Age-dependent microglial response to systemic infection

Abstract

Inflammation is part of the aging process, and the inflammatory innate immune response is more exacerbated in older individuals when compared to younger individuals. Similarly, there is a difference in the response to systemic infection that varies with age. In a recent article by Hoogland et al., the authors studied the microglial response to systemic infection in young (2 months) and middle-aged mice (13–14 months) that were challenged with live Escherichia coli to investigate whether the pro-and anti-inflammatory responses mounted by microglia after systemic infection varies with age. Here, we comment on this study and its implications on how inflammation in the brain varies with age.