Files
Download Full Text (596.2 MB)
Publication Date
Summer 2025
Digital Publisher
Digital Commons at St. Mary's University
Collection
McNair Scholars Symposium
Keywords
Alzheimer’s Disease, DNA Damage, Tau Pathology, Cell-Type Vulnerability
Description
Neurodegeneration, like that seen in Alzheimer’s disease, is generally characterized by the progressive loss of cognitive function with widespread cellular dysfunction. Hallmark features of Alzheimer’s disease include the accumulation of amyloid -beta, tau pathology, DNA damage, and disruptions in glial cell function. Despite this knowledge, the mechanisms by which specific brain cell types contribute to or resist neurodegeneration remain unclear.
This review synthesizes findings from over twenty recent studies to explore how astrocytes and neurons respond to injury and chronic pathology, with special attention given to astrocytic vulnerability, DNA repair regulation, and the intersection between tau accumulation and chromatin structure. We organize our content around three central themes: cell type/location, cell-specific response dynamics, and cellular resiliency. In doing so, we examine how DNA repair pathways, oxidative stress defenses, and protein aggregation intersect to shape disease outcomes. Across each of these themes, we highlight discrepancies in results, identify gaps within the literature, and offer potential avenues for clarification of causal mechanisms and therapeutic targets. By framing the progression of neurodegenerative mechanisms through a cellular lens, we propose insights into new foundations for models of brain resilience and cellspecific therapeutics.
Disciplines
Cognitive Neuroscience | Molecular and Cellular Neuroscience | Neurosciences
Format
MOV
Medium
Video
Size or Duration
15 minutes 30 seconds
City
San Antonio, Texas
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 International License.
Loading...