Abstract
Alzheimer's disease (AD) is the leading cause for dementia in the world. It is characterized by two biochemically distinct types of protein aggregates: amyloid β (Aβ) peptide in the forms of parenchymal amyloid plaques and congophilic amyloid angiopathy (CAA) and aggregated tau protein in the form of intraneuronal neurofibrillary tangles (NFT). Several risk factors have been discovered that are associated with AD. The most well-known genetic risk factor for late-onset AD is apolipoprotein E4 (ApoE4) (Potter and Wisniewski (2012), and Verghese et al. (2011)). Recently, it has been reported by two groups independently that a rare functional variant (R47H) of TREM2 is associated with the late-onset risk of AD. TREM2 is expressed on myeloid cells including microglia, macrophages, and dendritic cells, as well as osteoclasts. Microglia are a major part of the innate immune system in the CNS and are also involved in stimulating adaptive immunity. Microglia express several Toll-like receptors (TLRs) and are the resident macrophages of the central nervous system (CNS). In this review, we will focus on the recent advances regarding the role of TREM2, as well as the effects of TLRs 4 and 9 on AD.
Highlights
Alzheimer’s disease is the most common cause of dementia globally [1]
Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is characterized by the presence of amyloid β (Aβ) deposits in the forms of parenchymal amyloid plaques and congophilic amyloid angiopathy (CAA) as well as aggregated tau protein in the form of neurofibrillary tangles (NFT)
Numerous studies on the relationship of Toll-like receptors (TLRs) to AD have shown that modification of these signaling pathways can have profound effects on AD-related pathology, through modification of the inflammatory state of microglia/macrophages
Summary
Alzheimer’s disease is the most common cause of dementia globally [1]. AD is characterized by the presence of amyloid β (Aβ) deposits in the forms of parenchymal amyloid plaques and congophilic amyloid angiopathy (CAA) as well as aggregated tau protein in the form of neurofibrillary tangles (NFT). Mutations in three genes have been shown to cause early-onset AD (EOAD): the amyloid precursor protein (APP), Presenilin 1 (PS1), and Presenilin 2 (PS2) [2, 3]. Mutations associated with these genes affect
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