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Susceptibility to Calcium Dysregulation during Brain Aging
Ashok Kumar1, Karthik Bodhinathan, Thomas C Foster
1Department of Neuroscience, McKnight Brain Institute, University of Florida Gainesville, FL, USA.
Frontiers in Aging Neuroscience
|June 17, 2010
Summary
Brain aging disrupts calcium (Ca(2+)) homeostasis, impacting cellular functions across the nervous system. Understanding these complex, cell-specific changes is key to developing new therapeutics for brain disorders.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Cell Biology
- Physiology
Background:
- Calcium (Ca(2+)) acts as a crucial intracellular signaling molecule regulating diverse cellular processes.
- Brain aging is characterized by significant alterations in calcium homeostasis, particularly in the hippocampus.
- Previous research has largely focused on the hippocampus, necessitating a broader examination of the nervous system.
Purpose of the Study:
- To provide a comprehensive review of age-related changes in calcium homeostasis throughout the nervous system.
- To explore alterations in calcium sources, sequestration, and binding proteins during brain aging.
- To highlight the cell-specific nature of these homeostatic changes and their functional implications.
Main Methods:
- Literature review of studies investigating calcium homeostasis and brain aging.
- Analysis of age-related alterations in calcium handling mechanisms across different neural cell types.
- Synthesis of findings on calcium sources, sequestration, and binding proteins in the aging nervous system.
Main Results:
- Age-related alterations in calcium homeostasis are complex and cell-specific, not uniform across the brain.
- Changes can manifest as deficits or compensatory mechanisms, leading to impaired cellular function.
- The hippocampus shows particular susceptibility to age-related dysfunction linked to calcium dysregulation.
Conclusions:
- Altered calcium homeostasis is a hallmark of brain aging with widespread implications for nervous system function.
- Recognizing the intricate, cell-specific patterns of age-related calcium changes is vital.
- This understanding will guide the development of targeted therapeutics for age-related neurological disorders.
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