REVIEW published: 23 July 2020 doi: 10.3389/fpsyt.2020.00704 The Innate Immune System and Inflammatory Priming: Potential Mechanistic Factors in Mood Disorders and Gulf War Illness Kyle J. Trageser 1, Maria Sebastian-Valverde 1, Sean X Naughton 1 and Giulio Maria Pasinetti 1,2* 1 Department of Neurology, Mount Sinai School of Medicine, New York, NY, United States, 2 Geriatric Research, Education and Clinical Center, James J. Peters Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Bronx, NY, United States Edited by: Gabriella Martino, University of Messina, Italy Gulf War Illness is a chronic multisystem disorder affecting approximately a third of the Reviewed by: Veterans of the Gulf War, manifesting with physical and mental health symptoms such as Lisa James, cognitive impairment, neurological abnormalities, and dysregulation of mood. Among the University of Minnesota Twin Cities, United States leading theories into the etiology of this multisystem disorder is environmental exposure to Kimberly A. Kelly, the various neurotoxins encountered in the Gulf Theatre, including organophosphates, National Institute for Occupational fi Safety and Health (NIOSH), nerve agents, pyridostigmine bromide, smoke from oil well res, and depleted uranium. United States The relationship of toxin exposure and the pathogenesis of Gulf War Illness converges on *Correspondence: the innate immune system: a nonspecific form of immunity ubiquitous in nature that acts to Giulio Maria Pasinetti respond to both exogenous and endogenous insults. Activation of the innate immune
[email protected] system results in inflammation mediated by the release of cytokines. Cytokine mediated Specialty section: neuroinflammation has been demonstrated in a number of psychiatric conditions and may This article was submitted to help explain the larger than expected population of Gulf War Veterans afflicted with a Psychopathology, a section of the journal mood disorder.