Microglial response to aging and neuroinflammation in the development of neurodegenerative diseases

Tingting Han; Yuxiang Xu; Lin Sun; Makoto Hashimoto; Jianshe Wei

doi:10.4103/1673-5374.385845

Microglial response to aging and neuroinflammation in the development of neurodegenerative diseases

Neural Regen Res. 2024 Jun 1;19(6):1241-1248. doi: 10.4103/1673-5374.385845. Epub 2023 Sep 22.

Authors

Tingting Han¹, Yuxiang Xu¹, Lin Sun^{1

2}, Makoto Hashimoto³, Jianshe Wei¹

Affiliations

¹ Institute for Brain Sciences Research, School of Life Sciences, Henan University, Kaifeng, Henan Province, China.
² College of Chemistry and Molecular Sciences, Henan University, Kaifeng, Henan Province, China.
³ Department of Basic Technology, Tokyo Metropolitan Institute of Medical Science, Tokyo, Japan.

PMID: 37905870
DOI: 10.4103/1673-5374.385845

Abstract

Cellular senescence and chronic inflammation in response to aging are considered to be indicators of brain aging; they have a great impact on the aging process and are the main risk factors for neurodegeneration. Reviewing the microglial response to aging and neuroinflammation in neurodegenerative diseases will help understand the importance of microglia in neurodegenerative diseases. This review describes the origin and function of microglia and focuses on the role of different states of the microglial response to aging and chronic inflammation on the occurrence and development of neurodegenerative diseases, including Alzheimer's disease, Huntington's chorea, and Parkinson's disease. This review also describes the potential benefits of treating neurodegenerative diseases by modulating changes in microglial states. Therefore, inducing a shift from the neurotoxic to neuroprotective microglial state in neurodegenerative diseases induced by aging and chronic inflammation holds promise for the treatment of neurodegenerative diseases in the future.