Effect of Microglial Inflammation in Prion Disease

Prion diseases are a group of transmissible fatal neurodegenerative disorders. Neuropatho- logical features of prion diseases include neuroinflammation featuring the infiltration of activated microglia in affected brain areas as well as the accumulation of an abnormal isoform of the cellular prion protein and neuronal loss. Recent studies have elucidated that inflammation in the brain induced by microglia plays an important role in the pathogenesis of neurodegenerative disorders including prion disease. Thus, the regulation of neuroin- flammation is key in terms of therapeutic and preventative approaches. The functions of neuroinflammation and microglia in this disease are discussed in this article.