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Media Advisory
Wednesday, March 27, 2019
Microglia can be beneficial and not damage photoreceptors.
What
National Institutes of Health scientists studying the progression of inherited and infectious eye diseases that can cause blindness have found that microglia, a type of nervous system cell suspected of causing retinal damage, has surprisingly no harmful role during prion disease in mice. In contrast, the study results indicated that microglia could delay the progression of the disease.
This finding could be applicable to studies of degenerative diseases of hereditary photoreceptors in humans, known as retinitis pigmentosa. In the case of retinitis pigmentosa, scientists found an influx of microglia near the photoreceptors, suggesting that microglia contribute to retinal damage.
These inherited diseases seem to damage the retina in the same way as prion diseases. Prion diseases are slowly degenerative diseases of the central nervous system that occur in humans and various mammals. No vaccine or treatment is available and the diseases are almost always life threatening. Prion diseases mainly affect the brain but can also affect the retina and other tissues.
As an extension of the work published in 2018, scientists at the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) of the NIH used an experimental drug to eliminate microglia in prion-infected mice. They studied the progression of prion disease in the retina to see if they could discover additional details that could be masked in the more complex structure of the brain.
When scientists examined their prion-infected study mice, they found that photoreceptor damage persisted – even a little faster – despite the absence of microglia. They also observed the first signs of new prion disease in photoreceptor cells, which could provide clues as to how prions damage photoreceptors. Their work appears in Acta Neuropathologica Communications.
NIAID scientists at the Rocky Mountain Laboratories in Hamilton, Montana, plan to continue studying toxic interactions between prions and photoreceptor cells to find ways to block these adverse effects. They also plan to continue to study the role of microglia in deterring the onset of prion disease.
article
J Striebel et al. Microglia are not necessary for retinal photoreceptor degeneration induced by prions. Acta Neuropathologica Communications DOI: 10.1186 / s40478-019-0702-x (2019).
Related
J Carroll et al. Microglia play a vital role in defending the host against prion disease. Virology Journal DOI: 10.1128 / JVI.00549-18 (2018).
who
Bruce Chesebro, MD, NIAID's Chief of Laboratory for Persistent Viral Diseases, is available to comment on this study.
Contact
To schedule interviews, please contact Ken Pekoc at (301) 402-1663, [email protected].
This press release describes basic research. Basic research increases our understanding of human behavior and biology, which is fundamental to advancing new and improved methods of disease prevention, diagnosis and treatment. Science is an unpredictable and progressive process – every breakthrough in research builds on past discoveries, often unexpectedly. Most clinical progress would not be possible without the knowledge of basic fundamental research.
NIAID conducts and supports research – at NIH, across the United States and around the world – to investigate the causes of infectious and immune-mediated diseases and to develop better ways to prevent, diagnose and treat these diseases. . News releases, fact sheets and other documents related to NIAID are available on the NIAID website.
About the National Institutes of Health (NIH):
The NIH, the country's medical research agency, has 27 institutes and centers and is part of the US Department of Health and Human Services. NIH is the lead federal agency that conducts and supports basic, clinical and translational medical research. She studies causes, treatments and cures for common and rare diseases. For more information on NIH and its programs, visit www.nih.gov.
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