About this Research Topic
Neurodegenerative disorders like Parkinson’s disease and Alzheimer’s disease are characterized by the loss of a specific subset of neurons and glial activation. Genome-wide associated studies (GWAS) have identified various genetical risk factors and environmental factors. For example, occupational exposure to pesticides, metals, diet, pollution among others have been shown to play a key role in the manifestation of neurodegeneration and neuroinflammation. Furthermore, interactions between genetic and environmental factors play a key role in these diseases etiology.
Though the role of environmental factors has been acknowledged in the etiology of various neurodegenerative disorders, not much is known about the intracellular mechanisms involved in these key gene-environment interactions. A clear understanding of these mechanisms will not only help to understand these diseases better but may also be used as lead identification in drug discovery. With recent advancements of GWAS and epidemiological studies, mechanistic studies in cell culture and animal models can be linked back to the human population. This Research Topic will delve into studying the role of these essential environmental factors. In addition, improvements in genomic and next-generation sequencing techniques may be useful to study theirs cellular impacts.
We will consider Original Research articles, Reviews, GWAS studies or Clinical Trials, which demonstrates the effect of environmental factors in regulating neurodegeneration and neuroinflammation. Potential topics include, but are not limited to:
* Role of various environmental factors in regulating glial activation.
* Basic biology studies to understand the mechanism of action of various xenobiotics on glial and neuronal cell types.
* Next-gene sequencing or “omics” studies in human population or cell culture and rodent models to study the mechanism of environmental toxicity in glia and neurons.
* Gene-environment interactions which may lead to neurodegeneration
* Review articles on how various environmental factors affects inflammation mechanistically
* Review/Perspectives on the direction the field of gene-environment interactions should be moving towards
Though the role of environmental factors has been acknowledged in the etiology of various neurodegenerative disorders, not much is known about the intracellular mechanisms involved in these key gene-environment interactions. A clear understanding of these mechanisms will not only help to understand these diseases better but may also be used as lead identification in drug discovery. With recent advancements of GWAS and epidemiological studies, mechanistic studies in cell culture and animal models can be linked back to the human population. This Research Topic will delve into studying the role of these essential environmental factors. In addition, improvements in genomic and next-generation sequencing techniques may be useful to study theirs cellular impacts.
We will consider Original Research articles, Reviews, GWAS studies or Clinical Trials, which demonstrates the effect of environmental factors in regulating neurodegeneration and neuroinflammation. Potential topics include, but are not limited to:
* Role of various environmental factors in regulating glial activation.
* Basic biology studies to understand the mechanism of action of various xenobiotics on glial and neuronal cell types.
* Next-gene sequencing or “omics” studies in human population or cell culture and rodent models to study the mechanism of environmental toxicity in glia and neurons.
* Gene-environment interactions which may lead to neurodegeneration
* Review articles on how various environmental factors affects inflammation mechanistically
* Review/Perspectives on the direction the field of gene-environment interactions should be moving towards
Keywords: Neuroinflammation, Neurodegeneration, Environmental Factors, Diet, Pesticides
Important Note: All contributions to this Research Topic must be within the scope of the section and journal to which they are submitted, as defined in their mission statements. Frontiers reserves the right to guide an out-of-scope manuscript to a more suitable section or journal at any stage of peer review.
