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Investigation of the Molecular Role of Brain-Derived Neurotrophic Factor in Alzheimer’s Disease

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Abstract

Brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF), or abrineurin, is a member of the neurotrophin family of growth factors that acts on both the central and peripheral nervous systems. BDNF is also well known for its cardinal role in normal neural maturation. It binds to at least two receptors at the cell surface known as tyrosine kinase B (TrkB) and p75NTR. Additional neurotrophins that are anatomically linked with BDNF include neurotrophin-3 (NT-3), neurotrophin-4 (NT-4), and nerve growth factor (NGF). It is evident that BDNF levels in patients with Alzheimer’s disease (AD) are altered. AD is a progressive disorder and a form of dementia, where the mental function of an elderly person is disrupted. It is associated with a progressive decline in cognitive function, which mainly targets the thinking, memory, and behavior of the person. The degeneration of neurons occurs in the cerebral cortex region of brain. The two major sources responsible for neuronal degeneration are protein fragment amyloid-beta (Aβ), which builds up in the spaces between the nerve cells, known as plaques, disrupting the neuron signaling pathway and leading to dementia, and neurofibrillary tangles (NFTs), which are the twisted fibers of proteins that build up inside the cells. AD is highly prevalent, with recent data indicating nearly 5.8 million Americans aged 65 and older with AD in 2020, and with 80% of patients 75 and older. AD is recognized as the sixth leading cause of death in the USA, and its prevalence is predicted to increase exponentially in the coming years. As AD worsens over time, it becomes increasingly important to understand the exact pathophysiology, biomarkers, and treatment. In this article, we focus primarily on the controversial aspect of BDNF in AD, including its influence on various other proteins and enzymes and the current treatments associated with BDNF, along with future perspectives.

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Abbreviations

Aβ :

Amyloid Beta

AD :

Alzheimer’s disease

APP :

Amyloid precursor protein

BDNF :

Brain-derived neurotrophic factor

NFTs :

Neurofibrillary tangles

NGFs:

Nerve growth factors

TrkB :

Tyrosine kinase B

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Acknowledgements

The authors would like to thank Chitkara College of Pharmacy, Chitkara University, Punjab, India for providing the basic facilities for completion of the current article.

Funding

The present review article did not receive any funding.

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  1. Pragya Girotra and Tapan Behl contributed equally.

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Chitkara College of Pharmacy, Chitkara University, Punjab, India

    Pragya Girotra, Tapan Behl, Aayush Sehgal & Sukhbir Singh

  2. Department of Pharmacy, Faculty of Medicine and Pharmacy, University of Oradea, Oradea, Romania

    Simona Bungau

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  1. Pragya Girotra
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  2. Tapan Behl
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  3. Aayush Sehgal
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  4. Sukhbir Singh
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  5. Simona Bungau
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Contributions

P.G. and T.B.: Conceived the idea and wrote the first draft; A.S.: Figure work; S.S.: Data compilation; S.B.: Proofreading.

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Correspondence to Tapan Behl.

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Girotra, P., Behl, T., Sehgal, A. et al. Investigation of the Molecular Role of Brain-Derived Neurotrophic Factor in Alzheimer’s Disease. J Mol Neurosci 72, 173–186 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12031-021-01824-8

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12031-021-01824-8

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