BACKGROUND Microglial activation plays an important role in neurodegenerative diseases by producing several pro-inflammatory enzymes and pro-inflammatory cytokines. Lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced inflammation leads to the activation of microglial cells in the central nervous system (CNS) and is associated with the pathological mechanisms of neurodegenerative diseases, including PD, AD, and AL...

Changes in expression of P2X receptors (P2X1-7) during postnatal development of the rat cerebellum are described. At P3, immunoreactivity (ir) to all the P2X receptors, except for P2X3 receptors, was found in Purkinje cells and deep cerebellar nuclei, P2X5-ir being most prominent. Granular and microglial cells were labeled for P2X5 (weakly) and P2X4 receptors, respectively. At P7, expression of...

Microglia, the resident macrophages of the brain, typically react to injuries or chronic diseases with proliferation and expression of differentiated features, such as production of cytokines associated with inflammatory events. Regulation and control of microglial cytokine expression, therefore, is a major focus of scientific interest. It has been shown that GMCSF and Il-3 are potent mitogens ...

Microglial cells play a dual role in the central nervous system as they have both neurotoxic and neuroprotective effects. Uncontrolled and excessive activation of microglia often contributes to inflammation-mediated neurodegeneration. Recently, much attention has been paid to therapeutic strategies aimed at inhibiting neurotoxic microglial activation. Pharmacological inhibitors of microglial ac...

NPY is present in the retina of different species but its role is not elucidated yet. In this work, using different rat retina in vitro models (whole retina, retinal cells in culture, microglial cell cultures, rat Müller cell line and retina endothelial cell line), we demonstrated that NPY staining is present in the retina in different cell types: neurons, macroglial, microglial and endothelial...

Microglial activation has been considered as a crucial process in the pathogenesis of neuroinflammation and psychiatric disorders. Several antipsychotic drugs (APDs) have been shown to display inhibitory effects on microglial activation in vitro, possibly through the suppression of elevated intracellular calcium (Ca(2+)) concentration. However, the exact underlying mechanisms still remain elusi...

A growing body of evidence indicates that the majority of Parkinson's disease (PD) cases are associated with microglia activation with resultant elevation of various inflammatory mediators and neuroinflammation. In this study, we investigated the effects of 2 natural molecules, quercetin and sesamin, on neuroinflammation induced by the Parkinsonian toxin 1-methyl-4-phenylpyridinium (MPP(+)) in ...

Albumin, an abundant plasma protein with multifunctional properties, is mainly synthesized in the liver. Albumin has been implicated in Alzheimer's disease (AD) since it can bind to and transport amyloid beta (Abeta), the causative agent of AD; albumin is also a potent inhibitor of Abeta polymerization. Despite evidence of non-hepatic transcription of albumin in many tissues including kidney an...

PURPOSE To characterize the activation of macroglial (Müller) and microglial cells, as well as neuronal cell degeneration, during ischemia-reperfusion in rabbit retina and to test the possible effect of triamcinolone acetonide on gliosis. METHODS Transient retinal ischemia was produced by increasing intraocular pressure for 60 minutes. Triamcinolone (8 mg) was intravitreally applied immediate...

Microglial cells, known to play key roles in neuroinflammation, can be immunotoxically eliminated from hippocampal slice cultures by treatment with saporin coupled to the microglial receptor Mac1. Considering microglial cells as a target for anti-inflammatory treatment we studied the effects of microglial depletion on anti-inflammatory treatment of mouse hippocampal slice cultures subjected to ...