title: Deregulation of brain insulin signaling in Alzheimer's disease.
abstract: Contrary to the previous belief that insulin does not act in the brain, studies in the last three decades have demonstrated important roles of insulin and insulin signal transduction in various functions of the central nervous system. Deregulated brain insulin signaling and its role in molecular pathogenesis have recently been reported in Alzheimer's disease (AD). In this article, we review the roles of brain insulin signaling in memory and cognition, the metabolism of amyloid β precursor protein, and tau phosphorylation. We further discuss deficiencies of brain insulin signaling and glucose metabolism, their roles in the development of AD, and recent studies that target the brain insulin signaling pathway for the treatment of AD. It is clear now that deregulation of brain insulin signaling plays an important role in the development of sporadic AD. The brain insulin signaling pathway also offers a promising therapeutic target for treating AD and probably other neurodegenerative disorders.
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology, Second Affiliated Hospital, School of Medicine, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, 310009, China.
authors.forename: Yanxing
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.forename: Yanqiu
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Deng
authors.forename: Baorong
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.forename: Cheng-Xin
authors.initials: CX
authors.lastname: Gong
mesh_terms: D000544:Alzheimer Disease / Q000378:metabolism*; D016564:Amyloid beta-Protein Precursor / Q000378:metabolism; D000818:Animals; D001921:Brain / Q000378:metabolism*; D005947:Glucose / Q000378:metabolism; D006801:Humans; D007328:Insulin / Q000378:metabolism*; D008568:Memory / Q000502:physiology; D015398:Signal Transduction / Q000502:physiology*
chemical_list: D016564:Amyloid beta-Protein Precursor; D007328:Insulin; D005947:Glucose