Immune mechanisms in cerebral ischemic tolerance
Lidia Garcia-Bonilla1, Corinne Benakis1, Jamie Moore1
1Brain and Mind Research Institute, Weill Cornell Medical College New York, NY, USA.
Frontiers in Neuroscience
|March 14, 2014
Summary
Stressor-induced tolerance protects organisms from harm via cellular and genetic responses. The immune system plays a key role in this process, particularly in remote ischemic preconditioning, offering potential for new stroke therapies.
Area of Science:
- Immunology
- Neuroscience
- Cellular Biology
Background:
- Stressor-induced tolerance is a conserved biological mechanism involving immediate metabolic changes and delayed genetic reprogramming.
- Remote ischemic preconditioning (RIP) demonstrates that stress in one organ can induce tolerance in remote organs via systemic signaling.
- The immune system is crucial for cerebral ischemic tolerance (IT), acting as both a mediator and a target.
Purpose of the Study:
- To elucidate the immune system components essential for inducing cerebral ischemic tolerance.
- To review mechanisms by which a modified immune response contributes to neuroprotection after preconditioning.
- To explore the potential of immune factors in developing novel stroke therapies.
Main Methods:
- Review of existing literature on immune system involvement in stress tolerance and preconditioning.
- Analysis of humoral, cellular, and neural signaling pathways in remote ischemic preconditioning.
- Examination of inflammatory pathways and their role in establishing and modulating ischemic tolerance.
Main Results:
- Activation of inflammatory pathways is necessary for establishing IT.
- IT is partly mediated by a subdued immune activation following the initial ischemic event (index ischemia).
- Specific immune system components are required for the induction of IT.
Conclusions:
- A reprogrammed immune response is central to the neuroprotection observed in preconditioned states.
- Understanding the interplay of local and systemic immune factors can inform the development of endogenous neuroprotection strategies.
- Targeting immune system components may offer new therapeutic avenues for stroke and other neurological conditions.
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