Being born prematurely increases the risk of brain damage, cerebral palsy and impaired cognitive and social functions. Prematurity is one of the major global health issues facing modern society according to the WHO (2012). These complications have a direct impact on the child's quality of life and are a huge burden socially and economically. Currently, there are no brain-protecting treatments. There is strong evidence of an association between inflammation, preterm birth and subsequent neurological diseases, which is the starting point for the current project. The main hypothesis is that inflammation in the blood leads to regulation of immune receptors (known as TLRs) at the blood-cerebrospinal fluid interface, contributing to inflammation and damage in the brain. By manipulating the immune response, we will be able to protect the immature brain. We will investigate: (i) the role of TLR2 in brain injury. (ii) the brain protective effect of newly discovered peptides in a clinically relevant animal model. (iii) the effect of brain-protective peptides on the inflammatory response in premature infants at increased risk of brain injury. Thus, we will be able to identify new mechanisms for how blood immune cells affect the immature brain, find new brain-protective treatments, gain important new knowledge about the regulation of inflammation in premature infants. This innovative project is thus likely to contribute new knowledge to develop treatments for premature babies.