Neuroinflammation in Autoimmune Diseases
A special issue of Biomedicines (ISSN 2227-9059). This special issue belongs to the section "Immunology and Immunotherapy".
Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (15 June 2023) | Viewed by 4888
Special Issue Editor
Interests: animal models; autoimmune diseases; animal behaviors; microglia; neuroinflammation; central nervous system
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
The Central Nervous System (CNS) has been considered for many years an immune-privileged organ. Currently, we know that there is a tight immune regulation to maintain CNS homeostasis and avoid cell damage and loss of function. Leukocytes, B and T cells, can enter in the CNS by extravasation from the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF). The activation of neuroinflammatory processes by different triggers include the secretion of cytokines and chemokines by the immune mediators of CNS mainly microglia and astrocytes, but also neurons. These events can have consequences affecting neural behavior but the mechanisms involved are far to be known.
In the last few decades, interest for the interaction between peripheral immune response and CNS has been growing. In systemic autoimmune diseases (SADs), the immune deregulation can affect the central and peripheral nervous systems. CNS alterations are relatively common in these patients and, as a result, they present highly diverse neurological manifestations such as psychosis, cognitive dysfunction, headaches, depression, vasculitis, etc., but it is difficult to determine if the neurological manifestations are a primary event or secondary due to systemic autoimmunity.
Animal models are highly valuable tools to study autoimmune and neuroinflammatory diseases and how they affect the animal behavior. They allow us to follow disease development at immunological and neurological levels, and to combine cell, molecular and histological studies with behavior analysis. Preclinical models also allow us to test new treatments or evaluate how actual treatments affect neural behavior. The elucidation of the mechanisms, molecular pathways and cell types involved in the neurioinflammatory processes will allow us to improve actual treatments and life quality of those patients affected by autoimmune diseases that course with neurological complications.
This Special Issue is focused on the study of neuroinflammatory processes that have a place in autoimmune diseases, including the activation of the immune response locally in CNS, interaction between the peripheral immune system and the CNS and the evaluation of the consequences that these processes have in the behaviors. It is crucial to understand cross-talk between the CNS and the immune system and to elucidate mechanisms involved in neurodegenerative events to develop new therapeutic strategies or improve the existing treatments of autoimmune diseases with neurological components.
Dr. María Morell Hita
Guest Editor
Manuscript Submission Information
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Keywords
- autoantibodies
- cytokines
- microglia
- astrocytes
- neuron
- toll-like receptors
- type I interferon
- immune infiltrates
- behavior
- animal models
