IMR Press / FBL / Volume 10 / Issue 1 / DOI: 10.2741/1562

Frontiers in Bioscience-Landmark (FBL) is published by IMR Press from Volume 26 Issue 5 (2021). Previous articles were published by another publisher on a subscription basis, and they are hosted by IMR Press on imrpress.com as a courtesy and upon agreement with Frontiers in Bioscience.

Article

Inflammatory genes and neural activity: involvement of immune genes in synaptic function and behavior

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1 Section on Neuroendocrine Immunology and Behavior, National Institute of Mental Health, NIH, DHHS, Bethesda, Maryland 20892-4020, USA
2 Mood and Anxiety Program, Department of Psychiatry, University of Maryland School of Medicine. Baltimore, Maryland. 21201-1549
Front. Biosci. (Landmark Ed) 2005, 10(1), 675–680; https://doi.org/10.2741/1562
Published: 1 January 2005
Abstract

The function of pro-inflammatory cytokines and chemokines in brain injury and autoimmune diseases has been long recognized. There is however, a significant lack of information regarding the role of constitutively expressed immune genes in the normal brain. The current evidence points to the involvement of certain cytokines and major histocompatibility complex (MHC) molecules in synaptic function and plasticity. Furthermore, constitutively expressed chemokines in neurons provide an additional indication of a role for these molecules in neural function. In addition, clinical data suggests a dysregulation of immune genes in the cerebrospinal fluid of psychiatric patients who have neither brain injury nor autoimmune diseases. This review will discuss recent data indicating a role for immune genes in synaptic stability and will also discuss the implications for specific brain functions involving mood and cognition.

Keywords
Tumor necrosis factor
Fractalkine
Glutamate
Glia
Depression
Neuroimmune
Review
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