scholarly journals The Role of Microglia in Neurodevelopmental Disorders and their Therapeutics

2020 ◽  
Vol 20 (4) ◽  
pp. 272-276
Author(s):  
Rachel Coomey ◽  
Rianne Stowell ◽  
Ania Majewska ◽  
Daniela Tropea

The development of new therapeutics is critically dependent on an understanding of the molecular pathways, the disruption of which results in neurological symptoms. Genetic and biomarker studies have highlighted immune signalling as a pathway that is impaired in patients with neurodevelopmental disorders (NDDs), and several studies on animal models of aberrant neurodevelopment have implicated microglia, the brain’s immune cells, in the pathology of these diseases. Despite the increasing awareness of the role of immune responses and inflammation in the pathophysiology of NDDs, the testing of new drugs rarely considers their effects in microglia. In this brief review, we present evidence of how the study of microglia can be critical for understanding the mechanisms of action of candidate drugs for NDDs and for increasing their therapeutic effect.

Author(s):  
Katelyn Donaldson ◽  
Ahmet Höke

There are numerous types of peripheral neuropathies and conditions that cause neuropathic pain with varying symptoms and different mechanisms of pathogenesis. Therefore, it is not surprising that many different animal models of peripheral neuropathies and neuropathic pain have been developed with varying degrees of fidelity to recapitulate the human disease. Nevertheless, these models are useful in a deconstructive manner to examine role of specific molecular pathways in pathogenesis of different types of peripheral neuropathies and test potential new drugs.


2021 ◽  
Vol 22 (13) ◽  
pp. 7227
Author(s):  
Lai-San Wong ◽  
Yu-Ta Yen ◽  
Chih-Hung Lee

Atopic dermatitis (AD) is a prototypic inflammatory disease that presents with intense itching. The pathophysiology of AD is multifactorial, involving environmental factors, genetic susceptibility, skin barrier function, and immune responses. A recent understanding of pruritus transmission provides more information about the role of pruritogens in the pathogenesis of AD. There is evidence that pruritogens are not only responsible for eliciting pruritus, but also interact with immune cells and act as inflammatory mediators, which exacerbate the severity of AD. In this review, we discuss the interaction between pruritogens and inflammatory molecules and summarize the targeted therapies for AD.


Author(s):  
Sebastian Wawrocki ◽  
Magdalena Druszczynska

The development of effective innate and subsequent adaptive host immune responses is highly dependent on the production of proinflammatory cytokines that increase the activity of immune cells. The key role in this process is played by inflammasomes, multimeric protein complexes serving as a platform for caspase-1, an enzyme responsible for proteolytic cleavage of IL-1βand IL-18 precursors. Inflammasome activation, which triggers the multifaceted activity of these two proinflammatory cytokines, is a prerequisite for developing an efficient inflammatory response against pathogenicMycobacterium tuberculosis(M.tb). This review focuses on the role of NLRP3 and AIM2 inflammasomes inM.tb-driven immunity.


2021 ◽  
Vol 12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chiel van Geffen ◽  
Astrid Deißler ◽  
Markus Quante ◽  
Harald Renz ◽  
Dominik Hartl ◽  
...  

The immune system is receiving increasing attention for interstitial lung diseases, as knowledge on its role in fibrosis development and response to therapies is expanding. Uncontrolled immune responses and unbalanced injury-inflammation-repair processes drive the initiation and progression of idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis. The regulatory immune system plays important roles in controlling pathogenic immune responses, regulating inflammation and modulating the transition of inflammation to fibrosis. This review aims to summarize and critically discuss the current knowledge on the potential role of regulatory immune cells, including mesenchymal stromal/stem cells, regulatory T cells, regulatory B cells, macrophages, dendritic cells and myeloid-derived suppressor cells in idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis. Furthermore, we review the emerging role of regulatory immune cells in anti-fibrotic therapy and lung transplantation. A comprehensive understanding of immune regulation could pave the way towards new therapeutic or preventive approaches in idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis.


Metabolites ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (9) ◽  
pp. 372 ◽  
Author(s):  
Karl J. Harber ◽  
Kyra E. de Goede ◽  
Sanne G. S. Verberk ◽  
Elisa Meinster ◽  
Helga E. de Vries ◽  
...  

Immunometabolism revealed the crucial role of cellular metabolism in controlling immune cell phenotype and functions. Macrophages, key immune cells that support progression of numerous inflammatory diseases, have been well described as undergoing vast metabolic rewiring upon activation. The immunometabolite succinate particularly gained a lot of attention and emerged as a crucial regulator of macrophage responses and inflammation. Succinate was originally described as a metabolite that supports inflammation via distinct routes. Recently, studies have indicated that succinate and its receptor SUCNR1 can suppress immune responses as well. These apparent contradictory effects might be due to specific experimental settings and particularly the use of distinct succinate forms. We therefore compared the phenotypic and functional effects of distinct succinate forms and receptor mouse models that were previously used for studying succinate immunomodulation. Here, we show that succinate can suppress secretion of inflammatory mediators IL-6, tumor necrosis factor (TNF) and nitric oxide (NO), as well as inhibit Il1b mRNA expression of inflammatory macrophages in a SUCNR1-independent manner. We also observed that macrophage SUCNR1 deficiency led to an enhanced inflammatory response without addition of exogenous succinate. While our study does not reveal new mechanistic insights into how succinate elicits different inflammatory responses, it does indicate that the inflammatory effects of succinate and its receptor SUCNR1 in macrophages are clearly context dependent.


