小胶质细胞的吞噬功能在神经退行性疾病中的作用

Microglial Phagocytosis in the Neurodegenerative Diseases

小胶质细胞是中枢神经系统内的免疫细胞,当中枢神经系统受到内源性或外源性刺激时,小胶质细胞快速被激活为活化状态,活化的小胶质细胞在神经退行性疾病中发挥重要作用。小胶质细胞的吞噬功能是受体介导的吞食和消化凋亡神经元的过程,小胶质细胞还能够通过吞噬功能清除脑内特有的物质如鞘磷脂碎片和异常聚集的蛋白等。然而有研究显示小胶质细胞会吞噬活的神经元引起脑内神经元丢失。目前对于小胶质细胞的吞噬功能在神经退行性疾病中发挥保护作用还是损伤作用尚存在争议。本文主要综述小胶质细胞吞噬功能相关的机制和其在神经退行性疾病中的作用,为神经退行性疾病的治疗提供新的思路。

Microglia are the resident innate immune cells in the brain. Under endogenous or exogenous stimulates,they become activated and play an important role in the neurodegenerative diseases. Microglial phagocytosis is a process of receptor-mediated engulfment and degradation of apoptotic cells. In addition,microglia can phagocyte brain-specific cargo,such as myelin debris and abnormal protein aggregation. However,recent studies have shown that microglia can also phagocyte stressed-but-viable neurons,causing loss of neurons in the brain. Thus,whether microglial phagocytosis is beneficial or not in neurodegenerative disease remains controversial. This article reviews microglial phagocytosis related mechanisms and its potential roles in neurodegenerative diseases,with an attempt to provide new insights in the treatment of neurodegenerative diseases.