Aging of cerebellar Purkinje cells

• Published in: Cell and tissue research Vol. 341; no. 3; pp. 341 - 347
• Main Authors: Zhang, Changzheng, Zhu, Qingfeng, Hua, Tianmiao
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Berlin/Heidelberg Berlin/Heidelberg : Springer-Verlag 01.09.2010; Springer-Verlag; Springer; Springer Nature B.V
• Subjects: Aging; anatomy and morphology; Animals; Atrophy; Biomedical and Life Sciences; Biomedicine; Brain; Cell Death; Cellular biology; Cellular Senescence - physiology; cerebellum; Cerebellum - cytology; Cerebellum - metabolism; Cerebellum - pathology; Cerebellum - physiology; Dendrites - metabolism; Dendrites - physiology; Function; Human Genetics; Humans; Molecular Medicine; Morphology; Neurons; Neurotransmitter Agents - metabolism; Proteomics; Purkinje cells; Purkinje Cells - metabolism; Purkinje Cells - physiology; Review; Synapses - physiology; Cerebellum; Aging; Function; Purkinje cells; Morphology
• ISSN: 0302-766X; 1432-0878
• DOI: 10.1007/s00441-010-1016-2

Cerebellar Purkinje cells (PCs), the sole output neurons in the cerebellar cortex, play an important role in the cerebellar circuit. PCs appear to be rather sensitive to aging, exhibiting significant changes in both morphology and function during senescence. This article reviews such changes during the normal aging process, including a decrease in the quantity of cells, atrophy in the soma, retraction in the dendritic arborizations, degeneration in the subcellular organelles, a decline in synapse density, disorder in the neurotransmitter system, and alterations in electrophysiological properties. Although these deteriorative changes occur during aging, compensatory mechanisms exist to counteract the impairments in the aging PCs. The possible neural mechanisms underlying these changes and potential preventive treatments are discussed.