Melanocortin receptor activation alleviates amyloid pathology and glial reactivity in an Alzheimer's disease transgenic mouse model.

ABSTRACT: Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a devastating neurodegenerative disorder with no disease-modifying treatment. AD progression is characterized by cognitive decline, neuroinflammation, and accumulation of amyloid-beta (Aβ) and neurofibrillary tangles in the brain, leading to neuronal and glial dysfunctions. Neuropeptides govern diverse pathophysiological processes and represent key players in AD pathogenesis, regulating synaptic plasticity, glial cell functions and amyloid pathology. Activation of the pro-opiomelanocortin (POMC)-derived neuropeptide and its receptor from the melanocortin receptor (MCR) family have previously been shown to rescue the impairment in hippocampus-dependent synaptic plasticity in the APP/PS1 mouse model of AD. However, the functional roles of MCR signaling in AD condi

SUBMITTER: Lau JKY 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7902646 | biostudies-literature | 2021 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature