurodegeneration Diagnostics, Medical University of Bialystok, 15-089 Bialystok, Poland; (J.M.); (B.M.)
| | | | - Barbara Mroczko
- Department of Neurodegeneration Diagnostics, Medical University of Bialystok, 15-089 Bialystok, Poland; (J.M.); (B.M.)
- Department of Biochemical Diagnostics, Medical University of Białystok, 15-089 Bialystok, Poland
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Nair AK, Van Hulle CA, Bendlin BB, Zetterberg H, Blennow K, Wild N, Kollmorgen G, Suridjan I, Busse WW, Dean DC, Rosenkranz MA. Impact of asthma on the brain: evidence from diffusion MRI, CSF biomarkers and cognitive decline. Brain Commun 2023; 5:fcad180. [PMID: 37377978 PMCID: PMC10292933 DOI: 10.1093/braincomms/fcad180] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/11/2022] [Revised: 04/27/2023] [Accepted: 06/09/2023] [Indexed: 06/29/2023] Open
Abstract
Chronic systemic inflammation increases the risk of neurodegeneration, but the mechanisms remain unclear. Part of the challenge in reaching a nuanced understanding is the presence of multiple risk factors that interact to potentiate adverse consequences. To address modifiable risk factors and mitigate downstream effects, it is necessary, although difficult, to tease apart the contribution of an individual risk factor by accounting for concurrent factors such as advanced age, cardiovascular risk, and genetic predisposition. Using a case-control design, we investigated the influence of asthma, a highly prevalent chronic inflammatory disease of the airways, on brain health in participants recruited to the Wisconsin Alzheimer's Disease Research Center (31 asthma patients, 186 non-asthma controls, aged 45-90 years, 62.2% female, 92.2% cognitively unimpaired), a sample enriched for parental history of Alzheimer's disease. Asthma status was determined using detailed prescription information. We employed multi-shell diffusion weighted imaging scans and the three-compartment neurite orientation dispersion and density imaging model to assess white and gray matter microstructure. We used cerebrospinal fluid biomarkers to examine evidence of Alzheimer's disease pathology, glial activation, neuroinflammation and neurodegeneration. We evaluated cognitive changes over time using a preclinical Alzheimer cognitive composite. Using permutation analysis of linear models, we examined the moderating influence of asthma on relationships between diffusion imaging metrics, CSF biomarkers, and cognitive decline, controlling for age, sex, and cognitive status. We ran additional models controlling for cardiovascular risk and genetic risk of Alzheimer's disease, defined as a carrier of at least one apolipoprotein E (APOE) ε4 allele. Relative to controls, greater Alzheimer's disease pathology (lower amyloid-β42/amyloid-β40, higher phosphorylated-tau-181) and synaptic degeneration (neurogranin) biomarker concentrations were associated with more adverse white matter metrics (e.g. lower neurite density, higher mean diffusivity) in patients with asthma. Higher concentrations of the pleiotropic cytokine IL-6 and the glial marker S100B were associated with more salubrious white matter metrics in asthma, but not in controls. The adverse effects of age on white matter integrity were accelerated in asthma. Finally, we found evidence that in asthma, relative to controls, deterioration in white and gray matter microstructure was associated with accelerated cognitive decline. Taken together, our findings suggest that asthma accelerates white and gray matter microstructural changes associated with aging and increasing neuropathology, that in turn, are associated with more rapid cognitive decline. Effective asthma control, on the other hand, may be protective and slow progression of cognitive symptoms.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ajay Kumar Nair
- Center for Healthy Minds, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI 53703, USA
| | - Carol A Van Hulle
- Wisconsin Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center, School of Medicine and Public Health, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI 53792, USA
- Department of Medicine, School of Medicine and Public Health, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI 53792, USA
| | - Barbara B Bendlin
- Wisconsin Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center, School of Medicine and Public Health, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI 53792, USA
- Department of Medicine, School of Medicine and Public Health, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI 53792, USA
- Wisconsin Alzheimer’s Institute, School of Medicine and Public Health, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI 53726, USA
| | - Henrik Zetterberg
- Department of Psychiatry and Neurochemistry, Institute of Neuroscience and Physiology, the Sahlgrenska Academy at the University of Gothenburg, S-431 30 Mölndal, Sweden
- Clinical Neurochemistry Laboratory, Sahlgrenska University Hospital, S-431 30 Mölndal, Sweden
- Department of Neurodegenerative Disease, UCL Institute of Neurology, London, WC1N 3BG, UK
- UK Dementia Research Institute at UCL, London, WCIE 6BT, UK
- Hong Kong Center for Neurodegenerative Diseases, Hong Kong, Clear Water Bay, Hong Kong SAR, China
| | - Kaj Blennow
- Department of Psychiatry and Neurochemistry, Institute of Neuroscience and Physiology, the Sahlgrenska Academy at the University of Gothenburg, S-431 30 Mölndal, Sweden
- Clinical Neurochemistry Laboratory, Sahlgrenska University Hospital, S-431 30 Mölndal, Sweden
| | - Norbert Wild
- Roche Diagnostics GmbH, Core Lab RED, 82377 Penzberg, Germany
| | | | - Ivonne Suridjan
- CDMA Clinical Development, Roche Diagnostics International Ltd, CH-6346, Rotkreuz, Switzerland
| | - William W Busse
- Department of Medicine, School of Medicine and Public Health, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI 53792, USA
| | - Douglas C Dean
- Department of Pediatrics, University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health, Madison, WI 53792, USA
- Department of Medical Physics, University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health, Madison, WI 53705, USA
- Waisman Center, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI 53705, USA
| | - Melissa A Rosenkranz
- Center for Healthy Minds, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI 53703, USA
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI 53719, USA
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Doroszkiewicz J, Mroczko B. New Possibilities in the Therapeutic Approach to Alzheimer's Disease. Int J Mol Sci 2022; 23:8902. [PMID: 36012193 PMCID: PMC9409036 DOI: 10.3390/ijms23168902] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/14/2022] [Revised: 08/04/2022] [Accepted: 08/08/2022] [Indexed: 01/17/2023] Open
Abstract
Despite the fact that Alzheimer's disease (AD) is the most common cause of dementia, after many years of research regarding this disease, there is no casual treatment. Regardless of the serious public health threat it poses, only five medical treatments for Alzheimer's disease have been authorized, and they only control symptoms rather than changing the course of the disease. Numerous clinical trials of single-agent therapy did not slow the development of disease or improve symptoms when compared to placebo. Evidence indicates that the pathological alterations linked to AD start many years earlier than a manifestation of the disease. In this pre-clinical period before the neurodegenerative process is established, pharmaceutical therapy might prove invaluable. Although recent findings from the testing of drugs such as aducanumab are encouraging, they should nevertheless be interpreted cautiously. Such medications may be able to delay the onset of dementia, significantly lowering the prevalence of the disease, but are still a long way from having a clinically effective disease-modifying therapy.
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Affiliation(s)
- Julia Doroszkiewicz
- Department of Neurodegeneration Diagnostics, Medical University of Bialystok, 15-269 Bialystok, Poland
| | - Barbara Mroczko
- Department of Biochemical Diagnostics, Medical University of Białystok, 15-269 Bialystok, Poland
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