The Genomic Intersection of Oligodendrocyte Dynamics in Schizophrenia and Aging Unravels Novel Pathological Mechanisms and Therapeutic Potentials.
Int J Mol Sci
; 25(8)2024 Apr 18.
Article
in En
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-38674040
ABSTRACT
Schizophrenia is a significant worldwide health concern, affecting over 20 million individuals and contributing to a potential reduction in life expectancy by up to 14.5 years. Despite its profound impact, the precise pathological mechanisms underlying schizophrenia continue to remain enigmatic, with previous research yielding diverse and occasionally conflicting findings. Nonetheless, one consistently observed phenomenon in brain imaging studies of schizophrenia patients is the disruption of white matter, the bundles of myelinated axons that provide connectivity and rapid signalling between brain regions. Myelin is produced by specialised glial cells known as oligodendrocytes, which have been shown to be disrupted in post-mortem analyses of schizophrenia patients. Oligodendrocytes are generated throughout life by a major population of oligodendrocyte progenitor cells (OPC), which are essential for white matter health and plasticity. Notably, a decline in a specific subpopulation of OPC has been identified as a principal factor in oligodendrocyte disruption and white matter loss in the aging brain, suggesting this may also be a factor in schizophrenia. In this review, we analysed genomic databases to pinpoint intersections between aging and schizophrenia and identify shared mechanisms of white matter disruption and cognitive dysfunction.
Key words
Full text:
1
Collection:
01-internacional
Database:
MEDLINE
Main subject:
Schizophrenia
/
Aging
/
Oligodendroglia
Limits:
Animals
/
Humans
Language:
En
Journal:
Int J Mol Sci
Year:
2024
Document type:
Article
Affiliation country:
Italia