The Role of TNF-α in Alzheimer’s Disease: A Narrative Review

Plantone, Domenico; Pardini, Matteo; Righi, Delia; Manco, Carlo; Colombo, Barbara Maria; De Stefano, Nicola

doi:10.3390/cells13010054

Open AccessReview

The Role of TNF-α in Alzheimer’s Disease: A Narrative Review

by

Domenico Plantone

^1,*

,

Matteo Pardini

^2,3,

Delia Righi

¹,

Carlo Manco

¹,

Barbara Maria Colombo

³ and

Nicola De Stefano

¹

Department of Medicine, Surgery and Neuroscience, University of Siena, Viale Bracci 2, 53100 Siena, Italy

²

Department of Neuroscience, Rehabilitation, Ophthalmology, Genetics, Maternal and Child Health, University of Genoa, L.go P. Daneo 3, 16132 Genova, Italy

³

IRCCS Ospedale Policlinico San Martino, Largo Rosanna Benzi 10, 16132 Genova, Italy

^*

Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.

Cells 2024, 13(1), 54; https://doi.org/10.3390/cells13010054

Submission received: 27 November 2023 / Revised: 22 December 2023 / Accepted: 24 December 2023 / Published: 26 December 2023

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Inflammatory Processes in Healthy and Diseased Brains)

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Abstract

This review analyzes the role of TNF-α and its increase in biological fluids in mild cognitive impairment, and Alzheimer’s disease (AD). The potential inhibition of TNF-α with pharmacological strategies paves the way for preventing AD and improving cognitive function in people at risk for dementia. We conducted a narrative review to characterize the evidence in relation to the involvement of TNF-α in AD and its possible therapeutic inhibition. Several studies report that patients with RA and systemic inflammatory diseases treated with TNF-α blocking agents reduce the probability of emerging dementia compared with the general population. Animal model studies also showed interesting results and are discussed. An increasing amount of basic scientific data and clinical studies underscore the importance of inflammatory processes and subsequent glial activation in the pathogenesis of AD. TNF-α targeted therapy is a biologically plausible approach for cognition preservation and further trials are necessary to investigate the potential benefits of therapy in populations at risk of developing AD.

Keywords: Alzheimer’s disease; dementia; inflammation; cognitive impairment; TNF-α

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MDPI and ACS Style

Plantone, D.; Pardini, M.; Righi, D.; Manco, C.; Colombo, B.M.; De Stefano, N. The Role of TNF-α in Alzheimer’s Disease: A Narrative Review. Cells 2024, 13, 54. https://doi.org/10.3390/cells13010054

AMA Style

Plantone D, Pardini M, Righi D, Manco C, Colombo BM, De Stefano N. The Role of TNF-α in Alzheimer’s Disease: A Narrative Review. Cells. 2024; 13(1):54. https://doi.org/10.3390/cells13010054

Chicago/Turabian Style

Plantone, Domenico, Matteo Pardini, Delia Righi, Carlo Manco, Barbara Maria Colombo, and Nicola De Stefano. 2024. "The Role of TNF-α in Alzheimer’s Disease: A Narrative Review" Cells 13, no. 1: 54. https://doi.org/10.3390/cells13010054

APA Style

Plantone, D., Pardini, M., Righi, D., Manco, C., Colombo, B. M., & De Stefano, N. (2024). The Role of TNF-α in Alzheimer’s Disease: A Narrative Review. Cells, 13(1), 54. https://doi.org/10.3390/cells13010054

Note that from the first issue of 2016, this journal uses article numbers instead of page numbers. See further details here.

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The Role of TNF-α in Alzheimer’s Disease: A Narrative Review

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