Innate Immunity Fights Alzheimer's Disease

Alzheimer's disease (AD) is the most common age-related dementia. Pathognomonic accumulation of cerebral beta-amyloid plaques likely results from imbalanced production and removal of amyloid-beta (A beta) peptides. In AD, innate immune cells lose their ability to restrict cerebral A beta accumulation. At least in principle, mononuclear phagocytes can be enlisted to clear A beta/beta-amyloid from the brain. While the classical focus has been on dampening neuroinflammation in the context of AD, we hypothesize that rebalancing cerebral innate immunity by inhibiting actions of key anti-inflammatory cytokines returns the brain to a physiological state. Recent experiments demonstrating beneficial effects of blocking anti-inflammatory cytokine signaling in preclinical mouse models provide supportive evidence. This concept represents an important step toward innate immune-targeted therapy to combat AD.