Perivascular, but not parenchymal, cerebral engraftment of donor cells after non-myeloablative bone marrow transplantation.

Myeloablative (MyA) bone marrow transplantation (BMT) results in robust engraftment of BMT-derived cells in the central nervous system (CNS) and is neuroprotective in diverse experimental models of neurodegenerative diseases of the brain and retina. However, MyA irradiation is associated with significant morbidity and mortality and does not represent a viable therapeutic option for the elderly. Non-myeloablative (NMyA) BMT is less toxic, but it is not known if the therapeutic efficacy observed with MyA BMT is preserved.

Ablation of the microglial protein DOCK2 reduces amyloid burden in a mouse model of Alzheimer's disease.

Alzheimer's disease (AD) neuropathology is characterized by innate immune activation primarily through prostaglandin E2 (PGE2) signaling. Dedicator of cytokinesis 2 (DOCK2) is a guanyl nucleotide exchange factor expressed exclusively in microglia in the brain and is regulated by PGE2 receptor EP2. DOCK2 modulates microglia cytokine secretion, phagocytosis, and paracrine neurotoxicity.