Cited by 97Mitochondrial Function and PathologyNeuroscience and Neuropharmacology ResearchNeurological Disease Mechanisms and Treatments

Axonal energy metabolism, and the effects in aging and neurodegenerative diseases

Open access
Yang, Sen, Park, Jung Hyun, Lu, Hui-Chen·2023·Molecular Neurodegeneration

Abstract

Abstract Human studies consistently identify bioenergetic maladaptations in brains upon aging and neurodegenerative disorders of aging (NDAs), such as Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease, Huntington’s disease, and Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. Glucose is the major brain fuel and glucose hypometabolism has been observed in brain regions vulnerable to aging and NDAs. Many neurodegenerative susceptible regions are in the topological central hub of the brain connectome, linked by densely interconnected long-range axons. Axons, key components of the connectome, have high metabolic needs to support neurotransmission and other essential activities. Long-range axons are particularly vulnerable to injury, neurotoxin exposure, protein stress, lysosomal dysfunction, etc. Axonopathy is often an early sign of neurodegeneration. Recent studies ascribe axonal maintenance failures to local bioenergetic dysregulation. With this review, we aim to stimulate research in exploring metabolically oriented neuroprotection strategies to enhance or normalize bioenergetics in NDA models. Here we start by summarizing evidence from human patients and animal models to reveal the correlation between glucose hypometabolism and connectomic disintegration upon aging/NDAs. To encourage mechanistic investigations on how axonal bioenergetic dysregulation occurs during aging/NDAs, we first review the current literature on axonal bioenergetics in distinct axonal subdomains: axon initial segments, myelinated axonal segments, and axonal arbors harboring pre-synaptic boutons. In each subdomain, we focus on the organization, activity-dependent regulation of the bioenergetic system, and external glial support. Second, we review the mechanisms regulating axonal nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NAD + ) homeostasis, an essential molecule for energy metabolism processes, including NAD + biosynthetic, recycling, and consuming pathways. Third, we highlight the innate metabolic vulnerability of the brain connectome and discuss its perturbation during aging and NDAs. As axonal bioenergetic deficits are developing into NDAs, especially in asymptomatic phase, they are likely exaggerated further by impaired NAD + homeostasis, the high energetic cost of neural network hyperactivity, and glial pathology. Future research in interrogating the causal relationship between metabolic vulnerability, axonopathy, amyloid/tau pathology, and cognitive decline will provide fundamental knowledge for developing therapeutic interventions.

The claims and statistics of this paper haven’t been checked yet.

Run the check — free, no account needed. It reads the open-access text and checks the sources it cites.

A few free checks a day · papers already verified open instantly · results are public

Integrity signals

Registry

Crossref · 10.1186/s13024-023-00634-3

Cites

426 of 426 references verified0 citation errors · 0 not checkable

Statistics

Claims the paper makes

The claims and statistics of this paper haven’t been checked yet.

Run the check — free, no account needed. It reads the open-access text and checks the sources it cites.

A few free checks a day · papers already verified open instantly · results are public

Claims other papers make about this one

Each is checked against this paper’s own text: does it say what the citing paper says it does?

  • A snRNA-seq study in human AD reported downregulation of synaptic cell adhesion-related gene expression and enrichment terms in an oligodendrocyte cluster.

    “A snRNA‐seq study in human AD also reported downregulation of synaptic cell adhesion–related gene expression and enrichment terms in an oligodendrocyte cluster. 65 , 66”

    From Unique transcriptomic alterations in 5XFAD;PS19 mouse model identify glial lipid dysregulation and coordinated microglial–oligodendrocyte responses (2026) · cites this paper as [66]

    The Background section reports that a subtype-specific transcriptomic analysis of oligodendrocytes in human AD brains found downregulated synaptic cell adhesion molecules in a subcluster. Our copy does not specify that this was an snRNA-seq study or report downregulated enrichment terms. (LLM, conf=0.82)

    Experimental — accuracy not yet measured

Self-check

Percentages, sums and reported differences re-computed from the paper’s own numbers.

The self-check needs the paper’s full text.

Cites

1 retracted

Flagged first, then by citations

2 of the 428 references couldn’t be matched to a known paper.

Research works printed but not linked: 1

  1. [290]Mc cluskey M thesis: "Study of vesicular glycolysis in health and Huntington's Disease" Université Grenoble Alpes [2020] 2021 [GIN] Grenoble Institut des Neurosciences

Cited by

Sorted by citations

Authors
Yang, S., Park, J. H., & Lu, H.-C.
Affiliations
Indiana University Bloomington (US)
Corresponding author
Lu, Hui-Chen
Venue
Molecular Neurodegeneration
Published
2023-07-20
Volume
18
Issue
1
Pages
49-49
ISSN
1750-1326 (ISSN-L)
OpenAlex
W4384925673
Cited by
94
References
428
Citations by year
2026: 25 · 2025: 37 · 2024: 28 · 2023: 4
FWCI
2.54
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Locations
  • Molecular Neurodegeneration (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • PubMed Central (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • DOAJ (DOAJ: Directory of Open Access Journals) (submittedVersion, cc-by-sa)
Funders
NINDS (NS086794)
Topics
  • Life Sciences › Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology › Molecular Biology › Mitochondrial Function and Pathology
  • Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cellular and Molecular Neuroscience › Neuroscience and Neuropharmacology Research
  • Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Neurology › Neurological Disease Mechanisms and Treatments
Keywords
axonal energy metabolism, axonopathy, neurodegenerative diseases, brain aging, glucose hypometabolism, brain connectome, long-range axons, axon initial segment, myelinated axons, axonal arbors, NAD+ homeostasis, NAD biosynthesis, NAD+ recycling, neuroprotection, Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease, Huntington's disease, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, cognitive decline
MeSH terms
Aging, Animals, Axons, Energy Metabolism, Glucose, Humans, NAD, Neurodegenerative Diseases

About these checks

Registry, retraction, Cites and statistics results are computed, not judged, with one exception: a printed reference that no index lists is read once by a model before it counts as a citation error. Claims are extracted by a model and kept only when their quote appears verbatim in the text; each cited source is then checked, with a model’s help, for whether it says what the claim relies on. Those verdicts can be wrong — read the claim’s quote and the cited source before relying on one.

Statistics and arithmetic are recomputed, not judged.

Confidence bands are shown only for fields calibrated on our annotated test set. None is calibrated yet, so no band is shown.

What counts as a claim ›How we measure confidence ›How we check this ›

Are you an author, or do you see a problem with this page? Request a review