端粒和端粒酶紊乱促进阿尔茨海默病的机制研究进展

Role of telomere and telomerase dysfunction in accelerating Alzheimer’s disease:a review of mechanistic studies

端粒是真核细胞染色体末端的特殊结构,由DNA与蛋白质复合而成,可保护染色体末端免于降解和融合。随着细胞分裂,端粒逐渐缩短,从而驱动细胞和个体衰老,但是部分细胞可以通过表达端粒酶或其他方式延长端粒。阿尔茨海默病(Alzheimer’s disease,AD)是一种与衰老密切相关的神经退行性疾病,大量研究揭示了血液或大脑细胞端粒长度改变与个体AD风险以及AD病程密切相关。AD小鼠模型研究数据表明,延缓端粒缩短可显著改善学习记忆能力,端粒酶可以通过依赖和不依赖其酶活性的方式改善小鼠的认知能力和病理表型。该文总结了端粒的结构与功能,综述了端粒长度改变与AD风险间的相关性研究,讨论了端粒酶预防AD发生发展的分子机制,系统性解析端粒及端粒酶紊乱与AD间的联系,对于扩大AD研究的广度和深度具有积极意义。

Telomere,the special DNA-protein complex presented at the ends of chromosomes of eukaryotes,protects the ends of chromosomes from degradation and fusion.As cells divide,telomere is progressively eroded and the critically shortened telomere is a key driver of cellular senescence and organism aging.In some cells,telomere can be lengthened by telomerase or other means.Alzheimer’s disease(AD)is a neurodegenerative disease closely related to aging.A large number of studies have revealed that changes in telomere length in blood or brain cells are closely related to the risk of AD and the disease course of AD.Data from AD mouse models has shown that delaying the rate of telomere shortening significantly improves learning and memory ability,and the expression of telomerase improves the cognitive ability and prevents pathological phenotypes by enzyme-dependent and enzyme-independent mechanisms.In this review,we summarize the structure and function of telomere,review the studies on the relationship between changes in telomere length and the risk of AD,and discuss the molecular mechanisms of telomerase in preventing AD.The systematic analysis of the relationship between telomere and telomerase dysfunction and AD has significant implications in expanding the breadth and depth of AD research.