How Blood That Leaks into the Brain Makes Immune Cells Toxic

“Our study answers, for the first time in a comprehensive way, how blood that leaks into the brain hijacks the brain’s immune system to cause toxic effects in brain diseases,” said Akassoglou, who is also director of the Center for Neurovascular Brain Immunology at Gladstone and a professor of neurology at UC San Francisco (UCSF). “Knowing how blood affects the brain could help us develop innovative treatments for neurological diseases.”

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Katerina Akassoglou and colleagues provide single-cell RNA-sequencing and phosphoproteome analyses of CNS microglia and macrophages in response to blood proteins including activated complement and fibrin. Their findings point to potential therapeutic targeting of microglia activation by immune and vascular signals.

Fibrin induces neurotoxic microglia gene programs in neurodegeneration

 

 

Microglial Gi-dependent dynamics regulate brain network hyperexcitability

The immunology of blood: connecting the dots at the neurovascular interface