Succinate dehydrogenase: Prospect for neurodegenerative diseases

Onset of Alzheimer's, Parkinson's and Huntington's diseases as neurodegenerative disorders is increased by age. Alleviation of clinical symptoms and protection of neurons against degeneration are the main aspects of researches to establish new therapeutic strategies. Many studies have shown that mitochondria play crucial roles in high energy demand tissues like brain. Impairments in mitochondrial activity and physiology can makes neurons vulnerable to stress and degeneration. Succinate dehydrogenase (SDH) connects tricarboxylic cycle to the electron transport chain. Therefore, dysfunction of the SDH could impair mitochondrial activity, ATP generation and energy hemostasis in the cell. Exceed lipid synthesis, induction of the excitotoxicity in neurodegenerative disorders could be controlled by SDH through direct and indirect mechanism. In addition, mutation in SDH correlates with the onset of neurodegenerative disorders. Therefore, SDH could behave as a key regulator in neuroprotection. This review will present recent findings which are about SDH activity and related pathways which could play important roles in neuronal survival. Additionally, we will discuss about all possibilities which candidate SDH as a neuroprotective agent.