Work package #2

Work package #2: Improvement of S&T experience and knowledge of researchers in application of two-photon microscopy to studies on the role of inflammation in the formation of ischemic brain lesion in young and aged animals
WP Leader: Prof. A. Dressel

Understanding the mechanisms of neural repair in aging and subsequent to injury is one of the great challenges to develop neuroregenerative therapies for clinical practice. Recent findings have unraveled that the immune response following ischemic brain injury is a key regulator in the development of secondary brain injury. In addition, neural stem cells and lymphocytes are known to modulate each other. However, the detailed mechanisms that determine the extent of brain injury and neuroregeneration are unknown. In fact, contradictory data have been obtained with respect to the effects of lymphocyte infiltration into the CNS. Two-photon imaging provides us with the possibility to visualize the kinetics of lymphocyte infiltration, study their interaction with neural tissue and to investigate the endogenous neuroregeneration.