title: T cell-microglial dialogue in Parkinson's disease and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis: are we listening?
abstract: Neuroinflammation is a pathological hallmark in Parkinson's disease (PD) and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), and is characterized by activated microglia and infiltrating T cells at sites of neuronal injury. In PD and ALS, neurons do not die alone; neuronal injury is non-cell-autonomous and depends on a well-orchestrated dialogue in which neuronally secreted misfolded proteins activate microglia and initiate a self-propagating cycle of neurotoxicity. Diverse populations and phenotypes of CD4(+) T cells crosstalk with microglia, and depending on their activation status, influence this dialogue and promote neuroprotection or neurotoxicity. A greater understanding of the T cell population that mediates these effects, as well as the molecular signals involved should provide targets for neuroprotective immunomodulation to treat these devastating neurodegenerative diseases.
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology, Methodist Neurological Institute, The Methodist Hospital Research Institute, The Methodist Hospital, Houston, TX, USA. sappel@tmhs.org <sappel@tmhs.org>
authors.forename: Stanley H
authors.initials: SH
authors.lastname: Appel
authors.forename: David R
authors.initials: DR
authors.lastname: Beers
authors.forename: Jenny S
authors.initials: JS
authors.lastname: Henkel
mesh_terms: D000690:Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis / Q000276:immunology* / Q000473:pathology; D000818:Animals; D002450:Cell Communication; D051379:Mice; D017628:Microglia / Q000166:cytology / Q000276:immunology / Q000473:pathology; D010300:Parkinson Disease / Q000276:immunology* / Q000473:pathology; D013601:T-Lymphocytes / Q000276:immunology* / Q000473:pathology