TY - JOUR A1 - Grotemeyer, Alexander A1 - McFleder, Rhonda Leah A1 - Wu, Jingjing A1 - Wischhusen, Jörg A1 - Ip, Chi Wang T1 - Neuroinflammation in Parkinson’s disease – putative pathomechanisms and targets for disease-modification JF - Frontiers in Immunology N2 - Parkinson’s disease (PD) is a progressive and debilitating chronic disease that affects more than six million people worldwide, with rising prevalence. The hallmarks of PD are motor deficits, the spreading of pathological α-synuclein clusters in the central nervous system, and neuroinflammatory processes. PD is treated symptomatically, as no causally-acting drug or procedure has been successfully established for clinical use. Various pathways contributing to dopaminergic neuron loss in PD have been investigated and described to interact with the innate and adaptive immune system. We discuss the possible contribution of interconnected pathways related to the immune response, focusing on the pathophysiology and neurodegeneration of PD. In addition, we provide an overview of clinical trials targeting neuroinflammation in PD. KW - Parkinson’s disease KW - neuroinflammation KW - T cells KW - microglia KW - neurodegeneration KW - animal models KW - inflammatory cascades Y1 - 2022 U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-274665 SN - 1664-3224 VL - 13 ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Grotemeyer, Alexander A1 - Fischer, Judith F. A1 - Koprich, James B. A1 - Brotchie, Jonathan M. A1 - Blum, Robert A1 - Volkmann, Jens A1 - Ip, Chi Wang T1 - Inflammasome inhibition protects dopaminergic neurons from α-synuclein pathology in a model of progressive Parkinson’s disease JF - Journal of Neuroinflammation N2 - Neuroinflammation has been suggested as a pathogenetic mechanism contributing to Parkinson’s disease (PD). However, anti-inflammatory treatment strategies have not yet been established as a therapeutic option for PD patients. We have used a human α-synuclein mouse model of progressive PD to examine the anti-inflammatory and neuroprotective effects of inflammasome inhibition on dopaminergic (DA) neurons in the substantia nigra (SN). As the NLRP3 (NOD-, LRR- and pyrin domain-containing 3)-inflammasome is a core interface for both adaptive and innate inflammation and is also highly druggable, we investigated the implications of its inhibition. Repeat administration of MCC950, an inhibitor of NLRP3, in a PD model with ongoing pathology reduced CD4\(^+\) and CD8\(^+\) T cell infiltration into the SN. Furthermore, the anti-inflammasome treatment mitigated microglial activation and modified the aggregation of α-synuclein protein in DA neurons. MCC950-treated mice showed significantly less neurodegeneration of DA neurons and a reduction in PD-related motor behavior. In summary, early inflammasome inhibition can reduce neuroinflammation and prevent DA cell death in an α-synuclein mouse model for progressive PD. KW - neurodegeneration KW - movement disorder KW - neuroinflammation KW - Parkinson’s disease KW - inflammasome KW - dopaminergic cells KW - NLRP3 KW - MCC950 KW - microglia KW - T cells Y1 - 2023 U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-357652 VL - 20 ER -