The Dynamic Role of Microglia and the Endocannabinoid System in Neuroinflammation.

ABSTRACT: Microglia, the resident immune cells of the brain, can take on a range of pro- or anti-inflammatory phenotypes to maintain homeostasis. However, the sustained activation of pro-inflammatory microglia can lead to a state of chronic neuroinflammation characterized by high concentrations of neurotoxic soluble factors throughout the brain. In healthy brains, the inflammatory processes cease and microglia transition to an anti-inflammatory phenotype, but failure to halt the pro-inflammatory processes is a characteristic of many neurological disorders. The endocannabinoid system has been identified as a promising therapeutic target for chronic neuroinflammation as there is evidence that synthetic and endogenously produced cannabinoids temper the pro-inflammatory response of microglia and may enc

SUBMITTER: Young AP 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8854262 | biostudies-literature | 2021

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature