J Neurosci: "reset" immune cells to improve the recovery of traumatic brain injury in mice

February 26, 2020 / BIOON / -- according to a recent study published in the Journal of neuroscience, targeting overactive immune cells and reducing their chronic neurotoxicity may provide a new treatment strategy for traumatic brain injury (TBI) The study was conducted by scientists from Trinity College Dublin and the University of Maryland School of medicine The study also showed that the effect of TBI on brain degeneration may be changeable after a long time of trauma This is in conflict with previous research conclusions Brain trauma can cause microglia (immune cells in the brain) to enter an inflammatory state, which is believed to help protect brain function However, similar reactions have also been observed in neurodegenerative diseases associated with TBI, such as chronic traumatic encephalopathy and Alzheimer's disease, so long-term inflammation after TBI may lead to neurodegeneration and cognitive decline In a new study, scientists found that targeting the chronic inflammatory pathway may be a very effective treatment strategy for TBI One month after TBI, the team used drugs to inhibit the activity of specific receptors on the surface of microglia, killing 95% of mouse microglia Once the inhibition is stopped, the cells will bounce back to normal Through a week of "temporary" inhibition, the life span of mice was significantly prolonged The authors found that this inhibitory effect essentially led to the reset of microglia in the mouse brain, i.e the new cells were in normal state without inflammatory reaction Compared with the mice without drug treatment, the mice with inhibitive treatment had better recovery, lower brain damage, neuron death, motor and cognitive abilities (BIOON Com) information source: 'resetting' immune cells improve traumatic brain injury recovery in mice original source: Micro completion with csf1r inhibitor during chronic phase of experimental traumatic brain injury reduction neurodegeneration and neurological defects, Journal of Neuroscience (2020) DOI: 10.1523/JNEUROSCI.2402-19.2020