Alzheimer's disease and immune activation: A translational perspective

Abstract

SUMMARY Alzheimer’s Disease (AD) is a neurodegenerative disorder characterised by abnormal fibrillar deposits of amyloid beta peptides (AP), which are suggested to play a pivotal role in driving disease pathogenesis. Although the aetiology of AD is still unknown, a perturbation of the immune system has been widely demonstrated in both animal experimental models and patients. The most studied aspect of immune reaction in AD is inflammation, which has been described to be implied in its pathogenic processes. Moreover, a growing body of evidence, indicating that the triggering of the specific AP immune response can be effective in reducing AD symptoms, suggest that a dysregulated network of innate and adaptive immune mechanisms could be critical in AD pathogenic process. The present short review, aimed to summarise some of the principal research studies on immune activation in AD, has the intent to provide suggestions useful to formulate new immune-therapeutic strategies for pathology treatment.