Anatomie et physiologie : recherches en cours
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The Role of Telomerase in Brain and Neurodegenerative Diseases

Gabriele Saretzki*

While telomerase maintains telomere length in dividing cells, a protective role has also been recently demonstrated in post-mitotic cells such as neurons where telomere length does change. Evidence accumulates for non-canonical functions of the telomerase protein TERT (Telomerase reverse transcriptase) in neurons that could have important implications for the treatment of neurodegenerative diseases. Various groups identified changes in neuronal gene expression and synaptic functions together with the activation of signalling pathways such as WNT as well as protein degradation pathways such as autophagy upon experimental increase of TERT levels in neurons and the brain of in vitro as well as in vivo models of neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer’s Disease (AD) and Parkinson’s Disease (PD). The current short review summarises our knowledge on the roles of the telomerase protein TERT in the brain and as a possible therapeutic target of neurodegeneration.