Mechanisms underlying human immunodeficiency virus-1 encephalopathy are not completely known; however, recent studies suggest that the viral protein gp41 may be neurotoxic via activation of inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) in glial cells. In the present study, we investigated the NO-generating activity of primary human fetal astrocytes in response to gp41 and the relationship to microglia...

Epilepsy has remained a significant social concern and financial burden globally. Current therapeutic strategies are based primarily on neurocentric mechanisms that have not proven successful in at least a third of patients, raising the need for novel alternative and complementary approaches. Recent evidence implicates glial cells and neuroinflammation in the pathogenesis of epilepsy with the p...

Neurodegenerative diseases contain Multiple Sclerosis (MS), Alzheimer’s disease (AD) and Parkinson’s disease (PD), are characterized by neuronal death and neuronal degeneration in specific regions of the central nervous system (CNS). Microglia are the basic immune brain cells and play a role in homeostasis after inflammation challenge. Microglia involves in Neurodegenerative disease...

Alcohol directly affects astroglial cell function, including inflammation-related activity.  And it also affects microglial cell development and function in specific ways that interfere with microglial interactions with the immune system and with neurons. Neuroinflammatory processes might be involved in alcohol-induced brain damage. Alcohol use, misuse and getting used to it causes differe...

Reducing β amyloid- (Aβ-) induced microglial activation is believed to be effective in treating Alzheimer's disease (AD). Microglia can be activated into classic activated state (M1 state) or alternative activated state (M2 state), and the former is harmful; in contrast, the latter is beneficial. Gypenoside (GP) is the major bioactive constituent of Gynostemma pentaphyllum, a traditional Chines...

Microglia positively affect neural progenitor cell physiology through the release of inflammatory mediators or trophic factors. We demonstrated previously that reactive microglia foster K(ATP) -channel expression and that blocking this channel using glibenclamide administration enhances striatal neurogenesis after stroke. In this study, we investigated whether the microglial K(ATP) -channel dir...

While nerve growth factor (NGF) is best known for its trophic functions, recent experiments indicate that it can also cause cell death during development by activating the neurotrophin receptor p75. We now identify microglial cells as the source of NGF as a killing agent in the developing eye. When the retina is separated from the surrounding tissue before colonization by microglial cells, no N...

neuroinflammation as a protective mechanism for repairing tissue damage in the central nervous system (cns), has been classified into two types: acute and chronic. it is characterized by the activation of microglia and astrocytes and the increase levels of different chemokines and cytokines. neuroinflammation can be harmful, and it is a common pathological feature in neurodegenerative and psych...

Magnetic nanoparticles (MNPs) are important contrast agents used to monitor a range of neuropathological processes; microglial cells significantly contribute to MNP uptake in sites of pathology. Microglial activation occurs following most CNS pathologies but it is not known if such activation alters MNP uptake, intracellular processing and toxicity. We assessed these parameters in microglial cu...