The University of Southampton
University of Southampton Institutional Repository

Inflammatory mechanisms in chronic neurodegenerative disease: the impact of microglia priming

Inflammatory mechanisms in chronic neurodegenerative disease: the impact of microglia priming
Inflammatory mechanisms in chronic neurodegenerative disease: the impact of microglia priming

Microglia, the resident macrophages of the central nervous system (CNS), have a relatively down-regulated phenotype when compared with other tissue macrophages. The CNS exerts an inhibitory influence on the microglia phenotype via neuronal expression of ligands which impact on receptors on the microglia. The loss or degeneration of neurons leads to activation of microglia as detected by changes in morphology and up-regulation, or <italic>de novo</italic> synthesis, of a spectrum of myeloid-related molecules. During chronic neurodegenerative disease in animal models the microglia are increased in number, have an activated morphology, but express an anti-inflammatory phenotype. In naïve animals a systemic inflammatory challenge leads to communication with the brain and is part of our defense against injury and infection. The macrophage populations of the brain are involved in signaling from the peripheral immune system to CNS neurons. A systemic inflammatory challenge in an animal with ongoing chronic neurodegeneration leads to switching of the microglia to a pro-inflammatory phenotype with the capacity to disrupt neuronal function and cause tissue degeneration. We propose that the impact of systemic inflammation on microglia primed by prior pathology, and their switching to an aggressive tissue-damaging phenotype, may underlie clinical observations that systemic inflammation in patients with Alzheimer’s disease is associated with exacerbation of symptoms and acceleration in cognitive decline. The concept of microglia priming and secondary activation by systemic inflammation may have relevance to diverse neurological conditions and highlights the importance of prompt treatment of systemic infection and inflammation in patients with acute or chronic neurodegeneration.

172-180
Cambridge University Press
Perry, V. Hugh
8f29d36a-8e1f-4082-8700-09483bbaeae4
Stevens, Robert D.
Sharshar, Tarek
Ely, E. Wesley
Perry, V. Hugh
8f29d36a-8e1f-4082-8700-09483bbaeae4
Stevens, Robert D.
Sharshar, Tarek
Ely, E. Wesley

Perry, V. Hugh (2013) Inflammatory mechanisms in chronic neurodegenerative disease: the impact of microglia priming. In, Stevens, Robert D., Sharshar, Tarek and Ely, E. Wesley (eds.) Brain Disorders in Critical Illness: Mechanisms, Diagnosis, and Treatment. Cambridge University Press, pp. 172-180. (doi:10.1017/CBO9781139248822.021).

Record type: Book Section

Abstract

Microglia, the resident macrophages of the central nervous system (CNS), have a relatively down-regulated phenotype when compared with other tissue macrophages. The CNS exerts an inhibitory influence on the microglia phenotype via neuronal expression of ligands which impact on receptors on the microglia. The loss or degeneration of neurons leads to activation of microglia as detected by changes in morphology and up-regulation, or <italic>de novo</italic> synthesis, of a spectrum of myeloid-related molecules. During chronic neurodegenerative disease in animal models the microglia are increased in number, have an activated morphology, but express an anti-inflammatory phenotype. In naïve animals a systemic inflammatory challenge leads to communication with the brain and is part of our defense against injury and infection. The macrophage populations of the brain are involved in signaling from the peripheral immune system to CNS neurons. A systemic inflammatory challenge in an animal with ongoing chronic neurodegeneration leads to switching of the microglia to a pro-inflammatory phenotype with the capacity to disrupt neuronal function and cause tissue degeneration. We propose that the impact of systemic inflammation on microglia primed by prior pathology, and their switching to an aggressive tissue-damaging phenotype, may underlie clinical observations that systemic inflammation in patients with Alzheimer’s disease is associated with exacerbation of symptoms and acceleration in cognitive decline. The concept of microglia priming and secondary activation by systemic inflammation may have relevance to diverse neurological conditions and highlights the importance of prompt treatment of systemic infection and inflammation in patients with acute or chronic neurodegeneration.

This record has no associated files available for download.

More information

Published date: September 2013

Identifiers

Local EPrints ID: 489438
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/489438
PURE UUID: 95928f43-359e-4540-bba5-6baca31fe08d

Catalogue record

Date deposited: 24 Apr 2024 16:34
Last modified: 05 Jun 2024 19:46

Export record

Altmetrics

Contributors

Author: V. Hugh Perry
Editor: Robert D. Stevens
Editor: Tarek Sharshar
Editor: E. Wesley Ely

Download statistics

Downloads from ePrints over the past year. Other digital versions may also be available to download e.g. from the publisher's website.

View more statistics

Atom RSS 1.0 RSS 2.0

Contact ePrints Soton: eprints@soton.ac.uk

ePrints Soton supports OAI 2.0 with a base URL of http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/cgi/oai2

This repository has been built using EPrints software, developed at the University of Southampton, but available to everyone to use.

We use cookies to ensure that we give you the best experience on our website. If you continue without changing your settings, we will assume that you are happy to receive cookies on the University of Southampton website.

×