Complex Neuroimmune Involvement in Neurodevelopment: A Mini-Review

Abstract

It is increasingly evident that cells and molecules of the immune system play significant roles in neurodevelopment. As perinatal infection is associated with the development of neurodevelopmental disorders, previous research has focused on demonstrating that the induction of neuroinflammation in the developing brain is capable of causing neuropathology and behavioral changes. Recent studies, however, have revealed that immune cells and molecules in the brain can influence neurodevelopment without the induction of overt inflammation, identifying neuroimmune activities as integral parts of normal neurodevelopment. This mini-review describes the shift in literature that has moved from emphasizing the intrusion of inflammatory events as a main culprit of neurodevelopmental disorders to evaluating the deviation of the normal neuroimmune activities in neurodevelopment as a potential pathogenic mechanism.

Keywords:

• cytokine
• glia
• neuroinflammation
• neurodevelopmental disorders

Acknowledgments

This study was funded by the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (grant R01-NS-116914 to NQ). The diagram was created with Biorender.com.

Disclosure

The authors report no conflicts of interest in this work.