Abstract: neurodegenerative diseases, such as Alzheimer's Disease (AD), Parkinson's Disease (PD), and Multiple Sclerosis (MS), pose severe threats to human health. Dysfunction of the central-nervous-system (CNS) glial cells-including astrocytes, oligodendrocytes, and microglia-contributes to the pathogenesis of neurodegenerative diseases. rab GTPases, the largest branch of the Ras superfamily, are key spatiotemporal regulators of cellular trafficking via cycling between guanosine triphosphate (GTP)- and guanosine diphosphate (GDP)-bound states. Accumulating evidence indicates that small rab GTPases play a critical role in glial-cell homeostasis and in the pathogenesis of neurodegenerative disease. This review summarizes current findings on the function of rab GTPases in the three major CNS glial cell types. It emphasizes how rab GTPases orchestrate key processes including cellular homeostasis, phagocytosis, exocytosis, and myelin formation. Given the established link between glial dysfunction and neurodegeneration, a comprehensive understanding of the functions of rab GTPases in glial cells offers critical insights for identifying novel therapeutic interventions.

Similar articles