Signaling molecules and neuroglial activation in the injured central nervous system

Injury of the central nervous system leads to a highly reproducible activation of neurons, astrocytes and microglia, which plays an important role in the posttraumatic repair of the damaged neural tissue. Recent work on proinflammatory cytokines has begun to shed light on the molecular mechanisms that direct and control this repair process. Here we summarize data on the regulation of these cytokines, which led to the identification of the macrophage colony-stimulating factor and interleukin-6 as key factors in microglial and astrocyte activation.