Can the emerging field of immunometabolism provide insights into neuroinflammation?

Nov 10, 2019Progress in neurobiology

Can studying immune system metabolism help us understand brain inflammation?

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Circadian Biology on OpenScience ↗PubMed ↗DOI ↗

Abstract

Understanding metabolic changes in microglia could reveal insights into neurodegenerative diseases.

Microglial activation plays a crucial role in neuroprotection but can lead to persistent neuroinflammation.
Persistent activation of microglia is linked to several neurodegenerative diseases.
Current literature on microglial metabolism is limited compared to macrophages.
Age-related changes in microglial metabolism may parallel those observed in neurons and astrocytes.
Manipulating microglial metabolism may offer a new strategy for modulating neuroinflammation.

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In the past few years it has become increasingly clear that an understanding of the interaction between metabolism and immune function can provide an insight into cellular responses to challenges. Significant progress has been made in terms of how macrophages are metabolically re-programmed in response to inflammatory stimuli but, to date, little emphasis has been placed on evaluating equivalent changes in microglia. The need to make progress is driven by the fact that, while microglial activation and the cell's ability to adopt an inflammatory phenotype is necessary to fulfil the neuroprotective function of the cell, persistent activation of microglia and the associated neuroinflammation is at the heart of several neurodegenerative diseases. Understanding the metabolic changes that accompany microglial responses may broaden our perspective on how dysfunction might arise and be tempered. This review will evaluate the current literature that addresses the interplay between inflammation and metabolic reprogramming in microglia, reflecting on the parallels that exist with macrophages. It will consider the changes that take place with age including those that have been reported in neurons and astrocytes with the development of non-invasive imaging techniques, and reflect on the literature that is currently available relating to metabolic reprogramming of microglia with age and in neurodegeneration. Finally it will consider the possibility that manipulating microglial metabolism may provide a valuable approach to modulating neuroinflammation.

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Can the emerging field of immunometabolism provide insights into neuroinflammation?

Abstract

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