Targeting HDACs: a promising therapy for Alzheimer's disease

Abstract

Epigenetic modifications like DNA methylation and histone acetylation play an important role in a wide range of brain disorders. Histone deacetylases (HDACs) regulate the homeostasis of histone acetylation. Histone deacetylase inhibitors, which initially were used as anticancer drugs, are recently suggested to act as neuroprotectors by enhancing synaptic plasticity and learning and memory in a wide range of neurodegenerative and psychiatric disorders, such as Alzheimer's disease (AD) and Parkinson's disease (PD). To reveal the physiological roles of HDACs may provide us with a new perspective to understand the mechanism of AD and to develop selective HDAC inhibitors. This paper focuses on the recent research progresses of HDAC proteins and their inhibitors on the roles of the treatment for AD.

Figure 1

The role of HDAC inhibitors in Alzheimer's disease. First, HDAC inhibitors inhibit Aβ-induced hyperphosphorylation of tau protein. Second, HDAC inhibitors alter the expression of important genes which participate in the learning and memory.