The role of natural killer cells in Alzheimer's disease.

Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a progressive neurodegenerative disorder characterized by cognitive dysfunction and selective neuronal death in the brain. The aetiology of AD is not clear but environmental factors and heritable predisposition may play a role in the disease emergence. It has also been suggested that neural-immune interaction has a role in disease appearance. However, the underlying mechanisms are still unknown. Natural killer (NK) cells play an important role in the host defence, which is related to their ability to secrete a variety of cytokines and chemokines, as well as killing infected host cells. Moreover, there is some evidence that imply the involvement of NK cells in immunopathogenesis of AD. In this review, we have attempted to clarify the role of NK cells in the immunopathogenesis of AD.