Adhesion Molecules in Dementia - Adhesion Molecules - page 477

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CHAPTER

Adhesion Molecules in Dementia

Sabina Janciauskiene 1 , Sun Yong-Xin 2 and Jia Jianping 3
1 Lund University, Department of Medicine, University Hospital Malmö, 20502
Malmö, Sweden, E-mail: [e-mail]
2 Department of Neurology, Xuan Wu Hospital of Capital Medical University,
Beijing, P. R. 100053, China, E-mail: [e-mail]
3 Department of Neurology, Xuan Wu Hospital of Capital Medical University,
Beijing, P. R. 100053, China, E-mail: [e-mail]

ABSTRACT

During the past decade it has become evident that immunological, inl ammatory
and vascular processes play an important role in the etiology and pathogenesis of
various neuro-degenerative diseases. Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a complex and
genetically heterogeneous disease that is the most common form of dementia and
af ects up to 15 million individuals worldwide. h e presenting pathology of AD
includes extacellular neuritic plaques composed of beta-amyloid peptide (Aβ)
and intracellular neuroi brillary tangles composed of hyperphosphorylated tau,
with neuronal loss in specii c brain regions. A large body of evidence suggests
that some form(s) of the polymorphic Aβ are neurotoxic and induce neuronal
death, tau hyperphosphorylation and neuronal death. However, the mechanisms
underlying these pathological changes are still largely unknown. h e early stages of
symptomatic AD are characterized by memory impairment and subtle behavioral
changes that are associated with changes in synaptic function. h e loss of synapses
strongly correlates with cognitive decline in AD and is now thought to result from
the interactions of toxic forms of Aβ peptide with molecules that are essential for
neuronal integrity and synaptic connections. A combination of cell culture and
animal studies has recently shown that adhesion molecules play important roles
in synapse initiation, maturation, and function. Functional studies of individual
adhesion molecules have begun to provide information on their role in synapse
assembly and synaptic plasticity. In this chapter, we review the roles of dif erent

Key terms are dei ned at the end of the chapter.