A central role for astrocytes in the inflammatory response to beta-amyloid; chemokines, cytokines and reactive oxygen species are produced.

Alzheimer's disease (AD) is the commonest form of adult onset dementia and is characterised neuropathologically by the accumulation of plaques containing beta-amyloid (A beta) fibrils, reactive astrocytes, activated microglia, and leukocytes. A beta plays a role in the pathology of AD by directly causing neuronal cytotoxicity and stimulating microglia to secrete cytokines and reactive oxygen species (ROS) which also damage neurons. Here, we demonstrate that A beta activates astrocytes and oligodendrocytes (the most common cell types in the brain) to produce chemokines, in particular MCP-1 and RANTES, which serve as potent in vitro microglial and macrophage chemoattractants. Furthermore, we have shown that A beta activates astrocytes to upregulate pro-inflammatory cytokine expression and enhances the production of ROS. We propose therefore that A beta-mediated astrocyte activation initiates an inflammatory cascade which could be targeted for therapeutic intervention in AD.