[Neuroinflammation: Dr Jekyll or Mr Hyde?]

Sheltered in a bony cage, populated by cells with little regenerative potential, the central nervous system (CNS) could likely not withstand classic inflammation without risking major sequelae. As a consequence, it had to develop an original way to provide surveillance, defence and reparation, which relies on both the complex architecture of the periphery-nervous parenchyma exchange zones, and the tightly regulated collaboration between all the cell populations that reside in or pass through the CNS. Despite its tight regulation, neuroinflammation is sometimes the cause of irreversible loss but it is also where the solution stands. The specific immune crosstalk that takes place in the CNS needs to be decoded in order to identify the best therapeutic strategies aimed at helping the CNS to restore homeostasis in problematic situations, such as in the case of neurodegenerative disorders. This review deals with this double-edged sword nature of neuroinflammation.