Role of impaired resolution of inflammation on post-pneumonia cognitive decline in mouse aging model

This research project will focus on the hippocampal region of the mouse brain because its primary functions are learning and memory consolidation and is therefore the primary site of age-associated cognitive decline. It has previously been shown that the numbers of neuronal and glial cells decrease with age in the hippocampal region. We hypothesize that these changes in the hippocampal region can be caused by chronic systemic inflammation.

The purpose of this project is to determine the mechanism behind post-pneumonia cognitive decline and explore potential targets for therapeutics. We will accomplish this via the following specific aims:

1. Characterize post-pneumonia cognitive decline and frailty post-pneumonia in young and old mice.
2. Compare differences in the resolution of inflammation on immune cell phenotype and cytokine levels during the post-pneumonia recovery period in circulation and in the brain of young and old mice.
3. Test whether reducing inflammation during the post-pneumonia recovery period improves post-pneumonia health outcomes.