LPS-induced neurodegeneration (circled, top) is reduced in the absence of polyamines (bottom).
Recognition of bacterial and viral pathogens by microglial cells, the brain's equivalent of macrophages, elicits a cascade of gene expression leading to inflammation. Little is known about what regulates this response, but the group banked on an involvement of polyamines because the rate-limiting enzyme in their biosynthesis, ODC, is induced by the bacterial toxin lipopolysaccharide (LPS). They find that polyamines are pro-inflammatory molecules that regulate neuroimmune responses in mice.
The authors inhibited polyamine synthesis by feeding mice a chemical that blocks the ODC active site. The drug prevented the activation of pro- inflammatory genes, including Toll-like receptors and...
