University of Pittsburgh researchers have identified key age-related differences in the behavior of microglia. Microglia are the principal resident immune cells found in the brain and central nervous system. Important variances in microglial behavior may account for the different responses to stroke treatment between younger and older patients.
Description
Through an understanding of these key differences and their impact on the regulation of specific active substances (exosomes, cytokines, trophic factors etc.), called secretomes, secreted from younger brains to promote recovery after stroke, “designer” secretomes can be developed to provide the aged brain with the essential components for brain protection and repair.
Applications
1. Management of patients during and after a stroke
2. Neurodegenerative disorders
Advantages
Many of the results seen in experimental models for stroke do not translate well in the clinic. It is believed one of the potentials reasons for this is that stroke mainly impacts on older adults, whereas experimental research is often carried out in younger animals.
This approach explores genomic differences between young and aged microglia to discover the key molecular pathways contributing to inflammation-mediated brain injury and those impacting recovery. Through the identification of these key pathways, therapeutics can be designed to replace downregulated cytokines, exosomes etc., in the aged brain, to promote recovery following a stroke. This “designer” approach is novel in stroke research.
Invention Readiness
Animal studies have identified key differences between the genes upregulated in microglia of young and aged animals after a stroke. Previous research has shown bone marrow-derived mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) can promote neuroregeneration after a stroke through immune modulation. Macrophages play a key role in the immune response in the brain and preliminary results demonstrated how pathways associated with neurogenesis and angiogenesis were upregulated upon infiltration into the ischemic brain but were retarded in aged mice compared to young adult mice; a possible inhibitory factor in the efficacy of MSCs in aged brains and identified for further investigation.
IP Status
https://patents.google.com/patent/US20240197832A1
