The brain is the most complex organ in the human body and the main component of the central nervous system. Because it lacks the ability of regeneration, age is a major risk factor for most common neurodegenerative diseases, which caused an irreversible cognitive impairment. It has been shown that the function of molecular chaperones, majorly heat shock proteins, was compromised and then causes the imbalance of protein homeostasis inside the cell, which is the most influential reason of brain aging. Here, in this review, we discuss the mechanisms underneath the impairment of heat shock protein function during brain aging, including transcriptional regulation, posttranslational modification, and communication across cells and organs.
Keywords: Brain aging; Heat shock protein; Molecular chaperone; Proteostasis.