Collapsin Response Mediator Proteins: Novel Targets for Alzheimer’s Disease

Article type: Review Article

Authors: Quach, Tam T.^a | Moutal, Aubin^b | Khanna, Rajesh^b | Deems, Nicholas P.^a | Duchemin, Anne-Marie^{d; *} | Barrientos, Ruth M.^{a; c; d; e; *}

Affiliations: [a] Institute for Behavioral Medicine Research, Wexner Medical Center, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH, USA | [b] Department of Pharmacology, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ, USA | [c] Chronic Brain Injury Program, Discovery Themes Initiative, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH, USA | [d] Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Health, Wexner Medical Center, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH, USA | [e] Department of Neuroscience, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH, USA

Correspondence: [*] Correspondence to: Ruth Barrientos, Institute for Behavioral Medicine Research, Wexner Medical Center, The Ohio State University, 460 Medical Center Dr., room 319, Columbus, OH 43210, USA. E-mail: [email protected] and Anne-Marie Duchemin, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Health, Wexner Medical Center, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH 43210, USA. E-mail: [email protected]

Abstract: Numerous experimental and postmortem studies have increasingly reported dystrophic axons and dendrites, and alterations of dendritic spine morphology and density in the hippocampus as prominent changes in the early stages of Alzheimer’s disease (AD). Furthermore, these alterations tend to correlate well with the progressive cognitive decline observed in AD. For these reasons, and because these neurite structures have a capacity to re-grow, re-establish lost connections, and are critical for learning and memory, there is compelling evidence to suggest that therapeutic interventions aimed at preventing their degradation or promoting their regrowth may hold tremendous promise in preventing the progression of AD. In this regard, collapsin response mediator proteins (CRMPs), a family of phosphoproteins playing a major role in axon guidance and dendritic growth, are especially interesting. The roles these proteins play in neurons and immune cells are reviewed here.

Keywords: Axon guidance, dendrite regeneration, hippocampus, memory

DOI: 10.3233/JAD-200721

Journal: Journal of Alzheimer's Disease, vol. 77, no. 3, pp. 949-960, 2020