脱氢表雄酮在神经系统的作用及机制

Functions and Mechanisms of Dehydroepiandrosterone in Nervous System

脱氢表雄酮(DHEA)是人体性激素的前体物质,能够在大脑神经元以及星形胶质细胞中从头合成,属于神经甾体。动物实验与临床实验均显示,DHEA对神经系统具有营养、保护以及调节高级功能等作用,可能具有防治神经退行性疾病、缺血性脑病、外伤、某些精神疾病等应用前景。研究发现,DHEA的作用机制存在基因与非基因两条通路,具体表现在抗氧化应激、抗兴奋性毒性、抗细胞凋亡等多个方面。近来,在细胞与分子水平对DHEA的神经保护作用研究较多,本文就此予以综述。

Dehydroepiandrosterone is the precusor of sex hormone, and can be synthesized in the brain de novo, which means it is a kind of neurosteroid. Animal experiments and clinical researches have proved that DHEA exhibits a variety of functional activities in the nervous system, including neurotrophic, neuroprotective effects and enhancement of learning and memory, which suggests that it may be useful in preventing and treating some neural diseases such as neurodegenerative diseases, cerebral ische- mia, trauma, psychosis and so on. The mechanisms of the effect of DHEA on protection against oxidative stress, excitotoxicity, apoptosis etc. were found to be through both genomic and nongenomic way. These effects and mechanisms in nervous system were summarized in the present paper.