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. 2020 Sep 29:12:557384.
doi: 10.3389/fnagi.2020.557384. eCollection 2020.

Aging of the Vascular System and Neural Diseases

Chisato Watanabe  1   2 , Tsutomu Imaizumi  3 , Hiromi Kawai  3 , Kazuma Suda  3 , Yoichi Honma  3 , Masamitsu Ichihashi  1 , Masatsugu Ema  2   4 , Ken-Ichi Mizutani  1
Affiliations

Aging of the Vascular System and Neural Diseases

Chisato Watanabe et al. Front Aging Neurosci. .

Abstract

Vertebrates have acquired complex high-order functions facilitated by the dispersion of vascular and neural networks to every corner of the body. Blood vessels deliver oxygen and nutrients to all cells and provide essential transport systems for removing waste products. For these functions, tissue vascularization must be spatiotemporally appropriate. Recent studies revealed that blood vessels create a tissue-specific niche, thus attracting attention as biologically active sites for tissue development. Each capillary network is critical for maintaining proper brain function because age-related and disease-related impairment of cognitive function is associated with the loss or diminishment of brain capillaries. This review article highlights how structural and functional alterations in the brain vessels may change with age and neurogenerative diseases. Capillaries are also responsible for filtering toxic byproducts, providing an appropriate vascular environment for neuronal function. Accumulation of amyloid β is a key event in Alzheimer's disease pathogenesis. Recent studies have focused on associations reported between Alzheimer's disease and vascular aging. Furthermore, the glymphatic system and meningeal lymphatic systems contribute to a functional unit for clearance of amyloid β from the brain from the central nervous system into the cervical lymph nodes. This review article will also focus on recent advances in stem cell therapies that aim at repopulation or regeneration of a degenerating vascular system for neural diseases.

Keywords: capillary vessels; neocortex; neural diseases; vascular aging; vascular system.

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Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
The neocortex-specific capillary structure is constructed during development but is broken down with aging. The vascular network is constructed to create a spatiotemporal capillary milieu in the brain. However, age-related structural decline in the integrity of the vascular system including vascular rarefaction contributes to various neural diseases.
Figure 2
Figure 2
The dysfunction of the vascular system is an integral part of Alzheimer’s disease. The glymphatic system and meningeal lymphatic systems contribute to a functional unit for clearance of amyloid β from the brain into the cervical lymph nodes, and their function declines with aging. Aβ protein is deposited in and around capillaries, and its accumulation in the brain is largely considered the main cause of Alzheimer’s disease.
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