Interferons in the central nervous system: A few instruments play many tunes

@article{Owens2014InterferonsIT,
  title={Interferons in the central nervous system: A few instruments play many tunes},
  author={Trevor Owens and Reza Khorooshi and Agnieszka Wlodarczyk and Nasrin Asgari},
  journal={Glia},
  year={2014},
  volume={62}
}
Interferons (IFNs) are implicated as an important component of the innate immune system influencing viral infections, inflammation, and immune surveillance. We review here the complex biological activity of IFNs in the central nervous system (CNS) and associated glial–immune interactions, with focus specifically on the Type I IFNs in physiological and pathological conditions. IFN‐α and IFN‐β are the predominant Type I IFNs in the CNS. They are produced in the CNS by glial cells, mostly… 
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Findational knowledge regarding the microglial response to IL‐6 and IFN‐I is now being used to devise therapeutic strategies to ameliorate neuroinflammation and promote repair: either through targeting microglia, or by targeting the reduction of CNS levels or downstream biological pathways of IL-6 or IFN-I.
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Recent studies implicate “microgliopathies” more broadly in neurological disorders including Alzheimer’s disease (AD) and MS, suggesting that microglia are a potential therapeutic target for disease prevention and/or treatment, with interferon signaling playing a key role in regulating the microglial phenotype.
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Results show that Type IIFN induced within the CNS can play a protective role in EAE and highlight the role of endogenous type I IFN in mediating neuroprotection.
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The data show a pro‐pathologic role for IFNI‐activated microglia in NMO and open new perspectives for microglial‐targeted therapies, and a strong IFNI footprint in affected CNS tissue as well as in microglian subpopulations.
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The role of Aim2/AIM2 proteins in the development of AD is discussed and an improved understanding of the role of Absent in Melanoma 2 proteins in AD could identify new approaches to treat patients.
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The current understanding of the origin, phenotype, and function of microglia and CNS immigrating macrophages in the pathogenesis of MS and EAE is reviewed and the emerging roles ofmicroglia as IFNβ-producing cells and vice versa are highlighted.
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