INTRODUCTIONFunctions of the central nervous system (CNS) are performed mainly by neurons and glia-primarily astrocytes, microglia and oligodendrocytes. It has been thought for a long time that glia only passively support neurons, but we now know that glia actively attend to assist in neuronal functions like synaptogenesis and neurotransmission. 1) Although it was believed that ca. 90% of the cells in the brain are glia and the rest of cells are neurons, Azevedo et al. recently reported that the numbers of neurons and non-neuronal cells (glia) are close to equal in human adult brain.2) Brain is the most cholesterol-rich organ in the body, and cholesterol metabolism in the CNS is tightly regulated between neurons and glia. [3][4][5][6][7] Imbalances in the metabolism of lipids, especially cholesterol, are closely linked to the development of several neurodegenerative disorders such as Alzheimer's disease, 8,9) Niemann-Pick type C disease 10) and Smith-Lemli Opitz syndrome. 11,12) In this review the regulation of lipid metabolism and the roles of glial lipoproteins in the CNS will be discussed.
LIPID HOMEOSTASIS IN THE CNSThe system of lipid metabolism and transport in the CNS is different from that in peripheral tissues because the CNS is segregated from the peripheral circulation by the blood-brain barrier (BBB).13) Although lipoprotein particles can cross the BBB in vivo in Drosophila, which has a functional BBB like that in vertebrates, 14) lipoproteins in the mouse, rat and human do not cross the BBB. Consequently, since labeled cholesterol peripherally administrated was not found in the CNS of mammals, 15,16) cholesterol in the CNS is derived from de novo synthesis inside of the CNS. Furthermore, in the plasma of subjects who had liver transplantation the genotype of apolipoprotein (apo) E was that of the donor, whereas the subjects retained the own apo E genotype in the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF).17) Moreover, lipoproteins in the CNS consist of only high density lipoprotein (HDL)-like particles in contrast to the circulation which contains very low density lipoproteins (VLDL), low density lipoproteins (LDL) and HDL. It is known that the HDL-like particles in the CNS are secreted from glia (glial lipoproteins), mainly astrocytes and microglia, under normal conditions, [18][19][20] however lipoproteins can be secreted from neurons in vitro 21,22) and in vivo 23) under some specific conditions. Unesterified cholesterol is the major sterol in the adult brain, and small amounts of desmosterol and cholesteryl ester are also present. The majority (70-80%) of cholesterol in the adult brain is in myelin formed by oligodendrocytes.
24)Thus, the activity of cholesterol synthesis in the CNS is the highest during the myelinogenesis. After myelination, cholesterol synthesis continues at very low level in the CNS, and occurs mainly in astrocytes. 5,13,24) Neurons do not efficiently synthesize cholesterol and rely on external source of cholesterol from astrocytes, 25) so that neurons take up cholesterol as lipoproteins via ...