Alzheimer's Disease Research Today is a free monthly online journal that collates and summarizes the latest research about Alzheimer's Disease, including details on diagnosis, memory loss, heredity, treatment, medication.

ROCK, PAK, and Toll of synapses in Alzheimer's disease.

Salminen A, Suuronen T, Kaarniranta K

Department of Neurology, Institute of Clinical Medicine, University of Kuopio, P.O. Box 1627, Kuopio FIN-70211, Finland. antero.salminen@uku.fi

Alzheimer's disease is a neurodegenerative disorder where the cognitive deficit is the hallmark symptom reflecting the progression of the disease. Synaptic dysfunction is a sensitive parameter of the AD pathology. Rho GTPases and the Rho kinases, ROCK1/2, and PAK1-3, are important regulators of synaptic plasticity, especially in maintaining the actin cytoskeleton of dendritic spines. Recent studies have revealed that beta-amyloid oligomers can inhibit PAK and stimulate ROCK-mediated signaling. Both of these effects enhance the disassembly of synaptic actin filaments and ultimately evoke synaptic loss. Brain tissue in AD recognizes the beta-amyloid peptide oligomers as foreign protein particles and mounts an inflammatory defense via Toll-like receptor (TLR) signaling which causes synaptic impairment. We will review here the dysfunction of ROCK, PAK, and Toll signaling associated with AD pathology. The protection of synapses in AD may provide new therapeutic approaches to combatting the cognitive impairment in AD.

Published 2 June 2008 in Biochem Biophys Res Commun, 371(4): 587-90.
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