端粒-端粒酶在神经退行性疾病中的研究进展

Research advances in telomere-telomerase in neurodegenerative diseases

神经退行性疾病多以β-淀粉样蛋白(β-amyloid,Aβ)、α-突触核蛋白(α-synuclein,α-syn)作为生物标记物来辅助临床进行诊断。近年来,人们发现染色体末端的端粒能够作为衡量生物衰老程度的指标,并发现端粒长度、端粒酶活性可能作为评估老年神经退行性疾病发病风险、疾病进展、不良预后的血液标记物,但目前相关国内外研究结果并不具有一致性。了解端粒相关生物标记物在年龄相关疾病中的作用,是可以帮助临床医生更好地了解疾病的发生发展机制。现就端粒-端粒酶系统在神经退行性疾病中的最新研究进展综述如下,以介绍端粒长度、端粒酶活性对神经退行性疾病的影响以及潜在作用机制。

Previous studies mainly usedβ-amyloid andα-synuclein as the biomarkers for the diagnosis of neurode‑generative diseases.In recent years,studies have shown that telomeres at the end of chromosome can be used as an index to measure the degree of biological aging,and telomere length and telomerase activity may also be used as the blood mark‑ers to evaluate the risk,progression,and poor prognosis of neurodegenerative diseases in the elderly;however,there is still a lack of consistency between the research findings in China and globally.Understanding the role of telomere-related biomarkers in age-related diseases can help clinicians learn more about the mechanism of disease development and progres‑sion.This article reviews the latest research advances in the telomere-telomerase system in neurodegenerative diseases,in order to introduce the influence of telomere length and telomerase activity on neurodegenerative diseases and their potential mechanisms of action.