Autoimmunity, dendritic cells and relevance for Parkinson's disease

J Neural Transm (Vienna). 2013 Jan;120(1):75-81. doi: 10.1007/s00702-012-0842-7. Epub 2012 Jun 15.

Abstract

Innate and adaptive immune responses in neurodegenerative diseases have become recently a focus of research and discussions. Parkinson's disease (PD) is a neurodegenerative disorder without known etiopathogenesis. The past decade has generated evidence for an involvement of the immune system in PD pathogenesis. Both inflammatory and autoimmune mechanisms have been recognized and studies have emphasized the role of activated microglia and T-cell infiltration. In this short review, we focus on dendritic cells, on their role in initiation of autoimmune responses, we discuss aspects of neuroinflammation and autoimmunity in PD, and we report new evidence for the involvement of neuromelanin in these processes.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't
  • Review

MeSH terms

  • Autoimmunity*
  • Dendritic Cells / immunology*
  • Humans
  • Microglia / immunology
  • Parkinson Disease / immunology*
  • T-Lymphocyte Subsets / immunology