Nat Commun: New research could help treat brain infections and neurodegenerative diseases.

1,2020 // --- More than 30 million Americans are infected with parasitic brain infections transmitted by contaminated meat, but most people never show symptoms.
a new finding from the University of Virginia School of Medicine explains why, it could be important for brain infections, neurodegenerative diseases and autoimmune diseases.
UVA researchers found that toxoplasma are controlled by small glial cells in the brain.
these small glial cells release the unique immune molecule IL-1 alpha, which collects immune cells from the blood to control parasites in the brain.
(photo source: www.pixabay.com) this new discovery reveals how they can seek help when they need it, and can be applied to any brain disease with immunological components, including brain damage, neurodegenerative diseases, stroke, multiple sclerosis, and more.
UVA researcher Samantha J. Batista, a graduate student at the Harris Laboratory, uses the longevity characteristics of small glial cells to understand their role in brain infections.
she and her colleagues found that the infection caused small glial cells to die in an inflammatory manner, while closely related immune cells did not.
the researchers determined that small glial cells break up and collect immune cells, called macrophages, to control toxoplasmosis infection.
findings help explain why most people can easily control parasitic infections, while some people, especially those with low immune function, may become very heavy.
targeting such a particular pathway may have fewer off-target effects than targeting inflammation more broadly.
" Harris, Batista and their collaborators are interested in understanding how small glial cells detect parasites in the brain.
small glial cells can directly identify the parasite or damage to brain tissue, a phenomenon that occurs in many diseases.
(bioon.com) Source: Discovery Have have important implications for brain, neurodegenerative diseases original source: Batista, S. J., et al. (2020) Gasdermin-D-Dependent IL-1-alpha-release from microglia promotings ss ssimh. Nature Communications. doi.org/10.1038/s41467-020-17491-z.