Neuroinflammation in Parkinson's disease (PD) is a chronic process that is associated with alteration of glial cells, including astrocytes and microglia. However, the precise mechanisms remain obscure. To better understand neuroinflammation in PD, we focused on glial activation in α-synuclein (αS) transgenic and related model mice. In the majority of αS transgenic mice, astrogliosis was observe...

Fetal alcohol spectrum disorders (FASD) result from fetal exposure to alcohol during pregnancy. These disorders present a variety of sequelae including involvement of the central nervous system (CNS) with lasting impact on cognitive function and behavior. FASD occur at an alarming rate and have significant personal and societal impact. There are currently no effective treatments for FASD. Recen...

Neuroinflammation induced by beta-amyloid (Aβ) plays a critical role in the pathogenesis of Alzheimer's disease (AD), and inhibiting Aβ-induced neuroinflammation serves as a potential strategy for the treatment of AD. Oridonin (Ori), a compound of Rabdosia rubescens, has been shown to exert anti-inflammatory effects. In this study, we demonstrated that Ori inhibited glial activation and decreas...

Complement receptor 3 (CR3) activation in microglia is involved in neuroinflammation-related brain disorders and pruning of neuronal synapses. Hypoxia, often observed together with neuroinflammation in brain trauma, stroke, and neurodegenerative diseases, is thought to exacerbate inflammatory responses and synergistically enhance brain damage. Here we show that when hypoxia and an inflammatory ...

Although much is known regarding the molecular mechanisms leading to neuronal cell loss in Parkinson's disease (PD), the initiating event has not been identified. Prevailing theories including a chemical insult or infectious agent have been postulated as possible triggers, leading to neuroinflammation. We present immunohistochemical data indicating the presence of influenza A virus within the s...

Mast cells are localized throughout the body and mediate allergic, immune, and inflammatory reactions. They are heterogeneous, tissue-resident, long-lived, and granulated cells. Mast cells increase their numbers in specific site in the body by proliferation, increased recruitment, increased survival, and increased rate of maturation from its progenitors. Mast cells are implicated in brain injur...

Chronic stressful events induce biochemical, physiological and psychological changes, resulting in stress-related neuropsychiatric disorders, such as anxiety or depression. Using repeated social defeat as a stressful event model, we show that this preclinical paradigm induces a transient increase in the expression of the genes encoding the pro-inflammatory molecules iNOS and COX-2. We provide t...

INTRODUCTION Gap junctions are intercellular membrane channels that provide direct cytoplasmic continuity between adjacent cells. This communication can be affected by changes in expression of gap junctional subunits called Connexins (Cx). Changes in the expression and function of connexins are associated with number of brain neurodegenerative diseases. Neuroinflammation is a hallmark of variou...

multiple sclerosis (ms) is a neuroinflammatory autoimmune disease which mediated by various molecular and cellular immune components however recent reports have shown that coagulation factors that traditionally separate from the immune system might also be involved in ms development and progression.studies on experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (eae) and human ms patients reports alterati...

traumatic brain injury (tbi) is defined as an external mechanical injury to the brain. neuroinflammation plays a vital role in the pathophysiology of tbi. microglia and astrocytes play a central role in the initiation and regulation of inflammation. numerous pro-inflammatory mediators including cytokines, chemokines, reactive oxygen species (ros) and nitric oxide (no) released by microglia. in ...