Generic placeholder image

CNS & Neurological Disorders - Drug Targets

Editor-in-Chief

ISSN (Print): 1871-5273
ISSN (Online): 1996-3181

Innate Immunity in Alzheimer’s Disease: A Complex Affair

Author(s): Marie-Victoire Guillot-Sestier and Terrence Town

Volume 12, Issue 5, 2013

Page: [593 - 607] Pages: 15

DOI: 10.2174/1871527311312050008

Price: $65

Abstract

Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is characterized by three major histopathological hallmarks: β-amyloid deposits, neurofibrillary tangles and gliosis. While neglected for decades, the neuroinflammatory processes coordinated by microglia are now accepted as etiologic events in AD evolution. Microglial cells are found in close vicinity to amyloid plaques and display various activation phenotypes determined by the expression of a wide range of cytokines, chemokines, and innate immune surface receptors. During the development of AD pathology, microglia fail to restrict amyloid plaques and may contribute to neurotoxicity and cognitive deficit. Nevertheless, under specific activation states, microglia can participate in cerebral amyloid clearance. This review focuses on the complex relationship between microglia and Aβ pathology, and highlights both deleterious and beneficial roles of microglial activation states in the context of AD. A deeper understanding of microglial biology will hopefully pave the way for next-generation AD therapeutic approaches aimed at harnessing these enigmatic innate immune cells of the central nervous system.

Keywords: Alzheimer disease, amyloid-β peptide, chemokine, cytokine, gliosis, inflammation, innate immunity, microglia, neuroinflammation, phagocytosis.


Rights & Permissions Print Cite
© 2024 Bentham Science Publishers | Privacy Policy