Kaushik, Deepak K

Rawji, Khalil S

PubMed

Apollo (Cambridge)

EDITORIALpublished: 20 August 2021doi: 10.3389/fnagi.2021.742620Frontiers in Aging Neuroscience | www.frontiersin.org 1 August 2021 | Volume 13 | Article 742620Edited and reviewed by:Thomas Wisniewski,NYU Grossman School of Medicine,United States*Correspondence:Deepak K. Kaushikdkaushik@mun.caReceived: 16 July 2021Accepted: 22 July 2021Published: 20 August 2021Citation:Rawji KS and Kaushik DK (2021)Editorial: Age-RelatedNeuroimmunology of Degenerationand Repair.Front. Aging Neurosci. 13:742620.doi: 10.3389/fnagi.2021.742620Editorial: Age-RelatedNeuroimmunology of Degenerationand RepairKhalil S. Rawji 1 and Deepak K. Kaushik 2,3*1Wellcome - MRC Cambridge Stem Cell Institute, Jeffrey Cheah Biomedical Campus, University of Cambridge, Cambridge,United Kingdom, 2Department of Clinical Neurosciences, Hotchkiss Brain Institute, University of Calgary, Calgary, AB,Canada, 3Division of Biomedical Sciences, Faculty of Medicine, Memorial University of Newfoundland, St. John’s, NL,CanadaKeywords: neuroimmunology, aging, neurodegeneration, therapy, peripheral nervous system, central nervoussystem, immune activationEditorial on the Research TopicAge-Related Neuroimmunology of Degeneration and RepairOur understanding of the cellular, molecular, and physiological components of an aging brain hasincreased over the last few decades, yet the role of the immune system in governing the repairand/or degeneration of the CNS during aging is less explored. It is critical to understand thefunctions of different immune cells involved in aged brains, with specific interests in degenerativeconditions of both the central nervous system (CNS) as well as the peripheral nervous system(PNS).With this in mind, we launched the topic, “Age-Related Neuroimmunology of Degenerationand Repair,” in October 2019 with an aim to enhance our understanding of the role of theimmune system in aging brains. Despite COVID-19-related delays, we are glad that the topicwas well-received, which is showcased in publication of high-quality papers within the topic asthis remains one of the most viewed compilations on Frontiers’ platform today. The collection inthis Research Topic span a broad variety of age-related conditions, including Parkinson’s disease(Zhang et al., Lin C-H. et al., Chen et al.), Alzheimer’s disease (AD) (Pollock et al., Yin et al.,Han et al.), stroke (Wang et al.), cognitive decline (Jiang et al.), as well as conditions affecting theperipheral nervous system. The articles presented herein extend from basic science inquiries intothe immunological properties underlying some of these conditions all the way to studies examiningpotential novel therapeutic compounds.This Research Topic benefits from a series of comprehensive review articles, exploring severaldifferent facets of neuroinflammation in the context of aging and disease. Of particular note, Mayneet al. provide an extensive overview of the association between aging and several neurodegenerativediseases, including an analysis of the roles potentially played by the adaptive immune system, anarm of age-related neuroinflammation currently understudied. On another note, Han et al., discussthe critical role of astrocyte senescence in mediating AD pathology, a cell type that has garneredattention in recent years in regards to their immunological roles within the CNS. In addition, therole of gut microbiota did not go unnoticed, and dysbiosis in AD is the focus of the review by Zhuet al.. The collection was also enriched by the discussions on relevance of checkpoint inhibition,particularly in tau pathology, in a commentary by Baruch and Yoles and its response by Lin Y et al..Another highlight of this Research Topic is the inclusion of two articles focusing on theaging peripheral nervous system, another area that has been considerably underappreciatedin neuroimmunology. Stratton et al. perform a very nice study examining the immunologicalRawji and Kaushik Editorial: Age-Related Neuroimmunology of Degeneration and Repairfactors underlying the age-related impairment in peripheralnerve regeneration. In this study, they find that bone marrowtransplantation from aged mice into young ones is sufficientto overcome the impairment in functional recovery in theperipheral nerve, suggesting that the young microenvironmentplays a significant role in reversing any age-related intrinsicchanges in the hematopoietic stem and progenitor cellpopulations. This study then shows through transcriptionalprofiling that the age-related impairment in peripheral nerveregeneration may be attributed to defects in monocytechemoattractant protein-1 signaling. Hagen and Ousmanprovide an overview of another aspect of neuroimmunology ofthe peripheral nervous system, focusing on the autoimmunecondition known as Guillain-Barré Syndrome. In this review,they summarize the various roles played by many differentimmune cells in this disease and present a conceptual frameworklooking into the potential impact an aging immune system hason this disease.Overall, we hope that this Research Topic adds value to theexisting literature and guides future research on the roles of theimmune system in the age-related degeneration and repair of thecentral and peripheral nervous systems.AUTHOR CONTRIBUTIONSDKK and KSR contributed equally to the editorial.FUNDINGKSR was supported by a postdoctoral fellowship fromthe Multiple Sclerosis Society of Canada. DKK wasfunded by the Institutional Start-up Grant from theMemorial University of Newfoundland, St. John’s,NL, Canada.ACKNOWLEDGMENTSWe sincerely thank all the authors who contributed their valuableresearch to make this an outstanding Research Topic.Conflict of Interest: The authors declare that the research was conducted in theabsence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as apotential conflict of interest.Publisher’s Note: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authorsand do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those ofthe publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated inthis article, or claim that may be made by its manufacturer, is not guaranteed orendorsed by the publisher.Copyright © 2021 Rawji and Kaushik. This is an open-access article distributedunder the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use,distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the originalauthor(s) and the copyright owner(s) are credited and that the original publicationin this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use,distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.Frontiers in Aging Neuroscience | www.frontiersin.org 2 August 2021 | Volume 13 | Article 742620

Editorial: Age-Related Neuroimmunology of Degeneration and Repair.

http://dx.doi.org/10.3389/fnagi.2021.742620

Editorial: Age-Related Neuroimmunology of Degeneration and Repair.

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