Immunomodulation as a neuroprotective and therapeutic strategy for Parkinson's disease

•Neuroinflammation is characterized by activation of innate and adaptive immunity.•Immune modulating treatments are being used as therapeutic strategies.•Use of anti-inflammatory agents has shown little success in combating disease.•Targeting alpha-syn or inducing regulatory T cells has shown therapeutic promise.

While immune control is associated with nigrostriatal neuroprotection for Parkinson's disease, direct cause and effect relationships have not yet been realized, and modulating the immune system for therapeutic gain has been openly debated. Here, we review how innate and adaptive immunity affect disease pathobiology, and how each could be harnessed for treatment. The overarching idea is to employ immunopharmacologics as neuroprotective strategies for disease. The aim of the current work is to review disease-modifying treatments that are currently being developed as neuroprotective strategies for PD in experimental animal models and for human disease translation. The long-term goal of this research is to effectively harness the immune system to slow or prevent PD pathobiology.