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Molecular and Cellular Immune Responses to Ischemic Brain Injury

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Abstract

Despite extensive research into stroke pathology, there have not been any major recent advancements in stroke therapeutics. Animal models of cerebral ischemia and clinical data have been used to investigate the progressive neural injury that occurs after an initial ischemic insult. This has lead researchers to focus more on the peripheral immune response that is generated as a result of cerebral ischemia. The therapies that have been developed as a result of this research thus far have proven ineffective in clinical trials. The failure of these therapeutics in clinical trials is thought to be due to the broad immunosuppression elicited as a result of the treatments and the cerebral ischemia itself. Emerging evidence indicates a more selective modulation of the immune system following stroke could be beneficial. The spleen has been shown to exacerbate neural injury following experimental stroke and would provide a strong therapeutic target. Selecting facets of the immune system to target would allow the protective and regenerative properties of the immune response to remain intact while blunting the pro-inflammatory response generated towards the injured brain.

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Acknowledgments

This work was supported by the National Institutes of Health – National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (RO1-NS052839).

Conflict of Interest

Hilary Seifert and Keith Pennypacker declare that they have no conflict of interest and that this article does not contain any studies with human or animal subjects.

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  1. Department of Molecular Pharmacology and Physiology, School of Basic Biomedical Sciences, Morsani College of Medicine, University of South Florida, 12901 Bruce B Downs Blvd., MDC Box 8, Tampa, FL, 33612, USA

    Hilary A. Seifert & Keith R. Pennypacker

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Correspondence to Keith R. Pennypacker.

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Seifert, H.A., Pennypacker, K.R. Molecular and Cellular Immune Responses to Ischemic Brain Injury. Transl. Stroke Res. 5, 543–553 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12975-014-0349-7

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