Trilateral course on Glia in neuroinflammation

Cluster Description

The “Trilateral course on Glia in neuroinflammation” aims to develop a multi-campus on-line teaching material to be used by master and PhD students in each university member of the NENS cluster. By using a blended pedagogical approach consisting of practical video materials and multi-campus on-line lectures about the contribution of macrophages, microglia and astrocytes to neuroinflammation in the peripheral and central nervous system, the course will offer the students the opportunity to learn more about methods and topics complementary to the ones that are usually used in their lab, without the need to actually visit a particular university. The modular nature of this course will allow further development and sustainability inside the NENS cluster and hopefully, on long-term, will serve as a model of a multi-campus European curricula in neuroscience.

Cluster Partners

• Master program in Neurobiology, Faculty of Biology, University of Bucharest (coordinator)
• Neurobiology, Faculty of Biology, University of Belgrade
• Doctoral Program in Molecular Medicine, A.I.Virtanen Institute for Molecular Sciences, University of Eastern Finland

Cluster Outcome

The aim of the “Trilateral course on Glia in neuroinflammation” NENS cluster was to develop an on-line teaching material to be used by students interested in finding more about macrophages, microglia and astrocytes and their contribution to neuroinflammation associated with pain, ALS or AD. The course consists of 3 modules: 1. “Macrophages in neuroinflammation” grouped in a downloadable application from AppStore and GooglePlay store produced by University of Bucharest, Faculty of Biology; 2. “Astrocytes in neuroinflammation associated with ALS” grouped on the website of University of Belgrade, Faculty of Biology, Center for Laser Microscopy (https://clm.bio.bg.ac.rs/2022/06/06/nens-cluster-project-2022-06/) and 3. “Modelling microglia contribution to neuroinflammation in a human context” produced by University of Eastern Finland, Faculty of Health Sciences, A.I. Virtanen Institute for Molecular (https://youtu.be/yDkDZzny3Yk; https://youtu.be/en13L-DI0HU; https://youtu.be/UBKOBpqdNmQ  https://youtu.be/EtsVCoXyf_g). All courses consist in lectures and practical demonstrations on the given topic, presented in an attractive and detailed manner, so that the students could learn more about complementary methods to the ones that are usually used in their lab, without the need to actually visit a particular lab. We hope that everybody interested on the subjects will enjoy them, as much as we did while working for them!

Cluster Deliverables

Module 1 

• Lecture 1: Experimental animal models for peripheral traumatic neuropathic pain: a comparison
• Lecture 2: The role of macrophages from peripheral nerves in traumatic neuropathic pain pathogenesis.
• Lecture 3: The role of macrophages from dorsal root ganglia in traumatic neuropathic pain pathogenesis.
•  Practical session 1: Activating peripheral macrophages through spinal nerve ligation (SNL) neuropathic pain model (1, 2).
• Practical session 2: Isolation of macrophages from dorsal root ganglia after SNL and in vitro functional studies.
• Playlist with all videos here.
• “Macrophages in Neuroinflammation” app for Android and IOS.

Module 2

• Lecture 1. Glia and inflammation in Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis.
• Lecture 2. BBB breach and the role of glia in inflammation.
• Lecture 3. Cytology of glia in inflammation.

Module 3

• Lecture 1: Functional read-outs for human microglia and their relevance in neuropathologies
• Lecture 2: Brain organoids: complex in vitro brain tissue to study neuropathology and neuroinflammation
• Practical session 1: Differentiation of human microglia like cells.
• Practical session 2: Multielectrode array recording of slices from neuronal organoid incorporated within microglia like-cells

This cluster is funded by the FENS Committee of Higher Education and Training (CHET).