title: Microglia and necroptosis: The culprits of neuronal cell death in multiple sclerosis.
abstract: Multiple Sclerosis is an inflammatory demyelinating and degenerative disease of the central nervous system in which activated microglia contribute to oligodendroglial, neuronal, and axonal damage. A recent study (summarized here) provided evidence for a role of necroptosis in MS brain tissue based on reduced caspase-8 and increased expression of cFLIP in microglial cells. In addition, activation of RIPK1, RIPK3, and MLKL (molecules characteristic of necroptosis) was demonstrated in cortical lesions from MS brain specimens. Defective caspase-8 activity in microglia adds a new dimension to microglial role in MS and provides a potential therapeutic target in the progressive forms of the disease.
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology, Rutgers-Robert Wood Johnson Medical School, New Brunswick, NJ, USA. Electronic address: suhayl.jalbut@rutgers.edu.
authors.forename: Suhayl
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Dhib-Jalbut
authors.affiliation: Department of Microbiology and Immunology, and Greenebaum Cancer Center, University of Maryland School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, USA.
authors.forename: Dhan V
authors.initials: DV
authors.lastname: Kalvakolanu
mesh_terms: D017209:Apoptosis; D006801:Humans; D017628:Microglia / Q000473:pathology*; D009103:Multiple Sclerosis / Q000473:pathology*; D009474:Neurons / Q000473:pathology*
keywords: Caspase-8; Microglia; Multiple Sclerosis