OxInflammation in Alzheimer's disease

Microglia as the main trigger of neuroinflammation in Alzheimer’s disease: The interconnection between inflammation and oxidative stress certainly plays a key role in AD pathogenesis. In particular, neuroinflammation is now universally regarded as one of the main neuropathological hallmarks of the disease, along with the classic amyloid-beta (Aβ) plaques and neurofibrillary tangles (Cervellati et al., 2020). Chronic activation of the glial cells, firstly microglia, is the initial event of inflammation in the CNS. Microglia is the first defensive line in the CNS, responding to neuronal damage and removing the damaged cells by phagocytosis. Aging and various persistent pathological insults induce the pre-activation, also referred to as “priming”, of microglia, resulting in amplified response to a second inflammatory stimulation (praeludium to chronic neuroinflammation) (Cervellati et al., 2020). Causative agents of this pre-activated state are, among others, stroke, depression, trauma, toxins, infection, but also reactive species and proinflammatory cytokines.