Cited by 2,253Neuroinflammation and Neurodegeneration MechanismsAlzheimer's disease research and treatmentsNeurological Disease Mechanisms and Treatments

Inflammation as a central mechanism in Alzheimer's disease

Open access
Kinney, Jefferson W., Bemiller, Shane M., Murtishaw, Andrew S., Leisgang, Amanda M., Salazar, Arnold M., Lamb, Bruce T.·2018·Alzheimer's & Dementia: Translational Research & Clinical Interventions

Abstract

Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a progressive neurodegenerative disorder that is characterized by cognitive decline and the presence of two core pathologies, amyloid β plaques and neurofibrillary tangles. Over the last decade, the presence of a sustained immune response in the brain has emerged as a third core pathology in AD. The sustained activation of the brain's resident macrophages (microglia) and other immune cells has been demonstrated to exacerbate both amyloid and tau pathology and may serve as a link in the pathogenesis of the disorder. In the following review, we provide an overview of inflammation in AD and a detailed coverage of a number of microglia‐related signaling mechanisms that have been implicated in AD. Additional information on microglia signaling and a number of cytokines in AD are also reviewed. We also review the potential connection of risk factors for AD and how they may be related to inflammatory mechanisms.

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Registry

Crossref · 10.1016/j.trci.2018.06.014

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283 of 283 references verified0 citation errors · 0 not checkable

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  • Numerous cytokines and chemokines have been shown to contribute to the pathogenesis of neurodegenerative diseases.

    “Numerous cytokines and chemokines have been shown to contribute to the pathogenesis of neurodegenerative diseases as summarized by the recent reviews.9,253,412”

    From Role of neuroinflammation in neurodegeneration development (2023) · cites this paper as [9]

    The Microglia section says pro-inflammatory cytokines contribute to neurodegeneration, and the CX3CR1 and AD section discusses a chemokine pathway relevant to Alzheimer’s pathology. The review focuses on Alzheimer’s disease and describes that chemokine pathway as complex; it does not establish that numerous chemokines contribute to the pathogenesis of neurodegenerative diseases generally. No page numbers are available in our copy. (LLM, conf=0.84)

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  • The immune response activates glia and induces secretion of pro-inflammatory cytokines, which can drive further aggregation of Aβ by affecting the capacity of microglia and astrocytes for phagocytosis and degradation.

    “This immune response in turn activates glia and induces the secretion of pro-inflammatory cytokines, which can drive further aggregation of Aβ by affecting the capacity of microglia and astrocytes for phagocytosis and degradation [26].”

    From Microglial function, INPP5D/SHIP1 signaling, and NLRP3 inflammasome activation: implications for Alzheimer’s disease (2023) · cites this paper as [26]

    The 'Inflammation in AD > Microglia' section (page unavailable) says prolonged immune activation sustains pro-inflammatory cytokine signaling while reducing microglial Aβ phagocytosis and degrading-enzyme activity, leading to Aβ accumulation. It does not establish that cytokines cause this loss of clearance capacity or describe a corresponding loss of phagocytosis and degradation by astrocytes. (LLM, conf=0.84)

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  • Chronic microglial inflammation has been observed in the brains of AD patients at various disease stages, and pro-inflammatory cytokines such as IL-1β, IL-2, IL-6, and tumor necrosis factor-α have been shown to be upregulated in AD.

    “Chronic microglial inflammation has been observed in the brains of AD patients at various disease stages, and pro-inflammatory cytokines such as IL-1β, IL-2, IL-6, and tumor necrosis factor-α have been shown to be upregulated in AD [35].”

    From Cerebrospinal fluid levels of the neurotrophic factor neuroleukin are increased in early Alzheimer’s disease, but not in cerebral amyloid angiopathy (2021) · cites this paper as [35]

    The Overview describes chronic neuroinflammation in AD as involving activated microglia. The Specific cytokine signaling in AD section reports elevated IL-1β, IL-6, and TNF-α in AD patients, including IL-1β in both MCI and AD. Our copy does not establish that IL-2 is upregulated in AD, so the full cytokine list is not supported. (LLM, conf=0.88)

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  • Aβ levels are generally well-correlated with immune activation indicated by microgliosis and astrocytosis.

