Abstract: Early studies (1990’s) on the neurological consequences of human immunodeficiency virus-1 (HIV-1) infection in the brain were instrumental in establishing that specific brain cell types can function as an innate immune system within the brain and in that role influence cognitive function (Kaul et al., 2005). It is now known that this system, referred to as the neuroimmune system, is an important signaling system that plays a key role in brain function under both physiological and pathophysiological conditions. The principal cellular components of the neuroimmune system are the glial cells, primarily astrocytes and microglia. Astrocytes are the most populous cell type in the brain, whereas microglia comprise about 10% of the brain cells. These cell types produce many of the same chemical signaling factors commonly associated with the peripheral immune system, including small proteins such as the cytokine interleukin-6 (IL-6) and the chemokines C-C motif chemokine 2 (CCL2) and C-X-C Motif Chemokine Ligand 10 (CXCl10), the focus of our studies and the neuroimmune factors that are used as examples in this short perspective.