The mitochondrial translocator protein (TSPO) in Alzheimer's disease: Therapeutic and immunomodulatory functions
Abstract
The translocator protein (TSPO) has been widely investigated as a PET-imaging biomarker of neuroinflammation and, more recently, as a therapeutic target for the treatment of neurodegenerative disease. TSPO ligands have been shown to exert neuroprotective effects in vivo and in vitro models of Alzheimer's disease (AD), by reducing toxic beta amyloid peptides, and attenuating brain atrophy. Recent transcriptomic and proteomic analyses, and the generation of TSPO-KO mice, have enabled new insights into the mechanistic function of TSPO in AD. Using a multi-omics approach in both TSPO-KO- and TSPO ligand-treated mice, we have demonstrated a key role for TSPO in microglial respiratory metabolism and phagocytosis in AD. In this review, we discuss emerging evidence for therapeutic and immunomodulatory functions of TSPO in AD, and new tools for studying TSPO in the brain.
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BibTeX
@article{fairley2026mitochondrial,
title = {{The mitochondrial translocator protein (TSPO) in Alzheimer's disease: Therapeutic and immunomodulatory functions}},
author = {Lauren H. Fairley and Kei Onn Lai and Amandine Grimm and Anne Eckert and Anna M. Barron},
journal = {Biochimie},
year = {2026},
month = oct,
doi = {10.1016/j.biochi.2024.07.003},
url = {https://hal.science/hal-05777662v1},
note = {CC BY-NC-ND},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - The mitochondrial translocator protein (TSPO) in Alzheimer's disease: Therapeutic and immunomodulatory functions
AU - Lauren H. Fairley
AU - Kei Onn Lai
AU - Amandine Grimm
AU - Anne Eckert
AU - Anna M. Barron
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/10/05
JO - Biochimie
DO - 10.1016/j.biochi.2024.07.003
UR - https://hal.science/hal-05777662v1
AB - The translocator protein (TSPO) has been widely investigated as a PET-imaging biomarker of neuroinflammation and, more recently, as a therapeutic target for the treatment of neurodegenerative disease. TSPO ligands have been shown to exert neuroprotective effects in vivo and in vitro models of Alzheimer's disease (AD), by reducing toxic beta amyloid peptides, and attenuating brain atrophy. Recent transcriptomic and proteomic analyses, and the generation of TSPO-KO mice, have enabled new insights into the mechanistic function of TSPO in AD. Using a multi-omics approach in both TSPO-KO- and TSPO ligand-treated mice, we have demonstrated a key role for TSPO in microglial respiratory metabolism and phagocytosis in AD. In this review, we discuss emerging evidence for therapeutic and immunomodulatory functions of TSPO in AD, and new tools for studying TSPO in the brain.
SN - 0300-9084
SN - 1638-6183
ER -