Treating a Mouse Model of Alzheimer ' s Disease with Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation

Overly reactive, senescent, and otherwise inflammatory microglia in the brain are implicated in the development of neurodegenerative conditions. Chronic inflammation in brain tissue disrupts neural function in numerous ways. Thus why not clear or replace microglia? There are established ways to remove these cells, allowing them to regenerative over a few weeks, but these have not yet made their way to human trials for neurodegenerative conditions, despite interesting results in animal models. The replacement of microglia via transplantation of hematopoietic cells is at a similar stage, wherein there are interesting results in animal models of various neurodegenerative conditions. For a long time, reactive microglia have been considered a consequence of Alzheimer's disease (AD) pathology; however, they are now regarded as potentially playing a role in disease progression and maybe initiation. Sustained microglia inflammation has been identified as a contributor to AD pathogenesis, as the release of inflammatory cytokines, chemokines, and complement proteins increases amyloid-β (Aβ) production. In addition, microglia have been shown to be involved in the clearance of Aβ plaque, which is impaired in AD due to mutations in microglia-related genes, including P2ry12, Apoe, and Trem2. Furthermore, with impaired microglia clearance, debris and other byproducts are diverted for clearance to other brain cells, such as endothelial cells, which do not proliferate efficiently ...
Source: Fight Aging! - Category: Research Authors: Tags: Daily News Source Type: blogs