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Molecular Dialogues: Signaling Networks of the Aging Nervous System

A special issue of Current Issues in Molecular Biology (ISSN 1467-3045). This special issue belongs to the section "Biochemistry, Molecular and Cellular Biology".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 31 January 2027 | Viewed by 280

Editor


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Guest Editor
Department of Integrated Medical Sciences, School of Medicine, Rio de Janeiro State University, Rio de Janeiro 20550-013, Brazil
Interests: neuron–glia communication; calcium signaling; mitochondrial–cytosolic signaling; metabolic control of neural signaling; purinergic signaling; cannabinoid signaling; bioactive lipid mediators; redox signaling; neuroinflammation; neural aging; synaptic maintenance; cell death; neuroprotection; retinal neurobiology

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

This Special Issue centers on the molecular logic through which the nervous system ages, emphasizing how signaling networks are remodeled over time and how these changes influence neural resilience or vulnerability. The contributions examine age-dependent alterations in intracellular and intercellular communication, focusing on signaling pathways built around ions, neurotransmitters, bioactive lipids, redox mediators, and metabolic intermediates. Special emphasis is placed on calcium handling, mitochondrial–cytosolic crosstalk, and the coupling between energy metabolism and signal transduction. These molecular dialogues regulate synaptic maintenance, neuroglial interactions, stress responses, and decisions governing cellular adaptation, senescence, or death. The issue highlights how cumulative molecular dysregulation, rather than isolated defects, drives functional decline, chronic inflammation, and susceptibility to neurodegeneration during aging. By integrating experimental data with mechanistic and conceptual perspectives, this collection seeks to define core signaling nodes and molecular circuits that shape the aging nervous system, offering a framework for identifying targets capable of modulating neural aging and delaying age-associated neurological disease.

Dr. Hercules Rezende Freitas
Guest Editor

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Keywords

  • neuroglial signaling
  • molecular signal transduction
  • calcium dynamics
  • bioactive lipids
  • neuroinflammation
  • neural metabolism
  • cell–cell communication
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

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Published Papers (1 paper)

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Research

16 pages, 12952 KB  
Article
Astrocyte Subtype-Specific Expression of the Sodium-Coupled Citrate Transporter SLC13A5 and Citrate Metabolism Genes Across Alzheimer’s Disease Pseudoprogression: A Single-Nucleus RNA Sequencing Analysis of the Human Middle Temporal Gyrus
by Patricia Fernanda Schuck, Gustavo da Costa Ferreira and Hércules Rezende Freitas
Curr. Issues Mol. Biol. 2026, 48(7), 691; https://doi.org/10.3390/cimb48070691 - 5 Jul 2026
Viewed by 59
Abstract
The sodium-coupled citrate transporter NaCT (SLC13A5) imports extracellular citrate into cells. In the CNS, SLC13A5 is described to be expressed predominantly in neurons. Cytosolic citrate levels rely on citrate generated in mitochondria and imported from other CNS cells, regulating intermediary metabolism [...] Read more.
The sodium-coupled citrate transporter NaCT (SLC13A5) imports extracellular citrate into cells. In the CNS, SLC13A5 is described to be expressed predominantly in neurons. Cytosolic citrate levels rely on citrate generated in mitochondria and imported from other CNS cells, regulating intermediary metabolism and supplying acetyl-CoA for lipid synthesis and histone acetylation. Despite evidence for NaCT’s role in neurometabolic homeostasis, its transcriptional behavior across Alzheimer’s disease (AD) progression and across astrocyte subtypes remains uncharacterized at single-cell resolution. We analyzed single-nucleus RNA sequencing data from 1,378,211 nuclei across 84 donors in the Seattle Alzheimer’s Disease Brain Cell Atlas (SEA-AD) Middle Temporal Gyrus dataset to profile SLC13A5 and seven citrate metabolism genes across a continuous AD pseudoprogression score. SLC13A5 expression was restricted to astrocytes (~20% prevalence) and concentrated in the Astro 2 supertype (24.0%), a homeostatic subtype characterized by low C3 (1.6%) and CD44 (5.5%), which expanded with pseudoprogression (Spearman rho = +0.345, FDR < 0.001). The A1-reactive Astro 3 supertype, where SLC13A5 prevalence was 0.87%, declined concordantly (rho = −0.393). Opposing compositional and transcriptional forces produced apparent stability in overall SLC13A5 prevalence. SLC13A3 and ACO1 showed progressive donor-level declines correlating with Braak stage and Thal phase (rho range: −0.307 to −0.349, FDR < 0.01). APOE4 carriers exhibited lower SLC13A5 prevalence specifically within Astro 2 nuclei (median 17.6% vs. 25.9%; Wilcoxon p = 0.025), though this association did not survive multivariate regression. No difference in Astro 2 SLC13A5 expression was detected between cognitively resilient and expected-AD donors with equivalent high Braak burden (p = 0.888). Contrary to the prevailing description of NaCT as a neuronal transporter, SLC13A5 transcript in the SEA-AD MTG dataset was detected almost exclusively in astrocyte nuclei, concentrated in the homeostatic Astro 2 subtype, and maintained as this subtype expanded with advancing AD pathology. Because these are nuclear transcript measurements, they delimit where SLC13A5 mRNA is detectable rather than establishing the cellular site of NaCT protein or activity, which requires in situ validation. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Molecular Dialogues: Signaling Networks of the Aging Nervous System)
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