Senile plaques stimulate microglia to release a neurotoxin found in Alzheimer brain

Dana Giulian, Lanny J. Haverkamp, Jun Li, William L. Karshin, Jenny Yu, Donald Tom, Xia Li, Joel B. Kirkpatrick

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

215 Scopus citations

Abstract

Senile plaques found in the brains of patients with Alzheimer's disease (AD) are surrounded by clusters of reactive microglia. Isolated human microglia placed in contact with plaques in vitro are activated to release a factor which is toxic to neurons. This same neurotoxin is found in AD brain tissue and causes damage to pyramidal neurons in vivo when infused into rat hippocampus. Highest concentrations of the neurotoxin are in those brain structures most burdened by reactive microglia, suggesting that plaque-activated cells contribute to the neuronal damage and impaired cognition seen in patients with Alzheimer's dementia.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)119-137
Number of pages19
JournalNeurochemistry International
Volume27
Issue number1
DOIs
StatePublished - Jul 1995

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Cellular and Molecular Neuroscience
  • Cell Biology

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