H2S IN THE NEURODEGENERATION: A "DOUBLE-FACED JANUS"

• Published in: Sibirskiĭ nauchnyĭ medit︠s︡inskiĭ zhurnal Vol. 39; no. 5; pp. 41 - 51
• Main Author: E. E. Kolesnikova
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English; Russian
• Published: Russian Academy of Sciences, Siberian Branch Publishing House 01.11.2019
• Subjects: alzheimer’s disease; amyotrophic lateral sclerosis; huntington’s disease; hydrogen sulfide; neurodegeneration; parkinson’s disease
• ISSN: 2410-2512; 2410-2520
• DOI: 10.15372/SSMJ20190505

This paper reviews current literature data on the participation of hydrogen sulfide (H 2 S) in the pathogenesis of neurodegenerative disorders – Parkinson’s disease (PD), Alzheimer’s disease (AD), Huntington’s disease (HD) and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). In the CNS the level of H 2 S is determined by the enzymes of its synthesis – cystathionine-β-synthase (CBS) and cystathionine-γ-lyase (CSE). H 2 S is a gasotransmitter, the action of which is realized through chemical and conformational modification of protein molecules simultaneously in spacious pools of cells – in a «broad field». The effects of H 2 S are highly divergent when a certain threshold is reached, it moves from the neuroprotection to the neurodegeneration. The neurodegeneration is mediated by both increased (in ALS) and decreased (PD, AD, HD) levels of H 2 S production, which is determined by the activity of different enzymes of its synthesis – CBS (PD, AD, ALS) or CSE (HD) – depending on the specificity of the certain disorder, that leads to the deployment of the especial pattern of neurological events. The disturbances in sulfur-containing amino acids metabolism and thiol-disulfide homeostasis are an integrative part in H 2 S-dependent mechanism of the neurodegeneration. The opposite/divergent negative effect of H 2 S, the involvement of different enzymes of its synthesis and some products of transformation in the pathological process suggest about the dual nature of H 2 S as a signaling molecule at neurodegenerative disorders.