Microbial Infections Are a Risk Factor for Neurodegenerative Diseases

Neurodegenerative diseases, such as Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease, and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, comprise a family of disorders characterized by progressive loss of nervous system function. Neuroinflammation is increasingly recognized to be associated with many neurodegenerative dise...

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Autores principales: Lotz, Sarah K., Blackhurst, Britanie M., Reagin, Katie L., Funk, Kristen E.
Formato: Online Artículo Texto
Lenguaje:English
Publicado: Frontiers Media S.A. 2021
Materias:
Acceso en línea:https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8292681/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/34305533
http://dx.doi.org/10.3389/fncel.2021.691136
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author Lotz, Sarah K.
Blackhurst, Britanie M.
Reagin, Katie L.
Funk, Kristen E.
author_facet Lotz, Sarah K.
Blackhurst, Britanie M.
Reagin, Katie L.
Funk, Kristen E.
author_sort Lotz, Sarah K.
collection PubMed
description Neurodegenerative diseases, such as Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease, and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, comprise a family of disorders characterized by progressive loss of nervous system function. Neuroinflammation is increasingly recognized to be associated with many neurodegenerative diseases but whether it is a cause or consequence of the disease process is unclear. Of growing interest is the role of microbial infections in inciting degenerative neuroinflammatory responses and genetic factors that may regulate those responses. Microbial infections cause inflammation within the central nervous system through activation of brain-resident immune cells and infiltration of peripheral immune cells. These responses are necessary to protect the brain from lethal infections but may also induce neuropathological changes that lead to neurodegeneration. This review discusses the molecular and cellular mechanisms through which microbial infections may increase susceptibility to neurodegenerative diseases. Elucidating these mechanisms is critical for developing targeted therapeutic approaches that prevent the onset and slow the progression of neurodegenerative diseases.
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spelling pubmed-82926812021-07-22 Microbial Infections Are a Risk Factor for Neurodegenerative Diseases Lotz, Sarah K. Blackhurst, Britanie M. Reagin, Katie L. Funk, Kristen E. Front Cell Neurosci Neuroscience Neurodegenerative diseases, such as Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease, and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, comprise a family of disorders characterized by progressive loss of nervous system function. Neuroinflammation is increasingly recognized to be associated with many neurodegenerative diseases but whether it is a cause or consequence of the disease process is unclear. Of growing interest is the role of microbial infections in inciting degenerative neuroinflammatory responses and genetic factors that may regulate those responses. Microbial infections cause inflammation within the central nervous system through activation of brain-resident immune cells and infiltration of peripheral immune cells. These responses are necessary to protect the brain from lethal infections but may also induce neuropathological changes that lead to neurodegeneration. This review discusses the molecular and cellular mechanisms through which microbial infections may increase susceptibility to neurodegenerative diseases. Elucidating these mechanisms is critical for developing targeted therapeutic approaches that prevent the onset and slow the progression of neurodegenerative diseases. Frontiers Media S.A. 2021-07-07 /pmc/articles/PMC8292681/ /pubmed/34305533 http://dx.doi.org/10.3389/fncel.2021.691136 Text en Copyright © 2021 Lotz, Blackhurst, Reagin and Funk. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) and the copyright owner(s) are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
spellingShingle Neuroscience
Lotz, Sarah K.
Blackhurst, Britanie M.
Reagin, Katie L.
Funk, Kristen E.
Microbial Infections Are a Risk Factor for Neurodegenerative Diseases
title Microbial Infections Are a Risk Factor for Neurodegenerative Diseases
title_full Microbial Infections Are a Risk Factor for Neurodegenerative Diseases
title_fullStr Microbial Infections Are a Risk Factor for Neurodegenerative Diseases
title_full_unstemmed Microbial Infections Are a Risk Factor for Neurodegenerative Diseases
title_short Microbial Infections Are a Risk Factor for Neurodegenerative Diseases
title_sort microbial infections are a risk factor for neurodegenerative diseases
topic Neuroscience
url https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8292681/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/34305533
http://dx.doi.org/10.3389/fncel.2021.691136
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