Inflammatory Response Kills Neurons in Alzheimer's Disease

Researchers have identified a mechanism that causes microglial cells in the brain to secrete molecules that stimulate an inflammatory response against the amyloid plaques that are characteristic of Alzheimer's disease, which results in brain damage resulting from the death of neurons.

Investigators from Case Western Reserve University (Cleveland, OH, USA) reported in the April 2003 issue of the Journal of Neuroscience that the interaction of microglia with compacted deposits of amyloid fibrils resulted in the stimulation of intracellular Tyr kinase-based signaling cascades and cellular activation, which led to the secretion of pro-inflammatory molecules.

"When microglia undergo this activation, they secrete a large number of very nasty things,” explained senior author Dr. Gary Landreth, professor of neurosciences at Case Western Reserve University. "Over the long term, it is these inflammatory products of microglia that play a significant role in killing neurons. This fundamentally changes how people think about how the amyloid plaques provoke microglial activation. If we block any one of these receptors, we would block the inflammatory response. This presents new targets for new therapies to treat Alzheimer's disease.”




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