| Abstract: | The DNA damage response (DDR) is a complex biological system activated by different types of DNA damage. Mutations in certain components of the DDR machinery can lead to geno-mic instability disorders that culminate in tissue degeneration, premature aging, and various types of cancers. Intriguingly, malfunctioning DDR plays a role in the etiology of late onset brain degener-ative disorders such as Parkinson’s, Alzheimer’s, and Huntington’s diseases. For many years, brain degenerative disorders were thought to result from aberrant neural death. Here we discuss the evi-dence that supports our novel hypothesis that brain degenerative diseases involve dysfunction of glial cells (astrocytes, microglia, and oligodendrocytes). Impairment in the functionality of glial cells results in pathological neuro-glial interactions that, in turn, generate a‘‘hostile”environment that impairs the functionality of neuronal cells. These events can lead to systematic neural demise on a scale that appears to be proportional to the severity of the neurological deficit. |
