Brain Microvascular Pericyte Pathology Linking Alzheimer's Disease to Diabetes.
Kareem El-GhazawiUkpong B EyoShayn M PeircePublished in: Microcirculation (New York, N.Y. : 1994) (2024)
The brain microvasculature, which delivers oxygen and nutrients and forms a critical barrier protecting the central nervous system via capillaries, is deleteriously affected by both Alzheimer's disease (AD) and type 2 diabetes (T2D). T2D patients have an increased risk of developing AD, suggesting potentially related microvascular pathological mechanisms. Pericytes are an ideal cell type to study for functional links between AD and T2D. These specialized capillary-enwrapping cells regulate capillary density, lumen diameter, and blood flow. Pericytes also maintain endothelial tight junctions to ensure blood-brain barrier integrity, modulation of immune cell extravasation, and clearance of toxins. Changes in these phenomena have been observed in both AD and T2D, implicating "pericyte pathology" as a common feature of AD and T2D. This review examines the mechanisms of AD and T2D from the perspective of the brain microvasculature, highlighting how pericyte pathology contributes to both diseases. Our review identifies voids in understanding how AD and T2D negatively impact the brain microvasculature and suggests future studies to examine the intersections of these diseases.
Keyphrases
- blood brain barrier
- cerebral ischemia
- type diabetes
- white matter
- blood flow
- resting state
- cardiovascular disease
- machine learning
- end stage renal disease
- newly diagnosed
- gene expression
- cognitive decline
- heavy metals
- induced apoptosis
- insulin resistance
- multiple sclerosis
- glycemic control
- prognostic factors
- deep learning
- brain injury
- cell death
- subarachnoid hemorrhage
- weight loss
- dna methylation
- single molecule
- cerebrospinal fluid
- risk assessment
- endoplasmic reticulum stress
- optical coherence tomography