Emerging roles of sonic hedgehog in adult neurological diseases: Neurogenesis and beyond

Shang Der Chen, Jenq Lin Yang, Wei Chao Hwang, Ding I. Yang*

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalReview articlepeer-review

36 Scopus citations

Abstract

Sonic hedgehog (Shh), a member of the hedgehog (Hh) family, was originally recognized as a morphogen possessing critical characters for neural development during embryogenesis. Recently, however, Shh has emerged as an important modulator in adult neural tissues through different mechanisms such as neurogenesis, anti-oxidation, anti-inflammation, and autophagy. Therefore, Shh may potentially have clinical application in neurodegenerative diseases and brain injuries. In this article, we present some examples, including ours, to show different aspects of Shh signaling and how Shh agonists or mimetics are used to alter the neuronal fates in various disease models, both in vitro and in vivo. Other potential mechanisms that are discussed include alteration of mitochondrial function and anti-aging effect; both are critical for age-related neurodegenerative diseases. A thorough understanding of the protective mechanisms elicited by Shh may provide a rationale to design innovative therapeutic regimens for various neurodegenerative diseases.

Original languageEnglish
Article number2423
JournalInternational Journal of Molecular Sciences
Volume19
Issue number8
DOIs
StatePublished - 16 08 2018

Bibliographical note

Publisher Copyright:
© 2018 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland.

Keywords

  • Anti-inflammation
  • Anti-oxidation
  • Autophagy
  • Neurodegenerative diseases
  • Neurogenesis
  • Sonic hedgehog

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