New Paper in Molecular Neurodegeneration!

A new paper by Dr. Shubham Maurya from the Flanagan and Gronert Labs, "Regulation of disease-associated microglia in the optic nerve by lipoxin B4 and ocular hypertension" has been published in the journal Molecular Neurodegeneration. The paper's authors are Shubham Maurya, Maggie Lin, Shruthi Karnam, Tanirika Singh, Matangi Kumar, Emily Ward, Jeremy Sivak, John G. Flanagan, and Karsten Gronert.

This paper focuses on Microglia: the resident immune cells of the retina and central nervous system. Homeostatic microglia are protective and essential for brain and eye health but can rapidly shift to a harmful state that is a hallmark of neurodegenerative disease, such as glaucoma. The ability to shift microglia from a harmful state back to a protective state could open new doors for treatment. The Gronert and Flanagan Labs discovered how a small lipid molecule helps microglia in the optic nerve transition to a healing role. The research team identified a unique microglia type that appears only in the optic nerve during glaucoma-like damage, but does not appear in the retina. Remarkably, this damaging microglia type was transformed by the lipid molecule to a protective state, revealing a promising new approach to protecting the nerves of the eye and preserving vision.

Check out the paper here!