2020 ◽  
Vol 21 (15) ◽  
pp. 5515
Author(s):  
Kento Fujii ◽  
Yasuko Yamamoto ◽  
Yoko Mizutani ◽  
Kuniaki Saito ◽  
Mariko Seishima

Indoleamine 2,3-dioxygenase 1 (IDO1) is an enzyme known to suppress immune responses, and several reports have showed that it is associated with psoriasis. IDO2 is an isoform of IDO1, recently identified as a catalytic enzyme in the tryptophan-kynurenine pathway, which is expressed in dendritic cells and monocytes. The expression of IDO2 in immune cells suggests that IDO2 may contribute to immune functions. However, the role of IDO2 in the pathogenesis of psoriasis remains unclear. In this study, to elucidate the role of IDO2 in psoriasis, we assessed imiquimod (IMQ)-induced psoriasis-like dermatitis in IDO2 knockout (KO) mice. Skin inflammation, evaluated by scoring erythema, scaling, and ear thickness, was significantly worse in the IDO2 KO mice than in the wild-type (WT) mice. The mRNA expression levels of TNF-α, IL-23p19, and IL-17A, key cytokines involved in the development of psoriasis, were also increased in the IDO2 KO mice. Furthermore, immunohistochemistry revealed that the number of Ki67-positive cells in the epidermis and CD4-, CD8-, and IL-17-positive lymphocytes infiltrating the dermis were significantly increased in the IDO2 KO mice. These results suggest that IDO2 might decrease IL-17 expression, thereby resulting in the suppression of skin inflammation in IMQ-induced psoriasis-like dermatitis.


2000 ◽  
Vol 2 (9) ◽  
pp. 1-20 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mark Harber ◽  
Anette Sundstedt ◽  
David Wraith

Current immunosuppression protocols, although often effective, are nonspecific and therefore hazardous. Consequently, immunological tolerance that is antigen specific and does not globally depress the patient's immune system has become one of the Holy Grails of immunology. Since the discovery that cytokines have immunomodulatory effects, extensive research has investigated the potential of these molecules to induce and maintain specific immunological tolerance in the context of transplantation, allergy and autoimmunity. In this article, we review the possible mechanisms by which cytokines can modulate the immune response and the animal models that frequently confound the theory that a single cytokine, or group of cytokines, can induce tolerance in a predictable manner. Finally, we discuss the role of cytokines at a paracrine level, particularly in the context of inducing and maintaining antigen-specific, regulatory T cells with the clinical potential to suppress specific immune responses.


2005 ◽  
Vol 18 (3) ◽  
pp. 541-555 ◽  
Author(s):  
Peter J. M. Openshaw ◽  
John S. Tregoning

SUMMARY Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) is one of the commonest and most troublesome viruses of infancy. It causes most cases of bronchiolitis, which is associated with wheezing in later childhood. In primary infection, the peak of disease typically coincides with the development of specific T- and B-cell responses, which seem, in large part, to be responsible for disease. Animal models clearly show that a range of immune responses can enhance disease severity, particularly after vaccination with formalin-inactivated RSV. Prior immune sensitization leads to exuberant chemokine production, an excessive cellular influx, and an overabundance of cytokines during RSV challenge. Under different circumstances, specific mediators and T-cell subsets and antibody-antigen immune complex deposition are incriminated as major factors in disease. Animal models of immune enhancement permit a deep understanding of the role of specific immune responses in RSV disease, assist in vaccine design, and indicate which immunomodulatory therapy might be beneficial to children with bronchiolitis.


Vaccines ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
pp. 22 ◽  
Author(s):  
Beatriz Escudero-Pérez ◽  
César Muñoz-Fontela

Filoviruses, such as Ebola and Marburg virus, encode viral proteins with the ability to counteract the type I interferon (IFN-I) response. These IFN-I antagonist proteins are crucial to ensure virus replication, prevent an antiviral state in infected and bystander cells, and impair the ability of antigen-presenting cells to initiate adaptive immune responses. However, in recent years, a number of studies have underscored the conflicting data between in vitro studies and in vivo data obtained in animal models and clinical studies during outbreaks. This review aims to summarize these data and to discuss the relative contributions of IFN-α and IFN-β to filovirus pathogenesis in animal models and humans. Finally, we evaluate the putative utilization of IFN-I in post-exposure therapy and its implications as a biomarker of vaccine efficacy.


2018 ◽  
Vol 2018 ◽  
pp. 1-10 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anna Cláudia Calvielli Castelo Branco ◽  
Fábio Seiti Yamada Yoshikawa ◽  
Anna Julia Pietrobon ◽  
Maria Notomi Sato

Inflammatory mediators, including cytokines, histamine, bradykinin, prostaglandins, and leukotrienes, impact the immune system, usually as proinflammatory factors. Other mediators act as regulatory components to establish homeostasis after injury or prevent the inflammatory process. Histamine, a biogenic vasoactive amine, causes symptoms such as allergies and has a pleiotropic effect that is dependent on its interaction with its four histamine receptors. In this review, we discuss the dualistic effects of histamine: how histamine affects inflammation of the immune system through the activation of intracellular pathways that induce the production of inflammatory mediators and cytokines in different immune cells and how histamine exerts regulatory functions in innate and adaptive immune responses. We also evaluate the interactions between these effects.


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