Prevention of Microgliosis Reduces Early Progression of Alzheimer ' s Disease in Mice

Microglia are innate immune cells of the brain, akin to macrophages elsewhere in the body, but with a larger portfolio of tasks, extending beyond defense against pathogens and aiding in tissue repair to include assisting in neural function and maintenance of synaptic networks. A sizable body of evidence points to increasing inflammatory activation of microglia as an important factor in the development of age-related neurodegeneration. Microglia react to signals, such as DNA debris from stressed and dying cells, or the secreted cytokines produced by senescent cells, that become more common with advancing age. When this inflammatory reaction becomes chronic, it harms the brain, diverting microglia from necessary tasks and amplifying the state of inflammation and disruption of tissue function. Therapies that selectively destroy senescent cells, particularly senescent microglia, and therapies that clear microglia are thus of considerable interest. They have been demonstrated to reduce inflammation and the progression of brain tissue dysfunction in mice engineered to exhibit features of human neurodegenerative conditions. Today's open access paper reports on a similar but less drastic approach, in which a small molecule drug is used to reduce the inflammatory reaction of microglia to their age-damaged environment. The result is a slowing of the early progression of neurodegenerative disease, again pointing to microglial dysfunction as an important factor in the aging of the...
Source: Fight Aging! - Category: Research Authors: Tags: Medicine, Biotech, Research Source Type: blogs