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TLRs contribute to brain damage following hypoxia in newborns

March 26, 2017

Stridh and her colleagues used mice in their studies to simulate the brain injuries seen in newborn babies. They found that special TLRs contribute to brain damage following hypoxia, where the brain is starved of oxygen. "An infection can activate these receptors, making the brain more sensitive to hypoxia, resulting in worse brain damage," Stridh explains. "If these signals are blocked, the degree of brain damage is reduced."

Barrier opened

In her thesis, Stridh also looks at a protein called occludin, which has the role of gluing together cells in the blood-brain barrier.

"Our results show that there is a reduction in occludin at a genetic level following infection," she explains. "This can lead to the opening of the barrier, making it easier for inflammatory molecules and cells in the blood to get into the brain and cause inflammation."

Source: gupea.ub.gu.se/handle/2077/27809