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Review
. 2020 Aug;15(8):1451-1459.
doi: 10.4103/1673-5374.274330.

The role of cofilin in age-related neuroinflammation

Amsha S Alsegiani  1 , Zahoor A Shah  1
Affiliations
Review

The role of cofilin in age-related neuroinflammation

Amsha S Alsegiani et al. Neural Regen Res. 2020 Aug.

Abstract

Aging brain becomes susceptible to neurodegenerative diseases due to the shifting of microglia and astrocyte phenotypes to an active "pro-inflammatory" state, causing chronic low-grade neuroinflammation. Despite the fact that the role of neuroinflammation during aging has been extensively studied in recent years, the underlying causes remain unclear. The identification of relevant proteins and understanding their potential roles in neuroinflammation can help explain their potential of becoming biomarkers in the aging brain and as drug targets for prevention and treatment. This will eventually reduce the chances of developing neurodegenerative diseases and promote healthier lives in the elderly. In this review, we have summarized the morphological and cellular changes in the aging brain, the effects of age-related neuroinflammation, and the potential role of cofilin-1 during neuroinflammation. We also discuss other factors contributing to brain aging and neuroinflammation.

Keywords: aging; astrocyte-activation; cofilin; cofilin inhibitor; cofilin/actin rods; inflammaging; microglial activation; neurogenesis; neuroinflammation.

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Conflict of interest statement

None

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Cofilin activation in aged microglia leads to neuroinflammation. In normal aging, the microglia morphology changed from ramified phenotype in resting state to dystrophic phenotype. We hypothesize that the morphological change due to an increase in the expression of active cofilin in aged microglia compared with young, resulting in activated other microglial cells, induce neuroinflammation, astrocyte activation and promote neuronal death.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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