Implications of the PD-1/B7-H1 receptor-ligand system in Alzheimer's Disease

Alzheimer's disease is characterized by the formation of amyloid plaques, neurofibrillar tangles and chronic neuroinflammation throughout the brain leading to activation of astrocytes and immune regulatory microglia of the brain. Members of the CD28 family of transmembrane receptors as well as their ligands of the B7 family have been shown to be involved in costimulatory and/or inhibitory functions of immune responses. Recently, expression of B7-H1 in microglia and astrocytes have been implicated in immune responses in the brain. We therefore investigated the importance of B7-H1 and its receptor PD-1 in the cont…