microglia tagged posts

A Cleveland Clinic research team studying alcohol and the brain discovered a new way that alcohol abuse can cause brain dysfunction and damage: through immune cells called microglia. The research also identified a potential new treatment target.

The team showed that in a brain affected by alcohol, microglia tear down the extracellular matrix (ECM), the scaffold that surrounds our neurons. The ECM physically holds our brain cells together and allows them to work properly. When it’s disrupted, our neurons can’t communicate as effectively. Severe ECM disruption can affect our ability to move, think and even remain alert.

The research, published in Immunity, is new, fundamental knowledge that already guides the research team to explore new ways to p...

Immune cell discovery a new attack on Alzheimer’s, neurological disorders. Combating Alzheimer’s and other neurodegenerative diseases by inserting healthy new immune cells into the brain has taken a leap toward reality. Neuroscientists at the University of California, Irvine and the University of Pennsylvania have found a way to safely thwart the brain’s resistance to them, vaulting a key hurdle in the quest.

Their discovery about brain cells called microglia heralds myriad possibilities for treating and even preventing neurodegenerative disorders. The team’s paper appears in the Journal of Experimental Medicine.

When microglia are healthy, ...

Excess fat triggers immune cells to overeat serotonin in the brain of developing male mice, leading to depression-like behavior. More than half of all women in the United States are overweight or obese when they become pregnant. While being or becoming overweight during pregnancy can have potential health risks for moms, there are also hints that it may tip the scales for their kids to develop psychiatric disorders like autism or depression, which often affects one gender more than the other.

What hasn’t been understood however is how the accumulation of fat tissue in mom might signal through the ...

A Cup of ruby red hibiscus tea not only warms the body in winter but also is known to boost the immune system, control blood pressure, and reduce body weight. And here is yet another reason to enjoy this tea – It may defeat Alzheimer’s disease.

Professor Kyong-Tai Kim and PhD candidate Kyung Won Jo (Department of Life Sciences) at POSTECH has verified that the gossypetin found in hibiscus activates microglia, the resident immune cell in the brain. The research team also demonstrated that microglia scavenge amyloid-beta (Aβ) in the brain to ameliorate cognitive impairments brought on by Alzheimer’s disease (AD).

AD begins as Aβ and Tau protein aggregates form deposits in the brain tissue. Microglia internalize such aggregates (phagocytosis) to protect the brain...