New Discovery On How Cells Protect The Nervous System

Summary
Whenever an injury or infection occurs to the nervous system, cells called microglia charge to defend the said infection or injury. Microglia ingest pathogens and damaged nerve cells. These cells wait for something bad to happen in the nervous system like an infection. They have a small cell body with long projections protruding from the body, and when a pathogen is detected, the projections curl into the cell body and morph into a much larger cell. Although microglia destroy infection, they also have potential to attack healthy cells. It turns out that when microglia are growing alongside a developing brain, they are already an early form of a fighting cell and already have the ability to destroy pathogen and debris of dead cells. After birth and when the nervous system is starting to develop more, the microglia are deactivated as fighters and change to the watchmen that protect the nervous system. When there is an injury, they will change back to the cells protecting the nervous system.

Relevance
We have learned that the nervous system is a very important body system because it regulates heart beat and other bodily functions as well as allowing the body to communicate with itself. Although we have not learned about it yet, the microglia are part of the immune system as well, which protect the body from infections.

Link
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/10/121016141738.htm