The astrocyte α1A-adrenoreceptor is a key component of the neuromodulatory system in mouse visual cortex.

Noradrenaline (norepinephrine) is known to modulate many physiological functions and behaviors. In this study, we tested to what extent astrocytes, a type of glial cell, participate in noradrenergic signaling in mouse primary visual cortex (V1). Astrocytes are essential partners of neurons in the central nervous system.

Astrocyte-targeted gene delivery of interleukin 2 specifically increases brain-resident regulatory T cell numbers and protects against pathological neuroinflammation.

The ability of immune-modulating biologics to prevent and reverse pathology has transformed recent clinical practice. Full utility in the neuroinflammation space, however, requires identification of both effective targets for local immune modulation and a delivery system capable of crossing the blood-brain barrier. The recent identification and characterization of a small population of regulatory T (T) cells resident in the brain presents one such potential therapeutic target.

AAV-mediated delivery of an anti-BACE1 VHH alleviates pathology in an Alzheimer's disease model.

Single domain antibodies (VHHs) are potentially disruptive therapeutics, with important biological value for treatment of several diseases, including neurological disorders. However, VHHs have not been widely used in the central nervous system (CNS), largely because of their restricted blood-brain barrier (BBB) penetration. Here, we propose a gene transfer strategy based on BBB-crossing adeno-associated virus (AAV)-based vectors to deliver VHH directly into the CNS.