    “Aβ levels are generally well-correlated with immune activation indicated by microgliosis and astrocytosis [3].”

    From Deletion of Abi3/Gngt2 influences age-progressive amyloid β and tau pathologies in distinctive ways (2022) · cites this paper as [3]

    The Microglia section (page unavailable) links Aβ to microglial activation and describes reactive microgliosis alongside Aβ accumulation. The Specific cytokine signaling in AD section (page unavailable) places reactive gliosis around Aβ plaques, but the copy does not establish that Aβ levels are generally well-correlated with both microgliosis and astrocytosis. (LLM, conf=0.83)

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  • Innate immune system activation, in particular microglia, is considered a contributing factor to Alzheimer's disease pathogenesis rather than a consequence of pathology.

    “Currently, the innate immune system activation, in particular microglia, is considered a contributing factor to AD pathogenesis rather than a consequence of pathology 2 .”

    From ABI3 deletion in TgCRND8 mice is associated with reduced amyloid plaque pathology and altered glial response (2023) · cites this paper as [2]

    The Microglia section says prolonged microglial activation exacerbates AD pathology, supporting its role as a contributor. But the Inflammation in AD section says neuroinflammation is typically thought to result from other AD pathologies or risk factors, rather than being causal on its own. The source therefore does not support the claim’s ‘rather than a consequence’ distinction. Page numbers are unavailable in our copy. (LLM, conf=0.90)

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Research works printed but not linked: 2

  1. [150]Ulrich J.D. Finn M.B. Wang Y. Shen A. Mahan T.E. Jiang H. Altered microglial response to Abeta plaques in APPPS1-21 mice heterozygous for TREM2 Mol Neurodegener 9 2014 20 24893973 PMC4049806
  2. [156]Bemiller S.M. McCray T.J. Allan K. Formica S.V. Xu G. Wilson G. TREM2 deficiency exacerbates tau pathology through dysregulated kinase signaling in a mouse model of tauopathy Mol Neurodegener 12 2017 74 29037207 PMC5644120

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Authors
Kinney, J. W., Bemiller, S. M., Murtishaw, A. S., Leisgang, A. M., Salazar, A. M., & Lamb, B. T.
Affiliations
  • University of Nevada, Las Vegas (US)
  • Indiana University Indianapolis (US)
  • Department of Psychology University of Nevada Las Vegas Las Vegas NV USA
Corresponding author
Kinney, Jefferson W.
Venue
Alzheimer's & Dementia: Translational Research & Clinical Interventions
Publisher
Wiley
Published
2018-01
Volume
4
Issue
1
Pages
575-590
ISSN
2352-8737 (ISSN-L)
OpenAlex
W2889787710
Cited by
2,253
References
283
Citations by year
2026: 187 · 2025: 395 · 2024: 401 · 2023: 353 · 2022: 326 · 2021: 286 · 2020: 226 · 2019: 76 · 2018: 1
FWCI
13.95
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Locations
  • Alzheimer s & Dementia Translational Research & Clinical Interventions (publishedVersion, cc-by-nc-nd)
  • Europe PMC (PubMed Central) (publishedVersion, cc-by-nc-nd)
  • PubMed Central (publishedVersion, cc-by-nc-nd)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • Digital Scholarship - UNLV (University of Nevada Reno) (submittedVersion, cc-by-nd)
  • Digital Scholarship - UNLV (University of Nevada Reno) (submittedVersion, cc-by-nc-nd)
  • IUScholarWorks (Indiana University) (submittedVersion, cc-by-nc-nd)
Funders
National Institutes of Health (P20GM109025)
Topics
  • Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Neurology › Neuroinflammation and Neurodegeneration Mechanisms
  • Health Sciences › Medicine › Physiology › Alzheimer's disease research and treatments
  • Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Neurology › Neurological Disease Mechanisms and Treatments
Keywords
Alzheimer's disease, neuroinflammation, microglia, amyloid plaques, neurofibrillary tangles, tau pathology, cytokines, risk factors, neurodegeneration

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