Poly(I:C) promotes TNFa/TNFR1-dependent oligodendrocyte death in mixed glial cultures

Steelman, Andrew J; Li, Jianrong

The central nervous system (CNS) is considered immune privileged, but is not without a functional defense system [1] . Specifically, no organized lymphoid tissues or professional antigen presenting cells are thought to exist in the healthy CNS parenchyma. However, both resident microglia and astrocytes have been shown to possess immune surveillance properties and are thought to contribute to the chemoattraction and stimulation of antigen primed T-cells [2, 3] . An innate ability to distinguish self from non-self is imperative for the limitation of pathogen spread, the stimulation of adaptive immune responses and the induction of tissue repair [4, 5] . Toll-like receptors (TLR), nucleotide-oligomerization domain (NOD)-like receptors, and intracellular retinoic acid-inducible gene I (RIG-I)-like receptors all play an integral role in this process through the upregulation of cytokines, chemokines, and costimulatory molecules following ligation of specific pathogen associated molecular patterns [6] .