missing link between brain and immune system found

[formedbrds]

As pandas parents we know first hand that the immune system affects our children's brains. Now they have found that missing link. Any doctors or scientists here with input on how this information can help our children?

 

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2015/06/150601122445.htm

 

[sarojane]

Wow! Makes so much sense.

[jan251]

Wow! Full journal article here: http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/vaop/ncurrent/full/nature14432.html (oops, I can't get the full article)

 

Another news article http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2015-06/uovh-mlf052915.php

Edited June 3, 2015 by jan251

[4Nikki]

The way I'm reading the article is that the accumulation of proteins in the brain is the result of the previously unknown but now thought to be a faulty vessel system with certain neurological diseases?

 

Since this is a very small system, I'm imagining that inflammation of the vessel pathway is causing a bottle neck preventing the receptors from binding normally, which maybe why anti-inflammations help relieve the symptoms.

 

And I have no idea what I'm talking about.

[jan251]

I thought it might be interesting to see if there's anything new on this topic (original full text)

 

New Brain Lymphatic Vessels Drain Old Concepts Aug 2015 http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4563157/

 

Arguably the most appealing aspect of the existence of meningeal lymphatic vessels is the insight it provides about the circulation of T cells in the brain. Immune cells and immune-related molecules are increasingly recognized to play crucial roles in brain wiring in both development and disease. Interestingly, Kipnis' lab has previously shown that removal of dcLN can induce learning and memory impairments in mice (Radjavi et al., 2014), suggesting that disrupting T cell circulation has gross behavioral consequences. Mapping the cellular lymphatic route and understanding its potential role in behavioral paradigms such as learning and memory, sleep, and stress will advance our understanding of communication between the central nervous system and the immune system. Furthermore, elucidating a potential path for T cell circulation could potentially unveil new therapeutic targets for interventions in neurodegenerative diseases and neurological disorders, including those considered to be triggered by inflammatory responses, such as multiple sclerosis.

 

Get It through Your Thick Head: Emerging Principles in Neuroimmunology and Neurovirology Redefine Central Nervous System “Immune Privilege” April 2016 http://pubs.acs.org/doi/abs/10.1021/acschemneuro.5b00336

 

Abstract

The central nervous system (CNS) coordinates all aspects of life, autonomic and sentient, though how it has evolved to contend with pathogenic infections remains, to a great degree, a mystery. The skull and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) provide protection from blunt force contacts, and it was once thought that the blood-brain barrier (BBB) was a fortress that restricted pathogen entry and limited inflammation. Recent studies, however, have caused a revision of this viewpoint: the CNS is monitored by blood-borne lymphocytes, but can use alternative strategies to prevent or resolve many pathogenic challenges. In this Review, we discuss emerging principles that indicate how the CNS is immunologically unique from peripheral tissues. We focus on developments that include glymphatics, recently characterized brain lymphatic vessels, distinctions in innate and adaptive immune strategies, novel points of entry for neurotropic viruses, and, finally, how the periphery can influence CNS homeostasis and immune responses within the brain. Collectively, these attributes demand a re-evaluation of immunity in the brain: not privileged, but distinct.

Commentary: Structural and functional features of central nervous system lymphatic vessels

James J. Bradstreet,1,2 Marco Ruggiero,3,* and Stefania Pacini4 Dec 2015 http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4686591/

The meningeal lymphatic system: a route for HIV brain migration? June 2016 http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/26572785

Edited July 13, 2016 by jan251

[jan251]

Thinking out loud, how might intestinal health, i.e. "the second brain," be involved in inflammatory processes involving lymph?

 

Platelet interaction with lymphatics aggravates intestinal inflammation by suppressing lymphangiogenesis. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/27313177

 

in spite of elevated lymphoangiogenic factors during colonic inflammation, platelet migration to LV suppressed lymphangiogenesis, leading to the aggravation of colitis by blocking the clearance of inflammatory cells. Modulating the interaction between platelets and LV could be a new therapeutic means for treating IBD.