Chronic stress as a risk factor for Alzheimer's disease: Roles of microglia-mediated synaptic remodeling, inflammation, and oxidative stress.

ABSTRACT: Microglia are the predominant immune cells of the central nervous system (CNS) that exert key physiological roles required for maintaining CNS homeostasis, notably in response to chronic stress, as well as mediating synaptic plasticity, learning and memory. The repeated exposure to stress confers a higher risk of developing neurodegenerative diseases including sporadic Alzheimer's disease (AD). While microglia have been causally linked to amyloid beta (Aβ) accumulation, tau pathology, neurodegeneration, and synaptic loss in AD, they were also attributed beneficial roles, notably in the phagocytic elimination of Aβ. In this review, we discuss the interactions between chronic stress and AD pathology, overview the roles played by microglia in AD, especially focusing on chronic stress as an en

SUBMITTER: Bisht K 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6035903 | biostudies-literature | 2018 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature