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REVIEW article

Front. Immunol.

Sec. Multiple Sclerosis and Neuroimmunology

Volume 16 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fimmu.2025.1550660

Controversies and insights into cytokine regulation of neurogenesis and behavior in adult rodents

Provisionally accepted
  • 1 Programa de Doctorado en Ciencias Biomédicas, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Mexico, Mexico
  • 2 Facultad de Ciencias de la Salud, Universidad Anáhuac México Campus Norte, Mexico, Mexico
  • 3 Facultad de Psicología, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, México, Mexico
  • 4 Laboratorio de Inmunología Experimental. Instituto Nacional de Pediatría, México, Mexico
  • 5 Escuela Nacional de Medicina y Homeopatía, Instituto Politécnico Nacional, México, Mexico
  • 6 Anahuac University of North Mexico, Huixquilucan de Degollado, Mexico

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

    Adult learning, memory, and social interaction partially depend on neurogenesis in two regions: the hippocampus and the subventricular zone. There is evidence that the immune system is important for these processes in pathological situations, but there is no review of its role in non-pathological or near-physiological conditions.Although further research is warranted in this area, some conclusions can be drawn. Intrusive LyC6hi monocytes and autoreactive CD4+ T cells have a positive impact on neurogenesis and behavior, but the latter are deleterious if specific to external antigens. Mildly activated microglia play a crucial role in promoting these processes, by eliminating apoptotic neuronal progenitors and producing low levels of interleukins, which increase if the cells are activated, leading to inhibition of neurogenesis. Chemokines are poorly studied, but progenitor cells and neurons express their receptors, which appear important for migration and maturation. The few works that jointly analyzed neurogenesis and behavior showed congruent effects of immune cells and cytokines. In conclusion, the immune system components -mostly local-seem of utmost importance for the control of behavior under non-pathological conditions.

    Keywords: cytokine, Hippocampus, Immune System, Neurogenesis, Olfactory Bulb, Social Behavior, Subventricular zone

    Received: 23 Dec 2024; Accepted: 24 Mar 2025.

    Copyright: © 2025 Sepúlveda-Cuéllar, Soria-Medina, Cañedo, Gómez-Chávez, Molina- López, Cruz-Martínez and Correa. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

    * Correspondence: Dolores Correa, Anahuac University of North Mexico, Huixquilucan de Degollado, Mexico

    Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.

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