%0 Journal Article
%T Loss of Caveolin-1 Accelerates Neurodegeneration and Aging
%A Brian P. Head
%A Jason N. Peart
%A Mathivadhani Panneerselvam
%A Takaakira Yokoyama
%A Matthew L. Pearn
%A Ingrid R. Niesman
%A Jacqueline A. Bonds
%A Jan M. Schilling
%A Atsushi Miyanohara
%A John Headrick
%A Sameh S. Ali
%A David M. Roth
%A Piyush M. Patel
%A Hemal H. Patel
%J PLOS ONE
%D 2012
%I Public Library of Science (PLoS)
%R 10.1371/journal.pone.0015697
%X The aged brain exhibits a loss in gray matter and a decrease in spines and synaptic densities that may represent a sequela for neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer's. Membrane/lipid rafts (MLR), discrete regions of the plasmalemma enriched in cholesterol, glycosphingolipids, and sphingomyelin, are essential for the development and stabilization of synapses. Caveolin-1 (Cav-1), a cholesterol binding protein organizes synaptic signaling components within MLR. It is unknown whether loss of synapses is dependent on an age-related loss of Cav-1 expression and whether this has implications for neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer's disease.
%U http://www.plosone.org/article/info%3Adoi%2F10.1371%2Fjournal.pone.0015697