Role of astrocytic glycolytic metabolism in Alzheimer's disease pathogenesis

Alzheimer's disease (AD) has historically been considered to arise due to the specific dysfunction and pathology of neurons in brain areas related to cognition. Recent progress indicates that astrocytes play an important role in neurodegenerative processes underlying AD. In this review, we focus on the different glucose metabolism profiles between astrocytes and neurons. In AD, a variety of CNS insults, such as the presence of amyloid protein, trigger reactive astrogliosis, which disrupts normal glycolytic activity in these cells. The compromise of the astrocytic metabolism in turn weakens the integrity of astrocytic-neuronal partnership, damages the normal brain homeostasis, impairs clearance of amyloid, promotes cytokine release and other inflammatory mediators, and over time, leads to neurodegeneration.