Research Progress on Glial Cells in Neurodegenerative Diseases
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.53469/jcmp.2025.07(02).04Keywords:
Glial cells, Neurodegenerative diseases, Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease, Multiple sclerosisAbstract
This review discusses glial cells in neurodegenerative diseases as represents their role and scientific advances. Glial cells specifically offer support to neurons in all fields of normal functioning while also participating in processes such as damage and repair under pathological minutiae. The article discusses the above with respect to Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, multiple sclerosis, and other neurodegenerative ailments by combining the latest research findings to discuss potential therapeutic targets and intervention avenues. It emphasizes that understanding glial cell functions and their engages with neurons can be critical as they develop novel treatment approaches for such debilitating conditions.
References
Afridi R, Rahman MH, Suk K. Implications of glial metabolic dysregulation in the pathophysiology of neurodegenerative diseases. Neurobiol Dis. 174:105874.
Méndez-Flores OG, Hernández-Kelly LC, Olivares-Bañuelos TN, López-Ramírez G, Ortega A. Brain energetics and glucose transport in metabolic diseases: role in neurodegeneration. Nutr Neurosci. 2024;27(10):1199-1210.
Yang D, Wang X, Zhang L, et al. Lipid metabolism and storage in neuroglia: role in brain development and neurodegenerative diseases. Cell Biosci. 2022;12(1):106. Published 2022 Jul 12.
Jeon YM, Kwon Y, Jo M, Lee S, Kim S, Kim HJ. The Role of Glial Mitochondria in α-Synuclein Toxicity. Front Cell Dev Biol. 8:548283. Published 2020.
Pietrowski MJ, Gabr AA, Kozlov S, Blum D, Halle A, Carvalho K. Glial Purinergic Signaling in Neurodegeneration. Front Neurol. 12:654850. Published 2021.
Ki SM, Jeong HS, Lee JE. Primary Cilia in Glial Cells: An Oasis in the Journey to Overcoming Neurodegenerative Diseases. Front Neurosci. 15:736888. Published 2021.
Kalsariya RA, Kavila D, Shorter S, et al. Molecular biomarkers of glial activation and injury in epilepsy. Drug Discov Today. 2025;30(2):104289. Published online Jan 10, 2025.
Huang J, Li C, Shang H. Astrocytes in Neurodegeneration: Inspiration From Genetics. Front Neurosci. 16:882316. Published 2022.
Cragnolini AB, Lampitella G, Virtuoso A, et al. Regional brain susceptibility to neurodegeneration: what is the role of glial cells? Neural Regen Res. 2020;15(5):838-842.
Bernstein HG, Nussbaumer M, Vasilevska V, et al. Glial cell deficits are a key feature of schizophrenia: implications for neuronal circuit maintenance and histological differentiation from classical neurodegeneration. Mol Psychiatry. Published online Dec 5, 2024.
Lee E, Chung WS. Glial Control of Synapse Number in Healthy and Diseased Brain. Front Cell Neurosci. 13:42. Published 2019.
Blank N, Weiner M, Patel S, Köhler S, Thaiss CA. Mind the GAPS: Glia associated with psychological stress. J Neuroendocrinol. e13451. Published online Oct 9, 2024.
Sanchini G, Vaes N, Boesmans W. Mini-review: Enteric glial cell heterogeneity: Is it all about the niche? Neurosci Lett. 812:137396.
Afridi R, Kim JH, Rahman MH, Suk K. Metabolic Regulation of Glial Phenotypes: Implications in Neuron-Glia Interactions and Neurological Disorders. Front Cell Neurosci. 14:20. Published 2020.
Al-Ghraiybah NF, Wang J, Alkhalifa AE, et al. Glial Cell-Mediated Neuroinflammation in Alzheimer’s Disease. Int J Mol Sci. 2022;23(18). Published 2022 Sep 12.
Huang Y, Wang M, Ni H, et al. Regulation of cell distancing in peri-plaque glial nets by Plexin-B1 affects glial activation and amyloid compaction in Alzheimer’s disease. Nat Neurosci. 2024;27(8):1489-1504.
Ye Y, Gao M, Shi W, et al. The immunomodulatory effects of mesenchymal stem cell-derived extracellular vesicles in Alzheimer’s disease. Front Immunol. 14:1325530. Published 2023.
Jia H, Xie T. Tracers progress for positron emission tomography imaging of glial-related disease. J Biomed Res. 2022;36(5):321-335.
Kakoty V, Sarathlal KC, Kaur P, et al. Unraveling the role of glial cell line-derived neurotrophic factor in the treatment of Parkinson’s disease. Neurol Sci. 2024;45(4):1409-1418.
Gao C, Yang B, Li Y, Pei W. A monocarboxylate transporter-dependent mechanism confers resistance to exercise-induced fatigue in a high-altitude hypoxic environment. Sci Rep. 2023;13(1):2949. Published 2023 Feb 20.
Kim JH, Huh E, Eo H, et al. Tribuli Fructus alleviates 1-methyl-4-phenyl 1, 2, 3, 6-tetrahydropyridine (MPTP)-induced Parkinson’s disease by suppressing neuroinflammation via JNK signaling. Metab Brain Dis. 2024;40(1):69. Published 2024 Dec 19.
Chu T, Shields LBE, Zeng W, et al. Dynamic glial response and crosstalk in demyelination-remyelination and neurodegeneration processes. Neural Regen Res. 2021;16(7):1359-1368.
Liu Y, Wu L, Peng W, Mao X. Glial polarization in neurological diseases: Molecular mechanisms and therapeutic opportunities. Ageing Res Rev. 104:102638. Published online Dec 12, 2024.
Wilbanks B, Maher LJ 3rd, Rodriguez M. Glial cells as therapeutic targets in progressive multiple sclerosis. Expert Rev Neurother. 2019;19(6):481-494.
Sun Y, Yu H, Guan Y. Glia Connect Inflammation and Neurodegeneration in Multiple Sclerosis. Neurosci Bull. 2023;39(3):466-478.
Wilton DK, Stevens B. The contribution of glial cells to Huntington’s disease pathogenesis. Neurobiol Dis. 143:104963.
Albert K, Niskanen J, Kälvälä S, Lehtonen Š. Utilising Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells in Neurodegenerative Disease Research: Focus on Glia. Int J Mol Sci. 2021;22(9). Published 2021 Apr 21.
Yang J, Li H, Zhao Y. Dessert or Poison? The Roles of Glycosylation in Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, Huntington’s Disease, and Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis. Chembiochem. 2023;24(16):e202300017.
Downloads
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2025 Jiawei Zeng, Chao Jiang
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.
