Molecular mechanisms of neuronal apoptosis in chronic inflammatory CNS diseases

Abstract

In the adult CNS, apoptosis of neuronal populations contributes to manifestation of clinical symptoms during several neurodegenerative disorders. In multiple sclerosis (MS), an inflammatory demyelinating CNS disease, neurodegeneration has long been thought to occur secondary and late during clinical course. However, in the last years, post-mortem studies of human brain tissue as well as data from animal models have shown that apoptosis of neurons reaches a significant extent already in the early stages of the disease. As neurodegeneration in MS correlates with permanent neurological deficits in patients, understanding the mechanisms would be an important pre-condition for designing appropriate neuroprotective therapies. This review article gives an overview about current data concerning features and molecular mechanisms of neuronal apoptosis in chronic inflammatory autoimmune CNS diseases. Furthermore, possible implications for the development of neuroprotective therapies are discussed.